Please see first chapter for disclaimer.

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"Legolas is a good, safe guy for girls to pin their dreams on." - Orlando Bloom

Carrie lay on the bed in the room that was given to her. She was supposed to be getting ready for the evening meal, but she couldn't concentrate on anything in her current state. She kept thinking back to the events of the past day.

She thought back to Aragorn's cryptic comment about 'her concern being unnecessary' and what he had said about Legolas' compliments of her character. Well, that helped her understand some of his interest in her. She didn't understand why it completely didn't bother him if another man was paying attention to her. Especially after what almost happened earlier that morning.

Carrie sighed as she thought back to it. She had been so close to being completely intimate with Legolas. She laughed at the thought. It was almost absurd, considering the short amount of time she had actually known him. But with Legolas, it didn't seem absurd. It felt completely natural. She felt as if she had known him her whole life. And yet, there was still something new and exciting about him. Finally, tired of stressing about the whole situation and what could or couldn't have happened, she closed her eyes and began to daydream about what it would have been like. She had never been with an elf before....

And it was that thought that made Carrie realize something that she thought she had known all along. Legolas was an elf. Part of her wanted to say, 'Well yeah, duh,' but part of her just woke up to that, and everything that it entailed. Up until this point she had been treating him like a man. She had been thinking of him as a man. Yes, she called him elf, and yes, she knew he was different, but something clicked for Carrie. This was no man. This was someone from a different race of being entirely. Not just a different race, but a better race.

Carrie tried to remember all she knew about elves. It wasn't much, but she knew that somehow they were above everything that bothered the race of Man. They were the Eldar, the Firstborn. Men were impulsive; elves were cautious. Men were callous; elves were sensitive. Men were mortal; elves, immortal. Men were ordinary; elves were exceptional. This was all fiction to her most of her life, but since she was here, this was reality.

And then she started to think about that morning. What would have happened if she hadn't fallen asleep? Would she have gone through with it? What then? No matter how much Legolas resembled a man outwardly, he was not a man. What would he have expected of her? What were elf maidens like in bed? Wait...how many elf maidens had he been with?

'Ok, Carrie, calm down,' she thought to herself. 'You are getting completely out of control.'

But a part of her mind, that little, insecure, human part told her that she wasn't. First of all, everything she was worrying about, even now, she realized, was completely human. Everything that irked her about him threw into sharp effect just how human she was. Here was this amazing, perfect, ethereal being, and for some reason, he showed the slightest bit of interest in her. Why did she persist on fighting with him? She should thank him every time he even deemed her worthy to talk to. Didn't she remember reading somewhere that he didn't associate with many men, just Aragorn? So it should have been an honor that he wanted to talk to her, let alone, well, you know...

Carrie's insecurities completely overcame her. She thought about all the ways that she would never measure up to the type of person worthy of intimacy with such a beautiful and pure being. She had never been this unsure of herself before in her life, but then, she told herself, she had never been confronted with someone so worthy of perfection before either. And, Carrie sadly admitted to herself, she was far from perfect. Elves were perfect. She was human.

Carrie wandered around the room, utterly lost. Never in her life had she felt so unworthy of the attention she had been getting as of late. She thought back to all of their past conversations, every fight they had, every time she tried to rile him up, every time she tried to get a rise out of him. She had been so bitchy, so human, when she had spoken to him. She was overly worried about unimportant, fleeting things. Come to think of it, she herself was an unimportant, fleeting thing. Why would he even want to talk to someone like that?

And then there was the whole immortal thing. She really hadn't thought about it before now. If he had been in her world, Carrie mused; he could have seen the birth of Christ. He would have lived through the dark ages, medieval times, the Renaissance. He could have met people such as Caesar, DaVince, Michaelangelo, Shakespeare. It completely blew Carrie's mind. It overwhelmed her.

And yet, this amazing being was ready this morning to give his body and soul over to her. It was more than she could possibly deserve. There was no way she would ever have been worthy of him. How could she ever be? And yet, instead of appreciating the attention, she had gotten angry, angry, that he wanted to keep their affairs private. She had accused him of being embarrassed – yet another human emotion. Carrie was ashamed of herself and all of her imperfections.

Legolas' words resounded in her head. 'Not in my nature... not in my nature.' He was telling the truth, she guessed. Why would an elf be jealous of a man? What could Eomer possibly have that Legolas would be jealous of? Even if he did have something, which Carrie highly doubted, she shocked herself at the thought that an elf would have such a base and abhorrent emotion such as jealousy.

Carrie knew that she couldn't continue think of Legolas in the same way, and she couldn't continue to treat him as she had been. All along, she should have been treating him with the utmost respect that a being of his nature deserved. Carrie vowed that in her future encounters with him, she would behave, as she now deemed appropriate.

She heard a knock at the door and walked across the room to open it. She didn't think she would have to confront him so soon after her recent epiphany. She allowed him to enter the room and bowed her head to him. He didn't say anything and she felt him looking at her so she looked up at him. He had a puzzled expression on his beautiful face.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked meekly.

He regarded her for a moment, obviously trying to figure her out. "I came to inform you, Aragorn, Gimli, Gandalf and I must ride to Isengard before we go to Edoras. We leave tonight. I did not want to go without speaking to you first."

