Chapter 1

Legolas pulled his horse to a halt. The other elves of Mirkwood stopped as well and looked at him, obviously waiting for an explanation.

"I her something," he said quietly. Sure enough, there was a rustling noise.

The elves all glanced at each other. Was it orcs? If so, how were they so close to Rivendell? They were only a couple kilometres away.

Legolas dismounted and drew his knives. He preferred using his bow and arrows, but the knives were easier to work with at close range. He advanced slowly and stealthily upon whoever – or whatever – was making the sound. He brushed another bit of foliage out of the way, and saw a woman standing near a nearby river. She was wearing a fine green gown and held a sword. Which was pointed straight at him.

She was quite beautiful, really, for a human. Fair skinned with red lips and long black hair. The green gown clung perfectly to her slender body in all the right places. And there was a fire about her, and she clearly knew how to use a sword.

"Stay back, I'm warning you!" she shouted at him, her bright blue fiery eyes blazing. "I can and will use this sword!"

Legolas sheathed his knives and took a careful step towards her. She tensed, watching him closely and nervously.

"Its all right, I have no wish to hurt you," Legolas said gently. She relaxed slightly, but did not drop her guard. He noticed crystals or diamonds hanging from her ears. That wasn't normal to any culture he knew of in Middle Earth. He wondered where she was from. She had the fire of a woman of Rohan, yet the appearance and grace of a woman of Gondor. "Where are you from?"

"Why should I tell you?" she retorted, eyes flashing. The tenseness returned. "Tell me where I am, or I shall kill you!"

Legolas chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?" the woman demanded. Her eyes flashed again.

"One, that's an unfair reason to kill someone who's done you no harm. Two, I'm an elf. Immortal. Not to mention I've had centuries of practise. I could easily defend myself." The woman glared at him. He sighed. "As to where we are, we are not very far from Rivendell. Less than an hour's ride. You can come if you want. I am Prince Legolas of Mirkwood. And you are?"

She looked at him carefully for a moment before answering. "Lady Morgana of Camelot."

Legolas smiled and held out a hand. After a moment of hesitation, Morgana sheathed her sword and cautiously stepped forward to take his hand. Legolas brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Well, y lady, you will be safe with us."

Morgana smiled slightly. "Where is Rivendell exactly? I've never heard of it."

Legolas blinked at her. "Well, that's hardly surprising as I've never heard of Camelot," he replied as he led her to his horse where the other elves waited for him. "Perhaps Lord Elrond in Rivendell will be able to explain."

Morgana simply nodded blankly as he helped her mount his horse. Normally she would have been able to do so herself, but the names and places were strange and confusing her, and she was preoccupied with trying to figure out where she was. Legolas mounted behind her, and soon they were riding away to Rivendell.

"So, this Lord Elrond you mentioned is wise?" Morgana asked as they arrived and Legolas helped her dismount. They had just reached Rivendell.

"Yes, he is," Legolas replied, setting her down. "He is very wise. He has lived for thousands of years, since sometime in the second age."

"What?" Morgana sounded shocked as she stared at him, unbelieving. "You cannot be serious!"

"Yes, I am serious," Legolas replied. "He is an elf, and therefore immortal, like myself."

"No I know for certain that I'm not in Camelot anymore," Morgana murmured softly, half to herself. "Or anywhere near it."

"There are no elves in Camelot?" Legolas asked as he led her forward.

"There's no magic in Camelot anymore. Elves were considered creatures of magic. Uther banned anything involving magic. He executed any who practised it, he killed almost all the dragons..." her voice trailed off and she stiffened, clearly furious. "He did all of this even though he used magic himself so he could have an heir. Because his wife died giving birth to Arthur, he blamed magic."

Legolas was stunned. "And everyone agrees with him, even though they know all of this?"

Morgana shook her head. "Not everyone knows. I only know because I spent time with my half-sister, Morgause, who knew. And she knew because she was trained by the High Priestesses of the Old Religion. And that's not all he's done!" she snarled, trembling. "He has done horrible things in Camelot. He is nothing but a liar! He may be my father, but I hate him!" Her bright blue eyes met Legolas', and she could see that the elf was confused about almost every word she spoke. "I'll explain more later," she murmured.

Legolas nodded. "That's probably a good idea. Come, let's go find Elrond. He'll no what to do."