Disclaimer: I own nada!! Estas pollo loco!

Author's note: This chapter moves kind of quickly (at least I think so). This chapter also attempts to show how Aragorn (called Estel in this story, as he would have been in Rivendell when he was young) and Legolas meet for the first time.

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Seventeen days after they had first breathed free air, Legolas could feel that he and Eressa were very close to Rivendell. They had come across many paths that elves, men, or other creatures took, but stayed away from them. In these dark days, no one knew what you might come across if you followed the roads. It was best they stay hidden in the woods until they were at Rivendell's gate.

Eressa could feel the change in the air too. It became lighter as they drew nearer to the elven city, and the trees in this area were greener, taller, and older. She could also see the change in Legolas as they walked on. He grew more and more excited and tense as they crept closer and closer to their destination.

"You'll love it in Rivendell, Eressa." He kept saying. "It's so beautiful, and the waters run clear and cool. Nothing evil comes near it."

Eressa would always just smile as a reply. She was glad for herself, and especially for Legolas, but secretly she was growing nervous. She had never known another elf before Legolas. She hoped they all would be as lovely and kind as he. And she hoped that they would approve of her carrying another elf's child.

Legolas would often watch Eressa and know that she was thinking of this. He was also hiding nervousness. He hadn't seen another of his kin alive in five months. No doubt there would be enormous excitement when he, the Prince of Mirkwood, would return home. But Legolas didn't want any part in the feasts and celebrations that would follow. He just wanted to be with Eressa, and to show her what it was like to be free.

He was thinking of just this as he and Eressa walked hand in hand one night. It was dark already, the shade of the trees retreating into almost pitch blackness. He felt Eressa tugging on his hand.

"Yes, Eressa?" He asked, slowing his stride.

"May we rest for the night?" The girl asked, her hand slipping from his. "Please, Legolas, my feet can't walk another step."

Legolas frowned. He looked off into the East. "But we are only three miles from Rivendell."

Eressa didn't seem to hear him. She fell to the ground with a plop at the base of a large Oak tree. "Please Legolas." She begged. "We can get there in the morning…I just need to rest for one more night."

Legolas's frown deepened. He looked back to the East, then at his lover. Eressa was hunched inbetween the large roots, clutching her stomach. Legolas mentally sighed.

I can not keep driving her like this. He decided.

"Very well. We will rest for tonight." He said, approaching Eressa and sitting in front of her. "So tomorrow you'll get to see Rivendell in all it's splendor during the day."

"You can never say enough good things about this city, Legolas." Eressa said, smiling slightly. "I hope it's all you say it is."

"It is, melamin. And more." Legolas assured her. He clenched his hands and felt the grass crush between his fingers. A feeling he had missed.

"Legolas?" Eressa asked in a timid voice.

"Yes?"

"What will your people think?"

"Of what?"

Eressa frowned and looked away. "Of me. Of this." She gestured to her enlarged belly.

Legolas frowned as he observed her. "I hope they will accept the choice that I've made. I love you, and nothing will change that."

"But will they accept me?" Eressa persisted, leaning back against the rough bark of the tree.

Legolas smiled. "I'm sure they will. If they will be upset about anything, it will be myself."

"You didn't do anything."

"I…don't know." Legolas said finally. "I just don't know how they will react. The Rivendell elves will treat you kindly of course. But my people…"

"What makes them so different? You are all elves." Eressa asked.

"Lord Elrond's people are accustomed to men. Men are welcome in their city. But in Mirkwood…it's quite different." Legolas explained. "My people are…slightly less social."

"But surely they will be glad to have you back. Don't they think you are dead?" Eressa asked.

"Yes…" Legolas replied almost automatically. "They will…"

Legolas stopped there, realizing one intensely important detail that he had forgotten to tell Eressa. Eressa watched him as he froze and was concerned.

"Legolas, what did you just think of?"

Legolas blinked, and opened his mouth a few times. Not a word came out.

"Legolas?"

