Heyyyy!

Hope alllll of you are having a fantastic day.

So, I was talking with Jo while I was writing this yesterday and she asked what is in store for our beloved Lella since she isn't able to read this chapter until it's uploaded. (Typically, she reads it in home room or lunch during the school week before I post, but I did just start this chapter during the weekend and haven't seen her since Friday.)

To that, I answered, is CUTENESS.

And as I sat with my trusty feline companion Pippin (who is actually my sister and her boyfriend's cat, but I came up with name after one of my favorite hobbits) on my lap, I was stuck with where I wanted to go next in Stella's story, so I just put a whole bunch of comforting and sweet Legolas...things in here and called it good.

And, because it's Super Bowl Sunday, I will have the perfect excuse to write more chapters tonight.

So be looking out for Chapter 7 either tonight or tomorrow...;)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own LOTR.

An hour after Stella found out about Gandalf's secret, she was irritated.

A day after, she felt guilty.

And two days after, she knew she had to apologize.

But she didn't exactly know how.

She pondered this as the morning light lazily streamed over Rivendell's fine homes and magnificent gardens. The Fellowship, clad with armor and a pack horse, stood facing a small party of elves, including Lord Elrond and Arwen.

Stella eyes immediately picked out Minuial, who held a teary Glassada in her arms, from small crowd with a smile. Standing on the tips of her toes to ensure they saw her, Stella pressed her fingers to her lips and blew the pair a kiss, a motion that she taught to the child when she first arrived to Rivendell. Glassada reached out her hand, grasping thin air before holding her clenched fist to her heart. Sparkling tears slid down her small face, and Minuial even wiped her own eyes. It took everything in Stella's power not to start crying as well.

She turned her head away with one last soft smile to the two elleths, and tried to focus on her own task at hand. Beside her, Stella met the eyes of Legolas, who's head was tilted curiously. He had obviously seen her exchange with Glassada, and seemed to be puzzled by it. His brow was so knitted, she thought it may never come undone.

"Careful," she said, shifting closer so that only he could hear her. "Your face could get stuck like that, you know."

Legolas relaxed his features immediately, worried that his face would truly stick in it's confused state. That is, until he saw the slightest teasing grin on Stella's pretty face that his lip twitched.

"I was pondering what you could be gesturing to your small friend," he asked.

The elven prince nodded discreetly to Minuial and Glassada, who were still quite teary. In risk of her eyes watering, Stella cast her gaze away from them again. Instead, she placed her eyes on Legolas's never-aging face with a fond smile.

"Where I am from," said Stella, pausing to mentally debate how much detail she wished to reveal about her former home life. The spat with Gandalf left her barely closed wound in shambles and she did no want to rub salt on it by discussing New York. But she continued anyway. "Where I am from, we press our hands to our mouths and release as a degree of affection. It's called blowing kisses."

Legolas seemed immensely intrigued. "Blowing...kisses?"

"Yes," she nodded in confirmation. "We blow kisses when we want to say 'I will miss you', or 'See you soon', and especially for 'I love you'. It's just another way to show affection to people you care about."

"I see," the blonde elf said, still thoroughly engrossed by the entire premise of what she was explaining. He opened his mouth to say more, but Lord Elrond's loud voice silenced the Fellowship's quiet chatter.

"I am afraid this is farewell, my friends," he said, peering at each one of them. When his gaze set itself on her, she squared her shoulders at the knowing look in his eyes. He knew what she was going to do. He always knew. "Through uncertain perils and dangerous enemies, I wish you the best of luck. Follow your Ring-bearer, for he will lead you on your journey. Aa' menle nauva calen ar' ta hwesta e' ale'quenle."

The elf lord gestured his hand to their exit and nodded solemnly at Frodo. The hobbit hesitated before slowly walking through the tall pillars, Gandalf by his side. The company filed out after him, Stella and Aragorn taking up the rear.

