Disclaimer: I don't own Legolas or Thranduil, Galadriel or Celeborn but I do own Lhundol and Manquare.

Chapter 1

Manquárë ran through the bush exhausted. She had been running for days trying to escape a band of Orcs that had attacked her village but they had been determined to catch her and were still on her trail. Desperate to hide from them she darted into a grove of trees and ran smack into another elf. He grunted as her head connected solidly with his middle and putting out a hand steadied her so that she didn't fall.

"Steady on there fair maiden, what's all the hurry" he said.
"Orcs, they're chasing me," she said.
Just at that moment the band of Orcs appeared. The elf pushed Manquárë behind him and quick as lightning had readied his bow to shoot and had had taken out the nearest Orc. He continued to methodically kill each Orc as she fumbled for her own bow and arrows. Finally she had notched an arrow to her bow and had joined him in defeating the band of Orcs.

By the time the Orcs had been defeated both elves were breathing heavily and the other elf had almost exhausted his supply of arrows. He walked amongst the bodies and retrieved his arrows from them as well as taking the arrows from their quivers. Then he retrieved Manquárë 's arrows and turning around saw that she was standing there silently watching him.

"You're a fine archer," she finally said.
"You aren't too bad yourself fair maiden" he said.
"My name is not fair maiden. It's Manquárë," she said angrily.
"And I am Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood" he said.
"Legolas, an unusual name" she said.
"As is Manquárë " Legolas said.

The two of them just stared at each other then burst out laughing.

"You know what, I like you" Legolas said to her.
"You're very forward" she said surprised.
"I mean as a friend idiot," he said.
"You're the idiot" she shot back at him but he knew she was joking.

They sat down under the shade of a tree and talked.

"So Manquárë, where are you from anyway?" he asked.

She gave him a rough idea of the place and he nodded.

"Well as you know I'm from Mirkwood and my father is the King there"
"So are you betrothed to any one" she asked, then kicked herself for doing so.
He raised an eyebrow at her before telling her that he had refused to participate in any arranged marriage and instead wanted to marry for love.

"I haven't found that love yet so I'm content to wait," he said.
"That's so sweet" she said.
"Thank you" he said.

After awhile Legolas got to his feet.

"I guess I'd better escort you back to your village" Legolas said.
"I guess so," Manquárë said.

The truth was that she didn't really relish going back as her family and arranged for her to marry a male elf her own age who resided in the village. As they walked along she kept darting looks at Legolas. She realized that he was very good looking and realized that he was the sort of elf she wanted to marry one day. She knew that she didn't stand a hope of him actually being interested in her that way as she was an ordinary elf but she couldn't help imagining the two of them together. At the same time Legolas was gazing at her wondering if she was involved with anyone. He told himself to forget about her, as he doubted if anything would happen between them. However he felt that she was very beautiful.

They finally reached the outskirts of her village and he bade her goodbye.

"Wait Legolas, you have to come in and have something to eat. Why you must be starving. I know I am"
"Why thank you Manquárë " Legolas said.

She went on ahead of her and suddenly he heard her screaming in anguish. Running up the hill he saw that the Orcs had razed her village to the ground. She was on her knees weeping in anguish. Taking her hand he drew her to her feet.

"I think you're going to have to come back to Mirkwood with me Manquárë "
"But my family, my friends everyone I ever knew lived here. They can't be dead can they?" she screamed at him.
"No I don't think they are dead but you wouldn't like to know what has become of them because it's not pleasant to talk about"
"Tell me damn you Legolas" she cried.

Heaving a sigh he told her what she wanted to know. She screamed and clung to him crying piteously. He raised her head so she was looking into his eyes.

"Manquárë I know you're pretty upsetright now and you have nowhere to go but I promise you that you will be happy in Mirkwood and you'll make new friends. I will be there and I promise that I will look after you and ensure that you are treated well. After all I am Prince there so they do have to do what I say to a certain extent.
"Are you sure Legolas" Manquárë said.
"Yes. I care about you as a friend and I don't want you to be left vulnerable to attack. I mean what sort of friend would I be leaving you here?"
"Point taken" Manquárë said.

Legolas suggested they set out so they did. As they walked they talked and Manquárë told Legolas a bit about her life including about being pressured into an arranged betrothal. Legolas asked her if she had actually gotten married before the village was attacked.

"No we were just betrothed, I didn't love him at all so I'm glad that we don't have to marry now" she said.

Legolas was quite surprised to hear this, as he had been quite certain that she had been married. He began to formulate a question for her but an Orc raiding party seemed to appear from nowhere and they had to fight for their lives. During the battle Manquárë suffered a stab wound to her thigh and when the battle ended Legolas saw her clutching at the wound. Gently prizing her fingers away he examined the wound and saw that it wasn't serious. Darting into the bush he found some athelas and quickly returning to her side used it to make a healing paste, which he applied to the wound before binding it firmly. They set out on their way again and camped that night in a glade. There was a pool within the glade and Legolas invited her to swim with him. She accepted but then realized that there was the issue of privacy. When she said so to Legolas he told her he'd leave his breeches on. She decided to leave on her slip so removed everything else. When Legolas removed his shirt Manquárë couldn't get her eyes off his chest. It was firm and toned and she longed to run her fingers over it. They entered the water and the coolness of it relaxed them both. Legolas watched her swimming her long light brown hair floating out behind her and marveled over her beauty. They started splashing each other and had a great time until they started feeling cold. They exited the water and between them got a fire going which soon dried them out. They got dressed again and then Legolas cooked them a simple meal and they ate gratefully.

After their meal they lay down and looked at the stars.

"You know Manquárë, I still fail to comprehend how you managed to escape those Orcs and no one else from your village did"
"Oh I had gone for a walk and when I returned they were attacking. I was spotted hence my flight away from them"
"Right that explains it then" Legolas said.

They remained silent for the next few minutes looking deep into each other's eyes. Legolas was suddenly overwhelmed by a desire to kiss her. However he told himself that he hardly knew her so it wouldn't be appropriate. They returned their gazes to the stars and spent the next half an hour stargazing. Eventually they began to feel tired so settled down for the night, Legolas insisting she sleep near him.

They woke the next morning feeling refreshed and ready to go. After a quick wash in the pool they set out once more. By the end of the day they had reached Mirkwood and Legolas lead Manquárë inside his father's dwelling and introduced her to his father. He was sympathetic to her situation and promised her he'd do all he could to ensure that she settled into Mirkwood. He had Legolas show her to lodgings that she could use until a house had been built for her. Once they were there Legolas told her he had duties to attend to but he'd see her around. Then he was gone. Manquárë looked around her and found that the room she'd been assigned was as beautiful as her old home had been. Manquárë bathed in the bath provided and changed into one of the gowns hanging in the closet there. She chose a pale blue one that set off her clear blue eyes. Then she brushed her hair until it shone and allowed it to tumble loose around her shoulders. The effect was stunning.

Chapter 2