A/N: Ok, people this is my first fanfic and I'd just like to clear a couple
things up here. First of all I'm one of those annoying people who saw the
movies THEN read the books so if you're a Tolkien purists DON'T READ THIS!
It does not follow the books! All right, next is this: THIS IS A MARY-SUE!
IT IS A TENTH WALKER AND A LEGOMANCE! Whew, there ok, you've been warned.
My point is I know that it is all of the above things so I don't need you
to let me know that. I've got it covered. If you don't like it tell me
kindly and if enough people hate it I'll just take it off.
Disclaimer: It seems that some people have some insecurities about their property *cough cough Tolkien's estate and Peter Jackson* and they think that someone would actually believe I own this stuff. Haha! Obviously I don't so that's out of the way.
Ariana stumbled blindly through the darkness, not knowing or caring where she was going. Any where to get away from the place she had been. Her shoulder shot with pain again at the memory. Her boyfriend coming at her, arms outstretched, the cruel look in his eyes. Stumbling back away from him and tripping over some of the trash on the ground of the crummy trailer park where she and her mom lived. Being pushed into the sharp piece of metal and feeling it slice into her shoulder. Running into the forest, trying to escape the pain of her shoulder and her life. But now that she had run deep into the woods she realized that she was lost and there was no way she could find her way out on her own. She walked over to a tree that had a hollow just right for curling up in, and lay down in it. She wouldn't cry, she never cried. Her dad had taught her that tears were a sign of weakness, that crying showed you were vulnerable and gave people another way to hurt you. Feelings weren't good things, they were enemies, unprotected areas of your heart where the arrows of pain and regret could be shot. So Ariana just curled into a little ball, wincing as she moved her sore shoulder. Her last thoughts before the blackness of unconsciousness took her was that she hadn't eaten since lunch two days ago.
When she awoke the next morning, Ariana found there were four men in a circle around her, each ready to string his bow. The second her head shifted the arrows were pointed directly at her, and a blonde man stepped forward. She shook her head in confusion, wondering what was going on. The man was tall and thin, with long, straight, blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. But the most amazing thing about him was that his ears were very pointy, even more so than hers which were unnaturally peaked. The others looked very similar to him, though each were different at a closer glance. The first man, obviously the leader, cleared his throat, causing Ariana to turn her head back to look at him. The other three who had started to lower their bows pulled them back up at a glare from their leader. "Who are you?" he asked, "and what are you doing within the borders of Mirkwood?" She looked up at him, puzzled by his words. "Well?" he said. "I...I didn't know I was in Mirkwood. I didn't know this forest had a name at all, and I've been living at the edge of it all my life." The man frowned down at her. He knew there were no homes on the borders of Mirkwood. And this girl was very strange looking. Her golden brown hair was short and choppy, she was very small; if he had to guess he would say around five foot two. Her clothing was very odd, old jeans and a tank top with a velvety green jacket that had obviously seen better years. The only thing about her that was familiar to him were her eyes. They were a hard gray color, much like that of the Lorien friends he had. His mind was fighting a war with his heart. Finally they came to a compromise and he said, "Rinben, Eruntalon, Eruviluion, lower your bows. Come, get up, I'm going to take you to my father. He will know what to do." The three men lowered their bows as he spoke their names, and the one he had addressed as Rinben stepped forward saying, "Would you have me tie her wrists, Legolas? She might run." Before Legolas could answer Ariana spoke up and said, "Don't bother, I'm not going anywhere with you. Not one step." Legolas got an amused look on his face and said, "I don't think you have much choice, do you? Four strong elves against one small girl, who do you believe would win?" Ariana gasped and said, "What do you mean, elves? Elves don't exist and they sure don't look like that. I mean, they're short and fat and make cookies. You can't be elves." The four exchanged confused looks at her remarks. Where had this strange girl come from to tell them that they weren't what they obviously were? While they were trying to figure out the answer to their questions, Ariana had been inching away from the tree. When their eyes were averted, she leapt up and sprinted into the trees. She was sure she would be able to get away from them now, she was one of the fastest runners on the cross country team. Just as she was certain she was free, a hand grabbed her injured shoulder. She screamed in agony, she thought her arm was going to fall off. The pain was so bad she blacked out, and Legolas caught her before she hit the ground.
