Disclaimer: Trust me, J.R.R Tolkien is the genius. I'm more of a groupie. Lines from the book are intermingled with the story, but I claim no profit nor ownership.

Author notes: As always I want to thank my reviewers who always make my day happier. Now for the basics: English is my second language so I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes. The elvish is the way I believe it to be and most likely mistaken. The language I've been using so far has been Sindarin, but in this chapter Galadriel speaks in Quenya with Legolas.

Master in Deceiving
By Yours Truly

The hall into which one by one the fellowship arrived to was a talan of such large dimensions it could have been a hall of men upon the ground. Surrounded by soft lights and golden hues sat many elves, but it was two in particular, sitting side by side beneath the bole of the tree and canopied by a living bough, that were the focus of attention. Celeborn and Galadriel. Elven lords of Old, they were a regal vision; very tall they were and they were grave and beautiful. Wholly clad in white, they both stood to meet their guests, the hair of Galadriel a rich gold in contrast to the Lord's long silver locks. Youthful were their faces, until you met the wise eyes that studied the travellers; eyes that had seen millenia pass them by.

Haldir led Frodo before them, and the Lord welcomed him in his own tongue. The Lady Galadriel said no word but looked long upon his face. Celeborn in turn welcomed Aragorn, and Legolas, and Gimli, and the rest of the fellowship with words of peace and friendship. However cordual the welcome, it so happened that none in the company of eight travellers felt worthy of such treatmeant amongst these Lords of the realm.

//I don't even deserve to stand with the fellowship. How dare I stand here? What will they see in me?// Legolas' thought raced uncontrollably as his features remained serene and his stance content. The Elves around them gave him glances and courteous nods which he returned, duties of royalty much simpler than those of the fellowship he no longer felt part to.

"Here there are eight," Celeborn said when greetings had been exchanged, and the words cut through Legolas thoughts like a blade. His heart fluttered in his chest as he thought of Gandalf, and he could barely hear the words pronounced next. "Nine were to set out: so said the messages. But maybe there has been some change of counsel that we have not heard..."

//They know what you did; they must know what you did.// Legolas' thoughts whispered like mantra, and the prince almost let his eyes fall shut as if to block them out. Tales he'd heard in Rivendell and Mirkwood of the power of Galadriel left little doubt in him that his deeds were known. //I'll be disgraced//

When the Lady's eyes came to rest upon him, Legolas put all his focus onto the words of the Lord, managing to even block his thoughts through sheer determination. He stood tall and serious, a mere child in these Lords' presence, yet pretending quite astoundingly that he was serene and unaware of Galadriel's searching gaze.

//Mithrandir fell// He let himself think, words bleeding with the sorrow that Legolas could not supress. //Our dear Mithrandir has fallen, earlier in our quest.//

It seemed enough, succinct an insight as it was, and the Lady's gaze moved away from Legolas, allowing him to breathe freely once again. He tried, yet failed, to supress the thoughts that then arose, unbidden.

//Mithrandir fell, you say? Why, of course he did, little prince. He fell into darkness and death, shadow and pain. He fell into the depthless abyss because you were afraid to stand and fight your way through Moria. You were afraid of dark passagges and ancient hatreds. You feared the Balrog, and Mithrandir did not. And now, now here you stand, afraid even of the consequences of cowardly choices. Mithrandir is dead and you fret over what the Lord and the Lady will say, proud warrior of the Wood Elves.//

"Nay, there was no change of counsel," said the Lady Galadriel speaking for the first time. Her voice was clear and musical, but deeper than woman's wont. "Gandalf the Grey set out with the Company, but he did not pass the borders of this land. Now tell us where he is; for I much desired to speak with him again."

//Tell her// Legolas thought, feeling his heart clench in his chest. //I must tell her//

"…the ways of his feet and of his mind are hidden from me." Galadriel finished, her eyes back on the Mirkwood prince. She inquired to him, directly, but Legolas looked to his friends and not at her knowing eyes, shame clouding his mind.

//Tell her, you coward. It remains your duty to inform her of what you have done//

Legolas opened his mouth, at long last, yet the voice that offered the words was not his.

"'Alas!" said Aragorn. "Gandalf the Grey fell into shadow. He remained in Moria and did not escape."

Grey eyes met his among the dismayed cries the news provoked from the assembled Elves yet Legolas was fast to look away from Aragorn's gaze. He did not wish to see the disgust there, the anger his former friend must have harboured for him. Thus, he missed seeing and recognizing the fleeting look of gentle worry the mortal rested upon him.

//Do you plan on holding your silence once more? Repeat what happened in Moria, perhaps? Too cowardly to tell the Lady of your foul actions. You do nothing, Legolas, but prove yourself unworthy of your title, of your race. Unworthy even to live in such dark times.//

It was then that Legolas heard Celeborn's voice rise above the others, questioning Haldir in the Elven tongue how come such dire news had not been previously given to the Lords of the realm. Invaded by memories of the night before, Legolas broke his quietness to defend the one that had not betrayed his confidence.

"We have not spoken to Haldir of our deeds or our purpose," said Legolas firmly, struggling to sound respecful through the fear haunting his thoughts. "At first we were weary and danger was too close behind and afterwards we almost forgot our grief for a time, as we walked in gladness on the fair paths of Lórien."

Haldir turned his eyes to the prince, calm acceptance in the look, which Legolas met for an instant and acknowledged faintly before turning away. Lost in his thoughts, the Elven prince barely heard as Frodo told the Lords that grief was still upon them and Aragorn began telling the whole story.

