Author's Note-Hey, this be CB and I get to write all the author's notes this chappie! Whoo! Anywho, when it says Lili is saying something to someone, but it's in '' and not "", it means Aria's translating as Lili's signing…Yes that's confusing, but when you see it in the story, you'll understand. Oh-and writing is italics.

Chapter 4: Confessions

A very tense week past. And by 'tense', I mean that there was a great deal of arguing involved. For instance, Lili was scared to death of horses. Therefore, Legolas and Aria had a rather large argument about whether to ride or walk to Mirkwood. Eventually Aragorn pointed out that it was faster to ride than walk, so they should just shut up. And then there was a disagreement between Arwen and Legolas, which started in Common language but as it increased, became Elvish. Nobody was quite sure what they were yelling about, but it seemed to have started out with Legolas saying something about how Arwen seemed to be having mood swings. There were problems with packing, traveling, food, translation…Everyone was very glad by the end of the week that Legolas and the girls were leaving the next day. They all just had to survive one more night.

"Arwen, please come out of the bedroom." Aragorn begged. His wife had been in there for over an hour.

"No!" she shouted.

"Whatever you said to her this time, it must have been bad." Aria told Legolas.

"I didn't say anything!"

"Sure." Aria nodded her head.

Legolas opened his mouth, but Lili nudged him rather forcefully in the ribs and he said nothing. She began signing to him.

'The last thing we need right now is for you two to start another argument.' She looked over at Aragorn, who looked very silly yelling through a door at his normally very peacefully wife.

"Arwen, please come out! He couldn't have said something that bad!" Aragron scowled at Legolas.

"Auta miqula orqu, Legolas!"

Aragorn's eyes widened and he tried to hide a grin while Legolas just stared at the door.

"But I never do anything!" Aria protested, not bothering to ask what Arwen had said. "He always starts it all!"

Lili merely shook her head angrily and turned to Aragorn.

'Majesty, perhaps it would be best if we let her majesty alone for a while.' she suggested.

Aragorn sighed. "I think you are right. I will talk to her later." He surveyed Legolas and Aria. "But for now I would like to have a talk with the two of you. Come with me." He strode purposefully away. Legolas and Aria followed. Lili did too, until they rounded a corner, and she went back to Arwen's room.

She knocked on the door softly.

"Aragorn, please leave. I'd like to be alone."

Well, of course Lili had no idea what she had said, so she just knocked again.

Inside the room, Arwen frowned. It was unlike her husband to push her into talking to him. It couldn't be Legolas, he would have said something rude by now. Maybe it was Lili. And as Arwen walked over to open the door, she found herself hoping it was she. The girl seemed to have a calm about her. A calm that Arwen had been struggling to find for the past week. She hadn't really been feeling herself and Legolas asking stupid questions was not helping.

She opened the door to find that, indeed, Lili was standing there. Arwen beckoned her inside, seeing that she clearly wanted to speak with her.

It was then that both Lili and Arwen realized that they had no means of communicating with each other. Arwen hurried across the room to fetch a scroll and a quill. Lili followed her closely and they both sat down at a desk.

Hello. Arwen wrote on the paper.

Hello your highness. Lili wrote slowly. She only barely knew how to write. How could one write when she could barely remember the sounds that the letters made? I hope you are feeling a little better towards Prince Legolas.

Arwen smiled. Not really. He said something very rude to me.

May I ask what? Lili was a bit shocked at herself for being so bold with her queen.

Arwen blushed a deep shade of red. He asked...well, he asked if I was pregnant.

Lili's mouth dropped open. Why would he ask such a private thing?

Because he doesn't think before he speaks.. Arwen wrote with a scowl.

Lili tried not to giggle, but allowed herself a small smile. Well I hope he would never ask me such thing.

Somehow I wouldn't put it past him.

The two of them paused. Lili seemed to be debating something inside her head.

May I tell you something? She wrote finally.

Of course Lili. You can tell me anything.

I'm scared.

Arwen paused. What did she say to that? What did she say to a young woman who was going to a place where she didn't know anyone? Where there wasn't a single person from her own race, besides her best friend? Where the race who lived there might not even like her? What was she supposed to say?

You have to try to not be afraid.

How do I do that? Lili looked up at Arwen with her round blue eyes that were full of fear.

Have faith. Have faith in yourself, in the Elven race, in Aria, and in Legolas.

Why Legolas? Lili was confused now. She had gotten the impression that Arwen did not like her husband's friend.

Arwen laughed. I know it appears that I do not like Legolas, but I do. He is very kind, and as long as you have him by your side, you will be fine.

You are sure of it?

I am positive.

For what seemed like the millionth time since she had entered the room, Lili hesitated. She then slowly inched forward and then hugged Arwen tightly.

Arwen smiled. She did not need words or speech to know what Lili was saying.

Thank you

"Ooh, nice study." Aria said, hopping up to sit on top of a desk.

"Get down." Aragorn told her.

She cocked her head to the side. "Do I have to?"