She awoke to find herself propped comfortably against a tree with Legolas peering into her face. "Shh," he soothed her, as the frightened look returned to her eyes. He had been watching her for about 5 minutes, ever since he had carried her back to the clearing. He was mad at himself for causing her so much pain. She had been faster than most humans and the only way he could think of to slow her down had been to grab her. "I'm sorry," he told her when she woke, "I didn't mean to hurt you. May I see your shoulder?" Her eyes darkened and she pulled her jacket closer around her, grimacing as the material pulled across her wound. Sensing her fear Legolas said, "Don't worry, it will be all right. I only want to see your injury so I can try and fix it. May I?" Ariana didn't want to, but she found herself trusting him. She pulled her jacket off and gasped at the movement it took. Ariana heard Legolas's quick intake of breath when his eyes fell on the gash. It looked horrible with dried blood around the area, and the wound itself was an angry red and was inflamed. He was afraid that it might be infected. She shivered as his hands touched her bare shoulder. He glanced at her averted face, then quickly turned his attention to the wound on her shoulder. Turning he called into the trees, "Eruntalon, get me some water,; Eruviluion, tear me up some cloth I can use as bandages." Speaking to Ariana he said, "I'm going to have to clean this, it could be infected. Tell me, how did this happen? It is not the work of any weapon I know of, though it could be a scimitar if I were forced to try and identify it." Ariana looked into his face reluctantly and said, "I fell on a piece of metal while running, nothing more." Legolas looked straight in her eyes and replied, "You are lying." Ariana gasped and before he could react she had slapped him on the cheek, scowling at the pain that shot through her body at eh motion. She had hoped to anger Legolas; that was the emotion she was used to, his kindness was disarming. But instead of hitting her back he just sighed, rubbing his cheek and said, "You have good aim, but you shouldn't have done that, it's not good for your shoulder. I take it I was right, by the way, that you were lying to me. Now, how about you be honest with me and tell me what really happened." She had an over whelming urge to stick her tongues out at him, but controlled herself. "My boyfriend got a little out of control the other night. He pushed me and I fell on a really sharp piece of metal sticking out of the ground. I didn't see what it was, but it sure cut my shoulder up." Legolas's eyes darkened as she told him the real story of what had happened. He couldn't believe someone would mistreat a girl like... he realized he didn't even know her name. "I'm so sorry. I don't believe we've been properly introduced. Could we do that before we go on? Do you know who I am?" Ariana scrunched up her nose and said, "One of your friends, um, Steve? called you Legolas. I am Ariana, but I really do prefer to be called Ana." He nodded and said, "Well then, Ana, I am Prince Legolas of Mirkwood. But please, just call me Legolas. It is not my own choice I am prince, but the Valar's." Ariana nodded, she knew what it was like to be treated a certain way because of where you lived and who your parents were. Somehow he had known she would. "Ana, I know this may be too soon to ask, but why do you stay with a boyfriend that hurts you? Why don't you leave him?" For the first time since they had found each other, Ariana looked Legolas straight in the eye and said, "I don't know. But I promise you that as soon as I do you'll be the first person I tell." He sensed that she didn't have this kind of conversation often and felt honored that she would open up with him. This girl fascinated him. Suddenly her head whipped to the side, right before the two elves came out of the trees. (She had decided they were telling the truth, it was easier than not believing.) Legolas gaped at her in astonishment. He hadn't even heard his friends coming, how had her senses picked up on it? He shoved the question aside and set to cleaning and dressing Ana's wound. It looked terribly painful, and he could tell by Ana's expression that what he was doing wasn't helping any. She really needed to see the Healers as soon as possible. "Ana," he said, "I really need you to trust me. My home is not far away and you shoulder desperately needs the skills of one of my people. Please let me take you there." He could see the struggle she was having inside and watched her weigh her options. Finally she whispered, "I will go with you." Legolas nodded in approval and turned to Eruntalon and Eruviluion. "Make ready to leave. Rinben has gone ahead with a message to my father to expect us. We should reach the palace by tomorrow morning if we make good time, tomorrow afternoon at the very latest." Ariana started to stand, but a wave of nausea swept over her and she dropped back to the ground. Legolas smacked himself in the forehead and asked, "When's the last time you ate?" She thought and said, "At least 3 days ago, maybe more." Eruviluion knelt down and rummaged through one of their packs and pulled out a thin cracker like bread. When she bit into it her hunger seemed to melt away. She only ate one piece but her hunger was gone and her energy renewed. When Legolas said it was time to leave, she was ready to go.
