Dear Readers: The Fellowship is finally entering Lothlorien (thank goodness!). They're going to be staying here for a while--not as long as in the book, but definitely longer than in the movie.

To maybe tonight: Yesssssss…Lothlorien is where "everything" happens, but I'm not telling you when! I am adding a lot more stuff to my original version of the story.

To Harmony99 and anon-101-6: Ladies, I don't think you're going to need any hankies for this chapter, but I can almost guarantee that you will much later in the story! :-(

To ginnyNharrysecretlove: Oh my goodness! If you wanted to kill Boromir in the last chapter, I'd hate to think what you are going to want to do to him in the chapter that follows this one! ;-)

To all my other WONDERFUL reviewers: another big THANK YOU!!! I will definitely keep writing, so please continue reading and reviewing!

And last, but not least, another great big hug and thank you to my super beta Kris. Your witty remarks are a big reason why working on this story has become my favorite pasttime!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: A Lothlorien Elf

"…I meant what I said when I said it. And I mean it now--Meldanya."

He loves me! Ellie's spirits soared and she felt absurdly happy, almost giddy--even though deep down she understood that such a love could never be. But after her heartbreak in the mines, she welcomed Legolas' tender words and the warm touch of his lips, as a drowning person would welcome a breath of air.

The others were waiting, and in fact were watching them unabashedly from a distance, but Legolas had all but forgotten them the moment his mouth had touched Ellie's soft skin. Now, he turned her around so that she faced him, yet he did not meet her eyes right away. Instead, the Elf's shuttered gaze followed his hands as they gently stroked her braided hair and shoulders and arms, then glided up her slender neck. He smiled slightly when Ellie did not flinch--she had not flinched with his kisses either--then his hands trailed upward to her cheeks and traced the tracks of her tears. Legolas regretted making her cry; he did not know what had possessed him to taunt her that way. She had done nothing to deserve it. Now he erased the silvery tracks and pressed her lips with his wet fingertips before lowering his mouth to hers. It was a rather chaste kiss--a mere feather-light brush of his lips and a quick lick of his tongue--but it devastated Ellie, and Legolas knew it.

Only then did he meet her eyes, and let her see.

Ellie caught her breath at the whirlwind of emotions that blazed in Legolas' pale blue eyes. He now made no attempt to hide them. She saw love above all else--so much that it left her senses reeling--and it was echoed in his smile and in the softening of the sharp planes of his face. And with his love was an almost desperate longing that she recognized in herself as well, for he had just rekindled it with his kiss. But in his bright gaze she also saw sadness and remorse--understandable under the circumstances--and a hint of uncertainty, maybe even fear. That surprised her. Just as his tears had surprised her earlier. I have made him vulnerable, she realized with a start, and he has allowed me to see it.

Still smiling, Legolas pulled her even closer to his body, and confessed, "You are the first person I have ever called "beloved."

Ellie's heart all but burst out of her. "You are the first person to ever call me that." And because she suddenly needed to be as close to him as possible, she pushed her body against him, her soft curves molding themselves perfectly to his hard, sinewy frame. She felt rather than heard his sharp intake of breath. Just as she felt his growing arousal against her belly. Ellie sighed contentedly. "And it makes me feel cherished," she admitted.

Legolas spoke after a long moment. "Ah…Ellie…what a mess we have gotten ourselves into." His voice sounded ragged to his ears--like his breathing--and the Elf marveled once again at how quickly she could make him lose his self-control. Legolas did not delude himself into thinking that anything had changed between them. Ellie had not told him that she loved him, although it was apparent in her every look and gesture. Nor did he believe that her brush with death--at his hands--had led her to abandon her convictions.

He had selflessly revealed his heart to Ellie without expecting anything in return. He did it because he felt he owed her at least that much after what he had put her through.

And now his emotions--not to mention his body--were once more raging out of control. He caught himself grinding his private parts into her soft belly and muttered an oath in Elvish. But when he started to ease his hips back, Ellie frowned at him and shook her head. She lowered her hand from his waist to his buttocks and pulled him close again. Her temerity shocked her as much as him.

