I'm so sorry for the wait. Things happened and I needed to take care of them. But I'm back and with a chapter. It's not much, but for now you'll have something to think on and I'll get the next chapter, which will be very important, up as soon as possible.




It was the strangest feeling she's ever felt. She knew who the warm body belonged to beside her, but she was too confused to turn around and return the same, loving feeling. Maybe she was avoiding him, she hadn't really noticed, except when he murmured her name.

She couldn't reply. Her voice was dry and her mind was whirling back to when she was a child, her father teaching her new things like Legolas had just taught her. The new things she's never experienced before, and she hated comparing the one she love to the one she loved. It was almost like a sin, and she hated herself for that. She didn't and doesn't deserve a good father like her own.

She stuffed the soft cloth of the pillow in her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut. She wouldn't cry now, not here.

It was too late for all that.

"Lara?" His voice was so full of love and concern. She stuffed the cloth deeper into her mouth. "Lara, what's wrong?"

No more questions, she pleaded with him silently. It was way too hard on her and it took all the will inside her not to turn around and start pounding the truth into his thick skull. When he shifted on his elbows she froze and the same butterflies returned into her stomach and lurched around there uninvited. No more questions!

"You aren't feeling well, are you?" He asked.

Lara roughly shook her head and curled her legs closer to her chest. She heard the deep sigh coming from Legolas and she slowly spat the cloth from her mouth and sat up, her back now to him. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and froze when his fingers ran along her shoulders. She shuddered.

"N-No, I feel fine." She lied.

Another sigh. "Is it because of Gandalf? I am grieving too, but we mustn't let that interfere with what we have to do."

"Legolas?" She suddenly asked, a question suddenly popping into her head.

"Yes, melamin?" He kissed her shoulder and she jerked it away gently.

"What do we really have to do? I mean, it's not exactly we anymore."

"What do you mean? Of course it is."

"No." She turned her head slightly so she could barely see the outline of his thigh. "It can't be a we anymore. I forbid it."

"You can't say that." His voice grew deeper and he moved closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I forbid it."

She sighed. He was being stubborn again and the guilty feeling she was feeling a few minutes ago suddenly vanished and she grew extremely angry. Why couldn't he understand what she meant? He was suppose to! He promised to her that he would, and now he's going against her word? No, she wouldn't allow it. She forbids it.

Lara suddenly laughed bitterly. "You always were a stubborn, funny person Legolas. But I must get this off my chest. I'm going to ignore you for now on, so that we drift away and I can continue with what I have to do. Unless, of course, you would like to stop me--."

"Maybe I will do just that." Legolas hissed, throwing back his arms. "But I'm not going to let you get away with this--."

"Lara?" Someone shouted from below the tree.

Lara quickly got up, not bothering to wrap the sheet around her and leaned against the open window. Legolas made sounds of protest, but Lara waved him off and grinned down at a pacing body that belonged to Merry. She felt Legolas creep beside her, trying to bring her back to the sheets, but she threw back her arm angrily and looked back down at the calling Hobbit.

"You do know it's rude to wake the sleeping?" She called down and Pippin suddenly appeared beside Merry.

"Oi!" Pippin cried. "What are you doing way up there? Shouldn't you be under those big trees with the rest of us?"

"Yes. You can't always get leisure." Merry hopped onto a log and patted the bark of the tree they were in. "How do you get up there anyway?"

"Tell them not to come up!" Legolas hissed, who quickly grabbed the sheets and pulled himself and Lara underneath them. "They will see me up here and get the wrong idea!"

"And where is the problem in that? It shouldn't matter." Lara threw the sheets off of Legolas and moved her hair from her face. "They won't mind anyway, they'd probably fancy seeing me naked rather than a prissy Elf who has his buns too tight."

Legolas looked taken aback, but after a moment he took a step forwards. He went to the window to see where the two Hobbits were when loud footsteps thudded against the tree place. Legolas gasped and turned to Lara, who stood where she was with a grin on her face. Legolas did not hesitate as he leapt out from the window and landed, speeding off once he touched the soft ground.

The door swung open and Merry walked in, Pippin at his side. When they spotted Lara, who still had the sheets draped over the front of her body, they quickly blushed and turned away. Pippin gazed at her longingly before Merry nudged him in the side.

"We didn't know you slept... like that." Merry said rather quickly, pointing a finger at Lara.

"Now we understand why you slept here." Pippin said, not hiding his face any longer. "Nice place too, eh Merry? Oh come off it mate, just don't look at the naked woman in front of us. It's nothing you haven't seen before--."

"Pippin!" Merry shouted, and Lara laughed.

"Oh really?" She teased.

"Let's get to the reason why we came here in the first place," Merry snapped, who still was blushing and trying to avoid Lara's eyes.

"What's wrong?" Lara asked, the grin swapped from her face. "Is it about... Gandalf?"

"No." Pippin choked out, leaning against the door frame. "It's about Frodo."

"Yea," Merry said, his voice seemingly calmer. "It is about Frodo. He's- he's gone mad."

"What is he doing?" She glanced out of the window and quickly looked back. "Is it the Ring?"

"And your possession, miss." Pippin said. "He's tried and steal it, that's what. Good old Boromir caught the poor chap before he did something drastic. The Lady said the possessions are safe here just for awhile. We have to leave soon."

"Just like in Rivendell." Lara sighed, turning out the window again and watched the leaves fall from the tree. "Am I wanted anywhere?"

"Yes, Aragorn is getting annoyed with you lately." Merry told her. "Said you are running off too much. With Legolas."

"I've been sleeping, actually." Lara snapped. "And it's only been three days. I was exhausted- Don't you go telling anybody I've said that." She added hastily.

Pippin grinned. "I don't have a big mouth, do I Merry?"

Merry rolled his eyes and groaned.