Finally Legolas was able to speak. "E…Eressa…there is one small detail about myself that I forgot to tell you." Under his breath he added: "A few small details, actually."

Eressa frowned and leaned forward. "Alright. Tell me them."

Legolas combed his brain for the best way to tell Eressa what he wanted her to know. But since he was at a loss of words right now, he simply blurted it.

"I'm a Prince." He said quietly.

Eressa's green eyes narrowed. "A what?"

"A Prince. My full name is Legolas Greenleaf son of Thranduil. Thranduil is King of Mirkwood, and I am his son. Prince." Legolas told her quickly, bracing himself for her reaction.

Eressa gasped and looked him up and down for a few moments. "How could you not tell me this?"

"I didn't partly because I forgot, partly because I didn't want to and partly for your own safety." Legolas answered honestly.

"You're a Prince?" Eressa asked, trying to clear her head. "And your father is King of Mirkwood?"

"Yes. That's exactly right." Legolas answered.

Eressa looked and him, her eyebrows raised in an expression of surprise and confusion. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked again. "What does this mean?"

"It's a long story, Eressa." Legolas explained. He suddenly felt cold and felt the urge to hold Eressa to him, to warm him. "It's a long story that needs explaining."

"Well then, explain it to me." Eressa cut in.

"I will…I just…" Legolas halted his speech and rubbed his chin with his fingers. "There's another thing I haven't told you."

Eressa looked disappointed. Legolas couldn't blame her. He had, now that he realized it, hidden many things about himself from her.

"I know how much your brother's death effected you, Eressa, even if I wasn't there to witness it." Legolas began slowly, carefully choosing his words. "I know this because I've also lost a brother."

Eressa's eyes widened slightly, and she breathed out a sigh. "Go on."

"His name was Ithilion. He was my father's eldest son. I was the youngest. We had no other siblings." Legolas said. "The day I was captured…we were attacked by men. Ithilion…he killed himself. He…he…knew how much of a dishonor it is for an elf to be captured."

Eressa blinked and then understood. She watched as Legolas's eyes filled with sadness and memory, and thought she saw tears. But Legolas didn't stop speaking to her.

"I was rendered unconscious and bought by Lord Curdolin the next night…the rest you know. But…since Ithilion was the eldest brother, he had the responsibility of taking the throne of Mirkwood for his own should our father die or leave. Now that he's dead…that responsibility falls on me." Legolas took a deep breath.

"I am now the King's heir, and only heir. Which means that if we get married, Eressa…you will have to face the possibility that someday, you could be Queen." Legolas finished with a relieved sigh; it felt good to let Eressa know the truth, even after so long.

Eressa stared at him in disbelief. "But I…that means our child will be a Prince, doesn't it?"

"Yes." Legolas answered. "It does."

"And I'll be Queen?"

"You'll be Queen, Eressa." Legolas said. "But only if my father gives up the throne to me. I doubt that will happen very soon. But…you will be a Princess…as soon as we marry."

Eressa stared at Legolas for a few more moments and then surprised herself by laughing out loud.

"I used to tell myself that my life was a fairy-tale come true, Legolas." She said, smiling. "That you were my Prince, sweeping me off my feet and making me your Princess."

She lifted herself away from the tree trunk and grasped Legolas in a hug, which he gratefully returned. "But it's real. It's not a fairy-tale afterall."

"So…you aren't upset with me?"

Eressa looked up at him. "Legolas, I love you. Why would I be upset?"

"I…lied to you. I hid things you should have known from you." The elf looked away into the night, frowning.

"I don't care, Legolas." Eressa said, shifting so she was closer to him. She held his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "So you hold an important title. That doesn't make you any different from the elf I fell in love with. You know I'd love you no matter what you were."

Legolas finally realized her sincerity and managed a smile. "What if I turned into a dragon?" He jested. "Would you still love me then?"

"I would love you if you turned into a big, old rock!" Eressa laughed. As she did the wind blew, making the leaves of the trees laugh with her.

