Disclaimer: Mostly not mine… Still hurts to say it.

A/N: Apologies for the very, very long delay. Life and writer's block got in the way.

Chapter 45 – The River of Dreams

I went straight to my room and paused before my chest. I took a deep breath then pulled out the tunics and leggings I had worn for pretty much the whole Quest. Slipping into them now, as always, felt strange but oddly comforting. I strapped on my weapons, enjoying their familiar weight.

I left the house, heading straight for the stables, not even bothering to check the training fields.

When I reached the entrance, a stout figure was waiting for me. "Gimli? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. Though I believe I know the answer, since Almira left on horseback not long ago."

"How did you…never mind. Not important. You got me. I came to get my horse and follow her. Now I need to go, she's already got a headstart."

"You should not be going alone. Bad enough Almira went alone. We should fetch Legolas."

"There's no time. We need to go now, she could be in trouble!"

"Then I will come with you. I'll not be letting you go alone."

I nodded, secretly relieved. "Let us go," I said. I slid the stable door open as quietly as I could. I went to Braith's stall only to discover she was not there. "Unbelievable," I said. "She stole my horse. She must be really desperate," I added lowly, my worry increasing. I had kind of hoped I somehow had gotten this all-wrong. "Which leaves us with only one option…" Turning to the stall opposite Braith's, I called softly, "Arod… Arod…"

He appeared a moment later and nickered softly in greeting. "Hello, friend," I whispered, rubbing his nose. "I need your help." He whinnied in reply. I slid his stall open and led him out easily. Let me just say, the elf-animal connection really rocks. I leapt onto Arod without a saddle and pulled Gimli up behind me. "Time to give my new elven skills a go."

I barely gave Arod the command and we were off. When we reached the first gate I slowed. A guard called down, asking us to state our business.

"We are heading out of the city, to the encampment of the elves," I shouted.

"Like the other elleth," I heard him say softly to his companion. Oh man, elven hearing was going to come in so handy. "It is an odd hour," his companion said. I saw the first man shrug. "Elves," he whispered. "I heard they do not sleep." Then to me, "You may pass." The gate opened, and I urged Arod into a canter. The other gates opened for us just as easily. I pulled up just as we exited the final gate. Looking towards the encampment, I paused for a moment.

"Lass, are we not headed to the encampment?" Gimli asked.

"No," I said.

"But Almira –

"Did not go there," I stated. Looking in the opposite direction, towards the river, I espied a lone figure, proving me right. I whispered to Arod and he sprang away into the night.

Gimli was clutching me tightly as we galloped across the plain at breakneck speed. It was not too long before we caught up to Almira. Not the most confident rider, she had been riding along at a steady canter, which was actually pretty impressive, a detached part of my mind noted. Elf skills.

"Almira," I called, pulling even with her. "Almira, stop! This is mad!"

She barely glanced at me, but leaned lower over Braith, urging her ahead.

"Oh no you don't," I muttered. I matched her pace then leaned over to lay a hand on Braith, silently urging her to stop. "Please, Almira," I called.

Suddenly she slowed and then we stopped. "Praise Mahal," I heard Gimli mutter.

"What are you thinking?" I cried.

She turned to me, a fierce gleam in her eye. "I was thinking I cannot handle this bullshit! Dreams of my depressed family? Seriously? I mean I knew they were coming but this… this was awful. We don't deserve this! Like dying wasn't enough?! It's bullshit and the Valar are going to hear about it."

"And just how exactly are you going to do that?" I said.

"Get to the river and then summon Ulmo."

"And how are you going to summon him? Ouija board?"

"Don't be ridiculous! I'll just…well, I'll…" she sighed. "I just sort of figured I would figure it out when I got there," she finished quietly.

"Look," I said with a sigh. "I know this really blows. But now is not the time, nighttime is too dangerous you know this. We need to go back to the city." While many orcs had been killed in the final battle, there were still plenty that had escaped. Surviving orcs were being hunted, and many such small groups were roaming from land to land, particularly under cover of night. "Besides Rúmil is probably having a heart attack, not to mention Legolas." If I were really lucky, I would get back before he came to check on me. But I wasn't holding my breath.

Just then, an orc cry pierced the night and I could see dark shapes hurrying towards us. "So much for luck," I groused as I drew my sword, turning Arod to face the small party of orcs.

