The fellowship ran into the forests of Lothlórien, the kingdom that had been Míriel's home for as long as she had lived. This was where she had been born to a loving mother and father, and where she had spent most of her youth. Lórien had always been her favourite place until she began calling Rivendell home, but the forests of her grandmother and grandfather could still not easily be matched by any other place in Middle-earth. Here the very ground held memories of her childhood and Míriel knew these woods like the back of her hand - every corner, tree and flower that grew in the high grass. She had climbed the trees as a little Elfling, picked flowers for her grandmother and mother and followed the guards around even when her mother did not like it.

Míriel tilted her head upwards and looked up at the branches of the trees and smiled. They were so close to being in her home, though she suspected many in the fellowship did not think of this as Míriel's home. The heartache of Gandalf overshadowed any other thoughts than to keep moving.

They slowed down as they entered the mighty forest for they felt at peace in a way and felt as though there was no need to rush anymore. Perhaps there was also a slight feeling of fear in their hearts for even if the forest was beautiful, it also had a sense of coldness and great unknown power. Míriel sighed as she let her hand graze over a tree and wished that they could reach the city sooner because she was very tired of walking.

"Stay close young Hobbits!" Gimli hissed to them and swept them closer to him. "They say a great sorceress lives in these woods. An Elf-witch of terrible power. All who look upon her fall under her spell - and are never seen again."

The thought of her own grandmother doing so almost made Míriel laugh, even though she was sure Galadriel could do any of those things if she wished to. There was no Elf more powerful than her grandmother which sometimes made Míriel wonder if her own gift was some sort of variation of her grandmother's. Although Míriel's powers had never even come close to the extent of Galadriel's.

"Well, here's one Dwarf she won't ensnare so easily," Gimli said and straightened his back proudly while holding his axe in his hand. "I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox," he added just as an arrow pointed at him.

More and more arrows began pointing toward the Fellowship, avoiding only Míriel. It was the border guards - the Galadhrim - whom of course recognised a Lady of Lórien even when she was dirty and not at all as pleasant as she used to be. All of her companions put their arms up in defeat except for Legolas who tried aiming against all of the guards with a single arrow. Míriel told him to lower his bow for they would not hurt him unless he did something first.

"The Dwarf breathes so loudly we could've shot him in the dark," said a familiar voice.

Míriel saw - to her joy - that it was Haldir and his brothers that had been scouting the forest as usual. He had not noticed her yet but she sure had noticed him. The tall Elf with silver hair had been her friend for many decades and she had never been happier to see him than right at that moment. Míriel had been around him a lot when she was younger, admiring him and trying to be a soldier just like him, even if her mother had hated it. He had always taken care of the little Elfling, and now she stood before him as an adult maiden.

"Haldir," said Míriel and stepped forward so he would see her. She hurried toward him and embraced him quickly, not caring that it was quite inappropriate to fling herself around him in front of all of the guards. She released him quickly and smiled widely. "It brings me much joy to see you again my friend."

"Lady Míriel." Haldir smiled and bowed his head in respect to the granddaughter of his lord and lady, and he seemed slightly taken with the embrace. "Are these your... friends?"

"Yes," she said and nodded quickly. She glanced at the fellowship and then at Haldir, hoping that he would not reject them as they asked for him to help them to her grandmother. They could not stay in the forest much longer, they needed rest, food and some happiness after all that they had been through.

"We need your help."

*

Haldir showed them the way so that they could speak somewhere else than out in the open. Míriel knew that Haldir was not leading them to the capital, though, for he had glanced suspiciously at the Hobbits and at Gimli as they had arrived. These were times when they did not let just anyone inside Lothlórien.

They had to climb up one of the trees where Aragorn could speak for his fellowship to Haldir in privacy. Fortunately, Aragorn had been in Lothlórien before a long time ago and perhaps some of the guards would recognise his name.

