Chapter 16: Together Again

The Elven Prince and the Lunarian Princess was entranced by the surreal moment which seemed to stretch for an eternity. Neither of them wanted to break the spell.

"You're late, Legolas," said Aragorn in Elvish, "and you look terrible."

That snapped the couple out of their moment and Legolas shot a glare - though friendly at his old friend before the two embraced. "I look fine enough for you, Ranger. I do believe that I am just on time," answered the Elf in return.

"Would you quit with the Elvish, some of us prefer the Common Tongue! And you, Legolas, have a great debt to repay for that stunt," Gimli the Dwarf retorted. It was rather comical scene to an onlooker. A stout Dwarf who barely reached the shoulders of the Elf, scolding the much taller being.

"Ah Legolas, it is so good to see you again," "Yes, I rather miss your songs," cried Merry and Pippin.

Serena smiled at the reunion before her. They were will be time for her and Legolas to be alone but for not her attention was diverted to the object which Wormtongue had projected toward the group before. She was not the only one to recall its existence. Gandalf had cast off Wormtongue and had remained silent at the sudden turn of events. Now , he saw that Lady Serena was drawn to the Palantir. He tried to intercept the lady and the onyx globe but it was as though the magical sphere had a mind of its own in choosing the Princes of the Moon.

Serena grasped the smooth orb, almost cold to the touch yet somehow it felt familiar. She made a mental note to ask the origin of such an object. As she turned to inspect it further, it was hypnotising as she gazed towards its center. It intrigued her, an enigma embedded within its confines. She lost all consciousness of her surroundings as the palantir revealed to her the entire land of Mordor, up the slopes of Mount Doom to its summit where Serena was face to face with the eyes of the One.

Its gaze directed toward the maiden and let out a laugh, "Has Saruman stooped to the level of hiding behind a mere child?"

"I am no child nor am I some worthless follower of Saruman!"

The Eye did not answer but rather leash out a fiery dart. Serena simple wield out her Ellipse Crest. A golden crescent moon emerged from the palm of her hand and it spiralled in front of the attack and absorb it. Ellipse Crest is one of her new powers inspired by the Moon which can cast an ellipse over a fire attack.

The Eye seemed to flare in disdain. "Who are you?" it demanded.

Before she had a chance to answer she heard the voice of her friend calling out to her, "Lady Serena! Serena!"

Her eyes refocused themselves as Serena found herself being tended to by the concerned faces of her companions. The Palantir dropped with a thud to the ground and was retrieved by Gandalf. For a moment, she was speechless before she murmured, "I saw the eye of Sauron."

All sucked their breath in before Gandalf found the voice to ask for them all, "What did he say to you?"

"He ridiculed that I was some mere pawn for Saruman but I had certainly proved otherwise when I blocked one his attack on me."

Legolas felt himself balling his fist at Serena's encounter with the Dark Lord. Gandalf looked grave. "The Dark Lord knows of your powers, Lady Serenity. It will mean that his Eye will be setting its sight on you."

"Perhaps it will divert his attention from the Ringbearer and his servant."

At the mentioning of Frodo and Sam, there was great agitation, "Yes, but we do not know the condition of the Hobbits. Surely, they are tough but the Ring ..." Aragorn said almost in self pit for his inability to journey with the Ringbearer and guide him to the Land of Mordor.

"Last I talked with Frodo, he was well and was with Faramir."

All except Gandalf starred disbelieving at her. "How..."

Serena turned away slightly before she found her voice, "That night when we were reunited with Gandalf, I was the night watch. My heart yearned for the Hobbits and the only way for me to ensure their safety was to teleport there. Under Gandalf's protection, I used my powers and teleported to Frodo and reappeared as an apparition in his dream. He told me of their trials as of

yet and that they were currently under the care of Faramir."

"Who is Faramir?" asked one of the Hobbits.

"He is Boromir's brother," said Serena and Aragorn simultaneously.

"Lady Serena, if you can teleport then what do you not teleport Frodo there to Mount Doom? This journey will be over," asked Pippin.

Serena starred at him hard and at that moment, her eyes revealed the powers of Cosmos. Pippin gulped nervously. "Teleportation is no simple task, Peregrin Took. In fact, it is one of the most advanced and complex manoeuver and requires a great deal of concentration and power. Though I have the necessary means to complete a teleportation, I can only transport myself only after locating the aura of the Ringbearer. Then for myself to teleport another being to the deep fires of Mount Doom would prove not only foolish but dangerous for if I should fail, we shall found ourselves out of Middle Earth and perhaps not even in this dimension."

