Miranda stared dumbly at Aragorn. "Wha- How? What?" She frowned. "I don't understand. I thought this was unique- only a one shot deal."
"As did we, my lady, but it seems that perhaps we were mistaken. In truth, I had thought you would be more enthused about the possibility of returning home." Aragorn looked on as Miranda squirmed slightly and shrugged.
"I- it's just so, well, sudden. I hadn't expected- I thought-" She stuttered to a halt. Her mind was racing as hundreds of disjointed thoughts filled her head.
**Home! Where there are hot showers and Diet Coke! Where there's light and safety and normal stuff and friends-** Suddenly, she caught sight of Sam. He stood slightly to her left, his eyes downcast, his face sad. **How could you leave Sam?** she asked herself. A tiny voice answered, slyly, though, saying, **Well, it's not like you see him all that much anymore anyway. He's always traipsing around with Frodo, off having fun, leaving you to get your arse kicked by Leg-**
Again, her eyes shot up, this time finding Legolas. Expecting to find an anxious, perhaps even sad expression, her heart sank to see him smiling at her.
"Home, Miranda! You can go back to your own land, to your own people." His voice was even-toned and encouraging. She blinked rapidly, as tears threatened to spill. Was this the same Elf who, not twenty-four hours ago, kissed her rotten?
Dimly, she heard Aragorn saying
something about having a council in the morning to decide how to proceed in the
rescue of Arwen. She found herself being led to the dining hall by Sam. Pleading a headache, she quickly escaped to
her chamber, never turning around to see the heart-broken look finally
appearing on Legolas's face.