A/N: Thank you so much to all my lovely reviewers; Elanwye, Wunderkind4006, soulsistersinaslan, FatalConnectjon, Raider-K, tommyboy78, AJAndrea, ForbiddenShadow0, Poison1234, horseyyay, Aldela, annafan, lotrjesusfreak, Fellowship of Avengers, Alexandra, LegolasGreenleafLove, Sandy-wmd, KD Skywalker, Brigid the Fae, BabyPheonixPrime, lynnelay, bntjammer, larisya, shophiescastle and Morwen80

Thank you to all of you who left unsigned reviews, I love hearing from you and I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.

FatalConnectjon: To answer your question; if you want to publish some original stories, you should check out fictionpress :) This site is only for fanfiction unfortunately but both sites have the same admins. Thanks for the review!

Worlds Apart: Chapter 29

The twin's camp was on the edge of the East-West Road, not far from where they'd happened upon their new companions. Maya groaned in exasperation when she realized just how close they'd been to finding their way out of that maze of trees.

As he rummaged through his pack for some extra clothing, Elladan cast a curious gaze over the Shield Maiden; her features stirred within him a feeling of recognition that he could not place.

"You mentioned that you hail from Ithilien," he said, "Were you originally from Gondor? Would I have seen you at court? You look so very familiar…"

When they'd revealed their parentage, Éowyn remembered Lord Elrond's sons almost immediately but she'd chosen to keep quiet; she didn't quite trust them.

"We've met before," said Éowyn cautiously, "Years ago at my Uncle King Théoden's funeral. It was very brief."

"Ah yes, you are Faramir's woman," said Elrohir, "The Princess of Ithilien. I wonder how I did not see it before."

The Shield Maiden gave him a nasty look, "I am no one's woman. I am Faramir's wife but I belong to no man," she corrected promptly, "You would do well to remember that."

The elf put his hands up in front of him, "Sheesh, alright then," he said, slightly startled by her sudden aggressiveness.

"But why did you say nothing before, if you knew who we were?" inquired Elladan as he tossed a fresh tunic to Maya and then another to the Shield Maiden.

When Éowyn said nothing, he smirked, "You don't trust us, do you?"

"You snuck up on my friend and watched her bathe. Can you honestly blame me for my apprehension?"

"Can you honestly blame us for looking?" Elrohir reasoned, enjoying the look of horror on Maya's face.

Rather than yell at them like she so desperately wanted to, Maya settled for a glare and grabbed her friend by the hand, dragging her through the bushes to change into their garments. She wanted to get moving they'd wasted enough time already and after the troll business, they were several hours off from their original estimate.

'The more we linger the longer we'll be stuck with dumb and dumber,' she thought as she pulled off her dirty clothes and threw on Elladan's oversized tunic. She imagined Legolas might raise an eyebrow when she showed up out of nowhere wearing another man's clothes.

When they were changed and the camp was packed, the four companions set out on the road again. Seeing as there were only two horses, Maya and Éowyn were forced to ride with the twins as Mithrin ran alongside them.

As they rode, Maya was attempting to keep as much distance as she could between herself and Elladan, who sat in front of her on his mount. The elf noticed, much to his amusement, how she wrapped her arms awkwardly around his torso, trying very hard not to make any more physical contact than necessary.

"You really ought to tighten your hold," said Elladan with a wink, "I wouldn't want you to fall off."

"I'd rather not," muttered Maya.

The elf simply smiled and focused his attention on their course.

The borders of Eryn Lasgalen and the beginnings of the Old Forest Road lay beyond the river bank, across the ford. The tall trees on either side of the dirt artery provided shade from the sun as it slowly rose to find its highest point in the sky. It was not yet mid-day but the closeness of the forest did nothing to help the heat and she began to feel slightly sick to her stomach.

"Are you alright?" asked Elladan, seeing her grimace. For the first time since they'd met his face took on a look of severity and concern.

Maya nodded, "I'll be fine. Either the squirrel I ate isn't agreeing with me or that morning sickness is finally starting to kick in."

She ignored the nausea as best she could, not wanting to slow their progress, gently rubbing her hand over her belly in small circular motions.

"I find it difficult to believe that any man would leave his wife unprotected in the wilderness," said the elf, "Who is the coward?"

"He's not a coward," said Maya, "I already told you who my husband was, but you won't believe me."

"Legolas," the elf replied dully, "Haven't we already been over this?"

