Disclaimer: Middle Earth and all of its characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien.

The next morning, Alerae woke early. Looking over at Legolas, she suddenly felt compelled to run her fingertips over his pointed ears, even though she knew fully well what it would do to him.

As she gently and slowly ran her finger over the tip of his ear, his foot twitched and he muttered something in his sleep. She smiled, enjoying what this did to him.

His eyes opened slowly, it was obvious that he was still tired, and he stared at her.

"Morning, Legolas."

He stirred but didn't respond.

She knew one way of waking him up, but had always been too shy. Over the past few months, most of her insecurities had faded away.

She moved slowly so as not to bring him further out of the slumber that still had hold over him, knowing that in a few seconds, he would be very awake.

Positioning herself above him, she lowered herself carefully onto him, and he startled.

"Alerae, what are you doing?"

She placed a finger to his lips and then continued, moving to kiss his neck and then his lips.

He had not thought she would ever initiate this, but this new maiden that sat atop him possessed a new confidence… one that he liked very much.

Her ministrations continued and he tried to turn her on her back, to which she flat out refused, "Legolas, just let me…"

Her attentions continued, and to Legolas' surprise, and pleasure, she made love to him.

When the act was complete, she collapsed down onto him, and he wrapped his arms protectively around her.

"Meleth, that was unexpected... and wonderful."

"Mmm, I hardly knew I had that in me."

She buried her face against his neck and stayed like that for the next hour, simply enjoying Legolas' warmth and touch.

When Alerae finally pulled out of his arms, she got out of the bed nonchalantly, as Legolas stared at her.

She seemed to not mind that his eyes were wandering over her body as she struggled into a dress.

"Come on, get up, you said we were going to breakfast, remember."

Legolas grudgingly left the warmth and comfort of the bed and pulled on a pair of breeches and clasped on his tunic.

He held out his arm for her and the couple walked out of the room towards the dining hall. Elladan and Elrohir, as well as some other elves were just sitting down to the meal that was placed before them. Legolas pulled one empty chair out for Alerae to sit and then sat himself next to her.

"Good morning, Legolas, Alerae" Elrohir nodded to each.

Alerae was relatively quiet during the meal, but not uncomfortable.

Finally, the rest of the elves at the table left, leaving the twins, Legolas and Alerae. The twins then turned to the woman and addressed her, "Lady Alerae, Legolas has informed us of your reason for coming to our home, and we intend to help you find your father, but you must give us as much information as you can."

Alerae gladly complied, feeling as though she was getting closer and closer to meeting her father.

When the four left the table, Elladan and Elrohir had left to find the elf they knew as Sidhion, who dwelt alone, at the eastern edge of Rivendell.

Meanwhile, Sidhion was finishing his own breakfast when he heard a knock at the door.

"Mae govannen, my lords."

"Good day, Sidhion."

"What brings you here?" He was genuinely surprised to see the Lords of Rivendell at his doorstep.

"We have some information regarding a woman that you knew and loved. If you would join us at our home, we will share what we know."

Sidhion nodded, sorrow filling his eyes at the memory of the blonde-haired woman he had once loved. He gathered a few of his things before following the twins out of the door and towards their home.

Once inside, they sat down at the table in the dining hall and conversed.

"There is someone that we think you should meet. Do not ask us questions, ask her. We will go get her now."

"Her?" Could it be that my love has found me?

The twins said nothing and disappeared.

Alerae and Legolas were sitting in Legolas' temporary chambers while he taught her more elvish.

"Alerae, Sidhion is here."

Legolas looked at her. She was extremely tense. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Do you want me to accompany you?"

"No, Legolas, I have to do this myself."

He nodded and watched as she looped her arm with Elladan's and left the room, destined to meet the one person that had been missing from her life.

She walked slowly and Elladan was practically dragging her along.

"Are you sure you are alright, milady?"

"What? Oh, yes… I am fine. Just nervous."

"Do not be, he is a very kind-hearted elf. He may be skeptical at first though, I suggest giving him a lot of evidence."

She nodded gratefully and they stopped in front of the doors to the dining hall.

