I've apparently been a bit too subtle here with the relationships between the elves. Ashes is currently going to remain a mystery, because she's one to all of them (save Thranduil). Thranduil has four children. Legolas is the eldest, followed by Elleri, Verine, and Morsallien. Rithil is Legolas's current companion. Bluntly, his lover. The four siblings are fairly close, though the they are each closer to the sibling within their own gender, and Legolas--though he loves them--is not as close to them as they are to each other. He's quite a bit older, and has had many more responsibilities to deal with.

Hopefully that clears up some confusion.

Thanks to those who reviewed!

LJP: I think you are getting your fics a bit mixed up. Legolas was surprised when she removed her hood and mask, but only because she was (then) obviously female, and females don't often try to join the service. He doesn't recognize her. Thranduil knows who she was, but not so much who she now is. I don't know if that's helped or been more confusing. I'll try to answer future questions without giving things away, though.

Chapter 5 Oil and lots of water

Blinking a few times cleared the last remnants of dreams from his eyes and brought him back to the world around him, illuminated only by the fire in the stone circle and what light the elves could bring to the deep dark of the wood. Part of him loved these in depth patrols, and wished they happened more often. Three times a year was simply not enough, to his mind.

Of course, most would be deterred by the reason behind the trips… but he'd killed his first spider over two thousand years ago, by himself. Alone. It had been a very shaky experience, though, and had prompted him to learn more about fighting. Quickly. He hadn't really ever stopped trying to learn, never wanting to be that close to death for lack of skill again.

He pulled his shoulders a little closer to his head, hearing a few pops down his spine even before he arched his back slightly to help ease some of the stiffness that came from taking rest against a tree. With a quick shake of his head he stretched his arms out and as high as he could, then reached behind himself and pulled his hair from where it clung to his neck beneath his collar and in the bark of the tree he'd been slouched against.

Deciding as Captain he should at least look around, he glanced at the fire, and instantly frowned. There were three other elves around the fire—one keeping watch, leaning lazily against a tree, the second gazing blankly into the flames, and the last one stretched out on his back, hands folded idly over his chest in dreams, glassy eyes gazing at the hidden black night.

So where were the other thirteen?

He looked back at the one who was supposed to be on watch. "Ferien."

The young soldier looked up at the soft call. "Yes, Captain?" he asked, shifting his weight slightly away from the tree so he was standing on his own.

"Where has everyone gone?" he asked, voice having gone low with his suspicion something wasn't quite right. Well, it was more than a suspicion, really, since if things were right his elves would be around the fire. Maybe one or two gone to answer to the needs of the body, but not usually even one.

Ferien glanced away, then at his worn leather boots, his ears starting to darken as he uncomfortably cleared his throat. "Um… to the river…"

Lifting a brow at the unusual way that information was delivered, he got to his feet and began walking to the river with only the slightest nod to Ferien accepting that he'd heard the words he'd just been so uncertainly given. Within twenty feet of the bank he found his patrol. All of them were on their hands and knees if not flat on their bellies, crouching behind and in some cases beneath the bushes that grew thickly up to a foot from the bank.

He lifted a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. "What—"

The question was cut off rather rudely as one of the nearest elves jumped up and slapped a hand over his mouth. He glared dangerously and snapped his head away from the confining hand impatiently.

One of the elves laid a finger over his lips and tilted his head off towards the river before resuming his position among the bushes.

Thinking they had found a spider nest or something else that required stealth and silence, he crouched down and eased himself forward. His eyes widened and his breath stilled at what he saw.

Moon-lit curves.

Ebony silk.

Lovingly clinging water.

A few faint scars giving evidence to the experience he had already known she had in numerous dangerous fights.

An instant after seeing her he tensed, realizing what he was doing, and started to draw away, his fingers catching on a rock to toss into the bushes on the other side of the slow river to warn her.

Unnecessarily.

"If you all aren't out of here in ten seconds, I'm going to go straight from the water to my bow." She spoke calmly, quietly, but the effect was the same as if she had been yelling.

The elves scattered within instants, leaving Legolas alone on the bank. He sighed and stood up, turning his back to the bare-skinned elf standing in the not quite waist deep water. A slight twinkling of that water shifting against the gentle current, and then the rustle of cloth caught his ear. He cleared his throat. "I'd prefer not being shot, if you don't mind."

