DEDICATED TO: Lily of the Valley, my faithful companion and forever friend. May her canines stay sharp and her nose alert.
Author's Note: Slight Mary Sue warning, due to several chains of events. I apologize for this. I tried desperately to steer clear of Mary Sues, but it seems I got caught in the same old trap that ensnares so many fanfiction writers.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of LOTR or The Silmarillion. That is the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, a genius.
Rated PG-13 for sexuality, violence/blood, and suggestive themes.
Please read and REVIEW. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but please, no flames. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Have you ever wondered what might have happened if Legolas did not go to the Undying Land of the Elves with Gimli? This is a might-have-been, although it ends in tragedy for many.
Sun glistened over the tops of the trees. Laurelin stretched her eyes across the horizon, taking in the sights of her Mirkwood home. It had been a long time since she had been able to feel totally safe in the forest, for evil spirits had prevailed only a couple hundred years before. Now, Mirkwood was a glorious kingdom once again, multiplying and prospering under the rule of Elven-king Thranduil. A violent Elf-lord in earlier Ages, his strength had dwindled and he could no longer command an army of Elves nor could he ever leave Mirkwood again.
His heir to the throne, Prince Legolas, had just returned from a year-and-a- half long adventure and had ended up helping destroy the Dark Lord Sauron. Legolas had been home for about two hundred years, but Laurelin knew he was bored and wanted to do something more with his life.
Laurelin sighed silently within her soul. She loved Legolas with all her heart, and he loved her, but she was just the daughter of the King's Chief Body Guard, nothing more. She was of little importance to the King in the whole throng of Elf-lords and warriors. It was true Thranduil wanted Legolas to get married, but to someone of a little more royal authority, and Laurelin had no idea who that might be. It wasn't that Laurelin couldn't marry Legolas, she certainly was able to. It was that the Elves of the kingdom would be unsure of a daughter of a bodyguard ruling as their Princess. Legolas had suggested waiting on telling his father, but Laurelin feared that soon it would be too late. "Well, it isn't like the King hates you," she thought. "He actually loves you a lot, and has blessed you with many things, like Galada for example." She stroked the neck of the white mare she was sitting on. The horse shifted its weight underneath her in reply.
"Life is so unfair sometimes," she uttered quietly to herself. Laurelin sat in silence for a while, lost in her thoughts. Soon she realized that if she did not get home, someone was bound to recognize her absence and send out a search party. Checking her horse, she started down the beaten path that led out of the woods.