A/N: I know, I should be reading Paradise Lost, but replying to the reviews of the last chapter got me inspired and I couldn't help myself!

"Hey there, stranger," Ithilwen joked. "I haven't seen you around in a while."

They were on an outcrop of a tall hill overlooking empty plains in the dark. She couldn't see much for anything, but figured that the view must have been beautiful during daylight. The elleth idly wondered if the real thing was as tranquil at night. She looked up at Legolas to see him laugh. "It has been an eventful few days since our last parting," he admitted.

"Something about the way you say that doesn't mean good news," she noticed. "What has happened?"

Legolas sat down at the edge of the outcropping, allowing his feet to dangle over the edge. He motioned for Ithilwen to join him before he began. "The Fellowship is no more," he started. "There was a skirmish, and as a result, two of the hobbits were captured, and the other two made for their own pursuit of Mordor. Aragorn, Gimli, and myself are currently tracking the Uruk-hai that have Merry and Pippin, and we believe that they were being taken to Isenguard."

Doing some quick math, Ithilwen was afraid to correct him, suddenly realizing what the sudden grief she felt days before meant. "Boromir fell, didn't he?"

"How did you know that?" he asked, surprised.

In response, she touched her heart. "It appears that this empathy goes both ways. I felt your sadness at his passing that day. I am sorry to hear of his passing."

Legolas nodded. "He fought bravely until the very end to protect Merry and Pippin."

"I'm confused," she blurted out. "Have you found Merry and Pippin? You said that you thought they were being taken to Isenguard, were you able to catch up with the Uruks?"

The elf shook his head. "No, but we learned from an old friend that they had passed into the safety of Fangorn." Before she could ask, he added, "Gandalf has returned to us by blessing of the Valar." He could not hide the happiness he felt still; it had hurt considerably to see the wizard fall in Moria.

Ithilwen smiled in return. "That is wonderful! Where does your journey take you now? Will you still look for the hobbits?"

"Frodo and Sam will make their venture on their own. Merry and Pippin will be taken care of by the Ents in Fangorn until our paths cross again. I am not certain of our destination as of right now." Legolas leaned back on his hands as he studied Ithilwen in the moonlight. "It appears that I have spent much of our time speaking of my adventures. May I ask about yours these past days?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

The elleth found his grin infectious and grinned in reply. "Well, there was no struggle with Uruks, but there was a war of words between Payne and myself at the craft store the day after you gave me this," she motioned to the necklace.

Legolas' eyes followed her hand's motion with a smile, but frowned upon realizing what she said. "What did he say?"

Ithilwen blew a raspberry, an uncharacteristic action for an elleth, which made him smile again. "Payne doesn't share the same interests that I do, and he was the one to follow me to the craft store in the first place. I wanted to get some supplies for a new costume that I am working on, and he has the patience of a small child. He picked away at why I like to attend conventions and how silly the whole notion is. Then he assumed the costume that I am creating is meant to please men. What brought things to a head was that he told me that he had a problem with my ears! Again!"

"Start from the beginning. What are these 'conventions'?"

"A convention is a big social gathering in that world. There are a lot of different kinds of conventions, and some of the more popular kinds have visitors dress in costume for fun."

"That does not sound displeasing," Legolas mused. "What of the costume?"

"It's from this film called Suckerpunch. You remember me telling you about films?" At his nod, she continued. "The character's costume I am making is Sweet Pea, but I'm adding some color to her costume, so it is not all black leather. It has this hooded cloak that forms into a corset in the front, and because there's not much else to it, Payne thinks that it's meant to please the male eye."

"This sounds like a costume that your adar would not approve of," Legolas grinned.

Ithilwen laughed. "It does, doesn't it? Anyway, it's not like it will be done anytime soon. I have to wait on some supplies to be sent by post because the store I frequent does not carry them. And the leather takes more time to sew, so it might not be finished for a few months."

"Now, why does this boy have a problem with your ears?" His tone had turned serious. Legolas had wanted to ask the question first, but held back to let her vent about the other reasons to dislike the boy first.

"According to him, he was shown a picture of my in costume by his friends, and in the picture my ears were showing. Payne thought that I was 'hot' and assumed that the ears were fake. He can't see why I don't want to change them because most girls he knows are horribly vain in that aspect. He sees them as a defect more than anything." Ithilwen was surprised to feel her right hand being taken by Legolas, and turned her gaze away from the horizon to meet his.

"Do not listen to what that boy tells you," he said firmly. "You are nothing short of a beautiful elleth, and if he cannot accept that you are different that most of the females he has encountered, then that is his problem. You have done nothing to warrant such treatment, and I wish that I could help you see that you need to break contact with him." Legolas squeezed her hand in comfort. He didn't want to frighten her with his tone, but he wanted her to see that he did not like the boy, nor approve of his behavior.

