A/N: I'm so sorry for the long delay! I have no excuse other than laziness, poor time management (aka procrastination), and writer's block. I honestly have been trying to get this chapter up, but the first attempts at getting it written ended in a couple minutes of staring blankly at my computer screen, then hours of browsing fan fiction. Like I said; Poor time management. As for the title of this chapter... It was just too perfect; I couldn't resist. :)

With that said, thank you so much to Jayjay0815 (I hope you like the Ash/Silan scene!) for all the help and support (and the very kind reviews), as well as Guest for the review, and ChinaxJapan101, Rose Nieman-Black-Targeryen, Tar-Ancalimae, grace-adalyn, jocahill, justcallmek, selenastarsparrow1230, Crazygirl18243, and bubblettrocks for following/favoriting. It really means a lot! :)

Disclaimer: Seeing as it's fairly obvious that I am not J.R.R Tolkien, it really shouldn't be strictly necessary for me to point out that I don't own The Hobbit or Middle-earth and its inhabitants.

Chapter Ten

There and Back Again

Ash hit the water just after Silan. It hadn't exactly been a conscious choice, but she had tried to keep him from falling, which had ended in both of them being pulled along the banks by the raging current. They could both feel the enchantments taking effect as soon as they hit the water, and fought stubbornly against it. Silan lost Ash fairly quickly after falling, and soon lost any sense of direction. Every now and then he would hit something (and vaguely wonder if it was Ash) and be pushed away from the shore until he didn't even know which way was up.

Sometimes there would be a rare moment in which his head broke the surface, but that always ended far too soon, and with him inhaling water. As the charms of the river finally crept their way into his thoughts, it became harder and harder to move, until he was just floating with the current of the river, not reacting when he would crash into a rock or piece of driftwood. Something solid rammed against him, and he had the brief sense of being pulled down toward the bottom of the river, while, in fact, it was the opposite.

As he was dragged from the river, he was very vaguely aware of another form being pulled out with him, and the last thing he was consciously aware of was a flash of red, and then something cold lying against him.

. . .

"Malia ten' laure?"

Silan opened his eyes with a start. The sun had turned to the west, but night hadn't yet fallen. Koran stood in front of him, flask in hand. "What?"

"Malia ten' laur. Would you -"

"I know what you said! Why in the world... The first thing you do after I wake up from a powerful enchantment is offer me mead." Silan shook his head and laughed.

Koran shrugged, still holding out the flask. "So?"

Silan laughed, accepting it. "Can't hurt."

Kiron gave him a scrutinizing once-over, then turned to look at Koran. "I told you he's still shaking off the enchantment."

"Wait," Silan demanded, "What does my accepting this have to do with my wellbeing?"

Kiron grinned. "Because if you were fully recovered, you'd have realized that your brother's here."

Silan choked. Aneare dropped down from a tree, wearing an amused smile. "That was cruel," she laughed.

"You could have stopped it," Koran pointed out.

"Oh, but why would I?" She turned to Silan. "Legolas is with Ash, making sure she doesn't get herself killed collecting firewood."

"Does somebody want to make sure she doesn't kill him collecting firewood," Silan asked.

Aneare shrugged. "I don't know; I mean, he can't scold you if Ash leaves him somewhere in the forest."

Silan shook his head with a laugh. "We should make sure they're back before dark," he said as he stood up. Spots danced in his eyes for a couple of seconds, but he felt steady enough to walk. "Are you coming?"

"If it means I get my flask back sooner," Koran grinned.

They found them fairly quickly, mostly due to Ash's laughter, which could be heard from some ways off.

Silan eyed her suspiciously. "What'd you do?"

Ash held up her hands. "Nothing, I swear!"

Silan raised an eyebrow skeptically, but didn't respond.

"So, then, what were you laughing at?" Kiron asked. "Because, in my experience, your laughter is a sign of oncoming peril."

Ash glanced at Legolas, who watched them with an amused smile. "It's just... Interesting to hear stories of some of our more foolhardy adventures from an outsider's point of view."

"Such as?" Aneare asked, curiously but also cautiously.

Ash grinned. "The time we saw fit to break into the dungeons from the castle roof, not taking into account the fact that the dungeon is in the lowest part of the castle."

Legolas laughed. "All that the inhabitants of the castle noticed were strange noises from the roof, until Koran fell through."

This earned several reminiscent laughs from the group.

"And, for all our trouble, we still ended up in the dungeons, in our efforts to try to find an escape from them," Silan concluded.

Ash turned toward the camp. "Well, since I evidently can't go anywhere without you four following me like I'm a criminal, should we head back to camp and see if we can't get a fire started?"

There were several nods of assent from the group, however Kiron pulled a face. "Fine, but if we can't get a fire started with the flint, this time someone else has to cast the spell; Last time I nearly lost an eyebrow..."

. . .

Smoke spiraled upward toward the sky, which was painted with the glaringly bright colors of twilight. A small, somewhat feeble fire shone through the trees of Mirkwood, and around it several elves sat, in quiet contentment. Ash and Silan sat pondering the nature of their alleged "valiant rescue" from the river (which had really been the result of some quick, slightly panicked thinking and a vine pulled from a nearby tree), which they had a considerable amount of trouble believing had actually worked. Kiron, Koran, and Aneare had just finished telling it in very exaggerated detail, and Legolas watched the five elflings in uninterested amusement.

The topic of their return home loomed somewhat ominously in the air, but no one had breached the topic thus far.

