To my anonymous reviewer: I am very happy to be writing again as well :) Thank you for waiting patiently

Disclaimer: nothing..I own nothing! Well, with the exception of Lehlina and Koto, of course. Onward!

Chapter 2: Awaken

Lehlina remained frozen beside her father's body for several moments, gripping the wrapped necklace as if it would save her from this nightmare. Realizing to herself that there were still two other cold bodies somewhere in her home brought on another fresh wave of tears. Knowing she could not face them, she stood up feeling as if she would be sick at any moment. Feeling a desperate need to leave, she grabbed one of her father's worn out leather pouches that rested in a small, nondescript chest at the food of the bed. Caressing it gently, she carefully deposited the cloth-wrapped necklace into the pouch before cinching it closed and tying it around her belt. Sorrowful eyes glanced around the small room, refusing to look back at her father, and she realized that she could not stay here. The village was burning, and soon there would be nothing left. There would be no time to bury anyone, no time to take anything with her, no time to mourn any longer.

Those responsible could be back at any moment. What if they sent a scout back and saw Koto? They would come for her and she had no intention of dying this day. Her best bet would be to travel to Mirkwood and to alert them of the enemy's presence. Surely they would be able to grasp the situation better than she. What enemy would strike one lone village and for what purpose? No, they intended to move on and attack many more homes. She was helpless to stop what happened here, but she would be foolish to allow it to happen to others. Rhovanion needed protection of the woodland elves or at least the hope of surviving another day. The darkness her father had been waiting for had come. It had found them and no one had been able to withstand its crushing presence.

Forcing herself to take one step forward, she swallowed the lump in her throat and willed her other foot to follow. Slowly, she was able to manage her way out and back into the quiet atmosphere. Before she made it any further, she fell to her hands and knees and could no longer hold back the vomit that had been threatening to come at any moment. After a few minutes, she shakily tried to clean herself the best she could and rocked back onto her heels. She was aware that Koto had, at some point, stepped closer to her as if to comfort and guard her. Standing up slowly, she waited for the dizziness to pass before deftly climbing onto Koto's back. It was then she realized just how much of the village was on fire and she let out a shocked gasp. Koto grew restless and anxious as his rider struggled to really comprehend all that had happened. The heat of the flames had just begun to reach them as smoke drifted up into the sky.

It was their time to leave.

"Noro, Koto, noro (Run, Koto, run)!"


Lehlina's eyes flew open as her heart drummed rapidly in her ears. Focusing on the ceiling, she allowed her breathing to slow down and registered the fact that she felt rather weak. She wondered at the back of her mind if this is what Caritan had felt like one morning after he had consumed some dark, foul drink the night before. She smiled weakly at the memory of her mother whisking into his room in the middle of the day and yanking the cloth from his body before pouring a bucket of cold water over him. He had shot up faster than any fleeing animal she had ever seen. She watched her mother from the doorway, half-frightened and half-amused as her mother rested her hands on her hips and began speaking quite loudly about what a foolish boy he was and began to dole out a list of unwanted chores as punishment while he groaned from the light and the duties she quickly listed off to him.

As the memory faded, she remembered the events that had transpired and her smile slipped off her face as her eyes glazed over. She wearily scanned the room around her, or what she could see of it from her position. She was lying on a soft bed with the softest white sheets she had ever experienced. A luxurious green cover spread out on top of them and the pillow that rested under her head felt like lying on a cloud. As she continued to observe the contents of the room, a flash of blue made its way through her mind. Blue eyes, she thought. She remembered being carried by someone with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. Leisurely, she pushed herself up and immediately her head began to swirl. "Perhaps not the best idea," she muttered to herself.

"Oh good, you have awoken," a lilting voice floated across the room causing the woman to visibly jump. Lehlina had not even heard the opening of the door or the footfalls of the amused woman who now stood before her. She seemed very kindly and stared down at the recovering patient with a small smile. "We were afraid that you would not pull through."

Staring at her with wide eyes, she observed that the lady had blonde hair pinned up and away from her face and was adorned with a long and flowing olive gown. Her blue eyes were paler than the ones she remembered looking up at before succumbing to the darkness, but were still just as breathtaking. She noticed that her skin was flawless and that her ears were pointed not unlike her own. As she was beginning to notice that her height surpassed her own, the woman's smile drifted into a frown and her slender hand reached up and felt her forehead.

