Disclaimer: I do not own anything that was created by Tolkien.

Finally! An update!

Author's Note: I apologize for not updating in so long. Work got SOOOO busy that I just couldn't stop and update. I was on a roll too, but now I've got some time to update. Again, I apologize for not updating any sooner. Hopefully updates will start to be on a regular basis. Please leave some feedback. I'd greatly appreciate it. :)

Life Unknown

Chapter 9

They found a place to stop for the night on their way to the mines. Ithilwen was glad to find a place to be able to sit down and relax. Legolas hadn't left her side since her confrontation with Boromir on the mountain and she was thankful for that. She could feel Boromir's eyes bore into her as they walked if he was behind her. It made her very uncomfortable knowing that he was watching her.

She found a spot for herself and set her things up. She rolled out her blanket and put her pack at one of the ends while the others set up in similar fashion. Sam started a fire and began cooking a meal while the others got situated. Legolas went and took the watch position like he usually did. He didn't need as much sleep as the others did, so he usually volunteered to take the watch positions.

She sat down on her blanket and pulled out the journal she had started before leaving Rivendell. Her mind immediately went to her father, her true father, as she sat there with it in her hand. She missed him so much. She'd only just found him and now left him. She was afraid she'd never see him again and it scared her. There was so much she had left to ask and find out about. She had a sister and two brothers that she wanted to get to know, but feared she wouldn't see them again either. They had told her she was needed on this journey, but she didn't know why. She didn't understand everything yet, but hoped it would become clear to her soon.

She opened the journal to the next entry and began reading...

Our Dearest Ithilwen,

Not much longer now before we are blessed with meeting you. Your father is starting to get very anxious. He won't admit it, but he's nervous. Even though he's been through this before he's nervous. For someone that's lived hundreds of years you'd think he would be ok with what will happen. I can't help but laugh at him. We talk about when the time comes and I am to give birth. He gets nervous and starts pacing. I just sit and giggle as I watch him. He doesn't find it very funny and that just makes me laugh even more. The love I feel for this man is more than anything I've ever felt and I know the love I feel for you already is just as strong if not stronger. We have completed your nursery only yesterday. I wanted to make sure everything looked perfect. Even though I'm afraid you won't be in it long for the dangers that are out there, you needed a place to sleep and I made sure it was ready. The elves here in Rivendell are excited about your arrival as well. They have brought gifts by every day for you. They're beautiful and I feel so loved. The elves are so accepting and caring. You're going to love it here. It's so beautiful. There are so many spots I want to take you when you are old enough. I love you my darling daughter. Not much longer before I finally get to meet you.

Ithilwen read over the entry one more time that her mother wrote and then closed the book. She could only handle reading so much, but what she did read brought her just a little closer to the woman she'd never get to meet. She slipped the journal back into her bag just as Gandalf walked up to her, "My lady. I know its late, but we have some more lessons to fit in before we can rest."

She looked up at him and nodded, "I understand," she said as she rose to join him. They had only one other lesson since leaving and that felt like it was days ago. He led her to a small area not far from the others. Aragorn was there waiting for them.

"What will tonight's lesson consist of?" she asked him as she tried to keep her weary eyes from falling. These lessons were important and she needed to make it through them.

Gandalf sighed and let out some smoke from his pipe. "Tonight we're going to see if we can project memories for you to see. Aragorn is going to help us with this. He's going to pull out a specific memory from his past and think only of it. When you touch him you should only see that one memory and nothing else," he explained not knowing that Lord Elrond had done this for her days before after the council. She didn't even know that's what he had done.

"Alright," she said as she slipped her gloves off for this process. She tucked them into the belt around her waist as she let Aragorn prepare. "Whenever you're ready Aragorn just let me know," she told him as she stood next to him.

Gandalf walked up and stood behind her, waiting for her to make the contact needed to use her gift so that he could help guide or support her.

Aragorn stood there for a moment before pulling up the type of memory that Gandalf wanted him too. "Alright,' he nodded towards her. She reached up and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. The images immediately flooded her mind and quickly stopped on a memory.

They were in a bar. Aragorn was sitting in the corner watching something or someone. She saw where his gaze was aimed at. The hobbits. They were sitting together at a table. Frodo looked nervous or worried as they sat there. Something happened and Frodo disappeared! Aragorn had sat up and walked that way. When Frodo appeared again Aragorn snatched him up and took him to another room. He knew they were carrying the ring and he was trying to protect him. He told them about the ring wraths and why they were hunting Frodo. Then the memory stopped suddenly and she was standing next to Aragorn again.

