"Legolas? Are you even paying attention?"
Arwen glanced up from the book she was reading aloud and narrowed her eyes skeptically at Legolas.

"Forgive me, I was just thinking."
Legolas, who had been staring absently out of a window, turned back to Arwen with tired eyes.

"What were you thinking about? You seem to be doing that a lot lately."
Arwen closed the book and set it down on her lap.

They were sitting in the library just as they always did every afternoon.

Legolas enjoyed listening to Arwen read to him, but he never wanted to read himself.

She had started reading the tale of Beren and Luthien to him and for the first part of the story he hadn't said a word.

And Arwen had began to doubt that he was even paying attention to the story.

"I was wondering, how could Luthien fall in love with a mortal? It does not make any since, he will eventually die."

Arwen smiled slyly.
"If you would listen to the story you would see what happens to them."
"But why would she risk going to save him after he was captured by Morgoth? She could have beeb killed herself."

"It was love Legolas."
Arwen replied.
"It gives people the power to overcome anything. It is a wonderful and beautiful thing."

"Have you been in love?"
Legolas asked curiously.
Arwen shook her head.
"When will you?"

Arwen laughed, and Legolas wondered what he had said that was so funny.

"I do not know, no one can tell when they will fall in love."
"How will you know when you do?"
"You just... Know. That is what my mother told me, when it happens you will feel as though nothing can harm you ever again, and you feel a joy that you cannot explain."

"Thalion and Inwë were in love."
Legolas' eyes possesed that same sorrow and grief  that came every time he mentioned his brother.

"They were both happy together, but after he died she left. Why did she leave?"

Arwen sighed, she had met Inwë when she had passed through Rivendell on her way to the Havens.

She had opened up to her and had told her everything that she had been feeling, and what she had felt towards Thalion.

"Love truly is a beautiful thing Arwen, it is powerful, and also dangerous. I loved Thalion and now he is gone, my heart is broken and it cannot mend without him."

Inwë sighed and looked mournfully into Arwen's eyes. They held wisdom and loss, almost like her father's had been after Arwen's own mother had sailed to Valinor.

"Be careful with whom you give your heart to Arwen. You will only fall in love once and when you do, and if something happens to the one you love, it can break you. I only pray that you never have to suffer the same way I
did."

After that Inwë had left, never to return to Middle Earth ever again.

Arwen glanced over at Legolas, she could tell that their conversation would lead to him going off by himself again.

Every time Legolas began to think about Thalion his grief would begin to consume him, and he would go off and wander aimlessly about Imladris until someone, either herself or the twins, came and brought him to his room.

She decided to steer the conversation away from Thalion.
"Would you like to continue with The Children of Hurin? You were enjoying that story were you not?"

Legolas blinked and looked confused for a moment, but then nodded his head.

"Alright."
Arwen smiled and retrieved the book from the table beside her, replacing the one in her lap in its place.

She opened up to where they had left off and began reading.

After the orcs had taken Turin Mîm the dwarf arrived and found the bodies of all of Turin's men lying dead upon the grass. As he passed by he noticed Beleg, the elf was still alive, but injured.

Hatred for the elf burned inside the dwarf and he retrieved a weapon and attempted to kill the injured elf where he lay, but Beleg had been aware of the dwarf's hatred towards him and prepared to defend himself.

Before Mîm could strike him Beleg sprang up and thrust his own weapon into the dwarf and killed him.

Beleg then turned his gaze to where the orcs had taken Turin, he would not leave his friend to suffer by their hand. Gathering what strength he could Beleg set off after them, and he would not rest until his friend was rescued and safe from the orcs.

"Why did the dwarf betray them to the orcs?"
Legolas interupted.
"It was either his life or Turin's and his men."
Arwen explained.
"He felt no loyalty to Turin so he saw no reason why he should give his life for his sake."

"Are all dwarves that way? Selfish and unwilling to defend one another?"
"I believe that there are dwarves who are brave and loyal. You cannot judge an entire race based on the actions of one being."

Legolas nodded, though he was still uncertain that dwarves could ever be trusted.

"My father has always told me that dwarves are proud, stubborn, and greedy. He says that they cannot be trusted."

"Do you believe him?"
"I do not know what to believe, for I have only his word and have yet to find out for myself if it is true."
"Does that mean that you are going to meet a dwarf one day?"

