When Miranol and Oleydya suddenly reappeared after a morning of invisibility, Legolas frowned slightly. After all, usually Nenya was with them when they went to wherever the three went. It was another secret he had to deal with, and one of the least annoying. Most of the time. Of course, that was when he thought Nenya was with them. Now that it appeared she wasn't, he found curiosity nipping at his heels until he began to look for her.

He wasn't quite prepared for what he found.

Nenya was stretched out on a rock, her arms draping limply over her head and partially off the large boulder, her legs resting against the sloping stone. She looked as if she had been knocked unconscious and draped out in the little bit of sun that managed to filter through to this place because of the fire-cleared lack of trees. The burnt trees had been reabsorbed by the land years ago, only the space left to indicate there had ever been a human-induced disaster here.

The slightest movement of her curled fingers indicated her watchfulness. She was awake, and aware of him. He smiled slightly, wondering for a while when she'd gotten this perfectly relaxed around him. "You look like a sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?"

"Mm-hmm," he agreed, walking slowly closer. "I heard or read somewhere once that humans used to sacrifice maidens to dragons in the hopes the dragon wouldn't come out of his cave and destroy the town."

"And in the process got him used to the taste of human flesh, instilling a hunger for it in him. Very intelligent creatures, humans, aren't they?" She snorted slightly and opened her eyes.

He smiled slightly and folded one of her arms against her middle so he could sit on the rock beside her. "Well, they hardly have the years we have to gain wisdom."

"I said nothing of wisdom, Legolas. Merely intelligence."

"But is it wisdom or intelligence that causes us to think their actions foolish?"

"Common sense," she muttered, shifting so her arms were under her head. She studied him silently for a while, and then lifted a brow.

He shrugged a shoulder and went back to watching the leaves as they moved with the slightest breeze, their reflection caught in her eyes. "I just wondered where you were," he murmured softly.

"Well, now you know," she retorted, closing her eyes.

"Am I bothering you?" he asked, amused.

"Hmm," she murmured softly.

"Are you going to wake up in time for practice, or shall I come to wake you?"

"You're horribly obsessed with that piece of wood, Legolas."

"That piece of wood has often saved my life," he countered, trying to sound affronted by her description of his bow.

"No, your instincts and speed save your life. Not that bit of wood and string."

He gave up and chuckled. "Just because you don't have a love for the art, you could leave me be."

"I could. Where's the fun in that?" She cracked open one eye and then smiled faintly, closing her eyes firmly against the sun and the conversation.

With a shake of his head he got up, stopping to pick a leaf out of her hair. He considered saying something, but she had effectively dismissed him, and, as odd as it seemed coming from a prince, he didn't want to go against her decree.

Hey, guys, here's how it works: Ask a question, and I'll respond at the top of the next chapter. Review, and you get a new chapter. Simple, right?

I mean that--every time I check my e-mail and there's a review, I'll post the next chapter... but don't get too annoyed. I'm not as obsessive about checking my e-mail four times a day like Nea is.