The Warrior and the Poet(Extended Edition)

Part Six: Gifts of the White Rider


I stood on the shore a while after Boromir’s funeral boat disappeared over the falls. Few tears fell, eventhough my grief was keen. Absently, I fiddled with the pendant that hung around my neck lost in thought. I had made many assumptions a month and a half ago and while many had proved true, the one I had made about Boromir had been horribly wrong. I hoped, with all my heart, that I would be able to keep my promise to him. Also, what I knew didn’t seem to matter much anymore. This was no longer a story, a fantasy story that someone made up. This was becoming my reality. I missed my children, but getting home didn’t seem quite as important now as just surviving. What was happening to me? Why did I feel so different now? When the change begin?

"The fellowship has failed!" Gimli cried behind me, startling me out of my musings.

I turned toward them. Aragorn stood with his hands on Legolas’ and Gimli’s shoulders. His sweat soaked hair hung in his face. His blue gray eyes burned with determination.

"Not if we hold true to each other," he said hopefully.

"Aragorn," I said as I gathered up what supplies Sam and Frodo had left behind then joined them. "Merry and Pippin were taken by the Uruk-hai. We are going after them, aren’t we?"

"We will not abandon them to torment and death, little sister. Not while we have strength left." He brushed some stray strands of sweaty, blood stained blond hair from my face and cupped my chin. "Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light." He bent down, retrieved his dagger from the ground and slid it home in its sheath. "Let’s hunt some orc!" He called, heading off into the forest.

Legolas and Gimli grinned almost ferally at each other at the idea.

"YES!" Gimli laughed gleefully and he and Legolas literally bounded after the ranger.

I chuckled to myself and shook my head as I followed them. "Hunting orcs! Somehow I don’t think they make very good eating!" I shouted after them

"Orcs are for killing, Ithilin. Lembas is for eating," Legolas called back, laughing.

"If you don’t stop being cheeky, elf, I’m going to have to kiss you."

He stopped, looking as though he was thinking it over while he waited for me to catch up to him. When I reached him, he pulled me close. He was smiling impishly.

"Lembas, not orcs, are for eating."

"You are so bad." I laughed, kissing him.

"You were brooding, Ithilin. I had to make you laugh somehow," he said tenderly as the back of his fingers brushed my cheek.

"Keep doing that." I said nuzzling his neck. "I think too much about too many things."

"I will certainly try."

His lips met mine in a quick but fiery kiss.

"Why didn’t they kill me?"

"You are thinking too much." He chided gently.

I smacked his rear, hard. "I’m asking a valid question. I was tangled in that thorn bush, Legolas. I was an easy target. Why didn’t they kill me?"

"Ouch!" Legolas laughed then sighed. "I know not, meleth-nîn. Orcs are funny that way. They kill each other more often they kill anything else. But I am very glad they did not."

"That explains it somewhat, I suppose, but it still doesn’t make any sense." I paused as a thought struck me, "Do you really believe that Boromir would have raped me?"

"All I know is that he was looking at you with lust in his gaze. I wanted him to know that I saw it and that I was going to do anything to protect your honor. And my threat would have made him keep his. If you had not woken, you would have never known." He said soberly.

As he let go of me, I felt the sting of his hand against my bum. I looked back at him, surprised.

"Only fair!" he grinned before he took off running.

"You just wait, smart elf. You aren’t going to like what I have in mind for you when I get my hands on you!" I called, chasing after him.

"Why do I highly doubt that?" he laughed back as he vaulted over a fallen tree in the path.

I chased him through the forest, overtaking and passing Aragorn and Gimli along the way. I finally caught the back of his cloak and sent both of us tumbling to the ground, Legolas face down in a pile of leaves; me sprawled across his legs. I kept hold of his clothes as I crawled up and straddled his waist.

"Concede defeat, elf!" I growled wantonly as I leaned over and gently bit the tip of his ear.

With a gasp of pleasure, he flipped over and pinned me beneath his weight. Laughter sparkled in his sapphire eyes as he held me helpless to the ground. I struggled halfheartedly against the light restraint he was putting on me.

"I will make you beg for mercy, woman," he purred in my ear as his hands slid from my shoulders down to my ribs.

"Ai!" I shrieked as his long slender fingers dug in and began tickling me unmercifully. "Legolas! You’re bad!"

I tried desperately to squirm away from him but he held me securely beneath him. I even flung my arms around his neck and pulled myself up against his body. Nothing worked. I was just about to give in and beg but then a thought struck me. I moved my hands to his thighs and dug my fingers into a very sensitive spot just on the inside of his leg. Within seconds I had turned the tables in my favor and had him as helpless as he had me only moments ago.

