Chapter 2

All was quiet and dim. All was still and unmoving. If a pin had dropped then, it would have sounded like thunder crashing and cracking outside and an avalanche of snow on the Swiss Alps. But nothing made a noise, or at least until-

"Holy crap! What the bloody heck is going on?" Lissa shrieked, suddenly jolting upright in her bed as loud rock music blared in her kitchen towards her room. Upon remember her "guest," she muttered an oath quietly. "Delemir!"

He appeared in her room in an instant, bowing slowly. "Yes, my lady?" he asked, at her side now. He was holding his ears as he spoke, talking in loud pitch.

"What the heck did you do?" she demanded, covering her own ears as well.

"I do not know, quiet frankly. I apologize greatly for it, though." Delemir cringed and winced at the loud music as a screaming guitar wailed like a banshee. Lissa sighed, stood and shivered, unaware of the fact she was only in a yellowish-orange softball shirt with "Bad Boys" on the left breast of it. Delemir averted his gaze to toward the floor as Lissa walked quickly into the kitchen, anger in her military-like gait. He followed after her slowly, then quickly after the music was turned off. When he reached the kitchen, Lissa was tugging on a pair of pants. She was glaring angrily at him.

"It's seven in the freaking morning, Delemir! How could you even think about waking me up?!" She looked about ready to kill him at that precise moment in time.

"I did not mean to, Lady. I apologize deeply, though." He looked down at the floor as she tugged her jeans back up her waist when they slipped down slightly. She reached down in the clothes pile again for something. He watched her until she stood with a leather belt in her hand.

She folded it in half and snapped it, slowly walking closer to him. "Go away. Get out of my kitchen, Del." Lissa's voice was incredibly and painfully cool as she threaded the belt through the loops of her pants. Delemir quickly retreated, unaware of the victorious smirk on Lissa's face. "This is the best I've ever felt at seven o'clock," Lissa murmured to herself. Moving to the refrigerator, she pulled out the egg carton and began the making of poached eggs.

Delemir, meanwhile, was sitting in the living room, puzzled at the cheerful, or wryly delightful, humming from the kitchen. He thought he recognized the song, but shrugged it off when he smelled food, to his utter delight, then followed it to the kitchen. There, he saw Lissa moving about in front of a large, square thing. Steam was rising up from a silver pot. He watched Lissa dip a spoon in the pot and on the spoon was a white, squishy- and oval-looking substance. She placed it on a plate and reached backward to place it on a counter. Delemir found himself mesmerized by her graceful, dancer-like movements.

"Hope you like eggs, Delemir!" Lissa called over her shoulder. She was unaware of his presence slowly, silently, creeping up behind her. She reached backward again and set another plate on the counter. As she turned, she yelped, nearly bumping into Delemir.

He placed his hands at her arms in an attempt to calm her. This effort being blown from the water on both of their accounts and the onslaught of emotions and feelings, Delemir retreated to the other side of the small kitchen.

"I do," he murmured, sitting.

"Excuse me?" Lissa said, sitting as well and passing a plate over the counter to him.

"I do like eggs," he repeated, slightly louder.

"Oh." Suddenly smirking, Lissa added, "You remind me of a book I read once upon a time."

"What book is that?" Delemir asked, taking a bite of his breakfast.

"'Green Eggs and Ham' by Dr. Seuss. The guy had problems-serious ones."

Delemir looked up at her and sighed. "I am afraid I do not know what you are talking about," he said quietly.

Lissa choked slightly on her food. "What? Never heard of Dr. Seuss? Where've you been all your life, in a hole?"

"I have been, as for yesterday and today's accounts, in Middle-Earth all my life."

Then it clicked in Lissa's mind. He really was Delemir of Lothlórien. He really was 2,500 years old. He really was-God help her-an Elf.

"Oh, my Lord," Lissa said, dropping her fork on her plate again.

