Dear Readers,

I am terribly, terribly sorry for waiting such an awful amount of time to update. I can only protest that my life has been very hectic for the past few weeks, as we moved into a new house and I moved to school. But hopefully I will get on some sort of schedule for updating. At any rate, here is a new chapter!

Thank you so much for reading, especially to IheartStewart20, La-p'tite-tete, KissinConcern, and Gemini II!

Dora-the-elda--Thanks for your review! Sorry it took so long for me to update...I understand the holiday thing, as I was at the beach for a while. Hope you enjoy this one!

Grey Pigeon--Thank you so much! I really hope I've managed to create someone who could be real. This is really the first character of my own that I've thought up, and I want her to be someone you could picture meeting on the street. We'll see!

A little note: Picture Acadia as a sort of Rivendell. Elrohir and Elladan designed it, so it has the beautiful stone buildings set into a valley, etc.

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!

The journey to Acadia took Legolas and Audrey a week. It was one of the more painful weeks of Legolas' very long life.

If only I had not fought in the War of the Ring, then it would be the worst, he thought as they marched silently along the path to the valley. They had spotted the valley from above earlier in the day, and Audrey's gasp of amazement was the only sound he had heard pass her lips for seven days.

Seven days! I know what I did was wrong, but Eru, that is such a long time.

Audrey had not broken her word; she was neither accusatory nor openly hostile. But she was completely and utterly silent. When she wanted his help, which was very rarely, she simply pointed to something.

For the first few days, Legolas had thought nothing of it. They took turns navigating during the days, so they often did not walk near each other. After they settled down to a quick dinner and then bed, they were usually both exhausted. And every night, they shared both cloaks, even though the ground was no longer soaked with snow.

But on the fourth evening, Legolas tried to bring up Audrey's marriage. He had asked her what she thought her family would do. Instead of answering him, she simply turned and began to spread out the cloaks. When he had asked her again, she again did not respond.

I know she probably still needs time to adjust to the situation, but she could have at least spoken a little!

She continued to ignore his questions for the rest of the evening and the next day. After that, he had simply given up and allowed his irritation with her to grow. By the time they reached the path down into the valley, he was nearly out of his mind.

It was nearing nightfall when the two reached the gate of the settlement. There they were greeted by Elven guards to whom Legolas explained who he was. Thankfully, they had been expected and they were admitted rather quickly.

As they were on their way to see Elladan and Elrohir, the company was halted by Audrey's voice. In halting Sindarin, she asked if it was alright if she simply went to bed, as she was very tired. The guards acquiesced, and one escorted her away from Legolas, presumably to her quarters in Acadia. Legolas would have been angry, but he was so nervous about seeing Elladan and Elrohir again that he did not protest.

After a few short minutes, he arrived in front of a large house at one end of the valley. The guard told him it was the house of the lords and that he was to stay here, and then he departed to return to his post. Legolas stood at the foot of the stairs to the house, peering up at it in apprehension. It was only one story high, but it was built onto one of the mountains. Constructed in similar stone to that in Rivendell, he instantly knew it was where Elladan and Elrohir lived. He took a few calming breaths to settle his nerves, and then he began to walk up the stairs to the door.

However, before Legolas could get more than halfway up the stairs, the door burst open and two tall, dark-haired elves darted out shouting his name. The three of them ended up in a most ungraceful pile at the bottom of the stairs, with Legolas flat on his back and completely robbed of breath.

After he managed to get up, he greeted Elladan and Elrohir in a more dignified manner, and they proceeded to entire his new home.

"We didn't expect you so soon!" Elladan intoned.

"Not that we're not glad you're here!" Elrohir hastily followed.

Legolas laughed. "I just chose to leave school early. I didn't feel as though I had any reason to stay."

"Where's Audrey? Did she not come with you?"

"She's here. She chose to go to bed; I think she was very tired." He hesitated, debating whether or not to tell them the truth. "I did something to anger her as well. I do not think she will enjoy seeing me too much, although I believe she is eager to meet you both."

Elrohir narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Legolas Greenleaf. Doing something to anger a girl? What could that possibly be?"

"Well with his reputation…" Elladan trailed off, chuckling softly to himself.

"She was my student," Legolas nearly growled in response. His elven comrades smirked at his discomfort, but thankfully dropped the subject.

"You know what we need, Elladan?" Elrohir's face was a picture of delight.

"What's that, dear brother?" He gazed at Elrohir for a moment, and then his face too broke out into a grin. When they turned their smiles on Legolas, he knew there would be trouble.

"What mischief are you planning against me now?" Valar, please do not let it involve Audrey.

"No mischief…" Elladan began.

"Only a feast!" his brother continued. Legolas burst into relieved laughter. "A feast it is, my friends!"

They had decided to hold the feast the following evening, since Legolas and Audrey had arrived so late. He was very grateful for the night of rest, because he always remembered Elladan and Elrohir's feasts as lasting all night.