"Who is going to beg whom for mercy?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow at him as he tried unsuccessfully to get away from my merciless fingers. I had him on his back as I knelt between his long legs. Every time he scooted away from me I followed intent on making him beg.

"Stop!" he gasped through his laughter. His eyes were shinning with tears he was laughing so hard.

"Beg, Legolas." I licked my lips ferally as I continued my onslaught.

"El. . . el . . . elves . . . do not . . . beg!" he laughed breathlessly.

"Then you’re going to be here a while, aren’t you." I cackled evilly, finally scooting him up against a tree. He was trapped and the only way out was either to beg or attack me.

"I yield!"

"Beg, elf!"

"Ai! P. . . p . . . plea . . . please!"

"Hmmm. Nope, not good enough."

"Ithilin! Whatever you want, it is yours. Just stop."

I stopped and crawled over him, deliberately trailing my hand lightly over the front seam of his leggings. There was a quickly growing bulge there. "Anything I want?" I purred silkily.

He nodded and swallowed, his eyes the size of Delft blue dinner plates. "Anything." He croaked hungrily.

I pressed my tongue to his lips, his mouth opened and his eyes closed to receive the kiss that never came. Startled, he opened his eyes to see me smiling smugly over him.

"You tease?" he panted

"Would you enjoy it near as much if I didn’t?"

"Name your price, demon."

"Teach me to use a bow," I said matter-of-factly as I sat back. That bulge in his breeches was a little harder than I felt comfortable with. Of course, it was my own fault. I had teased him to that point.

"Come here," he commanded, his voice was husky with desire.

"Legolas, I . . .I -"

"In my given state, I am capable of many things but *that* is impossible right now, though it will be soon."

"Huh?" I asked, confused. What was he saying? How could *that* be impossible? I could feel his arousal.

"Come, I will show you what I mean."

Confused and frightened, I started to back away from him. Yet even as I did so, I felt his thoughts brush mine, reassuring me that I was safe and that he would do nothing unless I asked it.

Hesitantly, I leaned down over him again. Both of us were breathing heavily from our exertion and from heightened desire. I could feel him beneath me, every taut muscle. His hands slid up my arms, over my shoulders, and down my back, pressing me to his tensed body.

"While your nearness stirs my blood and makes my body begin to respond, meleth-nin, I am unable to lie with you until the moon waxes full again."

I looked up at him, trying to understand what he said. "You . . .you can’t . . ."

He nodded an embarrassed smile on his lips, "Correct."

With that small realization I laid back down against him, secure in the knowledge that I was in no danger of being forced.

"A bow is like a mate, Ithilin." he whispered, caressing my back. I relaxed into his touch and I laid my head against his chest as I lazily fiddled with the leaves beneath my hand. As he continued, I listened to his strong, steady heartbeat against my ear. "In the right hands both will sing when touched. Most make the mistake that a bow is a bow and that it will work equally well in two different hands. The same mistake is made with women."

"Mind if I ask if you two are going the dawdle here all afternoon?" chuckled Aragorn’s familiar baritone on the other side of the tree.

Both of us looked over at him, as he and Gimli hiked up to us. Aragorn leaned easily against the tree trunk, a smirk tugging at the corners of his bearded mouth as he shook his scraggily head in silent laughter. The dwarf’s eyes twinkled with merriment and he seemed to choke of his laugher.

"No." we groused, playfully poking each other.

"I, for one, would like to know how she caught you. You’re impossible to even catch on a good day," the dwarf burred, leaning on the head of his axe, his green eyes twinkling with merriment.

Legolas just smirked up at him as he rolled me off of him and rose to his feet. With a quick shake of his head all of the leaves, that had managed to collect in his hair, fell free. He, then, offered me his hand and when I took it, he gently pulled me up.

"You cheat, you let her catch you?" Aragorn chuckled in disbelief.

"So what if I did?" He winked a sparkling eye at me conspiratorially. "She was brooding."

Aragorn laughed as he patted my cheek. "I do not know what you have done, little sister, but I like this change in him. If you ask me, he is the one that is prone to brooding."

I felt color rise in my cheeks and shied away from his touch, casting my gaze to the ground. This discussion was making me a little uncomfortable only because I didn’t know where it was going.

"You know, Ithilin, he has never let a elleth catch him but I am told he is quite a lover."

"And how do you know this, Strider?" Legolas countered, a faint blush coloring his fair cheeks.
"Gentlemen never tell, mellon-nîn" the ranger grinned, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "Come on we’re wasting time."

"Since when are you a gentleman?"


* * *


We followed Aragorn, tracking the Uruk-hai as best we could over the rocky ground. I stopped several times to catch my breath and nearly lost sight of Legolas and Aragorn.

