A/N: Just not-so-subtly hinting at Kagome's past :) But a full reveal will be saved for another time...

.o.O.o.

It was late into the night and Kagome was still awake. She and Frodo stayed huddled together for a long time until the Hobbit fell asleep in her arms. Realizing that she should release him from her grasp, she laid him down on his bed roll and tucked him in.

She forgot how much she missed the action. Memories of putting a blanket over her little brother, Shippo, and Rin resurfaced, causing involuntary tears to well up in her eyes. She blinked them away and made her way to the mouth of the cave. Pushing some of the vines that were covering the entrance away, she sat and gazed at the starry sky. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear or sense Legolas approaching her.

"That was quite the inspirational story you gave there," he said. He noted how her body jumped at the sound of his voice.

Blue eyes met grey. "He needed a boost so I told him nothing but the truth, Prince Legolas," she replied looking back at the sky above.

Legolas raised an eyebrow at the female below him. He noted how she did not stand up to properly greet him and how she turned away from him first. Sure, her tone was respectful, but her actions were not. Gandalf had said that she was highly regarded, so did that mean that she thought that it was underneath her to give royalty the treatment they deserved?

He wasn't very stingy about proprietary in the least, but it still was a curious thing. She was very polite and humble when she greeted him in the days prior, so what changed? He wasn't familiar with holy people, and he was less familiar with Kagome's kind - whatever she was. He wondered what her standing was in the social hierarchy.

He did not mind having his friends treat him the same as everybody else since it gets boring always being pampered, but never before did a woman who he had just met treat him so casually. It tickled his curiosity more.

"May I join you," he asked.

"Of course."

He took in her countenance. Her brows were furrowed in deep thought. By the look in her eyes, those thoughts were more than unwelcome. Her frown marred her normally smiling lips. He found that he did not like this look on her for it did not match her bright aura.

"Staring is rude, you know."

This time Legolas was caught off guard. He was too focused on studying the lady. He found that her eyes were shining with amusement. Recovering as quickly as he could, he responded, "Is it a crime to admire a beautiful lady?"

Laughing, she said, "In some places, maybe." She looked away. "I didn't know you were awake."

"I do not require sleep right now. I have rested enough during our stay here."

"I'm glad, then."

Silence passed as the two went over their thoughts. "Thank you for allowing us to stay here," said Legolas.

"It's not a problem." She was quiet for a moment before she added, "I know this is more than late, but I'm sorry. I shouldn't have aimed an arrow at you and your comrades or yelled or threatened to kick you all out into the storm," she said sheepishly. "I also feel like I should apologize for not recognizing you. I'm sure your father would be so disappointed in me." She gave him a lopsided grin.

Legolas allowed a chuckle to escape him. "As I said before, we were the ones who intruded in your camp so there is no need to apologize. As for not recognizing me, well, you did say you met most of my kind in your earlier years. I assume this means you haven't visited my kin in a while."

"Guilty as charged," she said. "I spend most of my time traveling with Gandalf or just out on my own. I'd occasionally drop by Rivendell and sometimes Lothlorien if I'm in the area." Kagome played with a pebble by her feet. "I have to admit, though," she started, "I have only visited Mirkwood a few times. Perhaps if I visited more often, I would have known more about you or even have met you. The fault is mine either way."

"It is of no matter now, Lady Kagome," he answered.

"Just Kagome, please," she said. "I am just Kagome, and that is all that I wish to be. Titles are for people who are worthy."

Legolas looked at her questioningly, "But you are not only a maiden, but a priestess as well."

"And I have done nothing to deserve any title so revered. Just…" She looked at Legolas pleadingly. "Let it be, Prince Legolas."

He looked at her, considering and stayed silent for a while. Kagome took this as acceptance but she was unfortunately wrong.

"From what I heard, you are worthy. You say the stories you told Frodo are true, so you have saved the world from a powerful object that could have brought us to ruin. You are well deserving."

Legolas watched her lips pout. "You don't understand. And by the way, eavesdropping is also considered rude."

