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"Larial, my child. We are not even aware of whether or not he will arriving home this night. It could be until the early hours of morning that you stand here, waiting on him. You know this, right?"
The King couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he spoke to the elleth before him. She turned her face toward him, her body still facing the window, with an ever-present look of determination.
"I am aware, my Lord. Just as you are aware that I shall not leave this post until I spot your Son outside of the palace gates. "
"Very well," Thranduil smiled to himself as he turned away from her and walked away. He stopped before he turned the corner, looking back over his shoulder at the maiden he had left behind. Larial had been his oldest son's dearest friend for many centuries. He had watched her grow into a beautiful, refined, caring lady. It was when one witnessed she and Legolas together, though that they were always able to detect a bit of that young, sarcastic, fun loving child that she had once been.
"I do hope she takes the news well," The King frowned to himself before finally rounding the corner to go.
Larial frowned to herself as she watched the sun go down over the horizon. It would prove more difficult to spot her friend's homecoming without the light of day. She would not leave her post, though. Since she was small, she had always waited on his arrival, watching from the same window, so as to be the one to see him first. She would then run as quickly as her elven feet could carry her through the castle, out into the courtyard, and then proceed to convince the guards to let her exit the gates, so that she might be the first one the Prince would see.
It had been nearly a century since she had seen Legolas. He had left for a visit to Lothlorien not long after the celebration of his 2,250th birthday. It was not the longest that he had ever been gone from his home, but it was the longest that he had not been in contact with Larial. She had written letter after letter to her friend, but never did she receive a response. Though it had been a relatively short time for an elf, things had changed. She had felt a change in herself, and so had others around her. She really had become a lady, and with that came mixed emotions of dealing with this suitor, and that suitor. Which dress she should wear to which ball. It annoyed her that he had been around to share these things with, to seek his advice on.
Larial was more than just a little angry with him about this, but the anger was nothing in comparison to the joy she felt of being able to see him again. She shifted her weight slightly as she found a more comfortable position in which to continue her watch.
L:egolas sighed as he finally came to the clearing in the woods that he recognized from many trips before this one. It had been a long time since he had seen it, and welcome the sight greatly. He knew now that she could see him. Even from this distance, he knew that Larial could see him. He saw her in his mind, the clumsy elleth he had known all those many years, tripping on the hem of her too long dress, trying to make her way down the stairway of the west tower. He smiled to himself and urged his horse to go faster toward the palace.
The entire time that he had been gone, he had his mind on her. How could he not? She was his best friend and they had shared so much. He had gotten her letters, and though he had picked up his quill and dipped it in ink many, many times, he had never been able to bring himself to respond to any of them.
How could he tell her about what was going on in his when he did not want to accept it himself? Thoughts of what had happened over the last century plagued his mind until he spotted the gates in the distance, and the sight of them opening. No doubt, in order to let a certain elleth he held very dear to his heart on the outside.