"Three days and nights pursuit, no food, no rest and no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell!" Gimli grumbled as he stopped beside me. The dwarf was as winded as I was in trying to keep pace with a Dúnadan and an elf.

"I wish I could see what he see in the rock, Master Gimli. For if I could, I would not misstep nearly so much and my knees would thank me." I panted, watching my breath billow out in the cold late winter air as I rested my hands on my knees. "Ai! What I wouldn’t give for a hot bath right now. I feel like I’m wearing all the dirt of Middle Earth. Not to mention my muscles are screaming from this cross country chase."

"I thought that Master Legolas was doing something about that when we have stopped?"

"If it were only enough. Come on, Gimli. Let’s go before we have to go find them as well as Merry and Pippin."

Gimli chuckled as we started to follow our companions again. "They’re not that far ahead, child. Look."

Sure enough both of them had stopped. Aragorn knelt on the ground, plucking something out of the well trodden grass.

As we headed down the slope, Gimli slipped and tumbled out on to the path. Giggling, I picked my way down the precarious incline and helped the dwarf to his feet.

"Come! Ithilin, Gimli, we are gaining on them!" Legolas called brightly, jogging backward.

I glared at him and he smiled all the more. "I’m about to smack that silly grin off your pretty face, elf!"

"You keep making promises to do me bodily harm, woman," he laughed back. "Yet nothing ever seems to come of your threats."

"Come here and I’ll show you I’m as good as my threat." I said, stopping about three feet from him.

He grinned, stepping toward me. I reached out, grabbing for the leather straps that held his quiver in place, but he batted my hands away. Cocking an eyebrow at him, I tried again and caught the straps at the buckle. I yanked the leather bands, pulling him to me.

"Well?" he purred expectantly, resting his arms on my shoulders his face only inches from mine.

"Hmmm, what kind of punishment should I give such a naughty elf?" I said silkily, sliding my free hand up over his shoulder to draw a white feathered arrow from his quiver. Slowly and seductively I pulled the shaft back, letting the fletchings graze the tip of his ear as I pressed my tongue to his lips. His eyes closed and his lips parted as he shivered in delight at the touch. Aggressively I took possession of his mouth, tasting every inch of the delicate, warm, sweetness within. I trailed kisses down the line of his jaw to the hollow of his throat interspersed with playful nips. A breathy groan escaped his throat when I captured the lobe of his ear between my teeth. I chuckled softly as I looked at his face. His eyes were closed and he wore an expression of pure bliss.

"I like this punishment, Ithilin." he panted in my ear as he lifted his chin to give me better access to his neck. "I will have to be naughtier now."

"You’re too bad for your own good, melethron." I said kissing his mouth again. Oh, how I wanted this to go so much farther! Yet, I knew that I shouldn’t. I knew that I was playing with fire and if I wasn’t careful I was going to get burned. "Gimli has left us behind and Aragorn will scold us for sure."

"It is well worth enduring his admonition, melethril. No moment is wasted when you touch me like that."

"Legolas! Ithilin!" came Aragorn’s amused shout from a ridge up ahead. "Can you two not keep your hands to yourselves?"

"No!" we shouted back as we sprinted toward the ranger, laughing all the way.

"Honestly, Legolas. With the way you are acting, you would think it had been two centuries since the last time."

The elf gazed at his friend, a good-humored smile tugging at the corners of his slender mouth. "It has."

"Even so, mellon-nîn, keep it in check." Aragorn coughed, apparently not expecting the elf to be so frank.

"As much as I can, Estel." His eyes twinkled as he squeezed my hand.

"Rohan. Home of the horse-lords." He turned to gaze over a vast expanse of prairie. "Some evil gives speed to these creatures and sets its will against us."

Legolas leapt down from the ledge and peered of into the distance shading his eyes.

"Legolas, what do your elf eyes see?"

"The Uruks turn Northeast." He shouted back. "They’re taking the hobbits to Isengard!"

"Saruman." Aragorn growled beside me, clearly disturbed by this turn of events.


* * *


"Two centuries, huh?" I chuckled, when we came to a stop just before dawn. "And here I thought I had it bad."

"How long?" Legolas asked as he turned me around and began massaging my shoulders.

"If I was lucky, once a month at best!"

"By choice?"

"Not really." I turned to face him, stepping into him and nuzzling his chest. It hurt to talk about it even though I was making light of it. He must have sensed this, because he stopped being playful.

"This is not easy for you, is it?" he asked.

"To be honest, I like this. Easy or not, I like the way you make me feel. In you eyes I am something to be desired," I answered, looking up and gazing into his sapphire eyes, "He never played like this with me, with or with out children. I always had to be the aggressor, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten any at all."

