A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers I really REALLY appreciate every word of kindness.

Running

"The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory but progress."

- Joseph Joubert

'You know what you have to do.'

As she lay sprawled across her bed, Lizzy stared up at the ceiling. It hadn't even been two days since she had met the man who was her father and already he had forced her to make a life altering decision. Things had actually been somewhat fine before she met Mark Winston. She'd been working on being a sort of average teenager, getting her grades up, helping out Nancy whenever she could and staying out of trouble. What her father said changed things.

Although she cared nothing for the man that was her father she listened and heard the words he had to say. Most of what he said had outraged her but it was what he said about her inheritance that stuck with her. He'd said that everywhere the money had gone something bad happened. Lizzy hated to admit it or to even think it but he was right. She had thought about just letting her father have the money once she had turned eighteen just so all her worries about it would disappear. She had a feeling that if she did that her problems wouldn't just go away.

Taking the easy way out never got things done right. There were always loose ends that came back to bite you in the butt. She didn't trust her father at all no matter whether or not her inheritance was cursed or whatever. Lizzy had already made up her mind that she wasn't giving him anything. She'd scattered school books around her bed giving the illusion that she was wrapped up in studying.

'You know what you have to do.'

Chatter from the living room softly filtered in through her door. Nancy had friends from her job over and wanted for Lizzy to meet them thinking it would take her mind off her father. She hadn't told Nancy much of anything about the meeting with her father except that the man hadn't been exactly what she'd expected him to be, a jerk. Lizzy hadn't felt up to meeting Nancy's friends and gave the excuse of having to study for midterms. She listened to the laughter and the friendly talk that she had been invited to be a part of.

Lizzy closed her eyes for a brief moment. Nancy shouldn't have to deal with any of her crap. She had done far more for her than she had to. If what her father had said about her inheritance was true, which was the likely case, then Lizzy did not Nancy to end up like her uncle. Nancy did not deserve that.

'You know what you have to do.'

Opening her eyes, Lizzy sat up from the soft mattress and looked out of her bedroom window. It was snowing outside. Light white flakes drifted downward setting the perfect scenery for a cozy peaceful evening at home. Lizzy was far from anything resembling peace, her brain working at one hundred miles per hour. The teenager hugged her knees and took a look around the room that had become hers.

So willingly Nancy had given up her guest/computer room for her deceased boyfriend's niece. So willingly had she taken her in and looked after her needs. Lizzy looked at the pictures she had drawn and hung on the walls of her room. It all felt so warm and comforting to know that she had been wanted when there was no one left. Lizzy was going to be damned if she came home to what Nancy had been willing to share with her, to find the woman dead in the way that her uncle had been murdered.

Her inheritance was not and would not become Nancy's concern. Nothing was going to happen. Lizzy turned her attention back towards the window. The sky had already long since darkened ad a knot had formed itself in the pit of Lizzy's stomach. She rested her forehead on her knees that were drawn to her chest, her arms still hugging them. Lizzy reminded herself that she needed to remain calm, because if she didn't she wouldn't be able to get through what she had to do.

'You know what you have to do.'

Lizzy wished she had some reassurance that everything would be alright, that everything would be okay, but she had spent her whole life without reassurance. It wasn't until she had went to Middle Earth that things had changed for her. It hadn't been until she got to Middle Earth did she experience what it felt like to be safe. Even in the most dangerous of situations she had been put in, when one thought she wouldn't make it, she had always been okay. Lizzy's mind couldn't help but wander to the person whom had never failed in making her feel safe.

She recalled how much Legolas, the elven prince of Mirkwood had irritated her. She remembered how much they had hated each other in the beginning. Things weren't like that anymore. Lizzy didn't know exactly where they stood. The harsh words she had spewed out to Legolas had to have had some negative affect on him. She hadn't seen Legolas in almost two weeks but she was sure that she had hurt him.

