Haha, and guess what? ANOTHER chapter. TWO whole chapters in one day. :) I hope this keeps you satisfied for at least a little while... :)

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June, Year 3018 of the Third Age

It had been five months since Aragorn had left Mirkwood again, and still there had been no word from him. I still taught healing classes during the day, and I patrolled the borders of Mirkwood at night under Legolas' command. I had not had much time to spare to think, let alone to have many conversations outside of my own head. I often saw Thranduil pacing around the halls or giving harsh orders to patrols. Every day, another Elf found himself in the hospital wing. Our numbers were not dwindling yet, but I feared that with the number of Orcs now crossing our border, they would start. Many meetings had been held to speculate why Orcs would be crossing our borders. The general consensus was that they were coming from Mordor and were going North to avoid Gondor, a stronghold of Men. But why they were leaving Mordor in droves was beyond our intellect, and guesswork only provided us with impossible answers. The fact remained that the Orcs that did come into our land were not united and had no leader. Perhaps they had stumbled into our Wood by accident, but they did not like to die without a fight.

"—but Father, I think it's best that we—" Legolas was protesting as I came out of my thoughts.

"Legolas, you have heard what I have to say," Thranduil interrupted. "With no word from Lord Aragorn, we must assume—"

"With all due respect, Your Highness," I began with a warning glance from Legolas, "we must assume nothing. Aragorn will send word when there is one to send." Thranduil gazed at me with an unreadable expression in his dark eyes. He seemed to contemplate this for a moment before continuing.

"Lady Laina," Thranduil said in a soft voice, "We cannot rely on a ranger to be prompt in his dealings with Elves. I do have much respect for Lord Aragorn, of course," he admitted, holding up a hand to silence the insult I was about to throw at him like the daggers my eyes were wielding, "But I do not see the sense in waiting. We must contact the Elves of Lórien, see if they have any word that we do not."

"Send me to Lórien, then," Legolas blurted out. I felt myself do a double-take from my pacing, causing me to trip over my feet and stumble. Luckily I caught my balance again and regained my composure into a somewhat wobbly, disbelieving stance to stare at Legolas.

"Are you insane?" I heard myself say aloud. Well, he was being a moron and my mouth usually caught up to my thoughts before my head did, and the King's presence would not halt my skepticism. Legolas nearly laughed out loud, but held the laughter between his thin lips as he turned again to his father. Thranduil was looking at me with some sort of gleeful twinkle in his eyes as he considered Legolas' request.

"I think that might be a good idea," Thranduil responded after a moment, ignoring my outburst. My jaw dropped and I felt my eyebrows knit in astonishment.

"You two are a pair of idiots!" I almost shrieked. There went my mouth again. Thranduil and I had undoubtedly had many a run-in, but I got the feeling that no one had ever quite spoken to the King in such a way. However, I was too angry and alarmed at the thought of Legolas traveling to Lórien to even follow my accusation with an apologetic glance, let alone with an actual apology. Legolas was now grinning inanely at me as if he were trying to decide whether to laugh or be horrified. Thranduil, on the other hand, began to chuckle under his breath.

"I must say, Legolas, she's much like a bolt of lightning, this one," he mused, indicating me with a bow of his regal head. I raised an eyebrow at him but thought it best not to say anything else insulting for fear that I would be sentenced to death by beheading. Thranduil sighed then, shaking his head and chuckling a bit more before regaining an air of sincerity. "Thank you for your input, Laina, as it was well-thought out and persuasive," he began, and for the first time, to my never-ending surprise, I heard true sarcasm in Thranduil's voice, "but, I think it may be for the best. Legolas knows the way and is recognizable to the wary eyes of the guards of Lórien. Not any messenger would make it all the way to the Lady and Lord of that realm, for they would be stopped by foot soldiers and outer guards and demanded to pass along the message through them—who knows whether or not it would actually reach the Lady Galadriel? And not all messages are taken quite as seriously as they should be. No, I think in this time of great need, Legolas should be sent." With finality in his voice, Thranduil finished his spoken thoughts, but I could see in his grim expression that his considerations continued in his head.

"Thank you father," Legolas replied quickly. "I will hasten to Lórien with great speed." I was momentarily rendered speechless at this rash decision by the King and his dolt of a son. I thought it best that we all wait for Aragorn's word. After all, he would send word if there were one to be sent; I trusted that. But now Legolas was to leave for Lórien and I would be left in Mirkwood with no word from Aragorn or Legolas. The thought was unbearable.

