Hello, again! My apologizes for being gone for so long but I've been so focused on other things that this does begin to fall on the back burner.

I'm already beginning to work on the next chapter to hopefully speed up the writing process.

Enjoy!

"Ow! Damn, Aragorn."

"Such foul words coming out of a ladies mouth."

Nim huffed quietly while she slumped back to the ground. Her mood had been a bit on edge lately. The further down the mountain they traveled, the more tense her body grew. It seemed to sense danger was coming while the world kept quiet around them.

Her head injury was making a steady trek to recovery. Once a day, a member of the fellowship would apply a salve of herbs to her wound. It didn't do much for the pain but it kept infection at bay while it healed.

Gimli chuckled loudly from his resting spot nearby. He found immense joy in Nim's unladylike behavior. "Lass, be careful. With a mouth like that, it'll be hard to find you a suitable husband if we survive this journey."

Growling, she chucked a rock towards the distracted dwarf. The sound of it hitting his helmet, ricocheted throughout camp, both Merry and Pippin nearly choking on their food as they lost themselves to laughter.

"Ok, enough with you," Aragorn smiled gently as he finished wrapping her head, "You have the perimeter walk with Legolas."

Slowly, Nim rose from her seated position in front of Aragorn. Her feet dragged across the soil, slowly bringing her towards the last person she wanted to be alone with. The last time she had seen Legolas was right before she passed out on Caradhras. Before that, he had been frustrated with her.

Aragorn said he was the one that found the plants to heal her head. Unfortunately, he hadn't been the one to apply them. Every time she required her bandages to be rewrapped, he miraculously seemed to be missing, the task falling onto another member of the fellowship. She was shocked when Boromir approached her one afternoon to help. He didn't speak a word the entire time but his hands were gentle. Never causing her unnecessary pain.

She could see the elf standing still at the edge of camp. His bow cradled comfortably in his arms. She knew he could hear her approaching but his gaze never strayed from the woods before him. She kept waiting for some visible tick, some twitch of his body, that proved he was still angry with her. Nothing showed.

She scuffed her boots over loose rocks, her feet shuffling even slower towards him. She wasn't angry with him, more frustrated that he could ignore her so easily. He had been only looking out for her since their departure and she was being reckless. Running head first into problems with Boromir when she really should be keeping her distance. Not to mention he had enough weight over her to cause serious damage had she ran in to grab the ring from him.

"You seem lost in thought Nim?"

Startled, she spotted Gandalf resting against a large tree trunk, his legs stretched before him, a pipe between his teeth. The lazy curls of smoke obscured part of his face but she could make out his eyes; sharply focused on her. "Come have a word with an old man. Legolas, is quite patient."

Her eyes shifted to the man in question. He had his full attention on her now, his face not revealing how he truly felt about her being drawn away.

Slowly crossing her short legs, she sat beside the wizard. She leaned against his side, taking what little warmth she could obtain from his cloak. "Are you alright, Gandalf?"

"Oh, yes, child. I am fine. My thoughts wander far these days as well."

He drew his pipe back to his mouth, inhaling for what seemed like an eternity. His eyes watered slowly from the smoke. The sluggish grey entity filled the space around them like fog in the early morning. Wispy hands caressed her skin, rising to bellow around her. She closed her eyes, savoring the sweet smell.

The smoke continued to rise around them, long after Gandalf had taken his last breath. "I have felt on edge lately. Like fire licking across my skin," he looked down at the delicate face propped against his robes, "I know you feel it too Nim."

The feeling of unease had been settling in her gut for the past couple days but not unlike a nightmare you can't recall, she couldn't begin to understand why she felt that way. "Yes."

"I'm afraid we are walking into danger. Saruman has been too quiet since we were chased off the mountain." He meticulously cleaned his pipe. All residue of the weed he used, gone. "Be careful Nim."

She stared at him much longer than necessary before she stood from her spot. Brushing debris from her clothes, she began to walk where Legolas stood., "Frodo is all we care about. We'll be careful."

