I sighed. Legolas and I had not spoken since their arrival. He must hate me now. I would, if I were him. "Leggy?" I said quietly, staring at my hands.

He moved to clear a spot for me.

"Legolas I'm sorry. I handled things poorly."

"So did I, Ella. I should never have--"

"No. It is not your fault. I have no one to blame but myself. Your conduct was all that is good and proper, as it always has been. I reacted as a foolish child, and I am sorry."

"Ella, you're my closest friend. I need you around...please say you'll stay with us?"

I nodded. "I can't imagine why you still want me there, but yes, I'll stay." I winked. "I need you around too."

Love and Pain

I saw the love but pain in Legolas's eyes. I knew what he would do. He would not force his affections on her; he would watch and wait. I knew the pain of losing love, but to have the love of your life with you but not return that love......I could not imagine. I wish he was still with me.....I wish......I forced my thoughts to the present moment. What had passed was past and could not be reversed.

“Rosriel. You lied,” I stated. “You promised to come straight back.”

Rosriel hung her head. “I’m sorry. But I felt an urge to help someone...or rather that someone needed my help.”

“Is that who the girl is?”

“Yes. Her ankle is broken and she has not fully woken up yet.”

Aldarion looked about. “We will stay here tonight. It is to late to travel now.”

We all nodded in agreement.

Disapproving elves ruin everything....

I heard them talking, and knew I should try to listen, but I really couldn’t. I sat up for a moment, straining to hear, when I heard Anarion’s voice, but then I lay back, and stared blankly at nothing.

The dream I’d had last night still lingered with me, and I could not shake it off. Pieces of it wove through my conscious even as I tried to repress them.

The rustle in the bushes… the eyes… the feeling of fear… who could have followed me all this way? Someone who hates me…

I shuddered, and called quickly, “Vila?”

No answer. She was probably with the others. I sighed, wishing I had anything to distract my mind with.

I miss Ella.

The thought hurt, but it was a distraction, and a distraction was what I wanted.

Someone walked by, I could see legs passing. I shot a hand outside the tent swiftly and grabbed them.

“Lira?” It was Anarion, and he sounded surprised. He sat down next to me, and raised an eyebrow. I let go of his leg.

“I’m bored,” I informed him. “Tell me what is going on.”

He obliged. “Rosriel seems to have wandered off.”

Her, too? Who next? Vila? No, Vila wouldn’t leave me.

He saw my face, and added quickly, “She said she would return to the camp, but she has not as of yet, and we are rather worried for her. Legolas and Aldarion set off to look for her.”

“Oh,” I said.

He took this as an encouragement, and went on. “And Turwetheil seems to have gone followed them.” Something about this last statement seemed to amuse him, for his eyes were merry. But I was confused.

“Turwetheil?” I asked, puzzled. I could not put a face to the name.

“One of the new elves,” he explained, and I nodded.

There was a brief silence, and I said, finally, to fill it, “I am hungry.”

He smiled. “I am too. Samdo was making a stew, shall I see if it is ready, and if so, fetch you some?”

Now I was the one who smiled. “Certainly!” I said. “But do you know what would be even more appreciated?”

He looked a little wary at the mischievous look in my eyes.

“What would that be?” he asked anyway.

I reached under my pillow, fumbled around a little, and then pulled out a small packet, and held it out to him.

“Just empty the contents of this into the stew when no one’s looking.” I smiled imploringly at him, but he did not take it.

“What is in it?” His voice still sounded wary, actually, even more now.

“It won’t poison anyone, if that’s what you’re asking.” I smiled sweetly, and added thoughtfully, “And it’ll be more fun for you if you don’t know what it’s going to do ahead of time.”

He did not look very compliant, however, so I leaned toward him, put on hand on his arm, gazed pleadingly into his eyes, slipped the packet into his hand, and said softly, “Oh, please, Anarion! I promise it won’t ruin the stew! It would entertain me so much, and you can’t know how bored I have been! I would be forever grateful to you!”

He blinked at my rather obvious flirting, but his hand closed around the packet.

Vila is so much better at this than me....

Just then, Ellohir poked his head into the tent. “Anarion, would you—“ he began, and then broke off, staring at us. He looked slightly shocked.

And considering that mask-like elvish face, he’s probably a lot more than slightly shocked!

Anarion and I sat back away from each other quickly.

“Yes, Ellohir?” Anarion inquired.

Ellohir glanced at me, then said quickly, “We can talk outside.”

They left, but Anarion glanced back at me, saw my eyes fixed first on the packet hidden in his hand, than on his face, and winked. Unfortunately, Ellohir saw that too, and frowned at Anarion, pulling him quickly away.

I sighed.

Moral of the story—don’t flirt with Rangers when there are sharp-eyed, paranoid elves around.