"Then why are you still there?" she replied without rancor, but with a certain tone of accusation he really didn't like.

Not that he didn't deserve it. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Because we need to talk about this."

"About what? Me leaving camp to clean up a bit?"

He shook his head. "Not really. You're capable enough to wander the small distance you did. Some travel farther to relieve themselves."

"You can turn anytime," she murmured dryly.

He did so slowly, frowning slightly when he saw her.

"Yes, I changed shirts, and yes, I realize it isn't so dark it could be mistaken as black." She rolled her dark eyes and deftly fastened the deep navy tunic over the light blue undershirt. "So, what do we need to talk about, if not about me wandering? Me being caught?"

"In a manner of speaking."

She lifted a brow. "Surely not the threat I would shoot them," she murmured, as if he could never have a problem with her saying she would shoot another member of his patrol.

"I rather think you would have," he admitted, crossing his arms over his chest.

She laughed softly. "Well… at them, yes. I wouldn't have hit them."

He chuckled. "I didn't expect you would shoot them."

"Worried for yourself, then?" she quirked a brow with a faint smile as she walked a little down the bank to retrieve her soiled cloths.

"We do seem to have…"

"Difficulties."

He snorted. "Oil and water?"

She laughed softly. "And here I was expecting you to say elves and dwarves," she murmured dryly.

"Elleri mentioned you're quite fluent in the dwarven tongue," he shot back, quirking a brow.

"There are different forms of it, but yes. And we're off subject, again." She tilted her head slightly to the side as she studied him for a moment before returning to her movements.

It was clear she'd been doing this—bathing in a river or stream—for many, many years. Probably centuries. "Mmm." He watched her reach for her cloak where it hung from a branch and fasten it deftly around her. "What we should do about this… or rather, what I should do about it."

"About what?"

He rolled his eyes and leaned against a tree. "About them spying on you."

She quirked a brow. "About them spying on me?"

He sighed, closing his eyes, knowing he deserved it but wishing she would have just let it go nonetheless. "I spotted them, and started to ask what they were doing. They all but gagged me and motioned me to be silent. Silly me, I assumed there was some danger that required our attention." He grimaced at his naïveté, admitting—to himself only—that he could have looked away a little bit more quickly. "I am sorry," he added quietly.

She smiled slightly and inclined her head in acceptance. "I heard you," she admitted. "And I heard them quite a while before."

"Then…"

"I was going to finish my bathing before leaving the water. If they find my back that fascinating, why spoil it? This time, at least."

He lifted a brow at her admitted immodesty. He'd never come across a she-elf like her. "Most ladies, being spied on in their bath, would either scream and duck into the water to their chin or start throwing things."

"I am hardly most ladies, Prince," she murmured.

With a momentary pause Legolas realized the title 'prince' hadn't been delivered with the usual mockery. "Clearly. You are one of only four to ever officially join the service of the King."

"But one of hundreds to fight for the Wood in time of need."

"There is a difference between defending in a pinch and at the front lines."

She snorted and shook her head. "They are not titled 'soldiers' merely because they were not officially trained—but even she-elves will fight for the King, to defend their home, their families. I simply choose to join the defense before the need for more elves is dire."

He tilted his head and considered her for a long moment. Satisfied with his observation, he nodded and turned back towards camp. "What would you have me do?" he asked after a few steps, recalling the original reason he had stayed behind despite the threat of being shot.

She smirked. "Simply make it clear I have your permission to use my bow, should I catch them watching me again."

He inclined his head, but hesitated. "Not to say I don't think you can handle yourself, but if you won't allow someone to sit within hearing of you when you bathe, would you at least let it be known what you are doing?"

She shrugged. "Either is fine with me."

With a quirked brow he nodded and began the walk back to the camp. "Then every time you have the opportunity and intend to take it, you will inform someone that you are leaving. You may ask whomever you like to accompany you… I would suggest someone you trust to keep their back turned."

She chuckled softly and retook her place by her horse, slightly apart from the others. She pulled a wooden comb from a tattered traveling bag she had left for her horse to carry for her, and began pulling it through her hair.