The look in his eyes when she told him that she didn't want him to love her, that he shouldn't, made her feel absolutely horrible inside. Even though she didn't know whether not things between herself and Legolas would ever be the same again she knew how she felt. Lizzy was going to set things right. She had to set things right because all she wanted from life was to be happy and make her mother proud, and if she was ever going to get to that point then everything about her inheritance had to be figure out.

'You know what you have to do.'

Lizzy lifted her head to look at her alarm clock. It read 9:32. Gingerly, she got up and dropped to her knees. Under her bed was where she kept her duffel bag and suitcase. She pulled out the two objects and put them on her bed amongst all her books.

"I gotta do this," Lizzy muttered as she wiped sweaty palms on her pajama pants.

She went to her closet, pulled it open and began tossing clothes onto the bed. Lizzy took no note of what she was pulling out., as long as it was clothes. She moved on from the closet and began taking what she needed from drawers, off the floor, her desk. Underwear, socks, shirts pants, they all went on her bed and when she was done gathering up all that she was going to need, she put it into the duffel and suitcase. For the moment she was done.

Huffing, Lizzy pulled her duffel bag and suitcase back onto the floor and under the bed. There was nothing else that could be done but wait. She resumed her sitting position on the bed and thought on what she was about to go through with. It had everything to do with her future that she had been working so hard for. All the late night study sessions, trying to catch up on past assignments and schmoozing teachers who didn't particularly think she had what it took to catch up was about to be pushed aside for awhile, if not completely.

The lamp on her dresser gave low light to the room. Her eyes gazed around the room she had gotten settled in. Lizzy cursed under her breath. She couldn't figure out any other way to solve this thing so she was going to distance herself. The stones on her bracelet caught her eye by way of giving a slight twinkle. Looking at the bracelet made her lips perk up slightly.

She had not taken the thing off since she had gotten it. Lizzy wondered whether or not the clasp would start to tarnish since she showered with it on, but it hadn't. She had suspected that Legolas wasn't the kind of guy who gave cheap jewelry. Looking at the bracelet instilled in her a bit of what she needed to push forward…at least for a little while.

The talk from the living room was dying down.

10:09 was the time.

'You know what you have to do.'

Lizzy got up and went over to her backpack. Shuffling around she pulled out paper and pen. She sat back down and began to write. Her hand trembled as she wrote and as a result the letter to Nancy came out sloppy and looked almost like a child had written it. As long as it was legible Lizzy didn't care. Once that was done, she folded the paper, addressed it to Nancy and stuck it under her alarm clock where she was sure Nancy would find it. The talking would stop. Lizzy bit her fingernail.

Her door creaked open and that was it.

"Just came to tell you goodnight Liz." Nancy poked her head in and looked at Lizzy who was standing by the bedside table.

The teenager brought her hand from her mouth and uttered a good night.

"Are you still studying?"

Lizzy shrugged at Nancy's concerned look. "It's mid terms, what can I say? I want to do really good on em'."

Nancy eyed her. She obviously did not approve of staying up too late to be buried head first in school books. "Well just don't stay up too late. If you want to do well in school you need sleep."

Lizzy nodded and watched as Nancy closed the door. She waited a minute, then two, then five, until there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that Nancy was no longer still up and about.

'You know what you have to do.'

Lizzy changed from her pajamas and threw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and her sneaker. She pulled out her prepared duffel bag and suitcase. In her sock drawer was precisely fifty three dollars and eighty seven cents. She went over to the drawer, dug the money out and stuffed it in her pocket. Now she was ready. Taking everything, she slowly opened the door so as to prevent the hinges from squeaking, and tip toed through the hall way and into the darkened living room. It smelled like popcorn and Lizzy was quickly reminded of why she was going to miss the place.

It was fun living with Nancy. It was how it was supposed to be staying Nancy, not having to worry about food and not having to guess whether drunken buddies would be coming over for beer pong and card playing. Staying with Nancy was a lot like being in Middle Earth. She could relax and learn how to not have to lose sleep over simple things that no one else would spend two seconds thinking about.

Lizzy did what she had to do.

Apples.