In the tree, there was a large platform perfect for scouting where about a dozen other guards had gathered. The Fellowship climbed up one by one and when Míriel finally reached the top she felt many eyes upon her. She was of course recognised by them all, but none approached her to ask why she was in this company of Men, a Dwarf and halflings. It was fortunate that no questions were asked for their quest was still to be held a secret, even from Míriel's own people.

"Welcome Legolas, son of Thranduíl," Haldir welcomed Legolas with a faint greeting when they finally stood safely on the platform. "And welcome home my lady Míriel. You have been missed."

"Our fellowship stands in your debt," Legolas said thankfully while Míriel smiled toward Haldir to show that it was not only they who had missed her, but she had missed them as well.

"Aragorn of the Dunedaín," said Haldir understandingly when he recognised Aragorn. "You are known to us."

"So much for the courtesy of the Elves," muttered Gimli angrily. "Speak well so we can all understand!"

It was just like Gimli to not keep his thoughts to himself. Of course, Haldir could have spoken in the common tongue instead so that all in the fellowship could understand him, but none other than Gimli seemed to care much. He should have trusted that Aragorn had the meeting under control.

"We have not had dealings with Dwarves since the Dark days," Haldir said with despise in his words.

Haldir did not make things better even though Gimli had been the first one to quarrel. As a wise old Elf, Haldir should have known better than to make things worse, though. To hear the same old tale about the Dark days and the rivalry between Elves and Dwarves only tired Míriel's ears even more for it had been so long. It seemed that for the rest of her days she would have to hear about it, even from those who had not even been born when the old dispute began.

"And you know what this Dwarf says to that?" Gimli yelled. Gimli told Haldir that he would spit on his grave in Khuzdul, which greatly reduced their chances of reaching Caras Galadhon. Aragorn, who was the one of the few who had understood what Gimli said turned to scold the Dwarf. There were laws in Lothlórien that could prevent the fellowship from entering together, and now Gimli had made things worse.

Haldir turned his back to the Dwarf, showing that Gimli was not worthy of his time and energy, and walked over to Frodo and stared at him for a while.

"You bring great evil with you," he said coldly to Frodo. "You can go no further."

Things were not going according to plan and Aragorn argued with Haldir for long to convince him to let them all enter the Kingdom. Míriel tried not to eavesdrop but it was hard since she was so curious to know if their journey would continue or not. Haldir would only allow Míriel and Legolas to enter since they were Elves, but the others would have to leave the forest behind - especially Gimli.

Míriel stood from the ground and walked over to Haldir and Aragorn. Haldir quickly softened his gaze as he looked upon Míriel and bowed his head.

"Haldir, I beg you to make an exception for our sake," Míriel said to him. "I understand our laws and I understand the times we are in but I have travelled with these people for weeks! On my honour, I swear they will bring no malice into our city, I would lay my life in either of their hands."

Haldir sighed, and Míriel knew him enough to know it was a sigh of defeat.

"You will follow me," Haldir said eventually and turned to the others.

Míriel smiled with relief. She knew that she would never have gone to Caras Galadhon without the others, even if that meant that she was thrown out like the rest of the fellowship. The fellowship had come so far already that it would be shameful to leave them behind only for a night of comfort. Now only a few hours remained until they would reach their destination and hopefully find some wise counselling.

The few hours turned out to be a whole day. Míriel hadn't walked all the way from the border to Caras Galadhon in a long time and so she had forgotten how long the journey was on foot. The fellowship had to cross a stream which was not the easiest to get over when one was not on horseback. The water was icy cold so it was up to the Elves that accompanied them to help the fellowship across. When the entire company had crossed, Míriel knew that they had now reached another road for discussion since she was aware of what would have to happen from now on.

"Now, friends," Haldir said and turned toward them. "You have entered the Naith of Lórien, the Gore. We do not allow strangers to spy out the secrets of the Naith. Few are permitted even to set foot there. As we agreed, I will blindfold the eyes of the Dwarf. The others may walk free for a while until we come nearer to our dwellings."

