Sorry for the delay with the update.

A Hand To Hold

And So It Begins

Everything was a blur. The fall was quick and the feeling of her heart leaping into her throat was the one thing that stuck with her as she hit the water and was rushed down the river. Fodien was in a state of panic as her body was pulled under the water without time to take in a deep breath, and all she could think of was the fact that she probably wouldn't make it out of this alive.

How long she'd been in the water, Fodien did not know; however it seemed like time had lasted forever before she found herself scrambling up onto a grassy riverbank. How she managed to do that, she could not have cared less about at that moment. All she cared about was the fact that she was on land now, and most importantly, she could breath.

Collapsing onto her stomach, Fodien laid on the shore for a good few minutes, allowing her breathing to return to normal. Surprisingly, she found that she wasn't very sore; considering what her body had just gone through, she had expected to be bloody or at least in an unbelievable amount of pain, but to her good fortune, neither was the case.

"I do not think that right now is a suitable time to take a nap, miss" came a voice of a figure that suddenly appeared at her head. "Perhaps later, when we do not have a hoard of angry boars chasing after our necks."

Fodien growled to herself as she recognized the voice of the elf, who seemed rather upbeat for someone who had just gone through what they had. She lifted her head and met eyes with him as she got to her knees and could not help but glare.

He smiled and cocked his head to the side, not even bothering to help her up, which she noted with a tinge of frustration. Hadn't she helped him?

"Do not look at me like that, miss" he began as he watched her rise to her feet and brush herself off. "It was not I who forced you off of that cliff."

"I had no choice" she shot back, surprised that she was able to speak so bluntly to him. She was never one to be outgoing around strangers and rarely was she able to feel comfortable to speak plainly to someone she was not very close with. Perhaps it was just the adrenaline. "And you just left me there!"

"I had no choice" he replied, copying her words with an equally exasperated tone, though it was clear that he was amused by the situation. "You refused to jump. What was I suppose to do? Push you off? That would have been hardly a proper way of treating a lady."

"Oh, but leaving her to fend for herself with a group of armed wild men was the action of a gentleman?" She questioned with the smallest hint of a smile on her lips.

Legolas laughed. "As I said, miss, I had no choice."

Fodien noted that the elf had an adorable smile as he grinned at her, but forced her eyes to her feet as she thought of something to say in reply to him. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and words were coming to her less easily now. It seemed that she did not have to worry though, for the elf, who was growing bored of the silence, spoke again.

"Now, if you would be so kind, I would greatly appreciate it if you would untie me."

Fodien's head shot up and noted for the first time that his hands were still bound in front of him. "Of course" she said as she tossed her pack to the ground at her feet and began to rummage through it for her father's hunting knife that had been left to her. As she pulled it out and approached her companion, a thought finally came to her.

"How did you know that I would follow you?" she asked as she slipped the knife between his palms and started to saw at the rope. Surely, he hadn't really meant to leave her there to die, right?

Legolas lifted his head and looked to the sky as he answered. "Simple" he looked to her now and she knew his reason, speaking it with him with a smile.

"No choice."

As the rope fell to the ground, Legolas turned away from her and walked towards the cluster of trees that lined the river. Fodien rose an eyebrow at this. "Does he really just expect me to follow him again?" she asked herself. "Don't follow him, Fodien. So far this elf has caused you nothing but trouble. Leave now. Walk in the other direction."

"Hurry" came the voice of the elf as he looked over his shoulder at her as if he were berating a child. "You did not jump of a cliff to be caught and murdered now, correct?"

"No" came Fodien's soft spoken reply as she picked up her pack, threw it on and chased after him.

-0-

"You are nothing but a fool" Fodien yelled within her own head. "Why are you following after him? Ah, you know why; you're following him because of his charming smile, his stunning blue eyes and the fact that he is just plain handsome. Well, that and the fact that on your own, you'll probably run right in the direction of those men again. Yes, following the elf is a good idea. He can protect you." Fodien's rationalization was just barely working as she trudged after Legolas, who did not seem the slightest bit tired even though they had been walking for at least an hour.

"How much longer do you think we have to walk?" she could not help but ask as she leaned forward and rested her upper body on her thighs. She was sweating, and she knew that she was badly out of shape. Sure she had been fine traveling on her own, but that had been at her pace; the elf's pace was a completely different story.

"There is a small village close by. We will find a warm meal and safe lodging for the night there. At the speed we're traveling now, we should reach it within the next three hours" Legolas replied casually as he spun around to face the woman who had been walking behind him.

Fodien's eyes widened with horror at this. "Three hours?" she repeated. "Please no!"

Legolas could not help but laugh at her reaction. He shook his head and approached her, patting her shoulder to offer comfort. "Forgive me," he began, "I seem to have forgotten that humans do not have the stamina of elves. You need rest, I see. Well, let us pause now for a few minutes so you might catch your breath before we continue" he replied, feeling slightly guilty for not taking into account that she was not an elf.

