So hopefully this chapter will redeem Legolas a bit, as he's not a bad elf. I'm posting quickly to celebrate my fortieth review!

Also, I will be gone for five days, and I doubt I'll write anything, so it may be a long time until my next update. But I'll be at the beach, which is always conducive to good ideas, so we'll see.

La-p'tite-tete--Haha, I'm glad you don't all hate me. I was a little worried there. Hope you like this one!

Grey Pigeon--Your review made me laugh! And don't worry: there is absolutely NO way Audrey will be pregnant. That would SUCK. And Elrohir and Elladan may have some choice words to say about the situation. We shall see! ;)

iheartsupergirl--Thanks! Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Tolkien. If they belonged to me, then I would be the published author instead of writing here.

Please read and review! Italics are thoughts. Thanks and enjoy!

Legolas had been following Audrey's trail for four days since leaving his cottage. Needless to say, he was quite impressed with the pace she had set. He was also surprised that tracking her was harder than he had expected; she did leave a trail, but it was quite a faint one. He hadn't seen any evidence of a campsite during the entire time since he had set out from the cottage, and the only reason he was sure he was following her was one stray brown hair caught on a bush a few miles back.

The four days had also given him some time to reconcile his actions with himself, and to come up with a plan on how to address her. He hoped it had given her time to calm down and begin to forgive him, but he did not count on it.

Although he hoped she would eventually forgive him, Legolas' plan remained the same. He would find her and detain her in whatever way possible. I should hope I do not have to use force, but I will if necessary.

Once she was in a position to listen to him, he would beg her forgiveness and hand her the map. He planned to cite the alcohol as the cause of his actions, and he hoped she would understand. Especially since the alcohol prevented her from denying me.

After he gave her the map, he would release her and promise to leave her alone. He planned to give her his spare bow as well, in hopes that she could defend herself adequately on the journey. He had also written a letter to Elladan and Elrohir explaining that he was not worthy of their company, but to accept Audrey among them; he would give this to her along with the map.

For the first time since he had begun to feel lust for the girl he felt like he was doing something right for her, and not himself. Legolas could only hope she would accept his actions as retribution, that her bitterness had been assuaged by the long, silent days of her journey.

All of a sudden, he was whipped out of his thoughts by a clump of snow falling on his head. Cursing softly in irritation, he tilted his head down to brush the snow from his hair. While his eyes were focused on the ground, he heard another thump behind him. I suppose spring is finally coming and the snow begins to melt. That may make my tracking harder.

Legolas turned to see the size of the snowfall behind him, but he was instead met with emerald green eyes. Audrey!

"I have seen you tracking me for most of the day. I asked you not to follow me."

He was shocked by her demeanor; he had expected anger or bitterness from her upon his arrival. Instead her eyes shone with pain and a little bit of fear.

All thoughts of his plan fled from him upon seeing her expression. Instead of calmly asking her to sit down and explaining himself, he could only gasp, "Audrey…"

"Well, elf, I asked you not to follow me. So why are you here?" Her voice was angry, but he could tell it was a front to cover her apprehension.

Legolas opened his mouth to tell her of the map and his letter to the elves of Acadia, but instead what came out was an apology.

"Oh Audrey, I'm so sorry." Then he felt his heart begin to pound painfully in his chest, and he sat down hard to keep himself from swaying on his feet. His eyes prickled uncomfortably and he could not understand why until the first tear slipped unbidden down his cheek. Once it did, he found he could not stop the ones that followed, but he made no sound.

He felt Audrey's eyes upon him, but he could not meet them. She stepped tentatively toward him, then kneeled before him and put one hand on his shoulder.

"You are not here to bring me back then?"

Legolas did not think he could talk around the lump in his throat, so he simply shook his head. But then her fingertips found his face and brushed a few of the tears away from one flawless cheek. With that, the lump won out and he burst into great gasping sobs.

He was nearly hyperventilating and soon became extremely dizzy. It took him a few moments to register that Audrey had wrapped her arms around him and pulled his head to her shoulder.

After a few minutes, he was able to calm himself down. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and pulled away from the girl to meet her eyes finally.

They were no longer filled with pain or fear, but she still did not look happy to see him.

He took a few moments to focus and then he began to speak.

"I'm sorry that I followed you, but I do have a reason. I wanted to bring you the map so you could go to Acadia. I've written a letter to Elladan and Elrohir, and they'll let you stay there. I won't come with you. I don't deserve to."

Audrey's face was a picture of surprise. "But you have to go! They're your best friends! You can't just give up on everything because—"

"Because I raped you!" His voice rose into a shout. "Audrey, my actions were despicable! I have no excuse for what I did and I deserve nothing more than exile!"

She narrowed her eyes and when she spoke, her tone was clipped. "You harmed me. I will be the one that decides what you deserve. And running away from me is not a good solution. You will go to Acadia. You'll go, or I'll refuse to go."