And I was right.

Legolas was currently taking a short break from dancing and drinking. It had long since been night, and the feast was still in full swing. Audrey had retired quite early and without speaking one word to him, much to his chagrin. She was quite polite to the other elves, however, and he had been irked to see her laughing with one of the guards during dinner.

I really ought to stop thinking about her. She obviously does not want to speak with me, so why should I waste my time?

Setting his shoulders, he stood and walked back toward the dance floor. Grabbing a glass of the finest elven wine, he quaffed it while locating someone to dance with. He spied a beautiful blonde elf standing near floor; he had seen her dancing with several different elves throughout the evening. But now her eyes settled on him as well, and her lips curved up into an almost lascivious smile. He nodded at her to indicate that she meet him on the floor, and they began to dance together.

Legolas awoke with a pounding headache. He was disoriented for a moment, then remembered that he was in his quarters in Acadia. Glancing out the window, he decided that it must have been at least noon. Blinking, he turned to get out of bed, but a head of blonde hair that was not his own stopped him. It was the girl he had danced with from the night before. He did not remember much of what had happened after the dance, probably as a result of draining several glasses of wine in quick succession, but he supposed he must have invited her back.

Eru, what was her name?

She stirred at his movement, and then a knock on the door had them both alert. She turned to look at him, a question in her eyes.

"It's only Elladan or Elrohir," he murmured in assurance before calling to the knocker to enter.

But instead of his elven friends, Audrey pushed the door open tentatively. It could only have been a few seconds before she turned hurriedly and slammed the door behind her, but to Legolas it felt like an eternity. He could not shake her betrayed look from his mind.

"Who was that?" The elleth in his bed shook with mirth at Audrey's quick departure. "Your student?"

"Get out," Legolas deadpanned, rising from the bed and beginning to dress.

She lay for another moment with her mouth hanging open quite unattractively in shock before recovering. "Excuse me?" Her eyes blazed fiercely at him. But Legolas had no time for her anger.

"You heard what I said." He finished tying his leggings, pulled his tunic over his head, and deciding against his boots, headed for the door. "I want you gone before I'm back." With that, he left her naked in his bed and hurried after Audrey.

He ran down the stairs and almost directly into Elladan, who was waiting at the bottom for him.
To his left, he could see the door to the library was closed, which struck him as odd. He was distracted however, by the odd mixture of anger and curiosity that was evident on his friend's face.

"Where's Audrey?" he spat out.

Elladan cocked one eyebrow. "Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, come on Elladan. I have no time and I need to speak with her."

"Well currently she's in the library with Elrohir—"

Legolas lunged for the library before Elladan could finish, but found himself flung backward against the stairs.

"I wasn't through with you," Elladan growled at him. "Like I said, she's in our library, but I do not think she would want to see you right now."

"I know she was upset to see that other girl in my bed, but really!"

"Upset? She's crying, and she does not strike me as a girl who cries easily."

"She's crying?" Legolas was shocked. I did not do anything to her! What could possibly have her that upset?

Any further conversation was cut off by the door to the library opening. Elrohir stepped out of the room, his eyes narrowing as they landed on Legolas.

"I believe the lady wishes to speak with you." Elrohir's voice was clipped. "I would not make her cry again, if I were you."

Legolas had never seen his friends so angry. He stood shakily and slipped through the door into the library. It slammed behind him.

Audrey was sitting on the opposite side of the room, dwarfed by the armchair in which she slumped. She met his eyes as he entered the room and watched him silently as he crossed it to sit near her. There was no evidence of tears on her face, but he did not doubt that Elladan had been telling the truth.

"Audrey," he began, "I am sorry I upset you."

"Sorry." Her voice was flat. "You're sorry."

"Yes," Legolas murmured. They sat for a few moments in an uncomfortable silence before Legolas could take it no longer.

"What else do you want me to say?"

"There is nothing you can say. I would rather you had not done it."

"There was nothing wrong with what I did last night. And you should not have come bursting into my room early in the morning!"

A bitter guffaw escaped her. "I knocked, and it is after noon."

"You still did not have to come."

"I came to apologize."

Four simple words rocked Legolas to the core. He closed his eyes because he could not bear to meet hers anymore, and she continued.

"I should not have ignored you while we were journeying. I was just so upset." Her voice broke on the upset, and she needed a few breaths to calm herself. "I didn't know how to deal with you being there, especially since I forgave you so easily. And I was scared, because I still wanted you. Terrified, actually. I still am." She spoke calmly, but when he opened his eyes, hers were sparkling with tears.

"You still wanted me? What do you mean by that?" She said nothing, only looked at him with meaning in her eyes. Realization struck him and he jerked back in his chair. "You want me physically? You want to be mine?"

Her answer was an anxious hiss. "Yes."

Thanks for reading! Review if you wish!