Disclaimer – See Chapter 1

A/N – The song partially sung by Aleera is "Here With Me" by Dido.

Chapter 2 – Who Am I?

Later that evening, Aragorn and Legolas were escorted through the palace to the guest quarters situated in one of the towers. Before the guard walked away and left them to their own accord, he indicated a room on the main floor and another at the top of the tower. "We have no other rooms available, so these will have to do."

Legolas waited until the guard was out of sight. "Aragorn, the Kozari ruler lies about his dealings with Orcs."

Aragorn nodded. "Aye, I am aware for I saw your expression when he made that statement. Perhaps we should accept his invitation to remain for a few days and help rid them of the growing warg pack he spoke of. We might find out more within that time."

"I agree."

"Do you prefer the top or the bottom?"

"I prefer the top, hannon le," said Legolas with a bit of a smile. (thank you)

Aragorn amicably slapped Legolas on the back before heading for the door to his guest room. Legolas jogged up the winding stone staircase until he reached the top. There were two doors set about fifteen feet apart. He tried the door on the left and found it locked. Then he walked to the door on the right. It was unlocked so he entered.

Several candles burned around the small chamber. There was a bed against a wall and it looked inviting covered in white sheets. It had been more than a week since he had last slept comfortably. Being an elf, he did not require much sleep unless he was injured or fatigued. He definitely felt the latter after so many days of travel. He began to remove his weapons, carefully laying them on a small table near the bed and then removed his green outer tunic, folding it over the back of a chair. Against another wall was a small chest where a basin full of water sat. Folded next to the basin was a white towel.

Legolas removed his silver shirt and took the opportunity to rinse away the day's grime. As he used the towel to dry himself, he heard someone singing. He immediately recognized the elven pitch to the pleasant female voice.

"I did not hear you leave / I wonder how am I still here / And I do not want to move a thing / It might change my memory / Oh I am what I am / I do what I want / But I cannot hide."

Legolas slipped his silver shirt back on and drew closer to the open doorway leading to the balcony, remaining still to listen.

"I will not go / I will not sleep / I cannot breathe / Until you are resting here with me / And I will not live / I cannot hide / I cannot be / Until you are resting here with me." Aleera immediately stopped singing and a gasp escaped her throat when someone stepped out of the doorway onto the balcony beside hers. She had not expected anyone to be occupying the chamber. It had been dark for as long as she had been there. Then she realized he was the elf she had seen in the courtyard earlier and he was smiling broadly at her.

Legolas approached the balustrade. "Do my eyes deceive me or do I spy an elleth angel sent by the Valar to grace my presence?" (elf maid)

"I am no angel, sir," Aleera replied shyly.

Legolas knew how to put on the charm when the occasion called for it. "Surely you must be. No elleth of this earth could be so fair and so beautiful." Perhaps he was overdoing it, but she looked ready to flee back into her chamber and he wanted to keep her interest so he could speak to her.

His words charmed and appalled Aleera at the same time. "Your words take much liberty where they do not belong."

"Really? And why is that?"

"I am for the monarch."

"Which monarch is that?" asked Legolas, feigning ignorance. The presence of this elf maid cast more suspicion on the ruler of Kozar.

Aleera blinked in confusion. Regrettably she had no idea which monarch. She did not know his name, but she was not about to inform this elf of that minor detail. "Why, the monarch of this palace." It seemed as good an answer as any.

"Ah. Lord Hurrnäd then." Her hesitation led Legolas to believe that she did not have a clue.

"Of course."

"I did not know the Kozari ruler had an affection for elves. He is a very lucky man."

"Why do you say that?" she asked curiously.

"If you are for him, then he is undoubtedly lucky."

Aleera found herself drawing closer to the balustrade of the balcony, as if her feet held a will of their own. She knew she should have gone back inside the moment she had seen him. But her curiosity at seeing another elf overcame her desire to flee. Afterall, he seemed pleasant enough.

Legolas tried to mask his concern upon seeing a fresh cut on her forehead. The flesh around it was bruised, but healing. "I saw you earlier today, but I did not see you about afterward. Were you in your tower the entire day?"

"I am always in this tower. I know nothing else." Aleera entrusted this information to him, knowing that he was still a stranger to her. "I have not even met the monarch," she finally confessed.

Legolas frowned slightly. He wondered if perhaps something had happened to her and Hurrnäd was keeping her safe until her wounds had healed. He hoped that was the reason. "That is strange indeed that he would keep you locked in this tower."

"I know not how I came to be here."

"You do not recall?" he asked, now unable to hide the concern in his voice.

