He searched for a long time after the battle. Legolas wished he hadn't lost track of her when the oliphaunts came. Many more would be dead if he hadn't focused all of his attention on them, however. He knew she would turn up somewhere eventually. She was strong. He'd find her, and she'd be well and ready for the next fight.

When he finally found her on the battlefield, it was as if the entire world stopped. She was facing away from him, staring out at the horizon, searching for something there. When he called her name, she turned. Slowly, so slowly, she turned to face him, and when she was finally looking at him all his breath left him.

Legolas sprinted to her, where she stood with a beautiful and blood stained smile. She continued to stand there as if she didn't feel the arrow protruding from her gut and the large gash across her chest. One arm was wrapped across her stomach underneath the arrow, blood drenched. Her smile grew the closer he got.

"My Legolas," she murmured as she lifted a pale hand to his face. It was crusted with dirt and slick with her own blood. Legolas caught her hand with his own, hoping to bring her back to the present. She seemed to be away in her own world. How was she not crying from the pain? How was she not brought to her knees from the severity of her injuries? He supposed it was from the shock. Her face was certainly pale enough underneath all the dirt.

It seemed Legolas had thought too soon. With her smaller hand grasped firmly in his own, it was easy to catch her as she lost the battle to stay on her feet. Her knees buckled under the weight of her injuries and she fell. She panted and whimpered as Legolas lowered her to her back. He murmured to her, begging silently for her to be okay.

"You will be fine. You will be fine and live a long, wonderful life with me. I love you."

Legolas leaned over her, brushing her dirty and blood crusted hair away from her face. She kept her grip on his hand, silently staring up into his agonized face. She smiled softly up at him once more with blood stained lips.

"I love you, too," she whispered.

With her bloody hand held against his face and his own hand held against her face, Legolas kissed her forehead.

"Then you must live," he told her urgently. "You must live so we can tell each other every day. You must live so that we may show each other our love for the rest of our lives. Please, you must live."

Tears welled in Legolas' eyes. She couldn't die. He'd only just found her.

With a wider smile, this one showing him the layer of blood that clung to her normally white teeth, she looked passed him.

"Isn't the sky beautiful?" she asked him, her voice choking up on the last word. Her eyes filled with tears. "So... wide... free. I'm so glad... I was able to see the sky... one last... t-time."

Legolas grew frantic.

"No, no! You must fight! Please, do not give up!" He sobbed. "Please!"

He heard the heavy steps of Gimli stepping up behind him, but ignored the Dwarf. He couldn't do anything for them. Legolas gripped her hand tighter, trying to keep her grounded. She couldn't leave him, not now when they'd only just found each other.

She looked away from the sky, back to him. She gave him another bloody smile, looking at him tenderly.

"I love you so much," she whispered to him, "and I know that we're going to see each other again someday."

"No, no, no, no, no," Legolas whispered, squeezing his eyes shut and holding her hand to his face as tightly as he could. When he looked at her again, there was no life in her eyes and the same beautiful smile frozen on her blood stained lips. He sobbed and sank forward, resting his forehead against hers. Still holding her hand to his face, Legolas sank his fingers into her hair, holding her to him.

Drowning in waves of grief, he never noticed his dear friends standing guard over him. He'd thank them later when he regained his senses and remembered the mission, but now, he wanted nothing more than to join her. The world would never be the same without her.