Chapter Two

When Legolas knocked softly on her door the next morning, he received no answer. Opening the door, he glanced inside to find her sleeping. From the look on her face it appeared as if she were dreaming. Her brow furrowed and she made small whimpering sounds in the back of her throat.

"Am – Nadine," he called her name and gently touched her shoulder.

Nadine jerked violently awake, feeling someone touch her arm. She flinched involuntarily and immediately the person's hand retracted from her arm.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to –"

She recognised the voice as Legolas'. "It's okay," Nadine said softly to the heartfelt apology. A frown appeared on her brow. "Legolas?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Nothing." She shook her head. "Bad dream."

Legolas nodded. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"No," was her too quick reply. "I've forgotten it already."

Legolas decided not to press her any further. From what he had seen so far, she had the tendency to suddenly close up when she was being pushed too far, and then nothing could break through the walls she built up around her.

"You've been very kind to me," Nadine said, her head hanging slightly down. "Thank you."

"There is nothing to thank for." Legolas smiled, knowing she did not see him. "I only want for you to get your memory back."

Nadine frowned at that, wondering why the statement frightened her so much.

"You do not want to remember?" Legolas asked, masking his incredulity in effect.

"I don't know. It's just… scary… I don't know what to expect."

Legolas was quiet for a brief moment. He wanted so much to ease her fears and tell her that there was nothing scary about remembering, but he knew that was not true. "I will help you in any way that I can."

His assurances still left her uncertain. What if the things that were frightening her were things that he couldn't help her with? What if somehow he was the cause of those things?

His voice called her back from her thoughts. "How would you feel about some breakfast?"

"Yes, please."

Legolas hesitated when he saw her move to get out of bed. Her strength might have increased, but he wasn't sure if it would be wise for her to be walking just yet. "Maybe you would like to eat in bed?" he suggested.

"No," Nadine replied firmly. "I have always been perfectly capable of eating at a table myself and I don't see how that should be any different now."

The corners of Legolas' mouth lifted at the determined expression on her face. He decided to indulge her.

"Would you like for me to call someone to help you dress?"

But Nadine shook her head. "No," she said. "I can do it." She took a deep breath and slipped her legs over the side of the bed. She was stiffer than she had thought at first, but she wasn't ready to show that to Legolas after she had declined his offer to help. She pushed herself up from the bed to illustrate just how capable she was. Her face twisted slightly in pain and she swayed.

Legolas reacted without thinking, catching her against himself. He held on to her for a second to steady her. "Are you all right?" he asked, watching her intently for any sign of more trouble.

Nadine's face flushed, embarrassed and slightly shaken. "I'm fine, just a bit light-headed." Being so near to him, she found he smelled of the woods, fresh and earthy. She was about to push away from him, ignoring the thoughts about how nice he smelled, when she realised his grip on her was firm and he wasn't about to let go. Not wanting to appear scared and realising that there was no other way she was going to walk to the bathroom, she gave in reluctantly.

"Let me help you," Legolas spoke softly, barely audible, and slowly helped her to another chamber. He let go of Nadine and allowed her to sit down on a chair, then released her hand. Nadine was startled by the gesture, by the contact. But she was more startled by the surge of electricity that had shot through her body and the sudden feeling of loss when the contact was broken.

She opened her mouth to speak then closed it again. She wasn't sure whether to ask the question plaguing her mind for the last few hours or not. "Are you really my… Am I really married to you?"

"Yes. You were. And by Elvish law you still are." Legolas watched her carefully as she absorbed the words he spoke. "Although we have only been married for a few days, we have known each other for many years before that."

"Tell me how we met," Nadine asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Legolas was happy to tell her the story of the way that they had met at an archery contest where her brother had been one of the contestants and how she had managed to make Legolas believe that her brother was her lover when he tried to make her acquaintance. It had taken a few days until Legolas had finally discovered they were playing a game with him and they had learned that he was not just a Mirkwood Elf, but the actual prince of Eryn Lasgalen. Both parties had been mortified and had avoided each other's presence for some time. But, then, they had met on a ball and had taken a liking to each other right away.

"I could not take my eyes off of you, you were so enchanting." Legolas smiled at her, remembering.

Nadine blushed and began to stutter a response. She was saved from having to complete whatever statement might have been by the sound of a knock on the door.

"Come in."

A female Elf entered the room. "I'm here to assist you with bathing."

"I will leave you to it, then," Legolas said to Nadine.

She nodded and felt him rise from his crouched position next to her. Just when he was about to leave a warning bell went off inside her head. "Prince? You said prince," she stammered. "You are a prince?"

