I do not own big trees or Legolas or much of anything. (weeps)
ANYWAY, sorry it's been so long since I last uploaded, here I go:



"Legolas?"

"Yes?"

"Where are we going?"

Legolas stopped short.

"I was originally going towards home, but I do not suppose you would want to go there. I will escort you wherever you want to go."

"I really have nowhere to go in particular…"she looked down, not knowing what to say.

There was an awkward pause.

"Well, I'm sure you could stay at my father's house; He would surely treat you like one of his own daughters!"

She looked up at him sharply, regarding him skeptically. He then realized the implication in his choice of words.

Raising an eyebrow, she replied, "That's a queer thing to say…"

Shaking his head, Legolas stammered, "It was my error, to so quickly forget your former circumstances. I apologize, please do not think me treacherous."

"Oh! There is no need to apologize so profusely, I can see now that you only meant to be courteous." She laughed, and eased her horse into a trot. She stopped alongside Legolas, so that he could lead the way.


They rode on in silence, with Legolas in the lead.

"Where do you live?" it occurred to Nileriniel to ask.

"Have you ever heard of the forest of Mirkwood?"

"Nay. I have never even been this far from the village I was born in."

Legolas glanced back. Was she having second thoughts?

"Do you think me fearful? For I am not. Actually, I am looking forward to meeting other elves, if they are anything like you."

She sped up to catch up to Legolas, just as he stopped short a second time. Her horse almost crashed into his and reared up, almost throwing her off the back. She gripped tightly with her legs, having not used a saddle, and when Crann Tim's forelimbs returned to the ground, she misinterpreted the heels dug into her sides as the signal to gallop away, already being frightened and somewhat confused.

Nileriniel let out a scream (one that she thought was distastefully girlish, before more immediate concerns took precedence), and was carried very quickly past Legolas, who then looked behind him to see what his friend was running from, before taking off after her.

Both were surprised by the speed of the diminutive horse, and Legolas called out Nileriniel's name, trying to stop her running. Knowing not what else to do, he called the horse.

"Crann Tim! If your rider will not heed me, at least pause long enough for me to talk to her!"

To the surprise of all involved, the horse was indeed slowing, though it was probably because she was becoming fatigued from such a sprint.

Legolas overtook his companion, and grabbed the reins, bringing them both to a halt.

"Why did you do that?" Legolas had a look of utmost confusion on his face.

"I could ask you the same!"

"I do not know what you could mean."

"You stopped very suddenly from a canter. My horse was right behind yours and you spooked her."

Legolas remembered the reasons for his sudden halt,

"It concerned what you said…" he wondered for a moment how he should phrase his concerns.

Nileriniel mistook the reason for his pause. "Do you not live near other elves?"

Legolas had only thought about the ruler of the land, his father, not the other residents of Mirkwood. "To the lords and ladies, not to mention the courtesans, you may seem a bit…uncouth." He did not mind the few blemishes on her face, her tanned skin, nor the fact that her skin was not quite so hairless as most elf maidens, or her…ears… but he could imagine her being looked down upon. Most elves would not think such things of the race of Men, but for one like themselves, their standards would be higher.
"Also, you do have the tendency to speak harshly."

She snorted, "Course speech to match course situations! And were I male they would have been considered gross under reactions…"

"Even so, most maidens would have been more demure, and most folk would expect that." Then he leaned towards her and whispered, "Though I do not!" with a conspiratorial smile. She nodded her head and said, "I will be sure to be polite, and I doubt there will be reason to defend myself anyway, among the fair ones."

Legolas hoped so.

"Nileriniel?"

"Yes?"

"I would also refrain from making that beastly snorting sound."

"It is already done."

Hope this chapter wasn't too corny. If you lived in the woods most of the time, and had human blood, and it was not common practice for women to use razors, your legs would be somewhat hairy too, though .I just realized something. The more chapters this has, the more potential readership goes down. Sure as hell won't stop me from writing, but it's kinda funny. The more work you put into something, the more likely people are just gonna look at it and go, "Pshh. I'm not reading all that!" So, thanks to everyone who has read this far, especially Minka, who has reviewed every chapter w/ nice long reviews.