She let out a long sigh and then Elladan opened the door.

There he was. Her father, her ada. He possessed similar features to her own: dark hair and striking green eyes. He acknowledged her entrance to the room with a confused expression.

Elladan bowed, "I take my leave, for you two have much to speak about."

Both Alerae and Sidhion watched Elladan leave and then turned to one another. It seemed that they both noticed the similarities between them and were staring at one another, locked in very heavy silence until Alerae spoke, "I am Alerae, and although you do not know me, I know about you."

He motioned for her to sit across from him.

"What brings you here, Lady Alerae?" She couldn't have been older than twenty-five mortal years.

"Just Alerae, please. You were once in love with a married woman, am I correct?"

Sidhion was genuinely surprised at her statement. Few knew of his relationship with the woman, "How do you know that?"

Alerae ignored the question and continued on her original path, "You met her, at the market place, in her tiny village. You spoke with her, you knew of the threats she was receiving. You knew of the tortures she endured."

Sidhion hung his head in despair, he missed her. He should have done more to end her suffering, even if he couldn't have had her.

"I knew her, yes, and of all the things you speak of."

"You took her to bed once." Alerae stumbled over the words.

Sidhion was taken aback that she possessed so much knowledge of his life, even if that part of it was over a good many years ago.

"Who are you?"

"I am your daughter."

There was stunned silence before Sidhion spoke, "My daughter?"

"Yes, my mother gave birth to me about nine months after you left for Rivendell. She didn't know that she was pregnant when you left her."

It was obvious to him that this girl was holding back tears as she related her story to him.

As a matter of a fact, he was having trouble controlling his own emotions as realization set in that perhaps this was his daughter. She looked a lot like him, and her mother did not have dark hair. She possessed some elven qualities, and her mother had been human. He had slept with her mother, and because she was mortal, she could not control whether or not she became pregnant. But was she telling the truth?

"My daughter…"

Alerae was silent now, staring at her father, waiting for him to say something other than, "my daughter."

"If you want proof, I have her journal."

Sidhion watched as the girl produced a small, leather-bound book and pushed it towards him.

"It contains everything, from the moment she was married, to the day of her death."

"Her death?"

"She was murdered, Lord Sidhion."

He could no longer control himself, and he let the tears spill forth.

"If only I had ended that man's life when I had the chance, she might still draw breath."

Alerae said nothing, simply stood up and left, leaving the journal before him on the table, in the hopes that he would read it.

Immediately after she left the dining hall, she sighed deeply and proceeded to run to Legolas' chambers. She opened the door quickly, surprised to see the twins sitting at the table with Legolas, talking.

"That was awkward!" She was experiencing so many emotions at once, and 'awkward' was the only way to describe the meeting with her father.

"Meleth, how did it go? Are you alright, and does he believe you?"

"I do not know, he did not say whether or not he did. He is a bit shocked, I would say. I left him my mother's journal to read. The truth is there, even if he doesn't believe my words."

Legolas nodded and moved over so that she could sit beside him.

"We were just planning the feast that will be held in a few nights to celebrate the removal of the orcs from Rivendell."

She nodded, and the three elves gladly allowed her advice in the planning, although for the most part, her mind was removed, dwelling on her father and his words.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sidhion stared at the journal, not sure of what he would find. He had some doubts about this girl, Alerae, but all in all, it seemed that her words were true. He knew that he would find out by reading this book, but he also knew the pain it would bring him.

Picking it up off the table, he gently opened to the first page and began reading about his love's wedding day, ashamed that he had made her be disloyal to her husband.

By nightfall, he had finished reading the journal, stopping only once when someone interrupted him, asking him if he was in need of anything. Sorrow had claimed him more than once as he read, but he had plowed on, and eventually discovered that his daughter had told the truth. Now, he had so many questions to ask her… he needed to speak to her, and now.

As if reading his mind, Elrohir walked in.

"Lord Elrohir, where can I find Lady Alerae? I need to speak with her urgently."

"I will get her for you; she and Lord Legolas are just finishing the evening meal."