"Are you feeling well? Or perhaps you are not versed in the tongue of Westron? Pedich i lam edhellen (Do you speak Elvish)?"

Lehlina's eyebrows knit together as the lady spoke before she realized she had yet to say one word since waking.

"Henion (I understand)," she began quietly, as if testing out her voice. "I am familiar with both for my mother was an excellent instructor and I an eager student."

The woman before her smiled at her kindly and began walking over to draw back the curtains across the room.

"Man le (who are you)?" Lehlina asked hesitantly, not really understanding what had come to pass since she had slipped into unconsciousness. As the curtains were drawn, the woman in question turned around and glanced over at her before walking over to an ornate dresser that sat in the corner and pulled the top drawer open.

"Arodeth i eneth nín (my name is Arodeth)."

Lehlina rubbed her forehead wearily as she tested the name on her tongue very quietly although Arodeth seemed to hear her as she secretly smiled. The language sounded beautiful coming out of Arodeth's mouth and made Lehlina feel self-conscious about her own undeniable ability to butcher the Sindarin tongue. No longer wanting to embarrass herself in front of Arodeth, she quickly switched back to Westron.

"Where am I? Have I made it to Mirkwood?"

Almost as if understanding Lehlina's reason for conversing in her own language, she flawlessly transitioned as well.

"You have, my lady, though not in good health. Your horse had just crossed the borders of our land when Legolas spotted you. You were not well enough to travel alone and he took it upon himself to ensure that you completed your journey. He brought you to me and I healed you."

Lehlina immediately felt grateful to this kind stranger and made to stand and cross over to her.

"I cannot begin to thank you. Your healing abilities must be unsurpassed if you were the one to help me through." She trailed off at the end as Arodeth had turned around and gently pushed the woman back into bed.

"You are not to leave just yet, my dear. And it was not me alone that cured you. I had others that aided me, and your strength alone did the rest. Even with the poison, you were stubborn enough to fight it, not unlike your horse that is resting in our stables."

At the mention of Koto, she threw back the covers once more and made to leap out but Arodeth was quick and pushed her back in once more and tucked the covers in under her before making a tutting noise.

"My, you are rather impatient, are you not?" she asked before chuckling. "You are a lot more like him than I thought." Lehlina brushed off the comment believing her to still be referring to Koto.

"How is Koto? Is he injured? What have you heard?"

Arodeth chuckled and finally pulled the covers off of Lehlina once she had gathered about all of the materials she needed.

"I need to clean and apply new dressings to your wound. After that, you may dress and leave your room with help of course. Does this please you?"

Lehlina swallowed and looked at the woman in front of her before looking down and blushing. The realization that her body had been naked to the woman before her let alone those who helped her in their treatments was almost too much for her. She was fairly self-conscious about her body and kept what she could hidden to herself. Knowing that this woman meant her no harm helped calm her nerves but the embarrassment was still there. Nodded grudgingly, she allowed Arodeth to help her undress slowly as she was still recovering.

A knock sounded on the door over halfway through her ministrations, and Arodeth's head peeked up from her work.

"It will be just a moment," Arodeth lightly called out, just barely above the volume they were currently holding.

Lehlina's eyes tore away from the door as Arodeth turned her so that her back was facing the door and began to dress her once more except this time in a dark green, modest riding dress that had been similar to her own when she arrived at Mirkwood.

"Who is that?" Lehlina questioned curiously and as if her voice was a cue for the stranger in the hall, the door flew open with such speed that Lehlina squeaked and Arodeth hastily turned around to face the intruder with livid eyes. Lehlina turned as well so as to not display the upper portion of her back so openly and hid behind Arodeth. Before she had a chance to fully take in the appearance of the new addition to the room, Arodeth was soundlessly flying across the room.

"Out!" she shouted authoritatively. "What gave you the right to barge in here when I said it would be a moment? Can you not see she is not yet ready? Honestly, you are a rather impatient lot, the both of you!"

During the tirade of the head healer, the male backpedaled out of the room with an expression of shock etched onto his face as she stormed towards him and poked him in the chest repeatedly.

As the door shut behind them, Lehlina hastily finished dressing herself as best as she could and timidly tiptoed towards the door and opened it quietly before looking out at the pair that stood in the hallway.

