A/N: Hello again. In response to Darth Obvious's review about Amelia being a hopeless Marie Sue. This was certainly not my intention and I am hopefully going to fix this in the next few chapters. But if I fail to do this I would just like to say that I will finish the story before I go back and fix it up. I am also hoping to get her friends into bigger roles I am still trying to flesh out their characters myself. I am sorry if this story is less than satisfactory but I am trying my best.

Enjoy this chapter

Chapter 4

Elrond, Gandalf, Arwen, and Aragorn were having a private discussion as to what would be discussed at the council in three days. Suddenly the door to the hall burst open and they all looked up to see Legolas standing in the doorway. He uncharacteristically hurried into the room uninvited.

"My Lord Elrond!"

"What is it Legolas?" Gandalf spoke, "what has happened?" then he saw the limp form of Amelia in the Elf Prince's arms. The wizard could also see the blood all over both the girl and elf.

"My Lord Elrond she needs your aid!" The Prince of Mirkwood looked worried, "I cannot stop the bleeding!" Aragorn was amazed that the girl was still alive; assuming all of the blood was hers. However he suspended his amazement when Elrond turned to him. Knowing what the Elf Lord would need the ranger immediately ran to retrieve them.

"Quickly Legolas bring her in here." Elrond ushered them into a small room off of the hall they were in.

Gandalf quickly began to access the situation, " Legolas what happened? How did Amelia get like this?"

The elf looked at him with sad confused eyes, "I am not sure Mithrandir. I was watching her practice her sword and I looked away for only a moment. When my gaze returned to her there was blood on her sword and everywhere else. I caught her as she fell and immediately brought her here." Aragorn had returned in time to hear his friend's explanation. Just then Amelia's friends rushed in as Elrond began to tend her wound.

"Mia!" Amber and Chelsea cried. Jeremy was strangely solemn and silent.

Aragorn's eyes widened as Elrond cleaned blood for the skin around the wound, having stopped the bleeding with some herb or other, "what devilry is this?" he whispered. Arwen too was shocked and rolled up the girl's other sleeve to expose many scars and some freshly healing cuts on her arm. Cuts that were matched, mimicked by the ones on her other arm. None of them were as long or as deep as the current one. They looked like they might fade; this new cut would leave a lasting scar.

Jeremy gave a heavy sigh, "they are self inflicted," he explained with a sad look deep in his eyes, "I didn't know that she still cut or I would have… done something." Though he and the others realized there was little that he could have done short of putting their friend in an institution.

"I had no idea that it was affecting her so much, she seemed to be doing so well." Amber spoke in a hushed tone so different from her usual exuberance.

Legolas turned to them, "Why? Why would she try to take her own life?" he could not make any sense of this event.

Jeremy sighed again but it Chelsea who answered nervously toying with her ebony hair, "Amelia… well a lot of bad things have happened to her." She sighed, "it's hard to explain but I can't tell you the whole story… that is up to Amelia."

"She seemed to be doing so well." Jeremy murmured, "I can't believe that she would try again…"

"Wait one moment," Aragorn spoke noting the surprised expressions on the twins' faces, "again? This has happened before?"

"Only once and I was the only one who found out. I found her just in time and I saved her. Amelia promised that she would never attempt suicide again and swore me to secrecy."

Elrond had now finished tending the woman's injury and stood, "she will be fine with some bed rest and nourishment. She should stay in bed for the next two days at least."

"We will make sure that she does Lord Elrond, thank you." Jeremy assured as the others nodded.

Legolas carried Amelia back to her own chambers. Then Arwen and the twins dressed her in some clean clothes. Amelia slept all the next day even when Elrond came to check on her progress. The Elf Lord was rather surprised at how quickly the girl seemed to heal as the wound had already begun to close. He deemed that when she woke and had eaten she would be free to move about.

Early the next morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise, Amelia awoke to find her three friends asleep in various positions about the room. Jeremy was snoring lightly; lying sideways in an armchair one of his hands was on Chelsea's shoulder. She was sitting on the floor leaning back against the armchair; there was a worried frown on her face. Amber was asleep at the table, splayed across an open book. A huge tidal wave of guilt washed over Mia as she snuck out of bed. They had obviously been very sleep deprived from worrying over her. A few moments later Amelia had snuck out the window, she left all of her weapons behind so that if her friends awoke they would not worry about another suicide attempt, creeping towards one of the gardens.

