A/N: This was supposed to be posted last night, but my internet died on me right as I was going to save the document (because I accidentally pressed a button I shouldn't have) so... ENJOY!

Adela's/Wynter's thoughts... except for one part.


When Haldir woke us up the next morning, I was closer to where the rest of the Fellowship was with a blanket draped over me. "I wonder who did this…"

I sat the rest of the way up, taking out my messy braid. "I'm shocked it lasted this long," I thought, pulling my brush through the new waves in my hair. Pippin and Merry came over and sat in front of me. They both seemed a little bit nervous, occasionally pushing each other.

"You go first."

"No, you were the one who wanted to do this first. You go."

"You were the one who felt bad about this, you go first."

"No you go first."

"No you go."

"No you!"

"No, yo-"

"What is it," I asked. Merry looked around nervously. Pippin was having a staring contest with the ground. Finally Merry sighed and looked at me.

"We wanted to say we were sorry. We were thinking that if maybe we spent more time with you, you wouldn't have felt so lonely. It was kind of scary seeing you yell and break down yesterday."

I sighed, smiling at them slightly. "I'm sorry about that too. All of you have been taking care of me when you could have left me by myself and I am very grateful of that."

Merry and Pippin smiled brightly at that and tackled me to the ground, hugging me. "We promise to spend more time with you!"

I laughed a little bit at that. Merry and Pippin got off of me and went off to find Frodo and Sam. I began brushing my hair out again when Aragorn came over. He had some bags under his eyes and he looked tired. Slowly he sat down where Pip and Merry were before. His eyes were focused on me and I tried to focus on brushing out my hair.

"I'm sorry."

My hairbrush dropped out of my hand, "Wh-What?"

"I said I'm sorry. If only I threw you a bit harder you wouldn't have almost died."

"I… forgive you I guess."

"What do you mean you guess?"

"Well, I feel like I gave you a bit of trouble yesterday. You had to keep dragging me with you… and I sort of exploded on all of you guys yesterday."

He nodded his head slowly. Standing, he held out his hand and helped me up. "We're going to be leaving here soon. Be ready."

I went out to grab my bag, almost inaudibly muttering to myself, "So what? I don't get a 'I forgive you too' or 'it's okay'? Fine then."

We left soon after. Haldir lead us through the forest, speaking to Aragorn and Legolas occasionally. Merry and Pippin did what they said they would. They were walking besides me chatting animatedly about the songs in the Shire.

"Most of them are really only drinking songs," Merry said.

"They say the only real passion of a Hobbit is food and ale," Pippin added excitedly.

"Do you remember any songs," Merry asked.

Smiling, I replied, "I don't, but I highly doubt my singing voice is as lovely as my speaking voice is."

"I doubt that," Pippin quickly replied.

"Here, we'll try it," Merry responded.

That was when we stopped at a hill top. There were giant trees with a city built around, in, and through the trees. It glowed in the afternoon light in greens and silvers and golds. I stared in awe, vaguely registering what Haldir was saying.

"Caras Galadon. The heart of Elvendom on earth. This is the city of Galadhrim where dwell the Lord Celeborn and of Galadriel, Lady of Light."

It was amazing… until we got to the stairs. I was okay the first… five flights, but by the time we were a quarter of the way done with the steps, my thighs were burning and I felt like I was going to pass out. We made it through one more flight of stairs when I finally just sat against a wall... well the side of the tree.

"Y-You know wh-what? How about you a-all just go up there with-without me?"

I laid my head back against the moss covered tree. I was feeling so tired. Slowly, I closed my eyes and believed that they did what I said and left me there. Then I felt someone wrap my arms around their neck and lift me onto their back. I wrapped my legs around their midsection so I wouldn't fall. Opening my eyes, I was met with a mass of golden hair.

"L-Legolas?"

"Yes?"

"Well… you seriously could've just left me there. I bet I'm really heavy-"

"regardless of the lack of food that I eat and the ton of exercise I'm getting," my 'logical' inner voice said.

"-and I highly doubt you want to carry me up all these stairs."

"If you were left by yourself, you would have gotten yourself lost."

"I'd eventually find you guys though and if anything, I'm sure even Haldir would try to find me."

"I highly doubt I would," Haldir called out from in front of us.

"You only say that because you aren't faced with the situation."

"Just because we are in safe grounds," Legolas started, "Doesn't mean there isn't anything dangerous here."

"Like what falling off a tree?"

His clear blue eyes looked at me like he actually thought I would fall from a tree. My mouth dropped open in surprise. "You actually think I'd fall off a tree."