Gandalf inhaled deeply, his tired limbs settling even heavier against his resting spot. He could hear as her steps faded away, his heart slowly fading with her. Something dark pressed heavy upon his mind. A danger he knew he would have to face alone but terrified for the others around him.

"From the ashes a fire shall be woken." His ominous tone floating through the empty space she left behind.

She walked languidly around the eastern perimeter of their base camp. Legolas kept guard on the other side, leaving her alone to her own devices. She twirled her small dagger in her hand, her sword strapped to her waist. Nothing seemed out of place but none of it relieved the feeling of unease she felt in her heart.

Something wanted to draw her deeper into the woods, well past their safe zone. She began to understand what Gandalf was saying earlier. 'Like fire licking across my skin.' It was like a riddle she had heard before but had forgotten the answer to. No matter how hard she concentrated, it never came to her. It lied just out of reach.

Turning around, she looked for Legolas. He should still be on the western border but it didn't stop her from looking for him. She didn't need him seeing her being reckless again.

The decaying leaves beneath her feet got thicker as she walked deeper into the tree line. They had long since left the remains of snow behind, but the chill still lingered. The branches kept for adequate shelter from prying eyes but it left no room for sunlight.

The further she trekked, the itchier her skin seemed to get. The answer to her riddle was near but as to what she was looking for, she had no idea.

The birds disappeared. Their harmonious songs providing no comfort for her now. She stopped playing with the knife in her hand. She gripped the handle tight, ready for an attack.

Her foot stumbled, the ground suddenly uneven beneath her feet. Crouching down, she squinted in the minimal light, her eyes trying to discern what she was staring at.

They were all over the place, as if their owner couldn't hold still. Pacing back and forth. She had seen similar tracks before.

She felt the presence before she heard it. Springing from her crouched position, she shifted her weight and gripped her knife tighter. She struck high, aiming for the throat.

It never made contact.

Legolas held the blade between his hands. Her human reflexes holding no chance against his own.

"You're getting faster."

Gently prying the knife from her paralyzed fingers, he examined her face with curious eyes. He had heard her footsteps fade slowly away from the other side of camp. He had listened as her movements became more calculated and deliberate. Not hurried, as if there was danger, but hesitant. His inability to keep her far from his mind, led him astray from his post. His elf eyes and ears on alert for her small frame amongst the dense forestry.

It had been torture the past several days as she laid cold and injured amongst the weary fellowship. He had rushed through numerous vegetation to find the plants that would keep her alive. His temper had grown short and frazzled; not bothering to speak to anyone.

Aragorn tried desperately to soothe his frustrated companion, his eyes seeing more than Legolas realized. Through their combined effort, the medicine needing to stabilize Nimirher had been found, ground together, and the paste gently applied to her head.

Legolas found he couldn't do it himself. He was unstable and unpredictable. His ability to adapt to the world of man was receding back to the forests. Back to the basic needs of his people where they found joy in the trees and no where else.

The tiny female lying prone by their campsite, her body being shielded by the hobbits, was eliciting erratic behavior uncommon to the princely elf. He had been keeping his distance from her because of how she was making him feel.

He found her fascinating. Every small movement her hands would make, could draw his gaze.

He found her frustrating. Her spontaneous reaction to protect Frodo from Boromir had sent a jolt of fear through his heart. Could he hurt one of their own to keep her safe? Yes, yes he could. And that was frightening to realize.

He found her intoxicating, smart, brave, kind, gentle, beautiful; the list going on for miles. He keep his distance because he thought it was safer for her. He stayed away, partly in fear of embracing what he had been feeling from the first moment he had seen her. That indescribable pull of fate that had drawn his eyes to hers at the doors of Rivendell.

Now, as he held her blade between his fingers, her eyes wavering slightly in fear of what he would or wouldn't say next, he knew that he was lost already. He wanted to be selfish, if it only meant he could talk to her….to protect her…to touch her.

