Author's Note – This is set in the same universe as "A Safe Haven" and "Darkness Reborn". This will NOT be a slave to canon! If you want canon, I point you to JRR Tolkien's work.

The World Has Changed

Lothlórien – Cermië 3018 of the Third Age

"The world is changed."

Galadriel's voice drifted through the empty clearing as she peered in her mirror. She kept a careful eye over the free peoples of Middle Earth; in particular she watched those who would affect great changes on the world and the ever-present struggle between good and evil. Each change would create new patterns, new paths, and new choices. Despite the constant changes brought by the free will of all free Peoples, rare came the times that caught her by surprise. And yet – now came the third instance in a short window of time.

Three times within a hundred years an unanticipated action by an unexpected player caused the flow of events to move in a new direction.

The first occurred when Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit of the Shire, rearranged the fates of his companions with his bravery and his refusal to hold a grudge. His efforts saved the line of Durin and King Thorin ruled Erebor with a stern, but steady hand. More – Bilbo's efforts led to a strong alliance between the three kings of Erebor, Dale, and the Greenwood. While they might never be more than cautious friends, such an alliance had not been imagined prior to the unusual Hobbit's intervention.

Fate changed yet again when that same Hobbit passed a test all others thus far had failed. He gave up the One Ring of his own free will. Galadriel shared Elrond's grief and anger over Isildur's refusal to destroy the Ring when he stood in the heart of Mt. Doom, but she offered no judgment. She had yet to face that test. Until then she would not claim any such authority. It said much of Bilbo that he took so little hurt from his possession, but his desire for peace, his willingness to offer pity…they shielded him in a way no one could have expected.

Now, for the third time, the path of the world reordered itself.

Her mirror rippled and brought up the lovely face of a woman, a female of the Race of Men. Power rested light on her shoulders, though her eyes held a haunted look. Her mother's fire-gold hair tumbled in waves around a solemn face set with the silver gray eyes of her father. Galadriel knew her – she had watched this one born, watched as the girl-child grew into her majority, raised by her uncle, unknown to her father.

What would he say, Galadriel wondered, when he learned she kept his daughter a secret? And her brother as well? Twin-born and twin-bonded, the two of them moved through Galadriel's sight like smoke. Each of them possessed the full might and gifts of their heritage, making them difficult to read, even for her.

Lothíriel and Faramir, children of the line of Elros, shared their father's eyes – and each suffered for their heritage.

Their mother's jealous husband separated them at birth, keeping the boy for reasons unknown while banishing the girl from his sight. Perhaps he expected the truth that had long since come to pass – with the exception of their eyes, both children took after their mother. Lothíriel in particular looked a great deal like Finduilas. The thought must have torn at Denethor after Finduilas' death – the ability to see an image of his beloved wife in the girl always being offset by his fury at seeing another man's eyes staring back at him.

Galadriel watched as the girl rode with her uncle up to the citadel. The El stretched forth her hand in benediction. "May the Valar guide your steps, child of the sea. And may we meet one day when time and tide bring us to the deciding of the Age."