Disclosure:  Twilight and Lord of the Rings are owned by their respective writers and holders to the rights.  I own nothing.  Perhaps if I did, this would have been what happened, but since I don’t hold a candle to Tolkien, yeah.  This is my own humble try.

Pre Edit Count –   1,995 Words

Song I listened to for this chapter: Goodbye, Apathy by OneRepublic.

Previously:

While uniquely beautiful to see, Bella loses the last hope that she is in on a prank. The stars are familiar, but so far from her own stars, that there is nothing to account for it but a huge gap in time, or a different reality. A tear drops from her eye as she accepts that she is here, and that her life is one that is based back in a book.

Now:

Legolas had given her privacy to acknowledge her loss, but soon he is beside her, and when she lets a sob escape out loud, he holds her close to him.

Seeing the woman who had drawn a knife on him when surprised, break down like this is not something he likes to see. He holds Bella and rests his head on hers, as she uses his jerkin to hide her cries. Through his attempts to soothe her, Legolas ponders the emotions she evokes in him.

It is not like the feelings he heard those that find their other half experience, but rather an imperative not to leave her anytime soon, and it confuses him. Until he knows otherwise, he is just going to go with it. No matter what his father may have to say about it. And knowing him, he would have plenty.

No, Legolas is going to take this one day at a time, and help the little woman who captured his interest.

Bella soon gets herself under control, and relaxes in Legolas’s arms. Until now, she has not had contact with another being, except Urúvion, for months. She shudders with the knowledge, and when Legolas feels it, he pulls away to look down at her. “What is wrong, little one?”

She takes a deep breath, and tells him, “The stars… they are w-wrong. And then I just realized how sad my life has become. I don’t know if I belong back there, I always felt a step out of tune with everyone, and even though I have no idea what is going on, I am much more comfortable here. I just don’t understand.”

Thinking it over, he offers, “Maybe you never belonged? I cannot see this out of step with everything you speak about. You are very soothing to be around, not only for me, but also for the others. Even our steeds are soothed by your very presence.”

Chuckling at his comment, Bella tells him bluntly, “I am one of the clumsiest people I know. I trip on air.”

Legolas ponders her statement with a frown on his face, “But you have not done it once here. Maybe it has something with previously being a step out of tune. Perhaps it holds a grain of truth. That you were out of tune, because you didn’t belong there, mayhap you needed to be there, to gain something that we require here.”

His words tumbling in her head, Bella is still as she thinks on what he says. She cannot help but think he might be right, but still has to ask, “What makes me special? Do you know how many people would love to be in my place right now? In my world, or time, or whatever it is, people dream of this very opportunity. And instead, I am here. It makes no sense.”

He smiles down at her, “Wait. It may not make sense now, at one point, all the pieces of this puzzle will make sense in your mind. Your questions will be answered. It may not be the answers you wish, but you will find that they are the ones you need.”

She laughs, “That just sounds so like what I know of your people.”

Legolas shakes his head, “Our people.” He gently corrects.

Looking away from him, she shakes her head again, “We don’t know that for sure.”

Taking her chin by his fingers, he raises her head to meet his blue eyes, and tells her, “I do. Something tells me you are here to shake the apathy of our kind. And that you are one of us. Again, answers will come. But for now, I think it is time to sleep, Sidhiel is right, we will be doing some hard traveling until we get to the borders of Lórien.” He continues to search her brown eyes, looking for his own answers, and can’t find any.

Sighing, he offers his arm, and they head inside, with Urúvion watching the two. When they go inside, he turns his head around and looks at what his beloved rider had been staring at, chuffing as he too sees a different sky than the one he is used to.

The next couple of days pass almost in the same fashion. The other elves taking what they can from Bella’s pack, trying to lighten the load on her horse, all the while Beriothien is muttering that he will be replacing the god forsaken saddle when they get back to civilization.

Legolas rides at her side, but both Beriothien and Sidhiel take the places immediately ahead and behind them. All of them ride silently, and as fast as they can while not pushing the horses. They are all experienced riders, but the elves are aware of other dangers that could have them pushing their mounts to escape at a moment’s notice.

However, though the trip was hard, it had been peaceful. And in normal Middle Earth fashion, that peace ended when they thought they were close to safety.

The rear guard luckily heard the noise of the bow being pulled, and warned them all, “Orcs!”

Legolas, not even thinking, swung around and slapped Urúvion’s haunch telling Bella, “Ride!”

He locks eyes with the two who had sworn to Bella, and they both ride with her, letting him know they will keep her safe. He swings around, and once the group is together, they all take off after the three, guarding the flanks where the attack will come.

