Disclaimer: Everything that you recognize does not belong to me. I am once again, just borrowing a few things for my own enjoyment. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Note to Readers: Thank you so much to those of you who gave me feedback on "Life's Little Moments". I wrote it on a whim and I was blown away by the reaction to it. So, in response, I have decided to write another Eowyn and Legolas story; this one takes place after "Life's Little Moments" but you do not need to have read it to understand this one. This one is going to be much longer, and hopefully stand on its own, but I am keeping to the fact that LLM occurred beforehand.

Summary: A Eowyn and Legolas story about the struggle of finding your place in this world and of the people that help you along the way.

Once again, this story is following Movie Verse.

Homeless Hearts

"He fell."

The words echoed over and over again in Eowyn's mind as she remained kneeling on the floor beside the makeshift bed that had been readied for her in one of the guest quarters of the mighty fortress of Helm's Deep. The day had begun with such promise and she had clung to the hope that the ones she cared about would return safely to her after the threat of the wargs that had ambushed their party had been taken care of.

She had begged her uncle to allow her to stand next to the men as they fought for the lives of the Rohan refugees, and yet he still refused her. She had been sent to lead the women, children and the elderly to the stronghold of her people, and she had done as was asked of her. Eowyn understood her uncle's worry for her safety, but surely she was more capable of defending her own life than she was being given credit for. Then again, if one so strong as Lord Aragorn could be killed in battle...

Tears fell like rain from a leaking roof as she thought of the unfortunate fate that had befallen the man that she had grown to care so much for over so short a time. Aragorn had been born with a destiny to save his people. Aragorn had given a gift of hope to the people of Rohan, to her uncle and to her. Now Aragorn was gone. Death had taken him; thus, death had taken what little faith she had left that Sauron's forces could be beaten.

"Why tease us with the hope of salvation only to rip it away all so quickly?" she demanded as she pounded her fist into the stone floor. She was heartbroken, but more than that, she was angry. Eowyn was furious at everything and everyone around her. The soldiers had not protected Aragorn, her home was left behind for Saruman to ravage as much as he wished and she was helpless to do anything about it.

Eowyn needed to do something; sitting here would not accomplish anything anymore. The times called for survival of the fittest and Eowyn was not willing to allow anything else to be taken away from her. And so she ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her; she bolted out of her room and down each and every corridor she came across until at last she found herself on the stone roof of the refuge. The rain was pouring heavily and bit into her face as she walked slowly towards the edge of the roof. She stared out into the blackened sky and felt her tears forming once again. How unfair these times were. She was nothing more than a woman in a man's world, left to weep for the dead and care for the living; however, right here, right now, on this empty rooftop, Eowyn could be more than that. She could take out her frustrations and let the world know exactly how she felt without constraint.

Dropping down, Eowyn picked up a broken piece of tower; there were tons of fallen debris from past battles all around her and many were small enough for her hand to hold. "Curse you, Sauron!" Eowyn yelled with venom in her voice as she threw the rock as far as she could over the side of the tower. "Curse your darkness! Curse your hatred! Curse your very being!" she continued as she threw rock after rock in every direction that her outburst took her.

Her hands were cut now as she catapulted stone after stone into the abyss around her, but still she did not yield. "My cousin, my brother, my parents you've taken from me! Curse you! Why have you left me alive? Curse you, why did you take him? Why?" She threw another and was thrown off balance, falling to her knees only to have her cries quieted when she heard a soft moan echo from behind her.

Eowyn froze, allowing her breathing to slow as she realized that she had been caught. It dawned on her that one of her uncle's guards may have followed her up here upon seeing her mad dash down the hallway, and she sighed as she turned around to tell them to leave her alone. However, to her surprise, she found that whoever it was had been hit by her most recent projectile and was laying on his back, reaching his hand up to his forehead.

Regret formed quickly in Eowyn as she rushed towards the figure and knelt beside him to ask if he was alright. "I am so sorry" she began as she pushed the hood back from the figure's face to inspect the cut she had obviously caused him, only to be cast backwards in horrified shock as the confused face of Legolas the elf was revealed to her.

Covering her mouth with utter embarrassment, Eowyn's mind swam with things to say, yet none of them seemed to come out. Luckily, it was he who broke the silence; though, he did so with a question she did not expect.

"Were you being hurt?"

Eowyn paused before she answered as he touched the small wound above his left eyebrow and checked his hand to see if he was bleeding. "No" she replied, earning herself a strange look from the immortal as he fully sat up and glanced around them skeptically.