"Yes," Maya replied with great annoyance, "And I'm sticking to it. I'll prove it to you when we reach Eryn Lasgalen and trust me; he's not going to be happy when he hears about you and your brother's shameless flirting or the fact that you oogled me while I bathed."

"You have me shaking in my boots," Elrohir mocked, "Besides, we weren't 'oogling', we were simply admiring,"

"Truly Maya, this fixation you have on the Prince is very unhealthy," teased Elladan, "And there are far handsomer elves, you know."

"What? like you two? Please…"

"Well now that you mention it…" said Elrohir.

Maya groaned and shot a helpless look over at Éowyn. The Shield Maiden shook her head; this was going to be a long couple of days.

In the distance behind them, the Misty Mountains loomed tall; casting their shadows over the land as the sun hid behind their snowy peaks. Soon, the first glimpse of a still body of water came into view up ahead and Éowyn thought that they must have reached the shores of the Anduin. At long last, they were back on their original route.

"We've reached the Old Ford and soon we will cross into Thranduil's realm," announced Elrohir, "I am rather curious to see how the place has changed since the destruction of the evil at Dol Guldur."

"What about giant spiders?" Maya asked anxiously, "Do they still live in the woods?"

"I'm afraid so," said Elladan gravely, "Most have been killed but occasionally a traveller may run into one."

Maya swallowed hard and goosebumps formed on her skin, gently lifting the tiny hairs on her arms. The thought of running into one of those things was terrifying; even the small ones she used to find in her apartment were enough to elicit blood curling screams and send her running from the room.

Éowyn smiled reassuringly at her friend, though her own heart began to pound slightly faster as Elladan and Elrohir continued to name goblins, orcs and other fearsome creatures among those that they might encounter in the woods.

Soon they made it to the bank of the river and on the other side Maya could see the edge of the dark forests of Eryn Lasgalen. Here the torrential currents of the Great River were calm enough to allow their horses safe passage and the hooves of the beasts gently waded through the shallow waters.

When they reached the other side, Elladan and Elrohir brought their mounts to a halt before the entrance to the woods. The trees stood tall and menacing before them despite the fact that the forest was no longer consumed by evil.

With a decisive nod to his brother, Elrohir urged his horse onward and Éowyn watched as the Misty Mountains disappeared for good beyond the vegetation. Elladan and Maya followed close behind and she couldn't help but notice the dilapidated state of the road they now travelled. The Old Forest Road was unkempt, taken over by various plants and vines that Maya had never seen before, and the roots of trees stuck out of the dirt path like treacherous obstacles for anyone brave enough to venture this way.

The four companions felt as though they were being swallowed whole by the forest. Up above them was a canopy of heavy foliage, so impenetrable that not even the sun's rays filtered through it. It was dark and damp, the only real source of light getting dimmer and dimmer the further they rode from the edge of the forest.

Mithrin scouted ahead, his eyes better adapted for seeing in the dark. The wolf hadn't managed to completely remove the blood from his fur and Maya noticed a small stripe of red stained the white patch on the top of his head.

"If the darkness was dispelled from Thranduil's realm, why does everything look so diseased?" asked Éowyn, looking about her at the gnarled trees; their trunks twisted and covered in a thick green moss.

"The forest suffered a great blow under the evil of Sauron," said Elladan, "The woods will heal but it is going to take a long time for the lush forests of Greenwood the Great to return to us. Already I can feel how it has changed, the forests aren't as dark as they were, there is life here now."

How he could sense that, Maya didn't know. All she saw when she looked around them was darkness and the sound of the horses' hooves crushing the dead leaves on the forest floor was bone chilling.

As they ventured further and further into the heart of the forest, Maya heard the singing of birds up in the trees, and the beautiful melody managed to dispel some of the darkness and comfort her. Elrohir said that this was a sign that the forest was beginning to heal itself.

Maya was about to ask him about Thranduil's halls when she felt a slight tingle on her leg. The beautiful songs of the birds were soon interrupted by a loud screech of terror.

Everyone turned to look at Maya who was on the verge of tears.

"What's wrong?" Elladan asked urgently.

"Sspider!" cried Maya.

"Where?" asked Elrohir, pulling his sword from it's scabbard and examining the forest around them. Behind him Éowyn pulled out her small knife.

"There!" Maya frantically pointed to the small, black spider that was now making its way up her arm, "Get it off me! Kill it!"

Elrohir put his palm to his face and sighed, before sheathing his sword and Éowyn simply grinned as she watched Maya wave her arms around, absolutely terrified.