Arwen asked in amusement.
"Not if I can help it."
Legolas replied, the slightest hint of smile began to show on his face.
"If I do meet one, I doubt very much that we shall become friends."

Arwen smiled and turned back to the book, just as Elrohir entered the room after hearing their entire conversation.

"An elf befriending a dwarf? I believe that you have been spending too much time with my sister Legolas."

"What is that supposes to mean?"
Arwen arched one of her eyebrows at her brother.
"You are the one always speaking of a time when elves, men, and dwarves can live together peacefully. And that you do not think that men are as weak as they are said to be, and that dwarves can be-"

"How is that a bad thing Elrohir?"
Elladan asked coming up from behind him.
"There is nothing wrong with seeing the good in others."

"I never said that there wasn't."
Elrohir snapped defensively.
"All I am trying to say is that Arwen should not be filling Legolas' mind with stories and ideas of the past. Those days are gone now and we must look to our own people."

Elladan sighed and shook his head.
"If only that were not the case gwador nin. If the free peoples were to come together and unite against the shadow that threatens us all, things would be much different."

"Perhaps you are right."
Elrohir admitted.
"If you two do not mind we were in the middle of a story."
Arwen returned to the part that they were at and continued reading.

Beleg arrived at the orc camp at night. A storm had arrived, covering the land in darkness. Raib poured down on Beleg and thunder crashed in the sky but he would not let it disuade him from rescuing his friend.

Beleg found Turin bound at the foot of a large tree. The orcs had tortured him and he was bleeding and barely concious as Beleg carried him quietly out of the orc camp.

Once they were safe Beleg began to cut the bonds from Turin's hands, as the blade of his sword cut through the rope his hand slipped and cut his friend by mistake.

Turin and awoke, startled and blinded by the rain he did not recognize his friend and thought that he was an orc.

Turin fought against Beleg and took his sword from him and struck him. Lightning flashed and briefly lit up the forest, revealing to Turin the lifeless body of his friend, the one he had called brother, who had risked his life for him, had just been killed by his own hand.

Arwen paused when she realized how close this story came to reminding Legolas about his brother's own death, but to her relief Legolas once again had that confused and puzzled expression on his face.

"Why would Beleg risk himself for a mortal?"
Legolas asked.
"Why would any elf for that matter, it seems to me that everytime and elf and man meet it only ends up bringing death upon them."

Arwen pressed her lips tightly together as she struggled to explain this to the overly curious elf.

"We cannot explain the friendships that elves and men sometimes have."
Elladan spoke up from where he had been leaning up against a wall.

"In fact, now that I think about there has not been as strong a friendship between a single man and elf since that of Turin and Beleg's. They considered each other brothers, and it was a cruel fate for Beleg to have died by Turin's hand."

"Why did Beleg befriend him in the first place?"
Legolas asked.
"What caused him to be willing to die for Turin?"

Elrohir shrugged.
"Who can say? We were not there when it happened and I do not know of anyone who was."

Legolas sighed in slight annoyance that his question would remain unanswered.

"Well, if friendships with mortals, especially men, bring nothing but death then I can assure you that I will be going nowhere near any."

"Not all friendships end in death Legolas."
Arwen pointed out.
"If you distance yourself from those around you, there will be no one to help you when you need it most."

Legolas pondered her words and began to think about his father, who did not seem to trust men in the slightest.

What if he was wrong about men? And even dwarves?

"Perhaps someday I will meet a man or a dwarf and see for myself what they are like."
Legolas murmured quietly.

Unfortunately Elrohir's sharp hearing caught the words and he grinned as he announced to the others,

"That will be Legolas, running about Middle Earth with men and dwarves as his companions! Hunting orcs and battling evil wherever it may lurk!"

Legolas rolled his eyes at the older elf's statement.
"Believe what you want to Elrohir. But I have no intention of ever befriending dwarves and men, or ever risking my own life
for them."

Elrohir laughed.
"Continue to tell yourself that Legolas! You will see, one day you will prefer the company of mortals to your own kind!"

»»»»

A/N

Hello! It's me!
Just wanted to let you guys know that the story will be picking up speed in a couple more chapters!

Legolas will be returing home very soon and I'm curious to know if anyone has read either of the stories from The Silmarillion that I included in this chapter.

If you haven't I highly recommed that you do! Personally those are my favorite stories that Tolkien wrote.

And when I included them in here I used my own words and left a few things out so you should definitly go read the originals!

That's all I have to say for now, I'm out.