The entrance to the presence of Galadriel and Celeborn was far less formal than Legolas would have expected, since he had only been brought before them as a member of the fellowship. Now the lord and lady came out to greet them all, Galadriel welcoming her grandsons warmly, including Aragorn in that welcome.

He was a little puzzled of her greeting to Lunian, who was obviously awestruck by the Lady. Galadriel had smiled at her and touched her cheek, and then welcomed the others before turning back to Lunian. "Come, child. Let us share the knowledge the other craves."

Lunian laughed with a delighted smile and followed the Lady.

He watched several of the guards watch her leave, his eyes narrowing slightly before he could catch himself. He turned away from the retreating figures, and soon was able to extricate himself from the seemingly unending process of being welcomed for a visit. He cleaned up quickly, changed from his travel clothes to something a little more befitting in case he wound up in the Lady's presence once more, and headed off for one of the wondrous spots he had discovered on his previous visit, which seemed at one moment ages ago, but still was so recently by the times of the elves it was as if but a day had passed.

Fall was coming to the woods, and though he enjoyed it, he still wished to see the trees in spring. There would be a sight indeed!

As he walked the paths he had briefly known, he thought of his task and the company he had kept before. How solemn and grim they had all been, each knowing the continued pull of the ring was beginning to wear on them.

Though he had not particularly liked Boromir from the beginning, with his obvious attitude towards Aragorn and the throne of Gondor, as time had passed and the man became reconciled to the fact that Aragorn was not only a born king, but he was Gondor's king, Legolas had begun to accept him. He had seen the man's weaknesses for what they were, but he was still one of the fellowship, and as such, someone Legolas had to trust with his life.

It was hard to be suspicious of someone in that position, especially when everyone was being attacked all the time by the power of the ring. Its pull was immense, a never-ending siren's call to disaster. He knew he was more immune to it than the others, because of his age and wisdom, and all the things he had to fight for… Basically because he was an elf, but not in the way someone, like Boromir, would have said. It was what came of being an elf that had helped him, the years he had spent loving Middle-Earth, the knowledge of the world around him, the curiosity he had for all things he had not seen before, had not had the chance to truly know. Those were the things that kept him from truly desiring the ring.

With a slight shake of his head he walked on, the rest of the journey from their departure playing itself out in his mind. He sighed and murmured a prayer under his breath for Boromir, who had never been able to greet Aragorn as his king. He smiled faintly, recalling the way Merry and Pippen had greeted the three hunters when they finally arrived, via Helm's Deep, at Isenguard. And he closed his eyes as he recalled the first hint of the sea, the slight scent of it on the air, salty sweet and yet bitter, the haunting cry of the gulls overhead…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Another really short chapter… Oh well. They're short, but quick to write. Does anyone know what the true spelling is for the large stone statues of the kings of men? The Argonath? I can't find it in my book… so any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Nea.