"Falling for him would be like cliff diving. It would be either the most exhilarating thing that ever happened to me or the stupidest mistake I'd ever make." —Colleen Houck,Tiger's Curse

Chapter 11

Soon they moved again, walking ever deeper into the woods. Inspired by the Lorien elves and hoping for a hiding place for the rest of the night, they wished to find a cluster of trees which they could climb and hide in.

They came across such a place, and Legolas offered to climb first as he was most used to living in woodland. He leapt up to catch a branch but was suddenly startled by a voice in the tree calling out "Daro!"

Legolas dropped immediately from where he hung and pressed himself into the tree trunk, gesturing for the others to stay quiet.

The voices in the tree laughed and spoke again in elvish. Legolas hesitantly answered them. "They are elves" he told his companions, "And they say you speak so loud, they could have shot you in the dark". Boromir frowned at this and the hobbits looked frightened, "but they say also that you need have no fear, they have been aware of us for a while."

Legolas translated the hidden elves' speech. Explaining that they had heard him singing of Nimrodel and knew that he was of their northern kindred. They bid him climb up to them with Frodo, as it seemed that they had heard news of the Fellowship's journey. Legolas glanced for a moment at Amber, seeming uncertain.

A rope ladder was let down from the tree. After a moment more of hesitation, Legolas ran up it, seeming to find no effort in it. Frodo clambered up slowly after him, followed by Sam (not that the last had been invited).

They were up in the tree for a short while, Amber growing steadily more uneasy. She knew that it was likely that the orcs of Moria would try to follow their path so she wished for them to be quickly hidden.

Eventually, Legolas climbed back down to them and told them that the elves of Lorien would keep them safe for the night in their shelters in the trees. He said that the hobbits were to join the elves in the tree he had just climbed down from, and the rest were to stay in another, nearby.

Amber noticed something odd about the way he said this last, and despite looking directly at him, he did not meet her eyes. Seemingly, she was not the only one who noticed, Aragorn asking "Do they not wish for you to join them, as you are their kin?".

Legolas shook his head, paused, then after a moment said reluctantly, "They offered for me to join them, but I said I would prefer to remain with this part of the company." He said no more and continued to avoid Amber's gaze.

Aragorn glanced her way but asked nothing further. He hid their baggage in a leaf drift while a strange elf came quickly down from the trees and lead them to another cluster nearby. He pulled down a ladder and they followed him up, finding themselves on a platform which was hidden in the tree canopies.

He spoke in elvish to Legolas who shook his head in response. The Lorien elf glanced to Amber, who met his gaze with curiosity.

Aragorn also watched this exchange, being fluent in their language. The elf looked away from Amber, speaking a brief greeting to Aragorn, before looking at her once more with clear curiosity. Finally, he nodded to Legolas and Aragorn before departing.

Amber frowned, looking over to Legolas, a question in her eyes. He met her gaze, seeming to study her, unwilling to convey what had been said. Gimli huffed about them having spoken in a language known only to a few, clearly disgruntled at the apparent rudeness of excluding the three of them who did not speak the elven tongue.

Aragorn told him that the elves of Lorien did not often have dealings with any other than their own kin, and so the common tongue may not be known to all. Amber secretly disagreed, thinking that the elf had wished to keep what he had said between those he trusted, discounting Gimli, Boromir and herself.

Aragorn suggested they try to sleep, so Amber rolled out her bedding and lay atop it, feeling uncertain in the strange woods. She did not think that the strange elves had liked her, though she didn't know if they even guessed at her lineage. Legolas laid beside her, but at a respectful distance. She looked over to him, finding him once again looking her way, expression not conveying his thoughts.

Once the others had laid down, Legolas reached across the space between the two of them and touched his fingertips to her forearm. She looked quickly to his face, surprised by the gesture. He seemed to look deeply into her eyes, some fathomless emotion swimming in his own.

There they lay, until Amber's weariness finally claimed her.

After a few hours, Amber awoke to the foul stench of orcs. She laid still, and soon they hear orc voices which passed underneath them and moved on. She slept again, the fatigue in her body returning after their battle and long flight, followed by the grief that still burdened her.

When the morning light shone through the canopy of their tree shelter, Legolas woke the others, eager to journey deeper into the golden woods of Lothlorien. He had long wished to go there, but never had ventured to the lands of so many tales he had grown up with.

As he roused Amber, he felt again the protectiveness of the previous night, when the elvish marchwardens had questioned him about her and the dwarf. They had wished to turn both away from their borders, but Legolas had insisted that he would go no further without them. Frodo, thankfully, had agreed with his sentiments, speaking well in elvish, and this had seemed to convince the elves who had heard of the fellowship's plight.

Legolas had feared for his friend, and indeed, the dwarf; not wishing them to be judged too harshly on grounds of their race. He had insisted on sleeping alongside them, showing the Lorien elves that he trusted them completely, as much as he did his own people.

