THIS IS NOT A ROMANTIC FIC!!!!!!!!!!! IT WILL SEEM LIKE IT IN THE BEGININNING BUT IT'S NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!THERE IS NO ROMANTICAL TENDANCIES BETWEEN LEGOLAS AND ANNAE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOWEVER PLEASE GIVE THIS FIC A CHANCE. I BELIEVE IT IS GOOD. I KNOW IT IS BECAUSE THE PLOT BUNNY ANNOYED ME FOR 6 MONTHS. THE REASON I DIDN'T WRITE IT BEFORE WAS BECAUSE I WAS TOO LAZY. BUT NOW I AM GETTING INSOMNIA OVER IT. STUPID BUNNY!!!!!!! PLEASE R+R!!! THIS IS NOT AU OR ANYTHING. At least I don't think so. LEGOLAS MIGHT SEEM A LITTLE OC. I DON'T THINK HE IS BUT I'M TAKING THIS PRECAUTION. JUST IN CASE.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but this plot line. Boo hoo! The owner is the genius Tolkien.

'Elvish'

//Dark language, Mordorish if you will// (Everyone can understand this but in this story the only people who can speak it are the dark elves and Annae)

"Common tongue" (this will be used rarely if it is used at all)

The First Meeting

Annae was a strange elf. Perhaps that was what attracted Prince Legolas in the first place. Or maybe it was the way she seemed to know him and felt what he felt. He felt connected to her from the start. When he came home from his travels (the Quest, travels with Gimli in the caves and Fangorn Forest) she was the only one who shied away from him. Not because she was shy. Legolas could see that she was not. It was because she sensed that he wanted to bask in Mirkwood not be surrounded by adoring fans even if they were his family. He wanted to greet everyone on his own accord; he didn't want them to come to him, instead of them to him. Legolas had a glimpse of the blond haired, green-eyed elf dressed in black from head to toe, before he was swamped by relatives and well-wishers.

'Hello, I'm Annae' a voice interrupted Legolas' reverie. He looked at who had greeted him and saw the very elf he was thinking of. He didn't know why he thought of her, he hadn't known her name till now! 'Well, aren't you going to give me your name? You were preoccupied yesterday so I decided to wait to talk to you.' Her voice held a joking tone.

Legolas laughed and responded, 'My name is Legolas. My family was obviously very eager to see me again. I can't blame them. I've been gone for so long,' after a pause he added, 'When did you come here? I've never seen you before. Where are you from?'

'Rivendell. I came here three years ago. I'd lived in a human settlement before I went to Rivendell, traveling. I decided I wanted to see Mirkwood so I set off again. Where have you been all those years that you were gone? I would dearly love to hear about your travels!' Annae's voice had enthusiasm that couldn't be missed unless you were deaf.

Legolas started telling her of his travels. Unlike many elves she didn't seem surprised about him forming a friendship with a dwarf. Or at least she didn't mention it. Annae sighed when he mentioned traveling in Fangorn Forest. She had always wanted to travel there. They talked all day and Annae, startled, realized it was almost sunset. They parted and agreed to meet in the gardens the next day.

Annae smiled as she left. Legolas had talked to her. She just had to keep him interested in her. Talking to him was fun surprisingly enough. She thought that he'd be just like every other noble, selfish and annoying, but he wasn't. She actually found herself looking forward to the next day.

Strange Happenings

Thunder in her dreams, woke Annae up, before she realized it was someone pounding on her door. She opened the door saying to the elf standing there, //What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night.//

The dark figure replied, //Hurry up with him! We don't have much time. They are beginning to suspect. You've had him with you for three months now, that's long enough. You need to finish fast. We'll have what we need soon enough//

//So what if they suspect. They don't have proof. I'm going as fast as I can. He's surprisingly trusting. I'll probably have him in a couple of months. In the meantime, stay in the forest and listen for news. And don't come back here. That will give them definite proof. Then everything will be ruined. It's too risky. Now go!//

The dark figure seemed to melt into the shadows. Annae watched him leave eyes filled with disgust. She shut the door after making sure the person left. Getting in bed she muttered, .//Sometimes he's more trouble then he's worth. But I DO need him so I'll have to put up with him. Elbereth help me.//

A Day in the Life of.

'HA!'

Legolas stopped running only to have Annae jump out of a tree right on top of him. The two began wrestling, both fighting furiously. Finally, Annae managed to pin Legolas down. He struggled furiously but found he couldn't move. He had no more energy.

'All right! You win, Annae. I give up.' Legolas panted.

Annae rolled off and collapsed right next to Legolas, panting as well. 'Good! I'm too tired to move.'

A while later Legolas got up before turning to Annae and helping her as well. He turned and grinned, 'Tomorrow I'm going to beat you!' Annae simply laughed.

Two months passed and Legolas and Annae became good friends. One day she woke up and said to him when they met at breakfast, 'We've never left the palace. Let's go riding.'

Legolas merely nodded but excitement was evident in his eyes. They walked down to the stables and began saddling up their horses. Legolas' horse was a chestnut roan and Annae's was pure black mare. Legolas took in the color of her horse and was reminded of a question he wanted to ask. 'Why do you always wear black? I've never seen you in anything else even at formal occasions. Why?'

Annae considered the question before responding, 'Black is my color. I don't know what other excuse I can give you. Now come on! Let's go!'

Legolas smiled at her before mounting up. They trotted out of the palace gates and Legolas turned to Annae, 'Let's race. First one to the border wins!' (Author's note-I know Mirkwood is huge but I mean the safe border where they aren't likely to get attacked. The Ring has been destroyed but there is still evil in Mirkwood). They spurred their horses up to a canter before really making them charge. Legolas crowed gleefully as he pulled up to the border a hair's length in front of Annae.

'We should go back. Orcs and other evil things have been seen around here.' Legolas turned his horse as he spoke.

Annae groaned, 'Oh come on! Don't you have a sense of adventure? Nothing's going to happen to us. Let's just go. Or are you afraid?' Stupid dares like that always worked on Legolas.

'I'm not scared! Let's go!' Legolas was a little nervous though he would never admit it to anyone. He had never left the "safety zone". But today he felt daring. After all Annae had her bow and arrows and knives. They rode slowly before Annae turned around and said, 'There's a really pretty glade I want to show you. Follow me.' He turned his horse to follow her and soon they appeared in the glade. They walked into the middle and Legolas was about to ask what was so special when a group of dark elves walked out and surrounded them.