She pulled her hand away and looked at the two of them, "You saved them from horrible deaths. From those riders," she said.

"The Ring Wraths. They hunt the ring," Aragorn explained. "That's what I was showing you."

"I wanted you to see that memory to be aware of what's out there. If Sauron was to find out about your gifts and how powerful you could become they could start hunting you too. Always be on your guard. They could use you for evil. He could find a way to wield your gift in a different way and it would destroy you. Only after you'd been tortured and gone through so much pain," Gandalf explained.

She looked up at him with fear in her eyes, "How can I better protect myself? I don't know what to do. I don't know how to defend myself very well and my power isn't something I can use against them."

"You will spend an hour tonight training with Aragorn with a sword and every night after that. Legolas will also teach you how to use the bow and arrow. You need to learn as quick as you can because we don't know when something will happen and how bad it could be. I know you're tired, but you need to learn."

She nodded her head. Their days and nights were going to get longer now that they were to train her. She was just glad Boromir wasn't a part of this training.

She spent the next hour training with Aragorn on using a sword. She was terrible and hoped that she would get better soon because she would surely die at this rate.

After spending that time training she took a break and went to eat a little something. She was starving and after the hour she just had training with a weapon it just made her hungrier. She got a plate of food and sat down to eat. She saw most everyone else sitting around, but she didn't see Legolas at all. She finished her plate before getting some more food. She then walked off to find him. She assumed he was on his watch still. He was standing a little further ahead keeping watch, just as she thought. She walked slowly up to him so not to startle him.

Legolas turned slightly and saw her, "You should be resting. It's late and we have a long journey tomorrow to get to the mines," he said softly.

"I'm not quite tired. I just finished sword training with Aragorn. Sleep is still a little ways off for me. I brought you some food. I figured you may be hungry."

He turned and looked at the plate and back ahead, "I'm not hungry."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I just assumed you would be," she said not missing the slight cold shoulder he gave her. Did she do something wrong? Did she upset him somehow? "I'll leave you alone," she turned and started walking back towards the fire.

"Ithilwen wait," he said after a moment. He turned towards her just as she turned back towards him. "I'm sorry. Thank you for the gesture. It was very kind of you to do that. I'm not very hungry right now. I may eat later. If you want to leave it here that would be fine."

"Ok. I can do that." She set the plate down on the ground for him before turning back towards the fire. She walked back down and got to her blanket. She laid down and closed her eyes forcing herself to get some sleep.

Legolas watched her from his spot for a moment. He heard her practicing with the sword earlier and he could tell she was struggling. He also knew that he was charged with teaching her how to shoot, but wasn't sure if that was for her or not. It didn't seem like she should be taught to use a weapon. She wasn't that type of woman. She was gentle and afraid. They were forcing her into battle and into war. This would change her for the rest of her life.

Ithilwen smiled as she helped her father work in the yard outside their home. They were tending to the grounds like they did every year and she loved this time with her father. It was one of the only moments they got together because he was home and wasn't called away to the capital city for his duties.

"Papa when will you take me to Minas Tirith with you?" she asked.

He chuckled slightly, "I have taken you my daughter. Several times."

"But the other girls I know are going now to find husbands. When will you take me to find one?" She looked over at him with a curious look on her face, an almost questioning look.

Her father stilled his movements after what he just heard. It wasn't something that he was expecting to hear from her. "Do you think you're ready for a husband?"

"Yes Papa I am," she smiled over at him. "I want to make someone happy. I want to have a family like we have here. I want what you and mama have."

"What can you offer a husband?" he asked. He wasn't ready to give his daughter up to anyone.

"You know me Papa. You know what I can offer a husband. I'm of age now. Do you think no one would want me?" She asked him with a hint of sadness and disappointment in her voice.

He moved closer to her and took her hand in his, "My precious daughter, anyone would be very lucky and honored to have you as a wife. I just don't think any man of Gondor is good enough for you."

"Then how will I find a husband if the men of Gondor aren't good enough?"

"One day you will find the man for you. I don't think it will be here in Gondor. You are the type of girl that needs to see the world and I think you will. While exploring that world you will find him. I know you will."

A month later she was starting that journey on her own right after they died.

Ithilwen woke slightly and looked around. Everyone was fast asleep. She sat up some and was startled when she saw Legolas sitting next to her. "I didn't know you were down here," she said as she brushed her hair from her face.