I got up after a bit and made my way slowly and rather painfully to the campfire. It hurt, but I just had to see everyone’s faces when they saw the stew.

(Ooc--Please, NOBODY post anything about the stew until I post!!!!! ;))

Ella:

"I'll...I'll admit to him my feelings, when he expresses his own once more." I finally said. I looked up. "Oh...oh...oh..." Legolas and a couple others were walking towards us.

"What is it Ella?"

I pointed. "I don't believe I'm ready for this yet."

Rosriel squeezed my hand. "Shhh it will be all right."

I nodded, but was unconvinced.

~~~

Legolas:

My heart soared as I saw who we were approaching. It was her. "Ella!" I called. Ella, my love. Please never run from me again.

Ella did not look up. Was I wrong to want her friendship? Seeing her again made me want it now more than ever. So she could not love me; that did not matter. I would not make her uncomfortable with expressions of my own feelings again. I would live as I always had, never revealing the pain my own heart felt, whenever I saw her lovely curls bouncing toward me, whenever her gorgeous mouth turned up in a smile, or emitted a melodic laugh...I shook my thoughts away and focused on the present moment.

Found

"Turwethiel, what do you see?" Legolas called up into the tree where I was scanning the horizon.

"No sign of them.....wait! I see smoke of a camp fire in the north maybe three miles," I replied as a hurried down the tree.

"Let us fly like the wind then," Aldarion said as I lightly landed on the ground.

I ran in the direction I saw the smoke, leading the others who were close behind me. We soon came to the location and crouched to the ground.

Elladan observed, "There are three figures. Two sitting, one lying as if hurt."

"It's Ella," Legolas whispered to me.

I looked at him. He seemed to have a strange glimmer of.....could it be hope in eyes? I turned my attention back to the figures and finally recognized the other person, "And Rosriel."

Now knowing who they were we approached.

"I..." I looked at my hands. "I thought he loved another--Lady Nessa. I convinced myself he did...that nothing could happen between us..."

"But now you know he loves you, Ella."

"I'm not sure I can believe it."

"You think he would lie to you? About something like that?"

"Not exactly, no. I suppose that is not what I meant. But...I can't believe it will work between us...after thinking he cared for me only as a friend for so long a time...well, I convinced myself I only cared for him as a friend as well."

"And yet..." Rosriel prodded.

"And yet it was never true. I love him. And I've loved him...since...since the first time I realized that while when Elrond looked at me it was only with pity, when Legolas looked at me it was with the love of a true friend."

Rosriel smiled. "You have to tell him, Ella."

I shook my head. "I can't. And you can't either. He can't know."

"What? Why not??"

I put my head in my hands. "He just can't."

Rosriel sighed. "I won't tell him. But you should."

"Someday, maybe."

"Will you come back with me?"

I nodded. "I miss being with you and the others. And...I really miss Legolas."

"I'm glad you'll be back. We've missed you too. Legolas especially wasn't handling it well. He'll be happy to see you again...whether or not you're ready to reveal your feelings to him."

"Thank you, dear sister."

Persuasion

"Afraid? What would I be afraid of?"

"Of your feelings."

"Rosriel, really. Why would I be afraid of my feelings?"

"Because of what they might mean to you. Sometimes people are afraid of their feelings because they do not want their lives to change. Sometimes they are afraid of their feelings because they fear that admitting them or acknowledging them might make them more vulnerable, more easily hurt." I turned away, giving her time to think. I focused my attention on the girl we had found. She appeared to be awake now, if you could call it that. Her eyes were still closed, but she gave the faintest flutter of her eyelids when I lifted my canteen to her mouth. Feeling her forehead, I noticed that it was rather warm. My brow furrowed, something needed to be done for her.

I glanced up at Ella's face, but it was hidden in the darkness. While I waited for Ella to speak, I searched the pouch I wore at my waist for an herb that would lessen the girl's fever. By the flickering firelight, I did find something and crushed it into the water. Then I moved the girl's head into my lap and tried to get her to drink as much of the liquid as she could.

We sat in silence. When the girl coughed, I moved the water skin down from her lips. I began combing her hair with my fingers, noting that her face was tense. Having my hair brushed always had helped me to relax, I hoped it would help her as well. I looked up as Ella spoke.

"Or," she said softly, "one may be afraid of one's feelings, for fear of giving another pain."

I looked at her keenly. "Ella, I do not believe that you feel nothing for Legolas."

She turned towards me. "Why do you say that?"

I smiled softly, glancing down at the girl and was pleased to see that she had indeed relaxed. "Well, we have grown rather close since we first met and we are sisters, which most likely helped me to read your face more easily. Legolas is a very dear friend to you, you said yourself that when in Rivendell others teased you for your curled hair, he alone defended you. That in itself would endear him to you." I thought, then went on. "The way you act around him, you always have a smile ready for him..." I laughed, "Well, almost always. You tend to ask his opinion first, before asking anyone elses. I have seen how you look so happy and blush when he gives you a compliment or says a kind word to you. And do you not remember how upset you were that first day he joined us when I ran up to him and gave him a huge hug?"