And then she shocked him further. With her heart thundering against his chest, Ellie licked her lips uncertainly and said, "Legolas, if I were to ask you again to…"

"Gods, Ellie…don't!" he interrupted her, barely getting the words out between gritted teeth. She immediately raised her hand. And he cursed himself for being a fool.

Legolas had misunderstood Ellie's motives. He thought she was taking advantage of his weakness for her to get him to sire a daughter upon her. But Ellie was not thinking of a daughter. Indeed she was not thinking at all. She was listening to her heart and acting on instinct alone. After a day fraught with fear and pain and horror, she found comfort in Legolas' warm body and in her awareness of his love for her. And Ellie wanted more. But he had denied her before she could even ask.

Legolas' heart lurched when he saw the hurt return to her eyes. "Don't ask me…yet," he amended, offering her a sliver of hope, and then added with a rueful smile that did not quite reach his eyes. "And don't ask him either."

"Him?" Ellie repeated in a puzzled voice.

Legolas motioned with his head, and Ellie glanced over her shoulder and saw Boromir walking towards them. The rest of the Fellowship was looking on with great interest, much to the girl's dismay.

"Oh, gods!" she hissed, mortified that they had been observed. Ellie had been so caught up in Legolas that she too had completely forgotten about the other companions. Her only consolation was that none of them had Elven hearing.

Before Ellie could say anything else, Boromir approached them with a grim expression on his face. "If you are quite done, it is time to get moving or we will not reach Lothlorien by nightfall," the man told Legolas coldly. He barely glanced at Ellie. Is he angry with me? With us? she wondered, and turned to look at the rest of the Fellowship. Are they all angry? She and Legolas must have lingered longer than she had thought! And Ellie felt even more ashamed.

But then she noticed Legolas. His eyes were glacial, his face taut and devoid of all expression, and Ellie could scarcely recognize him as the same Elf who had bared his heart to her a few moments earlier. She realized that he was angry, maybe even furious, because she could see that tell-tale muscle twitching again in his jaw. "We will join you shortly," he told Boromir just as coldly, clearly dismissing the man. With a slight sneer, Boromir turned and walked away. The girl looked from one to the other and frowned in bewilderment.

As Ellie and Legolas joined the others, it did not occur to her that she might be the reason for the hostility between the man and the Elf…

The woods of Lothlorien were lovely and deep, and painted in hues of gold and orange in the late afternoon when the Fellowship finally arrived. Jamie was brimming over with excitement; and, despite some apprehension at what might await her, Ellie's spirits lifted once again as she beheld the beauty and majesty of the ancient forest. Legolas walked silently at her side, reverently studying the bright, stately trees. They were so different from the dark, shadowy oaks and pines of his home. Lothlorien was a realm at peace; Mirkwood was not.

The travelers did not immediately encounter any Elves, but Ellie could sense watchful eyes follow their every move inside the woods. And then, without warning, the Fellowship was surrounded by Elven archers, bows drawn and arrows ready. They had seemingly appeared out of thin air, dressed in shimmering clothes of silver and gold that blended perfectly with the brilliant trees surrounding them.

"They are magnificent," Ellie breathed, too struck by the Elves' ethereal beauty to be afraid. For they were fair and tall like Legolas, with a proud bearing and a languid grace, that spoke of a lifetime of ease and comfort in their idyllic kingdom. Ellie stared at them in awe. To think, that I have come here to join such beings!

Then she heard Aragorn address someone named Haldir, whom he obviously knew, but she could not see that Elf from where she was standing. When Haldir replied, however, a chill went up Ellie's spine and her body startled. The sound of his voice touched a chord deep inside of her and ignited a spark of recognition in her heart and soul; she felt an instant affinity with this unseen Elf. Disregarding the arrow pointed at her breast, the girl stepped forward slowly. And at the same moment Ellie saw the Elf for the first time, Haldir noticed her. His fair face lost what little color it had, and the bow and arrow he held fell unheeded to the ground. On legs that suddenly felt too weak to sustain him, Haldir of Lorien moved toward the small girl.