Slowly, the young brunette woman stood. Walking around the counter carefully, using the edge of it for support, she stepped in front of Delemir. She slowly lifted her hand to his face, pushed his hair behind his ear and saw a soft point on the tip of his ear. She gently touched it, causing Delemir's eyes to close tightly and his jaw to set together. Unbeknownst to Lissa, a bead of sweat formed on Delemir's temple and slipped down his cheek. Carefully, slowly, he lifted his hand to Lissa's wrist, felt her pulse thundering under her skin.

"Melissa," he managed to say.

"Huh?" Lissa's eyes cleared of everything previously there. For the first time since she'd met him, known him, she saw distress and anxiety on his features. For the first time, heard how his voice had trembled when he had spoken her name. For the first time, felt the hand that was his firm on her wrist. For the first time, wanted to kiss him.

Immediately removing her hand from his ear, Lissa took three hasty steps backwards and to her seat. She sat, not looking up at Delemir, and polished off her breakfast. When she had finished, she tossed her plate in the sink and left the room quickly. She started off toward her bedroom when she felt Delemir grab her arm, spinning her around.

"Let go of me," she said coolly.

Once having something to say, Delemir only stared at Lissa, speechless. His jaw dropped slightly, his eyes widened only a little bit at the look this girl was giving him. It was a look that spoke of so many emotions, good and bad. Some only brand new, some ages and years old. Some fathomable and some unfathomable. Whichever they were, they had Delemir standing there, flustered, and without a means to keep his mouth closed and keeping the stutters from emitting out of his mouth.

"What?" That normally happy, perky voice was now cold and ruthless as it spoke to him from a young woman with features hard as rock and stone.

"Nothing," Delemir finally said, letting go of her arm and turning.

"Fine!" Lissa said, turning and walking off towards her room again.

"You had no right!" Delemir finally shouted, getting the words he wished out.

"Excuse me? I had no right for what?" Lissa demanded, stopping in her tracks and whirling around.

"To-To do what you did!"

"And just what did I do that was so terrible I had no right to do?"

Unable to find his words again, Delemir pointed his hand to his ear. "That!"

"Oh, this?" Coming up to him again, she placed her hand on the tip of his ear and watched him shudder. Removing her hand again, she asked, "I had no right to do that?"

"No, on both accounts, my lady," he said frigidly, grabbing her wrist. "You have a weakness. You have found mine and I will find yours."

"I have no weakness," Lissa hissed, straining against his grasp to no avail. "Let go, Delemir. Let go and go away."

Letting go, as she said, Delemir strode off to some part of the house while Lissa stalked to her room, shut and slammed the door. She threw herself on the bed and reached for her phone then dialed the, oh, so familiar number to call Emily. Waiting as it rang three times and the machine picked up, she yelled loudly and incoherently before it recorded.

"Pick up if you're there, Emily. Pick up." Waiting a moment before a click came on the line and the machine was turned off, she heard Emily's grumbling greeting of being woken up too early fade to a short silence before asking:

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's real. It's all real. Delemir's real, it isn't a dream, he's really an Elf from Lothlórien and somehow or other he was sent over here to my house when I didn't need him here! Just when my life was going fine, he pops up and ruins it like a-"

"Meliss, calm down. Take a deep breath," Emily said calmly.

"If I do, I'm sure to hyperventilate. This morning, it all finally clicked. We were discussing a book by Dr. Seuss-"

"Which one?"

" 'Green Eggs and'-Don't change the subject. We were discussing it when he said he'd been in Lothlórien all of his life. I got up and touched his ear to make sure that he was an Elf and not some-"

"You touched his ear? Dude, that's like, treason against an Elf and their laws!" Emily said ironically into the phone.

"I know. Would you just be quiet for a moment? Thank you. Well, we finished breakfast and I was on my way to my room to shower when he comes up behind me and turns me around and just stares. He finally shouts that I had to right and it goes on with the fact with the ear thing." Taking a long breath, Lissa hissed it out.

"Interesting morning," Emily said drowsily. She yawned slightly, then added, "Want me to come over?"

"No. You're too tired to drive. If he tries anything weird, I'll just bother one of my neighbors."

"Weird? Why? Why would an Elf do something weird if they haven't been corrupted?"

