A/N: Hello guys! I am back. As you can see I am continuing the story the way I began it. :)

BigBangVIP: Thank you for your continued support throughout the past few chapters. Your words have really inspired me to keep going with this story. Your reviews will never be taken for granted!

Guest (on UPDATE): Thank you for your lovely review! I agree that that backstory (even though it's long) is quite important, especially because of how my characters interacts with the different characters in this chapter and upcoming chapters. I hope you will like this chapter as it follows your idea of continuing but having a flashback within it :)

NessaDE: Your review really caught me off guard and made me cry, I even told my friends about it cause I was so happy! I like the fact that you read my update first before reading the story and then changed your mind and like the story the way I have written it this far! I am glad you enjoy her dynamics with both Haldir and Legolas? Is there one relationship which you like more?

Also thank you to Destielxo on twitter for sending me a lovely message about my story!

I hope you enjoy! x

Chapter 20

Emdiril sat with the council in her throne room, patiently awaiting the Fellowship's arrival. Aragorn had requested they meet before they continued on their journey. To her left sat Mila, her most loyal advisor alongside with Lorcan, who had proven to be the most pessimistic. Most times it annoyed Emdiril beyond belief but other times she sought his counsel for he made very logical points. To her right sat Deryk and Raoul, a man who had proven to be the most vulnerable and naïve of the bunch. She looked to Deryk who had a blank expression on his face. He had avoided her eyes contact at all costs but Emdiril did not understand the reasoning behind his actions. Deryk's brown eyes almost seemed to darken when the door opened, Aragorn and the rest of the Fellowship led into the throne room by one of the guards.

"Queen Emdiril." He bowed down in respect, the others suit follow. "Please forgive us for yestereve. We did not know it was you who guided us here."

"No need to apologise, Aragorn, son of Arathorn." She smiled warmly at him. "Who are your companions?" She gestured towards them, her eyes instinctively avoiding those of Legolas.

"This is Boromir, steward prince of Gondor." He gesturned towards a man with blue eyes and light brown hair who bowed his head in respect, though his eyes were trained on Mila.

"Legolas, prince of Mirkwood." Aragorn carried on and Emdiril casted a glance at the elf, who eyed her curiously. His lips curled into a polite smile but his eyes fell onto her necklace, causing Emdiril to hold her breath involuntarily. She feigned a warm smile at him before she glanced at the dwarf beside him.

"Gimli, son of Gloin." The dwarf bowed his head politely, though his face remained stern.

"Son of Gloin, you say?" Emdiril raised a delicate brow at the mention of the familiar name.

"Aye." Gimli nodded, his eyebrows furrowing together in a confused frown.

"I have met him before." Emdiril explained. "He was a noble, yet funny dwarf."

It had been the truth. She had heard of the dwarves quest to regain Erebor and had travelled towards the lonely mountain. She had heard word of the dragon, Smaug and the terrors he had caused in the past and travelled with the intent to avoid any damage. However she had been too late, the dragon had been slain the peoples of Laketown were stranded. Legolas had been there, with another elleth with red hair. It had been the first time she had seen him in decades and she wished she hadn't, as his feelings towards the elleth had appeared very clear. The thought of the two elves still caused stabbing pains in Emdiril's heart. Emdiril had helped the people of Laketown seek shelter in Dale and not long after Thranduil had arrived with food and wine. She remembered the look of disgust on the Elvenking's face when he looked upon her that day.

She shook her thoughts off and looked towards Aragorn, urging him to continue.

"These are Pippin, Merry, Sam." He pointed towards three of the halflings, his hand then gesturing towards a hobbit with innocent blue eyes and dark hair, "And Frodo Baggins."

She perked up and a gentle smile tucked at the corners of her mouth, memories of Bilbo flooding her minds. He had been the bravest hobbit she had ever encountered, a problem solver and truly a burglar.

Emdiril sat back in her throne, eyeing each individual before her eyes glanced at Aragorn once more.

"What is it that you wished to discuss?"

"We are on a quest towards Mordor –" Aragorn started but was interrupted by an enraged Lorcan.

