A/N: Dazzler 420 – Well, only "we" know where Legolas is. ;-) Annowe thinks he is still on his way to Mordor. She won't find out until later about the Fellowship.

Jebb – Thank you. My beta/muse wants to see them together also and he has been periodically reminding me of it. Everleaf is a lot of fun to write but spell-check hates all the "hroom! Hoom!" ;-)

The Great River loomed before them like a green-gray slash cutting through the rolling plain. Annowe was glad to see the fast moving waters and finally be completely out of the shadow of Mirkwood. She had slept surprisingly well for spending the night in a tree and wondered if voicing her fears to Deka the night before had eased her mind.

She felt more confident about her relationship with the elf after speaking about it to Deka but how did he feel about it? She was more concerned about his feelings on the matter since she had known her own for quite a while. He seemed willing enough during their scouting mission but he had not actually told her how he felt and she wanted to know for sure. Perhaps she was just imagining things and it was all wishful thinking on her part. Obviously, they would have to discuss the matter further. Annowe hoped they would soon have the chance.

For now, she pulled the precious comb out of her pouch and ran her fingers over the delicate hairs entwined in the teeth. She looked towards the south and wondered where he was. She knew he was out there – somewhere – just waiting for her to find him again and she determined that she would. And she would find him before Deka had a chance to chew his ear off!

She chuckled to herself and longed for the day that a good scolding by Deka was the worst thing anyone had to endure.

"What are you grinning about?" Deka asked her suspiciously, seeing the grin on her face.

"Nothing," Annowe answered innocently and hastily tucked the comb back into her pouch.

Deka grunted and tossed her a chunk of lembas.

Annowe ate her lembas and looked at the other nymphs. There were eleven of them all together plus Everleaf – a mere handful of resistance.

"Everleaf," Annowe asked slowly. "Have you heard from anyone in Fangorn? Deka said you had contacted them."

"Hmm, yes. But it will take time! Hroom! The Ents will not be hasty in reply," Everleaf responded.

Annowe looked curiously at Deka for an explanation.

"It is difficult to explain. Their messages are carried from one Ent to another like the wind," Deka said. "So we may actually arrive before they respond. But at least they will know we are coming."

"How interesting," Annowe mused. There was much about her own world she had not managed to explore. She had been too busy exploring other realms and fighting against Sauron's minions. After this is over, I will make it a point to enjoy my own world, she vowed to herself. Once the young one and I have resolved this situation once and for all.

For now they would continue south to Fangorn and wait for a reply. Annowe was anxious to get on with their plan of disrupting Curunir. She believed that the sooner they began their task, the better chance the Fellowship had of completing their mission. She was determined to help Legolas in any way she could short of tracking him down and dragging him away to safety.

But for now she must harden her own heart against their enemies and prepare to fight. Even though it had been years since she had faced an enemy, she knew that her fighting instincts would take over in battle if she would only let them. She must steel herself for what could possibly be a very long and bloody war against Sauron. The slim hope remained that The Ring could be destroyed but they would be foolish to rely on such a miracle. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst, she told herself grimly.
Chasing Orcs was not a difficult task and even the most inexperienced tracker could follow them as they just tore through everything in their path, heedless of the destruction they left in their wake.

The three had been following the Orcs for an entire day now and were not getting any closer to their quarry. For whatever reason, the foul things were making very good time in a great hurry to get somewhere. Aragorn did not like the speed at which the Orcs were moving – to him that signaled trouble for the Hobbits and he was determined to catch them as quickly as possible. Legolas was a tireless runner but the Dwarf was not built for long distance runs and constantly lagged behind.

Aragorn wondered why the Orcs were heading north when they could have easily crossed the river below the falls, unless they did not want to pass the Dead Marshes on their way to Mordor and were going to cross the river above Emyn Muil. Either that or the Orcs were taking their captives to Isengard. That was not a pleasant thought. It meant Curunir was on to them and suspected that one of the Halflings had The Ring. They had to find those two and rescue them before they reached their ultimate destination – wherever that happened to be.