There were apples before him. He recalled that Lizzy liked apples. Red ones, green ones, yellow she liked them no matter the color, be he remembered she liked them best when dipped in peach jam. Legolas had always thought that to be odd, but then again Lizzy had been far from any of the types of women he encountered.

She did things that confused him like when she put on socks, sometimes she would put on different colored socks when the matches were already paired together. Other times she would do things that irritated him like when she insisted on calling him 'elf boy' or when she would manage to get herself into trouble by doing things without fully thinking them through. She also cursed too much. There were things, of course, that he deeply enjoyed about her. Lizzy had the gift of making him laugh at times when she displayed childish mannerisms. Since he could not get a chance to see her, he thought about her constantly. Sometimes in the most inappropriate of times he thought about her. The battle his father was planning was taking up everyone who was a soldier's time, and people had long since begun to be suspicious.

As he looked at the apples on the table before him he thought about missing the scheduled training that night to see Lizzy. He need to talk to her because he knew what she had said to him was not true.

"Legolas. Legolas! Are you at all listening to me?"

Legolas looked up at his father seated across from him. Thranduil appeared irritated by the fact that he had began talking and his son had not been listening. He had arranged a private lunch for him and his son in the gardens just so he could relay to him the important news and here Legolas was not giving him an ounce of attention.

"I am sorry father. What is it that you said?"

" I said that I have received word from Lothlorien and Lord Celeborn wishes to aid us."

Legolas' eyes strayed back to the apples on the table.

"As soon as they arrive, Mirkwood will go to battle with the evils infesting the woods. Now I am going to…"

Legolas wondered whether or not Lizzy was regretting what she had said to him. He saw what had undoubtly been fear in her eyes when he had told her. He could not begin to understand what had been going through her mind at the moment. She constantly withheld her most inner feelings to assure everyone that she was fine. It was an immanent trait acquired from all that she had gone through in life.

Lizzy was shielding herself that much was evident, but Legolas did not understand from what. From being hurt was the only thing his mind could formulate. It made no sense because she knew that he would never hurt her. Lizzy was a conundrum and adding the confusion of love to that was like mixing things up further. He would not have taken it back though.

No matter what the outcome may be between them after what he had said to her, he would not have gone back on what he said. It had taken what had felt like years to comprehend what was truly being felt. The overwhelming concern for her, the long stares cast in her direction, the confusing flutters felt by his heart, all were manifestations of the obvious. Even the simplest of fools could have figured that out quicker than he had. Instead of trying to understand a way of repairing things with Lizzy maybe he should continue with doing nothing at all.

"I want you by my side when I promulgate this to everyone."

There were things going on in Mirkwood that could not be overlooked, things that required and deserved his utmost attention. For days on end he had been going over private battle tactics, training with Mirkwood's army and getting no rest whatsoever. Legolas roved through the palace grounds doing his father's bidding with most if not all of his mind on Lizzy. Perhaps it was better for him to focus on this battle that would free the lands of orc. No. He could not, because love was an insistent thing that just could not be pushed aside to be dealt with only when convenient.

Love was something that lingered until its goal was accomplished. It was never easily forgotten or forgotten at all. When his father, the king of Mirkwood, demonstrated impatience with his son by slamming his hand against the table, Legolas looked at him. The lack of felicity or even excitement on what he had been speaking about told Legolas that his father was far from pleased with him. For the moment Legolas cared not.

"You have not been listening to a work I have spoken," Thranduil seethed not holding back any of the exasperation he exhibited for his son.

"I did not tell her."

Thranduil's look of vexation disappeared at the calm and mild concern embodied in his son's voice.

"What do you speak of?"

Like a impending attack, Legolas felt that if he said nothing now something terrible would happen. He could not put the issue with Lizzy aside. If he was to confront the war ahead then he had to come to terms with what was lodged in his head.

"Father, if I am to be efficacious in this battle I must be truthful with you." Legolas saw that his father was casting aside his ongoing talk of war and eradication for a moment to listen and for that Legolas was extremely grateful. Once Thranduil was passionate on a subject it was very much hard for him to dwell from said subject.