//Aragorn tells the tale everyone believes to be the whole one,// His voice hissed in his thoughts and Legolas clenched one of his fists before realizing what he did. //Are you not going to intervene? Should you not step up to claim your fault on Gandalf's demise?//

He sighed softly to himself, thinking of the way to phrase the happenings in Moria, but there were no words to explain the call of darkness Legolas had heard while there. Looking into the weary faces of his companions, Legolas found he could not find it in himself to give voice to the folly that would forever mark him as the enemy in their esteem.

"It was a Balrog of Morgoth," the prince heard his voice explain, and only then did he notice he had been paying some attention to the dialogue around him. He proceeded to mention meaningless details about about it being the most deathly elf-bane, but he was not sure of what words left his lips. His thoughts were scattered once again and Legolas felt tired- exhausted - as he tried to make sense of it all.

More words were spoken but he heard none of them. Images and scrambled thoughts washed over him suddenly like a wave, as if someone had triggered them. The council of Elrond flased before his eyes, and Legolas could hear his own voice pledging his bow to the quest. He could see his father in Mirkwood, then glimses of the faces of every single one of the fellowship. The most vivid out of them was the face that now haunted his every moment.

//Gandalf. Mithrandir. The one you murdered//

Soon Legolas came to realize that Galadriel was looking into each face, studying each of his companions in turn. He remembered the tales of this Lady, the warnings his father had once voiced when it came to her power. He stood tall then, meeting her eyes when they fell upon his and braced himself for what he knew was about to come.

((Asta Legolas, car lya mer estë?)) Galadriel's voice asked softly, her tone deceptively mild. (Brave Legolas, do you wish to rest?)

((Nay, Ñaltariel vanimalda)) (Nay, beautiful Galadriel) He answered concicely, inclining his head in respect. He was surprised, in some distant corner of his thoughts with how easy it was to communicate with her in this manner, but the thought was discarded when her voice returned.

((Car lya mer guineth?)) She called then, and even if the question struck him deeply, Legolas did not hesitate to answer. It was time to face the consequences. (Do you wish to live?)

((Nay, Ñaltariel vanimalda)) He admitted with less confidence than before. He did not dare look away from her gaze.

Galadriel paused in her line of questioning, giving him a small smile that eased his heart some, for the intensity of her eyes lessened slightly. ((Yallumë, i thenin)) (Finally, the truth)

((Ring quetta. Heri quet llo cait)) (Cold words. The Lady speaks of lies) Legolas thought, unable to supress the rise of his defenses. He felt his shoulders tense, but he didn't shift his stance. His face remained impassive and serene to any who would study it on a surface level.

((Ion a Thranduil, lya auta au i thenin. Aica vanda lya car)) (Son of Thranduil, you run from the truth. Terrible is the promise you made) Galadriel's voice was gentle, and Legolas couldn't hear in it any sort of reprimand. She was soothing him, trying to help him. He couldn't understand how it could be. How could he not hear her displeasure with his deeds? Did she not know of Moria? Could she not read him?

((Alquen Heri, lya ista man n care?)) (Noble Lady, do you know what I did?) He dared to ask after a pause, noting her probe on his mind seemed to increase for a few seconds, as if she searched for something further she had yet to see. Legolas wondered if she truly had not seen it thus far.

((Tancave)) She answered levelly, and the shame that washed over the younger Elf was almost enough to make him falter and look away. He did not, in the end, feeling her link with him as if it were physical comfort. ((Li an ilyë. An Mithrandir)) She added softly, confident in her Vision. (Yes. Much for everyone. For Mithrandir)

She didn't understand. Frustrated, Legolas braced himself, bringing to the forth of his thoughts the weight of his guilt. The tangled images of Moria's darkness and its call. He forcibly remembered Gandal's fall, his own paralysis. He let the truth shine from his mind, trying to read the hatred he was sure would rise upon her eyes. But there was none to be read. Her link to him remained strong. It almost seemed as if she were pushing the images away, as if she discarded his thoughts as he stared at her and tried to come up with the words to explain.

((Tancave)) He conceeded at last, a bitter edge in the word. ((N auta yello llo i anon ar col ana nya melda dil Istar)) (Yes. I ignored the call of the Great Door of Moria and it took my dear friend Istari)

Galadriel seemed unperturbed by the words, as if it were news she'd heard long ago. Legolas didn't understand her reaction. surely, his guilt was plain in her wise perspective. Surely she was free to judge his actions. Why comfort him if she truly knew?

((I wish to show you something, Prince Legolas)) Galadriel entoned with finality after another pause of contemplation. Her voice was harder upon the words, almost severe. Perhaps she had, after all, seen it all. ((I shall find you later))

Legolas felt a cold feeling in his breast, like something being taken away, and then the link was severed. He was once again left alone with his thoughts.

//She doesn't understand.// He thought despairingly, feeling bereft //When she does, she will despise you. She will ban you from the quest, send you back to face your father with the true weight of your failures. You have disgraced your family, and you have murdered your friend…//

Legolas never noticed Aragorn's gaze rest on him and did not see understanding that shone from it.

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+ Ñaltariel: Galadriel's true name in Quenya. She has names in Telerin, Sindarin, and Quenya. Being her must be almost as confusing as being Aragorn.
+ thenin: Is truth in sindar. I couldn't find the Quenya word for it.