Look, I'm back!!!  Isn't everyone just overjoyed?  No, you don't have to say anything, I know you are.  Thanks so much for your reviews everyone, they were so helpful (look at the end for individual comments).  I've had this chapter ready for a while, but everything's just kind of been piling on me at once and I haven't been coping too well.  Basically I've been trapped in an itsy bitsy nervous breakdown and haven't been able to get anything up.  But here I am, even if I'm not in top form.  Anyways, here you go, nice long depressing (just a little) chapter.  The product of listening to Evanescence whilst writing. I should hurry up now, I'm supposed to be doing my Algebra homework before I have to leave to go back to school for Chorus practice.  Stupid homework!

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Ana snorted haughtily at Aragorn and said, "Sulking doesn't become you, Estel.  Jealousy's really not your emotion."

The man looked taken aback at the fact that she had just read his mind.  He spluttered incomprehensibly, "You… you… I can't… Oh!"  He started off muttering under his breath, "Can't even think around here without someone prying into your mind."

Legolas was struggling not to burst out laughing at the scene that had played out before him.  Unfortunately it wasn't enough, because strangled gasps of laughter escaped through his lips.

Aragorn whirled back around to face his best friends and caught the look in Legolas's eye as he watched Ana giggle softly at the two of them and her little trick.  A smirk crossed his face.  He knew how to get revenge.

With all the dignity he could muster he swept over to Ana and bent over to whisper in her ear.  This made Legolas suspicious, but he couldn't help feeling admiration at her beauty.  The way her body shook when she laughed was so graceful, and her mirth brought the spark back to her eyes.  Against his will his eyes traveled down below her face and lacked on her chest.

Suddenly Ana's voice filled his mind and said sarcastically, "Come on, your highness, control your hormones.  My face is a few inches above where you're looking."

He felt himself blush a deep pink all the way to the tips of his ears as he slowly dragged his eyes up to meet hers.

Ana's breath seemed to be stuck in her lungs as the brilliant sapphire eyes met hers.  The world seemed to stand still around them as elf and sensor stared at each other, Aragorn completely forgotten.  Sparks seemed to fly between them.  Their souls joined, not being separate feelings or emotions, but blending into one mix of feelings.

Aragorn could practically feel the electricity charging through the air around him.  Obviously he had stumbled across them at the wrong time.  He slipped away as quietly as he could, although he doubted either of them would have noticed an earthquake.

The connection lasted for another minute before Ana was able to look away from the deadlock her eyes were trapped in.  It hit her then like a ton of bricks what was happening.  She was letting someone in; there was someone who might know as much about her as she did about herself.  This was exactly what her father had warned her about and told her not to do. 

Quickly she stood up and walked away, hurrying into the trees around her.  Picking up on the sounds of Aragorn's footsteps ahead of her she sped up her pace and was soon in sight of the man.  Ana called out his name softly and he stopped and turned to her.

"Ana, what are you doing here?  You seemed a bit… erm… busy, a moment ago.  And where is Legolas?"

She shifted uncomfortably under his piercing gaze and quickly lied, "I wanted to talk to you about when we were leaving Lorien.  I know we only just arrived, and that this place is a safe haven, but I need to move on.  I can feel that something about this place is quieting my grief and I don't feel that it is fair to Gandalf's memory to use elven magic as pain medication."

Aragorn could tell that she wasn't telling him the complete truth but felt it would be unwise to push her to discuss a subject she obviously did not want to go into.  Instead he nodded slowly at her words, pondering what she had said.

"You're right, Ana, there is magic here, much the same type as your own.  The pain does feel less than it would outside these borders.  But you do have a point when you say we should leave soon.  The longer we are here the easier it will be for Sauron to find the Ring.  We will leave in a few days."

In some ways Ana was glad that they would be leaving soon.  She did want to continue on with their journey.  It would be a distraction from Gandalf's death and the fact that she was going to have to distance herself from Legolas.  In other ways she did not want to go.  There was more of a chance she could avoid Legolas as long as they remained in Lorien.  On the open trail it would be practically impossible. 

She sighed deeply as she made her way back to her small room.  This was turning out to be a very complicated adventure.

*****

Ana successfully managed to avoid Legolas for the rest of their stay in Lorien, though Legolas had no idea why she was avoiding him.   He couldn't understand what he had done and it was eating him up inside. 

