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Aragorn is lying down with his ear pressed to the ground, "Their pace has quickened. They must have caught our scent. Hurry!" Aragon runs off, followed by Legolas and Gimli; Maristela smirks at the Dwarf before rushing ahead to her son. "Come on, Gimli!" Legolas encouraged the Dwarf he had befriended. "Three days and night's pursuit... no food, no rest, and no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell," Gimli complained as he panted. The four of them run across plains under the warm sun, they soon enter a valley where the Uruk-hai had stopped. Aragorn bends down to pick up Pippin's brooch, "Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall."

Legolas stops and turns to Aragorn, "They may yet be alive." Maristela rests her hand on Legolas' arm with a smile, "Less than a day ahead of us, I'm certain." Gimli stumbles and rolls to the ground as Legolas calls back to him, "Come Gimli! We are gaining on them." Maristela grins towards the tired Dwarf as she lowers her hand from Legolas' arm, the past few days the two had become closer. "I'm wasted on cross-country. We dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances," Gimli expressed reminding Maristela of the time Bombur had sprinted ahead of the Company away from Beorn in his bear form.

The four of them come over a hill and pause, gazing across the plains that were greatly familiar to the Lady of Starlight. "Rohan. Home of the horse-lords. "There's something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets its will against us," Aragorn informs his companions. Legolas scans the landscape before him and Aragorn turns to him, "Legolas! What do your elf eyes see?" Legolas and Maristela focused their sight on the distance, their hearing dulled slightly as they prioritised their sight. "The Uruks turn Northeast. They are taking the hobbits to Isengard!" Legolas informed him.

Uruk-hai and orcs, continue to march. Maristela, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli run after them. "Keep breathing, that's the key! Breathe! Hooh!" Gimli encouraged himself. "They run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them," Legolas exclaims while Maristela smirks. "Growing tired, Legolas?" Maristela asked. "Not even a little," Legolas responds with his own smile, Aragorn listened to their banter and smiled to himself; he knew that his mother mourned for her past love but all he wanted was for her to have someone by her side and Legolas seemed perfect for her, he hoped for the best.

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The night had fallen and the four companions had ran through the night, the sunrise shone brightly on them. "A red sun rises. Blood has been spilt this night," Legolas forewarned the other three. The sound of horses is heard, the three are quick to hide with Legolas keeping Maristela close to him. A large group of cavalry appear and Aragorn comes out of hiding as they pass, Legolas, Maristela and Gimli behind him. "Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?" Aragorn calls out to them. At a signal from Èomer -- Nephew to King Théoden -- the riders make a quick turn and head towards the four companions, encircling them. As they stop, they point their spears at them.

"What business does an elf, a woman, a man and a dwarf have in the Riddermark?" Èomer questioned them, "Speak quickly!" Maristela watched him closer, she hadn't encountered the nephew of the King before and it was clear he wasn't well versed in pointing her out in a crowd like others. "Give me your name, horse master, and I shall give you mine," Gimli snarled at the man. Èomer gets off his horse and Aragorn puts a hand on Gimli's shoulder. "I would cut off your head — dwarf — if it stood but a little higher from the ground," Èomer threatened Gimli, Legolas quickly aims an arrow at Èomer, "You would die before your stroke fell!"

Maristela pushes down Legolas' arm, "I am Maristela, Lady of Silver Starlight. That is Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Èomer's eyes widened as Maristela continued, "This is Gimli, son of Glóin, and Legolas, from the Woodland realm." Aragorn smiled at her before speaking, "We are friends of Rohan and of Théoden, your king." Èomer frowns as he steps closer to Aragorn, "Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe." Èomer removes helmet, "Not even his own kin." The spears are withdrawn as Èomer continued, "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over this land. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished."

He turns his eyes to Maristela, "The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked." Èomer gives Legolas a meaningful look, "And everywhere his spies slip past our nets." Maristela sighed as she understood the man's distrust though it was clear from the respect in his gaze on her, he had heard the tales about her. "We are no spies. We track a band of Uruk-hai westward across the plains. They have taken two of our friends captive," Aragorn informed the Horse Captain. "The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night," Èomer replied to Aragorn.

"But there were two hobbits, did you see two hobbits with them?" Gimli questioned him frantically. "They would be small, only children to your eyes," Aragorn added in hopes to have an answer about Merry and Pippin's lives. "We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them," Èomer told them solemnly, he points towards smoke in the distance. "Dead?" Gimli muttered. "I am sorry," Èomer informed them. Legolas rests a hand on Gimli as Maristela turns his head into Legolas' shoulder, she blinked back tears as Èomer whistled, "Hasufel! Arod!" Two horses appeared through the crowd of men.

