"I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life"
- In the Air Tonight, Phil Collins

Nothing immediately attacked them. They continued to hear howls from various directions, mostly North. It was possible the wargs were busy attacking some poor woodsman. Many woodsmen had settled near or in the land protected by the Beornings.

It was quite sudden that the howling stopped. That put the company more on edge than ever. They felt watchfulness around them. There was something coming.

Elladan was the first to see the wargs.

"Ai!" he shouted, drawing the attention of the others.

The warg leapt forward and Elladan sidestepped the massive creature. Miril grinned, eager for vengeance. Elladan sunk his two swords into the creature's flank. It howled in agony and he barely had time to remove his swords before it spun around and faced him straight on.

Meanwhile the three full blooded elves were tangling with two other wargs. Glorfindel and Mirmegil used their swords to keep the wargs occupied while Garavon repeatedly stabbed either when one turned away.

Miril and Elrohir raced to help Elladan when suddenly a large, white warg separated them. Elrohir looked between Miril and his brother, unsure who to help.

"Help your brother!" Miril yelled at him. "I've got this completely under control!"

Elrohir nodded and continued to his brother's aid. Miril meanwhile was faced with one of the largest wargs she's ever seen. She smiled.

It leapt at her and she rolled away to the side. Unfortunately it managed to rake her arm with its claws, though the damage was mostly superficial. Miril, angrier than ever, hacked at its snout. It yelped in pain.

The white warg's pelt was splattered with red blood. Its red eyes narrowed in anger and it bared its teeth. Miril laughed.

"Come on," she taunted it. "Come and get me."

The warg ran at her. She slid under its belly and stabbed upwards. The force of her blow combined with the speed the warg had been traveling meant her sword was ripped from her grasp.

That wasn't good.

The white warg was dead, but she was reduced to a long knife, a weaker, smaller blade. She was also sprayed with warg blood all over her face. A warg slunk towards her unseen, smaller but more agile than the others. Maybe an adolescent.

Miril barely managed to catch sight of it before it landed on top of her, knocking her to the ground. Using her knife, she hacked at the beast's face, stabbing it in the eye. It wailed, releasing her. Miril scuttled backwards, trying to get to her feet.

It was about to charge again when Glorfindel stepped between her and the warg. He had his sword and a flaming brand. He said something along the lines of "begone, foul creature," before stabbing it with first his sword and then the fiery stick.

The warg howled in agony, tearing away at top speed. The other remaining warg soon followed. Everyone looked around at the multitude of dead wargs. There were four, large carcasses.

"Food for a month," Elrohir muttered, only half-joking.

Glorfindel stepped up to Miril and offered a hand in getting up. She took it gratefully.

"Well you look horrible," said Elladan as he noted the amount of blood that covered her face and chest.

"Isn't my blood," she assured them. "It's the warg's."

"What about that." Elrohir pointed to the claw marks on her left arm.

She looked down at the cuts. "Oh. Forgot about that."

Glorfindel looked at her. "Go wash your face in the river. And clean up the cuts. I will tend to Mirmegil who was also injured while you do that."

She nodded and, once more accompanied by the Twins, went down to the Gladden River. Miril knelt at the edge and scooped up the cold water in her hands, splashing her face. The blood ran red on her hands and on the cloth she used to wipe her face. It would be difficult to get out of her clothes.

Before long they returned to camp. Elrohir allowed his brother to wrap his only wound, a cut on his leg. Glorfindel had finished with Mirmegil's head gash and turned to Miril.

"Looks better now that you have washed," Glorfindel remarked.

Miril agreed wholeheartedly. "Just a flesh wound."

"Nevertheless, those cuts must be wrapped. Sit down."

She did as instructed. "Thank you."

Glorfindel wrapped the cuts in bandages, apply a small amount of salve that he had brought from Rivendell. He told her it would help prevent infection.

Once everyone had been seen to, Glorfindel told them he would take watch. He ordered the rest of the company to rest.

Miril didn't argue. She walked past the dead white warg and ripped her sword from its belly. She would clean her sword and then sleep. And that's exactly what she did.

When morning dawned, the three half elves bid the three elves goodbye.

"My Elbereth guide you," Glorfindel told them.

"You as well," Elladan agreed.

They mounted their horses and began the week and a half journey down the Anduin to Lothlorien.

The days passed without incident. They followed a regular pattern: ride five or six hours, rest for lunch and ride another five or six hours before stopping for the night. Intermittent stops for the horses to rest were also figured

The further south they went, the closer they came not only to Lothlorien, but to the shadow of Dol Guldor as well. Miril felt chilled whenever she looked across the Anduin and caught sight of Southern Mirkwood. That was an evil place. But she also felt it calling to her.

When at last they reached the Northern border of Lothlorien, Miril breathed a sigh of relief. Absolute safety was within a day's march.

"Lothlorien." Elladan smiled and took a deep breath. "Come. Let us enter."

They walked for about an hour unchallenged before a group of elves finally ordered them to stop.

"Sons of Lord Elrond," the leader said, "the Lord and Lady bid you welcome. They have sent us to escort you to Caras Galadhon. If you wish it, we shall walk through the night so you may reach that place as soon as possible."

"We do wish it," Elrohir quickly said. "Let us be off then."

They followed the blonde elves closely. The trio took in the beauty of Lothlorien in the moonlight. Miril was less accustomed to Lorien than the brothers, of course, so it was more wondrous to her.

Hours of walking and leading their horses passed and Miril was getting tired. The last few nights had been restless for her once more, though the Twins did not know this. Finally they approached the gates of Caras Galadhon.

The gates opened silently. She couldn't even spot an elf manning a mechanism. They were led inside and their horses taken from them to be stabled.

"The Lord and Lady ask you to meet them immediately," the leader told them.

The Twins nodded and beckoned for Miril to follow. She knew the way once they got closer to the largest Mallorn tree. She knew she was in for a long climb.

"Up we go," she muttered as they reached the first steps.

Elladan went first, followed by Elrohir and then Miril. The climb was very long and they reached many flets on the way up to the highest talan. But eventually they got there and went into the hall.

It was empty save for Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. Though she had met them before, Miril was still stunned silent at their graceful power and silent grandeur.

"Welcome back Elladan, Elrohir. And Miril." Lord Celeborn spoke as the two elven rulers bowed as was their custom.

The three travelers bowed back.

Elrohir spoke first. "We bring news from our father."

"So we figured," Celeborn said. "Come, let us talk."

Galadriel finally spoke up. "My Lord, I do believe young Miril at least requires rest. Go on ahead, I will join in a moment."

The three males looked surprised but agreed and left the hall to retire to a more intimate, less open location, leaving Miril and the Lady Galadriel.

"My Lady, simply tell me where I may rest and I shall. Do not trouble yourself," she insisted.

Galadriel smiled. "Nay. For I sense there is something on your heart that will not allow you to rest until you have spoken of it to me. Am I wrong?"

Miril shuffled her feet and didn't make eye contact. Something made her nervous about this. But one could not refuse the Lady of the Galadhrim, arguably the wisest elf to ever be born. It was said she was second only to Fëanor in power and might.

"Indeed, Lady. Indeed."