"How is it possible for a man to not want to play with you, Ithilin? He would have to be blind and an absolute fool."

"Please don’t stop." I whispered, holding back tears that threatened to fall. "No matter that I must return to my family, Legolas, I don’t want you to stop. I want to remember what it is to be desired."

He sighed heavily and when he spoke his musical tenor voice was strained with emotion. "I will only say this once, Ithilin. I know what I am risking by saying it at all, but you need to hear it. It hurts me that you have had to survive in your world like this. That your mate has no idea what it is he has and therefor can not respond to you accordingly." He paused, lifting my chin so that I could see his face. Silent tears coursed down his pale cheeks. "I never thought it possible that it could take so short a time for love to kindle, but it has. I never thought I would love a human, but I do. While I understand that you must return for the sake of your children, melethril, I want you to know how very much I love you. And I want to give you this moment of playful joy, if that is all it will be, with all my heart."

He bent down and touched his lips to mine in a tender kiss. As he drew away, he moved to wipe his tears away but I stopped him. I reached up and wiping them from his cheeks I rubbed the precious jewels into the skin over my heart.

"I wish it were simple. I wish I could say yes to you. I want to." I said quietly. "My heart screams yes while my mind reminds me that I can’t think about my desires. My little ones come first and foremost."

"I know they do, Ithilin. And it is that sense of honour that makes me love you all the more."

He began rubbing my shoulders again, pressing me to his body. I relaxed against him letting his strong arms hold me upright. I felt like I belonged here in his arms, but like any good mother I couldn’t stop thinking about my children. It was going to hurt so much to leave him, but I knew the this was the right path.

"Feel better?" he asked as his hand brushed my cheek.

"Physically or mentally?"

"Whichever feels better."

"Neither, except that the kinks have been worked out of my shoulders." I was utterly exhausted. I wanted a bath and a nice soft warm bed. I wanted him beside me completely nude. Argh! I shouldn’t think those things!

"That was a vivid image, melethril," he chuckled.

"Are you snooping in my head again, crazy elf?"

"No. Your mental shielding is weak when you are tired but my own abilities will strengthen yours if you are worried that anyone else could read you. If it is any consolation to you, I was thinking the same thing."

"Sorry," I muttered sheepishly, fiddling with the buckle on his quiver harness, "It’s just that I get a little cranky if I go without sleep for too long."

"We are all tired, little sister," came Aragorn’s soft voice over the stillness of early dawn. He sat on a rocky outcrop, the smoke from his pipe curling up into the predawn sky like a harem dancer enticing her lord. "Take what rest you can get for now, we leave shortly."

Legolas tugged on my hand silently asking me to follow him, which I did without question. He rounded a large boulder and leaned up against it.

"This will afford us some privacy, melethril." he whispered as he drew me to him. "And you some rest. Close your eyes, my Ithilin. Rest your head against me. I will wake you when it is time to move on."

"Legolas," I said, settling against him and quickly beginning to drift into sleep. "I love you, too."

"I know," he answered as he began stroking my hair.


* * *


After what only seemed like minutes, I felt Legolas’ mind brush mine with a gentle, loving caress.

"Come, meleth-nîn. We must go," he whispered as I stirred from my slumber.

"Yeah," I sighed groggily as I rubbed the sleep from my gritty eyes with the backs of my filthy hands. Ugh! I had never wanted a bath so bad in my life.

Aragorn was already moving off, reading the ground as he went. Legolas was silhouetted against the slowly lightening sky, helping Gimli to his feet. He scanned the blushing sky warily.

"A red sun rises. Blood has been spilt this night," he said, looking Eastward as he trotted to catch up with Aragorn.

"Looks like we’re left to catch up again, Gimli."

"Aye, lass."

I stiffened as I heard a distant rumbling, like thunder, across the prairie. Up ahead Aragorn was motioning us to follow him out of sight behind some rocks. I could feel the ground shaking slightly beneath my feet and I hastened my steps. Legolas grabbed my hand and pulled me into the rocky alcove, hunching down over me protectively. I felt Aragorn tap him on the shoulder as a company on horseback rode past.

"Stay here," he whispered in my ear as he moved away, "Stay out of sight. While I do not fear the Rohirrim and I know them to be honorable, I do not wish to invite trouble."

I kissed his cheek quickly as he left my side, "I understand, melethron."

I hunched down, trying to make myself as small as possible but still be able to see and hear all that transpired.

"Riders of Rohan, what news from the Mark?" Aragorn shouted over the din of thundering hooves.

As one the horsemen turned, surrounding my three companions with spears pointed at their heads. One of the men dismounted and advanced through the press of riders toward them.

"What business does an elf, a man, and a dwarf have in the Riddermark?" he snapped heatedly. "Speak quickly!"

