Hello Everyone! Good News! I am not Dead! I just had a semester from Hell, throw in starting my full time 'Big Girl' job, and puff! Zero free time to breath let alone write fan fiction. This chapter is a little shorter than my normal but I think everyone will be okay with it. Remember to review, follow, and favorite!

-B

Chapter 14: Choices

I don't know how or when I fell asleep, but the next thing I know I hear a knock on my door. I open it to meet a smiling Arwen and she leads me to breakfast on a platform not far from where we were staying. There was a large table filled with pastries, fruits, and many other breakfast delights to choose from. I fill my plate with a few things but stay quiet still processing the information presented to me last night. I have to make a decision eventually. I slowly picked at my food. After some time, I feel a hand on my arm. I look up to see the shining blue orbs of Legolas Thranduilion. Sadly, I couldn't confide in him. No one could know of the nature of this ring.

"Lina, is something wrong? I have not seen you this quiet since the night we first met."

"Just a lot on my mind." I mumble looking down at my plate. Of all people, Legolas and Arwen were the two people I told everything. Not being able to share this with them would be harder than I can imagine.

"Well, I am always here to listen." He said returning his food knowing I would come to him when I was ready.

It spent nearly three days locked up in my new home trying to wrap my head around the information that the Lady had presented to me. However, it brought me no closer to making a decision. I had finally gone stir crazy and had to tell someone something even if only about my brother.

I followed the bridges between trees and found myself at the door of Legolas' talan. I knocked hoping he was here. He opened it just as I was about to turn away.

"Lina? What's wrong?"

"Could we go for a walk?"

"Of course, follow me." He said standing and offering me a hand. I let him lead me through the trees and I felt a little more at peace than I have in several days. We walked for hours and my hand never left his.

"This place is so beautiful, how one could even think of leaving this place is unfathomable."

"Lina, what is bothering you? I have not seen you nearly three days." He stopping at an opening near the river bank. I sighed.

"My first night here, the Lady Galadriel gave me a lot of information to digest. Some of it I have yet to process fully. I think telling someone, telling you, will help me comprehend what was told to me."

"Lina…"

"I once told you I lost memories and that the ring Elrond had kept from me, restored them." He nodded.

"Well, it restored more current memories. There is a time still unknown to me; my earlier years of life. I do not remember my parents. They are only blurred figures from when I was child. The lady told me a lot about them."

"This is all good is it not?"

"My father was a march warden here in the golden woods many centuries ago and my mother was Galadriel's personal hand maiden. I was born in these woods."

"But you have dark hair…all Lorien elves are fair haired." He asked pulling up a strand of my locks.

"My mother was not from these woods. She was born in the Grey Havens, but she was not just some ordinary elleth, she was the daughter of the Lord of the Havens, Dorainen."

"Dorainen was Lord of the Havens centuries ago after his wife had passed into Mandos' halls."

"I am his granddaughter and a Lady of the Havens. My brother is Nendir, current Lord of the Havens." Legolas' jaw fell open in disbelief.

"You…are a princess… Nendir…he spoke of a sister once, but she was lost many years ago."

"You know my brother?"

"All royals know each other to some extent. Nendir and I are the youngest of the families so we often gravitated towards one another at formal gatherings. But, his sister, you, has been gone for over half a millennia if memory proves right. How does one do that? Royalty especially?"

"700 years have passed since my parents and I were last seen anywhere in Middle Earth and I have no recollection of those 700 years. No one has answers, not even the Lady of Light. I may live out the rest of Arda before I get my answers."

"This is why you have been upset." It was a statement, not a question.

"One minute I feel like I belong here and have found my place in this world, the next the Valar throw another curve ball at me." I said switching to the common and throwing my hands up in the air.

"Hush, tell me how you have changed?"

"I don't know Legolas! Let's see I am a princess, apparently I'm 750 years old, I was born in Lorien, and can't remember most of my life!"

"No, that is what you've been told. How have you changed?"

"I…"

"You have not. You are still Evangelina of Rivendell. The sweet, funny, and caring elleth I met over a month ago. The girl who fascinates me every moment I'm with her. The woman…that I am going to kiss now…" As he said it, my eyes widened. Soon, I felt soft lips on mine. I relaxed into his kiss and brought my hand up to his cheek leaving it there to caress his perfect skin.

He pulled back and brought a hand to my chin as I tried to look down and not meet his eyes.

"Lina, yes, there are things that you still need to figure out, choices to be made, and you should not take them lightly. But, you are intelligent and your heart is in the right place. You will make the right decisions." I sighed and rested my head against his shoulder as he held me close. Here in this place in his arms, no choices scared me. I felt balanced and happy.

We stayed in our embrace for a long while, hours maybe, but I did not want to be the one to pull away.

"Tell me what you know about him." I mumbled.

"Your brother?"

"Yes, tell me about Nendir."

"It has been probably a century or so since I last saw him, but he is a just ruler and overseer of those leaving the land. Though, his duties will not exist much longer, fewer elves live on these shores than in ages past."

"What does he look like? Does he have a wife, children?"

"He looks much like you. He has dark brown, almost black hair like your mother I would assume, but has light blue eyes. He is a master swordsman but is at his best on the sea. He did have a wife, her name was Caladwen, and they had one child, a girl, but I do not recall her name. Both have since sailed to the Undying lands about fifty years ago if I remember his letter's dates correctly. I believe your brother will not be far behind them."

"I want to meet him. But the Lady has offered me a place here to train under her. I fear the offer may not stand for long."

"I cannot make that choice for you. But let me offer you another option. You think you only have two options, stay here or go there, when you could ask him to come here to you."

"Legolas! That is genius!" I said hugging him tighter and I felt him kiss my hair.

"But I think you should write him instead of me. He thinks I'm dead he would just disregard any letter from this Evangelina of Rivendell he knows nothing of." I said finding the one fault in his plan.

"I think I can do that." He said pulling away and looking down the river, obviously now in thought.

"Legolas,"

"Yes, Lina."

"So, um, about that kiss."

"If I over stepped, I am deeply sorry…" I had to cut him off.

"No it's not that at all. I loved the kiss. It's just I don't know what we do next. I am not as fluent in elvish dating practices."

"Dating?" he looked at me with a confused look; of course he wouldn't understand that word.

"You know…." I just couldn't think of the word they use here, betrothal, no that's engagement. I sat there and steamed over the word. Damn it! What was the word Arwen used?!

"Courting!" I said finally as the word snapped into my head.

"Courting, well the partners involved agree to enter a courtship based on a desire for more than friendship. It usually lasts from 5 to 10 years then a betrothal period of a year should they decide to wed." He took my hands in his and smiled at me.

"Lina, would you like to enter a courtship with me?" his eyes were full of sincerity and care. Out of all the choices I had to make in the next few days this was the easiest decision.

"Yes, Legolas, I would love to." He simply smiled and placed his lips briefly on mine once more. We stayed there just enjoying the silence for some time before to return to the city.

As we walked back hand in hand, I felt like one burden was lifted and three more replaced it. How would this alter my current situation? How will everyone take the news?

Valar, Arwen is going to throw a party and scream 'I told you so'.

Well, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. They finally kissed! ^.^

I am glad to say that I only have one more semester left, which is this summer! So then I will hopefully be able to work more on this fiction. It starts next week but it seems like it will be less intense than this semester. (Crossing my fingers.) So stay tuned for the next chapter, things start to really pick up again.

Until then!

-B