Legolas' face fell slightly at the expression on her face. He wasn't sure what it was exactly; shock, disbelief, fear, awe or a combination of all? Neither of those had his preference. "Yes, I am. And you are the princess of Eryn Lasgalen. But titles mean only so much. I am still simply Legolas." His voice was soft and Nadine thought she detected a trace of disappointment. He wasn't disappointed with her, was he? "I will see you at breakfast."


Some time later, Nadine had been bathed and was sitting on the chair in the bath chamber, trying to brush her hair. The female Elf had been extremely kind and had offered to do it for her, but Nadine already felt too much like a baby with the way they were fussing over her that she felt she needed to at least do this task on her own. Now, however, Nadine found herself wondering why she had been so incredibly stubborn, which proved to be a nasty habit of hers. She attempted to brush her hair, but could barely get her arms over her head without gasping in pain.

She turned at the light tap at the door. It could not be the female Elf; she had left a while ago. "Come in," she called.

Legolas pushed the door open, announcing his entrance, and saw her struggles. Without a word he took the brush from her and began to sweep through her hair in smooth motions. Though it was such a small thing, Nadine found that she was deeply touched by it.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Nadine replied automatically. When Legolas didn't answer, nor made any obvious move to do so, she sighed resignedly. She figured she could at least be honest with him. He deserved that after all, didn't he? After sticking by her, helping her, letting her bitch at him. If everything she had been told so far was true, then that was the very least he deserved.

"What do you want? The short version or the long one?" Nadine's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I have time," he replied quietly, and waited a moment until she spoke.

"I'm confused, hurt, angry. I feel betrayed, like this great injustice has been done to me, and I don't know who to blame, because apparently there is no one to blame. I feel like some damned helpless little kid with this stupid bandage on my head. I can't even leave the room on my own because of this thing. I want to confide in someone, but I don't know anyone here… There are so many unanswered questions… I feel like I'm going to snap any moment."

Legolas listened as the young woman who was his wife shared her feelings of frustration and pain with him. It wasn't much, he knew that there was a lot more left unsaid, but at least it was a beginning. And how little the progress was, it was still a step into the right direction.

He watched Nadine pop another grape impatiently into her mouth, and realised he had been silent for a long time. Recollecting his thoughts, he offered her a goblet with water and said softly, "You can confide in me."

"But I don't know you," she replied resolutely. "I can't just pour my heart out to some stranger, even if that stranger claims to be my husband… Because that's what you are to me, a stranger."

Legolas knew he shouldn't take the words she said to heart. She was being honest. He should be grateful for it, and not feel like any efforts he had made to mend the broken pieces between them had been stamped upon and crushed by her words of truth. If the fact that she felt him to be a stranger was what bothered her, then that was something he would have to remedy.

"You said you had questions. Ask them and I will do my best to answer."

Nadine's head turned up. That wasn't something she had expected to hear from him after her declaration of their estrangement. But at least now she'd get the answers she'd been waiting for. Deciding it would probably be better if they had this talk in private to ensure no one would witness their conversation, she asked him if they could go back to her room.

Half an hour later, they were in her room. Legolas had guided her back to her bed, insisting that she wasn't fit enough to be wandering about for such a long time. Nadine had argued for a few moments, but she had soon learned that Legolas was not a male to be played with and though he was easy to concede with many things, he was adamant in his decision when he believed it necessary. And so it was that Nadine was back in bed, while Legolas was seated on a chair beside her.

There was a brief moment of silence for the first time in at least twenty minutes, which Legolas had spent answering question after question. So far, he had managed to answer her questions, avoiding revealing too much and staying as close to the truth as was possible. He had been dodging quite a lot of questions and was beginning to wonder if the words Galadriel had spoken to him were as wise as she was. Surely, he couldn't keep evading telling his wife the truth? She had told him explicitly not to burden her with things from the past. Yet, she had also told him not to take the option of determining the pace out of her hands. So now he was faced with a contradiction. What was he to do? Allow Nadine to set the pace and answer all her questions, and with that burden her with all the memories that haunted him too, or simply tell her the answers would come in time?

Legolas knew that if he were to do the latter Nadine would close up and he would lose her trust. She would then probably give it to the first person that would answer her questions and share her past with her. Someone who wasn't him. Legolas wasn't sure he liked that thought. If he told her, he would once again regain her confidence, and that was a vital step if their relationship was to go any further than mere acquaintances, who were, ironically, more at ease with each other than she was with him.

But if telling her would harm her in any way, Legolas wasn't sure he would ever forgive himself for causing it.