"Give me your name, horse master, and I shall give you mine." Gimli said contemptuously.

I rolled my eyes, chuckling silently at the dwarf’s arrogance. He was going to get himself killed, speaking to strangers like he was.

"I would cut off your head, dwarf," the warrior shot back, "if it stood but a little higher from the ground."

In one fluid movement, Legolas drew his bow and nocked an arrow to the string, aiming at the man’s head.
"You would die before your stroke fell!" he snarled, ignoring the fact that the spears that surrounded them had shifted to take aim at his blond head.

Aragorn stepped between them, giving Legolas a "Don’t start something" look as he pressed the elf’s bow arm down. "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Gloin and Legolas of the woodland realm. We are friends of Rohan, and of Théoden your king."

The man sighed sorrowfully, as if the weight of the world sat upon his shoulders. Removing his helmet, he glanced down at the grass. "Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe. Not even his own kin. I am Éomer, son of Éomund. Third Marshal of the Riddermark."

"We track a party of Uruk-hai Westward across the plain," Aragorn said seeing the other man’s wariness. "They have taken two of our friends captive."

"The Uruks are destroyed, we slaughtered them during the night," the marshal informed them glancing around.

"But there were two hobbits with them!" Gimli cried, "Did you see two hobbits with them?"

"They would appear as children to your eyes," Aragorn explained, using his hand to indicate the hobbits height.

Éomer bowed his blond head, muttering something in a low voice. Gimli gasped in shock as the man nodded sorrowfully.

"Valar!" I exclaimed as my foot slipped on the wet grass and I slid into full view. All eyes turned directly on me.

"You seek to deceive us?" the marshal asked, pointing at me. "Éorl, bring him here."

The warrior dismounted, starting toward me as I regained my feet but I stood and walked toward them. As I passed a bay stallion, I gently patted his hindquarters.

"Deception was not the intent, my lord Éomer." I said, absently stroking the bay’s muzzle. "I am but a woman alone in the company of men. My companions sought only to protect me."

Éomer cocked a questioning eyebrow at me an the word ‘woman’. "This is dangerous country, my lady. Especially if you are one alone among men." The marshal said stepping closer to me and grabbing hold of the stallion’s reigns. "There is evil at work in these lands. No one is safe."

I sensed Legolas step up behind me. I knew he was making his presence known to the man in a silent statement of "she is under my protection!" I, however, did not feel threatened by the marshal. In fact he came across much like Aragorn, an overprotective yet indulgent older brother. I dropped one hand back, entwining my fingers with his as he clasped it tightly.

"We are aware of the evil afoot in your lands, my lord. And it is for that very reason that they asked me to remain hidden." I said to Éomer

Éomer whistled shrilly, making me shy away from the sound. "Hasufel, Arod, Brytta. May they bear you to better fortune than their former masters." Three horses came forward and Éomer handed me the reigns of a buckskin mare. "Be wary, master elf, for her sake. Unfriendly eyes watch this land and their sight sleeps not." He said gazing steadily at Legolas as he patted the mare’s neck. "Keep her close and on a tight reign. There are those who roam this land who would not think twice about challenging you."

"Would you?" Legolas asked point blank.

Éomer smiled, brushing my cheek with his rough hand. "Nay. I can see it in her eyes, my friend. Like my sister, she will suffer no man to accept her for less than she is. But also like my sister, she is naïve in the ways of men and the world. Protect her with all your strength. Look for your friends, but do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands." He replaced his helm and mounted his dun colored stallion. "We ride North!"

With a thundering of hooves, the Rohirrim followed after their marshal leaving us alone the three horses.
Not unfamiliar with horses, though it had been many years since I had ridden, I swung into the saddle. The little buckskin shifted slightly, adjusting to my weight.

"It’s been a long time since I could fly, my lady," I whispered in elvish as I leaned over her neck, chuckling as her ears twitched back at the sound of my voice. "Do you think you can teach me how again?"

Brytta snorted and bobbed her head in answer. I laughed, patting her neck. I heard my companions snickering at me as they, too, mounted up.

"I do believe she understood you, little sister." Aragorn chuckled, reigning Hasufel in next to me. "Your elvish is improving, but you seem to have picked a rather unusual accent."

"What accent would that be, my lord?"

"I believe it is Silvan, but I can not imagine where you would have gotten it." He shot a mock glare at the Mirkwood prince but his eyes danced with mirth. "We will have to work on a more proper accent."

"And that would be what, Estel. Noldorin?" Legolas laughed heartily as he hoisted Gimli up to ride pillion behind him. "Is it not bad enough that you like to massacre my mother tongue in my hearing."

Aragorn shook his head, stifling a chuckle as he urged his mount into a gallop.