Little did she know that someone else hand been keeping a vigil on her room. As she snuck off they rose from their post to follow her silently. Her watcher reached one of the smaller square gardens with a few larger trees planted at the center and four corners, however there was no sign of Amelia. He frowned and looked for any way she could have left the garden. There were none to be found, the only way she could have left was if she had gone back the way she had come. Quietly he paced over to the low wall surrounding the central tree and gracefully sat down to think. Where could she have disappeared too? Then he heard it.

"Hush now, my baby

Be still love, don't cry

Sleep as you're rocked by the stream

Sleep and remember

My last lullaby

So I'll be with you when you dream"

A quiet voice sang from above. Slowly the Elf Prince raised his head to gaze up into the branches above. There! The girl sat in one of the creases between the trunk and one of the larger branches, silent tears made their way down her cheeks.

After she had finished her song, singing usually made her feel better, Amelia sat in silent thought. What had happened? What the hell had she been thinking? It made no sense she had not thought on the past events of her life until a month ago. True before she had come to Middle Earth her plans and thoughts had been… different. But she had not truly dwelt on her past since their arrival. What had brought on the sudden flood of self-loathing? Her reflection was interrupted by someone clearing his or her throat quietly beneath her tree. The girl started a little and looked down into the face of Legolas. Why had he followed her? Did her think she was going to try and kill herself again?

Amelia gazed into those clear blue eyes so full of questions and … concern? She had always thought that elves were unreadable, but it seemed to be there. The Prince seemed to struggle for a moment. Finally he asked what would prove to be the first of many questions.

"Why?" it was a simple question and his meaning was clear, still Mia did not venture an answer, "why would you try to kill yourself?" He had tried desperately to understand this over the past two days. When they had first met though their conversation had been brief he had watched her with the inquisitive hobbit named Pippin. She had not seemed the type with her sunny disposition and such loyal friends. Her friends' reactions also told him that such an attempt was completely unexpected. He had resolved that he would learn from the girl herself the truth of the matter. True Gandalf had secretly told Legolas to find out all he could but the elf also wished to know for himself. For he found that he was beginning to care for this human girl's well fare, in much the same way he cared for Aragorn.

Amelia sighed and dropped lightly to the ground from her perch sitting on the low wall a few feet from Legolas. She thought hard for a moment about her answer.

"To tell the truth… I am not entirely sure why I did it. I mean," Mia was not entirely sure why but she felt that she could trust Legolas with all of the dark secrets of her soul, she felt that she wanted to pour herself out to him, "My life has been… well let's just say not easy. Two years ago it reached a terrible climax but even before that is was no piece of cake. But after my first attempt on my own life I promised both Jeremy and myself that I would not try again." Amelia thoughts turned to the events two days ago and she struggled to find words to describe it, "when it happened two days ago… it was weird. Like no matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop thinking about all of my faults and failures, bad choices I've made, all of the terrible things in my life. They just kept replaying over and over again in my mind! It was almost like this voice kept telling me how worthless I was, it was there but it wasn't… I don't know." She fell silent not really understanding herself what had happened.

Legolas felt apprehension at her talk about what had happened two days past, "What horrible things?" his tone was gentle.

