italics are sindarian

Oh, if only her parents could see her now.

Hidden in the shadows, bow drawn at her own kind, siding with the 'enemy'. They would not be happy—well, her Ada wouldn't but her Naneth would've probably found the situation mirthful despite her 'betrayal' to their dear friends.

But what did they expect?

Her people were known wanderers. They weren't used to staying in one place for hundreds of years. She could tell that people were sensing her restlessness, her need to go out and explore. She wasn't blind to the fear and hesitation that had shown in the guards' eyes each time she left, saying that she was going for a walk; nor was she unaware of the worry and caution that flooded her dearest friends when she accompanied them outside the gates.

It had annoyed her, she wasn't going to lie about that, that they all thought she would up and leave them without a moment's warning. So, to try and quell their fears, she had said she was never going to do that. That she valued them far too much to just desert them without warning and cause them pain.

It was a shame she did so anyway.

Gandalf had come to her in the earliest of mornings when the sun barely kissed the sky and Mirkwood was silent. Sometimes, late at night when she felt the crushing wave of guilt, she tried to relax her heart by saying that it wasn't as though they were unaware that she was going to leave. After all, her king and prince were not unaware of the arrival of the grey wizard, and the guards had seen him walk to her room.

She had been hesitant at Gandalf's words, knowing that her actions could cause so much hurt to those who love her. If Gandalf sensed her reluctance, he didn't say a thing. Instead, the two enjoyed the sunrise and, by the time rested above the trees and smiled down at them, she had her answer.

"Look out!" She heard a young—well, young for a dwarf that is—voice call, and she whipped around, the silver blade slicing through the thick limb of the hairy creature. It reared back with a sharp scream, bearing it disgusting teeth, and she raised the dagger defensively.

She felt the arrow brush past her cheek, nearly nicking her, before it slid into the underbelly of the spider. She didn't lower her guard at the spider's scream, nor did she after it collapsed to the ground on it's back with its legs curled in. Instead, she pulled her sword from where it rested on her hip and walked towards the cursed beast that roamed her once green forest. She glanced at it, maybe for a second too long, before plunging the silver blade through its skull and ripping it out, wiping the black blood on the crushed leaves beneath her.

The pain and guilt that she was so accustomed to feel flooding through her body after a kill never seemed to come, and she didn't bother to spare the fresh corpse a second glance as she walked away. Her king had once told her when she was a child—her new king, that is—that she was too weak to ever truly become a Queen. That her sympathy would be her downfall and the fact that she could not kill a creature without regret would cause her kingdom to fall.

She had never bothered to prove him wrong, never bothered to become the soldier he said she wasn't… because he was right. She was not a soldier, that wasn't who her people were and that wasn't who she was raised to be.

A lower voice, one that she knew no elf could ever achieve reaching in their lifetime, yelled out and she clenched her jaw. Thorin Oakenshield and her had never seen eye to eye and she wasn't unaware of the prejudice he held towards her kin. She had seen it when she had first joined their quest, when they arrived in Rivendell, and she continued to see it every day she walked with them. She thought it was incredibly foolish of him to yell after the attack they just had and she knew that he wasn't idiotic enough to think that they had killed all the spiders.

However, she kept her mouth shut. A sarcastic comment from her was going to get her laughs from Kíli, Fíli, Nori, Ori, and Bofur, but a sharp glare and loss of progress with Thorin.

She sheathed her sword before tucking her dagger into her belt, pulling off her bow and arrow once she was done. She was going to be walking behind them, a habit she had since the beginning of the quest, and if she were going to protect them, she was going to need a long range weapon. The leaves beneath her feet barely made a sound while the dwarves footsteps echoed louder with the crunching of leaves.

Her ears twitched and she drew back the arrow before releasing, the beast letting out a sharp squeal as it hit the ground. She almost rolled her eyes at Thorin's glare and Kíli's look of offense.

"I'll let you get the next one," She promised, and the young one's eyes seemed to glow with happiness at finally proving his worth. But what worth could he prove while trying to fend off monsters he could barely hear?

The spider was dead before he had drawn his bow.

A rustle from behind her caught her attention and her eyes narrowed as she glanced towards the offending area. Something felt off… different. While the spiders' rustles had been harsh, these ones were soft and careful. It was almost as if each rustle was calculated and preplanned to match with the spiders. She glanced away and reached her arm back, grasping at the heavy, green fabric and pulling it over her head. Tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ears, she made sure that her face was covered. It would not end well for either her or the dwarves if she were to be spotted amount them.

