Chapter 4: Decisions

"Hello," a dark haired little girl said happily as she plopped down on the grass beside him.

"Go away," Legolas' muffled voice bid as he cried into his knees, wetting his crisp new trousers.

"My name's Ceres. What's yours? Why are you crying?"

A five year old Legolas raised his head to glare at the toddler, in hope of her stopping her questions and leaving him alone. His nose was crinkled up and his cheeks were wet and swollen.

"My ears," he gave in at length, "Everyone was laughing at my ears."

Ceres lifted her little hand to pull back Legolas blonde curls. He flinched, batting her hand away.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, though not hurt, merely startled.

"Leave my baby Sister alone!" shouted one of the boys who had poked fun at Legolas all day. He didn't know his name, but he was in his class. Legolas jumped up from the grass, only to be pushed back over by the boy. It had been their first day at school and Legolas had decided he never wanted to go ever again. Everyone teased him. He wanted his Mummy.

"Scott!" admonished his Mother, "Don't push baby, don't push! … So anyway" she continued her discussion with another parent.

"Yea Scott!" shouted Ceres, then just three. "Don't push!" she imitated her Mother's wagging finger.

Scott stuck his tongue out at his Sister then ran off when another boy called to him. Legolas quietly watched Scott leave them to play football with the others. "I like your ears," Ceres stated simply.

He pulled his curls forward again defensively as she wandered back towards her Mother, waving most of the way there.

Finally his Mummy arrived and he flung his arms around her tightly. Holding her hand they walked towards the car as she quizzed him about his first day. As they passed the little girl he gave her a small smile. After all, she was the only one who had been nice to him all day. "Wait," they heard a moment later as she came bounding after them. "You didn't tell me your name."

"Legolas," he said shyly, pushing the curls back behind his ears subconsciously and looking at his shiny new shoes.

Ceres skipped up to him and kissed him soundly on his wet cheek. "Yuk!" he leapt back, wiping furiously at the spot where the little girl placed her kiss, much to his Mother's amusement.

"Bye bye Legolas, see you soon!" she shouted as she ran back again, stopping to wave every now and then.

He found he wasn't crying anymore and waved back enthusiastically. At least he made one friend today.

Ceres was beside herself. Her head pounded as if she were hungover. She'd barely slept, spending most of the night listening for any sound that might indicate Legolas' return. What sleep she did get was disturbed, the memory of her and Legolas' first meeting on a continuous loop in her dreams. She checked the house again, though why she should find him on third attempt when she had no previous luck was beyond her.

Her tired mind began to reel. Had he left her? When he left to go to his parent's yesterday morning they had not parted on good terms. He returned that evening determined that he must leave on that ship and they had rowed loudly, ending in him storming out of the house. She hadn't seen or heard from him since then. That had been at 11.15pm yesterday, it was now 11.45am and to say Ceres was concerned would be an understatement. Could he have been angry enough to have left without them? With no word of goodbye, because of her angry words would Evie never get to see her Father again?

Surely such a thought was ridiculous. Her mind was beginning to invent the most absurd explanations for him not returning, even during the night.

"Mummy,"

"Just a minute sweetie," she dismissed her Daughter, placing her back in front of her cartoons.

With jittery hands she readied Evelyn for nursery, collecting up various items and taking them into the garage to load into the car. As she was strapping her into the car seat Evie became frantic, "My painting, I have to go back for it!"

"You can take it another day," Ceres assured, never taking her worried eye off of the empty space where her Husband's car should sit.

"But Daddy promised I could take it!" she shouted as she struggled against the straps.

"OK, OK!" Ceres ran back into the house to grab the painting her Daughter had made with her Daddy, she had been so thrilled with it Legolas promised she could take it to nursery to show it off today. Her chest ached just looking at the lines drawn by him, his fingerprints in blobs of green next to tiny red ones.

Jumping into the driver's seat, painting in hand, she suddenly felt afraid to leave the house, she wanted to wait in for him. Eventually she reasoned that with Evelyn at nursery she would be free to make enquiries as to his whereabouts. She would call his parents and their friends, perhaps he was sulking on someone's sofa.

An hour later Ceres pulled back into the garage to find it as empty as she had left it. Picking up her phone she called Legolas' work number. After a moment the phone picked up. "Oh, Legolas thank God …" she began but stopped when she heard his colleague's voice.

"Ceres? You alright love?"

