Disclaimers: See the Author's Notes! Rated R for major angst, eventual attempted rape, and sexual innuendo. Takes place 10 years after the prologue. Not my song; it belongs to Enya! This is an AU! Elvish is in ' '; Common is in " ".

Amin Ai Olin
(My Little Secret)

Part 1. Oment- Au'
(To Meet Again)

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Who can say where the road goes,
Where the day flows?
Only time...
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Silence was all that Legolas heard, as he carried his small son on his back, heading towards the small town near Gondor. He was glad of it, for it meant that everything was calm and quiet, with nothing to fear. He was more worried about running into Elessar again. His green legging, blue shirt, and tan tunic were faded in color, not nearly as bright as they used to be, as was the black cloak. It had once been silky and smooth; however, it, too, had felt the passage of time. But he cared not. The child who adored him with all of his heart meant more to Legolas than anything else in all of Middle-Earth.

Elleelen frowned when he saw the serious expression on his father's face. 'What's wrong, daddy?' he asked, concern showing in his grey eyes. He held onto his father tightly, for he enjoyed being with him more than anyone else in the world. His father was perfect, because he always had time for him, and never ever laid a hand on him in reprimand. The golden-haired boy wore a short-sleeved, brick-red shirt and dark brown leggings. Matching shoes were on his feet, though he disliked wearing shoes. He only did so because he knew that his daddy would be worried if he did not. He also wore a cloak; a green one. His hair was the exact shade of his father's, and his ears were slightly pointed. But his clothes were in much better condition than his daddy's clothes.

'Nothing, my son. I was just thinking of an old friend,' Legolas reassured his child. 'What do you think of the woods around Gondor?'

'Pretty,' Elleelen declared.

Indeed, the woods were beautiful, and much cooler than the open fields from which the two Elves had just traveled. Dark hemlocks, along with rowan, ash, and hazelnut trees spread out around the forest, giving it a variety of smells from their different ones. Leaves crackled beneath Legolas' feet, along with soft, green grass, though the blond Elf tread softly on the grass. Many blossoms of different colors; purple, gold, blue, and pink showed against the green ground, intermingled with leaves. Bushes grew everywhere, covered multi-colored leaves. Some leaves were red and some where green, but the bushes also had edible berries.

The sounds of a fight finally reached Legolas' ears, and he stopped walking for a moment to listen.

"Let me go, you rotten creeps!" a girl's voice yelled. "I'm warning you!"

Legolas gasped, for it was the voice was that of a child. He sprinted quickly towards the sound, reaching for the gleaming sword-hilt in the sheath hanging at his side. Elleelen gripped harder onto his father's shoulders, worry written across his young face. He was prepared when his father easily slipped him to the ground, along with his pack, before drawing his fancy sword.

Elleelen was right behind his father, carrying his pack, as they burst into a clearing and saw several unsavory figures carrying a twisting and struggling young girl hand and foot.

She kicked at them hard, trying to jerk free. "When my daddy finds out, he's gonna kill you!" she proclaimed haughtily.

Legolas stepped in front of the unknown figures. He didn't like the look of them, after he silently appraised them. No doubt they intended to use the little girl for ransom; it was obvious, considering that she wore a beautiful, blue, silk gown, which complimented her long, dark brown hair. She must have lost her shoes on the way, though, for her feet were bare.

"Release her, or else," Legolas said firmly, holding his sword in a defensive position. His sword was the only thing he had left, from his past. The gleaming jewels in the sword's hilt were worth a lot of money, but he would never sell his precious sword. He had already lost too much.

Kasia was pleased when a figure, wearing a dark cloak with the hood over his face, challenged the ones who were trying to kidnap her. Maybe now she could finally get home, because her father must surely be worried about her. She scowled at her kidnappers, as fiercely as her father had been known to. How dare they treat her like this? She was a crown princess, after all.

"No," the unnamed leader snarled. He gestured, and the girl's bare feet were set against the ground. She was held firmly by one of them, while the rest challenged the single figure.

Legolas easily dodged the first blow, stepping left, as he brought his sword up to slice across the first one's right arm. The gleaming, silver blade struck home, before he whirled and parried for a few moments with a second attacker, his azure eyes narrowed in concentration. He did not kill him, but brought his sword hilt up and slammed it into the head of the one who attacked him.

It was for his son's sake. And the girl's. He would have fought to kill if they had not been present, watching. But both were too young to witness death, even in self-defense, and Legolas was not about to destroy their innocence, as his had been shattered long ago, in his first battle. He began exchanging sword blows with the first attacker again, eventually rendering him unconscious.