They walked on through the night, in silence for the most part. Legolas finally called a halt around sunrise. "We'll rest here briefly and then continue on." Ariana gratefully sat her pack down and moved over to lean against... surprise, another tree. She was getting a bit tired of seeing only trees everywhere. She hoped dearly that they were heading towards a city. Legolas sat leaning against a rock (haha, thought it would be a tree, didn't you?) staring intently at Ana. He noticed that she didn't make any sound as she walked over the leaves. He puzzled at her. She had senses and moved like an elf, but she was so small! He couldn't imagine an elf that small, it was beyond comprehension. But she was no ordinary human either. In fact she almost reminded him of his friend Estel, no Aragorn he was. She was like one who had practiced living in the wild for many long years, but she had not enough years for this kind of advanced sensory or movement. He sighed and ran a hand over his face; this puzzle was beyond him. Gandalf would be at the Palace soon, perhaps he would have some answers. Answers were hard to come by in these troubled days and whatever answers could be come by were welcome. "Let's get ready to go. We're about an hour away from the Palace and I want to make it in time for lunch." This induced a small smile from Ana who was studying the elf's slender frame, wondering how he could eat and stay so thin. Ana didn't know she could do the same thing, she had never had much to eat. She didn't know that across the way Legolas was studying her as intently as she was him. Again he thought she really was tiny and her hair was quite an unusual shade. He hadn't encountered many humans besides Aragorn, and they had all had hair that was one shade. Ana's was both blonde and brown, but neither were the shades that the elves had. Despite his instincts telling him to stay away from her and not get involved, he found himself wanting, no needing, to know more about her. Well, he thought, that would just have to wait until she saw his father and Gandalf. Even through he immediately trusted her, he was still a warrior and he had not forgotten his training: trust no one until they have proven they can be trusted. So far that was what had to come next. And that might come sooner than any of them through, for as they started down the path, Ana's head jerked up and she said, "A group of people are coming down the way. They're on horseback and moving rather fast." The elves turned and stared at Ana. Now they could hear the approach of riders faintly and knew they were still some distance off. How had she heard the footfalls before the elves? Eruviluion started to ask, but silenced at a look from Legolas. The Prince had become quite interested in this little human and he didn't want to upset him. The riders were guards from the castle that King Thranduill had sent to hasten the arrival of his son and destiny.
Disclaimer: It seems that some people have some insecurities about their property *cough cough Tolkien's estate and Peter Jackson* and they think that someone would actually believe I own this stuff. Haha! Obviously I don't so that's out of the way.
Ariana stumbled blindly through the darkness, not knowing or caring where she was going. Any where to get away from the place she had been. Her shoulder shot with pain again at the memory. Her boyfriend coming at her, arms outstretched, the cruel look in his eyes. Stumbling back away from him and tripping over some of the trash on the ground of the crummy trailer park where she and her mom lived. Being pushed into the sharp piece of metal and feeling it slice into her shoulder. Running into the forest, trying to escape the pain of her shoulder and her life. But now that she had run deep into the woods she realized that she was lost and there was no way she could find her way out on her own. She walked over to a tree that had a hollow just right for curling up in, and lay down in it. She wouldn't cry, she never cried. Her dad had taught her that tears were a sign of weakness, that crying showed you were vulnerable and gave people another way to hurt you. Feelings weren't good things, they were enemies, unprotected areas of your heart where the arrows of pain and regret could be shot. So Ariana just curled into a little ball, wincing as she moved her sore shoulder. Her last thoughts before the blackness of unconsciousness took her was that she hadn't eaten since lunch two days ago.