Almira sounded a ferocious war cry, and the intensity made Gimli and I start in surprise. She charged the orcs and I hastily followed suit. She cut down several on her first pass, and then began wheeling around swinging her sword like a madwoman. Gimli dropped off Arod as soon as we reached the orcs. I began stabbing at the orcs encircling me. Arod was kicking and trampling any orcs that were dumb enough to cross his path. I saw Braith rear back, which caused Almira to fall. I shouted her name and was relieved to see her quickly regain her footing. We fought for a few more minutes, but by then there were only a couple orcs left that we quickly dispatched. As I freed my sword from my last kill, I heard a sick squelching sound. Turning I saw Almira violently and repeatedly stabbing an orc.

Shocked, I could only stare for a moment. "You need to stop her," Gimli said, snapping me out of my daze. "We must go." I dismounted and placed a hand on his shoulder in acknowledgement before quickly and cautiously approaching her.

"Almira," I called. No response. "Almira!" I said more forcefully. Still nothing. "Almira! Stop! For God's sake he's dead!" I knelt next to her, trying to make her see me. But she was too far into her bloodlust. Blood was spraying everywhere as I edged closer. I dived and managed to tackle her away from the body. Wrestling the blade from her hand, I said, "We have to go. It is too dangerous. I don't fancy dying a second time."

At the mention of our deaths, she just went sort of limp. I realized after a moment her body was shaking with silent sobs. I felt tears prick my eyes and just held her for a moment. A distant cry brought me back to my senses. I heaved her onto her feet then practically dragged her to Braith. Once she was seated, I helped Gimli onto Arod before jumping up myself. I whispered a word to Braith and Arod, who carried us back across the plain. But instead of heading back into the city, I made for the encampment. As we drew closer, I slowed our pace. The guards posted on the perimeter just stared, mouths agape. Probably because three blood-soaked members of the fellowship were the last people they expected to see late at the night. Sitting up straight in my saddle, I put on my most confident and aloof expression possible. Channel Galadriel, I chanted in my mind. "I seek his majesty, Prince of Mirkwood."

The guards shared a potent glance before one of them, a very young guard, stepped up to our party. "Please follow me," he said.

We dismounted and began to lead our horses in the direction he was heading. Given the late hour, there were fewer elves out than there would have been, but the lanes of the camp were not completely deserted, resulting in a lot of incredulous looks. Almira and I were a particular sight – and probably smell given we were covered in orc gore – especially as I was practically dragging Almira along as she seemed to be in a total daze.

We reached a large tent pavilion with several small offshoots, what I assumed were separate bedrooms. The guard had barely cleared his throat before an elf stepped outside. That elf happened to be Legolas, heavily armed and dressed in his quest gear as well. He took one look at us and his expression darkened. "What in the name of Eru - "

"Dammit," I said, interrupting as Almira just sort of collapsed. She had not had much recovery time before her little attempted divine rendezvous and the skirmish must have completely drained what energy she did have. "Help!"

Legolas was quickly at my side. He lifted Almira easily, and then dismissed the guard who I gathered was of Mirkwood. The young ellon beat a hasty retreat, looking to be well out of an awkward situation. Legolas passed into the tent, and Gimli and I exchanged an anxious glance before following.

Several concerted gasps greeted our appearance. "What in the name of Eru has befallen you?" Noriel asked. "Surely you were not attacked in the city?'

"No, we were not. We had left the city and were set upon by orcs."

"Left the city! Why on earth would you leave the city? Without an escort, and with a dwarf no less! This is highly unusual." Legolas' grandmother, Celephinnil, huffed, looking us over in disapproval.

"The dwarf has a name," Gimli growled.

"Gimli was all the escort I needed and I was grateful for his assistance," I said, forestalling any escalation of the tension between Gimli and Legolas' family.

"It is still highly irresponsible. You could have been killed!" Celephinnil exclaimed.

"And Almira would have been!" I cried. Seeing their shocked reactions, I rubbed my forehead and tried to calm down. "Trust me, having died once neither of us wish to repeat the experience," I muttered.

"Having died once?" Thranduil queried. "This is your second mention of death. Explain."

Legolas had reappeared by this point having taken care of Almira and I shot him an incredulous look. "You don't tell them much do you?"

"No, he does not," Thranduil said.

Legolas shot him a LOOK. "Not when it is not mine to tell," he answered firmly.

"I hate when you make a point and you're right about it," I said. He just rolled his eyes. "I will explain. I – "

I was interrupted by the arrival of Rúmil. "Where is she?" he asked upon entering the tent.

"Do come in," Thranduil said in a droll voice.

Rúmil barely spared him a glance and disappeared a moment later when I pointed in the direction where Almira lay.

"Impertinent ellon!" Celephinnil huffed.

Thranduil seemed willing to let it slide. I think he was getting used to a state of mild anarchy now that I had entered Legolas' life. "You were saying?"

