Beridhren gave Legolas a moment to come to terms with his shock – it has hardly the homecoming the Prince had expected and hoped for – and left him alone in the healing chambers for a while. Legolas sat in silence, thinking of his Father and hoping that Anié was alright and that he would see her soon. Some questions were answered, some remained, but for now Legolas was filled with grief.

After a little while, Beridhren returned and softly called to Legolas to follow him, if he would. Beridhren led Legolas down some passages that he had never seen or been down before. Eventually, they turned into a corridor and at the other end was a pair of closed doors. The two loyal guards standing by them, upon seeing Legolas, stared at him with a mixture of joy and disbelief, but also instinctively stood to attention. Legolas nodded to both of them, but wondered what it was they were guarding.

Beridhren brought out a key and unlocked the doors. Pushing one of them open, Legolas saw a glimpse of the inside – there were flowers, a large table and on it, something large and long was covered in a white sheet. Legolas suddenly understood – this is where his Father lay.

Beridhren turned to Legolas:

"The room has been prepared and has been constantly guarded since he was brought here. The people are already aware of his death. You may stay for as long or as short a time as you wish, take your time. I will be back in the healing quarters if you need me".

With that, he placed a reassuring hand on Legolas' shoulder and left him, the doors shutting behind the Prince being the only sound to echo down the silent corridor.

Legolas remained alone with his father for some time. No-one knows what he did in there – whether he spoke to his father or examined him or simply sat in silent vigil - for no-one dared disturb him. Eventually he emerged from the room, his face engraved with a deep sadness, and asked that the guards remain guarding him until the Prince said otherwise. Legolas knew it would be up to him to decide what happened to his Father's body, and at some point soon he would have to make a decision, but his thoughts were distracted when Beridhren saw him leave the room and met him in the corridor.

"Are you alright, Legolas?" the healer asked kindly.

Legolas said nothing and simply nodded.

"Your chambers are currently being prepared for you" Beridhren told Legolas.

"But before I leave you to your rest, there is one more thing I would like to show you".

Legolas followed Beridhren back to the healing chambers without uttering a single word – he was too grief-stricken and mentally weary to question anymore. Upon reaching the entrance of the room they had previously been in, Beridhren stopped him and told him to wait outside, before he himself entered the room and disappeared.

Head bent and mind deep in thought, Legolas waited outside for some moments until eventually the doctor returned, slowing leading out with him a patient. She was slightly smaller than Beridhren, fair of complexion, slender yet strong with long dark-brown hair and very beautiful. Beridhren held her hand as he guided her through the doorframe and out into the corridor where Legolas stood, his head now lifted and his eyes and mouth agape – he had recognised her instantly.

The woman's name was Anié, Legolas' dearest and only love. She was dressed entirely in white – as was traditional for long-term patients in the healing chambers, particularly if their clothes had been bloodied in battle – and what startled Legolas the most was that she also wore a large white bandage over her eyes.

Beridhren lead her to Legolas and stood her before him. Slowly and cautiously, she stretched out her hands to find Legolas and her palms found his shoulders. Moving them upwards, caressing each feature she encountered as she did so, her fingers eventually reached his face. Each feature she recognised and remembered – his skin, his jaw, his nose, his ears, the touch of his hair and the general shape of his face. She smiled and gasped with joy:

"Legolas? Is that truly you?"

"Yes" he replied softly, taking her hands in his own and moving forwards so their foreheads touched.

"Yes, it's me. I've come home".

After a moment's pause to take it in, she cried: "Oh Legolas!" and held him tightly. He too wrapped his arms around her and held her very close to him, as though she would disappear if he let go.

"You have been away for so long" said Anié like an excited child, wondering what to say as she was so delirious with happiness.

"You must tell me everything!"

Beridhren quickly put his hand on her arm to catch her attention:

"You have plenty of time to exchange stories, Anié, but the Prince Legolas has had a long, difficult day and I am sure he is very tired and would profit from some rest".

Anié calmed herself and nodded understandingly. Unlike what Beridhren had said, Legolas had no intention of resting just yet, for he had no objection to Anié's company - yes he felt weary from his travelling and his grief, but Anié's cheerful and gentle nature could quench all his thirsts and heal his drooping spirit.

Before bidding them farewell for now, Beridhren told the Prince that his room would be ready by now and that he should go and get some rest, as he will be required to speak before the people and with the Council tomorrow.

"Hope for this country has been reborn with your return. You will inspire the people to transform this kingdom after all the evil that has so wrongly befallen it, and to make it as grand and beautiful a place as it was before. I have faith in you".

