Weeks had passed since their reunion under the trees. Legolas had to sneak in to her room to see her, but when he did she was the happiest elf in all of Mirkwood, except of course for Happy Nafora, who so happened to be quite insane.

And of course, Eden was very happy to have him back, but something bothered her after a while. His embraces were less warm and few and his eyes were so cold and betrayed nothing when they settled on her. He stopped coming to see her as frequently as he used to. He never made love to her anymore and she was lucky just to get a peck on the cheek. He was also quite curt with her and snapped at her incessantly, as if she was some small, troublesome child. But worst of all, he would mock her and tease her and ironically, she loved him and doted on him even more so (why does this always happen?). But he hurt her greatly and she could feel the pain in the pit of her stomach.

She decided she would attempt to talk to him next time she saw him. Yet, she did not expect it to be so soon. That afternoon, Eden walked down the guest quarters, quite exhausted from cleaning.

She walked into her room and slumped into her chair, letting her hair down and smoothing a damp cloth over her exposed neck

"How have you been?" he asked. She almost jumped. His voice surprised her and she stood up. She wanted to run to him and throw her arms around his neck, but somehow she felt as if she was not in the place to do such a thing anymore. She merely smiled weakly and he smirked back. He was looking like his usual amazing and perfect self. The top portion of his golden hair was tied back while the bottom portion hung straight and fine down his back....his muscular back (roar). His face was set in its now usual cold expression as his eyes raked over her body. She felt raw.

"Oh, fine, just fine," she said, "How about you?" She leaned against the door. They were 6 feet apart.

"Never been better," Legolas answered. Eden felt dread as she urged herself to speak.

"I need to talk to you about something," she managed to say. Her heart beat wildly.

"Oh?" an elegant eyebrow arched.

"It's about the way you have been acting....have been treating me and.....umm...and," her eyes drifted off of his. He moved towards her so quickly, she could only gasp as she felt and saw his presence suddenly so close. His fingers pushed her chin up. His lips were so close to her own. She could feel his breath on her lips as he talked.

"When you are talking to someone about something and you would like to make yourself heard, always maintain eye contact," he said, caressing her face as he once used to...as he once used to. "Do not stutter. Say it right and straight out if it is worth hearing for if not then you are truly wasting the person's time." She shifted uneasily, never taking her eyes off of his. " And never let the enemy know you are weak."

"And are you my enemy?" she asked softly.

"I could very well be your worst," he whispered, his lips just a few millimeters from hers now. She wanted to lean in and kiss him, but she did not want to give in. She would not give in and she turned her head and he drew back.

"I'll say it straight and clear, my Lord," she said, staring at him boldly in the eye and feeling as if she was going to pass out, "There are problems between us. Or at least you seem to have a problem with me. Why do you not come to me as you once did? Why do you treat me as if I am nothing to you? I don't like how y-you....you have been treating me. You are cold to me. There is no warmth or love in any of our few meetings. You constantly criticize me and judge me and you insult me and yet still you say that I am your love. It makes no sense to me why you treat me this way and...and I would like an explanation."

"Most important of all, darling, don't let the enemy see you cry," he whispered, his mouth now only inches from hers.

"Why do you say such things?" her voice quivered. A tear rolled down her cheek. He wiped it away with one swift move of his thumb.

"Nothing makes sense to you does it?" he said.

"Stop it," she said, tearing her eyes from his. "Stop doing this to me. I deserve none of it."

"And in what power are you to say that you deserve none of it?" he prodded on. "Are you honestly that arrogant as to think that you are perfect and have never committed sins? How does it feel to never understand anything?"

"Stop!" she cried, trying to move away. She pushed past his arm and started to walk away from him, when he grabbed her by the waist and deposited her in front of him, like a doll. He held her firmly in place by placing both arms tightly around her. His face now held an amused smile. She did not struggle for there was no point in trying to struggle with an elf who was thousands of years old. His steel clutches held her like a trap. One swift move and he could have killed her. She found it ironic how just a few weeks ago, these same arms that seemed to cut into her at the moment, held her and comforted her in a most gentle way.

"You really need to get your priorities straightened out, young one," he said. "You know nothing of what you speak."

Oh, but of course Eden was scared. In fact, she was petrified, but Eden was Eden and Eden had an attitude when she needed one.

"You still didn't give me an explanation," she said. He let her go suddenly and Eden relaxed and sighed.

"Did that make you feel like more male-like, Legolas?" she glared at him. He glared back.

"You don't have it in you to hurt me," she said ever so softly, thinking he wouldn't hear. But he did.

And growling, he pushed her up against the wall, pressing down on her as his lips grazed the sensitive tip of her ear, making her shiver slightly. He laughed at this. Well, needless to say, Eden was wrong and Legolas was in fact quite stronger than she ever imagined and did have it in him to hurt her. He was quite strong, she realized, as she pushed at him, trying to make him let up on her as her vision started to blur and she gasped for breath.