And within moments, the attack hits, arrows coming down like rain, and the elves and their steeds are soon doing a time old dance in avoiding the arrows, or grunting as one would hit. Luckily the group makes it through not losing anyone.

This race keeps up for the last of the furlongs before the border and right when Legolas thinks they have made it, a pack of ogres attack the three in front of him.

His bow is in his hands in seconds and firing upon the beasts alongside the others, but one manages to make a lucky grab and Bella falls out of the saddle.

She lands hard, but manages to have one of her long knives out as the rest of the pack descend upon her. She grits her teeth, but is quickly attacking them, managing to kill one, while holding another off.

Legolas is soon off his horse, attacking the pack with the others and trying to make it to the center where their newest comrade is trapped. His heart is hammering as he tries with everything he has to get to her, but starts to feel helpless as the pack seems to gain more members.

Then a horn sounds, and there are more elves fighting with them. His spirits lifting, he fights harder to get to his Bella in the middle.

But out of nowhere, he sees a silvery blonde head appear at her back, and the two are soon…dancing. There is nothing to call it but that. A very deadly dance for the orcs, but one that is entrancing to watch.

Soon, reinforcements arrive, and the orcs are either dead, or in the process of dying. The two in the center of the pack are leaning against each other as they pant for air, both of them thanking every deity they know of that they had survived.

Legolas is there in an instant and grabs Bella, looking her over, “Oh thank the Gods. Do you have any scratches?”

Bella nods to her arm and winces once Legolas tears her sleeve off to make quick work of the wound. Her other two elves are soon at her side to help, but Legolas is shaking his head, as he looks up at Bella, “I need to clean the wound. Often they have poison on their weapons.”

Gritting her teeth, Bella reaches down and grabbing a knife hidden lower on her leg, she tells Legolas, “Either you bleed it, or I will.”

Legolas stares at her in shock, but the silver haired elf who appeared at her back takes the knife saying, “It is the best way to get rid of it before it gets into her blood.” He soon has the wound bleeding freely, watches it closely, then when he scents nothing but clean blood, he holds out his hand for the binding that Sidhiel has ready. He quickly and efficiently binds the wound, but his hands are gentle on her, and when he is done, he looks up at her and freezes.

Bella is also frozen as she looks into his silvery eyes, making note that his hair and eyes match. She finally says, “What is going on?”

The elf blinks, and then stepping away from her, shakes his head. “Not possible. Not after all this time!” And he heads the other way, barking out commands that has the group assembling the horses.

Bella turns to look at her elves, but even they look shocked, and finally she asks, “What the hell?”

Beriothien turns to her, and smiles. “I think you are going to be my new best friend.”

Rolling her eyes, she just lifts an eyebrow, but the other elves just stare at her, with a smile appearing on their lips, even Legolas. He had though he would have been jealous, but finds himself happy. A sound off in the distance makes the smile drop, and he turns to his company, “Get mounted and ready to leave. It is not safe for us yet.”

They all nod, and when Bella turns to look for her horse, an elf that she doesn’t recognize comes up to her, with him following the silver haired elf. He grins down at her, amused by his brother’s reactions, and glad to have met the female that would finally have to deal with him. With a bow, he presents her horse, “Milady, I believe this is your steed. I would have you know he took down many an orc trying to make it to your side.”

She looks at him, and then tells him, “I thank you for the assistance to Urúvion in coming back to my side.”

He laughs, looking down at her, “It was more of him leading me to you. I look forward to hearing the story of you two in Lórien.”

With that he bows and is moving away, leaving Bella to mount and look at the amused faces of the elves around her. “What do you know that you are not telling me?”

With that Legolas falls into his place by her side and just tells her, “When we meet the Lady, I suspect that much will be revealed. Until then, allow us our enjoyment.”

She sighs as she rolls her eyes, and spurs Urúvion forward, not shocked when the rest of the elves laugh and move with her. A movement catches her eye and she sees a flash of silver hair here and there, and somehow, she realizes that the strange elf is traveling in the trees, with them.

Frowning, she wonders about the ease it causes her to know he is there. Yes there will be much to wonder about.

However, a voice echoes in her mind, “Welcome, Granddaughter of Ilúvatar. I welcome you to the home of the Elves, and look forward to meeting you.”

The voice was melodic, but Bella has herself shaking from the odd peacefulness that had descended and there was a melodic laughter, “Oh yes, I will be glad to meet you, Daughter of the Valar.”

The thoughts that came rushing in as that name was given was enough to have Bella sway in her saddle, and her last thought was of falling and being caught by the silver haired elf.

Final count:  2,109 words.

Fairfarren~