"Legolas? The Prince Legolas?"

"Yes."

"How does she know him?"

"You will have to ask her." Elrohir left and found Alerae, who was walking in the gardens with Legolas.

"Sidhion requests your presence, Alerae."

Alerae exchanged a look with Legolas who smiled reassuringly.

The two elves watched as Alerae hesitantly walked towards the door. Legolas then turned to Elrohir.

"Where is Elladan?"

"Off somewhere, probably with that elleth he is so fond of."

"So he has found someone."

"So it seems. I will be the last of the three mellyn."

"Perhaps when Alerae's father and her settle things and have become accustomed to their relation, I will go and speak to him."

"Is that so? For what? I bet you that I can guess, mellon."

Legolas simply shook his head and they continued their conversation.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooo

Alerae strode inside nervously, stopped in front of the door, straightened out her dress anxiously and then stepped inside. Sidhion was sitting next to the hearth, still holding the journal in his hands.

"You are indeed my daughter, I am sorry for doubting you. You bear a strong resemblance to me and your mother. I loved her, you know."

"I can tell."

"Please sit down, we have much to discuss."

Alerae sat down across from him, and they sat in silence for a few moments before Sidhion asked, "What happened to your mother?"

"My mas-… the man she wrote about killed her. I witnessed it. He killed my father shortly after and I fled."

"Did you take her journal with you?"

"No."

"Where did you run to then, and how did you come to carry this book?"

"I ran to the nearest village and was employed. Later, I… I," she cleared her throat to buy time, "I killed the person carrying it."

"What?"

"He deserved that end, I assure you."

Her father was surprised that this girl had killed someone, "Where were you employed?"

"At an inn." She tried to answer the question as broadly as possible.

"Doing what?"

She sighed; she had to tell him the truth.

"I was a bedwarmer… but before you scold me or disown me though, know this, I was forced into it, I wanted nothing to do with it."

Her father was now in shock. First to learn that he even had a daughter… then to find out the woman he loved had been murdered, that his daughter had murdered someone, and that she had been a prostitute.

"So you were a prostitute, then?"

"No, I was forced to work, I didn't get paid. My master branded me and told me he would never let me go. I didn't know this when I was at the inn, but my master there was the one who killed my parents."

She continued, relating to him how she had ended up at the inn and how long she had been there, afraid to leave.

"And you killed him?" He was positively distraught now, especially knowing that he could have prevented all of this.

"Yes, later, after I had escaped the inn. He hunted me and tried to re-capture me. I fought back and ended his life in self defense, and I found my mother's journal among his things."

"I see. When did you leave the inn? I thought you said that you could not leave."

"The Prince of Mirkwood happened upon me at the inn, and he helped me escape. I have been traveling with him ever since."

Alerae could tell that Sidhion was overwhelmed.

"Milord, maybe we should continue talking in the morning. I can meet you here if you would like."

"I think ending the conversation for now is a good idea. I sincerely hope that Prince Legolas was not at that inn for the reason it exists."

"No, he is honorable. He was on his way to Gondor and needed a place to stay. He didn't expect to find me in his room."

"If he asked anything of you I will personally hunt him down and give him the worst possible punishment I can think up… regardless of whether he is a prince or not, I will--"

"He did nothing. He let me sleep in his bed while he slept in the chair. I don't know why I told him about my predicament, but I did, and he offered to help me escape, I previously had no way of doing so. Then we traveled to Gondor together."

Sidhion nodded, glad to know that at least an elf had not taken advantage of his fair daughter.

"The hour is late, we should retire."

"I will see you at the morning meal, right?"

"Yes, you shall. Then perhaps we can go on a horseback ride and you can tell me a bit more."

"I want to know about you too."

"I know that you grew up with another father, and I do not intend to replace him."

"I know, no one could. I miss him and my mother greatly, but I welcome you into my life."

He smiled and embraced his daughter for the first time. His action took him by surprise, and although it felt foreign to be in this ellon's arms, it was not unsettling to her. He watched her leave the room, thinking over what he had just learned, and trying to sort out the emotions he felt.

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