Arodeth continued to berate the young man that stood in front of her. This gave Lehlina ample opportunity to observe the stranger who had so boldly made an entrance. He wore a two-toned suede jerkin over what looked to be a a pale silk shirt and grey-green trousers which were tucked into his boos. The knee-high boots seemed to be of a soft texture and Lehlina felt the need to run her fingers over them. He also adorned leather vambraces on his arms and she tilted her head as she studied them. Finally moving on to his physical features, her breath caught in her throat. Those eyes, she thought to herself as she recognized him as the one who helped her. This must be Legolas. She took in the rest of his appearance. His face was the fairest she had ever seen and immediately she began to feel unhappy once again about her own appearance. Letting her eyes drift over his face and to his long, golden hair that was flowing down past his shoulders, she noticed that it seemed to be in obnoxiously perfect condition. The top section had been pulled back into a braid and away from his face and she fingered her own limp, light brown hair as she looked at his. He looked as if he was ready to ride out or had just come back from one as he also had a bow and quiver and other assorted weapons attached to him. He possessed a regal air and his lithe and lean body stood tall and loomed over the healer, but he did not seem dangerous, at least not at this time and not to either of them. She noticed, finally, that his ears were pointed as well. As she reached up to touch her own ears, the male finally opened his mouth and a low and soft voice poured forth from him.

"I have only come to check on her. It has been three days since her arrival and we have many questions. I apologize, but upon hearing her voice, my restlessness came to a head and curiosity got the better of me. Forgive me, for I was not thinking."

The healer bristled and immediately began to lose the tenseness in her frame. She chuckled to herself before nodding and stepping back.

"It is impossible to be angry with you for too long, I fear. I would say that you gave the poor young girl a fright, but you must have not done too much damage if she is curious and brave enough to linger so closely."

As Arodeth finished her statement, Lehlina's cheeks colored rapidly and she had half a mind to shrink back into the room she had been confined to for the past three days. As the two elves turned towards her, she knew this would no longer be an option and she awkwardly shifted out from behind the door and slowly crossed towards them. Arodeth appraised her with a knowing smile and met her halfway, grabbing her elbow lightly in case the woman had trouble walking far on her own. When she looked at Legolas she knew he was remembering the scene which he had thrown himself into and for a moment he looked embarrassed, but less than a second later he took on a neutral air and nodded at her.

"How are you feeling?" he questioned her as she tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"Better than I was upon first arriving," she spoke quietly. Worried at first that they may not have heard her, she quickly remembered that her father mentioned elves had quite amazing hearing and immediately felt foolish that she had attempted to creep towards them and listen in on their conversation.

Legolas, oblivious to her mentally chiding herself, nodded solemnly, remembering how deathly she had looked when he had found her. He was astonished that she was alive and now speaking with him.

"Forgive me, where are my manners? I am Legolas Greenleaf," he spoke once more as the woman attempted to become comfortable in the presence of strangers.

"Lehlina Thenin," she whispered in response. "Please, may I request an audience with your ruler if you have the ability to speak with him? I have much to discuss with him," she said firmly attempting to sound confident.

Arodeth's lips curled up into a smile at the young woman in front of them. She obviously had no knowledge of his heritage, and Legolas did not seem eager to supply her with such information. Deciding this was the moment to take her leave and tend to those who had suffered minor injuries from the orc raid earlier while the woman slept, she nodded her head to the prince and whisked away from them.

Lehlina immediately turned and watched Arodeth hurry off and immediately felt uncomfortable once more. Legolas did not seem to be cruel or a trickster of any sort, but she was not used to people so different from herself; however, she did feel slightly intrigued and excited that she was experiencing something so new and slightly terrifying. Unfortunately, she was harshly reminded that the reason she could start a new journey was because her old life had been destroyed.

Legolas stepped forward to earn her attention once more and simply said, "I can take you to King Thranduil, my lady. He has been waiting for you to wake," she turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "He has been far more patient than myself, I believe."

She smiled slightly and nodded before following him down the intricate hallways. Observing the path they were taking, she gave up trying to memorize it after several turns and minutes of walking and she looked over at Legolas.

"Thank you for helping me," she began as he turned his head to the side to observe her silently. "I am sure it was not what you were expecting to come across that day." Thinking to herself, she seemed hesitant with her brewing question, "tell me- did Koto harm you?"