"Is there another up here with you?" His next question assured her that she was about to be thought insane by this creature if she answered truthfully, but she found that she could not lie to him. Once again, his gaze seemed to pierce her flesh and she knew that he would be aware of any lie that she spoke to him.

"No" she answered with a shake of her head, "there is no one."

Her prediction was proven correct by the look the Legolas gave her now. He arched his brow and watched her carefully as she stood up and offered her hand to him to help him up. Legolas assured her with a nod of his golden head that no aid was necessary and was gracefully on his feet in seconds. He continued to watch her in silence as she resisted the urge to wipe the blood from his face, knowing that he was probably not the type to accept help from others, especially the one who injured him in the first place.

"I heard your screams" said Legolas as he tilted his head to the side and took in her shaking frame. She was wet and cold; she definitely needed to brought inside, but he knew that she was one that he could not push, and so he remained where he stood. "I feared you were being hurt."

Eowyn shook her head and turned away from him, wrapping her arms around herself to warm her body as she looked out into the distance once again. "I was not" she replied slowly. "I did not mean to disturb you, Lord Elf, nor did I mean to attack you. I also do not mean to keep you from your business down below. You needn't worry, I am quite safe up here" her words were broken and though she did not face him, Legolas was well aware that she was crying.

The elf pondered on what she had spoke to him. He had no business that needed tending at the moment, in fact, he was grateful for the distraction. His company had lost Aragorn today, and the grief over the loss was far too much for the elf to deal with. He needed to keep himself occupied or else he feared he would do something that he would later regret. It was then that a thought occurred to him.

"You are grieving, Milady." It was not a question, but instead a realization for the firstborn. Legolas was both baffled and in awe of the woman in front of him who chose to not respond to his statement. His entire experience with the fellowship had shown him so much about the other races of Middle Earth, and it was the humans who continued to confuse and surprise him the most. Here was a woman who had lost many of her people and was obviously in a grievous amount of pain, but instead of merely crying as her had seen others doing, she had chosen to go up to the roof, scream and throw rocks at someone who was not even there. Very strange indeed.

"Many good men died today" she said simply, causing Legolas to frown. This was not exactly the distraction he had hoped for. He desperately wanted to speak to someone about anything other than what had happened that day. Gimli had not been an option; the dwarf was inconsolable and berated him for not seeming to show any upset over Aragorn's death at all. That, to Legolas, was definitely the major flaw in their friendship; elves were taught to withhold their grief for fear that it would cause them to die from it, while dwarves on the other hand, handled tragedy with an outburst of emotion. It was because of this, Legolas had steered clear of his dwarven friend, feeling guilty about it, yes, but needing to do it none the less.

It was surprising to Eowyn that the elf did not respond to her, but she let the silence go on between them for another few minutes before she decided to turn to him once again. To her astonishment, she found that Legolas had moved to a place right beside her without her knowing. Her shock wore off soon enough as she watched him, and she was reminded of the time they had spoken on the road to Helm's Deep. He had given her great comfort then, and selfishly she hoped that he might comfort her again. However, there was something different about him now. It was as though the light that had once illuminated him, was dimming before her eyes. She knew immediately that it was because of the loss of his companion, and spoke to him.

"You were close" she said quietly as she wrapped her arms more tightly around herself as protection from the midnight chill.

Legolas knew that she was watching him closely and for a split second he almost wanted to growl at her for the difficulty she was causing him. He had so far managed to keep from speaking about his inner turmoil, but he could tell from the few times he had encountered this woman, that she was not one to be turned away so easily.

Taking a deep breath, the elf concentrated on the view he had from where the pair stood; the rain was doing nothing to hinder his vision at all, but was helping to obstruct Eowyn's enough for her to not be able to see the pure sadness that now radiated in the depths of his cobalt blue eyes. What she did notice, was the fact that he bite the corner of his lower lip before he spoke, giving her some clue that he was nervous; which, to Eowyn, was endearing.

"No." The answer came as a surprise to the young woman. She furrowed her brow and attempted to question him further; for it seemed as though Legolas had been good friends with the Ranger from the north. However, she never got the chance to inquire, as Legolas, who had anticipate her train of thought, continued with explanation.

"We met a few years ago, when Aragorn came to my homeland with Gandalf. We hated each other" he added with a hint of a chuckle in his tone, sparking Eowyn's interest. "He thought of me as arrogant; I thought him a coward. I believed him cowardly because he hid from his destiny. He chose to hide who he truly was and I never understood why. Why he would choose a life of a common traveler, when as heir to the throne of Gondor he would have the ability to bring forth change in this world I could not decipher, nor accept."

