Buffy was pacing back and forth in the magic shop. Lily had been there one second and then poof she had disappeared into the floor. Willow had roped off the area where the portal had been, and she and Giles had started searching every book they had that had anything about Lily being from Middle Earth, hoping that one of these books had the answer. Buffy was restless pacing back and forth thinking while Dawn sat silently with tears coming to her eyes.
"How did she just disappear?" Buffy asked flopping down into the chair next to Dawn. "I mean portals don't just appear something magical makes them, right?"
"I don't know. We are dealing with two dimensions here Buffy. What we do here is completely different from what they do there. Time also passes differently there." Giles answered. Buffy just nodded sadly and placed an arm around Dawn's shoulder.
Lily followed Strider into Mirkwood, her eyes not believing anything she was seeing. The trees were beautiful so full of health and life, and there were so many of them. Aragorn noticed her amazement and smiled.
"There are many forests in Middle Earth but Mirkwood is one of the most beautiful. Thranduil dwells here as King. You have come in times where no place is safe." Aragorn said noticing Lily's gaze had turned southward.
"The time of the rings?" Lily asked. Aragorn stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.
"You know of this evil?" He asked.
"Well sort of, when I was home well other home, we were researching who I was and in my dreams I learned of the rings of power and the deceiver Sauron." Lily said.
"Then you are involved. Come we must talk with Gandalf." Aragorn said quickening his pace to the palace of Thranduil.
As they walked through the grand hallways Lily couldn't believe her eyes everything was so beautiful. She felt eyes on her and looked straight ahead to see two elves around a table covered with maps. The eldest she assumed to be the King Thranduil Aragorn had spoke of. He greeted Aragorn warmly as did the younger elf who was the first to notice Lily.
"Who is the lady you bring with you?" the elf asked. Aragorn grabbed Lily's arm lightly and brought her forward. Gandalf had brought her clothes to wear, while she was an elf she was dressed as a ranger.
"She was taken from me before I knew of her." Thranduil looked to Lily and then to Aragorn.
"This cannot be the lost elf child. The daughter of power and grace?" He said looking to her. Lily lowered her eyes under his stare.
"Your lost sister has been returned." The younger elf said. Lily found she was drawn to him. Aragorn nodded.
"Gandalf has come and spoken with me and I much desire to speak with you Aragorn. Legolas take Lily to one of our empty rooms where she can rest before we inform her of all there is." Legolas nodded and held his arm out to Lily who looked to Aragorn before leaving. He nodded and Lily took Legolas' arm and left with him.
Legolas led her through all the hallways and finally entered a large room. Lily took in a sharp breath when she looked in the beautiful room.
"Doille Le" Lily said looking around the room, finally walking over to the balcony.
"You have no reason to thank me my lady." Legolas answered following Lily to the balcony.
"My lady? Let's just stick to Lily. I hate formalities." Lily said. Legolas smiled at her.
"As do I." Legolas said.
Lily looked at him one final time before casting her gaze outside. She couldn't believe what her eyes showed her. The stars were twinkling above the beautiful full of life trees. She smiled looking around at everything memorizing every detail.
"You look at these sights as if you will never look upon them again. Why?" Legolas asked taking his place beside her.
"It's nothing really, I mean I'm not from here, what's to say whatever brought me here won't take me away?" Lily asked. Legolas looked into her eyes and then looked away.
"Legends have been told about the lost daughter. Tales of her beauty have reached the ears of all. Her power is something no one knows as to how much or how deep that power goes. The stories tell us she was taken from us and would be returned, bringing everything back into balance." Legolas answered his eyes never leaving hers. Lily couldn't help but think about how badly she wanted to kiss him as he spoke.
"Legends and stories about little old me? I don't know how much of that I can believe."
"All of it is true. You are here, returned to us. All that the wisest of the elves has foreseen to come to pass has." Lily looked into his eyes looking for any trace that what he was saying was not true.
"Well if I'm such a big deal and known to everyone, tell me about me. I get the feeling that you know more about me than I do. So tell me then." Lily said walking back into what was to be her room. Legolas followed her and stood standing while Lily sat down on the rather large bed. Lily looked up at him when he remained standing. "You can sit down you know." Lily said. Legolas nodded and sat on the edge of her bed and turned to her.
"You know nothing of yourself?" Legolas asked next confusion etched across his perfect features.
"Nope, I know I'm Lily twenty-one years old according to where I'm from. And from there my life is changed to here. So enlighten me." Lily said. Legolas nodded.
"You as you know are the daughter of power Arathorn the last king of Gondor, and Alatariel one of the most beautiful elves in the forests of Lorien, the sister of Galadriel the queen of all the elves. From her you get the power of foresight, only you have not been taught how to access it, from your father you get your strength and skill of hunting, a ranger like Aragorn." Legolas said. Lily nodded and leaned back against the headboard her eyes getting heavy. Legolas shifted himself over so that he was seated next to her. "The dark lord Sauron had learned of your existence but not Aragorn's he had been sent to the elves of Rivendell to be raised you were to be brought here to Mirkwood only they captured you along the way, and you were to be sent to another dimension to be killed by the evil there, only Galadriel interfered sending you to a powerful guardian we were told." Lily smiled a sad smile.
"My sister, she's a vampire slayer, a champion of good." Lily said a sad smile prevailing on her face.
"You miss her." Legolas said simply looking to her. Lily nodded tears coming to the corners of her eyes.
"It's harder than you can believe. Knowing you are needed or wanted in more than one place at once at the same time." Lily looked down at her hands. "I would love to say I don't want to be here and just try to get home, but this is home. Just stepping into the woods felt like a homecoming to me." The tears that had been threatening to spill over finally did. Legolas wrapped his arms around her and Lily leaned into him letting him comfort her.
"You were not given time to grieve for the loss you have suffered. You must forgive all of us we are amazed to learn of your return, and did not think of the losses that you must have suffered." Legolas said this and Lily found herself lost in his blue eyes. He smiled at her and with his thumb brushed away her remaining tears. Lily immediately felt embarrassed for crying in front of someone she barely knew.
"I'm sorry about going all cry baby on you." Lily said sitting up and wiping her eyes. Legolas sat up too and stopped Lily's frantic movements grasping her hands in his. Lily looked into his eyes curious at his movements.
"Do not apologize for things that do not matter. Tears are not always in evil." Lily smiled at him.
"Why are you being so nice to someone you've just met?" Lily asked getting drawn into his clear blue eyes again. Legolas for the first time took his gaze away from hers.
"Why should I not be?" he asked curiously.
"I don't know I guess I'm just not used to guys I just meet being nice instead of trying to cop a feel or just hit on me."
"It is unthinkable to do such things to one as beautiful as you." He answered his index finger tracing her delicate features. Lily smiled at him.
"Beautiful?" Lily asked quirking an eyebrow at him. Legolas smiled back at her. She leaned back into his arms that he wrapped around her. "Tell me about elves." Lily said. Legolas spoke quickly then telling her all about his home and all of the elf realms in Middle Earth. He had just finished telling her about all there was in Mirkwood when he looked down to find her asleep in his arms. He smiled down as she slept peacefully. Legolas tried to move and leave her to sleep but she held him to her by his tunic not allowing him to leave. He closed his eyes and then fell into a deep slumber with Lily in his arms.