The Ranger And The Prince.

A Lament For Gandalf.

The forest was uncannily quiet. All I could hear was the crunch of leaves beneath my feet and the gentle rustle of leaves as they fell from the trees. To anyone else, this would be perfectly normal.

However, I knew better. Usually, you could hear some kinds of animals in the distance or the snapping of twigs as deer or wolf horses passed by.

The silence could only mean one thing. We were definitely being tracked by the elves of Lothlórien. I could feel it, we all could, we were being watched.

"Stay close, young Hobbits!" Gimli warned the halflings ushering them closer, "They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. If he was talking about Galadriel then he was poorly mistaken.

"An Elf witch of terrible power. All who look upon her fall under her spell. And are never seen again." He explained, gripping his axe tightly, "Well, here's one Dwarf she won't ensnare so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox."

No sooner had he said that did we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by a scouting band of Lothlórien elves. They appeared to have literally come from no where with their bows surrounding us on all sides.

Everyone except me, pulled out their weapons but it was no use. We were surrounded completely and even then, we were here for the elves help.

"The Dwarf breaths so loud, we could have shot him in the dark."

I turned and couldn't help but smile broadly as I came face to face with Haldir for the first time in decades. I came forward and when he recognised me, he broke into a smile as well.

"Lady Sapphire," he greeted happily, bowing his head respectfully to me.

I would have preferred a hug but now wasn't the time for soppy things like that.

Haldir had the rest of his guards lower their bows but kept them nocked. I knew he trusted me but evidently he did not trust my companions.

***

We were escorted by the guards to an outpost hidden in the trees. It was around dusk when we got there and all of us were tired due to us not having stopped to rest the day before.

"Lady Sapphire, your return to Lothlórien will bring great joy to many," he sighed, speaking in elvish as he then turned to Legolas.

"Welcome Legolas, son of Thranduil." He greeted respectfully in elvish, knowing he was addressing the Prince of Mirkwood.

"Our Fellowship stands in your debt." He thanked Haldir, again in elvish tongue.

"Aragorn of the Dunedain, you are known to us." Haldir welcomed.

"So much for the legendary courtesy of the Elves! Speak words we can all understand!" Gimli huffed in annoyance.

"We have not had dealings with the Dwarves since the Dark Days," Haldir looked down at Gimli distastefully before his eyes flickered momentarily to me.

"And you know what this Dwarf says to that? Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul!" He growled.

I tried not to let out a snort of laughter at the insult because I was in the presence of the elves of Lothlórien and I didn't want to offend our guests like Gimli did. But seriously, saying 'I spit on your grave' in the tongue of Khuzdul right in Haldir's face would make anyone chuckle a little.

However, seen as we were dependant on these elves to help us, I decided not to give Gimli the satisfaction of a laugh.

"That was not so courteous," I warned, grabbing his shoulder and giving him a quick glare.