Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. I do not own any of the character, places, names, or anything associated with the works of J.R.R Tolkien or the Lord of the Rings (books or movie, whatever). My characters are Anita, Leila, and Arlandria and that is all.

Chapter 24: Somewhere Out There

Legolas' eyes scanned the landscape from his regal perch atop his horse, searching for the telltale signs that they were nearing their destination. The thought of returning to Rivendell after a seven year absence made him tremble down to his very core. The elf knew in his heart that he should be focused on the council that would soon take place to decide the fate of the Ring, he knew that he should be preparing himself to represent his father and his people, to show himself worthy of his new title and responsibility. But he couldn't. There was only one thought that was consuming his every waking moment…

Anita.

Had his father not asked him to answer Lord Elrond's summons, Legolas would have volunteered. The prince had walked the paths of this world for almost 600 years, never giving a care or complaint of the passing time. However, the past few years had weighed on him heavily. With unsatisfactory letters that were being monitored as their only way to communicate, Legolas had been hoping for any reason to return to the elven outpost. Elladan had come down hard on the two of them after they were discovered, and the prince hadn't had a proper opportunity to tell Ani how he felt for her, an error he had no intention of repeating.

His father's complete emphatic warning was still ringing in his ears though, burning in fact. Legolas had never heard his father say so many words together in a single conversation, most disapproval was translated through harsh glares and disappointed sighs. Thranduil had made it painfully clear how he expected the young prince to conduct himself, spelling out every duty Legolas had to king and country before his own desires. Legolas knew he had to address the summoned council about the creature Gollum's escape before he could think about seeing Ani again, and he was determined to do his father proud and show that he was ready for such responsibilities as these. Despite the reality that he would soon be within reach of the girl plaguing his thoughts and memories, he had a duty to fulfill first.

Trying without success to yet again push her far from his mind, Legolas and his entourage of two Elven soldiers descended the paths into the valley of Imladris. The landscape remained unchanged , a few short years in Elven lands meant very little. Riding up the path through the front gates of the ancient Elvish outpost town, the prince could feel his heart hammering in chest so violently he was afraid it might burst free and make an escape.

Just within the gates stood a beautiful elleth, tall and slim with golden hair cascading over her shoulders with a twinkle of familiarity in her eyes. It took Legolas a second to realize that this young elf was none other than Leila.

"Why do you look surprised to see me?" Even Lei's voice had undergone a change from human to elvish, sounding sweet, even musical. As he smoothly swung his leg around, easily dismounting the horse, Legolas glanced around the courtyard in search of the darker twin, since wherever Leila was Anita was rarely far behind, and vice versa. Leila stepped forward as his feet barely touched the ground, bowing deeply out of respect for his position before she wrapped her arms around his neck in a friendly hug.

"She isn't here." Legolas almost missed the breathy words that Leila whispered in his ear as she quickly hugged him. Lei hadn't missed his searching gaze, and it wasn't hard given the way he had exited years ago to figure out what it was he was looking for.

"You have changed much in a few years." Legolas returned the hug, and out of appreciation for the girl's subtly, didn't respond to her quiet words.

"Seven years can change many things…and then some things not at all." The prince wasn't given an opportunity to ask for a translation of the girl's cryptic statement before she had turned away from him and motioned for one of the stable hands to come and take his and his soldiers horses. "We received word just before you arrived that the emissary from Gondor has crossed the border into our lands, they will be here soon. I am to take you directly to see Elrond, I don't think he wants to waste any time, he seemed pretty eager to get this council meeting going."

Legolas and his entourage fell into step with the young elleth as she led them through Rivendell's twisting paths and up to the house. He had hundreds of questions that he so badly wanted to ask the girl; like whether or not Elladan was still viscously upset with him, or if Anita had spoken about him in their time apart. For all their exchanged letters in the past years, Ani had given no hint in her messages to him if she returned his feelings even in the least.

Stopping midway through a hall, Leila indicated that the three other elves were to continue on to the secretive meeting place where the rest of the gathered ambassadors were already waiting for their arrival. The girl could see in his eyes, like and old black and white film, the only thought bouncing around in there was her sister. But ever since rumors and whispers had begun swirling days ago that there was even a chance Thranduil would send his son to represent Mirkwood, it had made for a tense situation around the house. Lei didn't know just how deep the anger and resentment her father harbored ran about the events of Legolas and Anita's whirlwind summer romance, but the girl preferred to err on the side of caution and instead tread very carefully on the subject.

"Leila…" Legolas caught her attention again before the slim and graceful elf made her exit.

"Later," She quickly replied, cutting him off before he could voice his question. "There will be much to discuss later. I will be back when the council had finished to take you to your quarters, and we can speak then."

Catching her hint, the royal elf turned and continued his way to the hidden area beyond the halls of the house where the men were meeting. Leila turned and began to head back to the gates to meet the ambassador from Gondor, shaking her head the whole way. She knew her father had requested that Glorfindel keep Ani busy far, far away from the city today so as not to chance her being a distraction….but even without setting eyes on her, that girl would be all that occupied Legolas' thoughts today, of that Lei was sure.

Ani lay flat on her back, her black hair sprawled out on the dirt like a dark halo. The clouds overhead floated by lazily in big puffy fluffs, occasionally taking the shape of a familiar object; a rabbit or a flower. There was a sharp rock digging into the small of her back in a most uncomfortable way, but she wasn't focused on that. Her mind was drifting, making it impossible to focus on any one task, which explained how she had ended up in the dirt looking at the clouds in the first place. In Tucson, her Taekwondo Sahyun had a rule that when one was defeated in a sparring match, he would ask the simple question of 'how were you beaten?' and you had to lay there on the mat until a sufficient answer was provided. It was a rule that Glorfindel had somehow adopted to their training as well.