"So, you like to fly?" Legolas asked as we set off after Aragorn.

I nodded, laying down over Brytta’s withers, "Race you! Noro lim, Brytta!"

The little mare flattened out as we flew across the prairie. I felt the cold February wind on my face, my long golden hair fanning out behind me like a banner. This was shear joy. Racing the wind on the back of a horse. I dropped the reigns over her withers, sat up and flung my arms out wide. The ground flashed below me as she gained her head. The exhilaration of this simple exercise sent me higher than I had ever been. This was my high. This was what it was to fly!

"Ai, Eru!" I cried joyfully, reveling in my new found freedom. "I praise thy name! Let my voice be heard in all the earth! Thou art glorious!"

My flight, however was cut short as Brytta slowed and stopped next to Arod near a mound of smoking orc carcasses. I starred in horror at an Uruk head mounted on a spear, it’s mouth hung open in a gruesome snarl as it’s sticky black blood oozed down the pole. The acrid stench of burning flesh filled my nose, making bile rise in my throat. I must have gone pale because Legolas leapt from his mount’s back and pulled me off of Brytta. I sank to the ground retching, supported by my lover’s strong arms. Brytta nuzzled my shoulder, snorting softly in concern.

"Sîdh, Brytta." Legolas breathed, gently pushing the mare’s muzzle away as he knelt behind me with me between his legs, "All is well. I will take care of her."

I looked up at him, my eyes watering as I fought to keep my rebellious stomach under control. "Sorry." Was all I could come up with to say.

He smiled tenderly as he held my hair away from my flushed face, "For what? Reacting this way? Ithilin, you have not eaten in three days, you have had little or no sleep, and you have not had time to deal with your daughter’s or Boromir’s deaths. Why should I fault you for something that is a mere reaction to all of the strain?"

Aragorn rode up to us, worry etched in his silvery eyes, having watched Legolas drag my off my horse. "What happened?"

"The strain caught up with her." Legolas answered, rubbing my back as I retched again. "Ithilin, here. Eat this."

He handed me a small piece of Lembas, which I took gratefully and nibbled at. Sighing heavily, I leaned back against him and rested my head on his shoulder. I closed my eyes as the bread slowly eased my writhing insides. I shivered as I heard Gimli sifting through the pile of bodies, looking for any sign of Merry and Pippin.

"Sîdh, melethril." he whispered softly in my ear as he pulled the lacing out of one of his vambraces and tied my hair back with it. "Let me see if I can help Gimli. I will be back, I promise."
I nodded and leaned forward, resting my hands on the brown tufted grass of the prairie.

"It’s one of their wee belts." Gimli gasped in dismay.

I heard Legolas murmur something softly in elvish then the sound of a boot connecting with something metal.

"ARRGH!"

Startled by Aragorn’s cry, I snapped my head around and saw him on his knees his head bowed in apparent defeat. Just as Legolas started for him, he looked up, scanning the ground in front of him.

"A hobbit lay here, and the other." He ran his hand over the tufted grasses. "They crawled. Their hands were bound."

Legolas walked back to where I still knelt on the ground. "Come." He said grasping my hand and pulling me to my feet. "Aragorn has found their trail."

"Their tracks lead away from the battle," he called to us as we ran up, "and into Fangorn forest."

Before us stood a tangled and forbidding wood. I was sensing something from the deep shadows within that seemed less than friendly. The eerie silence of the wood made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. What eyes watched us from these looming trees?

"Fangorn Forest?" The dwarf breathed in disbelief, "What madness drove them in there?"

"Whatever madness it was, Gimli, we must follow if we are to learn their fate." I said pressing closer to Legolas. I, myself, wasn’t too keen on the idea of going in there, but with Merry and Pippin still missing there was no other choice.

"Stay close to me, Ithilin. Something lurks here that I do not trust." Legolas draped his arm about my shoulders and held me to his side, his sapphire eyes scanning the tangled wood warily. He felt it too.
Cautiously, we entered the gloomy twilight of Fangorn’s eaves, Aragorn leading the way.

I smelled the fresh, clean scent of water as we passed under the dusky moss laden trees. Overcome, by thirst I followed the sound of a trickling stream. The others hopped over it as I knelt to quench my thirst.

"No!" Legolas warned, the cool, clear water spilling from my hand as he pulled me to my feet. "You must not drink this, Ithilin. I know you thirst but I do not trust this water."

I swallowed dryly, gazing up at him pleadingly. He kissed me fiercely and drew me away from the stream. When he let me go, I questioned him with my gaze for my thirst had been sated.