"I'm sorry my lady. I didn't mean to scare you. I finished my watch. Aragorn is taking the next watch right now. I'm just getting a little rest. You were dreaming. Of your father. The who raised you," he said as he turned and looked at her.

"How did you..." she trailed off not sure how he could have known that.

"You were talking in your sleep. I'm sorry for prying but you said his name in your sleep."

"Oh. I'm sorry for disrupting you," she said as she sat up some more. "I was dreaming of a conversation I had with him a month before he died."

"Was it a good conversation or a bad one?"

"It wasn't bad, but at the time it wasn't what I really wanted to hear," she told him as she shivered slightly from the cold.

Legolas noticed her shivering. He didn't feel much of the cold right now. "Are you cold?"

"A little, but I'm fine. I'll be ok," she told him as she wrapped her cloak around herself to try and get a little warmer.

He cleared a spot next to him. "Come lean against me. Use my body to get warm or you won't get much sleep."

She looked over at him as she felt her cheeks get a little redder. She hoped it wasn't noticeable since they were probably already pink from the cold air. "Are you sure? I don't want to make you uncomfortable or not be able to sleep either."

"I'll be fine. I want you to be comfortable and warm. You need your rest," he said softly. "Please come over and let me help you get warm."

She moved closer to him and leaned against his side. He put his arm around her to add more warmth to her. "Just relax and sleep. I'll be right here," he told her softly as he felt her body relax against his side as she fell back asleep.

The next morning when she woke she realized she was still leaning against Legolas. The only other people she saw awake were Aragorn and Gandalf. She looked over at them, both of them had these little smirks on their faces when they looked over at her and Legolas and that just made her blush even more.

"Just ignore the two of them," Legolas whispered to her as his arm around her pulled her a little closer to him.

She looked up at him a little bit as she laughed slightly, "I won't," she said as she sat up, letting his arm fall from around her. She immediately felt cold again when it fell, but she didn't show it at all. "Thank you for...ummm...helping me stay warm last night," she told him shyly as she turned away. She immediately started picking things up to pack up so they could be on their way soon.

"You're welcome," he told her. "Since no one else is up, care to start your training on the bow before we leave?" he asked.

She turned and looked at him from where she was packing her things. "Yes. That would be fine," she told him. "I don't have any idea how to even begin using one though."

"Don't worry. I'll teach you," he said as he grabbed his weapons. They then left and headed for a spot that would be useful to this type of training. Ithilwen was nervous, especially using his weapons for the training. She didn't want others to feel obligated in teaching her all of these things when they needed to protect Frodo and the ring.

Legolas spent some time going through how the bow and arrow work together and how they could be used in killing anything. He showed her several times how to load the bow with an arrow and then pull the string and shoot. She wasn't sure how she was going to get the hang of this and quickly. There were dangers everywhere and she still didn't know how to use any type of weapon.

"Would you like to try a shot?" he asked as he held out the bow for her.

She hesitantly stepped up and took the bow before getting an arrow from the quiver. She took a deep breath before putting the arrow on the bow, lining it up correctly.

"Straighten your shooting arm," he said tapping her arm the held back the arrow. "Level your elbow."

She did that and took the shot, but it was horrible. It didn't go far or do much of anything. She flopped her arms down and sighed, "I did what you told me to do and I still did poorly."

"Try it again," he said as she grabbed an arrow and placed it in the bow again. He stepped up behind her back to try and help her. "Keep this arm straight as you steady the bow," he said as he straightened her arm. "Keep this elbow up," he explained fixing her other arm so it was level with the ground. "Pull back on the bow, but keep that arm level and straight." She did that and kept it steady. "Now shoot."

She let go of the arrow and it went even farther and straighter than the first one. It what a much better shot than the first. She looked like she had some promise with this weapon now. She couldn't help but smile at her accomplishment. "I did it," she smiled as she turned and looked at him. She saw a smile on his face too as they stood really close to each other.

"You did a wonderful job my lady," he told her as his eyes ran over her face, from her eyes down to her mouth and back up. He stood there and stared into her eyes for a moment. She stared back into his as well. Neither of them were moving or breaking the contact.

Legolas wasn't sure if this was a wise move, but ever since he'd met her he couldn't get her out of his mind. After they'd spent time together through this journey, through her learning of her gift and seeing his memories, he's feeling closer to her, but he didn't know if she was feeling the same thing. He felt a pull towards her. He leaned closer to her and let his lips brush against hers softly and gently. He felt her body tense up slightly, but then relax as she leaned into the kiss.