It was here that Legolas paused, and thought back to the moment he revealed the truth of Aragorn's identity at the council in Rivendell. Legolas' frustration had caused him to lash out at the man named Boromir with the information he held, and Aragorn, though upset, remained calm and collected. It was in that moment that Legolas saw him in a new light.

"He earned my respect, and eventually, I earned his in return. It was not the case that he feared responsibility; Aragorn only worried that when it came down to it, he would fail those that he cared about." Legolas hung his head low and closed his eyes. Tears were forming and he would not be able to hold them back for very much longer. "He was our leader." The tears came now. "We followed him.. and yet, none saw him fall."

Eowyn watched the fair being with tears streaming down her cheeks again. There was such roaring pain coming from the elf and she had no clue as to what she could possibly do to ease it. It was clear to her now that te elf blamed himself for what had happened, and from experience, Eowyn understood that nothing she could say would change that. Legolas had to come to terms with this on his own, regardless of how much she tried to help with his guilt.

Slowly, Legolas opened his eyes once more and with a few solid deep breaths, calmed himself into a stone facade before turning to face the mortal women beside him. His heart screamed at him to continue speaking to her about his pain, but his mind fought for the opposite. His mind told him to get this woman inside to her uncle before she became sick. Anything to change the topic of conversation.

"You are cold." It was a silly thing to say and he knew it, but it was the first thing that came to him at the moment. "You should not be out here, Milady."

Eowyn laughed and shook her head with a bitterness about her. She turned away from him and ignored the elf as he touched her shoulder, urging her towards the entrance to the tunneled stairs. "It helps" she began, as Legolas tilted his head to the side and listened intently. "You would think I would be used to all of this by now. Death, there is so much of it that one might become accustomed to it after being faced with it day in and day out. However, it never gets easier. Never."

"I have seen much death throughout my years" Legolas added as he positioned himself beside her yet again. "I have had many good souls fade beside me in battle, and I have ended the life of many foul beings with my own hands, but death is still a mystery to me; a horrific mystery in fact."

Silence fell between them again, and Legolas hesitated, wondering if he could allow himself to reveal to this woman what he desperately needed to speak out loud. To show such weakness would do no good to either of them; yet there was something about Eowyn that assured him that she could be trusted.

"I fear my inability to handle it. I know not how."

Eowyn drew her eyes to her companion. She noticed that in this moment, with his guard let down, Legolas looked very young. If he were human, she would have guessed him to be perhaps even younger than herself. An overwhelming maternal-like feeling welled up within her at that moment, and she imagined herself standing with younger member of her own kin, despite how ridiculous it may have been to do so.

"This might help" she suggested quietly as she held out her hand, and as he looked to it, he saw a piece of rubble in her palm. He looked confused as he took it from her and met her eyes before he replied.

"You want me to hit you with this?" The idea was absurd. He would never hit a woman, never mind with a rock. It was barbaric.

An actual smile appeared on Eowyn's lips as she heard his question. Legolas looked bewildered, and she took pity on him. "No. Of course not. I mean for you to throw it out there" she corrected, gesturing towards to open skyline in front of them. At hearing this, a slight blush formed on the elf's cheeks as he berated his own foolishness. Eowyn could see that her companion was more than slightly perplexed by what she had said to him and his next question made her subtle smile grow a tad bit larger.

"Why?" Legolas rose an eyebrow as he spoke. What good would throwing stones do at a time like this.

The niece of Theoden shook her head, her smile fading from sight. She reached out and closed his hand around the stone as she gave her response. "Imagine that all of your sufferings are contained within it" she began, referring to the rock he held. Legolas' frown grew at this, but the moment he began to interrupt her, Eowyn continued: "and throw it back to him, or her, or whatever it is that has caused your turmoil. Just throw it back."

It seemed simple enough, but the skeptical views of his kindred kept Legolas at bay for a little while longer. "You do realize.." he started slowly, hoping not to offend the maiden at his side, "that there is not actually anyone out there." This earned him a cold glare and he quickly turned to avoid being pierced by it. Obviously, she had realized, and his attempt to avoid insult had failed.

"Humor me, Lord Elf" she shot back. Almost to prove her point, Eowyn then threw a rock of her own and the two companions watched it as it flew off into the distance. They were both quiet for a moment, and Legolas knew that the young woman was upset again, but this time, she was angry with him. She had reached out to him and offered what help she could, but he had rejected her with belittlement.