When she awoke the next morning, Ariana found there were four men in a circle around her, each ready to string his bow. The second her head shifted the arrows were pointed directly at her, and a blonde man stepped forward. She shook her head in confusion, wondering what was going on. The man was tall and thin, with long, straight, blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. But the most amazing thing about him was that his ears were very pointy, even more so than hers which were unnaturally peaked. The others looked very similar to him, though each were different at a closer glance. The first man, obviously the leader, cleared his throat, causing Ariana to turn her head back to look at him. The other three who had started to lower their bows pulled them back up at a glare from their leader. "Who are you?" he asked, "and what are you doing within the borders of Mirkwood?" She looked up at him, puzzled by his words. "Well?" he said. "I...I didn't know I was in Mirkwood. I didn't know this forest had a name at all, and I've been living at the edge of it all my life." The man frowned down at her. He knew there were no homes on the borders of Mirkwood. And this girl was very strange looking. Her golden brown hair was short and choppy, she was very small; if he had to guess he would say around five foot two. Her clothing was very odd, old jeans and a tank top with a velvety green jacket that had obviously seen better years. The only thing about her that was familiar to him were her eyes. They were a hard gray color, much like that of the Lorien friends he had. His mind was fighting a war with his heart. Finally they came to a compromise and he said, "Rinben, Eruntalon, Eruviluion, lower your bows. Come, get up, I'm going to take you to my father. He will know what to do." The three men lowered their bows as he spoke their names, and the one he had addressed as Rinben stepped forward saying, "Would you have me tie her wrists, Legolas? She might run." Before Legolas could answer Ariana spoke up and said, "Don't bother, I'm not going anywhere with you. Not one step." Legolas got an amused look on his face and said, "I don't think you have much choice, do you? Four strong elves against one small girl, who do you believe would win?" Ariana gasped and said, "What do you mean, elves? Elves don't exist and they sure don't look like that. I mean, they're short and fat and make cookies. You can't be elves." The four exchanged confused looks at her remarks. Where had this strange girl come from to tell them that they weren't what they obviously were? While they were trying to figure out the answer to their questions, Ariana had been inching away from the tree. When their eyes were averted, she leapt up and sprinted into the trees. She was sure she would be able to get away from them now, she was one of the fastest runners on the cross country team. Just as she was certain she was free, a hand grabbed her injured shoulder. She screamed in agony, she thought her arm was going to fall off. The pain was so bad she blacked out, and Legolas caught her before she hit the ground.
She awoke to find herself propped comfortably against a tree with Legolas peering into her face. "Shh," he soothed her, as the frightened look returned to her eyes. He had been watching her for about 5 minutes, ever since he had carried her back to the clearing. He was mad at himself for causing her so much pain. She had been faster than most humans and the only way he could think of to slow her down had been to grab her. "I'm sorry," he told her when she woke, "I didn't mean to hurt you. May I see your shoulder?" Her eyes darkened and she pulled her jacket closer around her, grimacing as the material pulled across her wound. Sensing her fear Legolas said, "Don't worry, it will be all right. I only want to see your injury so I can try and fix it. May I?" Ariana didn't want to, but she found herself trusting him. She pulled her jacket off and gasped at the movement it took. Ariana heard Legolas's quick intake of breath when his eyes fell on the gash. It looked horrible with dried blood around the area, and the wound itself was an angry red and was inflamed. He was afraid that it might be infected. She shivered as his hands touched her bare shoulder. He glanced at her averted face, then quickly turned his attention to the wound on her shoulder. Turning he called into the trees, "Eruntalon, get me some water,; Eruviluion, tear me up some cloth I can use as bandages." Speaking to Ariana he said, "I'm going to have to clean this, it could be infected. Tell me, how did this happen? It is not the work of any weapon I know of, though it could be a scimitar if I were forced to try and identify it." Ariana looked into his face reluctantly and said, "I fell on a piece of metal while running, nothing more." Legolas looked straight in her eyes and replied, "You are lying." Ariana gasped and before he could react she had slapped him on the cheek, scowling at the pain that shot through her body at eh motion. She had hoped to anger Legolas; that was the emotion she was used to, his kindness was disarming. But instead of hitting her back he just sighed, rubbing his cheek and said, "You have good aim, but you shouldn't have done that, it's not good for your shoulder. I take it I was right, by the way, that you were lying to me. Now, how about you be honest with me and tell me what really happened." She had an over whelming urge to stick her tongues out at him, but controlled herself. "My boyfriend got a little out of control the other night. He pushed me and I fell on a really sharp piece of metal sticking out of the ground. I didn't see what it was, but it sure cut my shoulder up." Legolas's eyes