At this, Legolas let out a soft chuckle as he realized she must have been referring to her stubborn horse and shook his head gently. "Nay, he did not. Although he was not too happy of my presence or potential threat to you, he seemed to understand that I was only wanting to help. He is very intelligent, not to mention protective."

"Yes, well, we have always looked out for each other," she began unsure. Legolas slowed down as he could tell she was remembering something of the past. Lehlina looked to be having an internal battle of whether or not to tell him the memory.

"When I was a young child, we had a small group of men pass through our village. They were offered a place to stay since they offered payment for a chance to rest for a few days. On the third night, one of the men became rather drunk and began yelling at his horse who had reared up on his legs and dumped the man off of his back and into the mud. The ruckus stirred many of us awake including myself, and I perched on my bed to look out my window and observe the scene."

As she quietly spoke her tale, Legolas smiled at the images her story was creating in his own head. He could certainly picture Koto's actions from having the pleasure of interacting with the lively horse himself.

"He kept shouting at the horse and the anger rolled off of him in waves. You could tell that Koto had heard many of his tirades as he stood there in nonchalance. And then the whipping started," she stopped for a minute as she fiddled with the sleeves of her borrowed dress. "He had been tied up still from earlier so he could not flee. This also seemed to be a common occurrence for Koto. I was out of my home and into the street before my mother and father could even discover why their youngest was up and about. Running to the horse, I tried to cover his body with my own tiny one as tears streaked down my face. The man did not immediately notice my presence until he heard me cry out at the feeling of the skin on my back being torn open."

His eyes widened at that and she did not notice as his jaw clenched and his eyes held a hint of anger at the unexpected turn of her story.

"My parents had made it out as the man stumbled back in shock and Koto flew forward in a rage, no longer afraid of being whipped. My father was just as angry and my mother held me and made to take me home to care for me. I struggled past her and hugged one of Koto's legs while crying. I was afraid of leaving him alone, afraid of what would happen to him. I did not like this man or the treatment he bestowed upon such a lovely creature. I knew deep down that this would continue and it broke my heart. 'Please do not hurt him,' I begged. 'Ada (daddy), we must take care of him. He was sent to us for this reason.' My father, in his anger and confusion at the entire situation, released the man and told him to leave and never return. His punishment would be to travel on foot and without aid since he could not appreciate the value of such a gift." Lehlina finished her train of thought in silence. The man hardly put up a fight as he stumbled out of the village. I never could figure out why he left like that. Was it because of his fear of facing the several people that had come out and witnessed the entire event? Was he ashamed? Angry but lucid enough to know that he could not fight so many people?

"A man should never treat any creature that way. I am only sorry that you paid a price to free him from such an existence," Legolas finally spoke up with trouble.

"I would gladly pay the price again if I had to. Koto is precious to me, and now he is all I have left."

Legolas jerked his head towards her once more in surprise. He did not know of how she came to them, but he had hoped it was not so dire of a situation that it now seemed to be. Before he could ask more about it, he realized that they had arrived at their destination and the doors opened from the other side. They both looked forward as his father stood before them and his eyes immediately trailed over to Lehlina.

Uncomfortable, she shifted closer to Legolas unknowingly and it was then that the older elf smiled down at her before gesturing them inside. As they followed him, the guards closed the doors behind them and Lehlina had time to deduce that this must be the King. Having never met one before, she was unsure of how to greet him. She settled with a slightly clumsy curtsey, before looking up at him with what dignity she had left. He smiled brightly at her although his eyes held slight confusion.

"I am King Thranduil, and I welcome to you Mirkwood, young one."

"You may call me Lehlina," she spoke timidly.

"I see you have become acquainted with my son, Legolas."

At this statement, Lehlina's eyes widened as her face became red once again and she glanced over at Legolas who also had the decency to look quite embarrassed himself.

"You are his son?" she whispered harshly to him before looking back at the King. Yes, I can see the resemblance.

Thranduil seemed to be quite amused and boldly asked, "Ah, left that detail out, did he?"

"Indeed," she responded tight-lipped, before stepping forward past Legolas in order to hide the embarrassed look on her face from him. "I have something of great importance to discuss with you, my lord, and I am afraid it cannot wait."

He sighed and nodded at her, "No, I suppose it cannot. Please, I am ready to hear your tale if you are willing to share it."