"Thank you" said Fodien with relief in her voice as she dropped to the ground with a thud. This earned her another laugh from the elf, who sat down beside her, all the while keeping his senses alert to the possible presence of a threat.

"Do you need some water or something?" he asked her and she looked up nodding her head at him. He frowned. "I do not have any" he continued as he noted that she was looking at him with expectancy. "I only asked because I assumed that you had some in that bulky pack of yours."

Fodien's hopeful look turned sour as she placed her face in her hands and made a whining sound.

"I shall take that as a no" Legolas replied, as he patted her on the back. It took a few moments, but a grin appeared on his youthful face once more as an idea came to him that might cheer her up. "I know" he started, causing Fodien's whimpers to halt. "Put out your hands" he finished, gesturing with his own that he wanted her to form a cup with both of her palms.

Fodien was confused, but did as he asked. Was this some sort of elvish magic that she had not learned of? An answer was given to her as Legolas reached out and grabbed a handful of her tresses and rung them out over her hands so that a few droplets fell into them.

Fodien was not pleased, but he looked quite proud of himself. "What?" he asked innocently when he saw her expression. "You said you wanted water and you are certainly in no position to be picky about where it comes from. Correct?"

Legolas' remarks earned him a shove, which sent him onto his back with a laugh.

"You are not funny" Fodien spat as she stood up and took a deep breath, preparing herself for another long hike.

"Actually, I am" Legolas answered as he rose to his feet as well. "You are just slow to understand my humor." Fodien rolled her eyes at him, but he paid her no attention.

"No, you are just not funny" she replied with a half smile as they began to walk again. "I am Fodien, by the way" she added after a few minutes of silence. Legolas seemed to hesitate at this, which she found odd. So far he had not seemed to be one that was easily without a response.

There was reason for his reaction to her words however. Legolas knew that the moment he left home, he had to leave his name behind as well, unless he wanted to be dragged back to the palace. Lying was not something that Legolas enjoyed, but he had no choice now.

"I am Gallian" he responded, causing her to nod. She believed him, but he expected that. After all, what reason would she have to believe that he would lie to her. "Oh well" he thought, "what harm could it possibly do anyway?"

"So, what village is this that we are traveling three hours..." Fodien's question was brought to a startling halt as Legolas' senses picked up the quick footfalls coming in their direction from the left. It was the wild men. They had caught up.

Without a second thought, Legolas grabbed hold of Fodien and covered her mouth as he pulled her with him into a nearby bush. He had done so just in time, for the moment that they were safely hidden within the plant's foliage, the men came into view, with sharp, blood thirsty weapons in hand.

"Shh" Legolas said into Fodien's ear as he watched the men with great concentration.

Fodien however did not hear his words. His words did not register in her mind, nor did the surprise of his actions, or that of the wild men that were dangerously close to them now. No, the only thing Fodien understood at the moment was the horror that filled her every sense.

Legolas' hand was over her lips. He had touched her skin.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N - Once again, I am truly sorry for how long it has taken me to update. I never meant for it to take this long, but I just started university and the stress has been getting to me. Luckily, my winter break is coming in two weeks and that will give me time to dedicate to this story. So please stick with me. Thanks!

Smiley Face3 - Well it seems that Legolas is going to find out very soon. Uh oh!

Ephona - As always, thanks for the support!

Lordoftheringsfanficreader - Thanks so much. I'm not very fond of writing description, so I'm glad that you're liking it.

Ms. Unknown - She didn't die!! I wouldn't do that to her! Maybe later tho...evil laugh

tresorpourtoujours - Yeah, she can swim it seems. Um, you pronounce her name like "FOAD" (as in toad) "IAN" I hope that helps.

Lady Anck-su-namun - Thank you! I'm trying to give Legolas a playful personality because he's young in this story and in every other story I've written I make him really serious so I wanted to mix things up.

Apple Crisp - Thanks a bunch!!!

Debra3 - I know it's taken a long time, but I shall try hard to not let the story fall low on my priority list again. Sorry!

Elfiehead - Thank you so much! I'm glad that you like what I've written so far and I hope that enjoy this update, late as it is. Also, thanks for noticing the difference I'm trying to use with her. I have noticed that a lot of the female leads in legomances are women that are super strong and are better with a sword than even Aragorn. That's not to say that I don't like those stories, because a lot of them are great, but I just thought that it might be different to have a character that isn't a sword expert and doesn't see a problem with wearing a dress.

HyperSquishy - Aww, thanks. I'm glad you like the plot line.

Ty-Kwon-Do - Hopefully there are a few more twist and turns that you like in the future.

Laureloth - Thank you very much!!

ChirikoFan - Thanks..unfortunately I've left you with another cliffy. Sorry!

And E.Tphonehome - I've finally updated!! I hope you like it!!

Alrighty, I'm done. Oh, and thank you to everybody else who has read this but didn't review. While I love reviews, I still appreciate the fact that you have taken an interest in what I've written. It means a lot.

I hope it was worth the wait. Bye guys!

Elrohir