Out of Reality: Part VI
by Alexandra
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It had been nearly a week since Adalia had dropped into Middle-Earth. She was growing accustomed to the natural way of doing things, though once in a while she tended to forget that she had to do something for herself and there wouldn’t be a machine there to do it for her.

Every day she had returned to that clearing and tried in vain to return home. For whatever reason, she never left the reality of Mirkwood. Though she found friendship with the elven prince Legolas and the dwarf Gimli, she missed being with her own kind, something that the king noticed.

Legolas knocked on Adalia’s door and then let himself in, something he was used to. He found her in front of the mirror, running a black pencil around her eye. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“I have told you already, I’m putting on makeup,” she explained as she then brushed some eye shadow on.

“Why do you insist on putting such things on your face?” he asked, coming up to stand next to her.

“Because in my world, in order to look pretty, you have to wear makeup. Some people can pull off the natural look, but I can’t. So I wear this so I don’t look like a troll.”

Legolas put his hand under her chin and raised it so that he could look at her. Adalia felt nervous under his stare and closed her eyes. He in turn reached up and gently wiped the powder off her eyes with his thumb. “I do not think that you would need such things,” he said quietly, his hand dropping to his side.

Adalia opened her eyes and quickly turned around. His touch had felt like fire across her skin and his gaze was even worse. “Didn’t we have a discussion a while back about you just barging into my room?”

He shrugged. “If it really bothers you that much, then I’ll wait a few more seconds before I enter.”

Adalia rolled her eyes. “Great improvement. Anyway, what does your father want to talk to me about?”

“I think I should let him bring that up. Come on. First you will speak with him, then we will eat. It is time to leave lindor.”

“I haven’t sung anything since that one time, yet you still call me lindor. Any reason?”

He shrugged as they began to walk down the hall. “That song you sang has remained within my mind. So the name stays.”

“Well, then I guess I will have to call you… luchador. And don’t bother asking me what it means because I won’t tell you for quite a while.” Adalia entered the chamber, a chuckling Legolas following.

“Ah, Adalia,” greeted Thranduil. “Come, sit. I have something very important to discuss with you.” Adalia did as he asked, sitting on one of the many chairs, Legolas seating himself next to her. “This past week, I have watched you closely Adalia. I can see that you are not entirely happy here.”

The woman stirred silently. “It’s not that I’m unhappy or anything, you have been incredibly nice to me. I guess I just feel like a fish out of water, that’s all. Up until a week ago, I never thought that elves and dwarves existed. And I guess the fact that I may never see my home again factors into it. But the point it, it’s nothing that you have or haven’t done.”

Thranduil nodded. “I understand. Either way, I think that you would feel more comfortable if you dwelt with the race of men here in Middle-Earth.”

Adalia stared at him for a moment before dropping her eyes to her hands in her lap. She didn’t want to lie to herself, she would be more at home with her own kind. But that didn’t mean she wanted to leave. “Where would I live?” she asked, keeping her eyes downcast.

“I would travel with you to Gondor,” spoke up Legolas. “Gimli left this morning to go and speak with Elessar about your arrival. Though I do not wish to see you leave, I also feel that you would be more contented among your own kind.”

Adalia raised her eyes to meet both the king’s and the prince’s. It seems that they had both discussed this. She sighed and nodded. “Maybe you’re right. When would we leave?”

“In three days time,” said Legolas.

Adalia nodded and stood up. “Then in three days I will be ready to go. Now I believe we have a meal to attend.”

---

Adalia sighed as she sat down wearily after dismounting. “I thought Gondor was next door or something, not across the whole damn continent.”

Legolas shrugged as he crouched to bring out some of the provisions they had packed. “I did not think that it was relevant.”

“Stupid luchador,” she grumbled, closing her eyes as she leaned against a tree. “You may be used to this, but I’m not. So I’m just going to sit here and rest.”

Legolas chuckled. “We are only staying here for a short time. We can still make many more miles before it becomes too dark to travel.”

Adalia groaned and sat up, taking a drink of water. “Your idea of too dark to travel is pitch black. My idea of too dark to travel is immediately after sunset. See the difference?”

Legolas smiled at the human. “Difference or not, the road is long and I think you want to shorten the journey as much as possible.”

Adalia picked herself up while grumbling and climbed onto her horse using a stone as a step. “Well, then let’s go already, if you’re so keen on getting there.”

The elf chuckled again and gathered up their things. “We shall make it in no time at all if all our breaks are this short.”

Legolas squinted into the night, finally deciding that it was time to rest. He dismounted on the side of the road and turned, waiting for Adalia’s sigh of content at being able to sleep peacefully. When it never came, he walked up next to her horse and smiled. She had fallen asleep while riding.

“Adalia,” he whispered. When she mumbled something incoherently, he reached up and gently pulled her off the horse. She fell lightly into his arms, not waking. Legolas gently placed her on the ground, covering her with a blanket. He built a small fire to keep her warm and then stopped to look at her.

He knew that he had become protective of her in the past weeks. Sometimes he wondered if that protectiveness wasn’t a hint of something else. He shook his head at the idea of loving a mortal. She would die and he would live on, their paths never crossing each other again.

He sighed and turned his back on her, focusing his attention at their surroundings. He would not think of it, not think of what his heart was starting to tell him.


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