Kasia stomped hard on the foot of the older human who held her, before she brought her leg forward. She then kicked backwards hard, directly into the shin of her kidnapper. The man bellowed and released her, so she grabbed her skirt up and ran.

Elleelen reached the girl first, who looked about his age. "C'mon, we've got to get somewhere safe, while my daddy teaches those Men a lesson," he urged.

Kasia frowned. "Who're you?" she demanded. "I'm not supposed to go anywhere with strangers."

"Then what do you call them?" Elleelen pointed out. "My name is Elleelen."

"What kind of a name is Elleelen?" Kasia questioned, a puzzled look in her grey eyes.

Elleelen frowned slightly, for he thought she was being a bit rude. "It's Elfish," he said finally.

"What's your name?"

"Princess Kasia Telcontar," she said regally.

Elleelen blinked.

Kasia scowled. "Call me Kasia," she finally muttered. Inwardly, she was wondering how this boy couldn't know who she was. She was the daughter of Elessar, King of Gondor.

"All right, Kasia," Elleelen said. He offered a smile, and was surprised to see Kasia's slightly pointed ears, which matched his own. "You are part Elf, too, aren't you?"

"Yeah, my mother was an Elf," Kasia told Elleelen. She glanced over at where most of her kidnappers lay unconscious. The rest were retreating before the figure in the cloak. "Your father is a good fighter," she admitted. "But my father could beat him."

Legolas sheathed his sword finally, before he walked over to the two children. "Are you all right, child?" he questioned in his gentle, alto voice, kneeling down to inspect her.

Kasia frowned. "I'm not a child," she said resentfully. "My name is Kasia. No, I'm not all right! I'm lost, my dress is torn and dirty, and my shoes are missing. And my father is going to kill me."

"I'm sure your father won't blame you for this," Legolas said reassuringly. For some reason, the name 'Kasia' sounded familiar to him. "Where do you live? We will take you home."

"Gondor," she said. "My father is the King there, and he will reward you for saving me from those nasty bandits."

Legolas paled. This girl... this dark-haired child could only be Arwen and Elessar's daughter. No wonder her name had seemed familiar to him; she was currently the only heir to the throne of Gondor. Legolas then glanced over at his son before silently amending that she was the only known heir.

"I shall return you to your father, and I do not require a reward," Legolas told her. He pulled his hood down, so she could see his features.

Kasia glanced from Elleelen to his father. "You look just alike," she announced. "Except his eyes are the same colour as mine, mister?" Kasia added thoughtfully, while waiting for her rescuer's name.

"Legolas," he told her. "My name is Legolas."

"Tis a pleasure to meet you, Legolas." Kasia gave a little curtsey, as best as she could.

Elleelen wrapped his arms around his much taller father's legs, for he had set the full pack on the ground. A hand came down and ruffled his long, golden hair, which hung down to his waist.

Kasia sighed. "Can we please get going, before my father gets really mad at me?"

Legolas smiled and nodded. He knelt down and searched through the pack, before coming up with Elleelen's spare, light blue shoes. He offered them to Kasia, who looked stunned.

"Those are boys' shoes," she protested.

"It's better than running around barefoot," Legolas reasoned.

Kasia scowled, but took the shoes and slid them on. They were a little too small for her, but she grudgingly kept them on. "Which way do we go?" she questioned, glancing around. "I've never been this far from home before."

Legolas slung his pack over his shoulder, stood, and placed a hand on his young son's shoulder, before he glanced over at Kasia. "This way," he said, before he began walking.

"Hey! I'm royalty, so I should be walking first!" she cried.

"Do you know the way?" Legolas rationalized calmly.

Elleelen shook his head. Kasia seemed pretty self-centered, in his opinion. He wondered why she was acting like this. Princess or not, she was being very rude. His daddy had just saved her, after all, and she hadn't even thanked him.

"No," Kasia said sullenly.

"Then I should lead, for I do know the way," Legolas murmured as he started walking again.

Kasia nodded slowly, and trudged next to the taller Elf. She saw a frown on Elleelen's face, and instantly stuck her tongue out at him. Boys were annoying, in her opinion. All they wanted to do was play tricks on girls. She herself had been the victim of numerous pranks, until she had learned to fight back better than them.

Elleelen rolled his eyes. "Stop acting like a child," he said condescendingly.

"I am a child!" Kasia yelled angrily, putting her hands on her hips. "And a Princess."

"Princess or not, you ought to learn manners," Elleelen told her.