Drawing her hand away from her face, she notched the bow again and drew her arm back. Her eyes were focused on the spider that had foolishly landed in front of Thorin and she let out a soft breath, her fingers releasing the thick string and she stumbled, a soft cry escaping her lips as her body plowed into Nori's. Steadying herself, her misty eyes shot up and stared at the green feathered arrow that laid mere centimeters away from the spider. Thorin didn't even bother glaring at her, too busy cockily twirling his sword in his hand as the spider reared back on its two hind legs. Another rustle sounded from behind her and she reached behind her, whirling around as she stood in front of Nori and Kíli, acting as a human shield. Her arrow rested between the blue eyes of the elf in front of her as his did to her. She could almost feel the coolness of the arrow tip against her forehead but she did not bother reacting.

"Do not think I won't kill you, dwarf," She couldn't stop the shiver that ran up her spine at the sound of his voice. Odd, she mused, his voice sounds deeper even though it's only been a few months since I left. The harshness in his voice, though, was something that she would've flinched at if she had not been aware of who her company was. Still, it reminded her of the anger that was yet to come of the situation, "It would be my pleasure."

She adjusted her grip slightly on her bow and cocked an eyebrow at the elf in front of her, daring him to come closer or to let the arrow go. She knew that he would do neither. From the moment his blue eyes, they reminded her of the stream that ran through Rivendell, had locked on her grey ones, that looked like the sky on a stormy day, she knew that she had won. She almost laughed, if only there was a way for her to cover her eyes as there was for her to cover her hair and face, her life would be so much easier.

Her eyes did not stray far from his as she heard the numerous footsteps approach them. In fact, she was rather enjoying the sharp glare he was giving her. It wasn't often that Arthion got annoyed or showed emotion, and she couldn't help but feel smug when she managed to get a rise out of him.

"Kíli!" Fíli's voice rang throughout the silent forest, and she used this momentary distraction to lunge to her left. Arthion was quick to follow her movement, however, and her eyes darkened when he drew his arm further back.

She often forgot that they had grown up together and that he knew all her tricks.

"We both know that you're not going to do anything." She taunted, a sly smirk playing on her lips as her grip on the bow lessened. She expected Arthion to followed and her brows furrowed for a second when he remained tense.

"Search them," She heard Legolas command, and the elf-maiden glanced back, rolling her eyes as he strutted throughout the group of dwarves, stopping at Gloin. Arthion finally lowered his bow and expectantly held out his hand. She glanced at it, raising her brows, before handing him her bow, sword, and dagger. When his hand remained outstretched, she wrinkled her nose in confusion and looked at him.

"I know you have more," Arthion stated, and she rolled her eyes, her hand reaching into her pocket before giving him the two daggers that rested there before grabbing the small one that stayed in her left boot. Collecting them, he looked at her boredly, his light blue eyes blank of emotion, and she gave him a tight smile. She knew what he was looking for.

"It's keeping my hair back," She murmured, hoping that he'd let her keep her identity hidden, "Please, Arthion."

"As much as I would love to, you know the rules." She couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her lips as she felt her hood being violently—yet gently— pulled back. Auburn waves tumbled down, landing flawlessly against her back and hanging there limply. Arthion had already managed to pull the clip from her hair and clenched it tightly in his hands. Although his grip was tight, she knew that it wasn't tight enough to damage the clip.

He didn't want to deal with Legolas anymore than he already had.

"Maelyrra," Arthion whispered, and her eyes widened at the use of her full name. How long had it been since someone had called her Maelyrra? Without a second thought, she turned to glance at the blonde leader to see of he had heard him. She wasn't surprised to see Arthion doing the same, "He has not been in a good mood since you left and I don't know how he'll react now that you're back…and with dwarves."

"I could not deny Gandalf for help," Maelyrra muttered softly, pulling a strand of her waist-length hair over her shoulder and fidgeting with the ends, noting how split and dead it was. "And I did not mean to hurt him."

But she knew it would.

"But you did," Arthion stressed, his hand coming to grip hers tightly, and Maelyrra looked towards the blonde elf, biting her lower lip as she felt the familiar wave of remorse and regret flood through her body.

She refused to comment, her heart heavy from whatever pain she had caused Legolas in her absence. Though she knew that it would hurt him, to begin with, she thought that he would've been able to brush it off. She wasn't like Legolas, she was different. He knew that, his father knew that, her friends knew that. The fact that she had managed to stay in one place for as long as she did was outstanding among her people. But, Maelyrra was naïve in that sense. She didn't always understand the full powers of emotions, even though they affected her every action.