:Ask me not, meleth. Just accept.: his thoughts said as they brushed against mine. :Now come or we will lose Aragorn and Gimli.:

I grabbed his hand stopping him, :Legolas, kiss me again.:

A playful smile tugged at his slender lips, "As much as I want to, Ithilin, it would not be a good idea to lose Aragorn and Gimli in here."

"I know." I answered sullenly, casting my gaze on the loamy ground.

His free hand cupped my chin and forced me to look at him. "What is it?"

"Nothing." I lied, hoping he wouldn’t see through me. The truth was I wanted him right here, right now. I wanted to feel his callused hands on my skin. I wanted to touch him, to feel his battle hardened muscles ripple beneath my hands. I wanted to surrender to his touch, to be his. And to my horror, I could not will these thoughts away however hard I tried.

His lips brushing mine, he whispered huskily. "We both feel the tug of the waxing moon. It is difficult to ignore, I know, but we must."

"Why?" I whimpered softly, ignoring the fact that I already knew the answer. His nearness was starting to drive me crazy. Reason was abandoning me. My whole body felt like it was smoldering and would burst into flame at any moment.

"We must. Come."

We made our way through the maze of trees, following Gimli’s well marked trail.

"The air is so close in here." I heard the dwarf exclaim warily.

"The forest is old, so old I almost feel a child again." Legolas said glancing up at the ancient trees. "It is full of memory and anger."

A low groaning creak echoed through the wood. Startled, I pressed myself up against Legolas’ back, resting my hands on his trim waist.

"The trees are speaking to each other." Legolas whispered, trying to reassure me as he brought me around and clasped me to his side.

Aragorn motioned to the dwarf, who was a few paces behind us. "Gimli, lower you axe!"

"Oh." The small being breathed, lowering his weapon

"They have feelings, my friend." Legolas glanced around, a half smile of wonder on his face, his eyes sparkling like sapphire stars in the dim light. "The elves began it, waking up the trees, teaching them to speak."

I marveled at him as he watched the forest around us. So in tune with the natural world, that I envied him. I had long been able to tell when snow was on the air or a thunderstorm hovered on the horizon of my prairie homeland, but I had never been able to hear the voices of the trees.

"Talking trees." Gimli snorted, "What have trees to talk about except the consistency of squirrel droppings."

Legolas chuckled softly at the dwarf’s grumbling as we followed Aragorn ever further into Fangorn. Suddenly, he stopped, tense and alert. His eyes narrowed and he glanced around. What did he sense that I didn’t?

"Aragorn, nad no ennas!" he hissed, hopping over a fallen tree and climbing up a small incline.

I scrambled after him. If something was out there, I didn’t want to be unprotected.

"Man cenich?" Aragorn whispered as I came to stand on the other side of Legolas from him.

"Get behind me, Ithilin." Legolas commanded me, as he slowly drew a white feathered arrow from his quiver and nocked to the string of his bow. "The White Wizard approaches."

I heard the sing of Aragorn’s sword as he drew it from it’s scabbard at his waist. The feathers on Legolas’ shaft crackled softly as his fingers drew across the barbs, making their way slowly to the string made of elven hair.

"Do not let him speak, he will put a spell on us." Aragorn whispered tensely, "We must be quick."

As Legolas turned, I flattened myself against him, trying my best to be invisible but also keep him unencumbered by my presence. I could swear I heard a child’s scream as he loosed his arrow, a scream I recognized. Swallowing fearfully, I peered around Legolas' shielding body becoming suddenly blinded by a bright white light. What witchcraft was this?

"You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits." A voice out of the light said. The shadow of a man silhouetted against it.

"Mama!?" came another voice out of the light. I stiffened as a small figure appeared to stand beside the wizard.

"Who are you?" Aragorn demanded. "Show yourself!"

As the light faded, an old man leaned against a long staff of some kind of white wood. His hair and clothing were all whiter than snow in sunlight. I fell prostrate to the ground, as I had seen priests do at ordination. Legolas knelt beside me, his blond head bowed in homage.

"Kyrie elaison." I gasped, unconsciously reverting to my catholic upbringing, "Christe elaison."

"Forgive me." Legolas whispered reverently. "I thought you to be Saruman."

"But I am Saruman. Or rather, Saruman as he should have been."

"Mama!"

I looked up to see my young daughter running towards me. Her wavy tarnished blond hair was clasped away from her pretty face and her silvery blue eyes flickered with concern.

"Moragain?" I looked at the wizard in shock then at Legolas as I clasped my daughter tightly to my breast. "But how? This is not possible."

"I believe you have lost something, Palandiriel." The wizard smiled at me like an indulgent father at his favorite child.