Legolas let his arm wrap around her hip and pull her closer to him as he continued to kiss her gently. He didn't want to scare her off or take this to far, but just kissing her brought a whirlwind of emotions through him. He didn't know how to figure out what these emotions were, especially now while they were traveling all over Middle Earth to destroy the ring.

He slowly pulled his lips from hers and looked down at her. Her eyes slowly opened and her mouth was slightly parted from the kiss. He brought his other hand up to her cheek and rested it there. "My apologizes. I couldn't help myself. I've been wanting to know how that would feel for days now."

She looked up at him, "No apology necessary. I actually liked it," she smiled up at him. "We may want to continue our training though so no one catches us like this. We may not hear the end of it." She stepped away from him slowly and lined up another shot. Just like the second one, she shot a strong arrow and smiled back at him. "I think I'm getting the hang of it."

He smiled and chuckled a little, "I think you are too," he agreed as he watched her take several more shots.

After their time was up they headed back to the group like nothing had changed between them, collected their things and headed off towards the mines.

The walls of the mines were in view now. She could see the grey, weathered walls stretch up to the sky as they walked around one of the sides and came upon it. The door was not visible from their spot right now, but knew that once they got to that door there would be no turning back. That was her fear. She feared being stuck in the mines with a long journey ahead of them. She feared not finding an exit, she feared dying in the confines of the mine.

The Fellowship traveled around the lake that was in front of the door to the mines. The lake gave the air an uneasy feeling. Ithilwen gazed across the black ripples of the water, trying to see if there was anything that they should truly fear, but couldn't see anything. She hoped there was nothing, but from the stories she heard growing up she knew that the bodies of water in Middle Earth weren't empty of foul things.

They carefully worked their way around to the door. She kept her eyes open to their surroundings fearing that something wasn't going to go well. Her mind kept returning to the water. There was a lot of evil layering the area in this place. The feel of corruption, death and greed lingered so heavily as they got closer to the door.

Legolas watched Ithilwen as they traveled down the mountain towards the mines. He didn't like what he was feeling the closer they got to the mines. He didn't want to be encased under ground for a long period of time. He needed to be out in the air. He needed the space. He didn't want to be confined. He stayed behind her as they walked and he could feel her uneasiness and fear as well. He knew she didn't want to travel down into the mines either. It was as if she had the same fears he had as well.

Gandalf approached the doors and just as they stepped forward the moon shone onto the door, illuminating the entrance and something written in elvish. She wished she had time to learn what it read. She wanted to be able to read the foreign language and be able to speak it. Now that she learned part of her ancestry was elvish blood she felt that she needed to learn what she could about the language and about their history.

"Lady Ithilwen, do you need any water or anything at all?" Leoglas asked her as they came to a stop. Someone needed to watch out for her. He knew Aragorn would do just as he would, but Aragorn would look after everyone. He knew Frodo needed several pairs of eyes on him. He wanted to make sure she was ok. After their time training and their kiss he just felt even closer to her and knew he wouldn't be able to leave her side.

She turned suddenly as if she was startled. She looked up into his blue eyes with her own blue eyes, "No thank you. I am fine," she said softly. "If only you could sprout wings and fly us from here would I be forever grateful to you."

He smiled down at her, "If I could I would. I find this place to be very dreadful myself."

"I am glad I'm not the only one. I get this strange feeling while we stand here. Something isn't right. I can just feel it," she told him as she took her gloves off for a short moment to air out her hands. They had gotten clammy inside the gloves. She knew she needed to keep them on for fear of something happening with her gift, but right now she felt there was no threat for that.

"I feel it too," he agreed as he looked around, making sure they weren't followed or being watched by anything out here.

Gandalf continued to try and get the door to open. He knew it had to open somehow, but couldn't remember how to unlock it. Ithilwen watched as he continued to try for the door. It was growing colder out there the longer they stood and waited. The air off the water wasn't helping at all either. She looked at the company and took in their tired faces.

Frodo stayed close to Gandalf as he worked on the door. Merry and Pippen were trying to find something to do to pass the time. Gimili watched Gandalf, while Aragorn and Sam shifted supplies off of the pony to let him free. Boromir stood back and watched, his gaze drifting towards hers. They locked gazes for a moment before she turned away from him, a shiver running down her spine.

She got comfortable near the tree Legolas was using as a lookout while Gandalf kept trying. She sat down and tried to keep herself from shaking in worry and fear of going into this dark place. Things were about to change and not for the better. She could feel it and she knew some of the others felt it as well.