A/N:

Steff7 – Yes, definitely! Legolas will be much busier in the next chapters so we'll get to stay with him for a while!

Beauty and the Beat – Welcome! Thank you – I'm glad you like the characters.

The sun was just turning the morning sky pink when Everleaf slowly began walking south toward Fangorn again. Soon the nymphs were stirring and talking nervously amongst themselves.

"Hroom! Today, we will reach Fangorn Forest! Hmm, yes!" Everleaf informed them. "We are expected at the Entmoot. Hoom, hoom! Entmoot!"

Annowe looked to Deka for an answer. Deka shrugged.

"I thought we were supposed to be meeting Fangorn," Annowe whispered to her cousin.

"What is an 'Entmoot', Everleaf? I have not heard of such a thing. Are we not meeting Fangorn?" asked Deka gently.

"No reason why you should know of hmmm, Entmoot! Hmm, hoom. An Entmoot is a gathering of Ents, hmmm, to discuss, hoom, matters," Everleaf replied. "Hrooom! And Fangorn will be there, hmm, yes. It is his idea, hmm."

This did not clear matters up so Annowe pressed the young oak.

"What matters are you going to discuss?" The naiad questioned.

"Hroom! What matters? Hoom, hoom! The matters you brought to my attention! Hmmm! Yes! It seems that you are not the only ones who know of Curunir's, hoom, turning!" Everleaf seemed aggravated that he had to explain their own mission to him.

"What?" Annowe gasped. "The Ents know of his treachery and are going to meet about it? What will they do?" She wondered, silently hoping that they would decide to do something "hasty".

"Hmm, hmm. I do not know but, hroom! We will not be hasty!" Everleaf declared.

Deka looked at Annowe and raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Something tells me that they will make an exception in this case," Deka whispered.

Annowe grinned back at their good fortune. Would Legs be faring as well on his way to Mordor? She trusted to all that was good in the world that he was. She could not bear it if he was in trouble and she could not help him but Gandalf had shown her that he was safe and that was all that mattered to her.

How long would the Entmoot last? She wondered. Would it prevent them from reaching Isengard in a timely manner? But if the Ents knew of Curunir's designs certainly they would want to act against him, wouldn't they?

As they approached the forest, she could see other Ents making their way through the trees. It was a very strange and yet wonderful sight. Trees of every kind were gathering for the Entmoot. There were ancient oaks, beech trees, young pines and some trees that Annowe could not readily identify. Each was unique in its own way and moved in the slow determined gate of Everleaf. The sight of so many Ents gave Annowe chills. They would be a formidable force against Curunir.

The dryads were in awe of the gathering and scrambled down from Everleaf to run amongst the other Ents in their joy. Many of them had never seen so many Ents in one place before and they were both excited and inspired by the gathering. Deka was beside herself with exhilaration and tried to run from Ent to Ent to see if she could recognize them. Annowe was terrified that the giant walking trees would trample her cousin, but Deka nimbly managed to stay out of their way.

Annowe just sat in Everleaf's branches, stunned at the events she was witnessing. The Ents drew closer to a clearing where they were gathering. This must be the Entmoot Everleaf spoke of. A light breeze floated from tree to tree causing their branches to groan in the wind. It took her several minutes to realize that it was not the breeze causing the noise, but the Ents speaking to each other.

Fascinated, she stared at the assembly as the dryads continued to run amongst the gathering Ents. At the far side of the clearing, she thought she saw a familiar face. Curiously, she climbed down and cautiously walked through the clearing, trying to avoid the confusion. She stopped in her tracks as she recognized the two Hobbits from Rivendell.

"Hobbits!" She cried and ran toward them.

Mithrandir had not told her the Hobbits were in Fangorn. What were they doing here? Why were they here and not with Legolas and the others?

Merry and Pippin turned toward her. Slowly, recognition came to them and they ran at her, both of them talking at once and bombarding her with questions but she refused to answer until they told her of Legolas and how they had become separated from him.

They told her the story of Frodo's disappearance, the Orc attack and Boromir's death. The Hobbits were not sure where Legolas was now. The last they had seen of him, he had run into the forest with Gimli in search of Frodo. Annowe bit her lip in consternation, torn between the desire to try and find him and the immediate need to stop Curunir from uniting with Sauron.

