*Somewhat edited*

 Italicized phrases with a * next to it mean it's in Elvish

At the sound of an Orc battle cry, I pull out my bow, the bow my Father, Thranduil, gave me over a hundred years ago, and notch an arrow.

The cries seem to come from nowhere until, suddenly, a pack of about fifteen orcs and five wargs come into view.

I aim my bow, and fire, killing two orcs at once with an arrow that went through a skull and embedded in another.

When the Orcs come to close for me to use my bow, I jump off my horse and whip out my two daggers, spinning them in my hands.

I take out the snarling wargs next with a combination of arrows and sword slices. From the corner of my eye I can see Lumornel with wide eyes, terrified, and a hand on her dagger.

The remaining thirteen orcs come to me, good, that's my goal, I need to keep them away from Lumornel until she can defend herself.

The orcs form a circle around me, trying to land deadly blows on me. I stab an Orc through the heart and kick another back as it tries to get to me. Two gang up on me and I slash them across the throat, spewing blood.

A particularly ugly looking Orc, an Orc leader it looks like, tries to take me on with hand to hand combat, keeping me from defending Lumornel and my other sides, leaving me vulnerable.

An Orc came up from behind but the Orc leader was still keeping me busy. I was waiting for a blow when I heard something fly by my head. The Orc leader lost his footing and I took him out.

I turned behind me to see that a knife had been thrown, hitting an Orc trying to come at me, in the forehead. I looked at Lumornel, who had thrown it, and found that she, too, looked very surprised.

"I don't know how I did that, I swear," she blurted and looked at the hand that had thrown the dagger.

I narrowed my eyes at her, mostly in confusion, but I could tell she was telling the truth. I could see it in her eyes.

I walk over to the dead orc and pull out the dagger. I hand over the knife and as she takes it from me slowly I say, "diolla lle."

She presses her mouth into a line and I see her eyes stray to somewhere behind me. I watch her facial expression change from a mouth in a straight line to it relaxing and opening slightly and her eyes widening.

She moves to get off her horse and I go to help her down. She shrugs me off, "I got it."

I step back and let her clumsily get off her horse. I wonder why she doesn't want any help, it's not bad to ask for guidance. She'll have to change her habits soon.

She makes for the carnage of dead orcs, "Lumornel! What are you doing?"

She keeps going and doesn't look back, "I saw something."

I watch as she picks her way around all the dead evil beings and kneels down next to one of the many large rocks.

"Legolas!" I run over to her quickly and look to where she's looking. There, in the grass, lay a young elf-maiden. She has long black hair and fair skin. I did not know the color of the eyes because they were closed.

Lumornel leaned down and touched the cut on the elf's forehead. It looks like she had been hit.

Unexpectedly, the elleth was up and had Lumornel in a headlock, a knife to her throat. She had electric blue eyes.

"Don't*," I say calmly, "she is of no harm to you*." I hold out both of my hands in surrender and to show that I mean no harm.

"Yes, but how do I know that you mean no harm?* " I smiled, she was clever, I'll give her that.

I take off my bow, my quiver, sword, and knife and lay them on the ground, "I am unarmed. Now, please, release her.*"

She looked skeptical at first, as if I was hiding an extra weapon somewhere. But she slowly let go of Lumornel and Lumornel ran to me, her green eyes wide with fear.

This girl was right to look skeptical, I took out my hidden knife, disarmed her, and held the knife to her throat before she realized what was happening.

"Who are you?" I ask quickly, "what do you want?"

The elleth stayed quiet. I jostled her, "don't play dumb. Every elf has learned the common speech."

She paused, then spoke slowly, "my name is Duvaineth. I was taken hostage by the orcs, I do not know why. I thought that you may have tried to hurt me like they did."

I thought for a moment, "why did you try to hurt my friend over there?"

"I couldn't take any chances. I knew you wouldn't hurt me if she was threatened... Please let me go, I won't try anything," she pleaded. Her voice was soft but it had an undertone that suggests that many experiences has hardened it.

