Disclaimer: LotR original characters belong to the master J.R.R. Tolkien and the other characters belong to me… this fic is just a work of a female fan… nothing else

Author's Notes: This chapter is for Tara B., and akira, who were kind enough to point something out for me… thanks a lot for that vital info…

About the thing I declared at the end of chapter four… I'm really sorry for it… my bad! My bad! For those who read that thing, sorry… for those who did not, I'm glad that you won't be able to see where I blundered badly… I'll correct it now before it actually spreads further… legolas is WAY younger than elrond… just for the real fact… tara pointed out that there might've been another legolas greenleaf in middle earth that came around in the first age before elrond's father… and that legolas (the legolas… the archer that plays the lead character in this fic) is born in the third age, and not at all at the first age, which I thought so after coming across those parts from The Book of Lost Tales 2… anyway… at least that mishap I created was cleared early or I could have started something real big…

Thanks tara and akira… this chapter's for you…

On Green Leaves and Blue Waters

By: nagi_silvermoon

Chapter 4 Ripples

"Why are you here, Raellyth?" Elladan demanded.

She could feel all four pairs of eyes staring at her. Her face flushed a deep shade of red. Thoroughly embarrassed, she fixed her eyes on the floor, willing it to open up and swallow her whole.

"Speak!" Elladan commanded.

Raellyth cringed slightly, fearing the authority in the voice of the elf.

"I-I …"

She tried to obey the elf, but she was faltering. She felt her hands trembling as she clung on to the pot she brought with her.

"I-"

"I asked her to come here, brother." Arwen stood up, bailing for Raellyth. She crossed the room in perfectly even strides towards the latter. Placing an arm protectively over the shoulders of Sethron's daughter, she faced her older brother with a regal bearing. "If you are to question her, you will have to question me first."

Elladan seemed to doubt his sister. He regarded her with a queer stare, studying her face for any signs that will confirm his doubts. When he found none, he turned away to face the elf prince.

"I'll discuss the matter with my father," he told Legolas.

The latter tried to sit up from his bed in protest, but Elladan glared at him, making him stop.

"He might know what to do. For the meantime, try your best to get well soon. I'll see you again, my friend." He nodded curtly. Then left the room.

Elrohir looked at the three remaining people in the room, questioning them with his expression of uncertainty. The other three, however, gave him vague looks. He sighed in defeat, removing himself from the wall of the room.

"I'll follow him," he announced, "just in case he might spill something unpleasant to father."

Arwen nodded in response, letting her thin arm fall from Raellyth's shoulders.

"Tell me what they have discussed later, brother," she said, following her brother towards the door. "I'm eager on what father will say."

Elrohir nodded, kissed her on the forehead, and left the room completely.

Silence reigned for a few minutes before Arwen motioned for Raellyth to go towards Legolas.

"You better treat his wounds," she said finally, her voice sounded almost as if she was exhausted because of the heated discussion earlier. "He might do something reckless, and I don't want to regret anything if something does happen."

Legolas glowered at her for her remark, but the elf maiden ignored him completely. Calming his nerves, he settled back by the soft pillows on his bed and rested.

"I'll just be in my room if you need anything, Raellyth," she said. "Rest, elf prince." Without waiting for a reply from either of the two, Arwen departed from the room towards her own.

Raellyth stared at the door, dumbfounded by everything that happened ever since she barged in the room. She kept on contemplating, absorbing everything into her systems, when the elf prince snapped her back to reality.

"Alas, peace and quiet."

Raellyth twirled and faced Legolas, who was now looking out of the window facing the exquisite gardens of Elrond's house.

The elf looked calm. His golden locks of hair were gleaming platinum in the moonlight, his fair face without any traces of worry, his deep brown eyes filled with unexpressed admiration for the scenery he was watching, and his thin lips pursed into a very small smile.

Raellyth found herself staring at him. Her heart was beating faster, and her hands trembling. She almost felt herself lapsing into a dream world when the elf prince snapped her back again into reality. It only took one penetrating look from him, and Raellyth woke up as if she had been doused by cold water early in the morning.

"Do you always stare?" He asked. His voice was cool, even, and with a hint of regal authority in it.

She shook her head wildly in defense. "No," she replied, almost hurt by what he said. "I don't. It's rude."

Legolas nodded in understanding, making Raellyth think that the worse was over. But when she felt her cheeks burn pink, she thought otherwise.

Slowly, she approached the prince's bedside, and in a matter of moments, she was already treating his arrow wound. She never, not even once, looked at him straight in the eye. She didn't have the guts to do so. But when she was treating the wound, she somehow felt that his were on her, watching her work intently.

When she was already patching the wound up with a bit of cloth, Legolas broke the barrier that separated them, reaching her by asking questions out of his own curiosity.

"What's your name?"

Raellyth looked up, surprised as to being addressed. She looked down again quickly, and replied in a very soft voice. "Raellyth. Raellyth Bluewater."

"Raellyth…" He repeated as if tasting new food and letting it linger in his mouth. "It's a nice name."

Not knowing what else to reply, she just kept on looking down and uttered an almost inaudible "Thank you."

"Raellyth?" He repeated again. "How much have you heard?" He asked.

"If you started with talking about threats then that's how much I have heard," she replied a bit abruptly, tying a knot on the cloth.

"Do you always eavesdrop?" He asked seriously, not noticing the hint of sarcasm that leaked.

She glared at the elf, her face burning red. She never felt so angry in her whole life. An elf she just met accused her of staring and eavesdropping. She felt her temples pound and her nerves palpitate.

"No!" She defended herself. "I don't."

She was fuming mad. One more remark from him will make her explode. Once that started, there is no room for escape, especially if the victim is still recuperating. Deciding quickly and reasonably that she wasn't in the mood for any physical violence, she started to counter him off before he could say another word.

"And if you are going to ask if I'm a blabbermouth," she continued. "The answer is a big fat 'no'! I'm not the type who tells others things. Everything that you folks were discussing here will remain here. It won't leak out. Not at all."

She did not realize that she was already standing up with a finger pointed at him. Legolas, on the other hand, just locked gazes with her cerulean eyes, indifferent with what she said. He just stared at her with nothing, not even a single emotion or sarcasm, in his expression.

"I trust you."

He uttered these three words in a firm but gentle voice. It sounded so sincere that it caught the maiden completely off-guard.

"I trust you, Raellyth." He repeated.

"You do?" She asked, uncertainty roaming at the back of her mind.

"I do."

"Why?" She choked at the word.

"Because you said you won't tell anyone."

It was reasonable enough, but too trusting for an elf she just met. She was touched. Nobody would trust another individual immediately, especially if they are strangers. The prince was taking a risk filled with uncertainties. But he jumped right into it without hesitation.

Slowly, she sat down on the floor, locking gazes with his brown eyes, not letting it go.

To be continued

Author's Notes: well… chapter 4… there you have it… I'm sorry if it is a bit late… I have loads of schoolwork and I lost my internet connection… but at least I got to finish this chapter in a few hours… that's like working a lot…

How was it, by the way??? Is it too cheesy or too fast???