He doubled his pace and looked back at Legolas. The elf was keeping himself between Aragorn and Gimli so that the three of them would not be separated. Aragorn was anxious to keep the trail of the Hobbits warm and he knew Legolas would be able to track him if they became separated. However, separating would not be a very safe thing to do with Curunir and other enemies on the loose.

As evening fell, they drew no closer to the Orcs but their bodies were weary from the long run. After a short debate, they decided to rest for a while to recover their strength. Legolas feared for the Periannath in the hands of the Enemy. Who could tell to what lengths they would go to find The Ring? He did not want to halt the chase but Aragorn was correct in that they could easily lose the trail in the darkness. Reluctantly, he agreed but stared into the growing darkness to set the trail for the next morning.

Gimli's soft snores cut through Legolas' thoughts and he grinned at Aragorn. The Dwarf had not wasted any time in making himself comfortable and dozing off. Aragorn smiled back and shook his head. They all needed some rest before picking up the trail in the morning.

Legolas spread his blanket and stretched out under the cloudy sky, wondering where Annowe was. In some selfish part of him, he was glad that he did not have to continue on to Mordor. Certainly, the chances of seeing her again had greatly increased since Amon Hen, as long as she wasn't on her way to Mordor. He cringed at the thought but knew she would not be so foolish. No, she hadn't survived the Corsairs by living too dangerously. If anything, she would try and draw him out or distract him so that they could complete their mission. Even if she had banged on the Black Gate herself it would have been a ruse to allow others to slip in unnoticed.

He frowned at the thought and wished there was some way he could communicate with her and find out what her intentions were. If they could possibly co-ordinate their efforts, they could make a more efficient attack on Sauron. But he had no way to know where she was or what she was doing. He could try slipping into her dream again but the last time he did that, he nearly got her killed by that spider. No, he would not endanger her again. She was too important to him now.

In his mind, he could hear her telling him the words he had secretly wanted to hear from her but thought he never would. It was toward the end of their scouting mission for Elrond. After combing his hair one evening, she had sat facing him with her knees touching his. He knew something was weighing very heavily on her mind – the hair combing ritual was proof enough of that - and he had unconsciously held his breath waiting for her to speak. Then, so that there was no mistaking her intention, she had looked deeply into his eyes and said, "I want you", as calmly as if she were asking him to pass the lembas. His heart still skipped a beat at the memory of her revelation. It was not until she admitted her feelings that he realized how strong his own feelings were.

Had she told him that she loved him he would have misunderstood her intentions. Certainly he knew she loved him just as he loved her. A great affection had grown between them over the years and he would have thought she was just confirming it. But by telling him that she wanted him there could be no mistaking her objective – she wanted to mate with him. She wanted to remain with him forever. A grin of satisfaction spread slowly over his face. He had waited so long to hear her say it but it still had come as a shock because he thought she never would.

She had seemed intent on avoiding him and the subject for years. And Eru knew that Deka had tried her best to get him to mate with one of the elf maidens from home. He suspected but couldn't be sure if Annowe had known of Deka's intentions or not. She always seemed to conveniently disappear right before Deka went on the offensive. He had used every excuse he could think of to avoid her matches for him but the infernal dryad could be terribly persistent and had nearly succeeded in her aim. She had almost driven him to mate from sheer frustration at her dogged determination. But he had managed to put her off for long enough and Annowe had finally declared her intentions to him.

She had known for years how she felt about him but held her peace until she could no longer stand it. He had suspected her feelings and hoped he was reading her correctly but he had to nearly back her into a corner before she admitted it. Why? He wondered. Why was she so frightened to reveal her feelings to him?

He understood that she was afraid to lose him, especially after she told him of Darion but he was no mere mortal! He liked to think that he was older, wiser and a much better prepared warrior than her younger mortal mate had been.

He brooded on this for several minutes before he realized that he had not actually told her how he felt. With a heavy sigh of irritation at himself, he shifted on his blanket. Yes, that would make sense, he thought. He had tried to show her his feelings but maybe she had misunderstood him since he had never actually voiced his desire to mate with her. He had wanted to know her feelings first and when she had revealed them, he still did not tell her. Instead, they had fallen into a discussion about The Ring and he did not get the chance. No, he thought, I must tell her. I want her and she needs to know it.