"But you don't know the powers she possesses," said Rumil in a hushed voice. "She does not only have the mirror, but other magic as well."

"We don't call her the Witch of the Woods just to scare people, you know," whispered Orophin from his perch above the two who had entered the forest.

Haldir approached them and held out his hand, two long strips of fabric in it. "Why do you think we insist upon the blindfolds?" Haldir continued to stand in front of them, offering the long strips to them.

"What magic could she possibly possess to deter a slayer of balrogs and a king?" snorted the dark haired elf. "Let us pass, she can not harm us."

"Beware!" Haldir's other hand was pointing up in a signal of warning. "All who enter and look upon her shall find their doom."

"Oh, please," spoke the blonde. "That is one of the most pathetic warnings I've ever been given. And you call yourself a warden," said Thranduil, shaking his head as he passed by, swatting Haldir's hand out of the ridiculous position it was in.

"My lady awaits you in the maze! Look sharp!" shouted Haldir and his brothers, and then they vanished.

Ecthelion withdrew his sword. "Come! We shall venture forth!" Ecthelion led them on, through the maze of mallorn trees. They turned left, right, up, down, inside, outside, around, and through.

Through – wait. "Ecthelion! We can walk right through the trees!" Thranduil demonstrated by walking directly through a trunk, emerging wearing a brilliant cape of crimson and, finally, his crown of leaves and berries.

Ecthelion followed, cautiously poking the tree before walking through, his drab attire now replaced by bold blue and silver garb. "I need a tree like this," he remarked as they walked on.

They came to a clearing where a long table was set up, with many places set along it. Various colorful birds flitted back and forth with their long plumed tails dancing through the air. At the head of the table, and the only one sitting at it, was Celeborn, wearing a blindfold.

"I would turn around and go back if I were you," he suggested.

"No," replied Ecthelion. Then, throwing down his sword, he proceeded to stomp and exclaim `no' several more times before picking up his sword and announcing, "No, we will not."

"Very well," Celeborn answered, extending his arm to show them down another path. "You may pass." Ecthelion walked by without trouble, but Thranduil was stopped. "You cannot pass. You have not danced the dance of no. I must see you dance."

Thranduil blinked. "I can't do the dance of no, I don't have my sword with me."

"Very well," said Celeborn, extending his arm again. "You may pass."

Thranduil quickly rejoined Ecthelion on the trail. "Lothlorien is much stranger since the last time I visited," he said.

"I wouldn't know," answered Ecthelion as Haldir was suddenly in their path again.

"What did I tell you? What did I tell you?" exclaimed the warden, furious. "I offered you blindfolds. Take the blindfolds," he said, dangling them before the pair.

"We don't want any blindfolds," Ecthelion said, pushing away Haldir's hand.

"Take the blindfolds."

Ecthelion and Thranduil tried to move but found their feet stuck to the ground, sinking in mud. Haldir sighed, dangling the short strips, one in each hand. "Take the blindfolds."

Ecthelion and Thranduil each grabbed hold of an end of a blindfold and suddenly found themselves back on the grass. There was no mud in sight, except on their boots.

"Good-bye." Haldir vanished again.

"I hate it when he's right," mumbled Thranduil. "Arrogant little brat."

"Just like his father," nodded Ecthelion, pushing away the growth of vines that hindered their path. "Just a little further to the sea," he said, using his sword to cut the vines.

"I don't want to go to the sea," complained Thranduil, walking behind Ecthelion.

"Pretend it's not the sea, then," he suggested. "What's that?" Ecthelion pointed off to the side, where the vines were cleared a little. Their was a chess table, but it was elevated off the ground. Rumil and Orophin were sitting at it, both of them elevated as well.

"They should go home," said Rumil, picking up a knight and handing it to Orophin. Orophin. Orophin bit the piece in half, crunching the marble and swallowing before he popped the rest of it in his mouth. "They should go home," repeated Rumil, offering Orophin the white king. Orophin ate this piece, too.