Since she hadn't been spending time with Legolas, Ana had to find someone else to pass the time with.  She had talked to Haldir the same day she left Legolas, and the two became good friends.  He had helped her improve her Elvish and she, in turn, had talked to him about her life before she had turned up in Mirkwood.  The thing that fascinated him most was some of the songs that she would sing for him. One day they were sitting out in a clearing when he asked her to sing a song for him once more.  They would be leaving the next day, and he knew that he would miss the songs.

Ana never thought her voice was that great, but Haldir seemed to like it and she would never begrudge him a last wish before she left.  Neither knew if they would ever see each other again, and it saddened them, for they had become close friends in the short time that they had spent together.  So she started to sing, not knowing that Legolas was walking nearby.

//I'm so tired of being here,

Suppressed by all my, childish fears.

And if you have to leave

I wish that you would just leave

'Cause your presence still lingers here

And it won't leave, me alone.//

Legolas stopped short when Ana started to sing.  He had never heard her voice before and the words of the song captured his heart.  Something about them just seemed familiar.

//These wounds won't seem to heal,

This pain is just too real,

There's just too much that time can not erase.

When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears,

When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears,

And I held your hand through all of these years,

But you still have, all of me. //

He was floored when she sang the next bit.  The words seemed to hit home with him, telling exactly what he was going through.

//You used to captivate me,

By your resonating light,

But now I'm bound by the life you left behind,

Your face it haunts, my once pleasant dreams

Your voice it chased away,

All the sanity in me. //

Legolas was starting to realize just what it was that he felt towards his best friend, and it was a bit more than friendly.

//These wounds won't seem to heal,

This pain is just too real,

There's just too much that time can not erase.

When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears,

When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your tears,

And I held your hand through all of these years,

But you still have, all of me. //

His eyes started to water and he thought his heart might be breaking.  She didn't know.

//I tried so hard to tell myself

That you're gone.

But though you're still with me,

I've been alone along. //

She didn't understand what he was feeling.  The realization almost doubled him over.

//When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears,

When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears,

And I held your hand through all of these years,

But you still have, all of me. //

Her voice cut through his heart like a knife, slicing away the wall that the many centuries had built to protect him.

// All of me, oh

me, oh, me. //

The song ended and he heard Ana and Haldir walk away, with Haldir praising Ana for her marvelous job on the song.  'Yes, marvelous,' he thought to himself, 'what a weapon.  To hit a man when he's down, now that's harsh.'  He knew it wasn't fair to think like that, there was no way she could know what he was going through or that he was listening to her.  It was only coincidence.

Legolas planned to stay there until the last possible moment, since he didn't think he could face Ana just yet.  His plans were altered, however, when Gimli suddenly burst into the clearing.  While Ana had been spending more time with Haldir, Legolas had been getting to know the dwarf better.  Really, in so far as dwarves went, this dwarf wasn't so bad.  He had some appreciation for things outside the smelly mines.

"What are you doing out here alone, laddie?" Gimli asked his new friend.

The dwarf was secretly worried about how Legolas had been acting lately.  Any fool could see that he was taken with Ana, except for, well, Ana.  The girl just never would learn, and now the elf was paying for his attachment dearly. 

"Nothing, Gimli, just trying to think."

Gimli could tell that he was annoyed at the interruption, but it just didn't seem right to leave him out to brood and mope all by himself.  He would never get over his broken heart if he didn't try and move about some and take his mind off it.  Besides, the girl hadn't said that she wanted things to be over (even though they had never really begun) she just hadn't been spending time with her best friend.  Sighing, he shook his head.  Immortals could be so moody sometimes.

He was startled out of his thoughts by Legolas's voice.

"Does something amuse you, my friend?"

"Nothing, Master Elf, I was only pondering on how we should spend our last night here in Lorien.  I shall greatly miss this place once we have left."

The elf nodded slowly, wondering how he could manipulate their plans so that he wouldn't have to spend any of the evening with Ana.  It was just too hard trying to hide his true feelings from her when she obviously didn't feel the same way that he did.  Why did he have to go and fall in love with his best friend?  Why couldn't he just leave well enough alone?

*****

The next morning came sooner than some in the Fellowship would have liked.  Most of the hobbits were quite happy in the woodland paradise and had no desire to leave.  Only Frodo understood the necessity of moving on towards their goal.  For he was the one who had to bear the burden of the Ring, and outside of Lorien it would only grow heavier and harder to cope with. 

Ana's heart went out to him, as they stood in a line on the bank of the Anduin River being wrapped in elvish cloaks.  She gave Haldir a small smile as he fastened the broach at her throat and straightened the cloak around her shoulders.  While she knew that it was time to move on, she also knew that she would miss her new friend greatly.