Elladan raised an eyebrow, "You're in Eryn Lasgalen and this is the spider you're worried about?" he asked with a small chuckle.

Maya watched with widened eyes as he took the spider into the palm of his hand and set it down on the leaf of a nearby tree.

"How can you touch it?" she cried, her skin crawling.

Elladan laughed, "It is more afraid of you than you are of it, Maya."

"I highly doubt it," she muttered.

After several more hours of riding, Maya's stomach began to growl, the wave of nausea having long passed, and Elrohir announced that it was well passed nightfall; they would be better off making camp and resuming their travels in the morning. Maya couldn't agree more, she was starving and even the squirrel she'd eaten that morning was starting to sound more and more appetizing.

They sat around the camp fire as the twins cooked their dinner over the flames and after a some time, Maya noticed that Éowyn sat quietly, lost in thought as she stared down at the hot embers.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

The Shield Maiden nodded and gave her a small smile, "I miss my husband. Sometimes I dream that I am back in the palace, sleeping in his arms," she said, shaking her head at how silly she sounded, "I should be stronger than this."

Maya squeezed her hand, "Missing someone you love isn't a sign of weakness."

"I know," said the Shield Maiden, "I just feel silly. The whole point of setting out on our own was to prove that we could be just as strong as men can be."

"You killed a troll and took on the other two, while I outsmarted them, I think we've proved that we can hold our own. Besides, you had your knife to Elrohir's throat, I think that's awesome."

"I heard that!" said the elf and the two women shared a secret smile, stifling their giggles.

Elrohir glared at them as he and his brother continued their preparation of the evening meal. Mithrin sat close to the fire, enjoying the scent of seared meat, and he was delighted when one of the elves tossed him a morsel. When each piece of meat was cooked, Elladan took them from the pan, and passed everyone's plates around, save for Maya's. Instead he placed an extra portion of meat on the plate - his portion - and handed it to her.

"Here," he said, "You need it more than I. The child needs strength."

Maya was about to protest but he silenced her with his fingers to her mouth, "I will be alright. I have some Lembas in my pack and that will be enough to sustain me. You need the nutrients from the meat."

"Thank you," she said, her eyes softening and Elladan nodded before taking his seat on the other side of the camp fire.

Maya was utterly speechless; this was the same elf who only hours ago had tried to hit on her. As much as they bugged her with their teasing, she knew that she owed them her life and that of her child. Perhaps, she'd been a little hard on the twins.

"We got off on the wrong foot, didn't we?" she said sheepishly, reaching down to pet Mithrin who ate contentedly, curled around her feet.

"I wouldn't quite say that," said Elrohir, "It was nothing we didn't deserve really. After all, we did watch you bathe."

"And steal your clothing," added Elladan, "I apologize for that..."

"Well I think you guys have more than made up for it after saving our hides," said Maya, looking over to Éowyn.

The Shield Maiden gave them a small smile, wordlessly voicing her agreement.

"Well look at that brother," said Elladan, grinning, "I think she's warmed to us. We need not fear the pocket knife any longer."

This elicited a small laugh from everyone around the camp fire and the rest of the night was filled with cheerful talk, despite the dark of the forest.

xxxXxxx

By the time they reached the Celduin river the next day, Éowyn noticed that the birds were no longer singing. She looked around her and noticed that everything had grown still, filling her with a sense of unease. On the horse behind them, Elladan's eyes were fixed on the shadows in the forest.

"We're being watched," whispered Elrohir when he saw Éowyn's worried look.

"By what?" she asked with alarm.

Elrohir shook his head, "Not by what, but by whom."

He slowed his horse to a halt and waited for Elladan and Maya to catch up to them. He and his brother exchanged knowing looks and they both descended from their horses.

Maya looked to Éowyn, her eyes wide with trepidation, before they each dismounted as well, sticking as close as they could to Mithrin and the twins.

"What's going on?" she asked, "Why have we stopped?"

Elladan and Elrohir's keen eyes could clearly see what their mortal companions could not – up in the branches of the trees and hidden in the thick brush of the forest were at least a dozen arrows pointed towards them, their elven archers ready to release a deadly assault at any moment.

Following their gazes, Maya understood that Thranduil's elven guard must have found them. Her heart began to pound and she looked to Mithrin whose ears were perked up, listening for any sound. He stood protectively at her side and his piercing eyes searched the forest for the other elves.

