Chapter 1

Legolas

Her body was missing from the battlefield. She did not leave a single weapon behind. I could only hold on to the faint hope that she was still alive. She would have no reason to return to Minas Tirith; she did not remember any of us. The question was: If she was alive, where would she go? Lindon or Mirkwood.

Does she have relatives in Lindon? Her sister is dead; her brother is dead; her father is dead; her mother is dead. Her only living relatives are in Lothlórien and Rivendell. She would never go to either place.

"Legolas!" Gimli whispered and elbowed me in the ribs. "You're tapping again."

I forced my foot flat against the floor. Aragorn and Arwen traded their private vows to one another. Their marriage was a long-awaited celebration, yet I found myself feeling only sorrow when I looked upon the happy couple.

As those attending the ceremony applauded, I slipped out of the open doors into the night air. As I watched the stars, I was only reminded of her eyes and hair. I cursed and leaned against the wall, staring at the patterns in the brown leather of my boots.

I could not imagine this feeling could get worse.

Rávawendë

My entire body ached. Branches prodded my back as I rolled over. There was no solid surface; there were branches and leaves covering the entire ground. I clenched my eyes against the bright sunshine.

I groaned and lifted myself up as best I could. I was weak – weaker than I had ever been in the past. My mouth was completely dry; when I opened my lips, several cracks opened up. Drops of blood stained my tongue.

I rubbed the crust from my eyes and opened them painfully. Tears fell onto my cheeks. I backed up against the nearest tree trunk, finding more shelter from the sun. I was in Fangorn.

"Why did you bring me here?" I whispered hoarsely. "Last time it was to be near Dol Guldur, but why now?"

She was there. I felt it.

I heard a dark laugh echo off the trees from far away.

"You do not scare me. I am not afraid of dying," I state calmly. "Why did you not let me die?"

A voice whispered through the breeze. "I did not want to die there." A pale, transparent shadow of the Woman formed in the shadows before me. She was a wisp of her former self. She lifted a hand and put it in the sunshine. "I just wanted to feel the sunshine on my own skin for the last time." Her red eyes turned on me. "I will not die alone."

The smoke rushed towards me. She forced her way down my throat, taking over my body. I screamed and struggled against her, but I could not control it.

****Short chapter, I know, I'm building up to the next part