A/n: Thank you my dear three reviewers! Not complaining but...so many hits so little feedback ):! Maybe because I didn't ask for reviews? Review! hahaha. Anyhow I guess you can tell I update weekly (8 keeps me and you on our toes? Here's the next chapter, please enjoy Melda's crazy character!

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Chapter Two: Woodland Dream

I was sulking. I was confused, in pain, and helpless and oh therefore had the right to sulk. I hadn't said a word to Strider since the beginning of our journey. After multiple tries to coax more of "my story" out from me (he believed me until I brought out the unicorns and dancing fairies), he stopped trying to make me talk.

"Would you prefer it if we slowed down?" Smiled Strider slyly as he stopped for the umpteenth time so that I could catch up.

I shot him the best glare I could under extreme duress (i.e. wounded leg) and taunted back, "I would prefer if you shut up."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

I let out a quiet groan as I looked down at my leg, the blood had clot nicely beneath the vegetable paste he stuck on me earlier but dried blood still caked disgustingly on my skin. Suddenly my world was flipped upside down as I felt a pair of manly grimy arms lift me over a shoulder. I shrieked indignantly, drumming my fists on his back until he stopped walking.

He shifted until he was holding me bridal style and I could see in his surprisingly clear eyes that he felt sorry for me. "We'll go a little further and then camp for the night."

I stared at him as if he were crazy. Scratch that I stared at a crazy man.

"You want us to camp out here when there could possibly be other deranged zombie monster things joining us by the campfire?"

He didn't respond at once, as if processing what I had been screaming at him. "Well we will never make it to the Halls of Thranduil at this pace. We have been on the move for hours but have not traveled but two miles. You should have said something if the pain were that bad."

"Oh so now it's my fault?" I seethed. Hello. I'm the one with the gash on my leg! Although admittedly I put up a tough front and just seemed like I was sulking.

"I thought you were trying to make our journey difficult on purpose," he admitted sheepishly.

I put my hand in his face and shoved his head back. He lost his grip on me and we both tumbled to the floor.

"Ow," I muttered before helping myself up with a tree trunk and pointing at Strider, who was observing me from the ground, obviously not pleased.

"Look here. This is how it's going to work. We are going to keep on walking until we get to night accommodations that do not involve you, me, and a tree for shelter."

Strider began to laugh as he stood back up. "Unfortunately I believe all three of those demands will not be met regardless of whether we reach our destination or not."

An hour later…

I kicked at one of the tree roots with the foot on my uninjured leg. Strider went off to get some firewood, which is really stupid considering we're surrounded by trees and you really don't have to go anywhere to get some wood. He probably just wanted a break from my amazing presence.

In any case, he left me a knife in case something happened while he was gone. Honestly if I saw another one of those hideous monsters I'd use the knife to slit my own throat than have the possibility of it eating my flesh while I'm still alive and screaming or something. Something as ugly as that definitely ate people.

Night fell quickly and Strider was still nowhere to be found. I started to feel paranoid, the sounds from the woods not exactly a soothing symphony. I curled up into a ball, hoping if I made myself as small as possible I could remain unnoticed to the rest of the world until he came back.

A loud clattering of wood shocked me out of my hiding place. I was about to scream but Strider clamped a hand over my mouth before I could. He lit the woodpile and started a nice warm fire.

"What took you so long?" I studied him closer. "You're cleaner," I accused.

Not by much but I could tell he took a bath or something: he was missing Orc blood stains and Orc stench that he so happily carried before.

"The river is not far off from here. You may go bathe yourself if you would like."

"I would like." I responded immediately and began hobbling in the direction he pointed. I froze as I heard his footsteps behind me.

"And exactly where do you think you're going?" I snapped at him.

"Can't leave you unprotected while you bathe can I?" He smiled cheekily. Um hello. You left me alone in the dark for how long?

Strider dodged his own knife before shaking his head amusedly and heading back to the campsite.

The river was freezing cold as expected. But I preferred hypothermia to wearing a bloodstained dress and dried blood anyways. I could see the glow of the campfire in the distance, which relieved me enough to think if something out of the night did try to eat me, Strider could hear me screaming and wouldn't want a dead maiden on his conscience enough to come and save me.

I stripped down and gingerly lowered myself into the shallow part of the water. My teeth began to chatter incessantly as I scrubbed away dirt and grime from my skin. My body got so numb that I couldn't really feel how cold the water was anymore. I washed my long dark hair, pulling my fingers through tangles until I was satisfied. Then I got to work on my dress, the water had already soaked away most of the blood, just a few more rough scrubs and the dress was presentable again. I laid it out on a nearby boulder for it to dry and turned back for a few more quick dunks.

"…."

What? Some weird soft voice came from behind me. I turned around and screamed.

Strider, handy as ever, burst out the bushes causing me to scream again and sit down in the water to hide myself.