I clenched and unclenched my jaw... Then I let her go.

She walked several feet away from me, rubbing her neck.

"Can I have my knife back?" She held out a hand.

"No," I walked to my horse.

"No?! What am I to do?"

"We ride."

•••••••••

"Legolas, we don't have enough horses," I whisper, trying not to be noticed by our new traveling-friend.

"You'll ride with me," he said while swinging onto the horse.

I looked up at him, squinting in the sun's bright glow, "you?!"

He looked down at me and the corner of his mouth tilted up slightly, "what's wrong with riding with me? Would you rather her ride with me?"

I looked over at Duvaineth who was stroking my horse. Her long black hair looked beautiful in the breeze and her skin seemed to have no flaws... "No."

Legolas held out a hand for me and I clambered on. He called out to Duvaineth, "you'll be riding that horse, we're heading to Lothlórien."

She mounted the horse, "forgive me, but I never got your names..."

"Yes... Right. My friend here is... Aelith."

I looked at Legolas speciously.

"And I am—"

"Gilornor."

Legolas turned his head to look at me, " yes. Gilornor."

We rode in silence. I had my arms around Legolas's waist, and I suspect that he's secretly enjoying this. At first, I was very hesitant, but now I'm more relaxed and I actually now have my head resting on his warm back. With him in my arms I felt safe.

My thoughts were clear until I started thinking about my dream... Or whatever it was. I kept thinking about what Ammë said: 'you are here for a purpose, Yendë,' and 'you are to save the people of Middle-Earth. You are greatly needed, Nirrin Mîn. Do not fail us, many are counting on you.'

"Legolas?" I ask quietly.

"Hm?"

"Um... I think I need to go to Imladris with you..."

That seemed to get his attention, "what?"

"I need to go to Imladris," I said quietly but still in a forceful voice.

"No, you are to go to Lothlórien and that's that."

"But Legolas...."

"No, nothing you can say will change my mind. You are needed in Lórien."

"That's the thing though. I am needed. But not just by Lórien. If I am to help who I need to help then I need to go to Imladris."

He was quiet for a second, our horse seemed to slow.

"Who needs your help, mellonamin...?" He said slowly.

I hesitated. Should I tell him? He might think that I'm crazy.... "Middle-Earth."

He stopped the horse and twisted around to stare me in the eye, "how do you know this?"

His gaze is steely. I look over at Duvaineth, she's looking at us curiously.

I looked down and twiddled with my hair, now he is definitely going to think I'm crazy.

"I had a dream—or a vision. I'm not sure what it was. But she told me I needed to save Middle-Earth. She—do you know what Nirrin mîn means?" I looked up at him. He seemed absolutely stunned.

"Who is she?"

This took me aback, he doesn't think that I'm crazy?

"She didn't tell me, but she told me to call her Ammë."

His eyes widened, "do you know what Ammë means?" He asked.

"No... But what about 'Nirrin Mîn?' What was she talking about? Do you know?"

He looked up at the sky in... Wonder? Exasperation? "I—"

He looked to me, "did she say to go to Imladris?"

"I—n-no. She just said that everyone is counting on me and that I need to save them. But I don't know what she means. How can everyone be counting on me?" I breathed out a breath of frustration, "I just feel that what you are about to do in Imladris is very important. And that it will change Middle-Earth forever, and if that is true then I need to be there. If I am truly meant to save people—to save Middle-Earth—then I need to be their where-ever all of this is starting." I then muttered, "whatever this is."

Legolas twisted back around and was silent in thought.

"Okay," he finally said, "we'll go to Imladris."

"Hear that Lads? He says we'll blunt the knives!"

-Bofur

(Btw, the pic above is of Duvaineth)

Hiya! Hope you liked it! And don't worry, you'll find out what Ammë, Yendë, and Nirrin Mîn means soon enough. Now, please continue commenting and voting and reading, and strap in your seat belts folks because it's a bumpy ride and it's about to get good.

Novaer, mellyn