The next day dawned, and the Fellowship was revived in their souls as they walked through the beautiful woods. Miriel had thought long and hard about her vision last night. It had given her the answers she sought, and given her a choice. Galadriel had been nowhere in sight when she returned to the forest itself, and Miriel knew that this decision was hers alone.

She wanted to see the return of the Shieldmaidens, to be a part of that herself, but there was still the quest at hand. Did she follow the desires of her heart, and put that in a place of importance? Or should she follow the task at hand first.

She had her decision now. Whether right or wrong she did not know, but she did know that there would be no Shieldmaidens to bring together if Sauron had his way. This quest came before everything. Her desires, her feelings, even her life. Protecting the others came first, and she was at peace with her choice.

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Green cloaks of the elves were clasped around the Fellowship as they held the gifts given them by the Lady Galadriel, and they were sent off in the boats gifted to them. Miriel was given two strange and identical tokens by the Lady of the Wood, but thanked her for them. She knew the lady had a reason for these, and she slipped one around her own neck. On an instinct that lurked in her mind, she slipped the other into her brother's pocket when he wasn't looking as they rowed down the river, Sam in their boat.

Aragorn pondered what Galadriel had said to him before they left. She had told him that something was coming that he would not be prepared for, a loss that he would not foresee, but that he already held a greater gift than she could ever give. Her advice to him was to follow his path, and all would become clear in the end. He had not much time to ponder her words, however, as they stopped on the banks before a large waterfall to rest, knowing that they would soon be forced to row against the strong current.

As they sat, Boromir crouched behind a large rock, staring at a log floating along the river. Aragorn and Miriel join him, standing side by side behind him. As they watch, a hand reaches up to grab the log, attempting to stay hidden from the Fellowship.

"Gollum." Aragorn said, looking to the woman beside him. She nodded, blue eyes meeting grey.

"He has been tracking us since Moria, as I am sure you noticed." He nodded, Boromir watching their interactions, glad to see his sister so trusting of someone, even if it was someone he did not trust himself.

"I had hoped we would lose him in the river. But he's to clever a waterman." They watched as the sly creature slipped out of sight down the flowing waterway.

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They traveled again the next morning, tensions running high between the two men of Gondor from their argument of the destination of the Ring the night before, and Miriel was already rather annoyed at her brother's continued insistence of foolish ideas.

Later that day, they landed on shore once again, waiting until nightfall when they would cross the river. The two rangers and the elf stood apart from the others, who watched them closely, and spoke of what was to come.

"We should leave now." Legolas said urgently. Miriel shook her head.

"Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for cover of darkness." Aragorn nodded his agreement, but Legolas shook his head.

"It is not the eastern shore that worries me." The elf glanced around them. "A shadow and a threat has been growing in my mind. Something is coming, and we are not ready. We cannot anticipate what may happen next." The silence that fell was uncomfortable, and the words of his friend sounded far too much like those of the Lady Galadriel for his liking. Suddenly, Merry spoke up.

"Where is Frodo?" Aragorn looked around, and Miriel's eyes widened, darting to the place her mind thought of first.

"And where is Boromir?" The others followed her worried gaze to where the man had formerly sat, seeing only the round shield sitting with his discarded pack. They immediately split off in search of the two, Miriel and Aragorn moving easily through the forest. After a few moments, when the others were out of hearing distance, Miriel stopped, her hand catching Aragorn's arm to halt him as well. He turned to her in confusion as she spoke.

"You must go after Frodo without me, Aragorn. I will find Boromir and the others." The question he wished to ask must have been clear in his eyes, for she answered it next. "If Boromir has done what both you and I fear, he will not trust anyone now, least of all me. Let us hurry." She went to go, but he pulled her back by her arm, keeping her there as she looked up at him, the piercing blue gazing back into stormy grey.

"Be careful." He said. She nodded, attempting a rather tight smile.

"And you." He nodded and let her go, but the parting did not sit well with him as he moved away.

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Miriel ran through the forest, looking for anyone in the Fellowship she could find, when she spotted a mop of black curls ahead of her. The woman slowed as she reached the clearing, sighing in relief as the small being turned to her.

"Frodo." she breathed, relaxing for a moment. "Thank Eru." Miriel looked at the hobbit, but the look in his eye as he studied her only confirmed her fears, so she stayed where she was. "He tried to take it, didn't he?" Frodo nodded, seeming to calm slightly at this.

"You know what I am going to do."

"I do." He frowned at her.

"Will you stop me?" She shook her head, the part of her hair that was not braided back brushing the leather of her tunic. Her blue eyes, so similar to his, were full of sadness.

"I know that you must go. But I would ask you not to leave without Sam." He looked at her in confusion.

"But he will be better off with you." The woman shook her head again.