A mumble started to spread across the Fellowship and Míriel frowned and glanced at Haldir. Though she knew it was the law she also felt that it was not fair to blindfold Gimli only because he was a Dwarf. He was just as much a part of the Fellowship as the others; Míriel trusted Gimli with her life and she knew he would never do any harm against them.

"Is it really necessary, Haldir?" Míriel said in a low voice to her friend.

"It is the law, my lady," Haldir said, but Míriel knew so of course. She also knew that Galadriel would not allow any of Míriel's friends to be so humiliated as to be blindfolded whilst walking in her kingdom.

Gimli seemed to agree with Míriel and started protesting loudly about what Haldir said. They fought for quite a while and Legolas was just standing there, his arms over his chest with a stiff expression on his face. Míriel tried to look him in the eyes so that he would be on their side but he was just gazing out in front of him.

"The agreement was made without my consent!" Gimli bellowed. "I will not walk blindfolded like a beggar or prisoner. I am not a spy nor have my people ever had dealings with the enemy. I have never done any harm to Elves and I am no more likely to betray you than Legolas or any other of my companions."

"I do not doubt you," Haldir said and sighed. "Yet this is the law, and I am not the master of the law. I have done much already by letting you set foot in Celebrant. Lady Míriel can assure you all this."

Everyone turned their eyes toward Míriel and she didn't know what to say. Her heart told her that it was wrong but she also knew that the law was held by her grandfather and grandmother. It was not in her place to tell Haldir not to follow it.

"Míriel is your lady," Gimli said as if he suddenly had remembered that this was indeed Míriel's kingdom as well. "What she says weighs heavier."

"Gimli," Míriel said and sighed. "I would like to say that you shouldn't be blindfolded but I am not the ruler of this Kingdom."

"Then I will go back rather than be blindfolded," Gimli said stubbornly and started rambling about how he was going to get back and then Haldir said that there was no way that Gimli would be able to get out.

"Save us," Legolas muttered. "A plague on Dwarves and their stiff necks!"

Míriel glared at Legolas and as he met her eyes and seemed to challenge her to a staring contest. Míriel was once again reminded of how unpleasant the old Legolas could be.

"I propose this," Aragorn said and stepped forward. "We all wear blindfolds. No one is left out. That is what is most fair to us all."

This was something that everyone in the fellowship seemed to agree with. All except for Legolas, of course, who insisted that it would be unnecessary for him to wear a blindfold when he was an Elf and a kinsman. Míriel wished he could stop making things so hard; there would be plenty of opportunity for Legolas to see the forest another time.

"We'll all look foolish," Gimli said with a laugh. "Haldir will lead us on a string like a troop of blind beggars. But I will be content as long as Legolas here shares my blindness."

"Fine," Legolas said with a sigh. "As long as we can keep moving."

"I will not allow Lady Míriel to walk around blindfolded," Haldir protested. "It would be a disgrace! It would be hardly necessary either way since she has walked these lands countless times and knows it like the back of her hand."

"Míriel will remain free," Aragorn decided and nodded. "Let us walk before the sun sets."

It was a very resistant fellowship who were blindfolded by the Elves. No one was quite comfortable to walk in strange lands without their eyes to guide them, but Haldir used a rope that they would all hold and follow him with. When Míriel looked upon her companions it was hard not to laugh since they indeed looked like a troop of blind beggars, just as Gimli had said.

Míriel walked up to Legolas so that she could talk to him, perhaps making him feel a bit better about being blindfolded the entire way.

"Míriel?" Legolas asked and turned his head to her side.

"Yes, it's me," Míriel mumbled.

"Describe everything to me now that I am to miss the only opportunity I will ever have to see your home," Legolas said with a sad sigh. Míriel felt bad for him and therefore she promised to do so before they finally started to walk.

They walked through the forest all night, only rested a few hours. Míriel enjoyed every minute of it since she finally had something to look forward to. It would only be a few hours until she could see her family again, and to rest easy in her own home. The sun was almost setting when they finally reached the heart of the Silvan Elven realm Caras Galadhon.

