Author's note: I'm back! Here's the sequel to "The Ring of Stars." Lillisandra has reached Rivendell, and there will meet up with everyone's favorite elf! Problem is, she is having feelings for him that she has no right to feel. How will she reconcile the two? Hope you enjoy!

Elenya by Shelly

CHAPTER ONE


Lillisandra stopped amongst the trees, leaning against one of the large trunks to catch her breath, the rough bark digging into her shoulder. Her breath came in shorter intervals now as sweat dampened her hair and trickled down her back, her vision so blurry she could barely see her hand in front of her. She had removed the ring from her finger long ago as it had failed to control the pain in her shoulder caused by the wound from an orc arrow, and now she only hoped she could hold on long enough to get to Rivendell, if she was even going the right way.

Her fuzzy thoughts wandered to those she had left in the ruins of Ost-in-Edhil, wondering if they were on their way to join her or if they had succumbed to the small army of orcs that had attacked them. Two of her companions were brothers, elves from her homeland that she had grown up with. Another elf they had come across while she had been recovering from an orc attack in an inn along the South Road. Yet another she had given her heart and soul to as soon as she had first felt his touch so many months ago.

Boromir. His name conjured images of him that she held dearest to her heart; his warm smile and the way he looked at her with desire clouding their blue depths. She now wished that she had stayed with him as she was tortured with thoughts that he could be dead and she would never know unless he returned to her. She also wouldn't be in the position she was in now, her shoulder aching from the first orc attack only to be further aggravated by the orc that had shot her two days ago near Hollin.

Her head swam as a wave of dizziness washed over her, and she knew that she had to get to Rivendell before she collapsed entirely. She pushed herself away from the tree only to find herself staring down the shaft of an arrow fitted to an elven bow and into a pair of bright blue eyes full of warning.

"You will advance no further."

She would've answered, but her legs suddenly gave way beneath her and she collapsed to the ground as she was swallowed by unconsciousness.

The elf knelt down beside her body and laid his hand on her cheek, feeling the fever that raged throughout her body. He drew back the curtain of hair that had fallen over her face, seeing that she was indeed elven with long auburn hair the color of falling leaves in the autumn. Her skin was pale with fever, and he knew she needed help now before the light of her life faded. He placed the arrow back into the quiver at his back and unstrung the bow, storing it in the same place and leaving his arms free to gather her into his arms and take her into Rivendell.



She stirred from her troubled sleep, slowly opening her eyes to the bright light that filled the room. She became aware of the soft mattress at her back and the light fabric of the sheet that covered her as well as the huge bed she lay in. She closed her eyes and lay her head back against the pillow, listening to the sounds around her: the roar of the waterfalls that fell throughout the valley, the various birds that sang their songs. She moved her left arm and gasped as a slight pain shot through her arm. Someone had removed the poison from her body and bandaged her wound as well as bathing her and putting her into a white sleeping gown.

"I think it shall be awhile before you can do that. The wound was very deep and may take some time to heal."

She opened her eyes and saw a dark-haired elf walk into her room and stop beside her bed. His face was ageless and his eyes mirrored much of the world around him. "And whom do I have to thank for healing me?"

He smiled. "You may thank me. My name is Elrond and welcome to Rivendell."

She sighed with relief and closed her eyes. "My thanks then, Lord Elrond. I have traveled far to be here and I fear there are a great many things that trouble me, things I have seen in both my dreams and in the waking world. Though I fear that too soon my dreams will become reality and the world will become a nightmare."

He pulled up a chair beside her bed and lowered himself into it. "It is also something I fear as well," he replied. "Please tell me what has brought you here."

She started to answer, but her voice caught in her dry throat.

Embarrassed, he reached over to the small table by her bedside and poured some water into a cup, which she accepted gratefully. "My apologies, lady. My manners seem to be lacking this morning."

She smiled as she felt much better. "It is quite all right, my lord," she assured him. "I first received a summons from Galadriel bidding me to come to Lorien. I first passed through Minas Tirith where I joined with Boromir on his journey here. We both had dreams that led us to seek your counsel as to their meaning for none of us knew what to make of them, although mine have been answered somewhat by Dairuin."

"I see you have met him," Elrond said.

"Yes, I have."

"And he told you of the ring?"

She took it out from underneath her gown, watching it glitter in the sunlight. "He gave it to me, yes."

The older elf smiled. "It was not his to give, Lillisandra. It has been yours from the day you were born, he was merely safekeeping it until you came to claim it."

She sighed suddenly, feeling weariness creep upon her, and she knew that from this moment it would only get worse until the burden Dairuin laid on her had been fulfilled.The thought didn't make her feel much better. "I suppose I put it that way as it sounds a little better than saying it was mine from the very beginning. I never asked for this and to have so much thrust upon me at once frightens me."

"I know how you must feel, but no one asked for Sauron to make the one ring did they? What may become the darkest years of our lives is about to fall upon us and it may require the strength of one person to make a difference. That person is also scared as you are and very much alone for he didn't ask for the burden placed upon him either."

She flushed in embarrassment as she realized she had earned the scolding he had given her. "I apologize, Lord Elrond."

He smiled again once more as the stern light faded from his eyes. "Do not apologize, my child. You have been through much on your journey here. I plan to have a council soon and ask that you attend as any other questions you may have will be answered there. Until then, rest and regain your strength."

He stood to leave. "One more question if I may? The elf who brought me here? What is his name?"

The Lord of Rivendell smiled. "Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood."

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