The Second Heir

1.

A/N: The Prologue will be the only chapter that is in 3rd person, narrative. From now on, everything will be from Maethriel's point of view unless otherwise indicated.

I'm not going to write out elvish translations, so anything in italics will be spoken in elvish.

Chapter 1:The Fellowship

**Maethriel's POV**

I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head but a buzzing in my ears was what woke me from the peace of sleep. I could feel a soft breeze caress my face, as cool grass tickled exposed skin of my arms and neck. However, the taste blood was overpowering my mouth, to the point where I suddenly felt nauseous. I heard no voices or movement around me so I opened my eyes slowly and found myself in the same forest, but not the Golden Wood I loved.

I slowly started to move my limbs one by one to test my strength. I heard a leaf crunch to my left and froze. As I made to sit up to assess my surroundings, I met two piercing blue eyes and the tip of an arrow pointed at my face.

"Legolas, what do you see? We must get moving." A voice called from the distance. The eyes didn't move away from my figure. They simply darted about my body scanning for something.

"Aragorn, come here for a moment." I took this moment to slowly move back from the arrow and further take in my surroundings including the man pointing his bow at me. The person leaning over me was no man, but an elf. Light blonde hair was pulled back in warrior braids that fell past his shoulders and pointed ears stuck out identifying his race.

Soon, a man with dark wavy hair and lighter blue-gray eyes ran up to the elf. He too took a moment to look over me as well. His eyes narrowed in question but were not as stern as the elf's.

"Who are you?" The dark haired man questioned immediately. I reached out to my sides in search of any form of weapon, should these men have ill intentions.

"Maethriel of Hidenil in the Realm of Lorien, my Lord. Orcs destroyed my village and took me captive for weeks but have left me for dead." I said looking down. The thought of that day brought tears to my eyes once again, but I blinked them away. I could not look weak and let them take advantage of my vulnerability.

"What do we do? I remember Elrond saying there was an attack on an outlying village, so she is speaking the truth." The elf started looking away from me for the first time.

"She is injured. As much as we wish to help her, she will be a burden. We do not know where the road will lead us. It may be worse for her to come with us. We should send her to Lord Elrond, he would tend her well." The man suggested in Elvish, did they not realize I was an elf? Then something else sparked my thoughts...Lord Elrond? Are we close to Rivendell? I do briefly remember crossing the mountain pass.

"Aragorn, let us take her until we reach the next settlement. She could not do much harm. She is helpless. We cannot just leave her." The elf stated.

"I am not helpless." I mumbled. I could hit a squirrel at 200 paces with my bow... My bow! It was left in the village. It is turning to dark times. I don't know if I can even trust these two strangers, even if they seem to know the Elven lord of Rivendell. However, I have no idea where I am and I need food and water sooner rather than later. I have no choice at the moment but to go with them until we reach a place for me to stay until I'm well enough to travel back to Lorien.

"Then she is your responsibility." The man said to the elf before starting to walk back the way he came. The elf came over to me and helped me up. I was a little dizzy at first but my senses balanced out after a few seconds.