"I must apologize for a prince such as myself to be so rude to a fair maiden," he smoothly replied with a small tip of his head. He watched in fascination as her cheeks took on a slight pink hue.

"What is it with you and complimenting my looks? I'm not that pretty," she chuckled almost self-deprecatingly. "I'm sure you've seen far more beautiful creatures being elves and all that."

"By that logic, my comments hold so much more value if I consider you as beautiful after all that I've seen."

"I swear to the Kami above," she murmured under her breath not really caring if Legolas heard her at this point. "You are definitely your father's son. You're both extremely stubborn."

"So 'Lady Kagome' it is?"

"No. Just Kagome. Boromir won't let it go, so please, can you at least let it go? Aragorn did!"

Legolas thought for a bit before replying, "Then call me Legolas. No prince and no lady." He did not miss the gratefulness that shone through her blue eyes. "Only," he continued, watching suspicion replace her gratitude, "If you tell me more about yourself."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "I will tell you one thing." she raised a finger. "One."

"I can work with that."

Wrapping her arms around her legs she looked back up in the sky. "So what do you want to know?"

Legolas thought for a bit. What did he want to know? He wanted to know a lot of things about her. Her past, her powers, her immortality, and so on so forth. If he had to narrow it down, he supposed the best place to start is to understand her origins.

"Where are you from? You said before that you hail from far away and I am afraid I know not of a place with your Shikon Jewel in the story you told Frodo."

Kagome pursed her lips. It wasn't the worst thing he could have asked, but she still didn't like it. Was she really that desperate to humor the elf's question just to get one more person to stop with those damned titles she hated so much?

Yes, she concluded. She found that she would rather deal with the memories of the modern era than be constantly reminded of her mistakes. With a deep breath, she answered Legolas.

"I am from a far away land in a completely different world. I am a human from Earth, not Middle-Earth. There we have different ethnicities depending on what country we are from. I was born in Japan and therefore am Japanese. I am the only one in all of Middle-Earth that hails from my world, and I expect it to stay that way." She glanced at his contemplative expression. "That is all I am telling you."

"That is fair," he said. "My question was simple and did not ask for much. I am thankful for your honest answer, Kagome."

"I thank you too, Legolas," she said with a real smile.

Their conversation drifted to a much safer topic of Woodland traditions. Kagome listened intently, wanting to learn as much as she could about the elven kingdom she missed out on.

"Aw man!" Kagome exclaimed, "I wish I could have gone to at least one of your festivals! They sound like a blast! Oh, the idea of dancing all night with good food and drinks is-"

Suddenly she let out a big yawn. "Oh my gosh, excuse me." She blushed hard. "What I was going to say was that it sounds amazing."

"It is quite alright, Kagome. You know, when this is all over, I would be glad to take you to my home and show you around. If you stay long enough, I am sure you will experience a Woodland festival first hand."

"I would love to! Thank you!" She yawned again. "I guess that means it's time for me to sleep." Kagome was surprised; she had fully expected to stay up all night lost in her head, but now she could hardly keep her eyes open. She looked to Legolas. Somehow, he distracted her long enough for her to get a strong enough grasp on her emotions. Now that she was feeling a bit better, her tiredness caught up with her.

"Go on. Go to bed. I will keep watch."

The woman nodded, "I appreciate your company, Legolas. It was...nice. I enjoyed it a lot."

"The sentiment is the same. Good night, Kagome."

"Good night."

As Kagome fell asleep, Legolas stayed up, mind buzzing. Of all of the ideas he had about, a different world entirely was not what he was expecting. However, after a few more moments of contemplation, he had to admit that it made sense.

Her manner of speech was odd. She used phrases that he was unfamiliar with and she spoke of words that he had never heard before in any language on Middle-Earth. She also acted like unlike any other woman, elf or otherwise, that he met before. She was confident and wise. She was wild, snappy, and spoke her mind like a man but with undeniable femininity. He wondered how she fought in battle.

His train of thought was interrupted by a quiet clearing of a throat. Turning his head to the fire, his eyes met with the ranger's.

