Hey everyone! I almost forgot I needed to get this new chapter up. It's been one of those weird weeks that feels three months long, but also like the weekend isn't real. Like it can't possibly be a day off. Well, of course, for me, it isn't fully a day off. There's too much to do for that... But, anyway, here's the new chapter (after reviewer responses, of course--thanks everyone!)

Sharon: Things aren't going to be quite that quick... expect some torment in the future. I do have this under angst, don't I? Hmmmm. I'll have to make sure. Glad you're enjoying it so far!

IvannethFuin: Who says anything about her actually remembering? ;) Eventually, perhaps.

The Hobbit Ivy: Your enthusiasm is great, but I really don't have the time to update that often. I've got too much other stuff to do. Unfortunately. But here is the weekly update.

LadyJadePerendhil: Well, it wasn't meant to be intervention like. And while it would have been muchier if Legolas told her... as long as she didn't assume he was lying and run away... it wasn't really his place. It was for her family to explain, and he was merely there to help keep her calm. Not that that helped, much. Just because she knows she had a life before doesn't mean she remembers with those few words.

sarah: The rebirth isn't entirely clear in the Sil, which is all the farther past LOTR I've gotten, and that only recently. In general, when elves die, they go to the halls of waiting, and eventually, i guess they're either given the option to go back or are just sent back. I'm not sure. There are some differences between the two Lunians, as their must be. The soul is the same, but the experiences have been different. At least in my opinion, the soul is the most important thing. The same soul will produce very similar people, especially when surrounded by familair love. That didn't really answer your question, did it? She is the same person, but she has lived for a thousand years with only a few of the earliest ones containing any memory of her past. Did you read The Worry Stone? (If you reviewed, and I've forgotten, sorry, but... my memory sucks.) If so, you'll understand when I say her blood is why she has not retained all of her memories, and why there are more differences between her and the original Lunian. It is also why her being reborn was nothing short of a gift to those who loved her. Did I get everything?

CrimsonEnchantress: The story is taking place more than 1200 years after LOTR, in the Undying Lands. Irithil has been a friend of hers all her life. She sees and treats him much as a brother, while Legolas is by no means her brother. Him she views as a warrior, a prince, a lord, and thereby someone who should be treated differently than she does Irithil or Ethwan. I don't like bogging the story down with descriptions. So, I throw in small hints here and there--dark hair, bright eyes... small things that I suppose could be missed. Lunian and Lenaith both died in Middle-Earth. Their deaths will be explained later... as for being reborn... Elves go to the halls of waiting when they die, and can be reborn from there. They both were, partly because of the... circumstances... around their deaths. If that doesn't satisfy your curiosity, ask again!

Animir: You added a third to the reviews for A Moment in Immortal Time! Thanks for reviewing. It's nice to know a few people read them, and enjoy them. Don't worry, I won't kill 'Leggie.' LOL. I think I've actually written that somewhere at some point. He's just called that so often, you know? And I do understand what you mean. When you're drawn in enough that such an ending makes you cry, you don't really forget the essence of it, even if the words get lost. Maybe that's why I have those somewhat melencholy moments that result in those stories posted as they are. I just can't stand to cast such a shadow over an entire work, because I prefer the happy endings, even though the sad ones can be so touching. Um... Among the Brambles is unofficially on hold at the moment... because I don't have any time to work on it. Hopefully this coming week I'll have some time. Yeah, this story goes with the happy ending, which is why the alternate ending is now part of AMiIT (I'm not typing that out again). Glad you like it so far!

Iluvien: Sorry. I don't mean to wander... I just do. There's usually a reason, though... a few statements that need to be made, time that needs to pass. I hope this one doesn't begin to wander on you.

And to Laurenke1, plumsy321, Vanaloth, Crecy, and Coolio02, thanks for reviewing!

Chapter 5

"Somehow," she whispered, "I knew it would be you."

Legolas sighed softly ad knelt down beside her, smiling faintly at her choice of hiding place. A secluded nook in a private garden. "I just happened upon you first."

"After giving me a fair amount of time to think." She sighed and turned to face him. "So… tell me about… me."

He shook his head. "You know I cannot, Lunian. You must remember on your own."

"You knew me."

"Yes."

She sighed, tightening her hold on her knees. "Were we close?"

He looked up at her from his contemplation of the grass he was toying with, then let out a sigh and nodded. "Yes."

"No secrets?"

