~ ~ ~ Hey Amy and Danielle,

      Well, to tell you the truth, everything's going great this month!
      Aragorn's off, as you well know, but he is the sweetest guy. Course, you have to get to know him first, but he's a lot less intimidating than you would think.
      Mark, I do have a front row seat and I plan to tell you about it sometime.
      Kenneth, you know me. I am having the time of my life! Seriously, this is a blast for me. And hey, at least you don't have to hear me talking about cute actors non-stop. So count your blessings my friend. Hehehehehe... only kidding!
      Jess, well, what can I say about the twins. They're off with Aragorn, but they are such a handful when here. You could never guess their age by the way they act.
      Oh and Dan, Frodo's doing just fine. Why last night, he graced us with a song. Then Arwen and then, OMG!
      Legolas sang! I was shocked speechless. He sang about Mirkwood and the intense emotion behind his words was breathtaking. If I had brought a tape recorder, I would have recorded it for you guys.
      Any way, Legolas is supposed to give me archery lessons today, so we'll see how that turns out.
      Until next time...

      Laters! ~ ~ ~

      "Up with you now, time for your lessons."

      Ashley opened one eye and saw Legolas starring down at her. She quickly pulled her pillow over her eyes and rolled onto her stomach.

      "Legolas, it's too early... go away..."

      The Elf merely smiled, pulling the covers off of her. He was sitting on the edge of the bed as he tossed her pillow aside. However, Ashley had planned on this and now her face was covered by her bed head of hair.

      "Come along now. The sun has just risen and we must start early."

      Ashley looked out the window. "It's still dark out, Legolas..."

      "Ah, that is simply because the sun has not crested those beautiful mountains." he replied, looking out her balcony. "And at any rate, we must begin."

      "Legolas, I'm really not in the mood right now. I think that Elven wine from last night went to my head." She turned towards him and her eyes shot open as a shriek escaped her lips. "LEGOLAS!"

      The woman had not counted on Legolas attempting to tickle her to wake her up. She squirmed, trying to get away from him, but only ended up falling onto the tiled floor with a thud. Legolas, of course, was laughing, but he reached down and gave her a hand up.

      "Good, you are awake now then?" he asked, barely hiding the smile on his face.

      Ashley glared at him, "Yes. Happy now?!"

      "Very."

      "No. No. No. You are holding it all wrong, Nil." Legolas corrected, placing his hands on her own.

      The Elven Prince was standing behind Ashley, attempting to show her the finer points of archery. Needless to say, the lessons were not going as good as they had planned. First off, it turned out that Ashley held the bow completely wrong. So, once Legolas had remedied this, they moved on to fitting an arrow to the string. That was not too difficult, but the aiming part was a bit trickier. Legolas' arms wrapped around her as he repositioned her hands on the bow.

      "There. Can you not feel the difference?"

      Ashley nodded, "I guess..."

      Legolas took a couple of steps back. "Now, aim true and let the arrow fly. Pull back on the string until it is taunt. I want to see exactly how you can shoot."

      The woman sighed, letting her eyes sight in on the tree about fifty yards away. She hoped that she was not making a fool of herself, though it was only her and Legolas on the archery field.

      "Concentrate." The prince's melodious voice drifted to her.

      Blinking a couple of times to clear her vision, Ashley sighted as best she could. Without taking a breath, she let the arrow fly toward it's destination. The twang of the bow and the whistle of her arrow were all that could be heard in the glen. Promptly a thunk sounded from the field.

      "Not too bad." Legolas replied, looking at the tree before them.

      Ashley noticed that the arrow had missed it's target, but had still struck the tree. That in itself was a miracle.

      She lowered her bow and, turning to Legolas, smiled. "At least I hit the tree this time."

      The Elf laughed, "Indeed. And it will take some time before you can hit the target. Though, if you practice every day until the journey begins, you may get it sooner."

      "Everyday?!" Ashley frowned, "But..."

      Legolas shook his head. "No... everyday. You heard me correctly, Nil. It takes practice. Lots and lots of practice to be able to shoot the way a warrior can. If your skills are not at their best, ill could be fall you or another member of the fellowship."

      Ashley sighed, setting the bow down and leaning against a nearby tree. "Well, I'm tried now. Let's go back in and see what everyone else is up to. Please?"

      "They will be doing the same things they have done for the past month or so. Come," Legolas pulled the woman up by her outstretched hand. "There is more work you must do."

      With another sigh, Ashley picked up the bow and continued to practice.