"You mean a mountain?" Legolas played along. His hands found their way to Eressa's waist and he hoisted her up onto his lap, playfully kissing her on the nose.

Eressa giggled and kissed him back on the forehead. "I would love you even if you turned into a mountain, Legolas. But you won't be doing that will you?"

"Never." The elf replied, kissing her again, this time catching Eressa's mouth in his. Eressa smiled and welcomed him, holding Legolas as close as her pregnant body would let her.

Suddenly, Legolas paused and pulled away, his face alarmed. Eressa knew immediately something was wrong. The elf had sensed something. She lowered her voice.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Shh…" Legolas hushed her, narrowing his eyes and peering into the darkness between the trees. "I heard something."

Eressa gasped and held her breath. Legolas let her off his lap and stood up. Eressa kept down low and pressed her body against the hard, rough surface of the Oak tree. She watched as Legolas turned his head to and fro…and then focused his eyes on a certain place, near a clump of bushes.

"Eressa." He said very quietly. His voice was dark…dangerous. "I want you to get up and run. Now."

Eressa didn't understand what she was hearing. "What? Which way?"

"East. You know where that is." The elf replied, his voice monotone. "Go. Now."

Eressa quickly stood up and backed away a few steps. But she didn't want to leave Legolas alone. And she certainly didn't want to venture out into the woods by herself.

Legolas turned his head over his shoulder when he didn't hear Eressa run away. At that moment, Eressa saw something tall and dark rise abruptly out of the bushes in front of them. In the darkness she didn't know what it was, but she didn't need to know in order to scream.

Legolas turned his head just in time to see a figure appear in front of him. He didn't take the time to analyze it. He charged. He hear Eressa scream again as his body hit flesh. Human flesh.

Valar…he realized. It's one of Lord Curdolin's men. They've followed us here.

The very thought made Legolas's blood boil, and he rammed the man into a nearby tree. The man was momentarily stunned, and Legolas took the time to turn back to where Eressa was frozen to the ground.

"ERESSA!" He yelled. "GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

Her lover's frantic cry was all that it took to snap Eressa out of her petrified state. Whirling around on the grass, she turned and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction Legolas had charged in.

Damn it…she's not going east…Legolas thought. He didn't have any time to finish his thought before the man revived and looked up at him.

Legolas backed away, teeth and fists clenched. The man had dark, wavy hair that swung about just above his shoulders. He was dressed in entirely very dark green, so dark that it almost seemed black. His face was rugged, with a half-grown beard and his blue eyes shone with surprise. He had a sword banging against his knee, and a quiver of arrows on his back.

Well armed…Legolas snarled in his mind. But I won't let that stop me. If it meant fighting this man to the death, he would protect Eressa.

As long as she gets away, nothing else matters…He told himself. Then he screamed and charged again, lashing out with his fists and nothing else.

But this time the man was quick. He spun away from Legolas, and in doing so removed a sword from his belt. He quickly struck it out between himself and the angry elf. He opened his mouth to say something, but Legolas beat him to it.

"Who are you!?" He growled, not bothering to hide the rage boiling in his soul. "Why were you spying on me!?"

"I was not spying. I am a friend." The man answered calmly.

Legolas felt himself seethe inside with hatred. "No human is my friend!" He declared. He could smell blood on this man…he could smell death.

He charged again. The man's blue eyes widened and he swung his sword, but Legolas ducked inside his arm and was able to slam him up against another tree. The man grunted but used his free arm to punch Legolas in the face. Legolas staggered back and avoided a swing of the man's sword once again.

Legolas looked around frantically. He could have taken on this man if he also had not any weapons, but even an elf couldn't win a fight against a man with a sword un aided. Legolas looked up into the branches of the oak tree. He leaped gracefully up and grasped on of the thicker limbs, and used both his weight and his strength to break it off as he fell back to the ground. He landed just in time to block a blow from the man.

The sword's blade struck into the wood deeply, but not deeply enough. Legolas knew the man was holding back, but why?

They want me alive again…he realized.