Legolas sighed and with no qualm said, "I did not tell Elizabeth of her immortality. I told her instead that I was in love with her."

The afternoon sun felt as if it were shinning more brightly down on the king. Thranduil would have thought he heard his son wrong had he been human. For centuries he had tried to push women that carried the most potential towards his son, but Legolas' only response had been to either avoid them all or ignore them completely. Thranduil could not believe what his son had just proclaimed. Lizzy of all people?

"Legolas," Thranduil said staying collected. "Is this not the same person you displayed a great revulsion for in the past?"

If Legolas had been telling his father under any other circumstances he would have nodded in embarrassment, but he had not the time to feel sorry for past behaviors.

"Yes it is. Can we not speak of past events?"

"How could you have not told her about her immortality." Thranduil asked.

Legolas knew this would occur when he eventually spoke to his father of what had happened. He told his father one thing and Thranduil ended up faulting him for another. It was what he had done throughout Legolas' entire life. Legolas always thought his father awaited him to make a mistake of some sort. He was not going to turn this into an issue between his father and his self. There were enough things clouding his mind.

Thranduil recognized the look on his son's face. It was the deadpan look that he took on right before they argued. He didn't care now. His son wasn't thinking.

"I told you to do one thing Legolas, one thing and that was to tell Elizabeth that she was immortal." Thranduil shook his head. "This mirrors the time when I sent you to represent me in the council in Rivendell. I tell you to convey to the council the fact that Gollum had eluded us and you end up joining a fellowship that was to see to the Ring being destroyed."

"I thought you would have been happy to know that my heart had finally chosen someone," Legolas yelled not at all holding back the bite in his voice.

"It is not that I am not pleased that you have found someone," Thranduil snapped harshly. Had Legolas been anyone else he would have jumped at the sternness in the king's voice, but this was his father. He had argued many times with him.

Thranduil said nothing else, and offered not even a look at his son. He reached for his glass of wine placed by his fork and brought it towards him. He watched the amber liquid dance around his glass before taking a swallow.

With narrowed eyes Legolas watched his father. He wanted nothing more than to leave the king at that moment. There was something going on in his father's mind, something that he was holding back. His father was usually very vocal when it came to disagreeing with him. He studied his father and thought of what could be the reason for his silence.

It took no time for it to come to him. All the women his father had sent to him in hopes that he would fall madly in love with them all had high statures. Lizzy could not behave as them on her best day.

"You worry about your retched thrown and what it would turn into if Elizabeth were to become queen!" Legolas slammed his hand furiously against the table and looked away from his father.

"Legolas, listen to me," Thranduil said setting his glass down. Legolas refused to look at his father but Thranduil continued nonetheless. "I believe Elizabeth to be more than a lovely young woman but have you given any thought to what the future for you two might appear to be to her?"

Still choosing to not look at his father Legolas folded his arms.

"By your blatant refusal to respond to me I see that you have not. As much as it may pain me to say this I will. Lizzy is not fit to be queen of Mirkwood should you marry her. She has had too many horrible things happen to her in her past. They cloud her judgment and the way she carries herself."

Legolas turned to his father, outraged by everything his father had just said to him. "No father you are wrong. Her past would be the reason she would be an excellent queen."

Taking no heed that his father was still the king of Mirkwood, Legolas stood from his seat and walked away to leave his father in his own company.

Being in darkness invoked fear and sometimes it did not matter where you were. Darkness always carried that unknown aspect of life that was always thought about. Children believed monsters from tales and imaginations, hid within the comfort that darkness provided. Adults, being much more practical, believed that nothing good could ever come out of there being a lack of light. Whether it be activity or secrecy it all had the advantage of veiling itself in what was darkness.

Then there was always the opposing side. There were those who held the dark in high graces, who thought that things came alive when the sun fell or the lights went out. Certain animals only lived their lives by the rise of the moon. The jewelry of the sky only glittered and shined by the darkness that swept the atmosphere. Lizzy had always been in the middle when it came to the dark.