"Oh, um, yes of course. Is he there? Could I just have a quick word?" she mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"He didn't turn up this morning, is everything OK?"

Panic seeped into her then, "Yes, Yes, got to go."

Cancelling the call she threw the phone down on the passenger seat and gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. Her breathing became fast and ragged as she grit her teeth in an attempt not to just burst into tears. Lowering her forehead onto the wheel to join her hands she shook involuntarily. "Oh God Oh God Oh God," she was breathing again and again. Then a tapping on the driver's side window broke her mantra and she sucked in a terrified gasp.

Collecting herself she exited the vehicle upon seeing the police officer tapping sternly. "Mrs. Greenleaf?" he asked. When she replied in the positive the officer nodded to his partner, who led Legolas in by the elbow. "Is this your Husband ma'am?"

"Y … yes!" she stammered. Immediately adding in a more embarrassed tone, "What has he done?"

Legolas was sheepishly analysing the floor like a schoolboy who had been sent to the Headmaster's office. "Your Husband has been involved in a traffic collision; I've taken statements from both parties, but to be honest it appears to be a genuine accident, Mr. Greenleaf was not under the influence and therefore I think a little more caution on his part in future is all that is required." He tipped his hat at Ceres and left Legolas in her capable hands.

She didn't remember getting from the garage to the sofa but there she sat a moment later. Suddenly the mist of concern parted and she was furious. She opened her mouth to scold him. Legolas put up a hand to silence her tirade, praying that she would give him the chance to explain before ripping his head off.

Biting the inside of her cheek she bid him speak. "I've spent the night in the hospital. I didn't call because I was hoping to get back here before you woke, so as not to worry you. But then they dragged me down to the station to make my statement." He assured her that he was fine and escaped the accident with minor injuries.

Guilt flooded her then. For being so angry. For believing he had left his family on a whim. It was true that they had never argued as fiercely as they had the previous night, but for her to accuse him of the irresponsibility of a man who would abandon his Wife and child with no explanation or contact, that was unthinkable for her now. She felt her remorse keenly for thinking thus. There were plenty of dead beats out there who wouldn't hesitate to up and leave their responsibilities, but her Husband definitely wasn't one of them.

It had been late, tears clouding his normally perfect vision. His senses too dulled by his heartache for him to react in time to avoid the other vehicle. Thoughts of his dead Brother, his Father's emotional outburst, Ceres' fury and the thought that he might have to leave her and Evie behind played heavily on his mind. Judging by what his Father had explained to him that afternoon, even if his beloved Wife returned with them, she would age and die before his eyes. Such a revelation was tearing at his heart.

"The person you hit, are they OK?" she was afraid of the implications of this information.

"He's fine! I came out of it worse. To say he was upset would be putting it extremely mildly. In fact, he was so unimpressed that he did this," Legolas indicated a row of stitches above his eyebrow. "I'm tempted to push for assault!"

After her moment's silence he spoke again, "The car's in the Garage. I'm sorry baby but I'm pretty sure it's a write off." He sighed, dropping his head into his hands muttering, "This is gonna cost us a friggin fortune."

"Don't worry about it," she assured absentmindedly, the decision she thought she'd made turning on its head. "We can't take the cars with us anyway."

Lifting his head he looked at her hopefully, though he was at a loss for words. Last night she swore the she and Evelyn would never leave on this, 'ridiculous journey', didn't she call it? Eventually he decided he couldn't make her agree to go. No matter how hard the pull made him need to go, he would have to fight it. "Ceres this accident has made me realise where my priorities lie. I love you and Evie so much. I couldn't force you to leave. I couldn't bear to be the reason for your being so unhappy. We stay."

Ceres shook her head. A huge part of her wanted to accept his words and carry on with the life they had built here. But she knew she would forever regret her selfishness. This would have been so much easier if he was being an asshole about the whole thing.

"No my love, I don't know why this is so important for you, but I know that it is. That's all I need. Evie should know about her elven heritage." She knew she shouldn't feel so ridiculous saying that, but it was all still very new to her.

Legolas studied his Wife's face closely. She spoke from her heart and he felt his swell with gratitude. He embraced her then, wincing slightly at his bruises, and thanking her for her tolerance of this entire situation. Many would have called him crazy and left at the beginning. But she stood by this strange turn in his life and was now vowing to see it through by his side.

"Call your Dad," she instructed, "Tell him we're almost ready to leave."