**A/N: Finally, chapter six! Hope you're all liking this so far, and keep on reviewing! Even a little, tiny small one. If I don't get enough feedback on this story I just might decide to abandon it and start up my other one.**

Legolas and Raneth lay in hiding in the darkness under the bed, covered by Legolas's cloak. They could sense the searching eyes of the man wandering over them and their ears caught the sound of his deep breathing. The moment lasted for only a few seconds, but to the hiding elves it felt more like hours. At last, the man stood up, satisfied that he hadn't found anything worthwhile.

Raneth let out a barely audible sigh of relief, thankful that the man had not seen them. She turned her head towards Legolas, giving him a slight nod of her head to as though to acknowledge his quick thinking of covering both of them with his cloak. He peeked out from underneath his cloak and saw that the room was now even messier than before, with papers covering the entire area of the floor. The men seemed to have given up searching the room and were now gathered in a circle at the far end of the room, discussing what they were going to do.

"That good for nothing rat probably sold the map to someone else already," said a low, raspy voice, "there is nothing more that we can do here."

"The Master will not be pleased by this news, that map was crucial to his plans. What will he do when he finds out we have failed?" asked another man fearfully.

"He doesn't have to know what happened. All we must do is find whoever is in possession of it now and take it from them. There will be no more useless negotiating, whoever has it will give it to us for free, or else we shall have to take it by force," replied the same raspy voice as before, "Let us go now, there is not much time before the Master will begin to suspect something." The men left the room as quickly as they had arrived, their boots falling heavily upon the wooden floorboards.

Raneth and Legolas stayed under the bed until the sounds of the footsteps had descended the stairs. They slid out from under the bed, standing in the now dark and silent room with the murdered man still slumped on the floor, lying in slowly growing pool of dark blood. Raneth walked over to the edge of the window, her feet making no sound as they stepped lightly over the papers on the floor, and leaned on one side against the wall. She gazed out on to the quiet street outside, still holding the folded map in her hands.

"I suppose that it is for the better that men do not have highly developed senses after all," said Legolas with a trace of a smile on his face, as he walked over to the opposite edge of the window to face Raneth. She gave a small laugh at his comment and looked up to meet his eyes.

"That always proves to be an advantage for me in this business," she told him with a trace of amusement in her voice. Looking down at the map in her hands she said, "I did not know that there were others who were after this, though now that I think of it, I am not surprised by this."

"I am glad that it did not fall into their hands. There is a growing evil in the south of Mirkwood, and rumours say that Sauron has returned along with his dark servants," he told her, turning serious, "I worry that he may be planning an attack on the realm of the elves there, the last safe place in all of Mirkwood. You will not let the enemy gain possession of that map, will you? "

"I cannot say who will be the one to possess it later on. All I know is that someone requested me to find it and return it to them, for a very high price I might add. As for the fate of the Mirkwood elves, it is of little concern to me," she said to him, returning to her cold, professional demeanour.

"How can you care so little for the others of your own race?" he asked angrily, taking a step towards her.

"My own race? No Legolas, I can barely be considered an elf anymore. I do not live as one, and even if I wished to, there is no home or family for me to return to," she told him bitterly.

"If you have no home, I am sure any of the other elves would take you in to live among them," he pointed out.

"I do not search for the pity of others," she answered immediately, then asked, "Why do you care so much about the elves of Mirkwood?" Their eyes met and she held his steady gaze, waiting for a reply. Legolas decided he might as well tell her the truth since there was no point in hiding it from her.

"It is because that is where I live and where my father rules as King," he said, "and if it is in my power, then I will do all I can to prevent an attack." Raneth's eyes widened, giving away her shock at hearing this. She crossed her arms, casting her eyes downward for a few seconds before looking back up.

"Name your price," she said bluntly.

"What do you mean?" asked Legolas in obvious confusion.

"What would you pay me if I were to give this to you?" she explained to him.

"Anything, anything you demand," he replied, completely caught off guard by her new suggestion.

"It must be higher than the other offer I received, much higher. If I do this, I will no doubt be hunted for my betrayal," she said, "I will not be able to work anywhere close to here for a very long time after this, therefore I need to be assured that whatever you pay me is enough to last for the next several years."

"Yes, of course. But I cannot give you anything right now as I have nothing with me," he told her, though seeing the look on her face he quickly added, "If you were to come with me, back to Mirkwood, my father would give you anything for helping to prevent an attack on his realm. I promise that price he would pay you for the map would be more than anything else you could have received for it."

Raneth thought of this for a moment, then said, "Very well, I will go to Mirkwood with you. But we must go quickly before anyone finds out what I am doing and starts coming after me." Legolas was brimming with relief and joy at her agreement that he would have embraced her had it not been for the grimness on her face. Instead he nodded in understanding and made for the door of the room. They left the inn without arousing any attention from the other men there and went to their horses.

They mounted their steeds in silence and left the town hurriedly, riding northwards over the lonely plains of Rohan, with only the moon and countless stars lighting their way.

**A/N: Review, folks! There, I've said it and I'll say it again. Review, review, review!

And for the hell of it……….Review!**