"Naia," he whispered, shock and disbelief in his handsome face.

For a moment Ellie could not react, as she stared back at the Elf. Oh, gods…He is my father! Ellie knew this without a doubt, for like all Elven children, she was born with the uncanny ability to recognize her sire the instant she first laid eyes upon him. Oh, Mother, what have you done? How could you send me here? the girl silently cried. Then she shook her head and said, "I am not Naia. I am Elanae, her daughter."

"Her daughter?" Haldir asked, confused, still reeling from his initial shock.

Ellie nodded. And then, because she felt he should know, she quietly told him, "My mother passed away almost 200 years ago."

Haldir closed his eyes briefly, and said, more to himself than to her, "Of course. She was mortal after all." The Elf was not prepared for the pain and grief that suddenly gripped his heart, and it staggered him. Oh, Naia…that I should feel this way after all these years… he thought, shaking his head. Then he started, as he realized that Naia's daughter must be impossibly old by human standards. That could only mean that she was part-Elven. And the most incredible thought occurred to him. No, it cannot be!…Can it?…Can she be mine?

"How old are you?" he asked, his attention riveted once again on the girl, his dark blue eyes piercing in their intensity.

Ellie hesitated for just a moment. "I am 285."

My daughter. Haldir could scarcely believe it even as his heart recognized the truth, for he too felt the same affinity toward Ellie that she felt toward him—a strong pull that had nothing to do with Naia, and everything to do with the blood they shared. As he led the Fellowship deeper into Lothlorien, he was aware of her every step behind him, of her every breath. And whenever he glanced over his shoulder, he would find her dark, enigmatic eyes studying him. She did not look like an Elf, but that did not mean that she had not been blessed with Elven gifts other than longevity of life. And he wondered, Does she suspect the truth?

When Naia had left him without a word all those years ago, Haldir had not known she was with child. Nor did he know where she went, for she left behind no traces, her disappearance from Lothlorien as much a mystery as her arrival had been. He never knew she was Ilissan, although there were others among the Elves who did. All Haldir knew was that he had loved her more deeply and more passionately than he had ever loved, and would ever love, another being and she had betrayed that love, abandoning him and shattering his heart. Turning him into a cold, bitter Elf that found little pleasure in life, and less so in physical intimacy. But now, Naia's daughter—his daughter—walked only a few paces behind him through the woods of Lothlorien. And once more, his blood surged hot and untamed throughout his body, thawing the frozen shards of his heart and reawakening his soul--as if Naia herself were right there with them. For the first time in nearly 300 years, Haldir of Lorien felt alive. He wanted to cry out his pain; he wanted to sing out his joy. He wanted to embrace the girl and never let go of her. There was so much he needed to tell her, so much he needed to know.

But now was not the time. As part of his duties to protect his people and his home, he had to interrogate the Fellowship, and decide who should be allowed to proceed to Caras Galadhon, and who should be turned back. Aragorn, of course, was known to him, for the man had grown up among the Elves of Rivendell, and was always welcome in Lothlorien. Prince Legolas of Mirkwood, likewise. And the girl--well, there was no question that she should be permitted to continue to Galadriel's city. She was his daughter, after all, and therefore a Lorien Elf herself.

But the others in the Fellowship? He was not so certain about them--especially the small hobbit who carried Sauron's ring and the ill-mannered dwarf. Haldir needed convincing, and to that end, he led them all to a hunting talan high in the trees that bordered the golden meadows on the outskirts of Caras Galadhon.

Aragorn argued and pleaded eloquently on behalf of his companions. Haldir listened carefully to the man's impassioned words, measuring the validity of each one, before arguing back. His reasoning mind was fully engaged in the ongoing debate, for the very security of Lothlorien was at stake. But his heart was not in it. All the while, his eyes kept straying to the small platform where the girl sat huddled between Legolas and a human child. My daughter.

At last, the Lady Galadriel herself decided what to do with the Fellowship. After hearing her voice inside his mind, Haldir held up a hand to forestall Aragorn's next argument. "It has been decided. In the morning I will take all of you to Caras Galadhon to meet with the Lady. Rest now. Food will arrive shortly." And the Lorien Elf leaned back against a slender column to wait, while his eyes furtively studied the girl. My daughter.