"It would not surprise me if you did."

Fuming, I let my legs drop by his hips. For some reason, it really peeved me off that he was treating me like a child. His grip tightened around my legs so he could keep supporting me.

"Put me down."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because we are almost there."

"Even more reason to put me down."

Quietly sighing, he put me down. I maneuvered myself around him, going around Frodo and Sam along the way, to go walk by Aragorn. Frodo walked a bit faster so he was standing almost in between Aragorn and me.

"Adela?"

"Yeah Frodo?"

"Do you ever regret joining us?"

I stayed quiet for a second or two. Honestly, I wasn't sure. There were times when all of the males here could be so frustrating. Not being able to bathe on a regular basis was upsetting too. But… these are people who are also looking after me. They took me in with little to no questions asked and accept me… mostly at least. I looked down at Frodo. He immediately reminded me of those little brothers in anime where they always talks about protecting you no matter what, even though they can barely protect themselves.

"Sometimes I do," I saw his eyes fill with sadness, "but at the same time I'm happy that I came along. I don't remember much and even when I was mute, you and Sam and Pippin and Merry took me in with no questions asked. I've learned a lot while traveling with you too, and I find that every new thing I find out about you or Gimli or Boromir or anyone of you here is exciting."

Frodo smiled at me. I knelt down and gave him a quick hug. "Learning about you is quite interesting in itself," Aragorn said from in front of us.

I stood up and caught back up with him, "How so?"

"You are a very odd person. That is the first thing I remember thinking about you when I first saw you. You dress differently from most of the women and the way you speak is strange. Also, you have this accent unlike any I have ever heard of. I honestly believed you were going to be a liability during our journey."

"But I proved you wrong, right?"

"Not at all. You were difficult to understand and had the oddest behaviors. Even when I gave you a stick to protect yourself with only as a joke, you actually used it. You don't dress or act like a woman and you play with dolls as if you were six. At the same time, though, you bring a smile to most of our faces. You are innocent and naïve and it makes you charming."

"For one thing, you giving me that stick didn't feel like a joke. It felt like you wanted me dead. And was that a complement, or was I just insulted?"

Aragorn smiled slightly at me, "It was a complement."

That was when the stairs finally finished. There was a very big platform with another set of stairs. At the top were two bright lights though.

"Did we actually die in Moria because I feel like Haldir just guided us to heaven," I thought, covering my eyes from the bright light. When it finally dimmed, I looked up. There was a tall slender elf with long, wavy gold hair. She had a circlet on her head and her dress moved around her like water. She reached the bottom with her companion at her side. Her companion stepped forward and faced Aragorn.

"The enemy knows you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone. Nine there are here, yet ten there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him. I can no longer see him from afar."

The beautiful elf softly spoke, "Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land. He has fallen into Shadow."

Legolas looked up at her, his eyes hardening. "He was taken by both Shadow and flame. A Balrog of Morgoth. For we went needlessly into the net of Moria."

My eyes immediately went to the ground. Some of the loneliness that I let out before was slowly creeping back on me. The woman continued, "Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. We do not yet know his full purpose."

She looked at everyone, talking about what was to become of our quest.. When her eyes met mine I heard a voice, her voice in my head saying, "Child, do not fret. There are things still unknown about the future as well as the present. I know of your true home."

My eyes widened as I continued to stare at the elf whose gaze currently held Frodo's. "Sh… She knows about me?"

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight, you will sleep in peace."

We all turned to go. Gimli, who was at the front of our group, was about to take the first step when the elf said my name.

"Adela?"

I turned around, facing her, "Yes?"

"Can you stay here a moment? I wish to speak with you."

I nodded my head and the Fellowship continued down their path. Pip and Merry looked at me before they quickly followed along. When their footsteps were finally out of ear shot, the woman looked towards her escort. She walked towards him and whispered in his ear for a minute. He nodded his head, leaving the room, Haldir following him out. We stood there in silence for a while longer until she turned to me. A small smile formed on her lips, "Come here Adela."

"How… What I mean is… Are you going to do anything to me?"

"Why would you think I would cause you any harm?"

"Because you said you knew I was… I was from a different place. Gandalf wanted me to keep it secret because we didn't know what sent me here and he did want to 'test our luck'. I thought that maybe you thought I was… evil I guess."

"No. Not at all Adela. I wish to learn more about where you are from, to see if I can help you."

"Help me with what?"

"Possibly bringing you back home."

"Do you think you can do that?"