"You should not go alone," Thranduil interjected after a moment's thought. I jumped at the opportunity.

"I'll go with him!" I insisted hastily, taking a step closer to Thranduil. He smiled smugly as if he knew I would volunteer.

"But who will teach your classes and take your place on patrol when you are gone?" Thranduil asked.

"Well, who will take Legolas' place? He's your best archer and leader! If you let him go, surely you can spare a simple archer like myself. And as for the classes—well, there are other healers in Mirkwood who would love to take over my duties for a while, I'm sure of it!" Though the rationale was weak, I was determined at least that I would be by Legolas' side if anything were to happen. In this way, I would only still be waiting for word from Aragorn instead of from two of my favorite males. And to be stuck here with only Féoras' company would certainly drive me mad, for as much as I appreciated Féoras' friendship, he could not replace the satisfaction I got from being near Aragorn or Legolas.

Thranduil mulled over it for a moment, but seemed to have already made up his mind. "Very well," Thranduil replied in a knowing tone. "You two will be difficult to replace but I feel this mission is of great importance." With that, Thranduil turned back to his desk. "You leave tonight, for this mission is one of haste, so pack your saddlebags—but pack lightly and smartly, and bring with you weapons. You do not know who or what you may encounter on the road to Lórien. Here is a map in case you lose your sense of direction," he continued, ruffling through some parchments on his desk and finding the map he was searching for. He rolled it up and bound it before handing it to Legolas. "And son," Thranduil added before we turned to leave, "be careful." Legolas nodded and embraced his father earnestly, and I grinned when I saw Thranduil's genuinely concerned but caring smile over Legolas' strong shoulder. With that, Thranduil turned to his desk once more and waved a hand over his shoulder, indicating that we go.

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Legolas and I had separated to our own chambers to pack our things and we met again at the stables. When I arrived, he had already begun saddling a brown horse with a white spot between its eyes. Legolas was whispering to him, calling him by name—Taurvantian. He was a beautiful horse to be sure, as all the horses that were owned by the King. Legolas felt my presence and turned his golden head to me, something much like worry clouding his eyes. I chose to ignore it.

"I have already saddled this one for you," Legolas said, indicating another dark brown horse beside Taurvantian with white surrounding its ankles. "His name is Arthion."

"Thank you," I replied as I moved toward Arthion, allowing him to sniff my hand and stroking his gorgeous hair. I whispered to him too, as is custom, thanking him for allowing me to ride him for this distance and bearing my weight and the weight of my saddlebag and weapons. I had one short knife stuck into my boots and a bow with a quiver full of arrows on my back. Legolas had much of the same, with two daggers also at his side. I hitched up my saddlebag and led Arthion out of the stable, Legolas behind me with Taurvantian.

"We ride South for now," Legolas said, mounting his horse and scowling at the setting sun. I pulled myself into the saddle beside him and we kept both of our horses still for a moment, watching the colors in the sky grow dimmer with each passing second. "You know we will come across many Orcs in this land, Laina, and perhaps in other lands to the South as well, if we are correct in our assumptions that that Orcs head North from Mordor. Be on the lookout—we cannot spare time." I had not heard Legolas speak with such an air of authority and with such a bleak countenance in months, but I understood that his mind was elsewhere, and this trip was not meant for pleasure.

"Yes, my prince," I responded regally, unable to resist making him feel just a little foolish for the weight in his words. I cracked a smile as he turned his head toward me, pursing his lips in mock anger.

"You'll regret that later," Legolas quipped, urging his horse forward at a surprising speed.

"Oh yeah?" I called after him, urging Arthion forward as well.

"Yes, when my horse outruns yours and you are left to fend for yourself at night against a band of Orcs and cave-trolls! Then we'll see how much you need your prince!" Legolas yelled back at me, laughing in the darkness that was separating us.

"Oh go on then! I could take down Sauron himself with my bare hands!" I called back, urging Arthion forward into a full sprint. We were both laughing uncontrollably now, and Legolas slowed his horse down so I could catch up.

"I'm glad you're coming with me," he said finally, his voice dripping with sincerity that stuck to me like honey.

I fought the urge to reply sarcastically, and answered, "Me too, Legolas." Thus our journey to Lórien began, and we rode side-by-side into the horizon.