Ellie could sense the intense emotions roiling inside the Elf, for in many ways they mirrored her own. Despite Legolas' warning a few nights before, she had been unprepared for this encounter, and she found herself at a total loss. Ellie was surprised and confused by the depth of her feelings for Haldir, having only just met him. And she did not know what to do, what to say to him, now that she was sure that the Elf knew she was his daughter. As an Ilissan, she had been destined never to know her father. Indeed, she had not missed having a father, never had yearned for one, and she had not thought to ask her mother questions about his identity—even when it became clear to her that she was more than a mortal human. When Naia told Ellie to seek refuge in Lothlorien, she must have known that this meeting might take place. The girl felt a sudden surge of anger against her mother for never having warned her.

"You were right. I did not want you to be right, but you were," Ellie told Legolas, and glanced up at him. The Elf's look was sympathetic, and not smug as she might have expected. "What was my mother thinking?"

"She was looking out for you, in the best way--perhaps the only way--she knew how," Legolas replied. "Do not judge her too harshly, Ellie."

"But she must have known this would happen!" the girl insisted.

"I think so, yes," he told her gently.

Ellie furrowed her brow in bewilderment as she watched the handsome Lorien Elf who was her father. "Legolas, this goes against everything I have ever been taught! Everything she ever taught me." To the Elf sitting beside her, Ellie looked and sounded like a small child who had just discovered that a beloved parent was not infallible. He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder and drew her even closer to him.

Sitting on another platform across from them, Boromir scowled at Legolas. but the Elf chose to ignore it. It was not easy, for the man had been glowering at him all evening long and Legolas' patience was reaching its end. He would have to have words with Boromir--and soon. But right now Ellie needed him more.

The girl looked up at Legolas and met his sympathetic gaze again. She knew that he more than anyone understood what she was going through. And she could not help but recall the words he had spoken that morning after their failed lovemaking, "…you ask too much of me, Ellie. You expect me to give you a child—my child—and then walk away and have nothing more to do with you or her. My daughter would never know me, would not even know my name." Ellie's heart suddenly filled with compassion for Haldir the Elf, and all the faceless, nameless others who had fathered Ilissan daughters.

"Do you know him?" she asked Legolas unexpectedly.

"Yes." The Elf smiled.

"And?" she prompted, curious despite her initial reluctance to accept the inevitable.

"He is worthy of you, Ellie. Haldir is a fine, noble Elf, as you will soon discover for yourself."

It did not take her long to do so…

Shortly after encountering the Fellowship, Haldir had established his mental link with the Lady Galadriel in Caras Galadhon, and while he had kept her apprised of the events as they were unfolding, he had also made a request on behalf of his daughter and Legolas. Now a small group of emissaries from Caras Galadhon arrived at the hunting talan bearing trays of food and several bundles.

Haldir took the bundles and approached the platform where Ellie sat with Legolas and Jamie. Crouching gracefully before them, he said in his soft, cultured voice, "Legolas, Elanae, I thought perhaps you might wish to bathe and change your clothing." It had not escaped Haldir's notice that the two of them were considerably more bloodied and soiled than the rest of the Fellowship. And it had offended his Elven sensibilities to see his daughter literally dressed in rags. Now he opened the bundles in his hands to reveal a silken tunic for Legolas and a filmy white dress for Ellie, as well as several small bottles of soaps and lotions.

Ellie gasped in delight and extended a hand to touch the soft material, before raising her eyes to Haldir's face. The Elf was smiling. And Ellie's breath caught in her throat. Oh my… She had never seen Haldir smile before, and she suddenly realized that her father was just as beautiful, perhaps even more so, than Legolas. Trying hard not to gawk, Ellie replied as graciously as she could, "Thank you, my lord, a bath would be most appreciated." But she could not stop herself from blushing. And Haldir's smile deepened.

Flustered, she turned to Legolas. The Elf was looking at her with amusement in his eyes and a grin that said I told you so