So there she lay in the dirt, defeated and with no good excuse why. Oh she had an excuse, but it wasn't one that Glo would like, and she knew it without a doubt. Normally she could provide a well thought out answer; she had left her side open to attack, she dropped her sword arm leaving her defenseless, there was always something. But today it was as simple as not paying attention. She was distracted and unable to focus. But Glorfindel wouldn't care about that. He wouldn't care that there was a chance that the man who had been occupying her thoughts for seven whole years could currently be in her home again, the man who made her heart beat at a supersonic pace, the man who made the good shivers slide up her spine. Nope, Glo wouldn't care. So she lay there watching a snail shaped cloud drift by and tried without much luck to think up a lie.

"Your heart is not in this today, your mind is many miles away from here." Ani didn't bother to deny Glorfindel's accusation, he was right after all. Sitting up with a sigh, she swiped away the pebbles and dirt that had indented her arms when she smacked the ground. Glorfindel stepped forward and offered her a hand, which she accepted, and heaved her up to her feet. Sheathing his sword across his back the older elf took a seat on one of the large boulders that dotted the side if the wide path which wound its way down the mountain's ridge, as Anita retrieved her dagger and short sword from their abandoned places in the dirt. The girl took her seat next to her mentor, popping her neck in the process…a habit that still made Glo cringe.

"What troubles you?"

"I just can't focus is all." She tried without much effort to brush away the faulty performance as if it were nothing. She wasn't going to live it down that easily, but it was worth a shot.

"Your inability to focus would not be related to a certain member of Mirkwood's royal family would it?" Anita felt the tips of her ears burn red in embarrassment. Glo made a clicking noise with his tongue as he noticed Ani's reaction to his question, receiving all the answer he needed when she blushed.

"It isn't like that… it's just…" The girl picked a small smooth rock up from the ground and intently focused on the mundane task of rolling it between her fingers, anything to prevent eye contact with her older mentor. "I haven't seen him in seven years, Glo, so it's not like there is anything between us. I just wish people would realize that I have my own life here now, instead of defining me by something that happened years ago."

"A handful of years mean nothing to those who have thousands to spare. And if it is any comfort to you, Legolas' punishment for his indiscretions was surely worse than yours."

Ani's heads snapped around to look at the older elf with disbelief written over every feature. "I was grounded for six months! And when I was done being grounded I had to do chores in the stables for six more months! Elladan still reads all my letters!"

"Which to you must seem cumbersome, but pales in comparison to what Legolas surely endured. You see, unlike yourself, Legolas is bound to the rules of our world, he knows no other life but to accept them. He put his very birthright as the next king of Mirkwood in jeopardy when the two of you caused your little scandal, and I am sure he has been slaving to re-earn his father's trust. His presence here as the emissary of Mirkwood is no doubt Thranduil's test to see if Legolas is ready to assume the responsibility of the throne. Legolas' one ambition while he temporarily remains in Rivendell will be to prove himself as trustworthy, honorable, and responsible. I understand that you had a very close friendship with him before, but please be aware that attitudes may have changed."

Anita stood up, suddenly to anxious and fidgety to sit a moment longer. She began to pace back and forth in the short distance in front of where Glorfindel remained seated on the boulder. "So basically you're saying I shouldn't be surprised if he avoids me like the plague? I really don't get what everyone's malfunction is. Legolas and I were friends that did a little more on the side, and apparently that's the greatest sin someone can commit here. I just want to see him to prove to everyone that it's over, maybe then you can all stop acting like I brought beer to and AA meeting."

Glorfindel's response was quiet, forcing Ani to strain to hear his voice over the sounds of the natural world around them. "Anita one merely needs to look in your eyes to know it is not over."

"Does that sum up how you got stuck with me an extra day? People think it isn't over?"

"What do you mean, child?"

"Today was supposed to be lessons with Elrond, and in the four years we have been following this contract he has never missed a day. It occurs to me that if Elrond was just going to be busy with this meeting thing he could have cancelled lessons today and that would have been the end of it. Instead I'm out here with you."

"Firstly, no one is 'stuck' with you. I offered to take you on as my student and that is a choice I have not regretted. And secondly, your father thought it would be best if perhaps you and a certain someone did not cross paths today."

"I knew it! I knew he still didn't trust me. You're wrong Glo, it is over. Legolas and I had a fling a few years ago and it ended then. He moved on to become 'King of the Elves' and I joined the guard, I made a life here. End of story." Forcefully, the girl sheathed both the blades she had been gripping tightly as they spoke. She began stomping away from him, up the path that led across the mountain's rocky ridge. Ani didn't even bother to turn around when she called back to him. "We have a patrol to finish."

Glorfindel gave Ani a good head start before he stood up to follow her. The girl needed her space, and he wasn't going to infringe upon that need. He had tried to be gentle, tried to warn her as kindly as possible, but he had known she would take it hard that Legolas' behavior toward her would be different. As if the bricks were being laid right in front of his eyes, Glo had watched the girl's defensive walls go up as soon as the subject of the prince and their relationship had come up. He had seen it thousands of times with her in the years he had been mentoring her; She couldn't be hurt if she didn't care. But the elf knew, Ani did care. She could pretend that she had no feelings for the prince, she could deny it until she was blue the face. But Glorfindel had seen her reaction when word had reached them that Legolas would in fact be the one representing Mirkwood at the council.

"Oh Anita, I think it is you who is wrong. It is far from over."

Somewhere Out There- Our Lady Peace