Nadine had asked him to tell her more about their life together. She wondered whether they'd been happy, what life had been like with him, and had asked what it was like to be a prince.

Legolas had been perfectly content to answer these questions. After all, they were harmless, and, he thought, might inadvertently help her remember something, anything, about her life before.

"Legolas?" Her face was set in a pensive expression, her fingers playing lightly with the sheets. Too lightly, Legolas noted.

"Yes?"

"If we're married, like you say we are, and I've got amnesia, then how come I can remember everything up until the crash and you're not in any of those memories? And how come I didn't wake up in a hospital, but some other kind of… place that I've never heard of?"

A silence descended over them that unnerved Nadine. She felt vulnerable in the position that she was in; not being able to see because of the bandages (her next question was going to be why she was wearing them in the first place) having supposed memory loss and being in a place she didn't know. If these were a bunch of lunatics then God help her. She was dependant on them. Her fingers continued to mangle the sheets, their movements subconsciously becoming jerkier, until she felt a warm pair of soft hands grasp hers gently as a gesture to soothe. They did still, only not in calm, but in startle. He was withholding something from her, and she knew it, could feel it.

"I believe it is best to leave certain things untouched until the time is right to take them on."

Legolas had weighed his answer carefully, and wished she wouldn't bite down on her lip as she was right now. It was a sign he had quickly learned meant that she was uncomfortable. He wished he could just take her into his arms and tell her that everything was going to be all right and that there was no reason for her to be uncomfortable. He wanted to fight all the battles she was waging inside, but he knew that he couldn't. She had to do it on her own.

Still, he had not expected her voice to quiver so much when she spoke again, "Please, Legolas. Tell me," and it crushed his heart.

She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from crying, before continuing. "I want to know. I need to know."

How could he deny her? She was offering her trust to him, she was pleading with him, begging him to tell her. He wanted to sweep her into his arms and kiss her senseless, but contained the urge by taking a deep breath and moving slightly back in his chair. Finally, he nodded, more to himself as he knew she couldn't see him.

"I will tell you," he conceded.

The look of warmth and gratitude that was displayed freely on her face told him more than words could and he felt that his decision had already been reimbursed ten times.

"You were born in Middle-Earth in Rivendell. We met, courted one another, and then married. A few days into our marriage…" he paused, trying to find the right words without upsetting her and having to relive himself the memory that still brought him immense pain every single day. "You were attacked, and you departed from this life. By some strange twist of fate, a reason unknown, you did not go to the Halls of Mandos – as is the custom for us Elves – to live on in eternity, but you were sent to Earth instead. There you were reborn as a human. You were to return to Middle-Earth on your twentieth birthday. Yet something happened and you were involved in an accident, a fatal accident. We managed to bring you back by performing the ritual that wasn't supposed to have taken place for another year. The result is that you have been brought back in your human form, with no recollection of Middle-Earth and your past."

"And you," Nadine murmured.

Legolas was slightly taken aback, but nodded all the same, only saying, "Yes."

"So you're saying I'm dead? On Earth, that is? My parents, my brother… They all think I died in the accident?"

"I do not know what they could think otherwise." Legolas was relieved that she was absorbing all this. Frankly, he hadn't suspected it to be this easy, that she would just accept it as it was given to her, by him.

That was, until she cracked up laughing.

"Do you realise how absolutely crazy that sounds? If I'm dead then how come I'm talking to you? And unless you're a little green Martian with sprouts on your head, I can guarantee that there's only one earth, and Elves do not exist in real life, nor is living on for eternity after death even a remote possibility. God, next thing I hear you're going to tell me that aliens walk among us, that you're friends with a dwarf and that you talk to faeries on a daily basis." Her laughing calmed down to slightly uneasy chuckles. "I have to tell you, though. You have a knack for avoiding questions you don't want to answer."

Silence.

Nadine squirmed. "Legolas?" She frowned, was unable to decide whether she should be unnerved by his lack of reply or not.

Legolas forced himself into completely neutral tranquillity. It was the only way he would be able to handle this situation, if at all. He simply did not have a clue what he could expect when it came to Nadine anymore. Every time he thought he was getting to know her a bit better, she threw him completely off course by doing or saying something entirely different. "I do realise it must sound crazy, but I am not jesting," he said. "As for your other question, I do not know what a hospital is, but am I correct to assume it is similar to a healing room?"

"Wow… wow… back up a little here, buddy." Nadine put her hands up in the air. "You're trying to tell me you actually believe in all that Elf other world crap? Who told you this bull? And don't tell me you came up with it yourself," she added before he could reply, starting to feel nervous.

