AN: Hiya all! Hope everyone's having a good week or so and getting ready for Halloween. Since I'm a Girl Scout leader, I get the esteemed honor of having to get myself a costume and dress up for our troop's Halloween Party. This year, because one of the other leaders stole my original costume idea which I think isn't fair, I'd going as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. The only thing I'm not doing is wearing a wig…my hair's too long to wear a wig comfortably and it makes me look odd. My sister's going as Raggedy Anne, even though she's fighting my mom (the troop's coordinator) about wearing a costume. Anywho, enough about Halloween. Thanks for all the reviews for my little story! They're greatly appreciated!

LJP: Yup! Emma's finally been backed into the one corner she can't get out of. Unless, of course, she wants to have to deal with her father and that's something Emma wouldn't really like to do seeing as how she's terrified of him. It remains to be seen just how serious she's going to take Algernil…whether or not she's going to believe that the queen's being genuine with her.

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.

Finding the correct tree was not really a difficult task despite the fact Thranduil had not mentioned what tree Emma had gone up. In the area in and around the compound that was Thranduil's home, there were many, many trees. Such was the nature of things if one lived in a forest. Trees were sort of the norm, given the location.

Still, Algernil didn't have an issue finding the tree Emma had hidden herself away in. It was marked as different from all its tall and verdant fellows simply because it had a ring of rather board looking guards standing around the wide circumference that was its brown barked trunk.

The guards, fully armed and dressed in the traditional colors of the Mirkwood livery, looked relaxed and at ease. After all this wasn't exactly the highest impact, difficult of assignments for them. They were just keeping a small elfling up a tree because that was what their king had told them to do.

Upon seeing Algernil, though, the guards snapped to attention. They made sure they looked the part of the royal guard of Mirkwood, even if they were being reduced to nothing more than royal babysitters for a child their king didn't even really like talking about.

"Why are all of you standing here?" Algernil demanded, putting a great deal of strength and anger in her usually friendly and curious voice, "Is there not someplace better for my husband's fine guards to be today?"

True, she knew the nature of the situation but she wanted the guards to own up to what they had been ordered to do. There was just something about them realizing what they were doing wasn't really fair that only their own admittance could create. No reprimand Algernil could give them would ever be strong enough, even if they acted like it was because she was, after all, Thranduil's wife.

"There is a dangerous fugitive up that tree ma'am," one guard, a younger one of the fellows, informed the queen with an air of him making a very important announcement.

Embolden by his fellow's words- even if they were a flat out lie- another guard added, "We are on orders from the king, your husband, to wait here until she comes down."

Algernil sighed, knowing that they were lying to her face. That, in and of itself, was a punishable crime but she decided not to call them on that fact. Later she would inform their captain that his men were not honest with her. That was punishment enough for any of them for their captain was an elf who would not tolerate dishonest among his elves.

"You do realize that there is no fugitive in that tree. There is just a scared little girl," she informed the guards in a frustrated voice, "Consider yourselves relieved and go back to your normal duties. I will see to your so called fugitive."

The guards looked at one another, obviously confused. They had been ordered by Thranduil to stand watch until the little elfling came out of the tree but here was the queen telling them to move along and that she would deal with the child, herself. It was not unusual for Thranduil and Algernil to have differing opinions about things but rarely, if ever, did those opinions come into open conflict with one another.

Stepping up and taking control of the situation, the most senior of the guards stated, "We were ordered, my lady, to keep watch over this tree. What if something were to happen to you while we had our backs turned? I doubt your husband would treat us kindly if that came to pass."

Algernil wanted to say something about Thranduil not lamenting her loss for a second time but held her tongue in check. That was a comment for another time, another place, and, most certainly, another set of ears.

"Do not worry yourself nothing will happen to me," she informed the guards in a firm voice, "there is no dangerous fugitive in that tree and you know it. There is just a little elfling and I wish to speak to her."

Seeing the guards not moving and, now, gawking at her with openly shocked expressions, Algernil ordered, in her most queenly voice, "As queen, you can not disobey me so, as queen, I order all of you to leave me be. Go back to your normal posts, now."

With much hesitation and a few looks back, the guards started to leave. Algernil knew, from the way they were whispering amongst each other and looking back at her, that they were going to tell Thranduil about her behavior.

Not that he could do anything to stop her. As queen, it was her rarely invoked right to use. She'd only used it now because it was a means to an end. She wasn't going to get what she wanted unless she acted the role of queen. It was a lesson learned over the many years she'd been at Thranduil's side at court. Perhaps- and this was something slim- he would be proud of what she'd done but Algernil highly doubted that.

He'd probably be annoyed, if anything.

Shading her eyes, and allowing the pent up tension from the previous few moments slip away, Algernil located Emma sitting among the boughs of the tree. She was easy to spot with her long cascade of silver-white hair hanging in a long braid down her right side.

The young elfling sat in the crook of a very high, very thick branch. Nestled in place like some sort of furry forest creature, Emma was quietly reading some sort of book. She looked exceedingly comfortable in her leafy seat, as if she could stay up there for days. Highly unlikely because Emma would eventually get hungry, cold, or tired but the idea was about the same.

"No use waiting," Algernil mumbled to herself as she started up the tree.

Thankfully climbing trees was one of those skills one learned and never really forgot, even after not making use of it for quite some time. There was that and the fact Algernil was an elf and they were, sort of, predisposed to being able to climb trees. If Emma heard Algernil's approach, she made no motion. The elfling kept right on reading, seemingly unaware of who was coming up to get her down from her leafy seat.

For that Algernil was very thankful. She was afraid that Emma was going to start down the tree even as she started up.