For much of the night, the differences, and seeming to him now, lack thereof, between he and the Beorning woman in particular, had dominated his thoughts and prevented him from sleeping. He could not now see how he had once considered other races to be as different from his own as foxes were to birds; as if they shared no commonalities.

As he looked upon the sleeping face of his dear friend, shaking her gently by the shoulder, he could not help but see how alike they were, and how high in his esteem she had grown.

She stirred, frowning against the light and tried to bury her face in her blanket. Legolas laughed at this, and the sound seemed to pull her out of her slumber. She opened her eyes and looked into his, eyes shining with whatever had been in her dream. He felt momentarily stunned, unable to look away from her, until the sound of Aragorn's approach broke his reverie.

He looked up in time to see the man eyeing them, a small smile on his lips. Legolas felt his cheeks flush lightly, feeling that a private moment had been too readily observed. He moved away, retrieving his blankets and readying himself to climb down from their perch.

Once all on the ground again, they retrieved their packs and began their day's march, following the Lorien elves as they brought them closer to their home.

Late into the morning they reached the bank of the Silverlode and Haldir, leader of the Marchwardens who led them, called a whistle to another elf on the other bank. The elf tossed across one end of a rope, and between them they made a rope bridge for the fellowship to cross. Pippin surprised them all with his ease of crossing, while the other hobbits struggled, shuffling slowly across. Legolas ran across, feeling light of heart to be with his kin. Amber followed, her balance surprising the Lorien elves as she walked purposefully, one hand lightly touching the second rope for balance, but not faltering. Legolas smiled with pride, wishing for them to see her as he did, magnificent and far superior to their esteem of her.

Once all of the company were on the other side, the elves untied the ropes, leaving the river uncrossable once more. Before they could move on, Haldir told Gimli that his eyes would have to be covered until they reached Lothlorien. The dwarf protested at being singled out, adamant that he would go no further if treated like a prisoner. "A plague on dwarves and their stiff necks!" cried Legolas in frustration, wishing to be on their way so that he could at last be among the tree city that he had heard so much of. Aragorn suggested that they should all be blindfolded, shocking Legolas into further protestations. Aragorn, laughing, threw his own words of 'stiff necks' back at him. He frowned, feeling keenly the humiliation of being brought to the fair city in such a manner, but before he could complain further, he noticed Amber, laughing in delight at his rare display of ire. He felt his anger leave him, resigning himself to the ranger's suggestion.

They were all to be blindfolded, this being accepted by the dwarf as fair. Legolas moved towards the Beorning, not wishing to be far from her if he could not look to check she was well. So it was that their eyes were bound, and they were led by the Lorien elves through the forest which Legolas had long dreamed of exploring. He tried to let go of his frustration, recalling Amber's enjoyment of the moment, her pretty laugh playing in his mind as he walked.

At one point, he felt himself bump into her lightly, as if she had slowed to join pace with him. Something about being blindfolded, knowing that only the Lorien elves could see them made him bold, and he reached across to where he could hear her walking, for her soft steps were unmistakable, and felt for her hand.

When he felt the sleeve of her tunic dress, he slid his hand down lightly until he touched the skin on the back of her hand. Seeming to know if was he, by his scent, he supposed; she turned her hand so that their fingers joined.

Marvelling at the feel of her hand in his, and enjoying immensely the feeling of walking through the woodland by her side, he found it far easier to enjoy the journey, despite the lack of his vision to enjoy their surroundings.

In the evening, they stopped to rest. They remained blindfolded, as were the orders, and ate an evening meal without sight. It was an odd feeling, not knowing what you held, except by feel, and Legolas found the lack of his keenest sense unnerving.

When they laid down to rest upon bed rolls laid out by the elves, Legolas found himself again reaching for Amber's hand. She had become his anchor in his visionless state, keeping him grounded and calm. He held her hand as she fell to sleep, and kept it throughout the night in his own.

In the morning they walked for many hours again, until they felt the sun on their faces and suddenly many elven voices could bee heard ahead. They spoke to Haldir and his fellows of the orcs who had pursued the fellowship into the woods. They reported that many were slain, and the last few pursued until they could be killed. They spoke of a strange creature that had been spied behind the fellowship in the woods. The elves had not killed it as they did not know if it was good or evil.

Finally, a message came from the Lord and Lady of Lorien. They said that the company were to be allowed to walk without blindfolds. Haldir told this in the common tongue to the company, who gave many glad thanks for their release from the eye coverings. While his own was removed, Legolas felt a strange pang of loss, knowing he could no longer hold Amber's hand, unseen by the others. He was not yet ready to reveal his feelings, having not even discussed them with the Beorning. Truly, he felt that he needed time to contemplate these budding feelings alone for a while before he knew what was to be done.