"Right, well, you saw me pass out. After that – "

The flap of the tent flew open, interrupting me once again. Only this time, Glorfindel entered.

"So much for privacy," Thranduil muttered.

"Impertinence!" Celephinnil exclaimed.

As per usual, Glorfindel ignored such commentary. "You look dreadful. No doubt the result of some dangerous, dare I say reckless, escapade."

"Something like that," I hedged.

"I trust you are at least unharmed?" I nodded. "Good. I am glad to know all my training was not in vain, solely that bit about patience and restraint."

I rolled my eyes. "This was not exactly my fault. Almira is the one who went racing to the river in the middle of the night. I just happened to figure it out first and follow her, along with Gimli."

"You could have sought help first," Legolas supplied.

"I barely made it in time as it was," I said softly. "Besides," I said jabbing my thumb in Gimli's direction, "Super sturdy and deadly dwarf companion." He smirked as Legolas rolled his eyes.

"How is Almira?" Glorfindel asked.

"Alright," I hedged again. Gimli and I exchanged an uneasy glance at the thought of the unfortunate orc she had turned into mincemeat.

Just about every elf in the room raised one brow. "She kind of lost it towards the end of the battle," I said, feeling like a tattletale.

"That explains the gore," Glorfindel said.

"Speaking of, perhaps I could change? I am sure you would appreciate it if my appearance were a little less offensive."

"Indeed," Celephinnil said.

"Of course," Noriel said. "Please follow me."

She led me into one of the adjoining rooms. I stood in the middle of the room as she rummaged in a chest. She pulled out a nightgown and robe. "I hope this will do," Noriel said passing the garments to me. "There is a pitcher of water with which you can wash your face and hands. I will leave you to change but I will not be far should you need anything."

"Thank you," I said.

Passing me as she left the room, she paused to place a comforting hand on my shoulder. It was the briefest of touches, but imparted an invaluable measure of peace.

I stripped quickly, folding my stained garments as neatly as possible. I then moved to the pitcher sitting on its narrow stand. My reflection in the connected mirror caught me by surprise. Blood and bits decorated my face. I looked mad, like some character out of a slasher flick. No wonder Legolas' family was so taken aback. It was the first time they had really seen me as a warrior. And I wondered, once again, which was a better fit: princess or warrior.

I picked up the pitcher and poured water in its basin. I did not want to think about what I was going to do with my life now that the Quest was over. I had just permanently changed species and home world; I was not ready to tackle the job search.

Drawing in a deep breath, I gave myself another moment to gather my thoughts. Steeling myself, I adjusted my robe so it was closed completely, and then I went back into the main room. All the occupants were now seated, speaking lowly. Ever so predictably, conversation ceased when I reappeared.

I took a seat next to Legolas and then another deep breath. "Okay," I said, looking at the expectant faces of his family, Glorfindel, and Rúmil. "So you knew about the whole choice thing and about half of you were there for the summoning. While we were away, so to speak, we were back in our time, with no memory of this place. But something felt off, like something was missing. At least that it is how it felt to me, and I am guessing for Almira, too. Basically I picked up my life as I had left it, except for the dreams, which is becoming a bit of a pattern that I'll come back to in a moment. So I started having dreams about my time in Middle-Earth and eventually I figured out that it wasn't just my imagination, that these were actual memories and I decided I wanted to come back. And somehow, after having made the internal decision, the gods picked up on it, and they…" I sucked in another deep breath.

"And they…?" Rinnalais queried.

"And they led me to my death," I said flatly. "Then I woke up here."

"You really died," Celephinnil said incredulously.

"Yep."

"And you remember everything?" Rinnalais asked.

"Clear as day. And the best part is now I get to dream about my grieving, miserable family."

Silence reigned.

"Well, that…that is…" Noriel started.

"Really messed up," Almira said from the doorway of the room in which she had been sleeping.

"Yep," I said. "But apparently this might be the gods trying to give us a sign that we can maybe reach our families, so it's sort of a blessing in disguise, albeit a totally messed up disguise."

"How will you communicate with your family?" Thranduil asked.

"No clue," I said. "Though my head-of-household-mainline-to-the-gods gave me an idea." I shot a cheeky smile at Glorfindel while most of Legolas' family looked at me like I was out of my mind, which, admittedly, was a distinct possibility.

"I need some air," Almira muttered in English and left the tent.

"That's our cue," I said, kicking Rúmil's foot and standing up.

"You are leaving?" Thranduil asked.

"Like that?" Celephinnil added.

