A/N Again, many thanks to Celridel for taking the time to beta this chapter

Two months went by since the mysterious arrival of Estella to Mirkwood. Since her arrival, Estella met many wonderful Elves and had even come to become friends with most of them. Some of them she formed closer bonds with than others, mainly Prince Legolas, who she started spending a lot of her free time hanging out with when he was not away on patrol or in meetings with his father.

Raiwen was a dear friend, patient, beautiful and kind. She soon taught Estella to sew, but spent most of her time teaching Estella Sindarin. It was a beautiful language, every syllable fluid, and with speakers all around her, Estella could soon communicate in the basics, though she had a way to go. However, Raiwen told Estella soon this language would be second nature to her.

Estella also found she had grown fond of Feren and Galion who on occasion would join them in the wine cellar where they would have a few drinks–unbeknownst to Thranduil–and they would tell her about Legolas when he was a young elfling which Estella found highly amusing. Then there was Haerelion the Master of Arms who promised her when he had some spare time would teach her the basics of archery, and how to at least defend herself in case she ever needed to.

The last inhabitants of Mirkwood in which Estella felt comfortable with were, Cabrion, the stable hand who started to teach Estella how to ride and would often take her out on personal rides as she found it significantly relaxed her when she was depressed; and Beririel, the head of the kitchen staff took it upon herself to sneak Estella small sweets once a week.

However, deep down Estella felt more of an outcast than ever before and depression was beginning to plague her mind more and more. As she watched the other ellyn and ellith carry on with their days–whether it was just talking or training–Estella would withdraw further into herself, trying to shut everyone out. No matter how much Legolas tried to get her to open up to him about her past, she never would. Many times, he tried, and Estella would push him away and sometimes even snap at him. On several occasions, late at night as Legolas was passing by her rooms, he would hear her cry, but when he would ask her about it the next day, she would change the subject or take off.

On one such day, Legolas leaned against his favorite beech tree and tried his best to coax Estella into talking about what upset her. He had a sneaking suspicion she had been crying again if the redness around her eyes was any indicator, and if that was not enough, he heard muffled crying sounds when he passed by her room the night before last.

"So then my father scolded me again for mixing up the reports," he concluded and nudged her with his shoulder, "but enough talking about my problems. What is bothering you?"

Estella stiffened, and her eyes began to glisten. "I told you I am fine. Please, just let it be."

Letting the subject go, Legolas reminded himself to keep an eye on her.

Legolas was now becoming more worried about Estella. When he saw her beginning to interact with the other Elves and laugh, he was sure she was well on her way to healing, but now as the days and weeks wore on, he was not so sure anymore.

I have got to find out what is going on with her and find some way to get her to open up, Legolas thought to himself. He remembered back to an earlier conversation he had with Innor.

"You have to handle this situation delicately, Legolas. If you push her to open up before she is ready to, you could do more harm than good," the wise healer said.

Legolas tried to heed the healer's words, but now it was past that point. With every passing day, Legolas grew more concerned for her, worried Estella was driving herself to destruction, something he could not allow to happen. With this in mind, he made his decision. He had to find her and learn what was wrong before it was too late.

After much searching and asking around, Legolas finally located Estella at the training grounds watching Haerelion train some new recruits. When he got closer, he could not help but notice a forlorn look on her face. A look which spoke of longing to belong. It tore at his heart to see her this way. There has to be something that I can do to help her, thought worriedly to himself.Slowly Legolas walked up to her being careful not to startle her as he knew she was still getting used to her heightened senses. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Estella?"

Startled, Estella turned towards Legolas. "Legolas, what are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Legolas frowned, greatly concerned by what met his eyes: instead of her normal dark green eyes, he noticed tired eyes which looked heavy with great sadness. This was greatly disturbing. If he could not get her to open up to him and let him help her, more than likely she would begin to fade–if she already was not. Legolas shook the thought from his head. "I was looking for you, Estella. Raiwen said I could find you here."

Estella was confused. Why would Legolas be looking for her? Surely, he had better things to do than follow her around like a lost puppy. "Why were you looking for me?" she asked suspiciously.

Legolas took a deep breath. It was now or never. "I know something is bothering you, Estella. You walk around acting happy but then when you think no one is watching you, you cry. I have heard you cry in your rooms late at night. Then other times you wander off for hours at a time or sit on the sidelines watching other Elves laugh and have fun. I also know you have yet to heal from your mother's death. Please, let me help you." Legolas waited for Estella to respond. He hoped he did not just make a terrible mistake and she would not shut him off completely.

Tears welled up in Estella's eyes, and she felt herself clench her fist in a tight ball. "Legolas, I told you to let it be! Nothing is wrong with me. Why can you not just leave well enough alone?!" Angrily she leaped to her feet and ran off back towards the palace.

With a curse, Legolas took off running after Estella. He could not let things rest, not now. He had to get her to talk to him. He knew all too well what keeping emotions built up inside could do. Estella was a ticking time bomb. Not just to herself but others around her. He was hot on her tracks and had pushed past several other Elves who looked back puzzled wondering why their prince was in such a hurry that he did not even stop to apologize. Eventually, he was in earshot range. "Estella stop, please!"

Estella stopped but did not turn around. "Legolas, please just leave me alone. Please."

"I cannot Estella. Not now, I care too much about you, and I can tell you are hurting. Please, just talk to me. Why can you not tell me what is bothering you?" Legolas laid a hand on her shoulder and fought the urge to pull her into a tight hug.

Before she could stop herself, she screamed out. "Because I am afraid!"

Now we are getting somewhere, he thought. "Afraid of what? You have no need to fear me."

Estella had no idea what caused her to snap. Perhaps it was years of keeping everything built up. Maybe it was the years of pain she felt every day and having no one to talk to. Whatever the reason, she turned around and with eyes flashing she just hounded into Legolas, releasing all her pain onto him. "I am afraid if you found out about my past you will end up being just like everyone else out there. That you will know I am different, and you will shun me and cast me out. You have no idea Legolas what it is like to be different and to never fit in anywhere. That intense loneliness just swallows your soul sending you into darkness that you can never get out of no matter how hard you try. Listening to all the jeers and taunting from everyone around you because they know you are different and can never fit in with them. You can never understand what it is like to think you finally find someone who will like you for you, and then they discover you are different, and then they end up leaving. Or having a mother who you cannot talk to about the emotional and physical torment which goes on every single damn day because you know it will just hurt her. You do not know what it is like to grow up without a father and to have to hear your mother cry herself to sleep every night because she misses him so much and you cannot do anything to help her but watch her succumb to grief! You do not know the feeling of knowing instinctively you do not belong to that world and yet when you eventually find your world and discover what you are, you still do not feel like you fit in!" Estella could not hold back the tears anymore as she exploded. She did not even realize she had been screaming and pounding her fists on Legolas' chest. When she finished, she was still crying and found herself shaking uncontrollably.

Legolas just stood there dumbfounded and did not even try to stop her from hitting him. He knew Estella was hurting and this was years of holding everything inside her, so he just let her get it all out. When she stopped, he just held her in his arms and let her cry until she had no more tears left to cry. Now that she finally opened up to him he knew she could finally begin to heal and he swore he would be there every step of the way to help her on that journey.