A.N.: Finally! Exams are finished. I can now write again.

I now have my first flame (review), sent by Flame Rising. If ever you're reading this, I'd like to say thank you, for it encouraged me to write better. If I can't satisfy your tastes now, I'm very sorry then, but I guess I can't do anything about it, can I?

Disclaimer: What, are you going to hurt me more? You know that saying 'I don't own LOTR' hurts me. T-T

/Previously on: "In The Beginning of The End"/

"This is a wonderful robe, Ree."

"I'm glad to see that it has no blood on it."

"Mom, what happened to you?"

"Would you get some food for Lady Celebrian?"

"Well?"

"The elf's a snob! So rude…"

"Oh, he's only like that towards humans, save Aragorn. I'm sure he'll warm up to you after a day or two."

"I doubt it."

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Chapter 6: Biting

--

: 24th of June, 3009, Tuesday afternoon. Training Fields :

"You're slipping, Ree. You should've practiced while I was gone." Aragorn said as he stopped his sword a centimetre from my temple.

I glared at him.

"Take your position." He commanded, taking few steps backward to create a distance between us. I did the same. "Ready."

I took my fencing position and he raised his eyebrow. I only smirked at him in reply and tried to cope with the weight of the sword.

Of course, just because I'm not in my world anymore doesn't mean I don't practice fencing. Sometimes while I'm alone in my room, I practice fencing and not the style that Aragorn is currently teaching me.

"Start."

I stepped my left foot backward, aiming my sword at Aragorn. He sprinted forward, sword in the air, vertically striking. I stepped sideways before striking his right arm. He was able to block the strike and I stepped a couple steps backward, my sword ready. He changed to a defensive stance and I followed suit.

The warm breeze blew and I charged at him. Suddenly, he charged too. We both strike at the same time, our swords diagonally meeting each other with a clang.

Since I practiced fencing by myself and with no one else, my grip was not as hard as it should've been and that I won't be able to handle such a force with a heavy sword as a substitute. Surely, my sword was taken from my grasp, landing softly a few steps away. I side stepped quickly using taekwondo's stance. He once again charged at me, the sword aiming for my neck. I ducked, rolling sideways to reach my sword.

As I touched the hilt of the sword with my fingertips, I felt the familiar coldness of the sword at the back of my neck. I paused, frozen from my position.

"Dead." The owner of the sword said.

I furrowed my eyebrows at this, since the voice wasn't of Aragorn. I dropped myself on the floor, opposite of the stranger's sword and turned to see the man who dared disturb my training with Aragorn.

…I mean, elf.

…the elf who oh-so rudely interrupted my conversation with mom and judged me by my race alone.

I glared at him and I heard a snigger from the distance. I redirected my glare to Aragorn, before directing it once again to the elf. I silently groaned, reached for my sword, and stood up, all the while glaring at the elf. I walked towards Aragorn who was currently sheathing his sword and smiling like a goof. I stuck out my tongue towards him.

"Why are you wasting your time on her, Estel?" The elf asked.

I turned towards him again, now with a raised eyebrow.

"Why, is it wrong to use my time in training a mortal?" Aragorn asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

He only rolled his eyes in reply.

"You know, if your father was here…" Aragorn trailed off, an expectant eye on him. He only kept silent. Aragorn turned to me.

"I believe you've already met?" He asked. I took my stuff from the nearby tree, getting my writing kit.

"Why does he have to be so bloody rude?"

"He's just that."

"Estel?"

"They called me that before."

"I believe you want to converse with him?"

"Why?"

I smiled sheepishly. "I'll just chat with the twins."

His eyes narrowed. "Are you looking for a way to escape?"

I shook my head, a little too quickly.

"Why am I feeling that someone is talking about me?" The elf asked from the distance, his eyes narrowed.

I replied with a raised eyebrow, before sheathing my sword and walking towards the house.

: 25th of June, 3009, Wednesday noon. Reesha's bedroom :

"Reesha, would you like to go out for a picnic?" Arwen asked, leaning on the door frame.

I grinned at her as a reply.

It has been a tradition that we have a picnic at the side of the lake once per month. Not only is it fun, it also means that I'll have no training that day.

"Get ready then. We'll go there by horse."

I gave her a questioning look. Whenever we go there, we go by foot.

"We have a visitor with us."

I cocked my head to the side, adding to my questioning look.

"Legolas." She replied, grinning. I groaned silently.

All of the elves in Rivendell know by now about mine and Legolas' dislike for each other. If ever they didn't believe it before since I'm under Lord Elrond's care and that Legolas, to my surprise, is Mirkwood's crown prince, it had been confirmed by yesterday evening.

To Lord Elrond's distaste and surprise, Legolas was found covered with water from head to toe with a bucket on his head when he opened the door to his room. How Lord Elrond found out that it was me who planned it together with Elrohir, I would never know.

I changed to a polo shirt and jeans, courtesy of sewing classes. I went out of the room with her.

"I would never get it why women in your world would wear men's clothes." She said while we were walking.

Soon, we were inside the barn. Elladan, Aragorn, and Legolas were already there. I took her hand.

"Where's Elrohir?"