In all honesty, Kasia could not be faulted for her tendency towards arrogance. After her mother died of a fever which no human could cure, Elessar had spoiled his only child, cosseting her and giving her everything she wanted, in an attempt to make up for the loss of her mother. Though Kasia barely remembered her mother, for she had been but one when Arwen had died.

"Enough," Legolas said firmly, placing a hand on his son's shoulder.

The two almost ten-year-olds glared at each other briefly, before heeding Legolas.

The group of three walked silently for hours, until Kasia groaned aloud. She was not used to walking this like, and it was way past her bedtime. She had never spent the night in the woods, either, and bitterly did the little daughter of Elessar regret sneaking out of the castle to have an adventure. She'd had one, all right.

Legolas instantly called a halt, and found a secluded clearing for the three of them to sleep. Elleelen began spreading out the sand they used for fires, to keep the forest from catching a light, as his father gathered firewood together and kindling. With their combined efforts, a cheerful fire was lit in no time.

Kasia was shivering from cold and crept closer to the fire, wanting to get warm. She was miserable and sore, not to mention scared and hungry. She was surprised to see a gentle, understanding smile on Legolas' face, before the Elf handed her some dried meat from his pack, along with two blankets.

Legolas leaned against a tree, letting the children get their warmth from the fire. He himself did not plan on sleeping this night, especially after the encounter with the kidnappers.

Kasia ate quickly, embarrassing herself, as she gulped down the dried meat. It had been several hours since she'd last eaten. She then wrapped the blankets around her, but she couldn't sleep. She was too wary and scared to sleep, though she would never admit it.

Elleelen leaned against his father, yawning slightly. Legolas gently took out another blanket and covered his half asleep son with it. A paternal smile was on his face, as he gently tousled Elleelen's hair.

Kasia looked over at her rescuer. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered, when she realized that she had not said those words earlier.

"You're welcome. Get some rest, Kasia. It's going to take two or three days to reach Gondor," Legolas said.

"I can't sleep," she protested. Kasia sighed, and sniffled slightly, before putting her hands into the pockets of her dress. To her surprise, she found out that the piece of charcoal that she'd been using to draw earlier was still there, along with a rolled piece of parchment, even after her desperate struggles with the ones that had kidnapped her. Now, if she could just find something to draw. "Um, Legolas?" Kasia asked softly.

Legolas glanced over again from where he'd been fixing the blanket around his son, who was now sound asleep. "Yes?"

Kasia was slightly uncertain as she whispered, "Could... could I draw you? Please?"

"Sure," Legolas answered, not seeing any reason why she shouldn't. It would probably relax her enough to let her sleep. Though Legolas had to be honest with himself; first, he'd never expected to meet Elessar's daughter like this, or for Elleelen to meet his half sister. Second, he was not at all happy about going back to Gondor.

Kasia beamed, very reminiscent of Arwen. She took out the parchment and unrolled it, before removing the small charcoal piece. She bit her lower lip thoughtfully, as she first began sketching a rough outline of Legolas against the tree. Once the outline was done, Kasia slowly moved forward, to fill in some of the details of his face.

The charcoal flew across the page as she sketched for a few hours, until she was satisfied with the result. Charcoal sketching was one thing that she did really well and that Kasia enjoyed very much. Though to her artist's eyes, Legolas seemed... well sad, even when he smiled. It was written in his cerulean eyes.

While Kasia sketched him, Legolas pulled out the dark green material from his bag, a needle, and thread, and continued working on a new shirt for his son. Elleelen seemed to be getting taller every day, and was outgrowing his red shirt, as well as his leggings, he mused. When Legolas finished the shirt, he was going to start on a fresh pair of leggings, until he saw how tired Elessar's young daughter was. Legolas stopped sewing his tiny, perfect stitches, and replaced the material, thread, and needle in his bag.

Kasia yawned sleepily, finally relaxed enough go to sleep. After carefully rolling the parchment up and putting it in her pocket, she fell asleep where she was, with her blankets wrapped tightly around her. But even they didn't keep her warm.

Legolas looked up when he heard her breathing softly and saw that she was shivering. He carefully

reached out and lifted Kasia over to his other side, opposite of Elleelen. Kasia snuggled against the older, adult Elf for warmth, looking like a very young child.

Which she was, Legolas reminded himself. That was why he did not chastise her for her behavior, for Kasia had been kidnapped and would probably have been treated a lot crueler if he had not rescued her. It was natural for her to be upset about what had happened to her.