"I am not sure, but I would like to try. Now tell me, what is your real name?"

"Wynter. My name is Wynter."

"Wynter," she repeated softly, her eyes looking over me, "It suits you, but not as well as Adela."

I smiled at that. After having the name Adela given to me for three, almost four months now, it was growing on me.

"Now, let us get you bathed and changed and then I will have Haldir lead you to your friends."

"Wait, I thought we were going to talk about my home?"

"Tomorrow. It had been a long day for you and I believe you deserve some rest."

A group of elves took me to a private room, located inside a tree. There was a copper tub off to the side filled with hot water. I took away my clothing and sat inside the tub. The water was turning brown quickly and I wanted to yell. After all those attempts at getting the dirt off in rivers, I was still filthy.

One of the elves came up to me and smiled. She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, like pretty much everyone else in this place. Quietly she sat behind me.

"I'm going to wash your hair now, if that is alright."

I nodded and she poured clean water over my head. She began massaging my scalp with oils. Sighing, I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of her fingertips on my head. I heard the remaining elves, which were probably about two or three others, talking quietly to each other. The elf that was washing my hair poured the rest of the water over it.

"What's your name?"

She looked at me, slightly surprised I talked, "I am Nátulcien."

"I was wondering Nátulcien if you had a knife or razor I could use."

She looked at me quizzically, "Why?"

"Be-Because I want to shave."

"But you have no beard…"

"I mean my legs. It is common to do where I'm from."

She nodded her head and left the room, hopefully getting something sharp that can cut. I took the soap on the side of the tub and began scrubbing at my skin. Nátulcien came back and held out a knife with a handle that was about the same length as the blade, which was sharpened at one side. I took the knife by the handle and smiled.

"Thank you very much Nátulcien."

"You are… welcome," she smiled at me.

I took the soap and lathered up some suds. Sticking my leg out of the water, I began shaving at the gorilla hair my body had grown. By the time I finished, the soap was almost gone and the water was luke-warm. I stood, using the water to clear off my skin. One of the other elves handed me a towel and I wrapped myself in the cloth.

"Your skin is so pale," one of them remarked.

"You have been traveling cross country for three months now, yes? Why are you still so white," another asked.

I began feeling exposed. There were perfect looking people standing in the same room as me observing a somewhat naked me. I pulled the towel closer to myself. The third elf put her hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see her grey-blue eyes. "Let's brush out your hair now."

I nodded and she started drying my hair. Nátulcien and the others began talking about colors and my skin. Then I heard the word dress. Two small fires started inside me. One was anxiety and the other was excitement. What girl doesn't like dresses? They were nice to wear every once in a while, but I saw how long the sleeves and the skirts were on the elves around me. If the dress they put me in is like the ones they were wearing, it probably will not stay clean for very long.

The elf that was drying my hair took off the towel and began brushing it.

"I am just going to get all the knots out of your hair and then once you are dressed we'll style it."

"Okay."

When she finished brushing my hair, there were three dresses picked. One was a very, very long white one with very, very long sleeves. It had some kind of gold embroidery on the front and the top of the sleeves were connected to the sides of the dress, leaving a pair of holes to show off my shoulders.

The next dress had long sleeves, too, but they were shorter than the white dress. The beginning of these sleeves was completely off the shoulder. It seemed to be made out of satin and it shone in the light a little bit. It had a gold-colored sash, belt thing paired with it.

Then there was the dress that Nátulcien was holding. It was a dark blue with some white fabric wrapped around the part where the sleeves began to flare out above the elbow. The neckline was circular with silver embroidery on it. It laced up in the back and it looked pretty.

"Which one would you like to wear?"

"Well… can't I just wear my other clothes?"

"No! Those were filthy! We were planning on throwing them out."

"P-Please no! Just wash them and they'll be okay."

The elf with holding the white dress sighed, "Alright. Now, which one would you like to wear?"

"Umm… the dark blue one I guess."

Nátulcien helped me get laced up and I discovered that the sleeves were cut down the center so my fore-arms were exposed. I looked to the elves around me. There was a thought that I didn't think of before.

"How did you choose these clothes? They fit me well and I wouldn't think you had enough time to make any clothes. Especially without my measurements."

Nátulcien smiled at me, "There were some of us about the same height as you when we were adolescents. The other dresses may have been bigger on you, but since you chose this one, by lacing up the back, it could 'adjust' to your size."

