Title: "Moira Revealed"

Author: LegolasLover2003 aka Ashley

Category: Book - "Lord of the Rings"

Genre: Drama/Fantasy

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to "The Lord of the Rings". I just adore it to pieces! Characters from the Real World are actual people however. You may NOT use them. Sorry.

NOTE: This is Part III (3) of the Fate Quartet. It already consists of Part I (Flashes of Light, Rulers of Fate) and Part II (A Destined Journey). Reading those stories first will ensure that you understand this one. Please, no flames. I know this would be classified as a Mary-Sue but, like I said back in the day, I wanted to have fun with merging book and movie and seeing just how someone from the real world... might have been able to influence the events of this literary masterpiece. Thank you!

The Lord of the Rings:
The Fate Quartet - Volume III:
Moira Revealed

Chapter 5:
I Should Have Told You Every Day From The Moment I Met You

Baths in Middle-earth are weird...

You get this big tub, right? And it's filled with water heated over a fire... sometimes... other times it's just damn cold... but then you have to wash up really fast because otherwise you start getting super cold in no time. Plus the soap is all weird too cause it's obviously not scented, though I do kind of remember Legolas telling me that sometimes it was... with normal plants of course. None of this "tropical breeze" crap.

I wonder if my clothes are okay...

Laters!
-Nil

She really was trying to hurry.

After having found her feet shortly after Eowyn's departure, Ashley realized that she was wearing a dress. Again. Not liking the things in the first place, the woman worried that Eowyn's servants would give her another dress instead. But then a thought occurred to her as she walked behind a curtain that the servants had hurriedly erected to cordon off the tub that they were even now filling with water. That thought gave Nil pause... because right now she had no idea if things were going by the movies or if they were thrown back into the world of the books.

Was Eomer still in Edoras or had he been banished? Were they going to ride out that very afternoon? Would Eowyn stay behind to lead the people of Rohan while Theoden and company marched to Helm's Deep... or would they all go to the fortress? If they entire city emptied... would there be a warg battle? Should she be worrying about Aragorn taking a 'tumble off the cliff'?

This of course gave rise to questions about Haldir at Helm's Deep. Would he even heed her warning? Would Legolas wish for Mirkwood archers to be amongst their ranks or would he settle for archers of Lothlorien and Imladris? Would Gandalf be gone from their company to fetch Eomer... or would it be Erkenbrand? Would lulls come in the battle or would it be a continued onslaught where for some reason Legolas never ran out of arrows?

By this time of course, Ashley had gotten into the bath and was relaxing for but a moment. She let those thoughts play in her head as her fingers went about washing her hair. A few minutes later the woman felt a lot better now that she was clean, and was about to get out when she suddenly heard the door to the room open.

Whoever stood there made no sound...

At least not until, "I thought that you had said..."

That familiar voice caused a smile on the woman's face and she looked to the curtain. "Legolas!"

"Nil!" came the Elf's reply and he strode across the room, heading for the curtain... until Ashley's voice stopped him.

"No wait, I'm bathing! Stay on that side." she laughed softly, imagining the look on the prince's face.

But of course Legolas remained where he was and instead let a sigh escape him. "Why does it not surprise me to find you here amongst the men of Rohan? Aragorn and I feared you had been lost along with Merry and Pippin... and when Gandalf told us you were not with the Hobbits when he met them in the Fangorn..."

"Ah... about that... well..." Nil moved to get out of the bath. "My friends pulled me back. If they hadn't I'd either be dead or sitting on an Ent right about now."

Quickly she rung the water from her hair, wrapping a towel around her body. Of course this presented a problem because her clothes... were on the bed... and the bed was on the other side of the curtain.

"Dead?" there was a soft rustle and Ashley could only imagine that the Elf was forcing himself not to push past that curtain.

The woman smiled, "I got shot with an arrow, but I'm fine now. Really." she replied, hoping to quell any fear in the archer. "Just a tiny little scar. Which... which is more than I can say for Boromir..."