Lissa waited a few beats before saying, "He said I'd discovered his weakness and that he'd discover mine. He sounded determined when he said it, and there's no telling what an Elf will do when bent on something like that."

"Well, take away his weapons and lock your door," Emily suggested.

"I've done both. His weapons are in my closet, and I bet you half of my savings that he's right outside my door listening," Lissa said dryly.

Indeed, Delemir was just outside her door, but not listening. He was thinking about what to do. Should he apologize? Should he kick down her door and do something drastic? Should he tell himself he thinks too much and to go away someplace else? Like his room, for instance. No, Delemir of Lothlórien was much to mad for that now. He would glare at the door and throw knives, mentally, at it until Lissa came out and aim one at her head.

Telling himself that the thought wasn't too nice, he also reminded himself that she hadn't been too nice that morning. Sneering, he sat in the living room again and sifted through papers and correspondence of hers.

"Interesting," he mumbled to himself, or, "Crude." Occasionally, he'd quickly shoved a paper back into a pile at it's...most unusual contents. Wondering how a woman could stand to write morbid death scenes or other things of that sort, some deeper and more complex than the others, he heard a door open. It wasn't near Lissa's room, but in the entrance hall. Automatically, he reached for his bow and remembered Lissa had taken it from him, he crouched in a position that said he was ready to attack.

A tall, curvy figure shadowed in the entrance hall, then in the doorway to the living room, and finally in front of Delemir. She was unaware of his presence, he mused. Her copper-ish hair fell over her eyes in a way that would tease most men, and curled around her shoulders. Her complexion was light, and, although her face was slightly long, it was dimmed in the poor lighting of the room. The woman was dressed in a jean outfit, with a purple shirt under the jacket. A black purse hung limply at her arm and swung as she stopped in the middle of the room.

"Melissa!" she called. "Lissa, where are you?" She took another step forward, then stopped, finding herself impaired as a strong, well-muscled arm held her wrists together behind her. She screeched and yelled Lissa's name, unaware of Delemir.

"Mischelle?" Lissa emerged from her room and gasped. "Delemir, let her go!" She ran forward and glared at him. Sighing, she watched Mischelle's features turn from startled to shocked.

"Melissa, are you-?" She broke off, pointing at Delemir.

"No. Come, I'll tell you about this nuisance that showed up in my living room yesterday morning," Lissa said, hooking arms with the woman called "Mischelle" and walked with her to her room.

"Lissa, please explain WHY you have a tall, blonde-God help us both- gorgeous man in your living room," Mischelle demanded as Lissa quietly shut and locked her door. She didn't answer, but merely turned and sank down the door, leaning her back against it. Mischelle was finally noticing the redness in Lissa's eyes and face, the tear strains on her cheeks, the quiet hiccuping that followed tears.

"Have you been crying?" Mischelle knew the answer was yes, and also knew Lissa would deny is. Instead of saying anything, Lissa leaned her head forward slightly and began to mutter incoherently of what Mischelle gathered were strings of oaths. Restraining the slight urge to laugh, Mischelle sat down in front of Lissa before she had the chance to kick the vacuum cleaner piece-with her bare foot.

"Please, don't break your foot. I walked here and I don't know how to drive that thing you call a car in your parking place."

"Dang it, Mischelle!" Lissa yelled. "Shut up for a moment! I need to think!"

For about five minutes, they sat in silence. Neither dared to speak, one afraid of what she might say, and the other afraid of what would be said to her.

"I should go. I came at a bad time," Mischelle said finally. Lissa had, previously, moved to her computer and was playing solitaire presently. She made a noncommittal noise and blinked her eyes slightly. And then Mischelle was gone. She didn't see Delemir on her way out, who was, in fact, in his room.

Lissa, realizing she was alone finally, moved to her bed, glanced at her clock and saw it was a little after 11 a.m. then fell asleep.

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Hours later, after dusk, Delemir sauntered down the stairs slowly and stood by Lissa's door. He heard no noise from inside and sighed inwardly to himself. He opened the door, conveniently left unlocked by the other brunette woman, and slipped inside. He saw Lissa asleep, curled against a pillow with a thin blanket over her. Her hair was in a tangle over her face so her features were hidden. He had no idea if she had fallen asleep crying, angry, or hurt now. He had to find out.