After a few moments, a hooded figure jumped down from one of the the trees, long bow in hand and walked steadily towards them. The rest of the elves were not far behind as they swiftly and silently came down from their perches.

The figure gave out his final orders before gently pulling down his hood. The fabric fell away and Maya immediately recognized the kind, grey eyes of Thranduil's advisor.

"Rissien!" she cried, and without thinking she threw her arms around him in a giant bear hug. If Rissien was here, it meant that Legolas wasn't far and everything was going to be alright.

The elf was startled at first but after a few moments he wrapped his arms around the young woman and returned her embrace. How was it that Maya stood before him in the forests of Eryn Lasgalen? He was no closer to understanding now than he had been when he caught his first glimpse of her through the trees.

The twins watched the display with raised eyebrows and Éowyn simply smirked – they would find out the truth about Maya and Legolas soon enough and that would be a glorious moment indeed.

"Maya," said Rissien as he pulled away, "I thought-"

"I know," she said, biting her lip, "I promise I'll explain everything, I just...I have to see him."

The advisor turned his gaze to Elladan and Elrohir. Immediately he recognized them as the twins from Imladris, the older brothers of the Queen of Gondor.

"What of them?" he asked, "The Lord Elrond's sons certainly did not travel with you from Ithilien."

"No," admitted Maya, "We happened upon them by chance. If it weren't for them, Éowyn and I wouldn't be here right now. We owe them our lives."

Rissien turned to the twins and nodded in greeting, "You are most welcome here, Elladan and Elrohir of Imladris," he said in Sindarin.

The twins bowed politely and the advisor turned to Éowyn, whose eyes remained on the other members of the guard in her unease.

"Your husband, does he know you are here?" asked Rissien.

She nodded her head, "I am certain that by now he does," she said, "We left a note before we rode off."

The advisor sighed – he had no doubt the Prince of Ithilien would soon come looking for his wife, but Legolas was his biggest concern at the moment.

"Legolas believes you are safe, in the care of Tauriel and Veryan," he warned, bending down to stroke Mithrin's soft, grey fur. He was amazed at the wolf's beauty and even more so at the speed with which he'd grown in the last several months.

Maya smiled ruefully, "I know."

As she conversed with the the advisor, the twins exchanged horrified looks.

"She was telling the truth?!" hissed Elladan, suddenly wishing he could erase the image of Maya swimming naked in the pond from his memory. He was quite certain Legolas would do it for him when he found out.

Elrohir groaned. "It appears that she was."

xxxXxxx

"I still don't quite believe it," said Elladan as they followed Rissien and his men on foot towards the camp.

"It's astounding, really," replied Elrohir, "Legolas is married, who would have thought?"

As she listened to the twins' musings, Maya wasn't even in the mood to say her long-awaited 'I told you so'. She was nervous, lost in a million thoughts that seemed to overrun her mind. She knew that Legolas was going to be upset; a road trip through Middle Earth wasn't exactly the safest thing, especially for two women. They'd also been attacked by hungry trolls and gotten lost in the wild without provisions. And then there was the whole thing about Elladan and Elrohir spying on her in the pond and stealing her clothes. Yup, that right there was going to be the cherry on top of the sundae.

In her nervousness, Maya began to twirl a lock of her hair around her finger.

After all was said and done, she'd come here to do one thing; to tell him that he was going to be a father. She hoped that everything that'd happened wasn't going to take away from the happiness of that moment.

Éowyn slipped her hand in Maya's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Everything is going to be alright. If he gets upset, tell him I put you up to it."

"No, I can't do that," she said softly, "I could have said 'no' and I didn't so I played my part and I'm going to own up to that. I just hope he understands why I did this."

With all her heart, she hoped that he did.

As Rissien continued to lead them up the Celduin river, they saw a large grouping of tents in the near distance, and Maya continued to twirl that lock of hair with such ferocity that she thought it might soon break off. The myriad of tents were clustered together in the small clearing, forming a giant circle around the fire pit in the centre of the camp. As they walked through, Maya noticed that many of the elves were stopping to observe them; clearly it was not common to see two mortal women and a wolf in these parts.

She felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach as they walked through the first row of tents. Even the twins had grown silent and beside her, Éowyn continued to squeeze her hand for comfort. Mithrin eagerly walked ahead of them as he came to understand exactly where they were.

When they reached the centre of the encampment, her heart began to race as her gaze immediately fell on a familiar head of golden hair. Standing outside one of the larger tents, Legolas was speaking with one of the guards, and Maya had to keep herself from running over to him. The guard must have said something amusing because the Prince's lips turned up in one of those adorable, dimpled smiles.