I nodded. Then the elf that brushed my hair pulled me to a vanity in the room and started brushing my hair again. She took the front part of my hair and began braiding it back. When the braids met in the back, she combined the two braids into one and continued down my back. While she did that, one of the other elves placed a pair of shoes on the vanity. They were dark blue like the dress and seemed more like slippers. Well, not house slippers, but more like the black shoes Cinderella wears in the Disney movie.

"Almost done. Now where did I put that one clip?"

"Here it is," Nátulcien replied handing her a silver star clip. She thanked her and clipped it in my hair where the three braids met.

"All done."

I slipped on my shoes and looked at my reflection in the full length mirror in the room. My hair was neatly done and the dress made my waist look smaller than I was used to. I turned my body side to side to get a better view of the whole dress. When I looked back, there was only Nátulcien and the elf who did my hair in the room with me.

"Thank you. Thank you very much."

They smiled and were about to leave when I called out.

"Wait! I was wondering what your name was," I said to the elf who styled my hair.

"I am Ránëwén. If you need any assistance while you are here, please do not hesitate to call on me."

"Or me," Nátulcien said before they both left the room. I stayed looking at my reflection for a while. I was thinner and they were right about me still being pale.

"I bet it was all the dirt's fault," I thought.

There was a knock at the door and it opened afterwards.

"I am here to escort yo-"

Haldir stopped in his tracks when he saw me.

"Well don't act too shocked. It might hurt my feelings," I said with a slight pout on my face.

"Now if only you were silent, you would be a sight to behold."

I lightly punched him in the arm. For a second I could almost say I saw a smile, but it also could have been my eyes playing tricks on me. He laced my arm through his and we started down the stairs. By the second flight, I had already tripped six times.

-Legolas POV (after the meeting with Galadriel on the way to their sleeping "quarters")-

Once we left the presence of Lady Galadriel, we were led to a clearing to make camp. There we were given tents and help to set them up. When everything was in order, only the Fellowship was left in the clearing… or at least most of us. I was sitting under one of the trees in the clearing when Aragorn came to sit by me.

"I noticed you were quick to carry Adela on your back."

"If she was left there she would have gotten lost trying to find us. I was only saving us from future troubles."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Why are you wondering about it?"

My friend shrugged with a small smile on his face.

"What is it," I inquired, wishing that the knowing smile on his face would quickly disappear.

"Nothing. It is just I would have expected better sight from a young ellon such as yourself."

"I do not understand."

His smile only grew more. He called Peregrin and Meriadoc over, asking about how Adela was doing before the stairs.

"She was getting along fine," Peregrin started.

"We were talking about the Shire and the songs we had there. We asked her if she remembered any songs and she said she didn't," Meriadoc continued for his cousin.

"But then she started talking about how her singing voice was probably terrible. We were about to have her test it, but then we got distracted."

Aragorn nodded, a certain glint in his eye as he asked his next question. "How was she during the stairs?"

"She seemed tired. It looked like she would have fallen asleep on them if Legolas hadn't carried her," Merry started.

"But then she seemed to grow irritated at Legolas's comment about how she would get lost and possibly fall off a tree."

"I wouldn't say irritated Pip, I would say more hurt or disappointed."

Before the conversation continued, Aragorn asked another question. One that sounded like it would be his last.

"And what did you think of Legolas sacrificing his strength to carry Adela?"

"I'd say he decided to carry her quickly," Pippin began, "It didn't even seem like there was much of a chance given to see if she would continue."

"It was also somewhat like that during the Crebain. Legolas immediately protected Adie when harm became known."

"And now what conclusion would you draw from his actions?"

Meriadoc was the first to answer, "If I didn't know any better, I would say that Legolas cared for Adie as a friend. Almost like a younger sister, maybe. But then I've seen him looking at her at times when he thinks no one else is noticing and last night he carried away from the edge of the platform. Almost as if he was afraid something would happen and she would fall off. I believe that Legolas-"

Then there was a scream from over by the stairs. We quickly stood, grabbing our weapons and ran towards them. When we came into view, Boromir was already there along with Gimli. Haldir was on the stairs, gripping the waist of a dark-haired girl with pale skin. Her hands gripped his arms as her eyes were shut tight. Something seemed familiar about her though.

"A-Adie?"


A/N: Sooo what'd ya'll think? I decide to do another Legolas POV just for kicks and giggles (but I feel like the way I was portraying him was very... Spock-ish. Guess that's because I saw Star Trek: Into the Darkness Friday.) So do you guys like it? Hate it? Think I could do better at one part or another? Well I won't know unless you tell me, so REVIEW! 3