These words remained etched in Legolas' heart and such responsibility and expectation troubled him, but he decided that he would rest before confronting the task. With a final word, the doctor reminded them both that he was always here if they needed with, and with that he left them.

Legolas and Anié walked down the many corridors within the great Palace – Legolas gently guiding her as they did so – and soon they reached their chambers (which they had long since shared, being a couple). Upon shutting the door behind him, he pulled Anié into a deep embrace and held her closely to him, whispering in her ear:

"For the many months I have been away, I have longed for this…you have no idea how happy I am to have you in my arms, you cannot even imagine".

Anié accepted his warm, strong arms gladly and held him back in return – they both shared the same need for each other's company after so long apart. After remaining thus for a few long moments, Anié located his lips with her fingertips and gently pulled him into a loving kiss. At first, Legolas thought he might melt as his heart soared at the initial sensation, but then he remembered just how much he had missed this and he caressed her passionately. They remained thus for a while, sometimes kissing and being passionately romantic, sometimes just standing there or lying on the bed, bodies close and content simply to be in each other's company.

It was Anié who first broke the peaceful silence:

"I don't know what to say. There are so many stories to tell, so many gaps to fill, and yet I do not know where to start".

Legolas chuckled a little, understanding completely:

"We both have many tales and much to share, but first I must ask…"

He turned to her and was cautious of what he said, desperate though he was to ask and learn:

"Your eyes…"

Anié's smile faded a little and her head fell:

"As the good doctor said, there is much for both of us to discuss".

Legolas saw the happiness fall from her face and the shadow saddened him, for he too was deeply saddened by the devastation that had been wrought on his homeland and the people he loved so dearly. He placed his palm on the side of her face and drew very close to her face to let her know he was there.

"The shadow has passed, veleth nîn" he soothingly reassured her, "the darkness is over".

"How much do you already know?" she asked, comforted by his words.

Now it was Legolas' face that fell, though of course Anié could not see this and so only became concerned by his lack of response.

"I know about the battle…and I know about my Father" he finally responded sadly.

Inside Anié was grateful that it did not have to be her to break the news to him, but she understood Legolas' grief entirely and placed her hand on his as a sign of support:

"I am so sorry. His death was a shock to us all. He was a great man and a great leader. He will never be forgotten".

True though these words were, they did not ease Legolas' grief or suffering in the slightest. He could still barely believe that he had lost his father and seemed to cling onto the fact that Anié was with him and had survived as his only support mechanism. Legolas was also aware that he could not appear sad for long, for he was not the only person to have suffered.

Both Anié and Legolas knew that neither of their stories would be joyful to tell and it would be difficult for the two of them, but they both needed to know the other's person's story, so Legolas began with what happened since he had left his Father's halls so many moons ago and gave as brief an account as possible of his adventures – the Council of Elrond, his visit to Lothlórien, his travels with Aragorn, the final battle outside the Black Gates of Mordor, the Hobbits who made it all possible, Aragorn's coronation, his habitation in Ithilien and his friendship with Gimli the Dwarf - and Anié informed him of the happenings in Mirkwood in his absence that would be of interest to him and that he did not already know – council decisions, particular events, good news, bad news and eventually Thranduil's decision for a final stand against the enemy, though she could only supply Legolas with limited information of that occasion, as it was during the battle that she herself was injured and she was not present at Thranduil's death. It had grown dark and the moon was high in the sky by the time she reached that point in her tale and it was there that she stopped, for the rest either Legolas already knew or it was simply too sad to retell, especially when they were already grieving. However, Legolas was interested in one point that Anié had overlooked:

"And what of you?" he asked earnestly. "What happened?"

Anié seemed almost reluctant at first to tell her story, but she understood that Legolas would want to know:

"I was on the battlefield, in the thick of the fray. I was fighting fiercely, they saw me as a dangerous threat and they suddenly began ambushing me. There would be one in front of you, you spun round and there would be two behind. You helped the man next to you and others helped me as much as they could, but everyone was in the same position, everyone was surrounded; the Enemy spread as far as the eye could see, there was no hope of escape from them, so you just kept moving and kept fighting".

