Title: Moving On
Author: Wildecate
Email: Wildecate@hotmail.com
Rating: G - just fluff
Notes: First attempt at BtVS/LOTR crossover. Don't flame me.
Pairing: Willow/Legolas (of course!)
Credits: We all know who created the characters - songs by Avril Lavigne/Daniel Bedingfield
Dedication: For Lara

It was late in Rivendell, glorious day slipping into velvet night. Willow sat gazing out across the forest, straining her eyes to see the mountains in the distance. It was never cold here. It was never anything extreme here and she longed momentarily for the blistering heat of California, the biting winds of England, the sudden thunderstorms just something that wasn't this… this perfection.

She heard a rustle behind her and knew she was no longer alone. She stayed where she was, testing herself, trying to work out who it was. The rustle alone meant it was no elf, there was no tell tale heavy breathing which meant not a dwarf and, she breathed in deeply, there it was, the scent of horses and mud which meant one of two people. She turned and saw she was right. The tall Ranger stood framed in the doorway, his clothes still splattered in mud from the ride.

"I wanted to see you" he said, without preamble "but you wish for solitude." He made as if to leave and she moved, laying a hand on his damp arm.

"I've been alone too long. I'll come tonight." He smiled, his eyes glinting with pleasure. She returned the smile shyly.

"I'll find Arwen, she longs to see you." Willow inclined her head and he withdrew, dropping a courteous kiss on her hand. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned back to the view below her. The beauty of Rivendell was now cloaked in twilight, only a scattering of lamps had been lit to show the way to the Great Hall where the feast was being held. She wished she could stay in her room but she had made the decision to go tonight and perhaps it was time that she moved on.

Six months she had lived here now in the House of Elrond. Six months of missing Oz, her friends, her family. The spell with Anya, a simple spell to find her necklace, had gone horribly wrong and she had found herself in another world. The elves were very kind to her, especially Elrond's daughter Arwen, and she had settled in peacefully but her existence was a lonely one. She had tried many times to get back but there was no magic in this world that rivalled the power in hers. Willow had tried a couple of times to do a tiny spell, just levitating a pencil but here her magic did not work. She was waiting for Gandalf, a great wizard who might know of a way to send her home but it was difficult waiting. She occupied herself with reading, learning Elvish, occasionally horse riding with Arwen. She had met Aragorn some time before and he had been searching for Gandalf for her but with no success.

Arwen came to her, dressed her hair in the elven fashion, and found her a dress in the palest gold to wear. She held her hand down to the feast and Willow still felt very self conscious. She longed to run back to her room but steeled herself to carry on. The feast was loud and there were colours and laughing faces wherever she looked. Arwen squeezed her hands reassuringly and Willow nodded, half smiling. They entered together, the tall elegant elf maid and the slight red haired human. There was a sudden pause in the music which, as Arwen inclined her head gracefully, started up again just as easily. Willow took her place which was set beside Arwen and stared down at her laden plate before looking around her.

She was the only person here unsmiling. Even Aragorn, usually so very serious, was laughing tonight and she gave him a returning smile as he lifted his cup to her.

"You must eat, Willow" Arwen whispered in her ear. Willow glanced around her again and took a long drink from her cup. The scent of the wine was heady and she found herself suddenly hungry.

The feast was long, with long poems, enactments of famous battles, love stories, chanting and singing. There was dancing, the elves moving gracefully and stepping softly. Willow allowed herself to vanish quietly into the background unnoticed and watched Aragorn and Arwen dancing together. He moved as well as any elf and their eyes never left each others. The tension between them could be felt around the room and Willow was briefly reminded of Angel and Buffy. She pushed those memories away and concentrated on her new friends dancing. A face caught her eye beyond them. Like her, unsmiling. He was also watching Aragorn and Arwen, no sign of jealousy on his face, just sadness. His gaze moved beyond the couple and met hers, and, embarassed, Willow dropped her gaze. The heat from the Great Hall made her long for cool breezes and she headed away from the dance towards the water garden.

