Always

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Chapter 4.

Legolas never saw her hand striking out , hard and accurate , her small balled fist connecting with his sensitive ear . He gave a short cry , a combination on surprise and pain , and fell ungracefully backward off the log . “Just because I chose to confide in you does not give you grace to put your lips all over me .” Caitlin growled , springing to her feet and grabbing one of the fish from above the fire , stalking off to a large boulder on the edge of the encampment .

Legolas covered his stricken ear with one hand and rose to his feet . “You are bloody insane .” he muttered , jerking his own fish off the spit and biting into it . “Eat your fish and be gone with you ! I want you out of my camp , and out of my life .”

“Gladly .” Caitlin grumbled . “I have no need for you or your desires . All men are alike , driven by that filthy bit of flesh between their legs !”

Legolas snorted , tossing his uneaten food to the ground and going to collect his horse , rubbing it’s coat down flat with a bit of dried grass before tossing the saddle blanket over his back . “flatflatter yourself , curuni nis .” he uttered under his breath , hoisting the saddle and tossing it none too gently upon Arod’s back . Caitlin stole glances at the Elf as he continued tacking his horse up , and silently repacked his belongings , and she found that she , too , had lost her appetite . Legolas said not another word to her , but finished his packing and swung aboard the grey , nudging his heels into the horse’s ribs and moving off at a brisk trot .

Caitlin watched his form retreating , feeling lonelier than she had ever felt in her seventeen years . She felt the unexpected welling of tears in her eyes , but she struggled to hold them in . Never again would another living being make her cry . Never again . She tried to finish the fish , but found it all but sticking in her throat , and she tossed it to the ground near Legolas’ . “I’m sorry .” she whispered to the empty woods around her . “I’m so sorry .”
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It was mid-afternoon when Legolas rode into the small trading town of Tanderrah’ , trying to block all thoughts of the woman-child he had left sitting on the rock in his camp from his mind . The sky was overcast , with the clouds hanging so low they looked as if one could reach up and ring the rain right out of them ; the day was just as grey as his mood had turned . He reined Arod up at a small pub called the Blue Dragon , tying the stallion to the hitching rail and going inside . All eyes turned to stare at the handsome blonde Elf as he walked inside the dark , smoky tavern , but Legolas was used to it , and effectively ignored the gazes that ranged from mild curiosity to out and out suspicion . He seated himself at a small table and ordered a pitcher of dark ale and a bowl of mutton stew with crusty bread fresh from the oven . He ate more out of habit than real hunger , lost in thoughts that seemed to dance just outside his comprehension .

He spent several hours in the pub , partaking in the good ale and winning several coins from those foolish enough to challenge an Elf to a game of darts . And Legolas managed to banish all thoughts of Caitlin Ashwood from his mind .
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A light drizzle had begun to fall outside , and few noticed the slight figure moving briskly through the muddy track that served as the main road through the settlement . Caitlin had followed the tracks of Legolas’ horse on the forest path into Tanderrah’ , not really knowing why , but unable to resist . His grey horse was easy to spot among the nags in the street , like a rose among the brambles . She walked to Arod , strokins ves velvety muzzle and offering him a bit of grass , then she vanished into the shadows of the alleyway running alongside the Blue Dragon to wait .

Darkness was falling when Legolas came down the wooden steps of the pub , and swung aboard his miserable , wet horse . He slapped the animal’s neck affectionately and rode him to the livery stable , giving the owner coin for the stallion’s stabling and feed , and he jogged back to the pub , getting himself a room for the night , grateful to be out of the weather .

He awoke in the morning with the rising of the sun , and after breaking fast , he returned to the livery . The road was ankle-deep with sticky mud , and the air was chilled ; the dull grey sky threatened still more rain , or perhaps the first flakes of snow for the season, if the temperature continued to drop . He retrieved his tack from the rack and went to the roomy box Arod had been bedded down in overnight . The horse nickered to his master , ears pricked forward , and came to the gate to meet him . When Legolas pushed the door open , he stopped in his tracks ; Arod was not alone in the stall . Caitlin lay huddled in the straw , her thin cloak bundled about her body .

“What the bloody hell are you doing here ?” he snapped , grabbing her arm and hauling her to her fe

Caitlin stood sleepily , stepping back away from him . “I told them I was your groom .” she retorted , stifling a yawn . “It was preferable to sleeping outside in this horrid weather .”

“Well you should have thought of that before insulting me yesterday , and before you struck me about the head . “Legolas snorted , and put a feed bag full of good grain over the horse’s head while he brushed the animal down and fastened the saddle on .

“You took me off guard .” she replied defensively .

“Tis a natural reaction for a … oh , never mind !” Legolas snapped , pulling the empty feedbag off Arod , stuffing it into his saddlebag . “I thought I was rid of you for good .” . He gently slipped the bridle over the stallion’s head , tossing the reins over his neck . “Did the livery owner not think it odd that I did not bring my ‘groom’ in myself , and that my ‘groom’ has no mount of her own ?”

She shrugged , raking the toe of her boot through the straw . “The subject never came up .” she mumbled .

Legolas swung onto his mount’s back , guiding him with leg pressure alone out of the stall , ducking down beneath the door frame . “Namarrie , curuni nis . May our paths never cross again .” he said without turning around , and nudged the horse into a trot , out the door .
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Caitlin watched the Elf riding away for the second time in two days , and this time she was unable to contain a single tear from slipping from her eye to trail down her cheek . Until she had been able to talk with him , she had not realized how alone she was . She looked around the stable , empty save several horses left tied in straight stalls on the other side of the barn . She took a deep breath and walked across the dirt floor , picking the best looking animal of the group , a sturdy bay gelding with four high white stockings and a wide blaze face . Moving quickly , she grabbed a saddle and tacked the sleepy beast up , rummaging through the tackroom and finding a loaded saddlebag and bedroll ; without bothering to see what was contained in the pack , she hoisted it onto the horse and swung aboars , turning him sharply and putting her heels to his sides . The horse shot forward to a canter from a dead standstill , almost running over the owner of the livery as he entered the barn .

“Hey ! You bloody thief !” he yelled , waving his fist in the air .”That’s my horse ! You bring back me horse !”
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Legolas was just on the edge of the settlement when he heard the galloping hooves behind him , and he instinctively reined his horse to the side of the road to allow the rider to pass ; once again , his jaw dropped to see Caitlin bearing down upon him at a dead gallop , leaning down across the bay horse’s neck , her cape billowing out behind her . She slashed the reins down across the animal’s flank , yelling “Hah ! Hah !” , encouraging the gelding faster , faster . Behind her came the livery owner , bareback on one of the other horses , screaming at the top of his lungs that he had been robbed , his valuable animal stolen , and it was the bloody Elf’s groom what took him . She caught up to Legolas in no time and called out to him as she passed , “Come on !”

He took one look at the angry livery owner fast approaching , and knew he stood no chance of explaining that the blasted woman was not only not his groom , but at this moment the very bane of his existence , and he drove his heels into the gray’s side , spinning him to follow the girl out of town and into the forest .

Several other riders joined in the chase , and Caitlin led Legolas on a twisting , turning course , ducking low to avoid overhanging branches , their horses moving sure-footedly , leaping over stones and logs and splashing through a trickling stream , as the rain began to fall once again . Legolas was just beginning to almost enjoy the chase when the darts from crossbows began to fly about them .