A Stranger In The Woods

Chapter 20: To Lothlórien

Once they were outside and a good distance away from the caves, Legolas tossed Katie unceremoniously to the ground. He turned to her, showing more emotion than she had ever seen.

"Why did you not tell me?" He hissed, glaring at her, anger burning bright in his blue eyes.

Katie stared at the ground, unable to find her voice. She still felt a numb detachment from the whole situation. It seemed like she was in a murky dream.

"You lied to me," Legolas continued, too upset to notice her disconnection. He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to her feet. "Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded, shaking her back and forth roughly. "Why?"

He shook her once more, his fingers digging painfully into her skin. Finally, he let her go, watching emotionless as she fell back to the ground. "You are a fool." He whispered, looking down on her with disgust. "I could have saved him."

Katie watched him walk away, feeling tears burn at the back of her eyes. Suddenly the gravity of what had just happened hit her full force. Gandalf was dead and it was her fault. Everyone hated her, most of all Legolas, whom she had lied to. She raised her head and looked around the group, unable to stop the hot tears running down her cheeks. All of the hobbits had thrown themselves to the ground and were crying in grief and she knew she was to blame.

Gimli was swearing revenge on the balrog while Boromir held him back. 'And I'm to blame," she though, choking back a sob.

Legolas stood in the middle of it all, looking around as if lost. There was a deep hurt and pain in his eyes, and it nearly killed Katie to know that she could have prevented it. She knew all-to-well how it felt to lose someone you counted on- somebody you loved. She wished there was someway to comfort him, make it all better. She wished Gandalf had never put her in this position.

She turned to Aragorn, unable to bear the pain in her heart at watching Legolas. The ranger stood away from the group, wiping the blood from his sword. He looked unfazed, but Katie knew it was a mask. "Legolas- get them up," he ordered.

Everyone turned to stare at him incredulously. "Give them a moment, for pity's sake," Boromir pleaded.

Aragorn just turned to him, emotionless. "By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs," he stated. "We must reach the woods of Lothlórien," he added, re-sheathing his sword.

Everyone sat silent, unsure of what to do. No one wanted to continue without Gandalf.

"Come, Legolas- Gimli! Get them up." Aragorn commanded again. This time the men stepped into action. Boromir walked over and helped her to her feet. "Come Katie. Aragorn is right, we must go."

Katie followed him, keeping her head down, feeling the angry stares of the group. After a moment, Aragorn and Frodo joined them, and they started towards Lothlórien. They ran hard and fast for hours, trying to erase the pain of loss still fresh in their minds. Finally, Aragorn noticed the hobbits exhaustion and decided it would be safe to rest for a bit.

Katie collapsed onto the soft grass, fatigued, but happy to be away from the caves. 'Ahhh,' she thought, taking a deep breath in and slowly letting it out, savoring the crisp, clean air. She'd give just about anything to never step foot in another cave for the rest of her life. 'It must be what Hell is like.'

Her thoughts were broken when she saw Legolas rise to his feet and walk away from the group. She wondered if she should try to talk with him. Explain her actions. Suddenly, she heard Gandalf's words-"He will forgive you."- and her mind was made up. She walked over to where he stood, going over what to say in her head.

He didn't look up when she approached. "Go away," he ordered, his voice oddly flat.

"I just wanted to explain…," she whispered, suddenly feeling desperate.

He raised his head and met her gaze, his blue eyes hard and cold. "I do not wish to speak with you."

"You won't even let me explain why I couldn't---."

"No," he interrupted sharply. "I will not listen to the lies from your mouth."

"Wait!" she pleaded when he turned and began to walk away. "Please Legolas, let me explain…"

He didn't turn. "I have heard enough from you," he said quietly, then walked back towards the others.

Katie watched him go, feeling panicked. That wasn't how she pictured the conversation going in her mind. 'He won't listen at all,' she thought forlornly, wondering if Gandalf had been wrong. Legolas didn't seem likely to forgive her anytime soon. Aragorn spoke, breaking her thoughts once more.

"We must reach the woods before nightfall," he said, motioning her to return.

She walked back to the group slowly, ignoring Gimli's curious looks.

"Let's go," Aragorn ordered, taking the lead.

Katie followed, but her heart wasn't in it.

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The sun was just beginning to set behind the trees when the group reached the woods. Katie glanced around in amazement as they slowed down to a walk and cautiously entered. It was beautiful- big tall trees, sparkling bushes, golden leaves fluttering in the slight breeze. Behind her, she heard Gimli warning the hobbits about a "great sorceress" in the woods. Katie grinned to herself, knowing the dwarf was going to fall in love with Galadriel.

Suddenly a female voice sounded in her head, loud and strong. 'Welcome back child. Your coming is a great prophesy fulfilled.'

Katie snapped her head around, startled. Only the hobbits and Gimli were behind her. No one else. 'Where did that voice come from?' she wondered, feeling off-kilter. It sounded as if someone where talking directly inside her head.