Ella giggled. "Oh my, yes! I was so silly! I recall that at the time, I could not even tell why I was so upset with you..." Her voice trailed off and she sat silently.

I waited patiently while she thought.

~ Rosriel

"You don't have to answer me if you'd rather not but...why did you run, Ella?"

Rosriel's question caught me off guard. Now that it came down to it, I couldn't be sure I had had a reason. "I don't know," I said slowly. "Legolas, he..."

Rosriel nodded. "He expressed his feelings to you."

"He told you?"

"I figured it out. Ella, you've always been close to Legolas. I just...I don't want this to be something that ruins your friendship."

"I don't either Rosriel, but..."

"But what, Ella? What's the real reason you left? Were you afraid?"

"Afraid? What would I be afraid of?"

"Of your feelings."

I Have Found Her

I had run on and on, following the call that I felt deep in my heart. And as I ran I pondered. Where did this call come from? Who was calling me? Could it be Ella? Was she hurt? No, I thought. I knew that it was not Ella, it was someone else.

The sun was getting lower and lower in the sky. I glanced up anxiously. The call was getting fainter, and I knew I had to find who ever it was soon, before dark. I quickened my pace and then stopped. Wait, what was that I had heard? Listening carefully, I heard a faint moan to my left. Stepping lightly, I walked towards the sound, then coming around a tree I spotted something. Someone. It was a girl, and she was lying on the ground as if in pain.

Quickly I knelt at her side, and laid my hand on her forehead. I spoke gently. "Hello? Can you hear me? You are very ill...and hurt too. I want to help you. Will you let me? Will you let my friends and I take care of you? My name is Rosriel." I saw her mouth move and bent down close. I heard a horse, faint whisper.

"Yes."

I sighed with relief. "Can you tell me what is wrong? Where does it hurt?" I waited for an answer. The girl's mouth moved feebly, but no sound came out. A tear slipped down her face. "There, there," I wiped the tear away. "It's alright. You don not have to say a thing. Just try to sleep and I will take care of you." She relaxed and I lifted my water skin to her lip, helping her get a small drink. Then I set about gathering wood for a campfire.

As I gathered bits of brush and twig I heard a rustle behind me. I stood and looked carefully around. My keen eyes caught the sight of a figure dropping quickly down behind some bushes. My breath caught in my throat. I could hardly believe my eyes. "Ella? Ella, come out! I saw you!"

Slowly she stood up. Tears filled my eyes as I ran to my sister and embraced her. She pulled away.

"Rosriel, I had to leave. I am sorry I did not say good-bye, but you must understand..."

I put my finger to her lips. "It is alright, really." I hesitated. "I understand, and if you still do not want come back, if you want to go on your way... that is alright with me."

Ella stared. "It - it is?"

I nodded. "Yes, if that is what you need to do. But for now, "I grabbed her hand. "Please, will you not spend the night with me? I would love to have another talk with you, and I need help." I re-gathered my kindling and began leading the way. "I found a young girl, she is very sick and injured I believe as well. I need help caring for her."

Ella nodded. "Of course I will help you. " She began building the fire as I examined the girl, who now appeared to be sleeping. I carefully felt her arms and legs, noticing that she winced when I touched her ankle. I looked up.

"Her ankle appears to be broken," I examined her further. "But other then that, she just seems to be dehydrated and I wager that she has not eaten in a few days."

Ella came over and knelt next to me. "Do you think she will be alright?"

I ripped off the hem of my dress and finding a flat stick, began binding the girl's ankle. "I think so, if she gets something to eat." I looked up. "Did you bring any food supplies?"

Ella looked through her pouch. "A few things, but not something she could just swallow. And I'm not sure how to make a broth with what's around here." She glanced around. "Or should I say... what's not around here."

I sighed, looking down at the sleeping form. "Well, then I guess we shall have to wait until someone finds us." I half smiled. "I imagine Legolas is having a panic attack over my disappearance, and most likely everyone else is worried as well." I laid my hand on Ella's shoulder. "If anyone should show up, particularly Legolas, it is alright if you go on."

She nodded slowly. "I will decide that later."

We sat together in the growing darkness, watching over the injured girl, enjoying each other's company as only sisters could.

~ Lady Rosriel

Ella:

The mountains were steep and the going was slow. Much slower than I had anticipated. I heard something. Closing my mind to all noises but this, I listened as I walked, then froze.

"My name is Rosriel..."

Surely she had not followed me here. Was there no place to hide?

Now I knew part of the reason the original fellowship had chosen the mines of Moria. The mountains were far too open.