THE FORGOTTEN

An Unexpected Gift

Authors note: And now, the moment you all have been waiting for, I hope!

November ended and December began. Legolas helped decorate for the holiday season. Mr. Erickson thought it was great having someone about his height around to help him hang stuff. Now that Lothril was so much taller, she could help too. Soon the house was covered floor to ceiling with evergreen garlands, lights, and wreathes. The house looked great.

It was Saturday and Lothril was off to her regular babysitting job, only a few more weeks left of it! Soon after that it would not be much longer and she would be gone for good!

"Hey Mary! Hey Josh! How are you guys!" she said to the four and two year olds that came running up to her.

"I got a ball yestday at the store, and it's pretty red!" Mary said.

"Cool!" she replied.

"Okay Jen, you know the drill. Thanks again! Bye!" her teacher said as she grabbed her keys and ran out the door.

Lothril immediately began playing with the kids. The children's bedtime rolled around, and she began getting them ready for bed.

"No Mary, you can't stay up and watch movies with me! Come on, to bed you get!" she said as she shepherded the girl and her brother up the stairs to their rooms. She tucked Josh in first and then Mary. She had just gotten Mary to lay down when she felt something was quite wrong, with... Josh. She walked as calmly as she could out of Mary's room, closed the door, and ran to Josh's. She ran to his bed and saw he wasn't able to breathe. He was having an asthma attack, a very serious one. He hadn't had a known history of asthma, even at his young age. Lothril knew that if she did not do something right then, he would die. She quickly placed her right hand on his little chest and picked him up with the other hand. Things were touch and go for a few seconds, but she saved him, just in time, and she cured him completely.

She laid Josh back down and headed down stairs, exhausted after the adrenalin rush, and plopped herself down on the couch. As she was sitting there, she heard Elbereth's voice speak to her.

"Well done Lady Lothril. He shall live, and he shall do great things, but you shall never know them. You have effected the future of this world for the better as well. Well done."

Lothril thanked her, and fell asleep, only to be woken up five minutes later by the sound of a car pulling in the driveway.

"Were they good?"

"They were great!" Lothril replied.

"That's good. That's good. So, here you go, here's your pay. Only two more weeks to go!"

"I shall miss the job," Lothril said. "Good night!"

"Good night!"

Lothril got home that night and went straight to her room. Legolas followed her upstairs.

"What was it?" Legolas asked.

"What was what?"

"What was it that you had to do?"

"Save Josh's life," Lothril replied.

"What will he do, where you told?"

"No. Legolas, I was so scared when I realized he was dying! I was so afraid I couldn't save him and he would die."

Legolas looked at her with understanding and pride. "Well, I knew when the time came you could do it. I never doubted you."

"You're just saying that!"

He held her in his arms. "Don't you know me well enough by now to know I don't just say things like that?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," she grinned as she drew herself against him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Mel nin, what is all this talk about elves making toys at the North Pole?"

Lothril smiled and gave a small laugh. "It is a long, strange tale that starts many hundreds of years ago and ends in nothing but diluted myth. I'll explain it all later."

"That is fine by me. Besides, we have other business to attend to."

"And what is that Legolas dear?" Lothril asked. She didn't trust the grin on his face.

"We've got to make cookies for your class' Christmas party," he said, his smile ever broadening.

She smacked him on the arm. "Between your smile and my tone, we'll never get anything accomplished!"

Legolas laughed "What do mean, never get anything accomplished? I was just reminding you that we need to make cookies for the Christmas party. Now, to the business at hand," he said just before he gave a sweet kiss to Lothril.

The class Christmas party came and went, suspicions remaining dormant. However, they were tricked when they were leaving Rachel's house from her Christmas party. Her family every year hung mistletoe over the door way, and Lothril and Legolas walked under at the same unfortunate time.

"Ooooooooh! You guys are under the mistletoe!" Rachel teased. "Now you gotta kiss!"

"You are not serious!" Lothril said.

"Sure I am! You guys gotta kiss!" Rachel insisted.

The elves looked at each other, then Legolas bent forward and gave her a swift kiss. Lothril looked at him slightly stunned. She couldn't believe he actually kissed her in front of Rachel. The shocked look on Lothril's face was about the only thing that saved the situation.

Christmas came, and Legolas found all of the traditions that surrounded this holiday interesting and rather fun. Legolas had made a point of getting everyone in the family a gift, and most all of them got him one, something small, because they didn't know what he would like. He, on the other hand, gave them all beautiful, and rather costly gifts. After three thousand years of living he had learned to figure out what people liked rather quickly, and so each gift was perfect.

For Christmas, Legolas gave Lothril a gift, aside from the ones opened under the tree.