Lady Galadriel gave each of them gifts perfectly suited to each of their needs.  Ana was the last, after Aragorn.  Around her neck, Lady Galadriel hung a small pendent.  It was formed in the shape of a moon with a small star suspended in it.  The jewel seemed to be made out of crystal but it was warm to the touch and seemed harder than crystal.

"For the pain," the elf said softly.  "When you leave these lands, you will be hit with more pain and suffering than any being should have to bear.  And, of course, you will not only have to deal with your own but all the others pain.  This will help lessen all those things."

Ana gazed up at the Lady in amazement and wonder. 

"Thank you, Lady Galadriel.  You have given me more than I deserve."

After Aragorn had a short counsel with Lord Celeborn and Haldir, the boats that the elves had given them were placed in the water and the company took their places.  Haldir watched from the shore as Ana squeezed into the front of Aragorn's boat with Frodo and Sam.  It was a tight fit, but there was no where else for her to sit, and she didn't really mind too much.

They journeyed on all day until nightfall, and then they pulled the boats up onto the shore and prepared to make a temporary camp since the journey would continue come morning.

Ana found a spot somewhat separated from the others as was her custom while they were traveling.  It wasn't that she had any qualms about sleeping in the midst of men, even if she was the only woman, but she had been raised to sleep separately from men and boys and old habits die hard.  Quickly she rolled out her blankets she would sleep on, and created a small table out of her pack.  Adding homey touches to her wilderness "bedroom" made the journey seem less depressing.

While Ana was acting womanly, as Boromir had once termed her habit of setting camp, Legolas tossed down his pack next to Aragorn's and, with a discontented murmur towards the general group, wandered off into the forest.  It was obvious to see that he did not feel comfortable with the situation.  He had already warned Aragorn that there was evil on these banks, but the man would not listen.

For once Ana was inclined to agree with the elf.  She, too, felt the wickedness as though it were pressing in upon her lungs, shortening her breath and closing her throat.  Given the choice she would have them move on, but as it was she was not. 

Looking around the gathering, Ana noticed that Legolas was not with the others.  She decided to ask Aragorn where he had gone.  Over the past few days she had become increasingly worried about her friend.  He wasn't acting himself lately, and she didn't dare to think that her avoidance of him could be the cause. 

Aragorn looked at her strangely when she questioned the whereabouts of Legolas.  He just couldn't understand what game this girl was playing.  Her gift was supposed to be sharing other people's emotions, but it was obvious she couldn't see what she was doing to Legolas.  One minute she was leading him on, the next pushing him away.

Reluctantly Ana was informed that the elf had gone into the forest, most like to be alone.  Aragorn advised her not to bother him, but she thought she might be able to help him if he was in pain or distress.  So she set off in the direction the others indicated to her that he had taken.

Ana found him perched lightly on a log, staring bleakly off into the trees.  His eyes were clouded with what looked like the beginnings of tears, and his shoulders were bowed in defeat.  She moved so softly that he did not realize she was there until she had sat down next to him and laid a comforting hand on his arm.

All at once everything he had been struggling with the past few days piled upon him, with the weight of her hand.  He heard her asking him what was the matter, and was it anything that she could help him with.  There was no way he could answer truthfully.  How can you tell someone: I fell in love with you, and I thought you loved me too but all you do is push me away?  At the same time, though, he wasn't sure if he could lie to her.  Always before she had seen right through his fibs straight to the truth.

He heard himself stammer while he was still thinking, "I've only just realized how important our mission is.  I mean, I always knew it was important but now I see that the fate of my people, of all the people, rests on the success of our quest."

When she accepted his lie without question, he couldn't decide whether to be disappointed or relieved.  It might have almost been reassuring if she had searched his soul for the truth, like a sign of caring.  She truly did not understand what he was going through.

In her heart, Ana felt that Legolas wasn't telling the truth.  But really, when she thought about it, they were very close.  Too close for her comfort.  She decided to exercise the policy of taking what he was willing to tell her, and not prying for more.  All she could do now was sit with him and be supportive, like any good friend would do.  Because, after all, that's what they were.  Only that and nothing more.  Right? Of course.

Legolas felt an overwhelming need for solitude just then.  It was just too painful to be around Ana, with her asking what was wrong and being sympathetic.  He hated lying to her, and about anything else he would have never even considered it.  But there was no way he could be truthful with her.  Eventually, even if it took centuries, he was sure his heart would, maybe not mend, but at least stop bleeding. 