Slowly approaching her, he held out his hand and brushed the locks of hair from her face. He half expected her to wake up then and there and yell at him, but she didn't.

"Quel kaima, aier (Sleep well, little one)," he murmured to her, turning back around to leave.

When he was just at the door, he heard Lissa say, "Delemir." Her voice was soft, yet heavy from and with sleep.

Stopping, he turned once again and stood still. Lissa sat up and brought her knees to her breast gently, resting her chin on her folded hands.

Suddenly, a white and tan streak of fur darted across the room from the door behind Delemir and onto Lissa's bed. It nestled itself around her waist and made a purring noise. Lissa sighed and reached backward, picking up the animal and petting it gently. She murmured phrases to it softly.

"I apologize," Delemir said finally, dropping his guard.

"What?" Lissa looked up from rubbing her cheek against the cat's face and gazed at Delemir with her drooping eyes. Her skin looked soft and warm from her sleep.

"About earlier, and for waking you," he explained, holding his ground.

"Oh." Lissa didn't want to think about that now. She had her cat. She was happy. Why did he have to go and ruin it? She scratched the cat's ears and smiled when it meowed softly.

Finally unable to keep himself any longer, Delemir stepped forward and sat on the edge of Lissa's bed. He reached out his hand to the cat and let it smell him. It rubbed its head against his hand and allowed him to pet it.

"What is your cat's name?" he asked.

"Bennett."

"Why not something more fanciful like Sunshine or Moonglow?"

Lissa glared at him and sighed. "Maybe in Middle-Earth, they call animals things like that, and some people here as well, but I named him Bennett because is Bennett the first name of one of my favorite characters in a series of books done by a specific author I read a lot," she explained, pointing to a bookcase filled with hundreds of books by a computer.

"It looks as thought you read many books, Lady."

Lissa sighed audibly and set the cat at her side. "Yeah, I sure do," she murmured, leaning backwards only to have the cat crawl onto her stomach and rest his ear over her heart. "And Bennett sure does fit his character. Falls in love with every woman he meets, human or cat. It's always vice versa as well."

"I am afraid I do not understand." Delemir stood and leaned against her computer desk.

"In the stories, Bennett was a ladies' man until he married Hannah, of which I'm planning on buying a cat pretty soon named Hannah. But anyway, every woman falls in love with Bennett, it seems."

"Your pet or the character in the story?"

"Both." Lissa smirked and pet the cat's head gently. "And he, being my cat, falls in love with every woman that enters my domain."

The two were silent for a while, the only noises being the cat purring, the computer whirring, and their steady breathing. Lissa was feeling the same discomfort she always did when alone with someone of the opposite sex. Delemir was taking everything in, trying to digest the fact "ladies' man." Soon enough, though, Bennett stood, did a little dance on Lissa's tummy, and meowed loudly, nearly screeching.

"He wants food," Lissa murmured, sitting up and sighing. She lifted herself off of her bed and began to walk towards the kitchen when Delemir stopped her.

"Friends?" he asked, offering his hand to her.

Lissa hesitated, then replied, "Friends." Delemir smiled and brought her hands to his lips. Lissa swallowed uncomfortably when his lips brushed over her knuckles and caused an explosion of emotions and feelings in her, and fireworks outside her window.

"Holy heck," she murmured, pulling her hand from Delemir's grasp and walking to the large, cathedral window beside her bed. "What, ah, great timing." She meant it. She didn't want to dwell on the thoughts and feelings Delemir had awakened inside her.

"Yes. Marvelous timing," he agreed, nevertheless.

Any conversation that may have been made was destroyed when a loud wail sounded from the doorjamb. Lissa looked over, relieved, and saw that Bennett was reaching all of five octaves with his ear-piercing screech.

"Just think, a female Siamese can do worse that this!" she cried over Bennett's yowl. She scooped the cat up, immediately silencing it, and walked into the kitchen. She dropped Bennett onto the floor, only to hear him wail again as she poured cat food into his bowl.