"Mordor? We want nothing to do with this." He spoke quickly, his eyes firm upon Aragorn.

Emdiril cast a disapproving glance in his direction. "Let him speak, Lorcan." She turned her head towards Aragorn with an apologetic look on her face.

"Our aim is to destroy all evil. Sauron will wage war against everyone. All of men, all of elves. No one will be safe unless we fight together. Elrond has assured me that you would be a good ally, my queen for her has told me of abilities only you possess."

"Then who would protect us?" Lorcan selfishly retorted.

"No, not a chance." Deryk angrily exclaimed. "You wish to use our queen for her powers only and endanger all of Waterfall City in the process?"

"As soon as she leaves, her spell will be broken and Sauron's eye and anyone's eye will be able to see Waterfall City." Lorcan agreed with Deryk, disapproving of Aragorn's wish.

"We have dragons and trained men to defend us." Raoul interjected, to Emdiril's surprise.

"Don't be naïve, Raoul!" Lorcan shut him down. "We may have trained men, but they have never seen battle. We would be doomed."

"Enough!" Emdiril's voice echoed through the halls, sternly looking at each of her advisors. She sighed, shaking her head at them before she stood from her throne and approached Aragorn.

"Forgive me, Aragorn, my advisors can be very rude." She spoke loud enough for them to hear as she looked into his blue eyes. She saw hopelessness within them, he did not know how to continue. There was sorrow hidden behind determination, a hint at a loss.

"You are not the one who led this quest. You do not know which path to follow." Her green eyes observed him closely.

"No, my Queen. Gandalf fell when he fought the Balrog of Morgoth."

The news hit Emdiril harder than she had anticipated and her gaze fell onto the floor. Mithrandir could not be dead, surely. Though the look in Aragorn's eyes could not have lied to her.

"Mithrandir believed you could lead and so you should." She finally glanced back up at the man, his lips pressed together firmly. She wondered how to continue, whether she should join them on their quest or not and her eyes briefly fell upon the blond elf beside Aragorn.

"Forgive me, but this is a path I cannot follow. My place is with my people and shall war be upon us, I will fight here. With my people." It was half the truth. She was Queen. She could not simply abandon her kingdom. However Legolas also played a big part in Emdiril's decision. She could not picture herself seeing him for however many days on end. Just him standing in front of her now hurt her more than she would like to admit. It wasn't the elf who hurt her, it was the fact he stood right there, yet he could not be hers.

"I understand." Aragorn nodded his head, though disappointment filled his eyes.

"Go to Lothlorien. You may find guidance there." Emdiril placed a hand upon Aragorn's shoulder and squeezed it. "You may stay as long as you wish."

"We will continue tomorrow. We have not much time." Aragorn forced a small smile of thanks before he retreated.

Emdiril turned to walk towards her chambers as the majority of the Fellowship turned to leave.

"Lady Emdiril!" a familiar voice called out behind her and Legolas approached her with fast steps.

He looked at her, his blue eyes reminding her of the sky above them.

"May I walk with you. I have some unanswered questions I hoped you could aid me with."

Emdiril took in a deep breath of air before she gestured for them to continue walking. "Of course, Prince Legolas."

She led them towards a balcony overlooking her rose gardens. She found them to be her favourite flowers for they came in many colours and were easy to keep. Her red, wavy hair bounced with each step she took and her elegant deep blue gown hugged her frame comfortably. The jewel of her circlet reflected the sun light, standing out from her red hair. Her green eyes looked towards Legolas who stood and watched her carefully and curiously. She wanted to laugh at the amount of times she had seen the expression on his face before, but could not.

"What can I help you with?" She leaned against the railings of the balcony, her eyes looking over her garden.

"I apologise for my staring," Legolas blurted out, "but have I met you before? You seem familiar to my eyes." The elf's blue eyes bore into hers, a small smile crossing his features.

The question caught Emdiril off guard and her breath hitched, eyes widening slightly at his question.

"Perhaps you have seen me in battle. I was in Dale when Azog led his armies there. I know your father was there, so I assume you were as well?" It was a good diversion in Emdiril's opinion. Sometimes it was easiest to answer a question with a question of your own.