A few paces before the two Rangers reached the pillars, Aragorn stopped to look back, his eyes searching among the elves. Stella tilted her head, unsure of what her friend was doing. It wasn't until she saw the unshed tears gather in Arwen's eyes that Stella knew Aragorn took her advice about his love for Lord Elrond's daughter.

She also knew that they could very well never see each other again. The very thought made her heart hurt.

Stella trekked onward, keeping her eyes glued on the leafy path in front of her. The weight of the people she left behind caused her shoulders to sag helplessly. She knew Lord Elrond would not have his people stay with such a threat as everlasting darkness, but that would mean she would never again see the childish grin on Glassada's face and have the heartfelt talks with Minuial. The ache in her chest grew.

"We must keep an eye out at all times," Aragorn said, suddenly striding up beside her. Her shoulders tensed in surprise, but quickly unraveled as she peered up at her friend. "I do not know what awaits us on this journey."

Stella nodded, tearing her gaze from him to rest it on the backs of Legolas and Boromir's heads. "I am sorry, Aragorn. About Arwen."

The Ranger was silent for a few paces, stealing glances at his saddened friend. When her eyes would not meet his, he spoke.

"Arwen will be safe from harm. Do not despair, mellon," The Ranger said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You must have enough sadness in your heart already."

Then, Stella finally swiveled her head to look at him. His expression urged her to elaborate on her current situation.

Stella sighed. "It's Gandalf. He knew about my mother and father, yet did not tell me."

"Surly he has his reasons," Aragorn said. "And if he knew them, doesn't that put you one step further to meeting them?"

"No," Stella replied shortly. "They're dead."

He stopped in his tracks, hand still placed on her shoulder. His eyes searched her face for any form of a joke, a simple ruse, but there was none.

"I know he has his reasons, Aragorn, I really do. But I was angry. I yelled, cried, and cursed at everything," Stella said, swallowing the lump in her throat. "But really, the only person I actually hurt wasn't myself. It was him."

The elleth started walking again, for the pair had gotten slightly too far behind the company. Once they caught up, however, Aragorn took her hand and squeezed.

"I am sorry, Stella. I did not know," Aragorn murmured softly.

Stella nodded as the Fellowship continued to trek on ahead. The past few days were emotionally draining on her. The only time she was not too upset was the few days she spent in the training ground with Legolas. The pair bantered about odd things, but it gave Stella relief from her impending thoughts.

Legolas must have known something was troubling her. One day, he sat up in the trees to await her arrival and threw acorns at her head just to make her laugh. And on the next day, he bribed some elven kitchen workers and brought an entire satchel of tangy cheese, warm bread, and canteens of mint tea, which kept them content so that they may remain in the grounds until the sun went down. She told him old fairytales from her childhood; he told her the legends of his people. And, for a while, she didn't worry much about the constant sadness and guilt of speaking foully to the only person who actually cared for her since she was an infant.

The company continued on through trees, hills, valleys, and swamps without much noise uttered, leaving Stella alone with her thoughts. The sun shone weakly the entire way and the elleth pulled her cloak a little tighter to her frame. Light, cool breezes ruffled her waves of hair. The slow pace lulled her into a barely conscious state of mind. Oh, what she would give to scurry up one of these creaky trees and spring from branch to branch.

"Stella," Aragorn said, shaking her out of her bored state. Without her knowledge, he had moved up a few paces and was now walking next to Legolas. "You and Legolas should scout ahead. See if there is any trouble in store."

Stella nodded, tossing a relieves smile to her Ranger friend as she scampered up the nearest tree. She could always count on her friend to know exactly what she needed.

Behind her, Legolas swung himself up the tree. Perching herself on a high branch, she waited until he gained footing next to her, offering him a small grin.

"Aragorn said you tend to get restless if the pace is too slow," Legolas said, taking a leap to the branch slightly higher than hers.

"Yes. It's hard for me to sit still. I used to get into trouble in school because I would move too much," Stella replied, a short laugh escaping her lips. She jumped from branch to branch, the elven prince doing the same from the branches beside her.

