I felt like all of it was happening too fast. One moment, Legolas and I were walking to the archery range, and the next, I catch Malian with his tongue down Kaethe's throat. I wrung my hands all the way to Legolas' room, dreading telling him what I had seen. His reaction was not the one I expected.

"Get out." Legolas' jaw was clenched and his knuckles white. He was fuming.

"What?" I protested, moving out of the way of the door.

"You heard me, Laina."

"Why are you asking me to leave? I'm just telling you what I saw!" This was exasperating.

"I don't understand why you would lie to me like this, Laina, and I don't want an explanation. I just want you to leave." He was talking slowly as if I could not understand Elvish. "Get out."

"Leaf, why would I lie to you?"

"I do not know, but if you do not leave now I will escort you out." Legolas' honey brown eyes darkened dangerously, and as hurt as I was and as much as I wanted him to believe me, I left and slammed the door behind me.

The next few days were spent avoiding Legolas, though I still went to the archery range to practice. I stuck with myself and tried my hardest to ignore Kaethe's watchful eye and her false giggles when Legolas teased her during his breaks from archery. I was shooting better every day, and I know Legolas had noticed – I hoped he would ask his father to put me on the guard, but Orcs had not been sighted for days now and Thranduil was getting less careful with the patrols. I had the feeling Legolas had nearly forgotten that Orcs existed at all; he seemed to spend all of his free time with Kaethe now, which would explain the especially nasty looks Malian tried to hide (but now that I knew, it was so painfully obvious that I thought it was rather like an Orc stabbing you in the back).

When we were done with practice, I saw Malian, Legolas, and Kaethe talking in my peripheral vision. I pretended not to pay too much attention until I saw Malian and Kaethe walk toward the castle together, looking inconspicuous as usual. Legolas was looking after them for a bit before he turned his head to look at me. I immediately dropped my eyes to the bow I had been using, hastily putting it away in its case. I could not see Legolas walk over to me, but my instincts told me he was doing so and I looked up to see him next to me.

"You're doing much better with the bow and arrow," Legolas said formally.

I caught myself rolling my eyes at him, and ignoring his previous statement I asked, "Where are Kaethe and Malian headed?" I tried to keep the suspicion out of my voice.

"Kaethe was feeling tired and Malian offered to escort her to the halls," Legolas answered nonchalantly. I knew better, of course. Kaethe and Malian would go back to Malian's room and—brilliant.

"Well," I started slowly. "Actually, I have a quick question for Malian. Care to come with me to his room?" I was very careful to keep my voice steady, not wanting Legolas to think much of what I had just said.

"Why not?" Legolas replied, offering his arm to me. I guessed he wanted to put the past behind us and forget I had ever said anything about Kaethe and Malian, which was exactly the way Legolas worked. Well, he would remember soon enough.

I linked my arm in Legolas' and we walked toward the halls, saying nothing. The moment between us was a bit stiff but I ignored it for the sake of my mission. Within no time (was I rushing?), we were in front of Malian's door. Legolas reached his hand up to knock but I brought his fist down quickly, putting a finger over my lips to indicate silence. Legolas shot me a quizzical and doubtful glance.

"Laina—"

"Sh," I commanded in a whisper. "I know you don't believe me but I'm going to prove it to you." Legolas' eyes clouded uncomfortably but he did not turn to leave, so I took a deep breath and pushed Malian's door open.

Just as I had suspected. Of course it was nearly heartrending to see the betrayed look on Legolas' face, but he had the right to know. Now he knew. I turned my head immediately from the scene before us: Legolas was not seeing what I had seen before. He was seeing something much more crushing and I could not bear to watch Legolas' heart break. Legolas must have stood there with his eyes narrowed for quite a while until I reached down and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him away. He jerked his hand from me and made a move into the room.

"Kaethe," Legolas breathed, eyeing her nearly naked body on Malian's bed. Kaethe said nothing but lay down on that bed, a rather confused look on her face. Malian had been on top of her when we entered but had immediately jumped off the bed and was standing, his top off, on the opposite side of the room. The expression on his face was difficult to read, and I did not look long enough to try. Legolas swallowed hard before turning his head in disgust.