Beside her, Mithrin's tail was wagging as he spotted Legolas and before Maya could say anything or restrain the wolf, he was making straight for the tent.

As he engaged the guard in conversation, the Prince felt something wet on his hand and as he turned, his gaze locked on the grey irises of a large wolf. The creature nudged his hand and wagged its tail and immediately a look of recognition passed through Legolas' eyes.

"Mithrin," he whispered, his voice marred with confusion as he knelt to pet the excited animal. The last time he'd seen the wolf, he was no larger than a raccoon and now Legolas barely recognized him in in his adult form.

How was it possible that Mithrin was here in his camp? That wolf never left Maya's side...

The Prince's eyes frantically searched the camp and within moments his gaze fell on the face he'd seen hundreds of times in his dreams. What was she doing here?

What was slightly more confusing than the fact that his wife was not safe in the colony, where she was supposed to be, was that Éowyn stood beside her, holding her hand. He frowned as he recognized the identical forms of Elladan and Elrohir in the back of the group. This entire ordeal was getting stranger and more worrisome by the moment.

His breathing quickened as Maya's green eyes locked with his from across the camp and he slowly stood from where he was petting Mithrin, cautiously approaching, eyebrows furrowed. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind as his eyes lingered over her appearance; her hair was dishevelled and her skin slightly darkened from the light film of dirt that clung to it. The most bizarre of all his observations was that she wore a man's tunic.

Maya swallowed hard as he approached, gently untangling her hand from Éowyn's. Beside her, Rissien gave her a small nod of encouragement and she walked over to meet her husband.

Despite her nervousness, the corners of her lips turned up in a small smile; this was the first time they'd seen each other in over a month and she'd missed him so much. Maya could tell that despite his very obvious confusion, Legolas was feeling the same way.

Unable to hold herself any longer, she threw her arms around his neck and the Prince caught her against his hard frame, nuzzling her hair. His arms gently encircled her waist and he breathed her in as they melded together. She was here in flesh and blood and for a moment he banished all of his questions to the back of his mind, allowing himself to enjoy their reunion.

When they pulled away, the questions came racing back.

"How?" he said nothing more, he didn't trust his voice.

Maya smiled ruefully, "I had to see you and no one was able to take me so Éowyn and I decided to go on our own."

"On your own?" asked Legolas, and Maya could hear the panic in his voice, "You travelled from Ithilien to my father's realm unescorted? I don't think I need to impress upon you how dangerous that was!"

Maya couldn't fathom where to look, his eyes no longer held confusion but anger and disbelief; for the first time, they actually scared her. She bit her lip and said nothing.

Legolas looked to Elladan and Elrohir with suspicion. "What of these two?"

The twins deftly avoided his gaze, so far they hadn't been ratted out, but it was only a matter of time.

"Yea, that's a bit of a long story," she said.

"I have nothing but time," he pressed, his nostrils flaring subtly as he attempted to keep a lid on his anger.

"Well...we kind of ran into some trolls a couple of nights ago-"

"Trolls!" interrupted Legolas. She flinched and he immediately regretted his harsh tone.

"Legolas," said Éowyn, attempting to diffuse the situation somewhat, "It's my fault. If I hadn't convinced her to go, Maya would have stayed in Ithilien. If you must place the blame on someone, place it on me. Don't be angry with her, she meant well."

Maya swallowed the lump in her throat. "It's okay, Éowyn," she said attempting a small smile but the Shield Maiden continued to give her an uncertain look.

Maya noticed that they now had an audience as several of the elves had stopped what they were doing to watch the confrontation. Their stares weighed heavily on them and she wished that the ground would open and swallow her.

Legolas pressed his lips together, also realizing that his outburst had drawn attention to them.

"Can we talk somewhere else?" Maya asked softly.

The Prince nodded, "I think that is best."

They excused themselves from the group and Maya followed Legolas to his tent. He held the flap open to let her in first and when it fell closed again, curtaining them off from the rest of the camp, Maya felt utterly nervous.

Legolas was pacing the room like a caged animal, trying to reign in his emotions. For a long time neither said anything, and the silence hung thickly in the air.

"I'm sorry, Legolas." her timid voice broke the spell.

He continued to pace the room, anxiously, "I could have lost you, Maya. Trolls are stupid, but they can easily crush a man's skull. You were lucky to escape with your lives."