"This is an ancient Elvish blade," She heard Legolas murmured, and she glanced at him, adoration filling her eyes as she watched him studied the sword in his hands. How long had it been since she had seen him? Since she heard his voice? She was not ignorant of the hatred that slowly began to fill his dark blue eyes, "Forged by my kin. Where did you get this?"

"It was given to me," Thorin said, his blue eyes refusing to look away from the Prince's.

Maelyrra bit her lip and looked away. It was in moments such as these that she truly remembered how similar the hatred that elves and dwarves shared for each other was. Though Legolas's and Thorin's eyes were different, the loathing that they held was identical.

"Not just a thief, but a liar as well," Legolas said, and Maelyrra felt her heart leap when Legolas pointed the sword to Thorin's throat. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins and blood rushed through her ears, blocking most of the sound, as she stared at the two nobles.

There was no way that Maelyrra was going to let Legolas hurt Thorin. She had traveled too far and protected the King far too many times to let a foolish encounter, such as this one, ruin their chance of getting to the mountain. And, as much as Maelyrra wanted to remain hidden in the shadows, she knew that she was needed now more than ever. That this could be the reason why she was truly on the quest.

"Meleth nín," The name of affection left her lips without a second thought and Maelyrra smiled softly, wincing when his icy eyes met hers. She watched, heart dropping in her chest as they briefly flickered with confusion and hurt—the confusion hurting her the most—before returning to their cold state, "Please."

He turned from her and Maelyrra felt her heart drop even further in her chest as he demanded they be brought to the King. For the first time since she left, Maelyrra wondered how much pain she had caused Legolas… how much agony he was holding in his heart. As the small group started forward, Maelyrra moved to join them but froze when a hand grabbed her wrist. She didn't flinch, the grip was not tight enough to cause her pain; rather, it was to ensure that she couldn't escape.

A grip that she had once held herself and that she was all too familiar with. The one that was given when the person feared you'd leave them again, or you'd just disappear if they turned away.

"Maelyrra," Legolas's smooth voice flooded Maelyrra's ears and she faltered for a moment, her stomach filling with butterflies and her heart dropping further in her chest. "We have a lot to discuss."

Taking a deep breath, steadying herself, Maelyrra turned to face the young elf. Her heart broke as she stared at his face. He seemed so much older and held so much anger in him, and Maelyrra regretted ever leaving him, "As you wish, My Prince."

~8~

Maelyrra clung to her father's hand as he led her through the halls of Mirkwood, her eyes wide with wonder as she examined her new home.

"Ada, why must I stay?" Maelyrra asked, her wide, doe-like grey eyes staring up at her father with curiosity and a hint of fear. Her father, Tirithon, smiled warmly at her and gave her hand a squeeze.

"You must explore the cultures around you if you are to be queen one day," Her father explained and Maelyrra nodded, "You will spend a few years here to learn the ways of the Sindarin elves before you move on."

"But Ada," Maelyrra nervously played with the ends of her hair, "Why Sindarin?"

"Why not Sindarin?"Tirithon challenged, his voice holding a low warning as they approached the King. Right before they entered the throne room, Tirithon stopped his daughter and grabbed her gently by the shoulders before crouching to her height, "It is not to be known that you are a descendant of Fingon. You must keep it a secret, my dear."

When Maelyrra opened her mouth, Tirithon calmly raised his hand to stop her, "It is not safe for your lineage to be known. When I return, I hope it will be time for you to be Queen but, until then, you are to be a Lady."

Maelyrra nodded and her father gave her a soft, sad smile before grabbing her hand as the throne room doors opened. Maelyrra swallowed, trying to push down the anxiety that clawed at her throat as she felt the King's cold stare turn to her.

I am so sorry that i have been gone for so long. I've been trying to rewrite this chapter for three days now and i really hope you like the new rendition of it. This story will be updated once every month and have 2000+ words. Also, lmao, i typed rivendell as riverdale at first.

Thank you so much for your kind reviews! They really kept me going!

Ema333: Thank you so much! And i'm so glad you like it! You were definitley right, it was hard to keep going but I'm all back now!

yasmina1: Thank you so much! And more will be coming

RegencyGirl17: Thank you and I'm so glad you like it! Also, thank you for the heads up, i had no idea, haha

TetiSherii: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it!

Tobiramamara: Love the user name and thank you so much! Sorry i abandoned you for a while, but I'm back! Also, I'm so glad you like Maelyrra and... i like dark leglas too. He has so much more character than lotr.

Again, thank you all so much for your reviews and for sticking with me. it really meant a lot.

Feel free to lmk how you like the edited version! There will be another chapter this month.

Thank you,

ana