"Welcome to Rivendell"

Sisal was led to a room, for the odd looking people and other elves had urgent matters to attend to and she was not allowed to enter. When she was left alone, she snuck out of the room and asked the trees for Legolas' position in the fortress that blended so well with the forest. She ended up at a small courtyard with a gazebo like structure. There sat the four sunshine-haired elves from before along with two other dirt-haired elves. There were nine people there as well, but they had very queer appearances. There were five that almost looked like elves, but were rugged and did not have pointed ears. There were three that looked like the others but were shorter and all had long, thick tendrils of hair on their faces. Then there was one who was even shorter but had the young face of an elve, but large, hairy feet and oddly shaped ears. There were three of the first odd creature, one of the second and third, plus Legolas standing before the majestic looking dirt-haired elve. Three more of the short, big-footed creatures sprang up. They all shouted something about not being left behind.

"Legolas has promised me a quest, so I shall join you as well," Sisal proclaimed calmly as she hopped up and onto the structure. The people around gasped, excluding Legolas and his men.

"A woman, let alone a very young woman, on a quest? It isn't done!" the medium height creature exclaimed.

"I am completely capable of doing things that aren't usually done. An elleth can hold her own and care for herself. I don't know of your females, but as for me, this stands true," Sisal said haughtily.

"What is your name and from where do you come?" the majestic elve asked.

"My name is Sisal and I-" she started but was cut off.

"She is my companion, Sisal Windwalker. She came with my men and me from Mirkwood," he said, shooting her a glance that told her to keep her mouth shut.

"I see. Then, the ten of you will be called the Fellowship of the Ring. Go and rest, for you have a long journey ahead of you."

~~ Time Skip ~~

"Oh, Taman, I am sorry but you must stay here. I swear we will meet again, my friend," Sisal sighed, burying her face into his neck. Taman nickered softly and nudged her foot with his hoof, assuring her that he also knew they would meet again. She had been outfitted with a light bow and sword, as well as a quiver with many arrows. A small sigh caught her attention. She jerked herself away from the large stallion and looked to where the sound had come from. Taman shied slightly and she instinctively put a comforting hand on his thick neck.

"I am sorry to have startled you, Sisal. How are you so sure you will meet the horse again?" Legolas asked quietly.

"He is a mearah, as well as part elven horse. He will live a long life, as will I. I refuse to die before I see him again. He is my best and only friend."

"You can discount me so easily as your friend? I am certainly not your foe," Legolas defended. They had been in Rivendell for a few months, preparing for their journey and he thought that the daily rides they went on had brought them closer. He didn't want to admit it, but he was inevitably drawn to the hauntingly beautiful elleth. When she spoke, she met the eyes of the person directly and her voice rose and fell as if she were singing. When she rode, her body moved with her mount and an expression of pure bliss settled on her face. When she fought (she had been training with Legolas and Aragorn) her eyes flickered with green fire. When she learned to read and write with Elrond, Arwen, and sometimes Legolas, her eyes scanned the page and soaked up everything while her hands moved to reveal magical, looping words.

"I did not know a Prince would want a humble forest girl as a friend. I only thought you were being kind to a fellow elve. I thank you for thinking I did not discount you. Does this mean we are friends?" she asked innocently, batting her long, thick eyelashes playfully.

"Yes, this does mean we are friends," Legolas smiled. She grinned and quickly slung her sack over her shoulder.

"Come, mellon {friend} we mustn't make our company wait!" she giggled, gently grasping his hand and leading him towards the place they were to meet what she now understood were four hobbits, two men, a wizard, a dwarf, and themselves. Legolas blushed lightly at the contact, though she had often softly tugged on his hand when he would stare into space on their picnics. He did not want to admit it, but he had always been imagining the nights of their upcoming adventures. Never before had an elleth held his attention so quickly and managed to hold it, as he was over two thousand years of age so he most definitely was not still an innocent. Aragorn approached them from behind.

"Legolas, Im mendaer o codi sar ser {I suggest you hide that blush}" Aragon whispered in his ear, so Sisal could not possibly hear, as they neared the gates. Legolas nodded quickly and took a deep breath as he tried to push the blood boiling under his cheeks down. Sisal's hand shook lightly, as did her shoulders.

"Why, milord, you were blushing?" she giggled. He opened his mouth, eyes wide, before looking away and shaking his head. He would not show weakness to this elleth, no matter how fair. She would think it silly that someone who was his age was blushing about some elleth, probably not even a hundred years of age. They let their hands drop from each other's, as if on cue, as they approached the rest of the fellowship.

Soon they were on their way out of Rivendell and within two nights, Legolas found that he had become quite fond of the light-footed elleth. She had snuck behind him many a time. When she had, she had always gently covered his eyes and waited for him to say her name. He tried not to take it seriously; after all she had probably hardly ever interacted with another person so it should be natural for her to latch on to him and try to interact with him almost non-stop. While he was amused and enjoyed her company, he had to admit that having a girl with him made it hard for him to concentrate on the task at hand. She seemed to understand this and when he tried to tune her out for a second or two, she would withdraw and talk to the birds, sending them ahead to search for dangers. She had just finished speaking to a robin when Legolas decided to approach her.

"Sisal, why do you keep sending scouts ahead? I understand that you're just trying to help, but Boromir thinks that you don't trust our skills or us," he whispered in her ear. His chest was just barely brushing her back. She shivered slightly as his breath hit the back of her ear.

"You can tell him that I don't trust him. In fact, the only one here I trust is you," she said, trying to keep her voice strong. It wavered slightly at their closeness but he didn't seem to notice. At least she hoped he didn't because he might think her weak.

He had noticed but he didn't give any indication. He wasn't sure what to think of it. He hoped it was in a good way because he was touching her but he thought she wasn't enjoying it so he moved away. Sisal's heart dropped when he left but she tried not to let it eat at her. She stopped sending scouts and went to apologize to Boromir.

"Hello, I just wanted to say that I am sorry that you think I don't trust your abilities. I just grew bored of all the walking and decided I might as well do something to help," she sighed, bowing her head to him.

"I guess it's fine that you were just trying to help. Thank you for your apology," he said stiffly. With that over with, Sisal went to talk to the other man, Aragorn. She had grown quite fond of him and liked to listen to him speak in his soothing voice. He had told her many stories of his life and she was in the mood to hear another.

A/N

I used a translator for the Elvish parts so don't complain about them, or else! Apparently, before Sisal left her family she learned both English and Elvish but did not learn how to write. Oopsie on my part but if you're willing to let it slide then so am I.

Review please, or else Sisal may find a lion to send after you!