Hello! Beware, this is my first fic, bear with me. NOT A MARY SUE, I promise. R&R, if you like it tell me. Then I can get to work on the next chappie! whoohoo. .
(By the way, I don't own these people, or these places, or these... people. Tolkien's a much better writer then me... sigh)

Chapter 1

"GET OUT HERE, LEGOLAS!" a small, human child shouted wildly at the top of her lungs. She stood in a clearing near the edge of the forest, rigid at 4'2", her small hands in fists of anger and frustration. She was only seven, and her bright green eyes shone with a fire the likes of which Legolas had never seen in her. Black hair framed her delicate face, with one naturally golden streak right in the front, above her left eye. Her hair was mussed, a sign she had been off 'adventuring' again. Her clothing was dirty, too; a brown tunic and pants to match, boots that came up to her calf covered in mud. Her cloak was splattered with water and dirt; she clawed at the broach to unclasp it. She threw the cloak off of her and onto the surprised Legolas as he ran up to her, who dropped it to the ground.

"What is it Mai, what happened? Are you hurt?" He bent down next to her. Taking her face into his hands, he turned in from side to side, checking for injury.

She batted away his hands. "I'm FINE." Legolas stood, perplexed.

"If you're fine, then why do you scream for me?"

The anger on her face slowly dissipated as her eyes clouded over with a different emotion: sorrow. "I LOST MY BALL!" she cried, melting to the ground with her face in her hands, sobbing over the lost toy.

Legolas, smiling gently, scooped up her frail body into his arms. "Shh, Mairana, don't yell so, and stop crying. I was standing not a foot away from you! Now, show me where you lost it." Sniffling, she pointed to a little creek not too far from where they stood in the clearing. Legolas carried her against him to the creek, setting her gently down to her feet. "Show me where, exactly."

Mairana wiped her eyes and sniffled one more time. She walked over to the creek's side, and said in a small voice, "I was playing with it here, when I saw something shiny on the ground over there. I went to go pick it up, and when I came back it was gone."

Legolas walked over to the creek's side, and he bent down, peering over the little edge into the water. Clear water ran in small rapids over rocks of different shades, but his keen elven eyes spotted a little blue ball among the stones. He reached into the water and pulled it out, twisting around and holding it out to Mairana. Her eyes widened and sparkled, happiness apparent, and threw her small arms around his neck. He laughed as he almost lost his balance, and he stood, picking her up. As they walked back to the palace, he said to her, "So, show me this shiny thing that grabbed your attention." She reached into the bag she always carried around with her. Ever since she was little, she would go around and collect things she liked, be it an acorn, leaves, rocks, that sort of thing. Mai pulled out a mud-caked object, circular with bits of silver shining out. He looked at it quizzically. He set her down and took the thing from her gently. "Hmm, interesting. Mai, go get cleaned up, change into one of your dresses, we have the ball to go to. Remember?"

"But..." she started, looking at her new toy he still held. "What about my thing? Can I have it back?"

"I'm going to go clean it off, Mai. Besides, we have to find out what it is, and who it may belong to. If we don't find the owner, yes, we'll see about you keeping it, whatever it is." Her face lightened, and she smiled. "Now go, Mairana, go get cleaned up, we have only a few hours!" She ran off, yelling behind her a muffled thank you for finding her ball.

He waved her off, and walked toward his room, holding the dirt-encrusted circlet with careful speculation.

Seven years ago, a great and old friend of King Thranduil called upon him for a favor. This mysterious man walked into the palace, past all elven guards, and shut the door to the throne room behind him. He had walked into the room him a small bundle. He walked out and left carrying nothing.

The stranger's village had been burned down by thieves. His wife had been trapped in their family's home during the fire, and nothing he could have done would have saved her. She had handed him one last thing to take out before the fumes became to much to handle. His daughter. Mairana.

She had been nothing more then a babe at her mother's breast when the fire happened. Her father had never been around, always away. She had never known him. He knew nothing of her. He knew nothing of raising a child... his last hope was the king.

That is how Mairana's legacy had begun. King Thranduil granted his old friend that favor, and took his daughter to be raised among the elves. He brought his sons before him to tell them of this. They now knew everything he himself knew... Mairana's past, who the stranger was, and the reasoning behind it all. One of his sons must take on the responsibility of caring for her till she was old enough to learn the truth. Legolas accepted the task, he was the only one of Thranduil's sons who had nothing tagging the weight on his shoulders.

So Legolas became the little girl's guardian. Over the years of her life he taught her a great many things, from tracking animals and following the paths of the forest, to the songs he had learned as a child. The grew close, and he was like a father to her. Still she knew naught of her past, and Legolas regretted every day keeping the secret from her. She was too innocent to know, of course, and he knew that. But she deserved to know what no one else did, save his father, his brothers, and her father himself.