"Lock your door from now on," he whispered in her ear, "and for your own sake, don't let yourself be alone with me...."

And with that, he pushed her away and slipped out the door. Eden slumped into her chair, taking in deep breaths. What did he mean? Was it a threat? It sure sounded like a threat....

There was no reason why he would have reacted that way. 'But hey at least he was touching me..' she thought sadly.

But nevertheless, she listened to him. She made sure she was always in the company of others, except of course when she was cleaning, but then she always locked the door. But everyone makes mistakes and Eden is certainly no exception. After a few months, she still remembered to lock her door, yet it was a ritual now. She did, however, forget the whole "don't be alone" aspect of what he told her. Besides, she never saw him anyway. She assumed he was probably doing....prince-like kind of stuff. Thus, she concluded that the chance of actually being alone with him was very very slim since he was never near the guest's side...or at least she never saw him near there anyways.

And so one day Eden decided to go for a swim....in the river....in the middle of the night.

'It's very safe here,' she thought,' no wild animals to chase me around.' And of course, she forgot about everything else.

And on that note, dear reader, Eden can be a moron, but she has a good heart......really.

She put on the hooded cloak which Nitu gave her and quietly snuck out of the guest quarters and went down into the forest. She crept silently deeper until she finally hit the river. She almost squealed with glee as the water beckoned her and throwing off her cloak, she jumped in without thinking, forgetting to take off her dress.

Oh, but she did not care and after a few more hours of swimming in the water, she climbed out, her dress clinging tightly to her body and collapsed on the ground, breathing hard. She sat up and looked up at the moon. It looked very big to her and the stars seemed to wink softly at her. It was a beautiful night. The forest smelled heavenly and the cool air on her skin felt wonderful as well.

She crawled over once more to the water and looked down at her reflection, illuminated by the light of the moon. She cleared the hair from her face. 'I look like death,' she laughed silently as she stared at her pale skin in her reflection. Then she looked at her hands and her legs. The reflection did not lie for they were very pale indeed. Eden smirked.

'All the other elf maidens have skin that is blushed or slightly blushed or even slightly golden,' she thought bitterly, 'I look like a dying human.'

But when she looked back into the water, there was now two people with the moon. She saw Legolas's pale face staring down at her. She gasped and looked up and sure enough, he was right there. They were both motionless: Eden staring up at him with surprise and fear and Legolas, staring down at her with no expression.

Finally, Eden's thought process returned and grabbing her cloak, she tried to move away from him as fast as she could. He caught her around the waist in a second and spun her around to face him. She was paralyzed with fear.

"Tsk tsk, my lovely Eden," he said, pulling her closer to him. "You never did listen." But she had another trick up her sleeve....or at least her foot anyways as it slammed into his crotch (second time in the same story..poor Legolas).

And so Eden ran and ran....and ran some more until finally she jumped into the river and hid in the reeds. It was completely silent except for the sounds of the night in the forest. She peeked up above the reeds and saw no Legolas in sight.

She sighed happily. She fooled him! Eden, the skinny dumb copper-haired elf-maiden had actually outsmarted the brilliant Prince of Mirkwood! And so she swam backwards and bumped into something. Turning around in a panic she turned to face.....nothing. It was just a piece of wood. She sighed and then turned and swam straight into the arms of Legolas.

"I knew you'd come back to me," he said, sarcastically. Her face was once again inches from his, but this time she did not have to think about kissing him for her problem was solved. Legolas pulled her in for a passionate kiss and not being able to help herself, she responded to it, wrapping her arms and legs around him as he did with her. His strong arms embraced her and held her snugly against him. He smelled of the forest and spice. Her fingers laced through his hair. Her hips pushed against his and he groaned against her mouth, holding her even closer. His thumbs grazed her nipples and she gasped.

His lips moved down to her neck and then pulled away suddenly.

"But my mission tonight is not to bring you pleasure, my love," he laughed. "I hope you enjoyed that little session. I think it will be the last bit of pleasure you will ever receive from me. Yet, it was quite nice wasn't it?"

Eden struggled against him as he dragged her and himself out of the water. "You're sick!" she cried, her vision blurred with tears. "You won't get away with any of this. You know, if anything happens, you.....you'll be in trouble."

"Silly little fool," he smiled cruelly. "I'll do whatever I want. I'm the heir to the throne of Mirkwood and if I want to do something, I'll do it and I certainly don't need the permission of some little girl." Then he grabbed her wrist rather tightly and pulled her along forcibly.

She was pulled along with his quick strides and she tried to move along with him as best as she could until they got to an unfamiliar place. It looked exactly like the place he took her to on the night that they first made love, but it was different...it was surrounded by a hedge and Legolas pushed through it, almost dragging her.

When they were inside, he picked her up and deposited her on the bed and then got on top of her, holding her face in his hands.