Legolas used the branch to push the man back. The sword came free, but the man again hesitated before attacking again.

Fine. Legolas thought. That makes it all the more easy for me to win.

Again, Legolas came at the man, swinging his weapon. But the man didn't make any move to counter nor retreat from the elf's attack. Not until Legolas had come too close.

Legolas raised the branch and swung it, a mighty blow that would have connected with the man's head and probably killed him. But the man ducked, and in an impossibly graceful, circular motion came up again as Legolas past him, and then slashed the elf down the center of his back.

Legolas cried out, and fell against a tree, his weapon dropping with him. But the instant he fell he knew he had not been hurt. The man had hit him, but so lightly that it hardly tore his shirt. He never expected the man to move that fast and with that much control. That move was one used by the elves to disable an opponent in battle. It was impossible. Quickly he whirled around, only to see the gleam of a blade in his face.

Legolas's eyes followed the long blade of metal up the man's arm, and then to his face. The man was looking at him most strangely. Legolas came to realize that he was returning an equally strange look. But his confusion quickly morphed to rage once again.

"If you have been sent to retrieve me, then kill me." He said when the man didn't make any move.

The man's eyes narrowed. "I haven't come to retrieve you nor kill you. Who are you?"

Legolas's eyes gleamed and he promptly shut his mouth. Still the man's sword didn't move the mere four inches it would have taken to slash his throat open.

"If you are not here to do that, then why are you here!?Why do you have the stench of blood on you?" Legolas whispered harshly. "And how on earth did you learn elvish battle tactics?"

The man's face suddenly curled into a small smile. It was not an unpleasant looking one, either. He opened his mouth and then spoke in a tongue that was not of his people.

I know many elvish things, my friend. He said in Sindarion.

Legolas gasped. "How do you know that!?" He demanded.

The man smiled wider now and then, to Legolas's surprise, sheathed his sword. "My name is Estel." He said, switching back to common speech. "I am the foster-child of Lord Elrond. My brothers and I have been on a hunting expedition. That is probably why you smell blood on me."

Legolas's mouth flew open. "But…you know Lord Elrond and his sons?"

"Do you?" The man countered. "Who are you, good elf?"

Legolas looked the man over, not knowing if he could trust him. He didn't want to reveal himself in front of any human, but this one…he knew Lord Elrond.

Finally, Legolas gave in. "My name is…Legolas. Prince Legolas of Mirkwood." He said.

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Eressa ran. She ran until her feet hurt. Occasionally she looked over her shoulder to see if Legolas or the man was following her. But all she saw was darkness.

As she did this, she saw a light out of the corner of her eye. Turning her eyes ahead of her, she screamed, and stopped just in time to keep from ramming head-on into a camp…full of men. She had nearly ran right into their fire, and they shouted as well as she. She tried to step around and retreat back from whence she came, but one of the men reached out and grabbed her.

Eressa screamed again, and not knowing what else to do to protect herself, promptly sunk her teeth into the sleeve of the man's arm. He cried out and shook her off, knocking her to the ground. Stuggling in the dirt, she stood up and again tried to escape, but another man grabbed her from behind, and gripped her like iron.

She fought against him and screamed as they shouted at her, but it was of no use. She fell limp in the man's arms, sobbing.

The man that was holding her let his grip to soften, and he gently eased the girl to the ground, where she hunched up into a ball and cried. Around her, she heard the men speak in hushed voices…in a language she didn't understand.

Tilting her eyes up, Eressa looked above her and into the brillant green eyes of a man that wasn't a man at all…it was an elf. She knew it because of his beauty, his long, brown hair, and his eyes.

They were all elves. They all grew silent as each one noticed that she had ceased crying. They looked at each other, all uncertain about what this young woman was doing here.

Elladen stood in front of the girl, eyeing her with interest. She had run into their camp so quickly that they hadn't even heard her coming. As she looked up at him, tears welling from her eyes, he frowned. Then he knelt down.

The girl gasped and tensed as his eyes came to her level. He looked over his shoulder at his brother, Elrohir, who shrugged helpfully.