Thranduil cautiously walked to the table, and now took note that all of the pieces were queens. Dark queens at that and the base of the chessboard was the pedestal of the mirror and the tabletop the basin itself. The pieces sat on the surface of the water, unmoving unless Rumil commanded them. At random, knights and kings suddenly surfaced, but these were gobbled up by Orophin.

"Look! I found the end of the maze!" Ecthelion pulled Thranduil out of the jungle and onto a ledge that overlooked a long sandy beach and the sea. "Look where we are!"

"We're at the beach." Thranduil turned around. Gone was the Golden Wood, replaced by oaks and pines, and a small cottage a little ways back. There was a very sad elf standing on the porch. "I smell cookies," he said, and took a step toward the house.

"We must go to the sea!" urged Ecthelion, and despite his desire to walk to the cottage, Thranduil followed Ecthelion down the cliff to the beach. "I hear music," muttered the dark haired elf as he held his sword at the ready.

Indeed, sweet and haunting music drifted to their ears, and neither could resist following the voice. Somewhere along the way, Thranduil recalled seeing Haldir again, holding out the blindfolds and shaking his head, but he continued to follow Ecthelion until they reached a small structure on the shore.

It was red-orange in color, and metallic – the sun glinted off the sides, and cast their reflections in coppery hues. The music was louder, and both elves were desperate to reach it, entering this new maze without a second thought. They soon found themselves lost, turning the same way over and over until they stopped.

"The music, Thel, what happened to the music?"

Laughter rang up, echoing in the small space. There was a glint of light, movement of some sort beyond their reflection, and both elves turned and froze.

"Aren't you the two cutest goats anyone has ever seen," cooed Galadriel, stepping toward them, her dress the same metallic red- orange to keep her half hidden in the maze, her eyes holding their gaze.

"We're not goats," forced out Thranduil.

"Yes you are," said Galadriel slowly, stepping forward. "You're both goats."

"Am not," Thranduil tried to say, but all he heard was a bleating noise, and all he saw in the reflective panel was Galadriel in a hideous dress and two grey goats.

- -

"Son of a balrog!"

Thranduil threw off the sheets, waking his wife instantly as he walked to the mirror in their room. Walked on two legs, two legs was a good thing. In the mirror, he carefully looked himself over, checking his face, his limbs, his-

"Darling, is something the matter?" asked Avisiel as she slowly approached her husband.

"Do me a favor," he asked, trying in vain to contort his body to see his backside. "Check to see if I have a tail."

Avisiel stared at him for a moment, looked down, up again, and then shook her head. "And some call me strange," she mumbled, walking back to the bed.

Thranduil hastily pulled on a robe and shivered at the all too recent memory of being a goat, even if it was only a dream. The bad smell... the coarse fur... the eyes... those eyes... those horrible, haunting little eyes...

In the dining room, he found his sons eating breakfast together as often they now did in Valinor. "Sons, good morning, good to see you both," he greeted. "I have something for one of you to do today, something to keep you occupied," he announced.

Barely looking up, Ilmendin and Legolas both regarded their father as they continued to eat.

"I need one of you to go into town and make sure that Ecthelion has not been turned into a goat."

Ilmendin spat his coffee back into his mug as Legolas sputtered on his eggs, hacking and coughing as Ilmendin patted him on the back.

"Make sure no one knows why you are asking," he added seriously. "Oh, also, I need one of you to go to the beach. Find out how Galadriel gets her goats. I must know if they are procured the natural way or if she is using some sort of spell." Thranduil left the room, but stepped back in suddenly. "Tell no one of this," he added, and left again.

Ilmendin and Legolas slowly looked at one another. "Well, you were right," admitted Ilmendin. "He finally snapped."

"Poor mother," Legolas said, sadly shaking his head. He paused, and then asked, "So, do you want to find out about Ecthelion or the goats?"

"You can go to the beach. I want to see Ecthelion's face when I ask him if he's been a goat recently. Besides," Ilmendin shivered, "goats give me the creeps."

"Me, too," nodded Legolas as he left the table. "Me, too."