"There is no likely way that could be achieved," Legolas was saying as I walked into the great hall.

"No way what could be achieved?" I asked, taking my place at the long, polished table.

"If Irmo has given his blessing," Arwen said, "the purpose must be fulfilled. Prince Legolas is suggesting that the quest be continued by himself and another, with you staying here in Gondor."

"What?" I said incredulously. "Legolas, I'm not just going to—"

"Gianna," he said, an imploring quality to his voice. "We can't risk you getting hurt again, next time irreparably, and an odd feeling of doubt has been cast upon me. There's no telling when you will be called back to your world, and what effect that would have on this endeavour."

"I have to be there for this to succeed," I told him darkly, the words of Irmo himself echoing in my head.

...But just as his soul lived on before the One was destroyed, so then does Morgoth, kept alive by the roots of all evil... 

"What do you mean?" he asked, catching on to the furtive way I glanced around the table. I looked at Arwen, Faewyn, Maldor, and Eldarion, who were all looking expectantly at me.

"I feel that the stars mean something for me to have the mark of Irmo. In some way, my fate is tied with that of...of this fellowship." I said, trying to find a way to say something without giving anything away. Arwen nodded.

"She has a valid point, Legolas. There's know way to know—"

Everyone froze as voices were heard in the hallway.

"—east of Ithillien," someone was saying.

"Yes, my Lord," answered the guard outside in the hall. The ornate doors swung open and a man walked in. The queen stood up suddenly.

"Mae govanen, melin nin (Well met, my love)" he said, in Sindarin. "I missed you greatly, it pleases me you have returned," she replied, smiling.

Obviously, this was the king Aragorn, heir of Isildur.

She rose to greet him, but although I don't remember him ever moving, Legolas was there already.

"Le sulion," Aragorn exclaimed gleefully at seeing his friend.

"Well met indeed, mellon nin," Legolas said, clapping him on the shoulder good-naturedly. "Two years is far too long," Aragorn said sternly, though his eyes laughed.

"Goheno nin sa han (I'm sorry about that)," Legolas said.

"You'll have to tell me about it later," Aragorn said.

Although it was clear he was aging, he still looked to be in his early forties, something which was obviously untrue as I knew him to be of Númenorean descent.

"Gi nathlam hí (You are welcome here)," King Aragorn said, striding towards us.

"Le sulion, hir vuin," I said politely. Maldor echoed my greeting and Faewyn nodded from her place at the table.

"A, Ada!" Eldarion said, shyly walking up to his father. "Man agoreg? Prestad?"

Aragorn chuckled and tousled his son's hair.

"So many questions, ionneg," he replied, switching back to Westron. "Legolas, who are your companions?"

"It is a lengthy tale, mellon nin," Legolas said ruefully, looking at us. "But in short, they are Maldor, son of Melnir, and Faewyn, daughter of Calathir, and the Lady Gianna."

I inclined my head.

Aragorn smiled at us and bade us sit with him anew at his table.

"Tell me," he said as he sat down. "What bade you come to Minas Tirith?" Nobody said anything until I realised Legolas looking at me expectantly.

"It's rather complicated, my lord," I said. "I shall suffice to say for the beginning of it that I am not from Middle-earth."

"How so?" the king asked, looking at me curiously.

"Some years ago I was offered entrance to this realm as I slept in my own," I said admittedly. "There was no way to know why or how, but as I sleep, I exist here. It used to come to pass that I faded from the land after a few hours, but after I was given a blessing by Irmo I have stayed longer. The main reason I have made it thus far is due to my current state of unconsciousness in my own realm."

I briefly glanced over at Legolas, who shot me a curious look.

"So you have not woken in your world?" Legolas asked, surprised. I shook my head.

"The—the fire sent me into a coma although I was not injured at all," I explained.

"How do you know?" he continued.

"That I will tell later," I said with a sigh. "But first, the king would know that there is rumour of the foresight of the Valar concerning my presence here, as well as a connection to the resurgence of certain elements of evil. There is hope that one of the last records holds truth to this, and that is what we seek."

Arwen spoke up. "The last record of the Gifts of the Valar was—"

"—stolen during the Dagor Bragallach," I finished. "After the fall of Fingolfin."

"Indeed," Aragorn said, looking thoughtful. "This is intriguing. So you would like to see a record of all weapons forged in the first age and all of the recorded blessings of the Valar?" 

...a weapon touched by no evil in all eternity...and must never be used for war or to cause suffering or revenge...

"Weapons—?" Legolas said, looking from me to Aragorn, eyes narrowed slightly.

"How did you know about that?" I asked him, aghast.

"About what?" asked Aragorn, confused. "It's common knowledge that one of the Gifts of the Valar was a divine weapon, to be used only in greatest need, although it has never even been seen and is probably in Valinor. That is why I suggested the First Age, although it is unlikely to yield any results."

"A divine weapon?" I echoed. Legolas was looking at me intently, probably trying to make his own deductions about what we were talking about.

"Who—who left it?" I asked weakly.

"That is the trouble, Lady Gianna," Aragorn said. "Nobody knows."

Legolas spoke. "Gianna, unless you would like to cause me to vanish out of frustration, please tell us the whole story," he said.

"Melodramatic, as usual, I see," I answered.

He glared.

"May I speak to you both alone?" I said tersely, "I don't know if the King would want me to say some of this in the ears of the guards nor in the echoes of the hall," I added, looking at everyone else.