Merry sensed her distress and re-assured her that the elf would be safe with Gimli. She smiled at his kindness and the three of them sat down to trade adventure stories as they waited for the Entmoot to begin.

They made their way south out of Fangorn. How would they manage to travel to Edoras? Legolas wondered. The horses had run off while they were in the forest searching for the Hobbits. It would take them days to walk to Edoras and they could not waste a moment of time.

As they cleared the trees, Gandalf answered his question. The wizard tilted his head back and let out a long low whistle that was answered shortly by a loud whinny. A stunningly beautiful white horse galloped across the open plain followed by their original mounts.

"This is Shadowfax," Gandalf said proudly as he stroked the horse's velvety nose.

Legolas was dazzled by the animal's beauty. Certainly he had not seen such a fine horse in all of his years.

"A Mearas," he breathed, admiring the magnificent horse lord.

Aragorn did not seem the least surprised at this turn of events. Gimli, on the other hand, was looking forward to riding again as much as Sam looked forward to sailing.

Gandalf was anxious to return to Edoras city and release King Theoden from the evil spell he was under. His people would need him and Gandalf believed that the enemy had put the king under a spell so that the Rohirrim would remain weak and unable to fend off an attack.

He was determined to prevent that from happening. They would need every ally they could muster in the war against Sauron. The Dark Lord would waste no time in trying to keep his enemies from allying against him. The easiest way to do this, of course, was to wipe them out before they could unite.

As they rode toward Edoras, Legolas was torn between his desire to stay with his friends and his anxiety to find Annowe. Now that they knew the hobbits were safe and The Ring was on the way to Mordor, he wanted to find the nymph and confess his feelings to her.

The wizard, sensing the elf's unease, suddenly remembered that he needed to speak to Legolas and drew close to him as they rode along.

"Fear not, my friend," Gandalf assured him. "Your naiad is safe. She is with the Ents also." He thought for a moment and then added conspiratorially, "I do pity Saruman if he is caught outside Orthanc."

Legolas looked at the wizard in surprise. He had definitely become more powerful after his return from the Halls of Mandos (or wherever he had been). He had not spoken of Annowe to anyone since leaving her in Rivendell so long ago.

Gandalf smiled and winked at the elf knowingly and rode ahead. Legolas laughed.

"What is so funny?" Gimli demanded. "And who is 'your naiad'?" He wondered with a grin.

"Nothing," Legolas answered. "Gandalf was just telling me that Annowe is about to start some trouble."

"Ach! The redhead from Rivendell," Gimli chuckled. "She seems the type. I'm glad she is on our side."

Legolas laughed heartily at this comment. Gimli was an excellent judge of character.

"Yes, I am, too," Legolas agreed.

"So who is she, anyway? A relation of yours?" Gimli asked teasingly, knowing that Annowe was no elf.

Legolas frowned, unsure how to explain their relationship. What were they? Just friends? More than friends but less than committed to each other? They certainly were not betrothed. How could he explain it? He knew what he desired their relationship to be but it had not progressed to that point – yet.

He sighed, unable to put it into words.

"Hmm, one of those! I see," Gimli poked him in the back playfully, sensing his hesitation.

Legolas could not help but grin. The dwarf understood him almost as well as she did!

"We have known each other for years. I grew up with her," he answered. Strictly speaking, it was the truth.

"No need to explain to me, lad. I've been there myself," Gimli decided to let him off easily. He had seen how the tips of the elf's ears had turned pink at the mention of the girl. No doubt about it, the lad was smitten and from what he could gather, the feeling was mutual.

Gimli chuckled to himself. Had he been so taken with a female, he certainly wouldn't have wasted any time in declaring himself to her and begin courting her immediately. But these elves could be very strange about love. They sang of it and dreamt of it and worshipped it as an ideal but when it stared them in the face, they seemed to be at a loss of how to cope with it.

He wondered if the girl were just as anxious and doubted it. Somehow, she didn't seem to be the type to hesitate or deny her feelings for long. Gimli wondered fleetingly if she had a sister.