"I know," she whispered softly, "This entire thing was reckless and stupid, but I'm here with you now. We made it just fine."

"You don't understand, Maya," said the Prince, "It was difficult for me to be away from you, I yearned for you every day, but the one thing that brought me solace was that you were safe and far away from here. The enemy has crossed into our borders four times in the last month alone. I didn't want you here, it's not safe."

Maya could see how his eyes shone with unshed tears and her heart sank.

"I didn't do this to worry you," she said, watching as he walked back and forth from one end of the tent to the other, "I know very well that we could have died when those trolls found us, and I was scared. I even said my goodbyes to the world. To you. But we outsmarted them and managed to escape. You should have seen Éowyn take them on with nothing but a pocket knife, it was the bravest thing I've ever seen."

Legolas sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head. It wasn't simply a matter of bravery, he couldn't bare the thought that he'd almost lost his wife.

"As for the twins, they happened upon us after we got lost running away from the trolls," she continued, lifting up the hem of Elladan's tunic, "That's why I'm wearing this, by the way. They lent us some clothes."

"You were lucky to have happened upon Lord Elrond's sons," Legolas replied sternly, "It was luck and nothing more, Maya. If it weren't for them, we might not be having this conversation."

"It wasn't luck, Legolas. Estë visited me again when were camped out in the wilderness and said she was watching over me. I think she had something to do with it."

"Call it what you will," he said with a heavy sigh, "I still don't understand why you would risk your life. It was reckless and irresponsible."

As the Prince made to walk to the other side of the tent for what must have been the twentieth time, Maya gently caught his arm. She covered his hand with hers, lacing their fingers together, and placed them over her middle.

Legolas' eyes searched hers and his breath caught as he felt the small, barely noticeable swell of her belly.

"I wanted to be with you when you found out," she said, her voice shaking, "It just didn't feel right to say I was pregnant in a letter."

He said nothing but continued to stare at her. Inside he was a mess of emotions; frustration, worry, excitement, love. They all fought for dominance within him. He was going to be a father and that was the greatest blessing he could ever receive but he also thought fleetingly of how much greater his loss would have been had something happened to his wife. He could have lost them both.

"I know the pregnancy should have deterred me all the more but I had to see you," said Maya, trying to break the everlasting silence, "I'm sorry I scared you, I just wanted us to be together when you found out we were going to be parents."

He continued to say nothing.

"Please say something," she begged.

Legolas's eyes softened as he realized how unnerved she was. Knowing that no words could possibly express how he felt in that moment, he pulled Maya into him and muffled her small cry of surprise with an urgent kiss that said it all. She wrapped her arms around his neck and responded eagerly, relishing in their closeness as his lips gently kissed her nerves away. Legolas held her close as though he were afraid she would suddenly disappear if he let go and they kissed with a fire that warmed their hearts; lips melding together in a sealed expression of love and joy.

When they pulled away, Maya wiped a small tear from Legolas' cheek, allowing her fingers to linger on the soft skin.

"Am I dreaming?" he asked softly, leaning into her touch. If he was, he didn't want to wake up.

Maya smiled tenderly and shook her head. Legolas responded with a heart melting smile of his own.

He knelt to the ground and placed his hands on her belly. "How far along?"

"Just over three months," Maya said, placing her hands on his, "When she visited, Estë told me that we were going to have a son; just like she promised."

With the revelation, the Prince's face lit up and he looked deeply into his wife's eyes. Her hair flew in all directions, her skin was still slightly streaked with dirt from days of travelling, and she wore a man's tunic that was two sizes too large, but still, nothing was more beautiful to him than she was.

Legolas slowly rose to his feet. He gently moved his thumb over her cheek, cleaning some of the filth away.

"Are you still upset with me?" she asked, biting her lip.

"A little bit," he said attempting to be severe but he was so consumed with happiness that he could not help but smile. His wife and child were alive and well; this was all that mattered now.

He pulled Maya into him and wrapped his arms protectively around her. "I love you both," he said, kissing her brow, "So much."

"We love you too."

After that, no more words were spoken for they were not needed. In that moment, they were content to simply hold each other in the dim light of the tent.

xxxXxxx

A/N: So as you can see, I indulged my inner romantic in this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. So please don't forget to review :)

I know some of you were very anxious for Maya and Legolas to be reunited, so I hope I did well and this lived up to your expectations.

If you're looking for some awesome reads, I highly recommend these fics: Reflections: Beginnings and Reflections: Family by KD Skywalker and Wanderlust by Raider-K.