Flipping the knife with an unworldly ease, he offered the handle to her. She was slow in taking it. Her hesitation was breaking his heart, little by little. He watched as she sheathed the weapon upon her hip, his eyes following each step as if she was telling a story for only him.

"I'm sorry I walked farther than I should have. Everything just felt different. I found these tracks." Her speech came out rushed and a bit mumbled as she tried to explain why she had potentially put herself in harms way again. She pointed to the ground by her feet where a large paw print stood embedded in mud.

His blood froze as he stared at the elusive sight. Wolves weren't uncommon to the area but they were rarely seen. The tracks by her feet resembled the native creature in every way except in size. These were significantly larger, nearly reaching the span of his hand.

"I've never seen wolf tracks so large before but I know Wargs' are bigger." Time slowed as he saw her reach to touch the print. His instincts screamed too late for him to pull her back; too absorbed in the negative energy emitting from the ground.

He barely caught her as her body convulsed violently upon touching the earth. Her mind now locked and lost from him.

The pain ricocheted up her arm, her neck muscles seizing up. She felt her body fall backwards as she watched the fire grow higher before her eyes. Her soul lost in another dimension where she ruled with all things evil.

Her body became consumed by flames as Sauron's laughter echoed around her. The heavy panting and growling from his hell hounds were close. Their breath heavy on her skin, their teeth nipping at her heels.

'Did you think you could run that easily'

The leader of the wolves was a black monster. He towered over her crouched form. Its black fur bristled, his hackles raised. His shoulders rolled with heavy muscles as he stalked around her. It waited silently for a command from it's master.

'Why do you fight for the light!'

The beast lunged. Her body jerked out of the way, the fire singeing his fur as he lurched past her. She felt the energy change around her as the wolf howled in pain. It dug its claws into the earth, ready to launch at her once again.

'Your soul is mine. I don't need your body'

The creature followed commands like any soldier. No matter how many times she hurled fire, it came back for more. It's fur slowly falling away to reveal charred and melted skin. Any normal animal would've retreated by now but it proved too loyal of a beast.

'Nim! I need you to wake up'

She staggered a moment too late in her attack, the beast taking her arm between his jaws. She screamed in agony, punching the beast in attempts for it to release her.

'This isn't real. Wake up!'

It wasn't real? Then why did she feel the darkness around her trying to swallow her whole. Why did she grit her teeth against the pain of teeth tearing at her flesh. Why did she feel the heat of his eye upon her back.

'Be stronger than him'

She knew that voice. Remembered how it always fell like honey from his lips. How it felt like cool water against her scorched skin. Those blue eyes always seemed to haunt her. Whether it be in death or life, it followed her.

Her anger surged, her fire erupting in a plume that sent the monster reeling back from the force. She grew tired from these foolish games. She needed to find her way back home. Back to her reality.

She found the wolf cornered but no less frightened. With it's teeth bared, it prepared to attack. This time hoping it wouldn't miss it's mark.

Concentrating on the voice she heard before, she pulled at the tattered remains of her strength. And as the monster took flight for her throat, she let out a scream and watched as her fire consumed everything around her.

Legolas had felt the strange energy from the ground before Nim did. His whole body squeezed with regret as he caught her falling body. He shouldn't have let her get so close. Now he watched as she struggled against an enemy he couldn't fight.

He held her writhing body tight against his own. His hands smoothing the hair from her face as he whispered in her ear. She showed no signs of knowing if she could hear him.

"Nim! I need you to wake up."

She lashed out, her fists trying to fight an invisible foe. Her agonized moans were getting louder, echoing amongst the trees. He could already hear the fellowship trying to find them.

"This isn't real. Wake up!"

She curled her body closer to his chest, her hands clenching his tunic, her breathing more labored as if she was running for her life.

"Be stronger than him."

Her body became eerily still before her limbs began to burst into flame. Gently, without throwing her body to the ground, Legolas released her to the forest floor to watch her burn.

Suddenly, she threw her head back and screamed.