She had remembered when she was younger that she had been afraid of the dark. Her uncle wouldn't allow for her to keep the light on at night, nor would he provide for her a night light so she'd spend half the night praying to god to let the sun come early. She always had thought it was the least God could do for her since he had not saved her mother and brothers. The sun never came up any earlier though and she never felt the illusion that it had. She had given up on squeezing her eyes shut at night, putting her hands together and pleading with the man upstairs to make things better.

One night she just quit asking, quit hoping, opened her eyes and let her uncle's snores coming from the next room lull her to sleep. Now, as she walked the freezing streets of the city, she was glad for the dark. The street was only illuminated minimally by a few street lights, most of which were busted. Lizzy shivered within the confines of her coat. The snow had begun to come down at a much greater pace then when she had left.

Without any gloves her hands were numb and only split seconds away from probably turning an ugly shade of blue. Lizzy would have shuffled faster down the sidewalk had not her feet hurt so much. It was the only way to keep the impending danger away from Nancy and anyone else like Glenn who had the potential of becoming closer to her. A nuisance was all she was and had ever been to anyone. She let large flakes of snow mingle in her dark hair.

Her lips felt dry and her stomach rumbled with hunger. Nancy would worry at first but the letter she had written explained to her that she had to stay away; that if she didn't something horrible could happen to Nancy. That should have been enough to turn her away. Lizzy had to stop thinking about Nancy and get out of the cold. She had not walked close to an hour and a half for nothing. The plus side of spending most of your life basically poor and on the wrong side of the tracks was that you knew of crappy places that didn't ask questions and just took your money.

By foot Lizzy had traveled to the shady part of town. Taking the bus was not an option. Money was tight and where ever she could save it she would.

Sleep EZ Motel was the first of the crappy places she has set eyes on. It was across the street from a bar and a Lotto/Liquor store.

Go figure.

Lizzy forced her feet to take a few more steps to the motel. She was completely unaware of the car that had been trailing her since she had left Nancy's apartment. She was happy to be out of the cold even if she was in a sleazy looking motel. Lizzy took a minute to look at the fake potted plants and trees the decorated the lobby. It smelled of smoke and Lizzy shrugged the sliding straps of her duffle bag back up her shoulder and waved her free hand in front of her nose.

It didn't help. The smoke still lingered. She pushed herself forward to the front desk with all her stuff and rung the bell. The lobby seemed to be completely empty. As she waited she dropped her suitcase. Warmth began to creep back into her limbs and a tingling sensation was felt in her fingers and toes. She tapped her fingers against the counter top half out of boredom and half to knock out the tingling.

A greasy appearing guy came from the back. He snorted loudly and wiped his nose with the back of his hand before settling himself behind the counter. Lizzy eyed his sloppy flannel shirt and slicked back hair before she told him she needed a room.

The greasy man stared at her with a smirk on his face. "What a runt like you need a room for?"

It took every fiber of her being not to say something rude.

"Just give me a room."

Greasy man dropped the smirk on his face and turned to where the room keys hung on the wall. Lizzy watched as the man's hands glided in front of numerous keys before he stopped and plucked a key from a hook and turned back to her.

"I should ask to see some ID."

"Ain't got none. How much is it?" Zero patience. Lizzy had zero patience for any bull that might be thrown to her by the man. All she wanted was to get more warm and to go to sleep. Yes, sleep was something she could possibly do for years. Greasy man gave her one more look of suspicion before handing her the key.

"Twenty-two fifty."

Lizzy dug into her pockets and pulled out a wad of crumpled cash. She counted out the bills, pulled out two quarters and handed the exact change to the man. Already her money was dwindling. With her key in hand, Lizzy picked up her suitcase.

"There ya go," greasy man said once he had put the money into the cash register. "Gave ya the key to room 22. It's right outside to your left."

Lizzy began to make her way to her room. The farther away she got from the man behind the front desk, the better she felt. The lobby's smell of smoke had reminded her of her uncle and how he'd used to go through pack after pack of cigarettes. It reminded her of how when she'd have to go to school as a kid and how her clothes would smell like smoke. Kids would talk about her and how'd they never trade lunches with her because they thought they'd catch her smoke cancer.

