Chapter Three

They sat on the beach that evening together, watching the sun disappear behind the ocean and spray its colors across the skies canvas. They were sitting beside each other, almost touching. They were silent for the first time the entire day, overtaken by the works of nature that was taking place in front of them.

"You have sat on this beach with me before." Rose finally said. He slowly turned his head to her, both of their hair blowing in the winds of the changing tide.

"Many times." He answered. He looked back at the sunset, and saw the last light of the sun drop into the ocean. "I should go." He said. Rose wasn't sure what to say.

"Will you be back tomorrow?" She asked. She turned towards him as he kept his eyes on the water.

"If you would like me to."

"Yes." She said, nodding. He looked at her, and smiled. They both stood, starring at each other for a long time attempting to plan their goodbyes.

"I will see you tomorrow." He reassured her. She nodded, and they walked in opposite directions to their homes. Rose made it to her porch, and turned around. She watched until she could no longer see his outline and went inside, heading straight for her desk. She dug through the papers, knocking most of them onto the floor before reaching one of her sketches of a man. She had seen him in town, when she had eaten there. He had his face shadowed and mostly hidden under his cloak, but she could make out enough of him to sketch, and had done so right there. There was something about him that had seemed familiar, and now Rose was able to finally place the familiarity. Rose lit the lamp by the desk, clearing it off and sketching the rest of the face until the early hours of the morning.

"You have been gone all day." Legolas heard behind him and he jumped, spinning around in the halls of Elrond's house. "Did you run into trouble?"

"Arwen, you startled me." He said and they both walked into his room.

"You did not answer my question." She said.

"No, there was no trouble."

"Something has changed." She said softly, watching his movements. He stopped washing his face at the basin of water in the corner, and looked up into the mirror. "Legolas, what has changed?"

"There is so much more to her than I realized." Legolas answered, speaking into the wall. He went back to washing his hands in the water. Arwen stepped towards him.

"You spoke to her." She said in shock. Legolas turned around.

"You are jumping to conclusions."

"But I am correct." She said. "Legolas, you can not do that to her."

"She wants to see me." He said, walking to his bed.

"You know what will happen to her. Humans do not wish to be in contact with elves anymore Legolas. There is nothing you can do to change that."

"I will speak to her about it tomorrow." He said. Arwen nodded, and quietly left the room. Legolas starred at the ceiling, Rose's eyes fixated in his mind as he slowly fell asleep.

Rose awoke the next morning still sitting at the desk. The lamp was still burning and she blew it out, slowly rising to her feet and making herself breakfast. She sat on the porch to eat, watching the woods. A man on a horse appeared and she smiled, finishing her breakfast and setting the plate down. Legolas came up to the porch, and dismounted from the horse.

"It is much easier to travel here when you know I am coming." He smiled. She stood up, leading him to the small stable on the other side of the house. Legolas put the horse in the stall beside Rose's horse. Rose patted the horse's nose, which poked around looking for a treat. She smiled, nudging the horse playfully as it nudged her shoulder. Legolas watched her, a warm smile on his face. She gave the horse a kiss before turning to him.

"Kia's a character." Rose said, patting the horse. "She's protective as well. If she is within reach I am safe in town." Rose smiled.

"You are bothered in town?" Legolas asked.

"I have been bothered in town since I can remember." She said.

"You are aware that if they were to find out that I was here."

"I do not care." She said, looking him in the eyes. "Let them curse and spit like the barbarians they are. They are no concern of mine." She said, turning away and walking towards the stable doors.

"You show such anger towards them." Legolas said, staying where he was. She stopped, and turned to him.

"They have showed anger to my family because Kiyana was introduced to a smarter world. I do not have a reason to care for them."

"You have will power beyond what I've ever seen before." He said, walking and standing beside her. She smiled, and walked out of the stable with him.

"You have to if you're different."

The two of them walked to the house, and Legolas stopped as they passed the desk. He looked at the sketch, which was now the only paper on the desk. Rose walked up to him.

"This is me."

"You were in the eatery with me two months ago. You were wearing a cloak so I could not see all of your face, but you looked familiar. So I sketched what I could see. I finished it last night." She said. "You have been in my mind since I saw you."

"You did this from memory?" He asked. She nodded.

"I tend to not see things like most people." She said.

"Do you know why?" He asked. She shrugged.

"I never really wondered why." She said. "It hasn't been a big concern of mine." Legolas turned around, seeing all of the papers on the chair by the window.

"What are all of these?"

"Sketches, maps, scrolls, writings that my family has passed down through one another." She said.

"It's all in elfish." He said. Rose nodded.

"Just in case I was to have a curious visitor." She said, smirking at him. He looked at her, and took a step away from the pile.

"I'm sorry, I have been extremely rude." He said.

"I didn't mean you." She said. He picked up her journal, and she took it from his hands, walking to the desk and putting it in a drawer.

"There is so much about you." He said, walking towards her. She frowned.

"What do you mean?" She asked. He stood close to her, looking into her eyes.

"There is a light of understanding in your eyes I have never seen before." He said softly. "You are fearless. You understand so much." He brought his hand up, barely touching her face. "And yet you try to hide from your emotions." She stepped back, turning away.

"I've never had a reason to share them."

"Why is that?" He asked.

"Everyone I have ever trusted has deceived me." She said, glaring at the floor. "My mother left me. My father abandoned me. Everyone in town that I had known…" She trailed off, and went to the window. Legolas followed her, standing beside her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I will not be like them." Legolas said. "I am different than they were."

"How?" Rose whispered, turning to him. "Besides the obvious, how? You barely know who I am. If you were to get to know me, I'm afraid…" She stopped, looking down. He pushed her chin up so she was looking into his eyes again.

"Afraid of what?" He asked, trying to search her eyes for the answer. She walked away from him.

"Forget it. Forget I said anything."

They spent the next few days together, nearly forgetting the episode that had taken place in her house earlier. They talked frequently, and she never seemed to tire hearing about the land and lives of the elves. He told her everything she asked, from what the color of the walls inside the homes were to the complete story of The Ring. They always looked into one another's eyes when they spoke, trying to understand everything they could about the other.

"I need to go into town tomorrow." She said. "I probably won't be home at all."

"Would you like me to come with you?" He asked.

"I have been alone every time I have gone into town. People will become suspicious. As much as I wish to tell them the truth, I would like to keep my life as long as possible." She said, slightly smirking.

"They will take your life?" He asked.

"If I'm caught." She said. "It doesn't bother me, but I don't want to walk into their trap." She said. He nodded. She looked at the sun as it barely touched the water. "You should probably go. It's getting late."

"Perhaps I should." He said, and squeezed her hand. "I will see you in two days?"

"Of course." She said, and walked with him to the stable.

"Be careful in town." He said to her, looking at her with concern.

"I always am." She replied. "Good bye Legolas."

"Good bye." He said, and rode away from the stable. Rose watched him go before walking back down to the beach, sitting in the sand and starring up at the stars, trying to sort through her jumbled emotions. She knew in her heart she was beginning to fall in love with him, but she was afraid that the walls around her heart were too strong to be broken. In a sense she wanted them to remain, and in another she wised for him to knock them all down and rescue her from herself. It had been since her mother that she had looked upon someone adoringly, and it terrified her. She was forcing herself to not let her emotions shine through, but with each passing moment that his eyes searched into her soul the strain of hiding grew, and she longed for the comfort of having nothing to hide. Once she was too exhausted to think anymore she relocated back into her house, lying in her bed and falling into a deep heavy sleep.

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