The elf let out a sigh of frustration. This day could not get any worse it seemed. Not only had they lost Aragorn today, but on top of that Legolas had managed to anger both Gimli and Eowyn: the two people in this entire stone refuge that he even remotely felt like he could hold some sort of a conversation with now that the ranger was gone. He had managed to anger them by doing nothing but trying to avoid having his emotions come out full swing.

"Sometimes being elven is its own curse" he thought to himself with a tinge of acidity as he began to unconsciously start tossing the stone up and down in front of him, with Eowyn watching from the corner of her eye. Elves needed to restrain from emotion because of the intensity with which it came to them. Emotion could be dangerous for elves, but yet, restriction was now what was causing Legolas the most amount of pain. It seemed ironic to Legolas that he had at first started this mission with the hopes of solidifying his independence, and now he found himself wishing that he had not done so good a job with building up his inner walls.

Just throw it back.

With a snarl, Legolas whipped the rock as hard as he was able out into the surrounding darkness, and to both his own and Eowyn's surprise, the sensation of freedom it brought him caused him to pick up another three and do the same in so quick a motion that Eowyn wasn't able to see the stones at all. He thought of Mirkwood - his home, that was slowly being destroyed by Sauron's dark forces. He thought of Boromir, who had died by the hands of the Uruks as he tried to protect the small hobbits. He thought of the destruction coming to the good men around him. He thought of Aragorn's fall and a tear escaped his eye as he thought of the fate that awaited Lady Arwen when she was given news of the mortal's death. Losing Aragorn would destroy Arwen, and all that the two had hoped for would be scattered to the wind. Oh, how unfair it was.

Eowyn watched the elf with interest. She could tell that he was getting himself worked up, and as much as it hurt her to see another in so much pain, she knew that he needed to face his pain if he ever hoped of recovering from it. When he finally stilled, she saw that he had sank down to his knees and allowed his head to hang forward. He was not crying, but his breathing was labored and she let him be, offering comfort only through her refusing to leave his side.

As Legolas knelt there, he slowly opened his eyes and silently prayed for some sort of sign that things would be well again. He prayed for something to hope for; something to fight for. It was then that the small pendent that he had placed into the inside pocket of his tunic came free and fell to his feet. He frowned as he reached for it; it was the pendent that had belonged to Aragorn. It had been a gift of love from Arwen, and Legolas had not the heart to leave it there in that field where Aragorn had last been seen alive.

The elf felt an odd sensation flow through him as he looked upon the necklace; it took a moment, but as he steadily rose to his feet once again he realized just exactly what it was. His prayers had been answered. Legolas turned to Eowyn again, and she was puzzled by the smile that graced his features. "What is it?" she asked, and he was quick to answer.

"Before we came to Rohan, our company traveled through the Mines of Moria" Legolas began, shivering slightly at the memory of the place. So cold and full of death it was, it still made him shudder. "We encountered a dark creature of the ancient world - a spawn of Morgoth, and though Gandalf was able to defeat it, he himself was not able to be saved." Legolas paused here, but continued with purpose, "he fell. We thought that we had lost him but the Valar sent him back to us so that he could complete his task."

Eowyn frowned, but a spark of hope ignited in her heart, urging him to continue and voice out loud all that she prayed that he might.

"Aragorn was born with a purpose. As the heir of Isildur, he was destined for great things. All of his life he has hidden in the shadows, but his fate was never changed; his fate was only delayed." A broader smile emerged on the elf's face now. "It is now only delayed."

"What do you mean?" asked Eowyn as she turned fully to face her companion with a new determination in her eyes.

Placing his hands on the maiden's shoulders, Legolas replied and Eowyn noticed that the glow that had once been diminishing was now as strong as ever around the elf. "Aragorn is destined to return. He fears he will fail, but he will not. Hope remains while the company is true" he spoke, remembering clearly the words that had been spoken by Lady Galadriel in Lothlorien with a widening grin. "Yes, hope does remain."

Though she was not completely certain of all that he spoke of, Eowyn found that she was once again comforted by the words of the first born. "Could it be possible?" she wondered silently as Legolas lifted her chin delicately so that their eyes met and gave her answer.

"He will return."

Well there you have it. Chapter one is done and complete. It took me a while, but in the end I was pretty happy with it. Please let me know what you think, because I'm open for suggestions, praise, complaints. Just not flames, alright, because nobody benefits from them and it does me no good for making my story better.

Oh, and for those of you who might be interested, I have two songs that I am using as inspiration for the friendship that is formed between Eowyn and Legolas. The first one is "Homeless Heart" by Amanda Scott (hence the title of the story) and the other is "Learning to Fly" by Tom Petty. I listened to them quite a bit while writing this, FYI.

Please Review!!