'Weird,' she thought, turning back around. She stopped dead in her tracks. An elf stood directly in front of her, bow drawn and pointed at her head. She glanced around as much as she dared and realized they were completely surrounded by a group of blond hair elves. She recognized Haldir as he stepped forward.

"The dwarf breathes so loudly we could have shot him in the dark," he said with a smirk.

Katie heard Gimli growl in annoyance and swallowed a laugh. Haldir shot her a puzzled look. "Follow me," he ordered. Immediately, the group of elves lowered their bows and followed behind Haldir.

'A train of blondes,' Katie thought with a smirk as she walked along at the back of the pack. Several of the elves followed behind them, making up the caboose.

After a minute, Gimli fell into step beside her. "Are you and the elf fighting?" he whispered- quite loudly.

Katie shot him a warning look. "There are a lot of elves here," she pointed out, trying to avoid the question. She noticed several of the elves were eyeing them curiously. She fought back a groan.

"I'm talking about Leg--."

"I know who you're talking about," she cut him off quickly, "and the answer is no- we're not fighting. He's mad at me but we're not fighting."

Gimli looked unconvinced. "You two appeared to be fighting earlier," he pointed out. Katie ground her teeth in annoyance.

"He's angry with me because I lied to him," she whispered. "I tried to apologize but he wouldn't listen."

"That doesn't surprise me," Gimli growled, "Damn stubborn elves."

Katie laughed aloud, she couldn't help it. Nearly all of the elves had turned to stare at them, and she knew they had heard Gimli's words. "That's the truth," she whispered, thinking of Legolas.

Gimli walked ahead to talk with Sam, leaving her to walk by herself. 'The hobbits still won't talk to me,' she realized with a frown. In fact, Gimli was the only one in the group besides Boromir and Aragorn who had said anything to her. She swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling all alone. Around her, the sky grew darker- reflecting her mood.

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After more than half an hour of walking through the moonlit woods, Haldir stopped and turned towards the group. "We will stop here to eat and rest," he stated.

Katie looked around in confusion, wandering where he was talking about. All she saw were trees and more trees. "Where?" Pippin spoke up, voicing her thoughts.

Haldir looked up and the group followed his gaze. Katie was amazed by what she saw. Flat, leaf like platforms sat amid the branches, high in the trees. She heard Gimli mutter in disapproval and had to agree. Going anywhere that high up was not her idea of fun. 'But, if I survived Moria, I can survive anything,' she decided, following Aragorn up the winding stairs.

'Of course, Legolas won't be helping me this time,' she reminded herself as she climbed. Just then, Legolas glanced back and checked on her. Katie smiled as he quickly turned back around, feeling better than she had in days. The climb no longer bothered her.

After another minute of walking, the group reached the flats. Katie looked around and noticed more elves watching them from surrounding trees. She forced herself to stare straight ahead as she followed the group onto the giant leaf structures. She stood beside Aragorn and Frodo as the fellowship lined up side by side, trying not to think of how high up they were, and how close they were standing to the edge.

Haldir emerged from the group of elves and approached them, walking in front of Legolas first.

"Mae govannen, Legolas Thranduilion," he spoke, placing a hand to his chest.

"Govannas vin gwennenle, Haldir o Lorien," Legolas replied softly.

Katie wasn't sure of what was being said. All she knew was Legolas sounded sexy as hell when he spoke elven. 'Or any language for that matter,' she thought with a grin.

Haldir skipped over Boromir and Gimli and looked at Aragorn.

"A Aragorn in Dunedain," he said with a smile. "Istannen le ammen." Aragorn bowed and muttered a response.

"So much for the legendary courtesy of the elves," Gimli spoke up loudly. "Speak words we can all understand."

Haldir shot him a dirty look. "We have not had dealings with the dwarfs since the dark days," he said slowly, his voice dripping with disdain.

"And you know what this dwarf says to that?" Gimli shot back. "Ish Kaquinldaglanora!"

Katie didn't understand his words, but she was sure they weren't nice. Still, she had to agree with the dwarf; it was rude to speak in elven when only two of the nine understood it.

Aragorn reached down and clasped Gimli's arm. "That was not so courteous," he hissed.

Haldir turned from Gimli and eyed her slowly up and down. After a long silence, he turned to Frodo, eyes narrowing. "You bring great evil with you," he whispered. "You can go no further," he stated, then turned and walked away.

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A/N: I apologize for the long delay in updating. My beta is having computer problems, not to mention a busy schedule. Everyone knows how that is.

Here is the translation for the elven words:

"Mae govannen, Legolas Thranduilion," he spoke, placing a hand to his chest. (Welcome Legolas, son of Thranduil)

"Govannas vin gwennenle, Haldir o Lorien," Legolas replied softly. (Our fellowship stands in your debt, Haldir from Lorien.)

"A Aragorn in Dunedain," he said with a smile. "Istannen le ammen." (Aragorn of Dunedain, you are known to us.)

All these translations are from hope they're right. Oh, and if I haven't said so before- this story is going off of the movies, and I happen to have the extended edition version of FOTR. Any questions?

Expect another update soon. Within a week I promise.

Katie-Sue