darkened as she told him the real story of what had happened. He couldn't believe someone would mistreat a girl like... he realized he didn't even know her name. "I'm so sorry. I don't believe we've been properly introduced. Could we do that before we go on? Do you know who I am?" Ariana scrunched up her nose and said, "One of your friends, um, Steve? called you Legolas. I am Ariana, but I really do prefer to be called Ana." He nodded and said, "Well then, Ana, I am Prince Legolas of Mirkwood. But please, just call me Legolas. It is not my own choice I am prince, but the Valar's." Ariana nodded, she knew what it was like to be treated a certain way because of where you lived and who your parents were. Somehow he had known she would. "Ana, I know this may be too soon to ask, but why do you stay with a boyfriend that hurts you? Why don't you leave him?" For the first time since they had found each other, Ariana looked Legolas straight in the eye and said, "I don't know. But I promise you that as soon as I do you'll be the first person I tell." He sensed that she didn't have this kind of conversation often and felt honored that she would open up with him. This girl fascinated him. Suddenly her head whipped to the side, right before the two elves came out of the trees. (She had decided they were telling the truth, it was easier than not believing.) Legolas gaped at her in astonishment. He hadn't even heard his friends coming, how had her senses picked up on it? He shoved the question aside and set to cleaning and dressing Ana's wound. It looked terribly painful, and he could tell by Ana's expression that what he was doing wasn't helping any. She really needed to see the Healers as soon as possible. "Ana," he said, "I really need you to trust me. My home is not far away and you shoulder desperately needs the skills of one of my people. Please let me take you there." He could see the struggle she was having inside and watched her weigh her options. Finally she whispered, "I will go with you." Legolas nodded in approval and turned to Eruntalon and Eruviluion. "Make ready to leave. Rinben has gone ahead with a message to my father to expect us. We should reach the palace by tomorrow morning if we make good time, tomorrow afternoon at the very latest." Ariana started to stand, but a wave of nausea swept over her and she dropped back to the ground. Legolas smacked himself in the forehead and asked, "When's the last time you ate?" She thought and said, "At least 3 days ago, maybe more." Eruviluion knelt down and rummaged through one of their packs and pulled out a thin cracker like bread. When she bit into it her hunger seemed to melt away. She only ate one piece but her hunger was gone and her energy renewed. When Legolas said it was time to leave, she was ready to go.
They walked on through the night, in silence for the most part. Legolas finally called a halt around sunrise. "We'll rest here briefly and then continue on." Ariana gratefully sat her pack down and moved over to lean against... surprise, another tree. She was getting a bit tired of seeing only trees everywhere. She hoped dearly that they were heading towards a city. Legolas sat leaning against a rock (haha, thought it would be a tree, didn't you?) staring intently at Ana. He noticed that she didn't make any sound as she walked over the leaves. He puzzled at her. She had senses and moved like an elf, but she was so small! He couldn't imagine an elf that small, it was beyond comprehension. But she was no ordinary human either. In fact she almost reminded him of his friend Estel, no Aragorn he was. She was like one who had practiced living in the wild for many long years, but she had not enough years for this kind of advanced sensory or movement. He sighed and ran a hand over his face; this puzzle was beyond him. Gandalf would be at the Palace soon, perhaps he would have some answers. Answers were hard to come by in these troubled days and whatever answers could be come by were welcome. "Let's get ready to go. We're about an hour away from the Palace and I want to make it in time for lunch." This induced a small smile from Ana who was studying the elf's slender frame, wondering how he could eat and stay so thin. Ana didn't know she could do the same thing, she had never had much to eat. She didn't know that across the way Legolas was studying her as intently as she was him. Again he thought she really was tiny and her hair was quite an unusual shade. He hadn't encountered many humans besides Aragorn, and they had all had hair that was one shade. Ana's was both blonde and brown, but neither were the shades that the elves had. Despite his instincts telling him to stay away from her and not get involved, he found himself wanting, no needing, to know more about her. Well, he thought, that would just have to wait until she saw his father and Gandalf. Even through he immediately trusted her, he was still a warrior and he had not forgotten his training: trust no one until they have proven they can be trusted. So far that was what had to come next. And that might come sooner than any of them through, for as they started down the path, Ana's head jerked up and she said, "A group of people are coming down the way. They're on horseback and moving rather fast." The elves turned and stared at Ana. Now they could hear the approach of riders faintly and knew they were still some distance off. How had she heard the footfalls before the elves? Eruviluion started to ask, but silenced at a look from Legolas. The Prince had become quite interested in this little human and he didn't want to upset him. The riders were guards from the castle that King Thranduill had sent to hasten the arrival of his son and destiny.