"Girl…" He began, not knowing what else to call her. "…what are you running from?"

The girl looked at him, confused. "A--am I in Rivendell?" She asked, her voice cracking.

There was a chuckle from the other elves, but Elladen hushed them with a raise of his hand. "Nay, young human. But we are near it. Are you traveling?"

The girl slowly uncurled from her balled position on the ground. As she did, Elladen noticed her large belly that pushed out from beneath her dress. He recognized her situation. She was with child.

"What are you doing out here alone, and in your condition?" He asked the girl.

Suddenly the girl became hysterical. "I'm not alone! Please…Legolas is out there and there was a man who attacked us…"

"Legolas?" One of the other elves exclaimed. "But Prince Legolas is dead!"

Eressa didn't notice their comments. "You have to help him! He could be killed!" She cried.

Elladen leaned forward and grabbed the woman by her shoulders. The girl cried out but didn't try to escape from him.

"Do you have a name?" He asked softly.

The girl drew in a shaky breath. "E—Eressa."

Elladen sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "Well then, Eressa…who is this 'Legolas' you speak of?"

"He's in danger!" Eressa shouted, but then decided that the only way to get any help was to cooperate with these elves. "He's…my friend…an elf…like all of you…do you know him?"

Elrohir shook his head. "She's deranged. Prince Legolas died a long time ago."

"He did not!" Eressa retorted. "He's alive…he helped me get here…only please…you have to help him!"

Elladen nodded. He and his brother had once been great friends with Legolas and his brother, Ithilion. They had been deeply saddened when they heard of their deaths.

"She could be right, Elrohir." He told his brother. "They never found Legolas's body."

"You say you were attacked by a man?" Another elf asked.

Eressa nodded her head. "I didn't see him clearly, but he was dressed in all dark." She turned back to the elf in front of her. "Please…help Legolas…he could die!"

"A man dressed in dark clothing…Valar! Estel!" One of the elves cried. Elrohir gasped.

"We must find them. They don't know each other. They could kill themselves." He said.

Elladen let the woman go and stood up. "Elrohir…go and find Estel. I'll take the girl back to Father. A woman shouldn't be out in the woods like this."

Elrohir nodded and the other elves turned away. Only then did Eressa notice the horses tied to trees near the camp. The elf who had held her walked away as well, leading a horse towards her. Eressa watched as the other elves prepared to leave as quickly as they could.

"Get on." She heard the elf with the green eyes order.

Eressa shakily stood up. "But I want to…"

"Hush. You don't belong here. I will bring you to Rivendell." The elf cut in.

"But Legolas…"

"My brother will find him. You'll see him before they sun rises, Eressa." The elf said. Then he smiled softly. "My name is Elladen. You will be seeing my father, Lord Elrond, very soon. Now get on."

Eressa looked at the elf and then looked at the horse. But she didn't attempt to get on it. The beast was huge and white...she found herself quite afraid of it. Instinctively, she backed up as step...unfortunately, Elladen, as he had called himself, was right behind her. He grunted as she bumped into his chest.

"You've never ridden a horse before." Elladen observed, looking at her.

Eressa avoided his eyes shyly. She nodded, but didn't speak.

"I see." The raven-haired elf answered. "Let me help you up."

Elladen didn't wait for a response before her grasped Eressa by the waist and effortlessly hoisted her up onto the saddle. Then he sat behind her and took the reins.

"Ride fast, mellon nin." He whispered to the horse.

The horse snickered loudly and pawed its hoof into the ground before taking off. Eressa shrieked as she nearly fell off, but Elladen caught her and held her steady as they rode off towards Rivendell.

((((((((((((((Personal thing)))))))))))))))))))

That was one long chapter. Sorry for the crappy ending though. Whew. I'm tired. I just got back from seeing the campus of a college and I'm so tired! There's no way I'd gain the freshman fifteen in that college! Oh…alright…I hope you enjoyed the chappy! The next one will be up soon!