"There were secrets at times, kept to avoid inadvertently causing pain."

She sighed again, aware now of the gaping hole within her. It wasn't new… she just understood it a bit better now, and knew how deeply the lack went. It was much more than she had thought, had spent so long trying to write off as a foolish dream of something more, something beyond the life she had. "You taught me archery?"

"Lunian, I shouldn't speak about your past, which you—"

"Nothing, Legolas? Not even to say if the bow you gave me was once mine?"

"It was mine… and then it was yours," he conceded wearily. "I gave it to you when you began improving to the point you would call yourself a terrible archer."

"Legolas… how did I die?"

He drew in a quick breath, his eyes darkening with such pain it made it through his barriers, embracing her tightly. "Not that, Lunian. Even if I were free to speak with you without restraint, I could not speak of that."

She let out a breath, knowing he was hurt both by his memories and her lack thereof. Even if he had merely been her teacher, he had taught her—taking the time and effort to train someone who likely would never need the skill—indicating they had been friends… and she didn't remember. Ignoring what sense was in her head, she crawled forward a bit, sliding her arms around his neck. At once she was enfolded in a warm embrace that made it easier to think.

Legolas shifted her gently, moving her into a more comfortable position, and sighed into her hair, kissing her crown before leaning his head back to check the sky. Elrohir wouldn't be worried about her until she failed to show up in the morning, but Legolas wasn't sure he would be able to keep Lenaith from worrying that long.

"Legolas?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you tell me about my parents? What they did?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I know Mother was reborn. I don't know why. Can you tell me that?"

After hesitating for a long moment, Legolas shook his head slightly. "I do not think it would be wise, my l… my lady."

She sighed, opening her eyes only to focus on golden hair not far from her nose. She reached up and wrapped a bit of it around her fingers, playing with it absently. "If I remember… or think I remember… something, could you confirm it."

"I will… only if it is a true memory, and not a cunning bid for information."

She smiled, knowing his teasing tone hid a perfectly serious reply. "I know," she murmured. "I wouldn't try that with you, anyway." She never felt she could lie to him, and though it irritated her, she wasn't about to go against it. "Nallina and I were friends?"

"Lunian," he sighed, weariness heavy in his voice.

She leaned back, looking up at him and clearly seeing his exhaustion. "Is this my doing?" she asked, reaching up to lightly trail her fingers down his cheek. For a moment she felt bone deep sorrow, but then he built up his barriers, keeping her from knowing his emotions.

"Milady, you need to…"

She heard nothing more of what he said, hearing sounds that shouldn't be there instead. For a moment she heard bright laughter, felt an instant of joy… and then it faded away. She was back in the garden she could remember from her earliest years, being held in the comforting grip of an elf who had always managed to bring her some measure of peace.

"It makes some sense, now." Her voice broke the silence that had fallen between them.

"What does?"

She smiled ruefully at the slight huskiness in his voice, knowing it was from him having nearly fallen asleep. "Why I always felt so comfortable around you. If we were great friends before, it only makes sense that I would retain some of it… doesn't it?"

He sighed softly, kissing her crown. "I suppose."

Twisting her head she looked up at him, watched his eyes shift between absently gazing at the garden around them, and falling into glassy dreams. "Are your dreams ever of me, then?"

He smiled, a warm, beautiful smile. "Quite often, Milady," he agreed softly. He focused on her for a moment, his smile falling away as he searched her eyes. His darkened a shade before he let his head fall back once more, the battle for consciousness beginning again.

"Legolas?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you comfortable?" she whispered.

"Yes."

"Good. Pleasant dreams, my friend." She closed her eyes, surrounding herself with the sounds of the garden, the scent of flowers… the sound of his steady heart beat, gentle breaths, the soft scent that was his… Everything combined to make her calm, to allow her to release her tensions and ignore the horrible feeling she had gotten since being told she wasn't really who she thought she was… that she had existed before. Lived, loved, and died in a world she couldn't even picture except from fragments of songs or illuminations in books. With a sigh she opened her eyes, letting them glaze as she sought an untroubled time.

Legolas opened his eyes when he felt her relax against him. "Sleep well," he whispered, a faint, troubled smile touching his lips for a moment before fading as his eyes unfocused, finding the time in his life when he had felt pain only when thinking of the day when everything he had would be lost. For the instant between wakefulness and dreams he smiled truly, his eyes brightening as he experienced pure joy as he sank into his memory.