"How can this be?" I asked, feeling like my heart was being torn asunder. I had only just resigned myself to the reality of her death. The grief, dibilitating at first, had lessened in the light of the task given me. Now, with her unexpected return, all the pain and grief that had overwhelmed me in Lothlorien rose to the fore as I pulled her close, determined not to let her out of my sight again. "I saw the blood. There was so much. This can not be." Even with my daughter safe in my arms, I struggled to believe she was found alive.
Legolas’ steady gaze questioned me silently but he seemed to accept this strange turn.

"As did I, Gandalf. This is not possible." The utter disbelief in his voice washed over me like cold water. He, too, wondering how this child was found alive.

"Gandalf, you can not mean for this child to join us?" Aragorn asked. "Our road is too dangerous as it is. Ithilin is at least an adult and can take care of herself to some extent."

I felt Legolas’ hand on my shoulder as he knelt before my daughter, smiling. "She will be safe with us, Aragorn. She is my responsibility like her mother," he said with a soft smile as she reached out and touched his hair, a look of curious wonder on her young face.

Gandalf chuckled. "Well, well. If a change has not come over our young prince. It is about time too."

Legolas glanced up at him, "Adar has been talking to you again about my apparent lack of a mate, has he not, Gandalf?"

"He was beginning to worry that the Fire would never come upon you, young one. That is all."

His acceptance of my daughter’s appearance astounded me. Few men even in my own time would accept responsibility for another man’s child. I also wondered at Moragain’s immediate trust of him. Normally she was extremely shy of strangers. Why him?

:Do you love me that much, Legolas?: I asked him, holding Moragain close and stroking her unruly curls as I tried to convince myself that I was not dreaming this, that she was really here in my arms.

He turned his sapphire gaze to me, :And more, melethril.:

I shook my head, a disbelieving smile tugging at my lips. Laughing softly, I gently smoothed his golden hair beneath my hand. "Why?"

"Mama, where are we?" Moragain asked in a frightened tone yet there was a note of awe in her voice as well. "And who are they?"

"You are in Middle Earth, hên-nîn, and I am Legolas," he said gently taking her little hand in his and giving it a little squeeze. "Gandalf, you already know. The one that needs a bath is Aragorn and this is Gimli."

Moragain looked up at me, uncertainty flashing across her eyes. "What happened to Daddy and Bobby and Bryan?"

"I don’t know." I sighed regretfully. My world seemed to have been turned upside down again. I had just come to terms with the knowledge that my daughter was dead and now I find her alive. Things had changed. I had to think of what was best for my daughter and how to keep her safe in these perilous times. I sighed again, trying to put my reeling mind back in order. As I did, I realized that her presence had also cooled the much of the fire that had begun to stir my blood. Silently, I thanked Ilúvatar for this reprieve.

"I was also asked to give you this, Palandiriel." Gandalf said, startling me out of my brooding as he handed me a scabbard and sword. "Her name is Hirilanna. She is a gift from the Lady who bid me tell you this. ‘When the dawn breaks over the stronghold of Rohan and blood stains the soil of Middle Earth, the hour of reckoning will be at hand.’"

What did those words mean? Whose blood? Elves? Men? Mine? What of my daughter? What of Legolas? All these questions ran in circles in my mind as we retraced out trail.

"One stage of your journey is over, another begins." he said as we headed back toward the edge of the wood.

"Mama!" Moragain cried as she tripped over a large exposed root and fell, her tumble causing her to let go of my hand.

As quickly as I could, I scrambled back over the root and pulled her into my lap, rocking her. I could feel her slight body trembling. She was so frightened by this change in surroundings. She clung to me, burying her tousled head against my shoulder as the trees groaned loudly up above.

Wordlessly, Legolas shouldered his bow and backtracked to us. He carefully inspected her hands, gently brushing the dirt from the scrapes.

"Come, little one, I will carry you," he said softly as he lifted her from my arms.

"Legolas, why are you doing this?" I asked slipping into elvish, knowing that my daughter would not understand.

He turned to me, pressing Moragain’s head to his shoulder. "She is of your body, Ithilin," he answered.

"I’m sorry, Legolas. I never expected this to happen."

"I am not angry, meleth-nîn. I accept this, Ithilin."

"Why?" I didn’t understand how he could be so accepting of this.

"Please don’t fight," Moragain murmured against his shoulder.

He kissed her forehead, "We are not, hên. Your Nanneth is just confused."

"Nanneth?" she asked, raising her head to look him in the eye.

"Nanneth is elvish for Mother," he chuckled, "or, if you prefer, Nana."

"What’s the word for Daddy?"

"Ada."

"Can I call you that?" she asked hopefully.

"Why, child?"

"It feels right."

Legolas beamed, his eyes dancing with laughter. "If it’s all right with your Naneth, it is fine with me."

How could I say no and break two hearts? From that moment on, Legolas was her Ada.