CHOICES IN LOVE

Disclaimer: The title LotR and it's brilliant characters belongs to the great mind of J.R.R Tolkien. As for the others, Miya (Mee-yah) and the rest, they're part of my hyperactive imaginative mind.

A/N: I LOVE Legolas, not Orlando Bloom. BIG, VERY BIG, difference. Ya'll can have O.B. for all I care, just let me have Legolas. yeah...um, BLURR bullied me into posting this chapter. thank her and READ/REVIEW THE KING. Awesome story. :) and she just updated at that. -which resulted to me updating CIL- ;P

Chapter 13

It might have been a trick of the light but in his mind he saw her stop for a moment before walking briskly again. In his mind though, as she walked away from him was a picture of pure beauty....and anger. She was like a beautiful animal wanting to be free. Free from him. Her hair was again tied in the same fashion as his but the lushness and the texture made him want to run his fingers through it. But he wished for something more, for her to look at him, even at least once, with eyes that didn't have flames of anger in them. Her anger heightened the color of her cheeks making a contrast of her even skin, her lips full and soft. Legolas couldn't help but think of how it would feel beneath his own.

Shaking his head, clearing them of the thoughts that plagued his mind, he decided to walk with Miya to the castle. But this was all thrown out of his mind when he saw her hand violently wiping away something from her face. That was it!

Legolas had enough!

This situation was killing them both and he just won't have it!

Striding towards where she was, he placed his arms around her waist and pushed her back to one of the ancient oak trees in the field. His dark eyes clashed with her half-angered, half-confused green orbs. His weight was pushing her back towards the tree with no movement allowed of her. And he was right, she had shed a few tears for her eyes showed a great deal of pain and were moist with tear streaks down her cheeks.

"Oh Miya," Legolas whispered, lowering his head, resting it on the crook of her neck. "Don't cry my love, don't."

But she was a wildcat for she pushed him away, refusing whatever comfort he offered. Legolas knew that she would fight and so he clasped her hands with his own and pushed her to the oak tree a little bit more and hugged her. What Legolas thought as comfort just made her shoulders wrack with sobs. "I cannot be your love Legolas, in my heart I love someone else," she wracked from her throat. "I am doing what I must out of duty. It has always been for duty—"

"Shush, I am sorry Miya, for leaving you. I am here now, don't cry," he said soothingly, now looking down intensely down to her eyes. "I feel your pain for I have loved you more than a sister when you left but I did not know that it was love that I felt. If I had known, I wouldn't have left you." He brushed away the tear from her eyes kissing the lids as they closed. "I was far too late to reach you when I realized what I felt,"

This is wrong, this IS very wrong Almiya, Miya thought shakily in her head. At the back of her mind she was in love with Gregor but the man in front of her was much too persistent for his own good. She knew that he was testing the waters, on how far he can go with her. He was now kissing her cheeks and she knew that if she didn't stop this, there was no turning back. She cannot salvage her pride anymore. She felt his soft lips teasing her ears and whispering soft nothings to her.

"Half a century would be impossible to take time back but if you will let me, I will make it up to you," he whispered the promise to her in a tone that made her shiver and weak. Legolas was already sucking her earlobes and she closed her eyes with pleasure that he brought.

This was impossible! He cannot be very well seducing her! This was Legolas, her soon-to-be husband and in time he would claim his rightful liberties with her and so this was right. But the other half of her mind was screaming 'traitor' in her ears. This was the other Legolas who left her and made her lose Gregor—GREGOR!

Legolas was already trailing butterfly kisses on her jaw leading to her mouth and was already there when she pushed him and screamed, "Damn you Legolas Greenleaf for making me feel things that I shouldn't be feeling, damn you to Mordor and back!" All she had now were the strength of her legs, willing them to run. Run away from Legolas Greenleaf and his sweet nothings.

She thought she had learned her lesson seventy years ago when he didn't keep his promise. Now that he was whispering those promises again, she might as well forget everything she went through alone in Rivendell. And she cannot let that happen again! Once was enough!

But fate wouldn't have it that way for Legolas ran after her after a stunned moment. "Miya, stop! Miya!"

"Stay AWAY from me Legolas! Just stay away, is it that hard to do that?" she asked brokenly, whirling to face him, again with an arrow pointed directly at his face as so he wouldn't get nearer. "Maybe this arrow would make it easier," she said scornfully. "Do not mistake me for a fool Legolas," she whispered in a deadly tone.

"Nay, I do not," he said softly and again started his trek of coming near her without being harmed.

"I am warning you Legolas, do not come nearer or I will let this arrow lose. You will wish that you have never known me in your life," she said with a hard look in her eyes. As she watched him not heed her threats, cool air came out of nowhere, cooling the wet spots on her neck that Legolas delivered. Shivers ran down her spine and almost made her forget why she was pointing an arrow to the man who caused it. "Do not make me shoot you Legolas,"

"I am not making you do anything Miya," he countered softly, walking towards her in strides.