"He won't be coming." She replied, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Before I could question her more, Elladan called us.

"Ree, you'll be riding with me. Arwen with Aragorn." He said.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. They already know that I could ride alone especially when riding Penguin or Kitty.

"Don't question. Lord Elrond's orders." Aragorn said, keeping Roheryn steady while Arwen mounted. I stroked Kitty's mane.

"We'll be riding on Penguin for today, Ree." Elladan said, readying Penguin. "Legolas, you'll be riding kitty. She's the one with the ready equipment."

Legolas merely nodded as he patted each of the horses. As I mounted myself on Penguin, I eyed Kitty who seemed to also look at me. Legolas now turned to Kitty, reaching for her mane. Suddenly, she tried to bite him.

"Woah!" Legolas exclaimed stepping backwards. Kitty started to neigh as if laughing. I grinned at her.

"Careful, Legolas. She bites." Aragorn warned.

If ever you're wondering about the horses' names, it originated from me. Penguin's actually one of Elladan's horses. The problem with Penguin's first name is that he doesn't acknowledge it. When I first met him, he made sounds that were similar to penguins. When I said the word penguin silently, he looked at me hence the name 'Penguin'. Kitty, on the other hand, was brought in by Glorfindel. She had no name then. She wasn't tame at all and always pounced and bit any being that came near her. I went to see her every day as close as I could get without harming myself. One day when I went to see her, she didn't go crazy. I was able to calm her, and Elrohir took care of her. She made me remember Layla's wild cat, hence the name 'kitty'.

He tried to approach kitty once more and this time, kitty didn't react. I rolled my eyes at kitty and she simply neighed. He then mounted on kitty and we went on our way.

: 27th of June, 3009, Friday afternoon. Near the lake :

We arrived at the destined place. I inhaled the sweet scent of my surroundings, the fresh air tingling my nose. Elladan pulled on the reins and we jumped off the horse. The others did the same.

I took Penguin's reins and tied it to a big branch, before nuzzling him. Legolas did the same, though nearer to the water. Elladan, being Elladan, took off his shirt and jumped into the lake. Aragorn smiled heartily at him while Arwen struggled with the picnic bag.

"Legolas!" called Arwen. "Would you please get the mat in Kitty's pouch?"

Legolas neared Kitty and as he opened the pouch, Kitty quickly walked forward and turned diagonally before swiftly reversing in his steps, making Legolas step backwards. He lost his balance and fell in the lake.

Nobody reacted, silence dominated.

Then, of course, came the laughter.

"Easy now." Aragorn said, being the only one who gave no more than a chuckle.

Legolas merely gave a raised eyebrow before turning to Arwen who was trying to regain her composure.

"…and I thought princesses were supposed to be standing with grace and wisdom." He muttered.

Arwen gave a raised eyebrow of her own, though lacking their usual coldness due to the laughter evident in her eyes. Legolas rolled his eyes.

"…and look here, a mortal girl laughing with no sound looking like a mad hyena. Oh wait, she always looks like that, right? Well, she is a mortal, after all…"

I closed my eyes in an attempt to calm myself from anger, faintly hearing Elladan's calls to prevent Legolas from saying more.

Though some would think that living with Lord Elrond's household is very merry, it is not so. There already were some elves protesting about my stay since I stayed here and even though all elves are wise and mature, there were some that degraded me for being a mortal. These happened years ago and those elves, though unknown why, are now quite nice. The others were kind since I stayed then.

But then, even though I'm already used being called a mortal, it still hurts to hear those words.

"...isn't she making herself too homey here? Really, calling Lady Celebrian mom is really…"

Hurt and anger rushed through my veins. Then, pain shot in my heart, as if it was pricked by a needle. My knees gave away and I slowly sank to the floor, clutching my chest.

Aragorn opened his mouth to protest, but stopped mid-way as Legolas quickly sank in the water.

"Legolas!" Arwen cried.

I opened my eyes and saw the tip of Elladan's feet as he dived. Aragorn jumped into the lake a second after, and Arwen kneeled at the edge of the water, before turning towards me with fear in her eyes.

"What happened?" A person from behind us had said. We both turned to look at him.

"Elrohir!" Arwen shouted as she tried to stand up and ran towards him, shaking as she did so. "Legolas… He… He sank in the lake! It was fast, as if he was pulled from below and… and… Aragorn and Elladan dived to save him."

Elladan slowly turned to look at me, straight in the eye.

"What happened before that?" He asked emotionlessly, still looking at me.

"Legolas opened his rebellious mouth again…" Arwen answered.

Suddenly, the three emerged from the water. Aragorn and Elladan were grabbing Legolas who seemed unconscious. They raised themselves to the ground with the help of Elladan. Aragorn laid Legolas, before turning towards us.

"What should we do?" He asked urgently.

'CPR, CPR, CPR…' I thought, panicking.

"Does anybody know what to do?!" Aragorn asked again, aggravation in his voice.

I jumped in panic and rushed towards him, positioning my arms in his chest.

'1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3…' I counted, pumping. 'Blow!'

I opened his mouth, resisted for a second before placing my lips against his and blew.