"Okay, okay, Your Catness," she joked, putting his food away. "Your dinner is served."

"'Catness?'" Delemir questioned as Lissa walked away from His Royal Catness, Prince Bennett de Crystal City House Financed by Lissa.

"Yes, something he and I made up when we were reading a book together a few weeks ago. We both had a fit of laughter," Lissa said.

"He laughed? Bennett laughed?" Delemir asked skeptically.

"In a sense. Cats do have a sense of humor too, you know. It's not just us."

"Ik, ik, ik," was the reply from the cat in the corner.

"As you say, Lady," Delemir murmured, lifting a hand to toy with the ends of Lissa's hair. "Since His Catness has food, may we eat as well?"

"Men have only so many things on their mind, and food is one of them," Lissa murmured, brushing Delemir's hand away discretely and opening her refrigerator to browse through leftovers. "Let's see, we have leftover pizza, spaghetti, something that I haven't the faintest idea of what it is, and...oh, would you look at that?"

"What?" Delemir leaned over her shoulder and looked at a small container with some type of substance in it.

"I still have raviolis left over from two weeks ago. Let me just-" As she was turning around, Lissa came face to face with Delemir. She tried to step backwards, but the refrigerator door impaired that ability. She tried to step to her left to get away that way, but Bennett wound himself cleverly around her ankles to where the container of food fell onto the floor, and Lissa fell forward into Delemir's arms.

"Sorry," she murmured, trying to stand straight up again, but found that was hindered as well when she felt his strong arms snake around her waist. Looking up into his face, she saw his eyes, deep and blue, staring into her amber flecked brown ones. She felt herself lost in his eyes, in his gaze, in him.

As his face neared hers, she felt there was no way to stop what was going to happen next. She prepared herself for it, for the emotions that always followed after it, or so she read in books, but it never came. Opening the eyes she had shut moment before, she let out the breath that she had been holding unconsciously to see Delemir a mere breath away. Should either of them make the wrong movement, his mouth would be on hers, intentional or unintentional.

"Are you going to answer that?" he asked her.

"What?"

"The phone. I would, but it seems that your stance is depending on me," Delemir answered, pushing her back to her feet again.

"Oh, yeah. Sure," Lissa murmured and turned to look at a wall phone. "Hello, Pizza Hut." As she spoke, she added a thick brogue to her voice and made a loud smacking noise in her mouth. "Yeah. No, I ain't made any deliveries to your place in a long time, lady." She laughed, then spoke regularly after a moment. "Yes, ma'am. Yeah, everything is-Tonight? Uh, Mom, tonight isn't great. The, ah, the house is a mess, and-Why?"

Delemir looked behind him and saw a spotless dining room, then remembered that the living room was hardly something to laugh at with its neatness. He heard Lissa sigh loudly.

"Mom. Not tonight. It isn't good for me here. I just had someone over a while ago, and I'm not quite fit for company again in one day," Lissa continued. "Rain check? Wait, no, don't put Dad on the-" Sighing loudly again, she leaned against the window behind her and waited a minute.

Delemir zoned out from her conversation with her father as he watched the cat watching him. He was met by big brown eyes, much like Lissa's with the amber in them, and felt as though his entire soul was being searched by this small creature.

"I like you," the cat said in his mind. "Take care of my woman now, okay?"

Delemir nodded, smiling. "I am glad you consider her your woman, for she will never be mine," Delemir mumbled as he leaned down to pet the cat.

"What do you mean, she'll never be your woman?" Bennett demanded, rubbing his head against Delemir's chest. "You've got her name written all over your heart."

"I do not," Delemir protested.

"Oh, then only on your mind?" Bennett made a sound quite like snickering and pawed his way up to Delemir's ear, biting it softly in a manner of reprimand. "Stop following you mind and follow your heart." The cat stood on all fours and walked over to Lissa to tangle around her legs as she stood, watching the two in question.

"Were you talking to the cat?" Lissa questioned, picking up the raviolis and kicking the fridge door shut.

"Yes." About what, he wouldn't tell her.

