[Airerûthiel]

Once again Torfithien could not sleep. She sighed heavily as she turned over yet again, staring up at the stars. Although there was a keen wind that night, the Elven maiden did not feel cold at all - she was used to sleeping outside, being as she was a child of the Golden Wood. Her heart ached as she remembered her home in Lórien, so near and yet so far, and she was tempted to try and go back.

But she could not leave her companions. Although she had long learned to be suspicious of others before giving her trust, she was still proud and refused to allow herself to show any signs of weakness. In Torfithien's eyes, to behave in the manner of a lady was to show that one was less than strong. It was not that she did not have the utmost respect and affection for Celebrian, only that she had been forced to grow up fast and in a family where she was the only female.

The memory of her mother's pale slender face came back to her, framed by delicate whispy tendrills of blonde hair that was almost white. She looked as if she was asleep, with a peaceful expression on her face that Torfithien could remember seeing whenever she, as a small girl, had run to her mother with whatever minor worry she had. Oh, how she wished for the touch of those hands stroking her hair again!

"Wishing will not make her come back," she said a little too loudly, her eyes snapping open. She knew that now she would never go back to sleep, for the heartache she would feel as soon as she closed would be too great for even the bravest and most courageous warrior to bear. Although Elrohir never knew it, there were two people keeping watch that night.