Silence came back to her. Legolas did not enjoy thinking about the human whom he had parted on bad terms with... thinking back to the man's honorable death pained him deeply.

"I tried..." Nil whispered, clutching the towel around herself. "I tried to change things... It was selfish of me and I know I should've just left it alone but... I... I didn't want him to die... What good was there in his death?" tears slipped from her eyes and Nil couldn't help sniffing slightly as she tried to reign her emotions in. "He knew... He knew he was going to die and he fought anyway. He wasn't a bad man, Legolas. Stubborn and confused but... but he wasn't... he didn't..."

Unable to see through her own tears, the warm arms that suddenly enveloped the woman were more than welcome. The Elf had walked past the curtain and pulled Nil to him, his fingers in her wet hair as he provided the support she needed. Somehow, the woman kept her towel tight around her, but she couldn't help leaning against the prince's jerkin.

"He did not deserve death, no... but you said yourself that changing anything could bring about the end of everything. Think truly, Nileregwen... did his death serve no purpose? Would Merry and Pippin be lost for a time if he had lived? Would Aragorn and Gimli and I have traveled swiftly into Rohan if he had lived? Would Frodo and Sam be on their way to Mordor with Vidlothiel... if he had lived?" Legolas' voice was soft, his heart bleeding into the words.

Ashley pulled back just a bit, looking up into the blue eyes that stared down at her. "No... I... I supposed things would be different had he lived. There's Faramir and Denethor to consider too and..." she shook her head. "I just..."

A gentle hand on her cheek drew the woman's attention back to the Elf. His gaze studied her face, fingers lightly tracing over her cheek bone. "I am sorry, Nileregwen. I hurt you... and I doubted you... in more ways than one." The question in her eyes bade him to continue. "Gandalf is here and yet I saw him fall. You were right all along. My heart despaired and I found it hard to trust your words. I found it hard to trust you."

Nil smiled softly, "Just don't do it again. You really don't know your own strength."

The look in Legolas' eyes changed slightly, a sadness settling in them and, for a moment, he could do nothing but gently run his fingers over the woman's cheek, knowing and regretting that his anger had caused her pain.

"But you came back to us." the prince eventually whispered, pulling Nil closer with one arm wrapped around her waist. "Why?"

Ashley had to think about that response for a moment. Why was she back? Things weren't normal as far as Middle-earth was concerned and there was apparently still something that she or Dani needed to prevent... but what this new thing was she hadn't a clue. Something though was keeping 'The Lord of the Rings' from being the complete book she knew and loved. But... was that the only reason for her return?

"I... found out that something is still off here. The book isn't whole, Legolas. But..." she swallowed, feeling quite embarrassed now. "I think... more than that... I just wanted to help... to help you and Aragorn and Gimli and the Hobbits and... well..."

Saying nothing for a time, the archer's fingers found the small scar on Nil's shoulder where the arrow, an arrow meant for Boromir, had pierced her. He himself had felt the bite of an arrow's sting before... and he knew how deeply it could hurt. His fingers, far smoother than one might expect for an archer, ran over that scar gently, his blue gaze fixated on it. "You have helped us, Nil." Legolas whispered, "You have certainly helped me..."

Unbeknownst to Nil, she was blushing. The prince's hand moved then, fingers that had once been on her shoulder were now just below the woman's chin, tilting her head up and back.

Then, Legolas did something she surely couldn't predict.
He kissed her.
Deeply in fact.

Nil's mind exploded, thinking that surely this had to be how Arwen felt when she was reunited with Aragorn in Minas Tirith... when the Ranger turned King kissed her in a fashion quite similar to this. The woman returned the kiss and, after a time, the Elf pulled back enough to look into her upturned face. Legolas laughed softly, "You have turned red, Nil." he teased, leaning his forehead against her own.