They were in their room, getting ready to go to bed, when Legolas came up to her holding a small box. "Merry Christmas," he said with a smile.

Lothril took it, looked at Legolas, then began tearing off the paper. Inside the box was another box, a smaller one, cushioned with tissue paper. She took out this box and opened it. Inside was a note, it said "Your best gift this year shall not come in a box." She looked at him utterly confused. "I don't get it!"

"You will in a second. Come on, let us go to bed," he said.

"Okay," she slowly said. As she got in bead, her foot came against something at the foot of it. "What on earth?" she reached down and pulled up a small velvet bag. She opened it, and inside was a silver ring with a sapphire. On the band on each side of the sapphire were two small diamonds. "OH LEGOLAS! You darling!" she said as she began putting on the ring.

"Let me," Legolas said. He slipped the ring on her right hand ring finger.

Lothril smiled at him. "I've married a hopeless romantic haven't I?"

Legolas just grinned and gave her a kiss.

The next day they both woke bright and early, with every intention of building a snow man. Seeing as they were elves, their snow gear was significantly less than a humans. It consisted of a pair of jeans, a thick jacket, and gloves. As they were pulling on their boots, Jessie came shuffling out to the kitchen.

The shuffling is what caught Legolas' attention, it sounded different than it had every other morning since he had arrived there, when he looked at her feet he saw why. She was wearing a pair of fuzzy pink bunny slippers. They were rather plush, and rather large.

"Those look comfortable. Did you get them yesterday?" Legolas said.

"No, I've been wearing them every day since I was born. Duh I got them yesterday!" She snapped back. Mornings were a deadly time to bother Jessie, that is, until she had her waffles.

Legolas stuck out his tongue at her, at which she responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

"Watch it there little lady, or I'll take those from you!" Legolas jokingly warned.

"Yeah right. Whatcha gonna do? Wear them? HA!" Jessie snapped back.

"No, he'll steal them, and I'll wear them," Lothril said. "Come on, let's go build a snowman," she added to Legolas.

As they finished up the snowman Lothril said in elvish, "You know, it is hard for me to believe that you are the same person I married when you do stuff like that. Last night you Sir Romance, this morning you are an elfling."

Legolas just grinned as he replied, "Let us say I am a good actor. I can pretend to be in love with you, then pretend to be an elfling."

This comment was rewarded with a large snowball being shoved into his face, and then another down his shirt.

"And now you can pretend you are not cold!" she said with a taunting smile and a sharp tone.

"No, even I am not that good!" he said standing up trying to shake some of the snow out of his shirt and jacket.

Suddenly he was hit in the face with another snowball. He cleared it from his eyes just in time to see Lothril run into the woods. He chased after her, making and throwing snowballs as he went.

Suddenly she disappeared, and he stood on the frozen pond looking around, wondering where on earth she could have gone. As he stood there, he was tackled to the ice and kissed by Lothril. He was stunned a bit at first, she had used the element of surprise well, but when he regained his wits he returned the kiss and wrapped her in his arms. With out warning she pulled away and gave a mischievous grin.

"What's that fo.." he began to ask, but was cut off with a snowball being put in his face. "I am going to get you elfmaid if it's the last thing I do here!" he exclaimed as she ran off. His only response was a silvery peal of laughter.

He picked up the chase, and just when Lothril thought she was caught, he disappeared.

"Where did that prince..." before she utter another sound all the world was fuzzy and white, and her face was quite cold. He had gotten her with a snowball. Before she had the time to get it off of her face, she found she was being thrown to the ground, and having snow stuffed down her shirt.

"AI! AI! That's cold!" she cried.

"Revenge is bitter isn't it?" Legolas asked with a grin, once he was done. She cleared the snow from her face to see a red eared, nosed, and cheeked elf on top of her.

"Bitter cold!" she replied. "And now I am wet. Do you want to go inside and thaw before our clothes freeze?" she asked. She sounded like she was inviting him to lunch.

"Yes. My shirt already has a nice thin layer of ice on it," Legolas replied. He got off of her and helped her to her feet.

After a very hot shower and a mug of hot cocoa each, they went up to their room to enjoy the quietness of the winter afternoon, away from the new movies and video games that were playing downstairs.

They were both watching the lazy snowflakes fall outside when suddenly Legolas said, "Look at what I stole from Jessie." And produced her fuzzy pink bunny slippers for Lothril to see.

"You rotten elf!" Lothril smiled.

"How long do you think it will take her to notice they are gone?" Legolas asked.

"Give it two hours."

"How long should it be til I give them back?"

"Two weeks."

Authors note: I think this is the most consecutive short chapters I've had in this story! ACK! BAD! I hope you all liked the playing in the snow. REVIEW!