"You're an elf," I said, in awe. As soon as those damned words escaped my lips, I bit my tongue. Of course he was an elf! Did I really have to state that for all to hear? I looked around. The elf and I were practically alone.

He gave me a small smile. "Yes, m'lady," he said, slowly, as though explaining something to a child.

I bit my lip. "My apologies for being so rude."

He shook his head. "You have nothing to apologize for." We walked in silence for a few minutes, when he cleared his throat. "Lady," he began, but I interrupted him.

"Lastia," I told him. "Please, sir, call me Lastia."

He smiled at me. "I will call you by your name if you no longer refer to me as 'sir'. My name, Lastia, is Legolas." We walked on, while I contemplated this. Call a man I hardly knew by his first name?

"Very well Legolas," I said, blushing slightly. "What were you saying?"

"I was wondering, Lastia, if you were getting tired. You've been walking quite some time, and I have a horse. You know how to ride, don't you?"

"Or course," I said. "But, I won't take your horse. You ride him. We'll be setting up camp for the night soon, I pressume."

He shook his head, blonde hair whipping around. "I'm afraid we've got quite a way to go. You look tired. Come on, mount up," he commanded. He stopped walking, and placed a gentle hand on the horse that had been trotting beside us.

"If I keep walking, I'll stay awake. If I sit on your horse, I fear I'll fall asleep, fall off, and break every bone in my body."

He laughed. "You need some rest."

"I need to walk, lest I fall off and hurt myself." I met his gaze with a stubborn glare. The corners of his mouth slowly curved into a grin.

"Stubborn," he said. "But so am I. Hurry up, we're falling behind." I began to walk, but I yawned widely. "Lastia," he said, lightly touching my arm. "If I ride with you, and make sure you do not fall, will you get on the horse?"

"You expect me to trust you?" I asked him. "Sir, I mean, Legolas, I hardly know you!"

"I haven't mislead you yet, have I?" he asked, while swinging a leg over the horse.

"That horse can't carry both of us," I said, though I was very tired.

"He can," he said, offering me a hand.

I stared at him long and hard. He stared back. His blue eyes were friendly, and looked amused. "All right," I said taking his hand. "Just so I can rest for a while."

The horse walked on. I could feel my eyelids getting heavy, when I heard Legolas's voice.

"Your necklace is beautiful," he told me, his voice low.

"Thank you," I murmured sleepily.

"I did not know if you were still awake," he said. "Did I wake you?"

"No," I said softly. "It is too cold to sleep."

I could feel him moving behind me, and I wondered briefly what mother would say about me being so close to a man, one I hardly knew. I felt something warm on my shoulders. It was his cloak.

"There, the cold doesn't bother me," he said, kindly. "Sleep, Lastia."

"My necklace," I said, voice heavy with fatigue. "It is from the elves."

"I know," he told me, before I closed my eyes, and fell asleep. I could feel him wrap a protective arm around me, so I would not fall.

(Sorry, this is kind of short, but inspiration comes and goes. :P)