"Nadine." Legolas reached for her, but she shrank back the moment she heard, felt him coming closer. He froze. It took him every ounce of willpower not to let her reaction hurt him. "You asked me a question, and I answered it. You are in Middle-Earth, where you were born as an Elf, spent your life –"

"Stop!" It wasn't so much the shout, but the fear that he could clearly hear behind the anger that made him stop. "You're crazy, that's what you are. Think you're an Elf, ha! For all I know you're not just a lunatic but also a murderer who likes to chop up his victims in little pieces and –" her voice faltered and she forced herself to take a deep, steady breath. Babbling was not the way to demonstrate her sanity. For all she knew, she could be giving him ideas. "Please leave."

Because the request sounded so helpless, because the expression on her face was so weak and so frightened, and because he knew that she was holding onto her last bit of strength to keep herself from falling apart, he respected her wish. He would not also take away her dignity.

He left.


Elves! Yeah, right. As if that was possible. Not even a nine-year-old kid believed in fairies anymore.

Nadine paced her room as much as the limited open space along the wall would allow her. Her hand trailed over the wall until it reached the end, she turned around then and repeated the process back.

Everyone here had gone mad, they had to. Wherever 'here' was. A mental institution perhaps? It would make sense. Except for the little fact of what the hell she was doing here. So far there'd been no doctors to visit her. She scratched the possibility off her mental list.

She'd been abducted by a lunatic who thought he was her husband. And an Elf. Seemed plausible enough. Yet it was odd that no one had called the police yet. There'd been enough people around to have seen her. The maids seemed to believe him too.

What if they all really did believe it? Were crazy too? And she had to depend on them? It was a scary thought. Running away seemed like the only option, but with her injuries she probably wouldn't get very far without someone noticing her. And what would they do then? She couldn't even bear thinking about it.

"Cease your fretting." Nadine jumped, froze at the female voice from across the room. It sounded familiar. Soft, yet imposing at the same time. "It will bring your weak body no good."

Nadine was retorting before she even realised she'd opened her mouth. "What do you know? You don't know the first thing about me!" She took two confident steps forward; "You don't and Legolas doesn't!" threw her hands up as she fumed, "Hell, if that's even his real name!"

"It is," came the calm reply. "I can assure you."

"You can't assure me squat!" Nadine burst out in her anger. Then, realising this would get her nowhere, forced herself to calm down, turn into her businesslike manner, "I want a phone. I want to call my parents, tell them I'm being held by a bunch of lunatics who think they live in a fairytale."

"Legolas has told you then." It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement.

Nadine snorted. "Don't tell me you believe him too."

When no answer came, Nadine felt a stream of both panic and anger rush through her veins and mix with the already raised level of adrenaline. "Jesus. What is this, a fucking cult?"

"Hush now," Galadriel said, her voice turning into a slightly colder tone.

"Don't you hush me –" but Nadine was cut off.

"Still your rash mouth." Galadriel's voice would have stopped the fiercest of warriors. "You are in Middle-Earth now," she spoke, her eyes softening. "That is a fact. Whether you choose to believe it or not. That is a choice left for you to make alone."

Nadine had the feeling she was being reprimanded by this woman. And she felt dwarfed. She couldn't explain why.

"Legolas is the one you married," the Lady continued gently. "He loves you. He does not have any reason to lie to you."

"You haven't given me any reason to believe you either," Nadine replied quietly.

"No," Galadriel said. "Other than offering you help when you needed it and not pressing you for any information, we have not." A pause followed before Galadriel went on, "Do not fear harm will come over you. Legolas would never allow it."

Nadine had the strange feeling the Lady had somehow read her mind and worries as if she'd spoken them out loud. She brushed the feeling away. "I know." Nadine was surprised to feel herself opening up to the woman. "I realise it sounds weird, but I somehow know he wouldn't."

"He loves you."

"I don't know about that," Nadine gave an uneasy chuckle to lighten the Lady's words. "How long have I been gone here? Nineteen years? How old is he now, then? He doesn't sound that old."

"It has been longer than that, child." Unless Nadine's ears were deceiving her, the Lady's voice sounded slightly amused. "Time flies faster here, but that is a matter better left alone, for now. You have a lot to learn about Elves, Amdirwen, and it is best you start by accepting the facts. I'll take my leave now. Use the time to make sense of your thoughts."

And she left the same way she entered; soundlessly.

"Do not worry. The bandages will come off in the morning," the same voice floated through Nadine's mind a few moments later, when she was positive she was alone in the room. She frowned in confusion.