"Are we there yet?" Legolas asked as he had noticed that they had stopped.

"Yes," Míriel said and her words had come out as a whisper. "We're here."

*

It was still quite a long walk to get all the way up to Celeborn and Galadriel's throne room where Haldir said they were going to expect the fellowship. Even though they were all tired, they used their utmost powers to make their way up to the tops of the trees. The fellowship no longer had to be blindfolded and they were awed as they saw what an enchanting place they had ended up in.

Finally, they reached the top of the tree where another platform had been built. This was much larger, though, with two silver thrones at the end of a staircase that lead even further up into the trees. The fellowship stood there, not far from the staircase, and waited for the Lord and Lady of Lóthlorien to oblige them.

A fair light suddenly started to appear from the top of the staircase. It was blurry until it slowly started to move towards them down the stairs slowly. The closer the light came, the more they realised that it was not a light at all but two Elves whose features became clearer. It was a male, tall and fair with light silver hair and a proud posture. Then it was the female, as tall as the man but with a beauty so astounding that it was hard to look upon her.

Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn stopped only a few metres away from the Fellowship and Galadriel's light dimmed away, revealing her beautiful face and tall, slim figure. Sam, Merry and Pippin's jaws dropped to the floor when they looked at Galadriel, and Boromir and Aragorn bowed their heads since they felt they were not worthy of looking directly at her.

Galadriel and Celeborn saw their granddaughter, and small smiles played over their lips. Míriel had to stop herself from rushing into their arms and embracing them, for it would not have been appropriate. They needed to tell Celeborn and Galadriel why they were there and what had happened during their time away. Míriel would have much time to speak to her grandparents later when the news was out.

"The enemy knows you have entered here," Celeborn said to them all after holding Míriel's gaze for a little while. What he said did not lift their spirits at all. They had been hoping to escape to Lórien without anyone knowing, but they had failed to do so. "What hope you had in secrecy is now gone. Nine there are here, yet ten there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him? I can no longer see him from afar."

None of them answered because it would only make the whole experience real if they said it out loud. Celeborn's eyes passed across the Fellowship and stopped at Míriel. She met her grandfather's eyes and shook her head, glanced down at the ground and did not want to be the one who said it. Hopefully, someone else would dare speaking up about what truly had happened to Gandalf.

"Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land." Galadriel's voice echoed in Míriel's head and she guessed that she was speaking to them all but not out loud. Galadriel glared at Legolas who seemed to hear her voice too and he seemed weaker, he was going to talk. "He has fallen into shadow."

"He was taken by both shadow and flame," Legolas said quietly and glanced into Galadriel's eyes. As soon as he said it, Míriel released a breath and she felt the tears fill her eyes again. She admired Legolas for she would not have been able to do what he was doing right now. It seemed to hurt him to speak, but nonetheless, he kept going.

"A Balrog of Morgoth. For we were led needlessly into the net of Moria."

"Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life," Galadriel said comfortingly. Hopefully, it was true, but it was what it felt like. They could have walked through the Gap of Rohan, never even ventured close to Moria and then Gandalf would still be alive. They should not have let that great decision be taken by Frodo only.

"We do not yet know his full purpose." What she meant by that, Míriel was not sure but she had no energy to think about it.

Galadriel glanced at Gimli instead who did not meet her gaze.

"Do not let the great emptiness of Khazad-Dûm fill your heart, Gímli son of Glóin. For the world has grown full of narrowness. And in all lands love is now mingled with grief." She stared at Boromir who was shaking and tears ran down his cheeks. Míriel wondered what her grandmother had said to the poor man that made him weep so badly.

"What now becomes of this Fellowship?" Celeborn asked and glanced at his wife. "Without Gandalf, hope is lost." It was a little disappointing to Míriel to hear this from her grandfather. She would have hoped that he would have given them all some more hope instead of snatching it away.

"The quest stands upon the edge of a knife," Galadriel said, with much seriousness in her voice as she glanced at them all. "Stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the company is true. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight you will sleep in peace."