"I attacked them as fast as I could, I turned suddenly and one of the Enemy swung one of their glass oil lanterns into my face - they had used them for travelling through the night and I believe they used fire against us whenever they had the opportunity. It had been lit, so the oil inside was still burning. Its face was the last thing I saw – the glass shattered, cutting me across here (her hand gestured across her face at the level of her eyes to show where she had been hit) and I just remember – the shock of the pain - the oil entering my eyes – I could feel the blood dripping down my face and the oil burning – it was like fire – dreadful liquid burning fire…"

Her voice faltered there as she remembered the horrific sensation of the pain of the cuts, the panic of bleeding, and the terrifying helplessness as the oil burnt away her eyes. She desperately tried to erase it from her mind, but it was a memory that she would not forget.

Legolas recognised her trauma of reliving it all and became concerned for her, so placing his arms around her once again and drawing her close to him, he comforted her and reassured her, saying that everything was going to be alright and that she need say no more.

"I remember screaming" she finished, "and I don't know how I managed to escape alive without them taking advantage and killing me, but someone saw me in trouble, dragged me to safety and I've stayed with the doctor ever since. I know no more".

Anié was clearly distressed and so it was there that the story ended, though Legolas did not feel that he needed to know anymore – he had heard everything now.

"I am so sorry, Anié – for everything that has happened to you" Legolas uttered truthfully, his voice brimming with emotion and sorrow.

"I was just curious. I did not mean to upset you, forgive me".

Anié sat up by herself to show Legolas that she was alright and shook her head:

"Do not be – you wish to know all you've missed, I understand. It wasn't you, I just remember – I haven't thought about it in a while, that's all".

Legolas nodded, understandingly.

Anié briefly continued: "The doctor said I should keep the bandage on, even though the wounds should have healed by now".

Her voice dropped and she could not hide the sadness in her voice as she said:

"I only have empty sockets now, and he said it would scare people".

Legolas' heart ached for her and he gently brushed his fingertips over her bandage. Her injury became even more real as he felt not eyelids or eyelashes, but hollow mounds where her eyes used to be.

It was now getting late and the pair knew that with Legolas' return, work and preparations would begin tomorrow and the day would undoubtedly be a long one, so they decided that they should probably take some rest.

In an instant, Legolas remembered something. He briefly moved away from Anié, took a small box from his belongings and returned to the bed, sitting just in front of Anié.

"I have a gift for you" he said.

He opened up her palm and handed her the little box. Anié studied it carefully with her fingertips before discovering how to open it. Doing so very carefully, she asked Legolas to describe its contents. Inside, hanging on the shiny gold chain, was a tiny, beautifully-crafted glass vial containing a mysterious red liquid. Legolas placed her fingertips on it so she could feel it as he explained:

"On my travels I visited many strange and wonderful places, and this was given to me by a noble friend of mine who lives many leagues south from here. This pendant is a glass vial which contains a healing liquid – it may not be strong enough to save one's life, but it can help revive the spirits of the broken and provide aid for injuries. Its potency will last for a many a year and there is not much of it left in this world, for only few (such as Lord Elrond in Rivendell, for example) know where to find it, let alone how to make it. It is very precious… and it is yours".

He carefully lifted the vial and chain out of the box and fastened it delicately around Anié's neck, who held her hair out of Legolas' way. It fell perfectly into place and Anié could feel the cold metal on her skin. But it wasn't uncomfortable – even though she couldn't see it or herself, she felt beautiful.

"Thank you, my love" she said to her lover – she was grateful for the gift and that he had lightened the mood.

"It is wonderful and I am so happy to have you back home safe".

They both smiled and they kissed once again – those words went deeper than either of them knew.

"I'm just going to have a walk around" said Legolas. "You stay here, I'll be back soon".

Legolas didn't want to leave Anié, but he did feel that he needed a moment alone. He wandered through the lonesome, seemingly empty palace – yet even in the silence, his footfall made no sound – and eventually arrived at the Great Hall, a vast, beautifully-ornate room with carved tree-like pillars and his Father's mighty throne, with its natural decorations of berries and leaves not hiding its presence of authority, which now lay dormant and looked almost dusty in the darkness. He stood in the doorway and looked out over the land which bore an eerie silence, like that of some tragedy or terrible massacre. One could imagine the deep water of the forest river which flowed a little way from the palace running with the blood of fallen comrades and foreign foes, and although trees stood tall as ever, the gentle wind making the leaves rustle and sway, the spirit and life from within the great forest seemed to be gone, like feeling from a scar too deep to heal. In such an environment, Legolas simply stood, watching and listening.

After some time, remaining outside, he moved away from the tall entrance and once he was truly alone, he knelt on the grass and by the side of the forest river which flowed ceaselessly like the endless sands of time, the shock finally washed over him and he wept openly.