The sound of the music quietened as she stepped into the cool of the garden and she hummed to herself as she walked, a song she remembered coming to her quite naturally


I'm standing on a bridge, I'm waiting in the dark
I thought that you'd be here by now
There's nothing but the rain, no footsteps on the ground
I'm listening but there's no sound
Isn't anyone trying to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home
It's a damn cold night, trying to figure out this life
Wont you take me by the hand, take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are But I... I'm with you


"You are sad?" The voice was soft, accented and Willow jumped with a yelp. "I apologise if I startled you"

"No, it's fine. I just thought that I was alone."

"I can leave you if you wish. I saw you leave the feast, you seemed upset. I was concerned".

Willow shook her head, "It's fine. Stay".

The elf moved closer and she saw it was the unsmiling elf she had seen inside. He repeated his question "You are sad?"

"A little." She had learned there was no point in lying or trying to put off elves. They could read her better than she could them.

"What saddens you?"

"I miss my home, my friends."

"You cannot go to them?"

"No". She realised that this was someone who did not know who she was, did not know where she came from, that she was not from this world.

"I am Legolas. I am also a long way from home."

"Willow"

A sudden smile lit up his delicate features "You are named for a tree?"

"I guess" she mumbled and carried on walking.

Legolas, now named, paused where he was walking and watched the girl before him. She moved with grace yet human. Her hair and eyes were a striking combination and he felt something stir but he was unsure what. A few long paces and he had caught up with her again.

"I disturbed your song"

"My song? Oh that" Willow laughed quietly "Don't worry"

"I do worry. Songs are part of life here. I should not have interrupted it. Please continue."

"No"

"Please"

"I can't. I don't like singing in front of people." Willow's stage fright had come to the fore once more.

"We are quite alone". Legolas gestured with his hand and Willow saw that their steps had brought them to an island surrounded by fountains. The sound of the party was distant now, only occasional laughter echoed through the trees. The words came back to her easily.


I'm looking for a place, searching for a face
Is anybody here I know?
'Cause nothing's going right, and everything's a mess
And no one likes to be alone


Isn't anyone trying to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home
It's a damn cold night, trying to figure out this life
Wont you take me by the hand, take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are but I... I'm with you
I'm with you


"You have a beautiful voice although the song is unknown to me."

"It's a song from my land" Willow had long given up trying to explain Sunnydale to people and now didn't try "Do you have songs in your land?"

Legolas nodded smiling now.

"We have such music that would make your heart soar and your soul sing."


Gilthoniel! O Elbereth!
Clear are thy eyes and bright thy breath!
Snow-white! Snow-white! We sing to thee
In a far land beyond the Sea.


O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!
We still remember, we who dwell
In this far land beneath the trees,
Thy starlight on the Western Seas.


"That was beautiful" Willow admitted "I don't understand much Elvish though"

"You must learn" Legolas told her.

From that day the two were seen together, he taught her to ride, to shoot and to speak Elvish. The days passed and Willow found herself thinking less and less of her home, Oz, Buffy and Xander. He days were filled with laughter, singing, music until Elrond called the Council together, men, dwarves and elves. Legolas attended for his father and the famous Gandalf who had promised a long talk with Willow, attended. She was not so anxious to leave this place as she had been and she had nodded. The Council was called, and the decisions were made. Legolas thought for a moment of Willow before pledging himself to follow Frodo into Mordor. Perhaps, he thought, if I do not, we will not have anything to live for.

"You are leaving?" her voice sounded behind him as he checked over his horse. He turned, she had been as silent as the elves that she lived among, he had not heard her approach at all.

"The Fellowship has been formed, I have promised to follow Frodo to Mordor and protect him with my life if I have to. I could not make any other choice."

"You couldn't?"

She smiled, the first full smile he had seen from her.

"I would not have expected anything else from the Prince of Mirkwood which, by the way, you neglected to mention to me."

"You did not ask" he replied "would you have understood?"

"Possibly, depending on whether you said it in Elvish or not".

"Do you understand this?" he asked softly.

She realised that at some point he had taken her hand. They looked down at their joined hands and then at each other. He lifted his free hand to stroke her hair, her cheek and then lifted her hand to his lips and brushed them across the palm of her hand.

"I must leave" he whispered "If the Fellowship fail then we will have nothing to live for. I must know that I have done everything possible."

Willow turned his hand over and brushed her lips over the palm of his hand.

"I'll wait"

"It could be weeks"

"I'll wait"

"Maybe months"

Willow pulled away from him for a moment, regarding him, fixing him in her mind.

"I'll wait".




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