"No, you cannot leave him here. Do you remember what Gandalf told him?" Frodo thought for a moment before speaking, his voice far away.

"Don't you lose him, Samwise Gamgee." Miriel chuckled sadly, drawing his attention once again.

"And he doesn't mean to." They both laughed sadly, but stopped when distant pounding feet could be heard by Miriel, and she stiffened. "Go now. And be quick!" Frodo looked at her, eyes wide.

"What about you?" Miriel stood tall, determined.

"All I can give you is time, and my word that I will do what I can to keep the others from harm, however little that may be." He nodded, and made to leave. Then, he turned, and ran back to embrace her. Miriel held the young hobbit tightly for a few moments before letting him run the other way. She began to search for the others again, slipping around and behind orcs, making just enough noise to pull them away from Frodo's direction. Presently, a horn sounded, and she raced towards the sound. Only she and her brothers were in possession of horns that created the same sound as the ones atop the towers of Gondor. A trio of horns that linked them by sound. So she raced through the woods, hoping she would arrive in time.

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But this time, it was not to be. When she reached the source of the sound, all that remained was a pile of dead orcs, and her brother, pierced by three arrows and already on death's doorstep. Stifling her cry, Miriel ran to her brother's side, his eyes hardly opening to see her face. He reached up to her as best he could, brushing the tears from her cheeks. She grasped his hand tightly, a silent farewell passing between them before he spoke, his voice strained.

"They took the little ones." he choked out. "Find them." She nodded, and held on only a moment longer before pursuing her task. There was no time now to mourn, not while she could still hear the yells of Merry and Pippin from where she stood. There were too many orcs now.

Perhaps not taking that extra second could have saved her.

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It was some time later that Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli reached the spot where Boromir lay, able to send him onward and hear his last request. He did not know where Miriel had gone in any direct fashion, but he had marked her trajectory. He asked that they find her before doing anything with him.

So search they did, splitting once again to find their quarry. And once again it was Aragorn who came first to find her.

She lay against the trunk of an ancient tree very like those of Lothlorien, but the peace that seemed to lay around her was not that of simple rest. As he drew nearer to her, kneeling beside the woman he had come to care for more than his own life, he saw the reason.

Blood stained both her sword and her clothing, but only one horrid taint was not her own. As he knelt beside her, the wound was easily seen, and her breaths were shallow and far between. Her eyes opened as he placed a hand on her shoulder, and the pair looked at each other, emotions stirring violently in both pairs of eyes, but hers held a resigned calm, while his were whirling with thoughts and denial. The storm to her seas. He went to speak, but she stopped him. She knew he blamed himself, and this would only grow worse.

"Don't. There is nothing to be done now, and you know it." She was glad that she could speak in full sentences, he needed to hear her words. He bowed his head.

"I'm so sorry, Miriel." She shook her head, drawing his eyes back to hers as she winced at the movement.

"It was not your doing, and you have failed no one." She still saw right through him to the fears he held inside, and managed to assuage them even when facing death. "Just, promise me that you will follow your path, wherever it leads you. Do not lose hope." He nodded.

"Of course. I have been hiding for too long." She gave a weak chuckle, which lapsed into a painful, gurgling cough as the blood from her wound continued to flow. He could not help her, so Aragorn simply sat with her until it stopped, holding her hand. She spoke again now, reaching to her neck and pulling something from it. She took his hand, and placed the object inside.

"Take this with you." He looked at it, and he knew what it meant. A simple cord held on it a pendant, bearing the symbol of the White Tree of Gondor. He turned it over, and saw there carved the same symbol as was on her shield. It was worn, and had been carried through many journeys, but that did not diminish its meaning.

"You cannot give me this!" he exclaimed quietly. She took his hand in her own, and closed his fingers around the pendant. The look in her eyes spoke all he needed to know, and the soft smile that came to her lips confirmed it.

"It is mine to give, Aragorn, and it has been yours for quite some time now. Keep it with you, and let it remind you of hope when you feel you have none. Tell my brother and father, please." He nodded, covering both their hands with his own, and pressing her fingers to his lips.

"I swear to you I will not let the White City fall, nor your family's questions go unanswered." She smiled, a strong smile for one becoming so weak.

"You will do well...my king." Her breath stuttered, and then stopped altogether. Aragorn closed his eyes, refusing to see the light drain from the piercing blue eyes, and then closed the eyes of the shieldmaiden who had won his heart. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, the heir of Isildur leaned back onto his heels, and spoke one last time to Miriel of Gondor, though her ears could no longer hear him.

"Rest well, meleth-nin. Your soul and mine may meet again in death, Eru willing. For now, my love, namarie."

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meleth-nin = my love/beloved

namarie = farewell