Carrie bowed her head again. "Thank you so much for being so considerate to me."

He crossed the room to her and took her face in his hands. "Carrie, are you not feeling well?" She heard the concern in his voice and it was too much. She backed away from him.

"I am fine." She still wasn't looking at him. "You are just more than kind to concern yourself with saying goodbye to me. I know you have more important things to do than talk to me."

"Carrie," Legolas closed the distance between them again and put his hands on her upper arms. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong." She looked up at him and saw concern and disbelief in his eyes and looked down again.

"Then why do you speak to me in this manner?" He spoke these words softly and ran his hands comfortingly up and down her arms. All Carrie wanted to do was throw her arms around him and kiss him again, but she reminded herself that it would be completely inappropriate to do that.

"Because," and she backed away again to break their contact. "you are an elf." He didn't say anything to that and she looked up at him. She saw a strange look on his face, almost as if he silently agreed and understood. But in a moment it was gone and he had a slightly amused smile on his face.

"I've been an elf the whole time you've known me. You have never spoken to me like this before."

"Well, lets just say that I finally appreciate the greatness, the elegance and the beauty of your kind." She looked at him to see what his reaction would be. He continued to look at her, puzzled by her sudden reverence towards elves, and yet also with a slightly troubled look in his eyes. "And I realize how horrible I've been to you and how unworthy I am of your attention."

He took a step towards her again. "I am flattered by your sentiments towards 'my kind'." He ran his hand through her hair. "I appreciate what you are saying about our differences." He held her cheek with his hand and he looked piercingly into her eyes. "But do not ever think you are unworthy of anything."

She turned her head away from his intense gaze and sidestepped away from him. He paused for a moment, and then closed the distance between them once again. She still couldn't bring herself to look at him. He took her hands in his and spoke to her softly. "I struggled with the same thing you are now." He dropped her hands and ran his palms up her arms until he was grasping her shoulders.

Carrie fought back the shiver that had run down her spine. "And what did you come up with?" He was silent for so long that Carrie finally looked back at him. She saw uncertainty in his eyes, and it only served to perpetuate her insecurity.

After another moment he spoke gently to her. "There is no one I would call more worthy." The uncertainty was gone, replaced by a warmth, which was at odds with the firmness of his tone at his next words. "Which is why it pains me greatly when you berate yourself so."

Carrie was once more struck with how marvelous a being he truly was. No matter what he was saying, she knew she could never measure up. She took a few steps back, breaking out of his grasp.

They stood there, several feet from each other for a few moments. "I am unworthy, Legolas, especially after how I've been treating you all this time." He looked like he was going to say something and Carrie held out her hand to stop him. "I'm sorry. I can't do this." She swallowed hard. "Have a safe journey to Isengard. I will see you in Edoras."

She turned her back to him so he wouldn't see the tears that were welling in her eyes. She could feel him standing there, staring at her back for several minutes and making no move to leave. Finally she asked the question that was weighing on her mind.

"Legolas, why are you here?" Her voice was quiet and she did not turn around.

"I came to bid you farewell before we left." His tone was one of puzzlement at her question.

She turned and faced him, tears still in her eyes. "No, I mean why are you here, with me?" She swallowed hard and continued almost inaudibly. "Why me? What do you see in me?"

He stood looking at her, a concerned and pensive look on his face. She waited nervously for his answer. She knew what Aragorn had said, but now was the moment of truth. She would know why it was that this extraordinary being had taken any kind of interest in someone like her.

He smiled fondly at her and took a step closer. "Do you not know?" He spoke compassionately. She dropped her eyes and shook her head. "You have a fire in your spirit and a passion for life that I have not seen in many of your kind." She looked up at him, startled by his words. "You have a sharp wit and you are not afraid to be who you are. And yet, beneath that you have a kind heart and a deep caring for others." He raised an eyebrow and curved half of his stunning mouth into a smile. "So much so, that even in the midst of your anger for someone, you are willing to reach out and comfort them in a moment of their sorrow."

She smiled and dropped her head shyly. She knew he was speaking of their encounter when she first arrived at Helms Deep. She did not realize how much it had affected him.

He closed the rest of the distance to her and took her hands once again. His voice was gentle and it touched her heart. "Which is why, as I said before, you should never believe yourself to be unworthy."

Carrie didn't know what to think. She stood there silently looking at him at a loss for words. He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Have a safe ride to Edoras. I will see you there." He squeezed her hands and turned and walked out of the room, leaving Carrie staring after him, unexplainable tears falling down her face.

Thank you reviewers!

Jack-Sparrow-Lover - Here's the update! Hope you get a chance to read it before more arrows start flying.

nap-003 - I'm glad you loved the last chapter. I like Eomer too. I think he's a real nice guy. Not to mention quite hunky.

PsychoPixie - Thanks! I'm glad you like their conversations.

Linda19 - Thank you!

XxgemxX - Yes, I had to explain a few things. I think the pace will pick up soon though.

"You had to give Best Debut to Mr. Cheekbones, didn't ya?" Billy Boyd on Orlando Bloom winning Empire Award.