I repeated the procedure again and again, and sooner or later, I lost count of the times I did it. The only thing I heard was the beat of my heart, and the faint sound of Arwen's sobs.

Oh, God… Help me. Help him.

Just as I was about to blow again, Legolas suddenly coughed out the water in his lungs. Relief flooded through my body and I heard Aragorn and the twins give off a sigh of relief. Arwen smiled a small smile of happiness and tears once again flew out of her eyes. As soon as Legolas sat up I grinned and hugged him tightly, but was shoved as soon as he gained his composure and realized it was me.

"What are you doing?!" He asked snidely.

I glared at him, and stood next to Arwen.

"She just saved your life, Legolas. What happened?" Elladan asked.

"Something pulled me by my feet. I don't know the rest."

"Elladan and I dived in to save you. When we were in land, you were unconscious and Ree saved you."

He just nodded.

"How exactly did she save me?" Legolas asked, turning to stare at me.

Arwen and I blushed, and Elladan smirked.

'CPR.' I wrote in Elladan's hand.

"CPR?" He asked.

'Came from my world. Don't ask, even I can't explain it.'

He dictated as I wrote.

"And just how do you do this 'CPR'?" Legolas asked.

I just shook my head and turned, as I saw Elladan smirk.

"Let's go back for now. Perhaps Legolas would want to rest after what had just happened."

All nodded and packed up their things.

"Ree rides with me." Elrohir announced harshly and I furrowed my eyebrows at him. He simply ignored it.

: 29th of June, 3009, Sunday afternoon. Halls of Rivendell :

"Reesha?" Lord Elrond called.

I turned to him, giving a questioning look to inquire about what was needed.

"Follow me." He bluntly replied. I gave a nod to answer his command and he turned to walk in a general direction. I followed suit. After a few seconds of walking in silence, he stopped just in front of the Family Room's door. He opened it and we went in. Almost everyone was there, save Elrohir and Gandalf. I spotted Legolas standing on the right side of the room, leaning on the wall. He glared at me and I glared back. I narrowed my eyes at him, before taking the seat in the middle of mom and Elladan.

'What's happening here?'

I glanced at everyone in the room and saw Arwen looking at me. I gave her a questioning look, seeking for an answer. She simply shrugged. At that exact moment, Elrohir and Gandalf entered the room.

"I suppose you wonder why we are gathering in this room." Lord Elrond declared as soon as the new-comers had taken their seats. "The main reason is Celebrian."

We all furrowed our eyes at this while Gandalf and mom simply lowered their heads and exhaled.

"You see…" Lord Elrond started again. "Celebrian would be leaving for the Undying Lands.

'What?! But that would mean that…"

My eyes widened and I shook my head, disbelieving.

"You mean to say that she would leave us?!" Legolas voiced out, stepping nearer to him. Lord Elrond simply nodded. He turned to mom. "Why?"

Lord Elrond opened his mouth to answer, but mom beat him to it. "I'm just going, Legolas. I'm just going."

'That can't be! …They're just joking, right?'

"But you'll never come back!" Arwen exclaimed, butting in.

"I know that, honey." She replied, sadness creeping in her voice, confirming my assumptions.

'No…'

"What's the real reason?" Elrohir asked softly. All heads turned to him.

Since mom, Elladan, and Elrohir went back from the 'trip', Elrohir had been quiet, speaking only when needed. Still, his answers were straight to the point and consisted of only one or two sentences. When Elladan and mom were asked for the reason why, both answered that they didn't know.

"I don't feel happy." She answered, before looking straight at me.

'Does that mean that I'm the reason? Because of what happened back then?'

My eyes widened more, if it was even possible. I looked at every one in the room, and all were surprised by her answer. I lowered my head.

'Why...'

"I'm sorry, but… Reesha, I can't do this anymore. You need to know that-" Mom stopped, as Lord Elrond placed a hand on her shoulder as if to stop her.

'Why?'

Pain, guilt, and sadness overwhelmed my heart. I lifted my head to look at mom, and I felt something sliding from my left cheek. I raised my hand to see what it was, and felt something wet.

'Tears?'

I stood up, dropping my hand to my side.

"Reesha?"

I ran towards the door, hurt running in my veins.

"Reesha!"

Suddenly, all the fire lighting the lamps flickered, before completely dying. I paused from my tracks.

'What's going on?'

I heard Gandalf rising from his chair and whispers started. I shook my head in disbelief and continued running out of the door and into a general direction.

"Reesha! Listen to me! You misunderstood! Ree!" Mom called, her voice shrinking every step that I take. I continued on my way, tears persistent on falling. The other elves looked as I ran, questioning looks on their faces. I ended up standing in front of the entrance door, and I opened it with both hands. I continued to run, leaving the door opened.

As I reached the plains north of the archery fields, a silent sob made its way out of my throat. I slowly stopped running, pants and sobs racking my body.

A.N.: I'm very sorry for not updating sooner, by the way. My study desk had a pile of projects and assignments, add our periodicals. Mix in my weird dream wherein I was two months old pregnant and that the one whom I am most close to... well, I'll just say that he just lost a great deal of my respect.

Review? It would be most appreciated.