"Hmm. I thought I was the only person who actually talked to her pets," she murmured, walking to the garbage can and throwing the container out since it reeked of its former occupant.

"Nay, lady. Many Elves in Middle-Earth speak with the animals and the trees."

"Oh, yes, I remember now. Emily pointed that out in a story she wrote once upon a time when I was still insane." Laughing at the memory, Lissa opened a cupboard up and looked around inside. She pulled out a box labeled "Macaroni and Cheese" and tossed it on the counter, then picked it up again and put it back in the cupboard.

"How about I just fix sandwiches. Suddenly, Mac and Cheese seems a bit too hard to make," she laughed, moving toward another cupboard.

And they had sandwiches for dinner. Spaghetti sandwiches, one might add with amusement. Delemir had been puzzled at the idea of eating their previous dinner between bread for another dinner, but Lissa had assured him it was perfectly fine and that everyone did that occasionally.

And that was about how they spent the rest of the week. Delemir would wake Lissa up around eight or nine, be scolded for waking her up so early. Lissa would fix them breakfast then go to work on her stories, leaving Delemir to read and watch the thing called a TV and obtain skills for that present day in time so he could help her. He'd managed cleaning the house whilst it was a mess usually. Why it was clean that one time her parents had called, he didn't know. Lissa had sworn little Elves had come in and cleaned it up in her sleep.

"There are no 'little' Elves, my lady, and they do not clean for other people as you have me cleaning for you," Delemir had said.

"No, maybe not, but that was in Middle-Earth. Now, you're in Crystal City, my territory," Lissa had replied, smirking.

By the end of that week, they needed more cleaning supplies and food, but for some reason Lissa refused to let Delemir leave the house with her unless under certain conditions.

Presently, Delemir was sighing as he inspected the phone, waiting for it to ring again so he could have a reason to shoot it with an arrow. But one problem was, he didn't have his bow or quiver. Lissa had taken them away from him a few days before ruthlessly, ignoring him as he said it was for protection. She'd also taken his daggers away, calling them oversized turkey knives.

And at that moment in time, Lissa was listening to what she called music. She'd fussed, saying this "Louis Armstrong" and "Bing Crosby" WERE music. He could argue with her and mention some of the musicians in Lothlórien, but knew he'd lose to a woman in an argument. Especially this particular woman, for she seemed quite argumentative. She had a million and one arguments. Delemir wondered if she'd rehearsed them for they came naturally to her. Then he heard Lissa kicked her music off, probably literally.

"Thank Eru," he murmured to himself. Then he heard this awfully loud thudding noise, and Bennett, who had been sitting on a chair, meowed loudly and ran off somewhere. Delemir watched Lissa walk by, awkwardly, then out of sight in her living room. The thudding stopped, and he heard her shriek loudly. Jumping up, concern tainted his features and he ran towards the entrance hall.

"Are you all right?" Delemir asked, seeing Lissa in a heap on the floor. She was shaking, an odd look on her face. He thought she'd hurt herself terribly until she rolled on her back and laughter bubbled up. She lay there on the floor, laughing, until tears came and slipped down her cheeks.

"I'm." She wiped at her flushed cheeks. "I'm fine, Delemir." She gasped and choked for air. "Just help me up." "Are you certain? Are you certain you are not hurt?" he asked as he helped her up.

She stumbled slightly, then said, "Yeah, positive." She laughed a bit more then added, "Come on." Gesturing with her hand, she began going upstairs to the guestroom.

"Where are we going?" Delemir asked uneasily, following her. He looked at her feet and saw that one boot was on her foot, and the other was slightly warped on her other, on and off at the same time. That solved as to why she was walking weird.

"Well, we're getting you more clothes, we're getting more food and cleaning things, and then we're going to get your haircut-and mine. Then, I also have a few errands to run downtown," Lissa answered.

"What?" Instinctively, Delemir brought his hand up to his blonde hair.

Lissa looked back, saying, "Elf-man, you are not going to leave my house with the longest blonde hair I've ever seen on a man before." Stepping into the guestroom, Lissa made her way immediately to the walk in closet and stepped in. "Also, you're wearing very baggy women's clothing that look like men's. I'm getting this stuff out because I just thought of it. You're not leaving my house in baggy clothes that used to belong to the previous owner of this house."

