Juliana wanted so desperately to have a friend on the journey. Someone she could truly confide in. She honestly felt that Legolas could be just that to her; a friend. Yet...he remained distant. She had no desire to converse with Boromir, and Gimli would not be her first choice in choosing a companion. Then there were the hobbits. Sam was obviously out, and Merry and Pippin were her only source of entertainment. She didn't want to disturb that. She could easily talk to Frodo, but his burden was already too heavy. She didn't want to worry him. As for Aragorn, well, he was already too distraught about leaving Arwen. She couldn't possibly bother anyone with her worries. She would keep to herself.
And then there was her more serious conflict; much more serious than her confusion toward Legolas. Her journey home. How would she get home? Better yet, how could she? This question presented itself to her much more often, lonely as she was.
Some time had passed since they departed from Rivendell and the House of Elrond. Legolas eventually dropped back from the group to walk with Juliana.
"I'm sorry," he muttered quietly.
Surprised by the voice, she looked over at him, "Sorry?"
"I acted poorly in Rivendell. I'm usually not that rude. Only to dwarves," he laughed, aiming the last line at Gimli, who was eavesdropping nearby. He grumbled something inaudible and joined the hobbits again. Legolas glanced over at her.
"It's the truth. I often have a lot of respect for humans, I don't know what came over me."
"It's okay," she said, her voice trailing slightly, "But it was my fault too...I'm so out of place here, no matter where I go."
There was a pause as they continued to walk, "Does it get lonely?" he asked suddenly. She hesitated to look at him, "Yes."
Legolas was able to pass a warm smile at her, "Are you scared?"
"Of what?"
"Of being here? Of ever getting home? Or do you already know what's going to happen?"
She nodded, "Yes, I'm scared. I don't know if I'll ever get home."
"Did you like it? Wherever you're from?"
"Most of the time, just like anyone else."
Legolas inched his way closer to her, "I'm sorry you're stuck here with the likes of me."
Juliana made eye contact with him without hesitation this time, "Don't apologize."
That night, the companions situated themselves atop a hill. The sky was still light and clear. Sam sat off to the side, building a fire, and Boromir attempted to help Merry and Pippin learn to fight. Aragorn sat nearby, puffing his pipe. Gandalf sat alone, his elbow casually resting on his knee, lost in thought as he often was. Legolas and Gimli were busy bickering about something, and Frodo wandered idly about. A dark, thoughtful expression shadowed his face as he greedily fingered the chain hanging around his neck. She decided that the most amusing thing she could do would be to join Aragorn in watching Merry and Pippin.
Aragorn glanced over at Juliana curiously, "All right, there?"
Juliana nodded, "I'm fine. I just...I feel like something's going to happen. Something I'm not prepared for."
"Are you falling in love?"
She looked at him, caught off guard, her blue eyes flashing, "Pardon?"
"Are you falling in love?" he repeated.
"W - with who?"
Aragorn looked over at Legolas, who was quietly working on making new arrows. Juliana followed his gaze, "I...no, I'm not supposed to. I mean, I won't. I'm leaving soon, I can't stay here forever."
"Can you be sure of that?"
"Yes," she lied. Truth be told, she didn't know. She didn't know when she would be going home. It occurred to her that she could easily fall in love with Legolas, but she encouraged herself not to. First of all, he was an elf...wait, what was she thinking? This wasn't real! It wasn't...somewhere, she was laying in a hospital bed, most likely on life support. She could very well be dying. That was real. Honestly, when it got right down to it, Juliana could no longer tell the difference between and unreal, and lately, she wasn't sure if she wanted to.
She was snapped out of her trance when an arm wrapped itself around her waist and yanked her into a hiding spot.
"What-"
Legolas clamped his hand over her mouth and leaned down to her ear, "Shh," he hissed, "They're spies. From Saruman."
Juliana watched as what appeared to be a dark wisp of clouds passed over the hill. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, waiting for him to remove his hand, but he didn't. She looked from side to side, finally reached up to pry his hand off her.
"Thank you," she sighed.
"Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"No...no I'm fine."
Legolas stood up and offered her his hand. She took it and stood, practically falling into him. He held her shoulders to steady her and smiled, "All right, then?"
She nodded and smiled.
Aragorn glanced at them out of the corner of his eyes and sighed, shaking his head. He felt it. In the pit of his stomach, he knew that Juliana wouldn't be with them much longer. And even so, it was painfully and wonderfully bittersweet for a human to fall in love with an elf; and there was no doubt in his mind that Legolas and Juliana, in time, would fall for one another.
Aragorn's words haunted Juliana every time she was with Legolas. He was every bit as heroic and brave and kind as she had ever expected. She'd never met anyone like him in her life, and her heart began to ache at the mere thought of leaving him. She couldn't remember becoming so emotionally attached to anyone in her life. It occurred to her now that a new fear was beginning to sink in. The fear of suffering heartache in losing Legolas. Would she remember him when she returned home? Would she have any recollection of actually experiencing these events at all?
"What are you thinking about?"
She looked into Legolas' concerned eyes.
"Who said I was thinking?"
"I am no fool. I can see it in your eyes. You're concerned. Something's going to happen. Something bad...and you know it."
Before she was even aware of what she was doing, she launched into an explanation of what was going to happen, "There will be a war. One like no other...they're calling it the war to end all wars. Thousands or more will be killed and wounded, and no one can stop it. The Ring will bring Frodo much despair...but you'll be fine. You'll do great things. Mark my words."
Legolas furrowed his eyebrows, "You're sure of all this?"
Juliana frowned, "Yes...but I wasn't supposed to say anything. I promised myself I wouldn't."
He placed a hand on the side of her neck, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb, "You've not made a mistake. You can trust me."
And there was no doubt in Juliana's mind that she could.