"I'm sure you were your instructor's prized pupil," Legolas grinned as they neared each other again. Stella shrugged and sent him a devil-may-care look, peering down at the company below. They were still quite far behind, with Boromir and Aragorn now taking up the rear. Stella leaped to the next branch, landing on her toes. The bark scraped her palms, but it wasn't terribly painful.

A few more trees later, Stella finall plopped herself down on the dense branch, her feet swinging below her. She took a deep breath, inhaling the woody scents and damp leaves.

Quietly, Legolas leapt next to her and sat in one fluid motion. His blue eyes focused intently on her angular seemed slightly lighter up in the trees, away from all the heavy air below. Stella sat without a sound, her eyes examining the branches around them.

"You know," Stella said, breaking the silence and tearing her eyes from the drying leaves to meet his. "I wasn't just an antsy child, but I also kind of a thief."

"Why, you must have been quite the troublemaker," Legolas teased.

Stella grinned in reply. "Indeed. I grew up in an orphanage run by these two women. Whenever some of the kids would call the younger or weaker ones names, I would steal these little candy treats from the back of the drawers in the kitchen to make them feel better. Nobody knew, but once, one of the ladies that ran the place saw me and I thought surly that I would be in trouble. Instead, I just kept finding little treats in the back of the drawer."

"First, you cause your poor instructors grief, then you steal from kitchen drawers," Legolas smirked. "I am curious to see what is next."

Stella rolled her eyes. "And I can fairly assume you were absolutely princely as can be when you were a child, hm?"

"Actually, I can recall an incident that did involve spilled beans and kitchen servants," he commented mildly. Stella quirked her eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh?" she asked, looking expectantly to the elf prince. But, instead of giving her an answer, he stood and inclined his hand to her from above.

"Story for another time, my lady," he responded. She huffed, placing her slender hand on his, fingers wrapping around his wrist. Her fingers, long with bony knuckles and short fingernails, we're usually longer than many others she had come across. However, when she compared their hands, his dwarfed her's entirely. The feeling of being small for once was a little daunting, but not unwelcoming. It actually made her feel...warm. And tingly.

With a shake of her head. Stella followed Legolas as he slid down the tree, landing with a soft 'thump' on the muddy ground. The pair stopped a few feet in front of Frodo and Gandalf, who ceased conversing as soon as the elves popped from the leaves.

Frodo looked up at the trees and back at them curiously. "Where...?"

"Scouting ahead, Master Baggins. Watching for any signs of danger," Stella replied to the hobbit.

"We have come across no imminent threats, but it is growing dark. We must find somewhere to make camp for the night," Legolas spoke, casting his eyes to the darkening sky. Stella nodded in agreement, avoiding the gaze of Gandalf. The pair rejoined their company, Gimli huffing at their reappearance.

"It's about time you two showed up," he grumbled. "Silly elves."

"No more silly than you," Legolas retorted calmly. The dwarf growled lowly, muttering curses under his breath. Merry and Pippin grinned at each other, stifling their laughter.

"Anything out of the ordinary?" Aragorn asked, hooking two fingers around Stella's elbow to gain her attention. She shook her head.

"Not yet. Although, we need to find someplace to rest before it grows too dark," the elleth concluded. She then turned to smile softly at Aragorn. "Hannon le, mellon."

"Whatever for?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"You know what," replied Stella, slapping her knuckles lightly on his shoulder.

Aragorn continued to act unaware and confused, but inside, he knew. Just seeing his friend launch into witty banter with Legolas and Gimli and forget her troubles was all he really needed to know he did the right thing.

And that was all that really mattered anyway.

Aragorn's such a good friend...

What'd you think?

Not much happened, this was kinda just a filler, but that is why I am finishing up 7 to upload either tonight or tomorrow. I still hope you liked it though!

Thanks for reading!

Pippin the cat says stay pawesome ;)

-Halesie