"Yeah well, people in my time aren't always that good with handling our emotions and communicating, something about all our technology making us socially inept," I shot Legolas a look when he snorted, before continuing. "Some of us anyway, and those same some of us tend to run when uncomfortable. And the thing is when we run we generally want someone to chase us. Which is why I, and Rúmil and I am guessing Legolas, will be following Almira, wherever she is going. Even like this." I cinched up my robe resolutely.

"Here," Noriel said. "Take a cloak, at least." Nights on the plain could be quite cool.

I took the proffered garment and put it on, then nodded in thanks. "Until the morrow," I said and left the tent.

Rúmil and Legolas appeared a moment later. "Any sign of her?" Rúmil asked.

"Not yet, though I am not the tallest one here," I said with a pointed glance at Legolas. After a moment he spotted her. "This way," he said.

"Thank god," Almira said when we caught up with her. "I was really hoping I would not have to wander around by myself. But I could not be around that many people any longer either." She shot Legolas an apologetic glance that he waved away.

"We got you covered," I said.

We wandered aimlessly for a time, earning a fair few strange looks. Our steps eventually carried us to the edge of the camp closest to the city and the Anduin. "How the hell are we going to pull this off? I mean honestly, summoning the gods?" Almira said. "This is nuts."

"It's like something out of "Xena: Warrior Princess," I said. "I get to say that too much," I muttered.

"That's true," Almira said. "Good thing we have our own warrior princess." She bumped my shoulder playfully.

"And just who is this Xena?" Rúmil asked.

"She was a character in a story. Originally she was not a good person, and the TV show depicted her fighting for the innocent to make up for her past bad behavior. It was a pretty popular show. Of course, it did not hurt that the person who portrayed her was very attractive and wore lots of tight leather and a short skirt," I explained.

"Tight leather, eh?" Legolas asked.

"Don't get any ideas," I said.

"Too late," he sing-songed.

"Gross," Almira said.

"Her side-kick was pretty hot too, in that crop top," I said, waggling my eyebrows at Rúmil.

"This conversation has taken a very strange turn," Rúmil said.

"Get used to it," Legolas said.

Almira and I both rolled our eyes. Then she sighed. "We should get back to the city," she said. "I think I am starting to smell."

"Starting to?" I said.

She shoved me. "We'll figure this out right?"

"Yep," I said. "And we'll do it together. As always." I threw my arm around her, but then my hand touched an orc bit. "Yeah, no," I said.

"Thank god," Almira said. "That was almost too touching."

"Americans," Legolas said. "Come, if you wish to return to the city we should do so before daybreak. I know how you dislike when people talk, and we are quite the sight."

"I'll say: two ethereal elves, a girl in gore and one in a nightgown," I said. "Ugh, I should probably change back if I am going to ride a horse. Make that two girls in gore."

We returned to the tent of Legolas' family, who had actually retired at that point. I changed quickly and when I emerged from the tent the others had the horses ready to go.

Rúmil and Almira were already seated on Braith. Obviously, I would need to find Almira her own horse to prevent any future thefts of my now very beloved horse. I turned to Legolas and Arod. Legolas extended an arm and helped me up. As I wrapped my arms around him I said, "I think this may actually be the first time we have ever ridden together."

"Truly? I find that hard to believe," he said as we set off toward the city.

"Tis true. We made it the whole Quest," I said.

"Would we could have made it one more day," he teased. "You smell."

"Trust me, I know. Putting this tunic back on was honestly one of the hardest things I have ever had to do," I said. We slipped into silence after that.

It was near dawn by the time we made it back to our rooms. "As tired as I am, I cannot wait to bathe," I said upon arriving.

Almira snorted in agreement, then rolled her eyes when both Legolas and Rúmil did as well. "Although I am afraid it will be a sad state of affairs as it will be out of a basin."

"It's enough for me tonight," I said. "Are you staying here?" I asked Legolas.

"Yes, I would like some sleep this night," he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Speaking of sleep…" I said, looking at Almira. "Will you be alright?"

"Yes," she said. "Though I doubt I will sleep." With a nod to us, she entered her room, Rúmil not far behind.

"And you?" Legolas asked softly.

I quirked a brow. "Are you well?" he clarified.

"Well enough," I said. "I will not be truly well until all this is at last behind us."

He sighed, and pulled me to him. After a long moment, I said, "You must really love me to hold me so close when I smell this bad."

Legolas chuckled. "Yes, yes I do." He kissed the top of my head. "To bed," he said.

I nodded, squeezed him one last time then entered my room to scrub off and pray for a dreamless sleep. Though I held out little hope.