"He said to get off the desk!" Legolas snapped.

Both of them stared at him. Legolas never snapped. He may argue, but not lose his temper. He looked at his feet. "I'm sorry."

"Right." Aria slid off the desk.

"The reason I wanted to talk to you two is that I am concerned about all of your arguing. I don't think this journey will get very far if you keep picking at each other. I'm sure Lili will not enjoy watching you throw insults at one another. So, for the sake of her and for your own sanity, please negotiate some sort of truce until you get to Mirkwood." Aragorn instructed.

He looked at Aria, who looked at Legolas, who looked back at Aragorn. She looked at the floor, studying one of the tiles intently. She didn't want to say anything, but at the same time she knew that she had to say something. She took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, I think this arguing is all my fault." Aria said, still looking at the floor. "You see, I had a brother once... Well, brothers and sisters tend to fight a lot. " She smiled softly. And then feeling a little bit braver, she looked up at them. "Legolas, you fight the same way as he did. You stay calm and collected, and counter accusations with facts. So, after I realized you and him fought the same way," she turned red. "I've been looking for reasons to argue with you... It's been sort of like having him back again."

Legolas almost forgot to blink. Not that he did it often anyway, but still. "May I inquire how your brother died?" He managed.

"In the Battle of Pellenor Field, along with my father." She wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry for causing so many problems around here lately. I just miss him, is all."

"I don't blame you. Losing a brother hurts."

"Faramir! Don't you have anything better to do than sneak around and spy on people's conversations?!" Aragorn exclaimed.

"No, not really." Faramir shook his head. "And I was not spying, I came to tell you that there's these two women who demand an audience. I think they're the girls mothers."

"And you couldn't use the front door to tell me this?!" Aragorn said exasperatedly.

"Secret passageways are more fun." Faramir said. "The women are in the throne room." With that, he left through the way he came in, which happened to be a door disguised as a bookshelf.

"Mom probably wants to remind me to pack my underwear or something stupid like that." Aria rolled her eyes.

"Well, you won't know unless you go talk to her." Aragorn said. "Let's go find Lili."

"Actually, Mom is probably paranoid Legolas will murder me and ravish Lili." Aria winked at the Elf as she went out the door.

"Don't stand there, you're coming too." Aragorn called over his shoulder to Legolas. "I am not facing two over-protective mothers by myself."

"Joy." He grumbled before following the King out. He frowned to himself. Did she just wink at him?

As the King and Elf Lord walked towards the throne room, two woman were already in the throne room. One was dark haired and one had lighter hair. One was healthy and one was not. One was standing and one was sitting. The two of them were so different, but they were friends and it showed. Their daughters were different, but they were friends too, so it didn't matter

To be quite honest, they hadn't meant to sound so rude when they had...asked...to see the King, but it was a matter of importance that needed to be taken care of.

And then all too quickly, the King appeared at his throne.

"You asked for an audience, and here I am. What can I do for you?"

The dark haired woman walked to stand behind the woman with the lighter hair as she was closer to the throne.

"I am truly sorry for seeming to be so rude." She said after giving a quick bow. "But Sarah, Lili's mother, needs to speak with Prince Legolas immediately. She looked at Aragorn and continued hesitantly, "Alone, if that's possible."

"May I ask what the topic of our conversation is going to be?" Legolas asked, coming out of behind the high chair. He had decided to come out a few minutes after Aragorn in case the two over protective mothers ended up yelling. He had also old Aria to wait there, so they could figure out they wanted.

He observed the two women that were in front of Aragorn. One looked healthy enough, but the other looked dreadfully thin. Her skin seemed to hang on her and her eyes seemed to have had the life pulled out of them

Sarah and the other woman let out a breath of relief. Legolas frowned inwardly. Had they really thought that he wouldn't talk to them? Where'd they get an idea like that?

Aria's mother looked over at Sarah once more and paused.

Sarah looked Legolas straight in the eye and smiled sadly. He found himself looking into a pair of life-less blue eyes that mirrored a certain sixteen-year-old's.

Sarah broke the gaze to look towards Aragorn.

"I'm dying."

Legolas' breath caught in his throat. He looked towards Aragorn, who looked just as shocked as he felt. This couldn't be good. Lili was just about to leave! They couldn't delay any longer either? This new...development brought up a whole slew of things that he didn't even want to think about. It was probably a good thing that he had made Aria stay in the back room. How would you react if you found out that your best friends mother was going to die?

He was also beginning to wonder what exactly what he had gotten himself into.

Note- And this is CB again. Whoo. Suspenseful ending, no? Um…yeah that's pretty much it for me…Review!

Oh-fireflydiamond. Um…I think that you mentioned in one review of MI that you lived in Maryland. Of course I can't go check and see if you actually said that because MI was taken down (sob) I'm okay…really…(sniffle). Anyway, um, hey what a coincidence, me and Liz and everybody in the MI Gang live in Maryland too. We just thought you might want to know that interesting tidbit…I'll go now…