She looked at her lap to her hands fiddling with the hem of her shirt, "When I was sixteen my father took me out for dinner on my birthday, just me and him. He said we needed talk about something important. We were walking home and this drunk driver came out of nowhere. Both of us were hit but he pushed me to the side. I woke up in the hospital with a broken leg, multiple fractures, a concussion, and numerous scrapes and bruises besides." She drew a shaky breath before she could continue, these memories were hard for her. Legolas let her gather herself, he wouldn't push her, "My father didn't make it. He never got to tell me what was so important… and I never got to say good-bye. At the same time I was dating, courting," she used a term more familiar to the elf, "this guy named Derek. He was kind, charming, and handsome. I thought I was in love with him, Amber never liked him, though why I could never figure out. Dad never really took to him either but he let me decide. One night, about two years ago, when we out together I started to feel…weird, dizzy and kind of nauseous. Derek said he would take me home. I must have passed out because the next thing I knew I was tied… naked to a bed… Derek's bed." She was trying hard not to cry now, she was succeeding… just. She could not look at her listener for fear of what she would see in his eyes, "I begged him not to do it, pleaded with him. H-he r-raped me. I screamed until he threatened to kill me if I didn't shut up. Soon we heard police sirens. apparently one of the neighbors heard the noise and called the cops… There was a trial, turns out Derek had done the same crime several times, and his name was really Blake. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection…. It was my testimony that closed the case. Most of the other women couldn't remember who their attacker was because of the drug he had used. For some reason it wore off faster on me and I did remember, vividly. It's like I killed him. But what if he had just been sent to prison," she had had these doubts for the past two years and to finally tell someone was harder for her than could possibly be imagined, "I mean-" For the first time Legolas interrupted.

"Amelia you cannot blame yourself for his death. If he had committed such a crime here all of the races of men and elves would call for his blood."

"I'm not done," she whispered, he gestured for her to continue, "A few weeks after he had been killed… I discovered that I was pregnant…" she petered off.

"What happened?" he coaxed gently.

"No I can't say! You'll hate me." She still refused to look at the elf prince.

"Amelia, look at me." Gently but commandingly he spoke. She turned to look into those clear sea blue eyes, "Whatever you say I will not hate you. I may not understand but I will not hate you. I am your friend, thought I have only known you a short time."

After yet another shuddering breath she continued, "I panicked, what if the baby was like him? I was not ready to be a mother. So many frightening things flew through my head. I was stupid, I should have told someone, asked for advice… but I didn't." She place her head in her hands, "I had an abortion!" she cried in agony silently sobbing. The horror of this act had haunted her for so long, "Oh God… I killed my own baby. Dealing with the knowledge of what I had done was far worse. I felt… empty inside li- like part of my had died." At this point her words were lost to her sobs. Legolas felt the sorrow, the agony, the emptiness she had described. On impulse he put his arms around Amelia and let her cry into his shoulder. Eventually the distraught girl calmed down enough to speak again, "L-Legolas," she pulled her head away to look into his face, "even if you do h-hate me… p-promise me you will not t-tell anyo-one."

He sighed, "Amelia… as appalled as I am by the idea of this… abortion as you called it, I do not hate you." He placed one of his hands on hers, "You panicked and made the choice you thought was best at the time." He hesitated to promise the second thing, "I will not tell but-"

His assurance that he did not hate her had much lightened Mia's spirits, "I understand that you will have to report to Lord Elrond and Gandalf but promise me that you won't tell anyone else."

The Elf Prince smiled comfortingly, "I promise."

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"How could she commit such a horrendous act, and against her own child!" Legolas had just finished his report and Elrond was appaled.

"I do not mean to offend my lord Elrond." Legolas spoke in Amelia's defence, "But it is not our place to judge her."

"Legolas is right," Gandalf who had so far been silent spoke, "We must keep in mind that she is from another time, another place. Their ways, ideals, and values are not ours. Besides the girl has suffered enough self-imposed torture as it is. I do not think that it would be wise to approach her on the matter." There was a moment of silence in which Elrond grudgingly nodded his assent to the wizard's words, "Legolas tell me again why she tried to take her own life in her words exactly." The Elf complied, "hmm… yes. Elrond I think that Amelia and her friends need to be a part of the council tomorrow."

"I fail to see why her presence is necessary." The Elf Lord said stiffly.

Gandalf gave his old friend a stern look, "you know how the enemy works, Elrond. For some reason he wants to be rid of the girl, which means that, she could be a powerful ally. Then there is the strange sort of power about her that speaks of change. Amelia has a great destiny, you have seen this my friend. Do not let the girl's past cloud your judgment, my friend you are too wise for that."

A/N: So there it is. The truth of Amelia's life back in her own world. I'm not entirely sure if Legolas's reaction was good. Like matbe he should have been more Appauled by her secret, like Elrond was. Any ways....REVIEW. NO FLAMES.

Next chapter...... The Council of Rivendell.

Oh and the song that Amelia sings is from Prince of Egypt.

Peace out

Kairi's twin