Delemir sighed and thought of a question. "Lady, may I ask you something?" he said, leaning on the doorjamb.

"Sure, and Delemir. We've known each other for about a week now. Don't call me "Lady" anymore. It's 'Lissa.' Now, your question?" Straining as she pulled out a large garment bag, Lissa nearly came face to face with the Elf as she stood. Taking a wary step backwards, she rubbed her suddenly damps palms on her khaki Capris.

"If you live alone normally, and, as you have told me many times before, never plan on marrying, why do you have such large living quarters?" he asked, reaching out to toy with the ends of Lissa's hair.

Slightly uncomfortable, Lissa took another step backwards and said, "I never really wanted all of this space because." She couldn't think. She couldn't concentrate. He was doing this on purpose, she thought as his fingers skimmed across her cheek. "Because.I bought this placed because it was, ah, at a good, um, price and had.good living."

And then she was lost as Delemir framed her face gently. What was he doing? Why was he doing this to her? Why was he making her feel like she never had before towards him, or anyone else before? He was unearthing feelings in her she thought never existed-would ever exist!

"Delemir." Her voice caught in her throat as his face neared hers slowly. "Don't." She placed her hand on his chest, with much effort, and shook her head.

Delemir sighed and let go of her face. She cleared her throat and continued to lug the bag into the room. She heaved it on the bed and unzipped it, yanking out a pair of jeans and a green polo shirt, then tossed them at him.

"Here, change. I'm going to get a bottle of water," Lissa murmured, walking absently out of the room. She pressed her hand to her head as she walked down the stairs, through the house and to the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator door, she stared in blankly, then took out a small bottle of water.

Bennett meowed at her feet and rubbed against her ankles. He watched her open the bottle and take a sip. She swished it through her mouth, then nearly spit it out as her left knee buckled on her. She almost fell, would have if she hadn't grabbed the edge of the counter.

She eased herself down onto the floor and, hissing in a breath, rubbed her knee and the crook of it. She sighed as the blinding pain she felt there slowly subsided. She leaned forward over her knee and let out her breath carefully.

"Are you all right?" Delemir asked her from above her, his voice firm and full of concern, yet hidden among slight anger.

"How long have you been standing there?" Lissa wanted to know, shooting up straight like a rocket. She stood quickly and painfully, but showed no signs of it.

"Long enough. Answer my question, Lissa," he demanded, walking up to her and gripping her arms in his hands tightly.

"I'm fine," Lissa murmured. "My tibia in my left leg is crooked and causes pain occasionally. I'm going to the doctor today to see if it's straightened any and to have it worked on a little. Happy, now that I've told you one of my, basically, deepest secrets I've carried since youth?"

Delemir sighed and let go of her. She led the way to the front door and to her car. The next adventure would soon take place for these two people seeking a new life in a big world.

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Heya all! Do you like the long chapters? I hope you do. ;) And I'll try to keep them long. Oh, and my Disclaimers are going to go at the bottom from now on, so don't fret when they're not at the top! (

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not own Lothlórien. I do not own Crystal City, Virginia. I do not own Capris though I own two pairs of them. I do not own the books with Bennett in them. ;) FF.net does not allow her stories (Nora Roberts/J. D. Robb) here. I do not own television since I hardly watch it. I do not own 'Green Eggs and Ham' by Dr. Seuss. I do not own anything by Louis Armstrong and/or Bing Crosby. I do not own any of the foods mentioned it here, though I eat them quite a lot.

I DO, however, own the little Elves that clean the house. They've been neglecting my room, though. I own the sarcastic expressions used in here, if any. I own the loud yelling, and last, but not least, own the story itself! ( So I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter coming soon! Be responsible and review, lol, and check out some of the stories I read on my profile by my beta (Merenwen Luinwel) and definitely read the stories by Tainted Elf and Iarejedi. Their stories are GREAT! Anyway, I'll shut up. Talk to y'all later!

Blessed be, Lissa