"May these horses bear you to better fortune than the former masters. Farewell," Èomer nods before mounting his horse, "Look for your friends, but do not trust the hope. It has forsaken these lands. We ride north!" Aragorn, Maristela, Legolas and Gimli look on as the Riders depart leaving the four companions alone with the two horses. "We can't give up. We must at least search for something," Maristela told the three, the nodded in agreement. Aragorn mounted the brown horse, Maristela mounted behind him as Legolas helped Gimli onto the white horse; following him before they rushed off towards the smoke.

Aragorn, Maristela, Legolas and Gimli ride towards the burning carcasses. Gimli starts to go through pile and pulls out a charred belt, "It's one of their little belts." Legolas bows his head and closes his eyes, "Hiro hyn hîdh ab wanath. (May they find peace in death)" Aragorn kicks at an Orc helmet, he yells as if physically injured as he falls to his knees. Maristela refuses to give up, she moves away from the three and spots something familiar on the ground, picking it up she grins at the small leather bracelet that Pippin was working on for Merry with her help.

She then spots the tracks, "A Hobbit lay here, and the other. They crawled." Maristela follows the tracks with the three males following behind her. "Their hands were bound. Their bonds were cut," Maristela continued as she lifted the rope that had been severed. "They ran over here... and were followed," Aragorn continues for her having spotted the tracks, "The tracks lead away from the battle! Into... Fangorn Forest." The four look up into a very dense forest before Gimli speaks, "Fangorn! What madness drove them in there?" Maristela sighed as she moved forward, "It doesn't matter what the madness may have been. They're alive and moving. Let's go!"

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Aragorn, Maristela, Legolas and Gimli are in the Fangorn Forest. Gimli tastes some liquid on a leaf, then spits it out, "Orc blood!" Maristela finds herself distracted by the voices through the forest. "These are strange tracks," Aragorn informs the three. "The air is so close here," Gimli said as he took in a steady breath. "This forest is old. Very old. Full of memory... and anger," Legolas says as he moves Maristela closer to him, he didn't want her too far from him. Bass voices are heard from the trees and Gimli raises his axe. "The trees are speaking to each other," Maristela states as she listened to them, resting her hand on Gimli's arm and lowering the axe.

"They have feelings, my friend. The Elves began it: waking up the trees, teaching them to speak," Legolas explained to Gimli. "Talking trees. What do trees have to talk about, hmm? Except the consistency of squirrel droppings," Gimli muttered as Maristela felt a new yet familiar presence in the distance. "Aragorn, nad no ennas! (Something is out there!)" Legolas exclaimed as he stepped forward, his eyes looking out into the shadows in the trees. "Man cenich? (What do you see?)" Aragorn questioned the Woodland Elf. Legolas' eyes dart to his right, "The White Wizard approaches." Maristela steps closer to the tree as the three become alert.

'Do not fear the white wizard, starlight,' The tree whispered, she let the tension in her body fade as Legolas stood protectively in front of her. "Do not let him speak. He will put a spell on us!" Aragorn wraps his hand around the hilt of his sword, Gimli tightens his hold on his axe, and Legolas fingers his arrow. "We must be quick," Aragorn whispered. The three turn around to attack, but are blinded by a bright light emanating from the White Wizard. Gimli's axe and Legolas' arrow are deflected and Aragorn drops his sword as it becomes hot in his grasp.

"You are tracking the footsteps of two young Hobbits," An eerie male voice spoke through the bright light. "Where are they?!" Aragorn demanded. "They passed this way, the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?" The eerie presence questioned them. "Who are you? Show yourself!" Aragorn commanded. The light dims, revealing Gandalf, dressed in white causing Maristela's eyes to widen and turn misty from the tears threatening to fall. Legolas bows before Gandalf, Gimli following him as Aragorn spoke, "It cannot be!" Legolas raises his gaze to Gandalf, "Forgive me. I mistook you for Saruman."

"I am Saruman. Or rather Saruman as he should have been," Gandalf responded to Legolas kindly. "You fell!" Aragorn exclaimed remembering how they had all mourned. "From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought him, the Balrog of Morgoth," Gandalf informed him, "Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me. And I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as the life age of the earth. But it was not the end. I felt light in me again. I've been sent back until my task is done." Maristela sniffled as she stepped out of the shadow of the tree.

"Gandalf!" Aragorn exclaimed. "Gandalf? Oh yes. That's what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name," Gandalf spoke with a fond smile, "I am Gandalf the White. And I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide." Maristela walks towards him with uncertainty, "Father?" Gandalf turned to her and immediately his eyes lit up with a new spark. "My dear Maristela," Gandalf greeted before he opened his arms for her, she rushed into his embrace and sniffled while blinking back tears. "I am here, Marisol," Gandalf assured her while the others watched silently allowing them their chance to reunite.

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Rosemary Speaks

And Act Five has begun!
Plus, Maristela has been reunited with her father, yay!

The urge I had to write "Did you know?!" at the Aragorn kicking the helmet part in brackets was almost driving me mad. It's so stupid but if you know, you know. I do it every time I watch that scene.

Thoughts?

See you in the next chapter!