Ithilwen felt her cheeks get warm when he called her 'beautiful'. She wasn't used to compliments like that coming from Legolas, and when he said it, it sounded more sincere than Payne ever had. Since it was dark out, she hoped that he couldn't see the change, because she didn't know if she could explain if he asked. Instead, she ducked her head and nodded briefly. "Thank you, Legolas. I know, I've been trying to find the right moment to tell him, but he's been so strange lately. We'll argue about something, but then he'll apologize right after, and it confuses me. I really noticed the change during the end of our lunch, after we left the craft store."

"How do you mean?" Legolas frowned.

She shrugged. "When I felt the grief you felt when Boromir passed, I reached for the necklace out of habit. I didn't even realize that it was showing until Payne asked me who it was from."

"What did you tell him?"

"Don't be mad, but… I told him that I received it from a soldier overseas on duty as a gift from a penpal. That's a person you write to that you haven't met, but I guess in our case dream about. Your name came up, and Payne got mad. He said that 'no guy should be giving his girl presents' or something to that extent. Then he got quiet after I told him that when you finish your term in service that you would be coming to Burgess to meet me. When desert was served he apologized for the second time that day."

When Ithilwen looked up at him again, she noticed that the frown had been replaced by the cheeky grin from earlier. "It appears that I unsettle this boy, then. Shame that I cannot be there when you wake; we would have to have a long talk."

"Good luck with that," she laughed. "He avoids Nana like the plague already. Besides," she gave the hand still grasping hers a squeeze once more. "I wouldn't want you to get into trouble if he went missing."

"Are you worried for me?"

"There's a lot of stuff that I want to show you when we meet in person, and I can't do that if you're locked away in prison." She mimicked his cheeky grin, making the elf laugh out loud.

"Best be waking up, Legolas!" Came the gruff reply of Gimli, followed by the swift nudge of his booted foot against the elf's own. Legolas stirred quickly enough to find the dwarf leaning against his broad axe with a grin beneath his beard. "Been dreamin' of the lass again?"

Gandalf and Aragorn turned to face them. "Is this the same maiden that was spoken of in Moria?" the wizard asked.

Aragorn nodded, "She is the granddaughter of Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel."

"Ah, yes I recall as much," Gandalf mused. "Her father is the marchwarden Haldir." He turned to Legolas. "Were the two of you acquainted in Lothlorien?" he asked, referring to the daughter of the marchwarden.

Legolas didn't respond at first. Gimli took the initiative and filled in the gaps for Gandalf. "The lass and her mother are not in middle-earth anymore, we've learned. Some sort of magic gone awry sent them to another world." He nudged the elf's boot again. "Laddy's been meeting her in his dreams ever since, telling her about the journey and she tells him about her life. That Haldir almost didn't want us to leave Lothlorien because of it, I could tell."

Gandalf nodded. "I can understand, Master Dwarf. Haldir has been without his family for many years."

"When the Ring is destroyed," Legolas spoke, getting to his feet after returning the kicks to Gimli's own, "I plan to find a way to the world that Ithilwen is in and bring them both back. Haldir is adamant about this plan, and I intend to follow him." He turned to begin packing his belongings and prepping the horse for their journey, missing the knowing look that Gandalf gave Aragorn.

"You won't be going alone on that trip," Gimli grunted. "I'd like to meet the lass that has caught your attention!"

"She is a friend and nothing more!" Their banter was cut short by Gandalf, who cleared his throat to bring the attention to him.

"War has come to Rohan, we must ride to Edoras with all speed."

"Edoras? Gimli spoke, "That is no short distance!" The dwarf wasn't quite used to riding astride the horse yet, but Legolas had kept it at a pace to ease his friend's peace of mind. Going at break-neck speed was not going to be pleasant for someone with a long way to fall.

Aragorn remembered the words of Eomer. "We hear of trouble in Rohan. It goes ill with the king."

"Yes, and it will not easily be cured." Gandalf whistled, and called forth Shadowfax. They finished packing their things, then mounted the horses and sped off in haste.

A/N: And the Two Towers has begun (minus a good chunk of hobbit scenes)! Since the path is following Legolas and Ithilwen's journey, I won't be mentioning what happens to Frodo, Sam, and Gollum or Merry, Pippin, and Treebeard unless they specifically make an appearance; and from the looks of things, they might not return until Return of the King. Again, credit for the movie-canon script that you recognize goes to the contributors at 'Council of Elrond'. Without them, I wouldn't be near as accurate without pausing and rewinding my dvds. On another note, Legolas and Haldir would be so pleased to find that you guys have such a hate-hate relationship with Payne. :)