Kiron turned to Legolas with a smirk on his face. "So, are you going to tell us embarrassing stories about Silan when he was younger? That's what brothers are for, isn't it?"

Legolas responded with a slightly startled expression, and Silan looked on in horror. The others leaned in closer, suddenly deeply interested in the conversation.

"No."

One incredibly relieved look, followed by four incredibly disappointed ones, were cast toward the Elf. "But... Why?" Koran asked, expression similar to that of a hobbit that has been denied second breakfast.

"You've been acquainted with him long enough to have a part in most of those stories," Legolas pointed out.

"Most," Kiron pouted.

Legolas shook his head amusedly, but offered no reply.

Silan gave a nervous smile, trying to recover from the near-disaster. "He's probably right, though. I mean, you've influenced me or been with me for quite a few of the stupider decisions in my life."

Ash gave a sarcastic grin. "Glad to help."

"I know you are," Silan laughed. "That's why the three of you have had such large roles in most of my misadventures."

"Yes, but, if it weren't for us, you would have been caught a lot more," Koran offered.

"There would be nothing for me to be caught doing, if it weren't for you," Silan countered with a laugh.

"We all know that's not true. I can't exactly see you as the type of Prince who is greatly respected among diplomats and revered among nobles and scholars," Ash added.

"So then what type of prince am I?"

Ash shrugged. "The type who's adored by wretches and applauded by scoundrels, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Silan studied Ash's challenging glare before seemingly deciding something. "I suppose not."

Aneare looked between them with a raised eyebrow. "You know, I wasn't there for most of those stories..."

. . .

Ash sat at the foot of a gnarled tree, eyes searching for the night through the canopy of ancient trees. The pale light of the moon could be seen through a small break in the foliage, spectral and lonely in the cold night. She kept her gaze on the white light, if only to help stay awake until the next of their group came to relieve her of watch duty. She knew that she should probably wake someone up before she put the group at risk by falling asleep, but she didn't want to just yet. More specifically, she didn't want to leave the patch of moonlight to stumble over roots and branches in the darkness and try her best to just wake one elf; stealth wasn't exactly her strong point.

She was saved from such an excursion by the snapping of a twig. She pulled her stiff body to her feet with suppressed groans and cautiously (though not quietly) walked over to investigate. Upon discovering the source of the noise, she huffed in annoyance.

"What are you doing up?" She hissed.

"Coming to check up on you; the last guard change could have been hours ago," Silan responded, eyeing her warily. A tired, annoyed Ash was the last thing he wanted to be dealing with right then.

"You scared me half to death," She accused. "You could have been a spider, or even a rogue orc!"

Silan laughed. "So, knowing full well that it could be dangerous, you walked over unarmed, and making as much noise as an army?"

Ash sighed and sat down, with her back against a tree once again. "Maybe I had a defensive spell on the tip of my tongue," She retorted, though it was a bit halfhearted.

"Really?" Silan chuckled.

Ash laughed softly. "You know I didn't. I guess I just wasn't thinking, or... It just didn't really register that it could be a threat. I don't know."

"You... Should probably get some sleep."

Ash hit his arm. "That's not to say I can't defend myself."

"Oh, I know," Silan said with a snicker.

Ash glanced at Silan, and, for once, had no witty retort. The two fell quiet, the silence soon penetrated only by the sounds of the night.

"So..." Ash began awkwardly.

Silan laughed. "So."

Ash gave a mock glare. "So... Why did you... I mean..." She sighed.

"Does it bother you that I tried to keep you from falling into the river?" he asked wryly. "Because most people wouldn't consider it to be a disservice."

"No! That's not... Ugh. You're impossible," she complained. "I'm not upset about that; I mean, all of us would do the same for you. I just feel bad, I guess, that I'm the reason you ended up going for a swim in an almost-poison river. I think that most people would consider that to be a disservice."

Silan shugged. "I've had worse. I've probably had worse at your hands."

Ash hit him again. "But you didn't have to. I mean, I don't want people to think that I'm just another Elf Maiden to be protected. You least of all."

Silan raised an eyebrow and smirked. Ash's face hardened. "How many times am I going to need to hit you tonight? I'm serious. I don't want to be considered formidable just because I have the protection of the crown."

Silan shook his head. "First off, you're blowing this out of proportion. All I did was keep that stick from hitting you; I had no idea what would come of it. And secondly... I know, well, about half the kingdom knows, that you don't need to be protected. You're independent to the point of isolation sometimes, and free to the point of insanity, and you never bend to fit anything that isn't right by you. But when something doesn't bend... It breaks. That's not what any of us want for you. So, Kiron, Koran, and I... It may seem like we don't think you're capable of something, or not strong enough, but in reality we know that you can and you will, and that you'll take any measure to get it done. We just don't want you to be the one to deal with the consequences."

Ash smiled to herself, though it wasn't seen through the darkness. "'To the point of insanity', you say?"

Silan laughed. "There and back again."

Ash closed her eyes, the moonlight causing dots to dance behind her eyelids. She gave a wry smile, though it went unnoticed. "And I'd do it again."

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! It's sort of all I've got, though. My sister's done helping me with this story and she was supposed to write every other chapter with me, so it's been a lot more writing than I planned. I'm still determined to finish, but some ideas on where to go next would be really nice. Also, please tell me what you think about that last scene and Ash/Silan and give me some advice on that; you guys have no idea how much your reviews mean. Thank you so much for reading! :)

Until the very end,

CarverEdlundtheLast