AN: Welcome back my friends! Sorry, I was in song mode for a moment. Anywho, sorry for the lateness of this update but I've got a genetics test on the horizon and I've been getting ready to study for it. Thankfully, that's the only test I have coming up so it's only a momentary delay. Not like it's midterms or anything yet (those I'm particularly nervous about but that's just me!). Anyway, here's the latest in my little adventure, fresh from the guts of my computer. Please, keep sending those reviews along! I greatly appreciate each and every one of them! All of you most excellent reviewers rock like a box of socks!

LJP: Well, I guess you could consider it a conversation between two adults. It's really just them talking badly about Thranduil because he has all these crazy ideas. Both of them are just trying to figure out what to do with Emma and how to get Emma to trust Algernil.

Elven Script: I hope your essays are going well! I have a test coming up for my genetics class so I know how you feel about school. Would you like to see some actual bashing? Perhaps I can throw in some father/son fighting time or something to that effect.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a handful of made up characters. Tolkien thought up the concept and, as such, it belongs to him. I'm just playing in his world. I'm broke and in Graduate School. All I own are Pointe Shoes.

"Shannon?" Algernil asked bringing up a point she had wanted to bring up for several days.

The name was very familiar to her, having heard it several times, but she lacked the face for the name. At the moment, this figure of "Shannon" was just a specter that seemed to surround Emma and was somehow attached to Emma's life here and in the other world. Algernil wanted badly to have a face to put with the name.

Actually, she wanted to speak with this Shannon individual in order to see if she could be an ally of sorts. If she was attached to Emma's life then, perhaps, she could aid Algernil in her working against Thranduil.

That and she wanted to see if this mysterious Shannon person was able to give her more information about Thranduil's actions toward Emma. Get another point of view and all that because her sources of information were Emma and Legolas. The other higher ups in the court were loath to talk about Emma to her. She was persona non grata in Thranduil's eyes and, as such, the eyes of those who worked within the courts.

Here and there she caught a few fleeting bits of information- like from the elven female who taught Emma to dance and from those who taught the child her daily lessons- but no one wanted to sit down and talk to her about Thranduil's behavior with her daughter. Either they were telling the truth and they knew very little or there was some sort of widespread cover up involving, possibly, some sort of fear tactic Thranduil used to keep the others quiet.

She sincerely hoped it was not the latter case for Algernil did not want to think Thranduil- for all his shortcomings- as capable of doing something like that. It all seemed a bit too underhanded and, well, evil for even her husband's sometimes difficult self.

"Emma's mother, so to speak. She was the woman who took care of Emma in the other world with her husband Mitchell. You will be able to speak to her once she and her husband return from the other world," Legolas answered.

"I am very surprised your father allowed two normal humans to stay here with his daughter. Though he may not like her, it is curious that he did not appoint an elven family to care for her. To leave Emma in the care of the family she has known most of her life seems a bit incongruous with his feelings towards her," Algernil, carefully stated.

Much to her surprise, Legolas gave a small chuckle. Apparently, there was a very interesting or amusing story about why Shannon and her husband were allowed to stay within the confines of Mirkwood. A story that Algernil was very interested in hearing.

Then again, she was interested in most anything that had to do with how her world changed since she last walked among the living. Between the stories her son regaled her with about the destruction of the One Ring of power to strange events that seemed to surround Emma and, to a lesser extent, Niphredil, Algernil wanted to know about it all. Every story was another chance for her to learn something else about the world she was being asked to call home once again and far be it from her to not want to learn something.

"I am sure there's a most interesting story about Shannon," Algernil broached, sounding relaxed enough to earn another laugh from her son, "Why not share it with me? I'm not going anywhere and I doubt you are too."

"It's not an easy story to tell, nana, and I'm afraid we're not quite sure how to explain it ourselves because it crosses the line between our world and the Muggle World," Legolas stated, "how that happened is beyond anyone's understanding though we believe that getting in contact with Galadriel about it may be of some use."

"Well, tell me what you can and, perhaps, I can join you in the quest for some good, solid answers. I'm curious about these people, Legolas since I have heard that this Shannon character bested your father with just her tongue. There are not many in this kingdom who can boast about doing just that," Algernil countered.

With a bit of a resigned sigh- Sometimes his mother could be as stubborn as his father but in a good way since she was more open minded about things. - Legolas started to explain everything he knew about Shannon. From the strange image in the mirror that appeared before her when he first showed her both Emma and his own true image, to the revelation that Shannon, was in fact, the spirit of a once great warrior reborn, Legolas painted his mother an image with his words. He revealed to her that it was through her marriage to Mitchell- with his Celtic blood, though that was a concept he knew only Emma understood well- that Emma was given to her. It was the fulfillment of a promise made long ago to the warrior she once was.

"Now, Shannon gets flashes of her past life. She remembers certain things but cannot say how she recalls them. Her grasp of our language is amazing and she does know how to use weaponry though she is not as proficient as she use to be in that aspect," Legolas ended.

Remembering something, he added, "Only recently did we find out her past name. Shannon recalled it one not so special afternoon. Her says that she was once called Sailacel which caught us all off guard."

"Because it is an elvish name and she was no elf in her past life and is no elf now," Algernil surmised.

"No, she was no elf then and she is no elf now. None know why she responds to that name but Shannon claims it is the name she once had. With no way of verifying it, none can say if it is true or false," Legolas expounded.

All the talk about Shannon and being in the presence of his own mother gave Legolas an interesting idea. An idea he figured he could present to his mother and help her earn the trust of Emma. The trust Algernil was seeking since the little girl was polite but distance with her.

Legolas knew his mother wanted to close that distance and try and get to know his younger sister better. He was sure his idea would work to do just that.

(AN: Sailacel is, actually, the elvish translation of the meaning of the name Shannon.)