The next few days passed by with a single incident and they reached Gondor. Legolas and Elleelen hid their features with their cloaks, lest Elessar himself might see Legolas and realize who he truly was. Kasia didn't understand the need for such secrecy, but she didn't say anything, because she was happy to be home again. Though she would miss both Legolas and Elleelen, because as bad as she still thought boys were, Elleelen was pretty nice. He hadn't thrown mud at her or anything.

Gondor was a very large city. Numerous multi-colored buildings were everywhere, with different shades of blue, brown, white, and red, along with mostly black roofs, except for the castle.

Carts and stands were in the street, and many people bustled around it, searching for a particular piece of fruit or an item. The ground was smooth and easy to walk on, and the castle in the distance was lovely to behold. It was breathtaking, as always, with its numerous, sparkling spires and tiers; the rounded walls and each recess, with different shades of gray all over it.

Elleelen did send a wistful glance towards a cart with sewn, stuffed animals, before he continued following his father. Legolas kept one hand on each of the children's shoulders, as he led them directly towards the castle quickly. His hood was pulled low over his face, keeping anyone from recognizing him, though many stared, because of Legolas' obvious grace and agility.

When they reached the castle, the guards tried to prevent them from entering. Legolas was not prepared to fight them off, knowing it would only bring unwanted attention to them.

"Let me through," Kasia said angrily. "My father is the king here."

The guard stared down at her. "Little princess! Where have you been?" he cried. "Your father is out searching for you!"

"I got kidnapped. But they saved me," Kasia muttered as she gestured to Elleelen and Legolas.

"I'm sorry," the guard told the stranger in the dark gray cloak. "Please come inside; I am certain that the king will wish to thank you personally and reward you."

"I need no reward," Legolas replied. "I'm just glad that I was able to save her. I must go now, before I am late for my job."

The guard frowned. "Do you wish to insult my king?"

Legolas inclined his head. "A king surely knows that all common people have jobs that they must do to earn their living." He knelt down and placed a hand on Kasia's hair. "I would advise you to think, next time, before you sneak out of the castle."

Kasia made a face, but nodded. She definitely didn't want something like that happening again. "Goodbye," she said, after hugging Legolas tightly. "Thanks again." With that, the little girl ran into the palace, to get cleaned up.

Legolas and Elleelen silently headed out of Gondor, to continue on their journey. Legolas scooped his son up into his arms, holding him tightly. The Elf was very glad that Elessar had not been in his castle when they had arrived, or things could have been worse. But Legolas said nothing of this to his young son, who would not have understood.

Later that day, King Elessar Telcontar returned to his castle silently, with a grim look on his face. He had found no sign of his daughter anywhere, and was starting to wonder if he would ever find her, for she was nowhere to be found. She had been missing for almost four whole days now.

Kasia was his only link to Arwen now, though the years that had gone by had dulled his pain over losing her. However, Elessar knew that he would not be able to stand it if he lost Kasia as he had lost her mother. So it came as a shock to him when he returned and the guard told him that his daughter had been returned to the castle safely and was inside waiting for him in her room.

The King jumped off his horse and raced into the castle, and up the three flights of stairs to his daughter's room. He burst into the room, and saw Kasia was there, messing with a scrap of parchment. He crossed the room in three strides and hugged her tightly, blessing Elbereth.

Kasia hugged her father back and was very happy to see him. She had just finished copying the sketch she had made of Legolas onto another piece of parchment, so she could color it in. She turned back to it as soon as her father released her, and carefully colored the sketch in, giving Legolas his blond hair and blue eyes, along with that haunted look in them.

"What happened to you, my daughter? I was so worried." Elessar murmured.

Kasia sighed. "I was stupid and snuck out of the castle, only I wound up being kidnapped. Two nice Elves saved me and brought me back."

Elessar raised a dark eyebrow slightly, skeptical. There were no Elves near Gondor; if there had been, the Elves could have saved Arwen's life when she had contracted that deadly fever. "Tell me the truth, Kasia," he said sternly.

"I am telling the truth!" she cried, hurt in her grey eyes. "See?" Kasia shoved the newly colored sketch at her father. "That's who rescued me, along with Elleelen."

Elessar frowned but took the parchment, studying it carefully. He paled slightly when he saw the perfect sketch of a golden-haired Elf with azure eyes. A smile was on the Elf's perfect face, but a saddened look was in his eyes. He seemed sorrowful, even as he smiled. Though ten years had gone by, Elessar had never forgotten who this Elf was; his missing best friend. But how...why?

"Kasia, did he tell you what his name was?" Elessar questioned, wanting to be certain.

Kasia nodded. "The nice elf told me that his name was Legolas."

To be continued