She needed to get away from anything that might provoke an onslaught of horrible memories. Greasy man stopped her when she was at the door. Apparently his curiosity wanted the best from him that night.

"Aye. Aye, what's your name kid?"

Lizzy turned back towards the guy. For whatever reason she knew he was going to ask her that question. Maybe he was too dumb to recognize the signs of a kid running. Maybe he was just nosy by nature. Whatever it was, Lizzy couldn't afford to play into giving up any information about herself.

"Carolyn." It was a name that came out of her mouth without a second's worth of thought. It was also a name that had no connections to her. It was just a name.

They guy nodded and let her leave without pestering her further. Lizzy slipped back outside into the cold. True to his word, room 22 was to her left. She stuck the key in he lock and quickly went inside. The Sleep EZ motel didn't exactly take the cake when it came to the safety department.

The door to her room was a little loose at the hinges and only consisted of one lock. It would have been easy for someone to break in. The first thing Lizzy did before even dropping her bags was lock the door behind herself. She put everything she had in front of the door as an extra precaution. It might not have done her any good in the long run but it was the best that she could come up with.

It all settled in then. What she had done, what she had ran away from, the money and how scared she felt all settled within the depth's of her stomach. She felt nauseated and tired. Turning towards the room and away from the door, Lizzy looked at what she would call home for at least one more night.

"This is what I get for twenty bucks?"

Tacky gold wallpaper covered the walls and in more than one place was peeling. The carpet was teal and had faint stains that looked like they had tried to been rid of but the cleanser just hadn't done the job. The bed looked lumpy and upon sitting on it she concluded that it was. The ugly orange colored sheets even looked questionable. There was a television set in front of the bed.

'At least the tv isn't coin operated.'

She hated it because it wasn't fair. With everything she had been through in life nothing seemed to be lightening up. More just kept being added to her load. Now she had to leave behind everything she'd been familiar with; her home with Nancy, school, the possibility of friendship and her identity as talking to the guy at the front desk had proved. It was not fair, but she figured that if all of who she was, was to suddenly not be then the problem was eliminated for a time.

People asking too many questions could draw attention to her. Attention was a no-no. Attention would take away from her ultimate goal. After her uncle's murder she knew someone had to be keeping tabs on her, if what her father had said was true. Lizzy both hated and was grateful for the paranoia that her father has unknowingly instilled in her. She thought about whether or not she could handle whomever was killing her family. It just seemed like an adult sized problem.

What Lizzy had forgotten was that she had been an adult for a while. The child spirit she had, had been pushed aside for years now. Every now and then it would escape but for the most part there were too many things going on in her life that forced the child in her back. Going back to being like that was not an option and it could never be if she wanted to survive. Thinking about how unfair the cards she was dealt were wouldn't get anything accomplished, wouldn't keep her safe and definitely would not take back what happened. Lizzy forgot about the shoes on her feet and the clothes on her back.

She curled up on the bed and welcomed the darkness her eyelids provided.

The ringing of his phone interrupted his deep slumber. Not worrying about disturbing the woman at his side, he rolled over and took up the cell phone by the lamp. For anyone to be trying to reach him so late at night, it had better have been good, damn good.

"What," his raspy voice barked into the phone.

With each and every word spoken to him by him by none other than Tom, sleep dissipated from his body. He untangled himself from the comfort of his bed and walked into the hall. He side stepped the toys on the floor and tried to calm his steadily rising anger.

"What the hell do you mean she's ran away?!" He was perfectly aware of what had been said to him. This girl was beginning to be more than a pain in his ass. No wonder why her father has run out on her family.

"Just don't let her out of your sight. I want you to bring her in soon."

Without any sign that the conversation had ended, he flipped his phone closed. It looked like things were happening faster than he thought they would. He retreated back to bed.

A/N: This chapter was kind of on the mild side so I promise that the next chapter will take a huge step forward. Anyone reading my other story, be patient. I've got some kinks to work out on that one. Thanks!