"Nay…Do you know?"

"Nay, I do not."

"Do you know the monarch?"

"I am but a visiting traveler and have only arrived."

"So you do not know how I came to be here?"

"Nay, I am sorry," he said with a troubled look on his face. When she frowned and he sensed the sudden distress in her, he thought of what he could say to ease her panic. "Perhaps Hurrnäd rescued you from a band of wild men."

Aleera felt a smile come to her lips. "Rescued? How gallant of him." She knew perhaps it was false, but she played along with his interpretation.

"Aye, gallant he was, " Legolas continued to fabricate the tale. "Especially when he was seen slaying sixteen ruffians before they could take you from your caravan."

"Caravan? Where was I traveling and with whom?"

"You will have to make your inquiries to the Kozari ruler, my lady."

"My name is Aleera."

Legolas bowed his head. "I will address you as so if you wish."

"Why do you suppose I am kept in this tower?" she inquired.

Legolas voiced his earlier reasoning. "Perhaps it is to keep you safe and out of harm's way. It appears you suffered some injury."

"Tell me about Hurrnäd."

"What do you wish to know?"

"Is he handsome?"

Legolas smiled again. At least he was getting her to open up to him. She was no longer shying away. It gave him the opportunity to study her at great length. "In retrospect to a man, I would venture to say he is fairly so." The elf maid had a pure and natural beauty about her, with long hair of light brown and flaxen. Her eyes were the palest green and shined brilliantly in the light of the moon. Although small in stature, she held an heir of hidden strength that was masked by a desire to gain self-confidence. She had been injured in some manner, but aside from the wound he saw on her forehead, he could only guess that there might be others.

"Tell me more of my beloved monarch."

"Beloved? You know nothing of the monarch, have in fact never even seen him. Yet he is your beloved?"

"Well, what shall I call him then? We are betrothed. I am promised to him."

Legolas leaned closer and gazed into her eyes, trying to find something in them that would tell him more. "Is that what you desire?"

"I desire much, sir."

"Tell me more, Aleera."

Aleera swallowed hard, finding herself unable to resist the intense stare of this handsome elf. "I will not speak of this with you. Such things are meant only for my betrothed."

"Duly noted. I am certain he would be truly fascinated to know your desires."

"And I would be truly fascinated to know his."

"I know what he desires."

"He spoke to you of this?"

Legolas laughed. "Perhaps."

"I want to know."

"Why do you want to know?"

"So I can fulfill them when I see him."

Legolas was not thrilled with the direction their conversation was headed, but he could not stop himself from taking this course. Her innocence and curiosity blended together truly fascinated him. "Even if I told you, these would be things you know nothing about."

Aleera felt warm color rise to her cheeks. "You do not know what I know?"

"Am I to believe that you know the art of pleasure?"

"Well…I…" stammered Aleera.

"You cannot fool me." Legolas decided to end it now before the sudden heated stirrings within him began to surface. These were sensations and feelings he purposely kept locked away. "Forgive me, Lady Aleera, were I not so weary from my travels, I might pass the entire evening conversing with you. Tomorrow is another day."

Before he turned away, Aleera rushed forward. "Might I know your name, sir?"

He turned back with a smile. "You might. It is Legolas." He said nothing further. Even though her memory was lost to her, he could not risk that she might know his status. But he decided to test something that nagged at the back of his mind. "Elei velui, hiril nin," he said. (sweet dreams, my lady)

"Losto mae, hir nin," she replied with a downward tilt of her head. (sleep well, my lord)

Legolas turned and walked inside. After extinguishing the candles, he reclined on the bed and folded his arms behind his head. Aleera had spoken Sindarin to him. With her light-colored hair, she had to be of high-elven descent, which meant that she would know Quenya, as well as both Silvan and Sindarin dialects. With the loss of her memory, the fact that she had understood him and replied in Sindarin led him to believe that perhaps she had responded subconsciously, without even knowing it. He planned to speak further with her with hope that she might remember who she was and where she came from. It was hard for him to believe that any respectable elf would offer his daughter to the monarch of another province. With the fragile associations between the known provinces of Middle-Earth, marriages for the convenience of peaceful alliances were not unheard of. He simply was not one to condone it. But something nagged at him…she had no memory, she had injuries, she had not met Hurrnäd…and where was her family in all of this? If she were truly betrothed to Hurrnäd, then her family would be guests in his Keep. Then there was the fact that he kept her locked up in this tower. Could he have been right about Hurrnäd trying to keep her from any further harm? Or was he for some unknown reason trying to keep her hidden from others?