"…..! …..!" The man behind me was now urgent and angry sounding and well, alien sounding. Oh and he was about to shoot me with an arrow. To my surprise, Strider started responding to the voice in the same alien language.

"….." "…." "…..!" "…. (=_=)" "…..!"

That went on for a while so I just sat with my butt in the freezing water as the two men talked to each other in their language. After a while Strider gestured at me and said "Melon."

"What did you call me?" I questioned, extremely annoyed. I hate when I don't know what is going on around me and right now, I have no idea but I've just been called a round fruit. Obviously the other man had a brain in his head, or at least enough of one to deduce that I was not a melon. He answered back angrily. Then Strider said some more stuff. I tried to help the situation. "Ix-nay on-hay e-thay anguage-lay." The two men ignored me, figures. Chauvinistic pigs…well Strider was at least.

Sitting in front of a strung arrow for a while kind of decreases the probability that the person is going to shoot you. Or at least I hoped. I began to study the man who was trying to kill me. I couldn't really see in the dark but the moonlight helped a tad. It made him look ghostly. He was pale with high cheekbones, a strong jaw and a frown on his face. His eyebrows were knitted together in confusion, probably thinking what are we doing flouncing around in the dark when he had a nice warm inn that we could be bundled up in. Stupid Strider.

After a while Strider finally realized that I was about to die in the cold water and said something to make the other man pause for a minute before turning away to let me get out of the water and get dressed. I hastily pulled myself out and pulled on my dress before wringing out my hair and catching the other man staring at me. Perv.

"This is Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood," Strider finally explained.

"And I'm Queen of California, what's your point?"

Strider lowered his voice. "The point is show some respect before he takes your head off. Elves hate to be disrespected!"

I looked over uncaringly at Legolas's ears. They were pointed alright. I guess you're an "elf"... congratulations crazy arrow-happy stranger.

"What is she doing here?"

So he does speak English. That makes him a double douchebag.

"This is Melda, a girl I found deep in your woods, unarmed and about to be slain by an Orc. I decided to bring her to Gandalf. I believe he is still in the halls of your father?"

"…Yes."

Legolas decides that he is going to parade us through this Mirkwood area in the middle of the night back to wherever he wanted to take us. I hate the way he looks at me so intensely. I turned up my nose at him whenever I got the chance to, which was whenever he looked at me, which was hardly ever. Strider was looking at me strangely again so I flipped him off. No reaction except continuous staring.

"Your leg," Strider explained exasperatedly. I looked down. Shit. I forgot to dress my wound, more like didn't have the opportunity to, and now it was happily bleeding again. It's a wonder I didn't bleed out in the river.

Suddenly a clean strip of cloth was held in front of my face. Legolas had magicked it off of himself and now was offering it to me. I must have seemed grateful because he nodded as I took the clean cloth and wrapped my leg up. He must have decided that I wasn't a threat, considering he was no longer pointing arrows at my face but instead shoving makeshift medical supplies.

Strider went back to our campsite and doused the flame and get his things, leaving me alone with Legolas.

I have to admit I was unnerved by his staring. I felt like he was either trying to burn a hole in my head or trying to stare into my soul, neither being the lesser of two evils. Drat.

"What do they call you?"

I raised an eyebrow. Either he was tuning out Strider when I was introduced or he just wanted to hear it from me. I threw out the name Daryl gave me, "My name is Melda."

"But you can call me Mel," I decided as an afterthought. Melda sounded too boring like Edna or Mildred. Plus I'd never get used to responding to that name, even though Daryl called me that a hundred or so times.

"Strange…" Legolas muttered but offered no reaction other than that. You mister are the one prancing around as an elf so I think you are strange. Unfortunately he still has his bow and arrow handy so I'll have to keep that thought to myself.

"I see you two have not killed each other yet," grinned Strider when he returned.

The three of us walked over to Legolas's horse, who was waiting patiently, surprisingly untied. Run horsie, run while you can! The horse nuzzled Legolas's hand as he murmured some of his language to it. Then he jumped up onto its back and offered me a hand.

"…yeahhhh no," I backed away from Legolas right into Strider's chest. "I don't suppose walking is an option?"

"If we went at your pace we'd be three hundred steps by the time morning came around," replied Strider wryly before he grabbed me by the waist and roughly lifted me up to Legolas. Now I was sitting in a very compromising position with a stranger…on a horse. Awkwaarrrddd.

"And what are you going to do, run?" I snapped, annoyed at being manhandled.

"I will meet with you later. I have some other business to attend to first."

"WHAT? You're leaving me?"

Strider chuckled before giving me a wink and slapping the flank of our horse, sending it into a nice trot. Damn you Strider. Damn. You.

TBC…..

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A/n: Melda is off to her lodging! How will this friendship bloom! Find out next timeeee! (8 Review my dears!