My goodness, I'm fast with these. Not to post them, but write them! Wonder when that's gonna change. =o)

Please Review!

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

With each mile two things happened to Ithiel. She got more and more excited to see Mirkwood and she missed Haldir with each step. In her state of mixed emotions, she failed to see the man standing against a tree. It was Darenwa who noticed him first, neighing softly, throwing her head. With a startled cry, more due to Darenwas sudden dance then by seeing him, Ithiel grabbed the reins tightly and stared down at him.

His head was tilted to the side and he leant on a metal tipped spear that reached two feet over his head. Even if his hair - silver grey - was cut short, she still missed his ears the first time. Pointed. Elfkind.

He was not threatening in any way, but she was alone and if she screamed, no one would come to her rescue. What confused her the most about him was his hair. All the elves she had ever met was long haired with braids or likewise. His hair was grown only inches from his scalp. And the color?

' Who are you?'

Frowning at her, she wondered if he had not heard her, but when he snickered silently and offered her his hand to help her down, she got suspicious.

' I am fine up here, thank you.'

' It is straining my neck to look at you when you are sitting up there.' His voice was powerful, tainted by an accent she had never heard before. Letting him grasp her hand for support, she climbed down and immediately pressed herself against Darenwas warm flank. ' That is better.'

He was taller than her, but not by much, his eyes grey and with an intensity that caused her to shiver. They almost looked dead. But only almost, considering he had a playful smile on his lips that gave off a very positive vibe. His face was as smooth and perfect as any elves, though the lines possessed a sort of roughness that somehow reminded her of the Rangers. His hands - why did she notice his hands? - was large and strong, with many scars trailing down from his arms. He still held her hand and she felt it tingle, not the electrical shock she had gotten from Haldir, but still very intensive. All in all, he looked common in a very stunning way.

' You never answered my question.'

' Keyn. Who are you?'

' Ithiel.' His smile broadened and he bowed his head. She felt herself smile back and to her great dismay, blushing under his survey.

' I apologize', he said, his voice dropping to a hoarse whisper that caused her to shiver for other reasons. ' I did not mean to stare. It is rare that I see someone as beautiful as you.'

He was not very good at apologizing, when all he did was to embarrass her further.

' I am heading for Mirkwood', she said for no particular reason. Maybe she wanted him to continue to talk. Keyn coughed to hide his chuckle.

' From where are you going', he asked, releasing her hand and motioned for her to walk.

' I set off from Gondor.'

This time he burst out laughing so loud, Ithiel stopped and stared. He soon controlled himself and cleared his throat.

' I am afraid you have gotten a little bit lost.

***

Tapping his fingers against the armrest of his throne, Celeborn looked out over the Caras Caladhon. He was restless to the point of insanity. There had been no word from Haldir for days now and he even considered asking - ordering - Galadriel to send him a message. That only proved how desperate he was. Haldir was competent enough to handle this on his own, though he liked to have things under personal control.

He looked down at Nenya on his hand, caressing the fine silver worked ring, feeling her power flow through him. He felt it love him, and he loved her back. He and the Ring had a secret alliance. Galadriel had never understood Nenyas needs for power but he did, and he shared it. They were equals. He helped her, because she helped him.

' Sire', he heard a voice say below him and he diverted his gaze on the elf before him. ' A messenger has arrived.'

' Yes?'

' From Rivendell, Sire.'

Celeborn could not hide the content smile as he waited for the messenger. Could it be so that Elrond had finally made up his mind?

When the messenger arrived, he fell to one knee, head bent down as he raised the letter for Celeborn to grasp. The action spoke of inferiority, something that none of Elronds messengers had ever done before. Not even before Galadriel. Pleased by the feeling of being superior, Celeborn took the letter and broke the silvered oak leafed seal.

King Celeborn

Though have no intentions of making this official, my reluctance of the war shall be pretended and of no hindrance to your actions. But I have realized that I might have been misled. I hope for a continued collaboration between our realms. On all levels.

Elrond

Though it was unlike Elrond to simply sign his name, Celeborn gave it little if no thought. What interested him was the rest. Did this mean that Elrond was willing to assist him? Nenya reminded him of their shared past and convinced him that Elrond was incapable of deceit.

' Could there finally be a last joint effort against Men?'

The thought of the three remaining Elf Kings, marching for a world of freedom almost brought him to tears. All that he had hoped for may lay at his feet. Dismissing the messenger, he rose from the throne and strode down the winding stairs to Galadriels room. Two Marchwardens stood guard outside and when they saw him, they bowed deeply. Without paying them any attention, he pushed the curtain away and let it drop behind him. The pale sunlight that peeked though the leaves gave Galadriels face a greenish tone, almost magical. As she turned her head to face him, his reluctant love for her seeped through the barrier Nenya had built and into his heart. Gently stroking her disarrayed hair from her eyes, Celeborn sat himself down on her bed.