"You commented on her looks thrice and offered to personally give her a tour of your kingdom. By the gods, Legolas, I'm surprised. I have never known you to be such a flatterer."

"Kagome is right," the elf began as he deadpanned, "Eavesdropping is rude. Besides, that wasn't the important part of the conversation."

"Perhaps," Aragorn admitted. "As glad as I am to have learned of her origin, I am starting to wonder why she feels so unworthy of titles. Her past holds many mysteries, and I doubt they are happy answers."

"Well, there are memories that aren't so bad, it seems. We know of bits of her past through the other conversations with the Hobbits," Legolas supplied.

"And I thought you said eavesdropping was bad, my friend," the man said with amusement. Legolas gave Aragorn a half-hearted glare as the man chuckled. "Be careful," he said as he prepared to sleep, "You might find yourself too invested in her and it will be hard to stop."

The elf looked at him. "You sound like you speak from experience."

"I do, but I do not mind it. I would not have any other woman take up my thoughts. If you do not wish for that, then I suggest taking a step back." With that, the man closed his eyes promptly ending the conversation.

Legolas considered his friend's warning. He didn't think anything was wrong with complimenting a lady or pondering about her, but he decided to keep it in mind nonetheless.

"Kagome, please!"

The blue-eyed woman let out a growl of frustration. When she woke up that morning, she made a beeline for the grey wizard. She had decided last night that she could not have Frodo go on this quest of destroying the ring. She saw the look in his eyes, felt the weight in his soul. He didn't want to do this but he pushed on because he knew it was the right thing to do. Kagome understood that, but she also understood that he would be forever changed if he went on.

She wanted to save his innocence. Hobbits were created to love the earth, to live peacefully and happily, to laugh and dance. Hobbits do not crave for power, but for healthy crop and good ale. They were also built to be hardy, and she knew that was what Gandalf was counting on. It made sense too: hardly anyone knew of the existence of Hobbits. For the most part, they were untouched by evils and were strong in spirit.

So yes, it was tactically a good choice, but Kagome didn't have to like it.

"Gandalf," she argued, "I refuse to believe that this is the only way! It's not right. This is not right!"

The wizard sighed for what he felt was the millionth time, "Kagome, if it were possible, I wouldn't push through with this plan but being as it isn't, we must continue on!"

"It might destroy him!" Kagome stomped on the ground, a habit she thought she got over. She had tried to keep quiet as she didn't want to wake the others just yet. She brought Gandalf outside and even put a barrier around them to block listening ears and the pouring rain. Unfortunately, it was all in vain. The moment she lashed out, her powers flared around her causing the barrier to break.

"And it might not," he pointed out, "He can push through."

"No. No, we can change it," she said, pacing back and forth.

"Kagome, no."

"I can change it."

"That is enough."

Kagome stopped in front of him and stood her ground, "Let me take his place."

"Kagome Higurashi," Gandalf bellowed. He seemed to grow in size and the air around him darkened as his own powers cackled around him. "Cease your nonsense this instant! You of all people should know the consequences of changing a person's fate. I will not allow you to take anyone's place for you are not supposed to be a part of this world. You made a vow, and you will honor it even if I have to see to it myself. I will not allow a repeat of your failure!"

Gandalf gained back control of his temper and reeled his powers back in. He felt guilty for bringing up her past to use against her, but it needed to be said. While he tried to reason with himself as to why he had to pull up a taboo subject, Kagome clenched her fists.

"How dare you," she murmured. Her shoulders shook with hardly contained emotions as she glared at the ground. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hit Gandalf or crawl into a hole and never come out. "How dare you," she yelled, not even bothering to control her powers. The air sizzled around her in a similar way her eyes sparked with pink, almost purple, energy.

"I'm sorry, Kagome," the wizard tried placating. He was not seriously considering his choice of words. While he did not regret what he said, he did regret the way he said it. Purple, he knew, was a very bad color. "I didn't mean-"

All at once, Kagome's powers disappeared entirely. It wasn't worth wasting energy especially when she knew he was right. He was always right. Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at the old man. "I hate you," she said. She turned on her heel and walked into the forest.

A/N: Oops...