"Legolas, let's go," I said soothingly, taking his hand again. I was certain he would not allow me to pull him away until he had cut off Malian's head and handed it to Kaethe, but this was unfamiliar territory for the both of us and Legolas accepted my hand and permitted me to pull him gently out of the room. I shut the door slowly behind us.

Legolas and I walked all the way back to his room hand-in-hand, silent. Legolas' stare was blank yet unforgiving. I was unsure of what to say to him when we reached his door; I thought it wildly inappropriate to simply say, 'see you later.' I did not have to make a decision, though, because Legolas pulled me into his room with him as if he had forgotten I was even attached to his hand. I wanted to point this out to him but had not the heart; instead, I allowed him to pull me down onto his bed with him. We both lay there for a while, Legolas staring at the ceiling with the same blank expression and I eyeing Legolas expectantly.

"Leaf?" I whispered after a while. He did not look at me. "I am sorry."

"It is I who should be apologizing, Laina," Legolas replied after a moment, turning his head to gaze into my eyes. "I did not believe my most trusted friend."

"Malian is—"

"Was—"

"Your most trusted friend. You had every reason to believe his word over mine," I soothed.

"I should not have believed you would lie to me," Legolas said, still looking into my eyes. His stare made me both uncomfortable and relaxed at the same time, which made me even more uncomfortable. I could not stop myself from allowing my eyes to wander; I felt foolish for it and shut my eyes tightly when I realized I was nearly gawking.

"No," I answered after a while. "I would not lie to you."

"I know," Legolas whispered, turning his body to face mine and putting a strong hand on my cheek. For a fleeting moment I thought he was going to kiss me, but to my delight he did not and instead just lay there staring at me (damn those eyes) with his hand gently caressing my cheek. "I loved her," Legolas admitted after a while. I made to say something but he continued. "I do not know why I loved her. I may have loved her because I had to, because Father wanted me to, but I was convinced that I did. You cannot know how hurt I am right now." Legolas closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his hand now working its way through my hair. I thought of the time I had been most hurt, when I was forced to say goodbye to Legolas and Malian five hundred years ago. My life had been a privileged one, though, because I had met a great person in Imladris. I thought of Aragorn, who had reached Imladris by now; maybe he would be able to send word, with less Orcs around our borders as of late. I sighed and shook my head.

"I have known pain, but none like you must feel now," I confessed sadly. I wanted to put my arms around Legolas and hold him until he felt better; I wanted to take away some of his grief. I would have rather felt the pain myself than watch Legolas feel it, because it was pain he did not deserve.

After a moment of complete heartbreak between the two of us, I felt Legolas' strong hand slide down my side and rest on my waist. I looked up at him quizzically and saw something in his honey browns that I had never seen before. He put his arm around my back and pulled me closer to him, pressing my body against his. I could feel the strength in his arms as I placed my hand on him, allowing it to run down the length of his arm and appreciate every muscle in it. I felt sweet breath on my face and before I could think this through, our lips met. Searing lust swept through my body and I parted his lips with my tongue, letting it slide into his appreciative mouth. He pulled me on top of him; I straddled his waist, letting my long hair hang over his face. He pushed it away, putting both hands behind my head to hold my face closer to his.

I could not breathe; I could not think; all I could do was keep going. I felt a skilled hand undoing the dress I had carelessly placed on my back that morning. I stopped kissing Legolas momentarily to help him untie me, but the moment was long enough. I was breathing hard and looking down at Legolas, searching his eyes. All that reflected in those deep pools of honey was a blank stare. My breath caught in my throat and I got off of him quickly, scrambling to tie my dress.

"Laina," Legolas breathed in a rather pleading way. He sat up and caressed me with his eyes while I stood at his door, breathless and embarrassed. I was unsure of what to do next, so I stood there and allowed Legolas to rise from his bed and come over to me. He stood in front of me, staring at me for a while before putting one finger under my chin and lifting my face so I could look into his eyes. The expression on his face now was infinitely more recognizable; I saw in him the love he felt for me as a best friend rather than a lover. I saw rather than heard an apology, and he put his strong arms around me, burying his face in my hair and kissing my forehead before letting me go. I smiled at him, both of us silently understanding that we would forget what just happened because it was in the head of the moment and it meant nothing to either of us. He smiled back and watched as I opened the door and hurried back to my room.