' I really wish you could understand why I do this. I want you at my side.'

Her pale blue eyes met his and he saw the tears forming.

' I wish I did too, but I can never understand. Never.'

***

The three young hobbits had not been allowed into Bilbos room for almost the entire afternoon because the old man needed his rest. But when they got to the point where none of them could sit still and even Frodo was eager to ask about the spy, they snuck though the corridors to Bilbos room.

Without knocking, only cracking the door open enough to peek in, Frodo tried to see if anyone was in the room. It was so silent in there that Frodo even wondered if Bilbo was in there. He mutely called for Merrys and Pippins attention and opened the door so they could get inside.

" You stand guard", Frodo said to Pippin who glared indignantly but positioned himself by the door. Merry and Frodo continued up to the large bed and poked at Bilbos large foot that was uncovered by the blankets. The old hobbit kicked in his sleep and muttered something that Frodo hoped he would never hear his uncle say again. Merry kept poking while Frodo tried to wake Bilbo up by talking.

" Bilbo", he hissed sharply, getting no reaction from his uncle. " Bilbo!" he tried again, louder this time, getting a stir and a flailing hand. " Bil…!!"

" Will you be quiet?", Bilbo answered, turning his back to Frodo and hiding his foot where Merry could not reach it. " I am trying to sleep."

" You have slept all day, Bilbo", Frodo stated and hopped up on the bed. Bilbo groaned and rolled back.

" What do you want?"
" Is it true that there is a spy in Elronds house?"

Making a sound that was difficult to interpret, Bilbo closed his eyes.

" I know nothing of the matter", he said, yawning so big his jaws snapped. Merry hung his head, pouting slightly. Even Frodo felt disappointed. Bilbo went back to sleep almost instantly and the young hobbit jumped down from the bed.

" So much for this excursion."

" Schhh!" Pippin let go of the door and hid behind it, Frodo and Merry crawled in under the bed. Echoing steps could be heard outside the door and when they were sure the person in question was gone, they jumped out from their hidings.

" Who was it?"

Pippin shrugged and resumed guard at the door. " I only saw someone coming, he was dressed in black."

" Can you be sure it was a man?"

" Would a woman walk like that? No, only men walk that loud."

" So it was a Man?"

Pippin shook his head. " No, elf. Too skinny to be a Man."

" Elves do not make noises like that."

" Yes, they can", Frodo said, getting a flashback. " Glorfindel does."

***

Pushing himself away from the bedside, Haldir stared into the wall. Legolas wanted to say something, intelligent or otherwise, but could find nothing.

' Oh', was all he could manage and Haldir nodded.

' Yes, so much for a friend.'

It was just then that Legolas realized that Aragorn was not the only one with lots on his mind. If there was something that Haldir never spoke about, it was his personal feelings. Ever time he was asked about it, he either got mad or simply turned it against you. Legolas knew how to keep his emotion hidden, closed in and undetectable, even from other elves though he rarely practised it, he should not be surprised that Haldir knew that same trick.

' Haldir, I do not hate you.'

' You should.'

' I apologize, but I cannot do that.'

Looking over his shoulder, Haldir rubbed his temples. ' Even if I make it an order?'

' Sorry, I am no longer under your command.'

' Damn it…' Haldirs voice was so tortured that Legolas could not tell what he was referring to. Moving over the bed so he was sitting next to Haldir, Legolas kicked the chair around so the Marchwarden faced him. As expected, his face was completely blank, blue eyes cold and ruthless.

' Why do you do this?'

Not expecting an immediate response - and of course not getting any - Legolas felt along the leather cord around his neck, feeling the designed star against a leaf covered background, all in shining silver and adamantine. Haldir and Orophin had one each, a medal for outstanding performance, beyond the call of duty. (A/N: Where have you heard that before?) Pulling it out from underneath his tunic, Legolas closed his hand around it. He rarely thought about it, not thinking he had done anything that made him deserve that honour that followed the necklace. He knew Haldir felt the same, although he seldom wore his. He did today, though.

' Why do you wear it?'

Looking up in confusion that lasted long enough for him to see what Legolas hand concealed, Haldirs hand went up to his throat, seemingly in an attempt to hide it.

' I cannot say.'

' As a reminder?'

' You mean of my failure?'

Getting genuinely sick of Haldirs self-pity, Legolas rolled his eyes and sighed hard.

