[Elenna]

Elenna heard the voice of the Lady in her head even before she saw her. "Welcome, warrior-maid. Why have you come to my land? You bring trouble with you."
"I came because Rivendell has been conquered. I need reinforcements." Elenna felt the Lady's deep blue eyes boring into her own, searching for weakness, sizing her up.
"Is that really why you came?"
"Yes, milady"
"You are not telling me the truth, Elenna Starsong. Not lying, but not speaking truth. Could it be that you do not yet know what is truth? Come with me. Look into my mirror." Elenna shivered. There were many strange tales about the Mirror of Galadriel, and what had happened to those who dared to gaze in, but the power of the voice overcame her. She meekly followed Galadriel out of the chamber and down the great staircase until they reached a small clearing in the forest. A fountain was trickling into a stone basin, across from an intricately carved pedestal upon which lay the Mirror.
"Fill up the pitcher, you who would look into my Mirror." Elenna saw two pitchers next to her hand. One was made of a metal that shone brightly as the sun, set with many rubies. The other was plain, made of what looked like tin, dented on the side. Elenna picked up the dented one and filled it with water from the fountain.
"An interesting choice, warrior-maid. Why did you not pick the jeweled one? It could help you to see."
"I need no help."
"Indeed, you prefer to do everything on your own. You even refuse swords that come with their own legend or spell. If you are to succeed on your mission, you must learn to accept help. Now look."
Elenna poured the water into the bowl and looked in. The first face she saw was that of her sister, Lalaith. She was running down a forest path, chasing a butterfly, laughing. Her red-brown hair streamed behind as she ran. Then, the water shifted. Suddenly, Lalaith was kneeling on the ground, screaming. She was bruised, bloody, and horribly mutilated.
"Elenna! Help me!" she cried, and ten years later, her sister wept, her tears distorting the image in the mirror. Now she saw Lalaith lying on the ground, her throat cut. She saw the horrible black form of Azruk looming over Elenna on the ground, a bloody knife in his hand. She heard her own voice screaming and the scar on her arm throbbed horribly.
"Stop this!" Elenna pushed herself away from the basin. "Why do I have to relive this? It is cruel! I have sworn revenge for my sister's torture. Your foolish little mirror can't change that."
"Look again, Elenna. I do not control the mirror. It shows what you need to see."
Elenna looked in again, and this time it was herself she saw, circling around with her sword in her hand. Across from her strode Azruk, also carrying a sword, a fierce grin on his face. They exchanged a few parries, and it was obvious that their skills were both great. Then, as they backed off, he held up his hand. A massive Uruk seized Glorfindel, Elenna's perfect golden warrior that she had been in love with for seven hundred years, and stabbed him over and over with a terrible black knife. One more time the water shifted, and Elenna saw a skeleton, bleached white with wind and weather, with only one strand of golden hair still attached to the grinning skull.
"NOOOOOO!!!!!!" Elenna screamed, and then she fainted. Galadriel caught her and laid her down on the soft green grass. Her hard blue gaze shifted. "I wish it didn't have to happen this way, but she can still change it, if she has the courage." the Lady whispered to herself as she went back to where Glorfindel and Tiri were waiting.