"Power is not to be abused, my little Hobbit but only used under the right circumstance. The Ringbearer and his servant shall make his journey as we shall continue ours. Together, we will converge at Mount Doom. For us to find means to alter such a fate, the consequence may prove to be catastrophic."

Gandalf spoke in wisdom to the Hobbits for he understood the burdens of carrying powers great enough to destroy the world. The wizard knew of the dangers that could bring about more harm than good. His thoughts were with the maiden as she walked out of Isengard without turning back upon the group. Legolas noted the downcast countenance on Serena and he was saddened. He knew that within the benign nature of the Moon Princess was a powerful woman who would without hesitation exchanged her life for that of others. She had did just that when she sacrificed her life for his own.

--oo--

(Serena POV)

I don't know what came over me back there, yelling at Pippin like that. He is young and naive and his question is legitimate considering that he has the right to know. I better apologize to him, poor little Hobbit. I guess they too show considerable amount of strength and a power of their own for surviving all that they did. Sigh

--oo--

(Narrator POV)

Serena kept walking until she reached an open area where there's an open area with a dense amount of trees surrounding the outer rim. She spread out her arms almost in a cross fashion and just let herself twirled around. At the same time, she chose to put on a dress, the one that she wore at Theoden's banquet Chapter 13 - a dress of a soft orange with a shade of pink. It was

personal favourite similar to that of her princess dress but long sleeved with a V-shaped neckline.

"If you wish to lose yourself within your realm of dreams, let me come with you."

Serena found herself in the embrace of Legolas. She brought him closer to her and felt his warmth for fear that she was truly dreaming. The sight of his lifeless body was clearly in her mind. Legolas seemed to mirror her thoughts for he too brought her body closer to his. Wrapping around her small waist, he fumbled with the soft material of her dress. Their lips found each other without much hesitation, soft and sweet, desperate and violent, passionate and overwhelming. Each kiss brought upon a new wave of desirous sensation that coursed through their bodies.

As Serena rested her arms around his neck, she suddenly remembered one treasured item that she must now return to its owner. Moving away slightly, she wielded out a familiar object now renewed. It was the bow which Serena had found discarded after the battle of Helm's Deep. "I know how strong the Elven hair is but now the bow string is wrought with magic of Cosmos - my magic."

"I will think of you every time an arrow is shot with this bow. Your essence will be a part of this weapon." With that, he kissed her on the cheek.

"Can you show me how to shoot an arrow with it? I can shoot a magical Martian bow but not an Elven one."

Legolas let out a small chuckle but he did not protest but rather he stood behind Serena with the bow held in front of him. With his right hand on the weapon, his free hand guided Serena's. Then he leaned closer to her until he could bury himself into her hair - a favourite indulgence of his. He could feel a smile on Serena when he placed his left hand on her and setting an arrow into the bow. In a few whispered words and more 'guiding' of the hand, he had explained that art of shooting an arrow from an Elven bow.

"Now aim towards that tree over yonder," he said stepping aside.

'This is liked shooting with Mars Flame Sniper bow except with actual arrows instead of flaming ones. I can do this,' she thought.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and took aim. One single sound resulted as metal made its mark with the wood. Suddenly, she heard an intruder among the trees. Forming an arrow into her bow with magic, she directed it towards the sound. Only Legolas with his keen sight could see who was coming their way, "No, don't shoot, it's ..."

Alarmed, she knew it was too late to withdraw her attack instead, she wielded Saturn's Silence Wall in the general direction. "I must congratulate you, Lady Serena for you have exquisite precision in your aim."

Aragorn emerged from among the trees holding the golden arrow in his hand with his eye brows raised at the girl who was staring at him sheepishly. "My apologies, Aragorn, but you must thank Legolas as well for he was the one who had showed me the art."

"So I have Legolas to thank for almost an arrow in my heart ..." Aragorn replied sarcastically while twirling the arrow in his hand.

"Aragorn, I do believe you are a tracker or perhaps you have grown old and lacking your skills. Surely, you have a keen sense of direction," Legolas mocked back at the Man.

The three stared in a deadlock for a few moment before Serena let out a giggle that eventually an endless laughter. It was rather contagious for the three of them eventually got into a fit of chuckles. It was needed after all that they had been through to release some emotional tension. It was then that Aragorn announced, "Come, I came to find the both of you for we are off once more."

That dampened their present mood slightly but at least they were together again.

End of Chapter 16