"Aye. I was there. My father never mentioned a Queen was in battle." Legolas furrowed his eyebrows in a frown. He supposed it was because he had left for many years after the battle and a lot of time had passed before he placed his eyes upon his father again. He had spent a long time with the Dunedain, aquainting himself with Aragorn which explained their deep loyalty to one another.

"I believe it is the reason my advisors are against me leaving once more. Truly." Emdiril sighed softly as she thought back. During her absence a pack of orcs attacked the city. They were able to fend them off, but Lorcan's ancestor's in particular had never forgiven her for leaving them behind for battle. It was an opportunity she could not have ignored for she had heard whispers of Boleslaw running among some of the orcs. For decades she had wanted to hunt him down, but she had never been able to.

Legolas took a step towards her and leaned over the railing, his eyes looking upon the roses she had grown in the gardens as well as a few other plants. He turned his head towards her and looked into her eyes, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Emdiril noticed the close proximity as their shoulders brushed and she cleared her throat, taking a step away from the elf.

"Forgive me." Legolas shook his head at himself. He did not understand what drew him towards her. "I do not know why, but I feel as though I melt into you, like snow melting into rain."

"Do not apologise." She sighed softly before pressing her lips together. His head had forgotten her, but his heart had not.

"I have one more question," Legolas started, his hand reaching for the chain of his necklace and undoing it, "You have the exact same one and I was told this was yours." He held out the necklace in his hand.

Her eyes fell upon the crystal necklace he held and she merely nodded.

"Yes." It was all she could say on the matter.

"I do not know how I came across it, but if it is yours, I wish to return it to you."

Emdiril's eyes snapped up at him in surprise. He was still the same, genuine and kind elf she had met all that time ago. She reached out, using her hand to fold his hand around the crystal.

"I have not seen this for a very long time, which makes me believe it has been with you for a very long time. It is yours now. I wish for you to keep it." She felt as though she had just been stabbed in the chest with a million arrows. It broke into a million pieces which no one could put back together. She wished she could tell him the truth. More than anything. Part of her wondered what would happen if she did. Would Thranduil still be against her? Would Legolas become angry that she stole his memories of him? She supposed so. Her thoughts came to a halt when he placed his other hand around hers, taking a step towards her. She looked from their hands into his eyes, he was questioning his own actions but did nothing to stop them either.

"You look really beautiful." His eyes looked her over once more and a fond smile graced his lips.

She cleared her throat and turned away from him. "Forgive me, Legolas, but I have business to attend to."

Emdiril then turned and walked away from him, back towards her chambers.

"What have you done to my son?" Thranduil's deep voice spoke behind her, sending chills down her spine. She stood not far from him in Dale and turned to face the Elvenking, a blank expression covering her true emotions.

"I have left him, like you have asked, King Thranduil." She spoke evenly, her voice void of any emotion.

Thranduil nodded his head towards his guards, telling them to leave him alone with her and the elves left.

"Do not make me out to be a fool, young Emdiril for I know you have done far more than just leave." His voice echoed accusingly and his nostrils flared slightly.

"Aye. I thought it easier for him not to remember me at all as he would not let me leave."

"You mean to tell me you have manipulated his thoughts and mind?" His icy blue eyes narrowed dangerously at her. "This is why I was against you. You had probably manipulated his love for you, as well. My son would not have been foolish enough to fall for the likes of you. It was not real."

His words tore through Emdiril like a sword. She was taken aback by his accusing words and disgusted by the fact he'd think of her in such a way.

"I have never manipulated his love for me. I can control the mind, but not matters of the heart."

"My son is no longer my son. He has become rebellious since you have left and follows an elleth which reminds me of you to fill the void in his head. You have turned him against meI knew it was right not to let you court." He looked disgusted at the sight of her. "Stay away from him, young Emdiril or you will regret it." He looked towards her smugly.

Emdiril's anger took a hold of her and she took a warning step towards him, his face close enough to his that she could feel his breath against her face.

"I have not turned him against you, you have done that yourself. Also, it's Queen Emdiril now." She copied his smug look in mockery before she stormed off, not giving the elf a chance to speak more.