"But this is what you want! You wanted a place to live where you could escape marriage; you wanted to go to Middle Earth!" he argued.

"I wanted to go there with you!" she yelled back. The admission seemed to shock her even more than him, and she spoke more softly. "I wanted to be your friend and to see you happy. I wanted to escape, but not to be alone. And now…"

"Now you don't know what you want," he finished for her, miserable and ashamed of himself.

"No. I know. I still want you to come with me. I just want to know…to know why you did it." She drummed up her courage and looked him in the eyes. "What were your reasons?"

He remembered his plan to tell her of drinking too much wine, and he found he could not lie to her. "I dreamt of you," he began in a whisper, but his voice soon found strength. "Of you and I together. It had been so long since I had had a lover, and I was weak. It did not help that you are beautiful, and smart, and ever so kind. And you are so quiet, almost like an elf! For these things, I admired you, and then I desired you. When that letter came, I was so happy and you looked so alive standing in that doorway. I wanted nothing more than to make you happy, but I forgot how. And so I harmed you instead. And I am sorry for it."

Her brow furrowed in thought. "So I suppose your desire is gone then?"

"No." He spoke before thinking and found that it was the truth. "I still desire you, only now I know that I am not worthy of having you."

Legolas expected her to agree with him, to slap him for still wanting her maybe, to do anything but roll her eyes. She stood and pulled him to his feet as well. "Enough with the 'I'm not worthy' crap. You…well, you're my friend, and I will find it in my heart to forgive and forget with time." She turned away from him to continue on her path and he barely caught her last comment. "And perhaps I desired you as well."

The weight on his shoulders was eased slightly by her promise to forgive him, and his heart leaped at her last statement. He wanted to pull her into an embrace, but he knew their relationship was still strained. So he followed her until they reached a suitable site for a camp.

Audrey skillfully built a fire and pulled out a pot to make tea. She passed him a piece of bread that was a bit stale and they sat and waited for the water to boil. Soon Legolas tired of their silence and turned to her.

"What is the plan for going to Acadia then?" he questioned her.

She peered up at him, and he was reminded of how small she was. "I suppose we can go from here. Where is the map?"

He pulled it out of his pack and they examined it together. "Well Audrey, we aren't far off the way that will take us there. Do you need to go back to school for anything?"

"I never want to go back there," she deadpanned. He drew slightly back from her at her tone, and she sighed, tending the fire to avoid his gaze. "I'm sorry, Legolas. It is not just your cottage I don't wish to see. I don't want them to have any chance of finding me and bringing me back to get married either."

"You're not the one who should be sorry."

Her head snapped up to meet his, and her eyes bored into him like knives. She stared at him for a few moments and then opened her mouth. "Let's make a pact: I'll forgive you if you stop apologizing every five minutes. I know you really are sorry."

Legolas was astounded. Eru, this girl is probably the biggest-hearted person in the entire universe!

"That sounds acceptable," he replied. She held out her hand, they shook, and then her face lit up in a brilliant grin. It warmed his heart, and for the first time in his long life, he thanked the Valar for bringing him to this world.

They continued their plans, eventually settling on the quickest route to Acadia. Legolas was immensely glad to see she had brought all her notes on getting back to Middle Earth with her; he hoped he could combine their information with that of Elladan and Elrohir. Perhaps then we will find a way home.

Night settled around them quickly, and soon they were illuminated only by the firelight. Audrey stood and began to lay out her cloak to sleep upon.

Legolas watched her and realized that she had taken almost nothing with her. By the Valar, how did she survive four days without a blanket to warm her at night?

He passed her his cloak and she stared at him, confused. "I do not need it as much as you. The night will be cold and it shall keep you warm."

"So you're going to sleep on the ground?" She sounded skeptical.

He chuckled. "I was planning to keep watch, so no, I will not sleep on the ground."

"There is no need for a watch, Legolas. There are no enemies in this forest, only animals and us."

"You are certain, then?"

"Yes." With that she tried to hand him back his cloak, but he shook his head.

"You still need it more than I do."

She sighed in annoyance. "Legolas, I will not sleep at all if I know you only have snow to lie on. Take the cloak."

"No, Audrey. I won't sleep if I think you are cold."

"There is only one solution then. We will share both cloaks."

Legolas froze in shock. "I…you wish…but—"

"But nothing! We shared a bed for a week before now. This is no different. And we will both be happier with the added warmth."

"Audrey, you trust me to sleep with you still and I—"

"Yes," she cut him off too quickly. "Yes, I trust you. Now come. I'm tired."

Legolas came to her hesitantly and laid down stiffly beside her on the cloak. He tried his hardest not to frighten her, but she slid one arm around his waist and pillowed her head on his shoulder in a way that was all too familiar. He wrapped his own cloak around them and his arms slipped around her of their own volition. He prepared to feel her pull back, but she did not flinch from him, and they drifted off to sleep together.

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