"Ana, I think… I think I need to be alone now to ponder upon this.  If you could…"

Ana took her cue and stood, a hand hovering over his shoulder.

"If you want to talk later, well, you know where to find me."

When he nodded, she turned and made her way back into camp to help the others fix supper.  Not that they needed her help.  She really wasn't that good a cook, especially compared to the hobbits and only tended to get in the way.

Boromir was sitting on the edge of the group, all alone.  Making a quick decision, Ana went over and sat down with him on the ground.

He could sense that there was something weighing heavily on her mind, and - after a moment's hesitation – decided to ask her what was wrong.

"Ana, I haven't gotten to know you as well as I should like, but I can tell something is bothering you.  If it would help to talk about it…"

Ana carefully weighed her options.  On one hand she felt as if she shouldn't be talking about her and Legolas's private lives, but on the other she desperately needed to talk to an unbiased person.  That side quickly won out.

"It's just something that has been going on with Legolas and, well, I guess me, too."

"May I speak bluntly?"

Her nod prompted him to go ahead, so he took his opportunity and did so.

"I don't know either of you very well, but I can see some things.  For instance, I can see that Legolas is crazy about you, and I thought you felt the same about him.  But lately, every time he would try and get close to you all you would do is turn around and leave.  I sure don't know what to make of it, and I'm betting he doesn't either."

"Boromir, I thought I loved him.  I really thought I did.  But from the time I was born my father always told me that the only way I would be safe was to distance myself from others.  I think he may have had some idea of what I really was, since it was his family that the power passed down through.  Every time I got close to someone he would pull me away.  I can hear his voice in my mind telling me to move on."

"I know something myself of fathers who like to control.  And I'm not saying that you should not honor your father's wisdom.  I'm just telling you that at some point you're going to have to decide – whose voice are you going to listen to: your voice or your father's?"

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I stare but you don't notice

I whisper your name but you don't hear

I reach out my hand to touch your arm

But you're not there

You don't understand why I am crying

You don't understand why I'm in pain

You don't see my heart inside is breaking

You don't understand why I'm this way

You are my best friend in the world

You say that you know me like I know myself

But if that's the truth then why can't you see

The big crack on my heart?

You don't understand why I am crying

You don't understand why I'm in pain

You don't see my heart inside is breaking

You don't understand why I'm this way

I sit in tears

And you take my hand

And you ask me what is wrong.

But how can I tell you

That you are the reason

I just can't move on?

You don't understand why I am crying

You don't understand why I'm in pain

You don't see my heart inside is breaking

You don't understand why I'm this way

Somewhere along the way I slipped

And I fell in love with you.

But there's no way to let you know

No way I can get through

'Cause you don't understand

No, you don't understand

Oh, baby, you don't understand.

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Disclaimer: HA! This time I can actually claim I own something!  True, it's not anything Lord of the Rings, cuz that belongs to Tolkien and his estate or whatever, and I don't own "My Immortal", cuz that belongs to Evanescence.  But I DO own that last song there, called "You Don't Understand".  Yes, I wrote it myself and it belongs to me.  So don't steal it!  I will know.  I have ways. *spooky voice*

Austin B. – babble babble babble… the story of my life.  Hehe.  Thanks so much for your reviews, I love it when I get new reviewers.  I know what you mean about the whole romantic television thing. That's the kind of writing I like to do.  I'm glad that someone thinks I'm funny besides my friend Suzanne.  I hate to break it to you, but your heart may be pining just a little bit longer.  *evil laugh* Ok, sorry.  Anyways, thanks!

Angelsmile06 – Um, sorry about the whole Ana chasing Bridget thing.  WE had a talk and it won't be happening again. *turns and glares over shoulder at Ana who smiles innocently*  Stupid character.  Thanks for the tip about that chapter repeating, I went back and fixed it.  Thank you soooo much for actually answering my questions.  You were the only one who did that and it really helped me a lot.  I think that you're going to like where I'm going with this.  Maybe.  I hope so, because you've been my most faithful reviewer.  Since you're the only one who answered the questions, you get to be a character in the story if you so desire.  Just tell me what you think.  Gob bless you!

nilimade – You have no idea how encouraging your review was.  I love knowing that more people are reading my story, especially nice people!  There is a lot of work that goes into it, but the pleasure I get from writing it and reviews like yours do make it all worth it.  Hehe.  Well, recently I've been feeling the deep sorrow of the elves, so I'm going to be updating a bit slower than most elves would.  I have figured out that I am an ADD elf, so it takes me a bit.  But have faith, more will come!