' Listen, I have never, nor will I ever, consider you a failure. A failure would probably be dead by now. I know what you have accomplished, I have been there.'

Something twitched by Haldirs eye, which caused Legolas to believe he might have rushed a little.

' You cannot help anyone, least of all yourself, although I do not think you care about that, if you keep these thoughts. You are a good warrior and a good friend and I really do not care about your thoughts on the matter.'

' You are patronizing me. I am not a small child.'

' You are acting like one. When are you going to be back to normal?'

' What is normal?' He sighed and spoke before Legolas could say anything. ' It will take a while, but I'll get there.'

' Good. Because seeing you like this is scaring me.'

' Legolas, the almighty, is scared?'

' I really wish you could stop calling me that.'

' I was not my fault. You earned that nickname.'

Glaring at his friend, happy to have him - even if it were only temporary - out of his bad mood, Legolas could not help but smile.

' Do not try anything funny with me', Haldir said, mistaking Legolas expression for something mischievous. ' You will be very sorry if you do.'

***

Kicking a stone away from his path, Elrohir grunted. His departure from Minas Tirith, though he never set foot inside the walls, had not gone well. Haldir had been stubborn and refused to listen to any kind of logic. So Elrohir had simply left and walked in the direction his nose pointed. He knew vaguely where he was, somewhere northeast of Gondor, he could see the ridges of Emyn Muil and by memory he could place himself in Ithilien.

' Lots of good that will do when you get lost', he scolded himself for not brining a map. He had never been outside of Rivendell - other than travelling to Lothlórien or Mirkwood, and then it had been with a gigantic escort - and he goes off without anything to find his way back. In the back of his head he applauded his stupidity. What else was there to do?

' Lets just hope I do not wander into Mordor.' That would have been a story to tell. ' If I live through it.'

He stopped, his left foot dangling of the ground, hesitating to take another step in case he should lose himself. Was it worth it? To risk his life for proving his worth?

' Is there any other way to do it?' He asked himself out loud and pointedly put his foot down. He quickened his pace not to risk another stop, another reason to turn around. ' Whatever you do, do NOT think of your family.'

Maybe that was why Legolas and Haldir did so well in the army. They did not live the kind of family life he had. Sure, they had siblings, Legolas had a father, but their main goal was the same and they were not restrained in anyway. He had a twin brother, a sister and a father. He was hopelessly tied down. ' I thought I told you not to think about them.'

' Who are you talking to?'

With a shriek, Elrohir stumbled on his feet and fell to the ground. Feeling ridiculous, he pushed himself up and dusted off is clothes. Beside him, partially hidden by shrubbery, stood two figures, wearing next to nothing. Elrohir was not the one who normally got embarrassed by it, but now times where different and he was alone. When the initial shock wore off, he realized one of them was a woman and… she was topless. That, on the other hand, was not something he saw everyday. Immediately his cheeks shaded red and he tried to look everywhere but at her, causing him to look like an owl. The one who had spoken to him, a male, came up to him, wearing only a pair of leggings that was only reaching halfway down to his knee and a smirk. (A/N: Think Olympic swimmers.) His eyes was so blue they made Elrohir want to look away. But he saw the ears.

' What are you?'

He frowned. What he was? This odd looking fellow was obviously an Elf, he spoke the general form of elvish, but still he asked "what" he was?

' I am…'

' From where?'

' Rivendell.' Both of the weird characters seemed to relax. ' Why do…'

' Good.' Did they ever let anyone finish a sentence?

They started to walk away, but when they noticed that Elrohir was not following, they stopped and turned. ' Come.'

' I am not heading that way.'

The woman turned fully, coloring his cheeks once again but this time she did not look amused. To her left the male cracked his knuckles.

' You will follow us.'

Her voice tolerated no arguments and he certainly did not want any kind of trouble, even if these two were unarmed. He nodded and they started walking again, although he carefully kept a distance between them. In the breeze he could hear splashing and also taste salt in the air.

' Where are we…?

' Home.'

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Wow, now I went off in rocket speed! I never thought I could get these details into one chapter. All right, Ithiel met with a mountain elf, Elrohir with two water elves. I would say that the latter is overly psychic, they're good at guessing what people are gonna say.

Lots of Haldir/Legolas dialog, but that will stop. I'm getting back to the story with Aragorn and Legolas soon too.

And I can tell you this: Those who wanted Elrohir to get the attention he deserves, he'll be getting it in the future. Though, he his still clumsy and blunt. Sorry.

And if Haldir wants to keep Ithiel, he'd better put on some charm, because that elf girl is getting her fair share of temptation. This is getting more and more "days of our lives"-like…

// Zierra