"Eden," he whispered, "Eden listen to me. I'm sorry. I had to do this or we would never talk at all or see each other at all."

"What?" she said. Now she was very very very confused. What the hell was going on?

"I know it's hard to understand, but we've been followed and spied on and I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, but if whoever it was found out anything, then our love would surely be in jeopardy," he explained, still whispering. "I'm sorry I have hurt you, but it was the only way. They're always listening and watching. I've been trying to find out who this person was, but I just don't know who and it's been killing me. Whoever this is, they have spies. They think I cannot see them or sense them."

Eden looked at him. His eyes were his own once again. They held the same warmth as they once did.

"My Legolas," she whispered and pulled him down for a most passionate kiss. He groaned softly. "How I have missed you."

"I have missed you so," he whispered, "I had to restrain myself at all times from taking you in my arms and holding you. In the water, I was just going to pull you out, but I couldn't help myself. You looked so beautiful. I tried to cover it up as best as I could......I hope who ever was watching fell for it."

"But how did you ever know that this would happen?" she asked. "I mean, how did you know I would be out by the river...in the middle of the night?"

"Umm....well let's just say I know you very well, Eden, " he smiled and then sighed and held her closer. "But just to have you here in my arms right now is like heaven. I have missed you so."

"So have I, "she said, "But what is this room?"

"We are here together at last in the same bed and you actually care where we are?" he laughed. "Well, we are in yet another secret room in the palace that I don't think anyone knows about. I found it when I was yet 500 years old. I believe it was built by..."

"Hmm you're right I don't care," she smiled and kissed him again.

"Aren't you uncomfortable in that wet dress?" he purred. Eden giggled and nodded.

"Oh yes very, my Lord," she laughed.

"Then I must perform my duty to my humble servant and perhaps remove this burden that she wears," he said, lust in his voice. He kissed her neck and his thumbs ever-so-gently grazed her nipples. She gasped arching into him. A small smile appeared on his face momentarily.

His fingers slowly took off the dress, making sure to feel every inch of her as they moved down her body, slowly and carefully removing the soaked cloth as Eden lay panting with desire.

Soon all clothes were tossed aside carelessly and Eden was once again swept into that forbidden place which only Legolas could bring her to.

As they lay side by side, bodies entwined still, they spoke once more of a future, and Eden was determined to prove her brother wrong.

"We speak of a future together," she said, "But is it actually a possibility? Or are we living in a dream? How can this future be achieved?"

"You ask too many questions," Legolas scoffed and turned away from her.

"Are you not capable of answering them all?" she asked coldly. He turned towards her, sitting up.

"I don't need this right now," he muttered and sat up fully, exposing his lean and muscular torso. Eden pulled him back down.

"My brothers have told me much about you and I want you to prove them wrong," she said, "I need you to prove them wrong."

"No you don't," he said, pushing her aside gently, "Just don't listen to what they say. Unless of course you choose to believe them."

"Why won't you answer my questions Legolas?" she asked angrily, sitting up as well, but holding the blanket to her chest. He was silent for a moment.

And then , "Because I can't answer your questions," he sighed, "I want to, but I can't. I want to believe it is a possibility and that this is all real and that we may have a future ahead of us where we don't have to hide our love, but I can't promise you a thing Eden. I want to. May the Valar help me because I want to, but I can't." He looked away.

"Then why couldn't you just tell me that straight off?" she asked angrily, "Why do I have to dissect you every time I want an answer?"

"Why why why," muttered Legolas, "You talk too much."

"Well you don't talk enough," she said. "What's wrong highness? Are you being rude right now because someone is watching and listening? Or do you just feel like being an arse?" She threw off the sheet at which she saw Legolas look over at her. She put on her dress rather quickly.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Frankly, my Lord, I am quite sick of your games and you can talk to me when you start acting like a grown elf," she said and started to walk out when she felt arms around her waist, but they were not strong and forceful, but gentle and pleading.

She looked down at Legolas whose angelic head rested on her hip and those very blue eyes stared up at her, full of so much hurt. Her heart melted.

"I'm sorry Eden," he said. "All this is just taking a toll on me and I really should not be taking it out on you." Eden smiled and stroked his hair.

"Something will happen, Legolas," she whispered. "I can feel it. Change is in the air." He said nothing as he clung to her.

******* ******* ********

She opened her eyes. Where was she? Brushing the hair out of her face, she sat up, shaking the dirt and leaves out of her hair. It was a strange morning. No sun. The sky was pure white and the silence was deafening, except for the occasional gust of wind. No birds, no insects, nothing but the sound of her breathing. How long had she been here? How did she get here? Had it all been a dream?

A sudden fear took her. Looking down at herself, her dress was still not fully dry. 'Oh please, please, don't let it have been a dream,' she thought, 'Let this be a nightmare.'

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A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed!! You guys make me feel so happy!! :-) Sorry, I promised that I'd try and not make this weird...but that's just my writing style. I can't help it.