It was then that the woman blushed even more furiously. "I'm in a towel, caun nin... Maybe if you had waited until I was dressed, I wouldn't feel so..."

"Prudish?" the archer asked softly but he nodded. "I shall leave you to dress then." Legolas spoke, stepping away... least until he realized that Nil was holding to his wrist with one hand. Looking back to the woman, the Elf was suddenly surprised when she kissed him this time.

They stood together for a few moments then, as they parted, Ashley smiled. "I'll be out in a few minutes. Wait for me?"

With a smile of his own, Legolas bowed slightly, "Always." he spoke, turning and heading for the door.

As Nil walked over to the bed where her clothes lay, she was stopped by the Elf's voice from the doorway. "I should have told you every day from the moment I met you... I love you." He exited the room, closing the door behind him and leaving a very stunned and shocked speechless woman in his wake.

For a few moments, Ashley stood there thinking about those words. Hadn't she heard them before? That same voice though... not from Legolas himself. When realization dawned on her, the woman couldn't help but put a hand over her mouth to stifle any giggle that threatened to issue forth. As she dressed, her mood very much improved thanks to those glorious words, Nil imagined Legolas helping storm the Corsair ships at Pelargir.

After all... Corsairs could be considered a sort of... pirate...

To Be Continued...

Preview of the Next Chapter:

3 Paths... well technically 2 paths about now because 2 of them are converging into 1 path but... 3 Ultimate Destinies... 3... oh who am I kidding, you know the story!

With a declaration of love still ringing in her ears, Nil has to figure out just what's going on in Edoras! Things are so jumbled between movie and book that it becomes hard for her to keep up, and harder still to predict smaller outcomes of battle. Aragorn's coming into his right as a king, Legolas is sharpening his knife, and Gimli is burping away with a mug of meed... but what will Nil do when she comes face to face with a man whom she'd knocked from his horse?

Find out next time in chapter 6 of...

"Moira Revealed"

Elvish Words to Know:

Caun nin = My prince

Author's Note:

- And before you ask, yes... the chapter title IS a direct quote from "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl". Who wouldn't want Will saying that to them? I mean REALLY... And yes, Nil is thinking about POTC and that's why she's trying not to laugh. I couldn't resist, mate...

- I'm also going to say that when I wrote about Legolas touching the scar on her shoulder and then me typing his fingers were smooth for an archer, I had a POTC flashback of Will going "Blacksmith's hands. I know they're rough.", hehehe. Sexy hands...

- The chapter title for Chapter 4 however was NOT in any way related to the song by The Proclaimers, "500 Miles". It was only after I posted it and was re-reading the chapter that I realized the connection. It was actually in direct relation to the Tommy heavenly6 song that I used.

- When Legolas says that he "hurt" Nil, it's a reference to Chapter 15 of "A Destined Journey". Nil says that he doesn't know his own strength cause he'd slapped her after catching Boromir kissing her and it had freakin' hurt, hehe.

- To anyone who thought Nil and Legolas were gonna... you know... BAD YOU! BAD! Though I can't say that the idea of soft neck kisses didn't cross my mind at least once when writing this... -wink-

Muse Moments:

Nil is dancing around singing. "I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more just to be the man who walks 1,000 miles to fall down at your door!"
Legolas stares at her strangely, "Nil... why are you..."
"The last chapter of 'Moira Revealed' was titled 'So... When I Wake Up...' and every time I see that I start singing this song called 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' by The Proclaimers... 'When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you.' hehehe. I didn't call it that on purpose but now I find it hilarious!"
The Elf sighs as he watches Nil bounce around the room to the 'Da da lat da! Da da lat da!' parts. "Really, Nil... you are going to..." there is a crash and Legolas winces. "...run into something..." he finishes.
There is silence for a second and then Nil goes, "Ow..."
Laughing, the prince walks over to see Paris on the ground, Nil on top of him. "I suppose even a clinging cuddler can soften a fall." he teases.