"Haste to my study, then," Aragorn said. "Excuse us."

**********

"Raiach!" Legolas muttered after I was done speaking.

"Legolas!" Aragorn and I said in unison. The elf looked up, abashed.

"Forgive my sharp tongue, but no other name in this world deserves that as much as he."

"Hardly that," Aragorn said darkly. He paced in front of a mahogany desk with agitation. "This is exactly what I was hoping not to have to expect."

Um, what?

"Although you can't deny that the signs are all there," Legolas pointed out. "They could be within these very walls."

Oh, well, at least Legolas got that.

"But are the Remnants dangerous?" I pressed.

"They are fools, and they are castaways," Aragorn said. "Hiding in the shadows and roaming amongst dark places, but not dangerous. Not unless they find what they are driven to find."

"Which is...?" I asked.

"The only person who could have the power to change their driving force," Aragorn said. "They will look until it kills them."

"Could the same orc-goblin creatures who attacked Maldor and I be also involved?" I suggested.

"Did they state their purpose?" The King asked, looking at me sharply.

"They said they were under orders," I shrugged. "To find a person their "master", who they said was an "old neighbor" wanted them to find. An elf, apparently, because they pinned me down to check to see if my ears were pointed."

"Aragorn, it's possible they could have heard it but misinterpreted it," Legolas said, a warning in his tone.

"Does anyone want to tell me what they're talking about?" I asked, looking at both of them with raised eyebrows.

"That mark," Aragorn said, indicating to the three stars just barely visible over the neck of my tunic. "Is it visible always?"

"You can see it better in the shade," I said. "Why?"

"They missed her, then," Aragorn said, leaving another of my questions unanswered. "You are very fortunate."

"But who did they hear it from?" Legolas asked, concerned. "There are few who have read that Lay."

"Nobody knows for sure if it's true, however," Aragorn said.

"The parallelism is uncanny," Legolas countered. "And they must have heard it orally from a prisoner of theirs."

"Only one of the Eldar would have known it," the King pointed out.

"Since nobody wants to tell me what they speak of, I'm going out for a stroll," I said as nonchalantly as possible.

"You must not go outside!" Legolas said suddenly, turning on me with eyes blazing.

"And why not?" I asked coyly.

"Because—because you are certainly the one who a lost poem speaks of and it's obvious now you are under the favor of Irmo and therefore will be hunted and killed by all who discover you as long as they are driven by the same remnants of evil which ruled the world anon," Legolas said, his words running together in his haste.

"Thank you," I said, unsuccessfully trying to hide the spark of triumph in my voice. "So basically I'm constantly in danger of being kidnapped and executed because one of the Valar decided to lead me here so I could somehow end the bits of evil that are floating around with a divine weapon that may or may not exist in Middle Earth?"

"In bare essence, yes," Legolas said. "It was mere luck that whoever interpreted the poem mistook "a mortal" for "immortal" and therefore think they're looking for one of the Eldar, when in fact, you've been the one they want."

"Why now?" I asked. "King Aragorn, you mentioned that this poem was lost, and only one of the Eldar would have known it. Was this one of the Lays of Valimar?"

"It surprises me how much of old tale you know, Gianna. You are no Elf, but in all ways like one," Aragorn said with a chuckle. "Any trace of the Lays of Valimar survived only in brief, through those such as the Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond who were there for such times. All memory save this has been passed back from whence it came, to Valinor and lands beyond."

"Do you know it?" I asked hopefully. "Only one verse has ever survived after the fall of Numenor, and therefore passed on to my line and heirs," Aragorn said. He quoted;

"Ages arisen with evil affirmed      In Arda awakens an ancient foe

A mortal she may be                who will unmar Morgoth's last man"

"Why does no other record survive?" I asked, contemplating the verses.

"It was not written down, unlike the Lay of Leithian, the Lay of the Children of Hurin, or any other famous tales." Aragorn said sadly.

"'Morgoth's last man'—that's like a vassal, if I am not mistaken," I commented.

"You aren't," Legolas confirmed. "Sauron was long his favored servant."

"So this is somehow related to me," I clarified.

"It points directly to what you have just told us," Legolas said. "That is why we needed to come. I had to be sure it was you."

"And now what?" I asked. "We must try and continue what we set out to do."

"We must," Legolas agreed. "But from now on, our watch must be doubled. None of these meetings with orcs or goblins or the like have ever been fate alone."

"No indeed," Aragorn said tiredly. He distractedly leaned against a stone column and twisted his ring.

"I would like to go outside, though. Truly." I said, with a sad half-smile. Outside seemed so normal for the circumstances.

"Not into the city," Aragorn warned. "You shine like the Beacon of Gondor."

I laughed.

"Not the city then," I assured everyone, looking specifically at the Prince, who was looking at me with narrowed eyes again. "Legolas, stop worrying. I'm not going to get kidnapped and die a slow and painful death, I'll just go into the courtyard."

"You can visit the horses if you want," Aragorn said. "I brought them up from the lower level." 

"Hannon le," I said with some surprise. "How did you know they were ours?"

"I know Elvish horses," Aragorn said with a smile. "Who else could they be?"

"Thank you for indulging my presence, my King," I said, curtsying as I left the room.

"The pleasure was mine," Aragorn said, nodding. "I'll have Arwen show you to your room."

He followed Legolas and I out of the room and shut the door with a final, echoing thud.