Chapter11: The Question Game

The following days found Rachel in her room or the library. Linwë came by occasionally to check on her and to continue their lessons.

Though she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to face Legolas. Amras was her informant, telling her when he was planning on visiting so she could disappear temporarily. Linwë, of course, didn't approve. She thought that Rachel should speak with him, though she refused to give the reason.

A week after their last discussion Legolas surprised her, showing up at her room unexpectedly.

"Would you care to join me for lunch? I know the perfect place to go. It is truly beautiful, you would enjoy it, especially since you have seen little of Mirkwood."

"I would love to!"

"Wonderful. I will fetch us some food. You stay here. I will return soon."

He walked off and left her to her reading for a while longer.

When he returned he was carrying a basked. The two set off into the woods.

"So where is this place that you're taking me to?" Rachel wondered.

"It is a secret. You must not tell anyone of its existence. I always go there to think. You will see it when we get there, but I do believe that you will enjoy it."

"I have no doubt that I will. To hear a man calling a place beautiful convinced me," she laughed.

"I am no Man. I am an Elf."

"Well, I meant a male."

"Do males never say beautiful where you are from?"

"Not very often."

"Oh."

They walked for a few more minutes before Legolas stopped.

"Close your eyes."

"What? I won't be able to see where I'm going," she protested.

"I will guide you. Do not worry. Do you not trust me?"

"I trust you, but…"

"Close your eyes," he instructed, lightly running his fingers over her eyelids and closing them. He placed the basked in her hands then got behind her and took hold of her shoulders. He guided her carefully, making sure to warn her of the smallest root.

"Alright, you may open them now."

She slowly peeked through her lashes and gasped. She had heard the sound of water, but she hadn't expected anything this breathtaking.

There was a gorgeous waterfall, spilling into a crystal clear pond at the bottom. Wildflowers grew all around and the trees surrounding it were a brilliant green. The shortest one was at least twelve feet in height. Bushes with red and blue berries were scattered around, adding color to the already perfect picture. Swans swam tranquilly in the pool.

"This is… amazing," she finally managed. "I can see why you come here."

"I am glad you like it. I thought you would. Come, let us eat."

He set out a blanket, two wine glasses, a bottle of fine wine, some fruit and bread. He had noticed that while Rachel enjoyed the meals in Mirkwood she seemed to avoid the dishes with meat.

Being near one o'clock now both Legolas and Rachel were very hungry but Rachel didn't start eating. She was a bit nervous knowing how Legolas felt about her.

Legolas, noting how she looked, said, "Go ahead, eat. I know that you are hungry."

He poured both glasses of wine while Rachel took a bite of bread. When he passed Rachel her glass she took a quick sip. The wine was extremely strong.

"You're trying to get me drunk, aren't you?" Rachel accused.

"No. I only went to the kitchens and requested some nice wine. Is it too strong?" he asked, taking a sip himself. "I believe that it is. If you would rather we could drink fresh water from the lake."

Not wanting to seem ungrateful she replied quickly, "No, no, it's fine, just stronger than anything that I've tasted before."

Legolas started eating now, enjoying the time that he was spending with Rachel.

"I have a proposition," Legolas said when they were about halfway down with their meal.

"And that is…?"

"We play a question game. We exchange turns asking and answering questions about ourselves."

A/n: I am extremely sorry that it has taken me such a long time to update! I've have been so busy with school, work, going to basketball games, tennis starting. It's so hectic! I know this chapter is short, but it will give you something to read for a while. Please give me suggestions for the questions. I have a few but I need more! What do you guys want to know about Rachel and Legolas?

Heather: I'm glad you liked the site! Hope you enjoyed the short chapter.

Rayame: I have no clue how long she's going to be there. Which is sad since I'm writing it… But… shhh, they aren't supposed to know about her leaving… Keep it down!

Faerlain: Sorry about not updating soon. We really need to talk more so that you can bug me about writing! I need someone to do that!

IwishChan: After reading this far you should realize that it's going to be a while before I stop torturing them! Any suggestions? I need a lot of them!

Emiliana: Thanks for updating! No, that's not all I'm going to say this time! I agree. We do have problems saying goodbye! That's probably a good thing though. Well, talk to you later! (Bug me about updating and writing! You're the only one that does it! Please!)