Now Miya was walking backwards, looking behind her and back; away from him but still with an arrow pointed at him. Things went suddenly awry when an unseen rock tripped Miya down and suddenly loosening her hold on the arrow.

"Ahh!" Legolas cried out in pain.

Scrambling up, Miya looked in horror as the blood came out from Legolas' shoulder like the waters from a river, the arrow protruding from his shoulder in an ugly, menacing manner. "Legolas, oh you fool!" she said in horror. But as a warrior and protector of her people, she knew how to act quickly. With years of training, she carried Legolas like he weighed like nothing at all. "Don't leave me yet my prince, not yet," she said in great panic as she ran as fast as she could with the burden in her arms.

"Change of heart so soon my beloved?" Legolas said in a surly whisper, as if he didn't know what he was saying anymore.

"Shhh,"

"Oh this is embarrassing, being carried by a woman," he added hoarsely. Miya didn't acknowledge what he said but concentrated on the road to the castle. It wasn't too far now. "Elves, they say are immortal but not when mortally injured. Quite a contradiction don't you think my little wife?"

"Don't. Legolas, save your strength, please," she pleaded with him softly as they reached the castle. Gasps from the guards were soon gone as soon as they saw that she needed help. Turning over the prince to the more able guard, she ran alongside them and into his room. "A healer, he needs a healer. He was shot by a poisoned arrow," she said frantically.

Legolas was already hallucinating and didn't know what he was saying. The healer in the castle came quickly and shooed everyone from the room but not until Miya had a word with her. "Let him die and you will see yourself dead in a matter of minutes," she said severely but with worry lacing her voice.

The healer nodded and closed the door. Miya slumped down the door of Legolas' room with a stunned look. She shot him. She really did shoot him. And she knew that she would be blaming herself over it for a long time. She had no intention of shooting him, just to make him go away but things had an unlikely manner of doing evil occurrences.

With her head down, she began to cry softly. Oh, she knew that this would be the end. She failed in her duty to be the prince's future wife. How can he forgive her now, now that she had endangered his life by her own stupidity? Things really had went downhill, the scenes that happened in the field were more than she can handle, things that Legolas did to her that made her heat up.

She didn't know how long Thranduil had been in front of her but when she saw him, she began to cry even harder. She failed Thranduil and Elrond, she failed herself. But all became lighter when Thranduil placed his arm around the girl and said, "I just hope you pierced him good so he can get himself back into his senses and get you back," he said with a slight smile to the girl. And let her cry in his tunic for a good long while.

"I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to shoot him," she cried morosely, clutching the king's tunic.

"Shhhh, Almiya. I know you didn't-"

"I failed you and Elrond, I failed in my duty to protect him! He is in danger because of me!"

"Child, it was an accident, was it not?"

"That is not an excuse! I hurt him! I failed!"

"Not everything in this life must be blamed or accounted for with duty. Remember that you are someone who has feelings and emotions and this time, you could not harness what you felt in the fields. I believe my son can be hard-headed at times and I cannot blame you for what happened. It was an accident," Thranduil said quietly, though not really sure if his words made an impact to the still hysterical elleth.

Thranduil signaled for a healer to give her a mild sedative and only then, she calmed down a bit.

Three hours later, the healer went out of the room and was met by an anxious Miya and Thranduil. "Is he going to be okay? Tell me!"

The healer smiled and gave her the arrow. "It isn't a poisoned arrow my dear, just an ordinary arrow. He is out of danger now and will just be needing a few days, a week at most of rest. Try not to distress the young prince my lady," she said with a quiet smile.

"What do you mean?"

"The prince has been calling out your name ever since he opened his eyes, he is most desperate to see you. I suggest that you do not distress him further for he might tear off the stitches on his shoulder," she said slowly. "He seems most interested in your whereabouts though and insists on seeing you right away,"

"I need to see her!" came a shout inside the room, making Miya cringe.

"As I was saying my lady," the healer said pointedly, glancing back at the door and to her. "Take care of the young prince my lady," and she left.

Miya glanced at the healer again before back to the closed door. Oh she was done for indeed. He was most likely going to kill her for taking a shot at him, albeit unintentionally. She looked helplessly at Thranduil for help but he shook his head. "You are in this fix alone, my dear. I think it is best to go to him right away," he said with an amused wink. He nudged her to the door's direction and smiled at her encouragingly. "Knowing my son, he won't harbor a grudge towards you. You of all people," he added.

"If I don't come out in an hour, that means I'm in deep trouble and possibly dead," she said with a trembling smile as she pushed the door open.

When Thranduil saw the door closed he smiled and thought with an amused smile, "Or maybe in his bed...no, I don't think I shall be bothering you at all."