Title: I' Mal Lasse(The Golden Leaf)
Chapter 5: Dreaming Gold
Author: Ista of the Dreamers
Rating: G-PG . . . I guess
Disclaimer: I do not own Legolas or any of the other characters J.R.R. Tolkien created in the Lord of the Rings.....darn. But the character of Kira Aparathon is mine.
Stuff: Left ya hanging on that last one, didn't I? Here it is! The last chapter! :) Thank you to EVERYONE who has read, and BIG thanks to the people who have reviewed as well! The feedback has been well worth it! ^_^ I've inclued an Author's Note at the end of this fic as I've done with all my others. And thank you so much for reading this!

I' Mal Lasse(The Golden Leaf)

The troll . . .

"Tomorrow," came Legolas's voice to my frozen and trembling lips, "I'm going back."

Their conversation dwindled to nothing as my focus of attention caught on the creature before me, all of my fears becoming reality. The great lumbering mass of a being whom I had only heard of in children's stories and read in history books now stood before me, dumbly staring down at what I hoped he thought looked to be a very skinny woman with a nasty taste. He looked frightful, from the land of nightmares, large, lumbering, as stupid as creatures come and as evil too. I had not the nerve to cry out below him, shocked as I was, so I simply stood there, eyes locked with the giant beasts', cold and staring. Then his eyes flickered away from mine, and the troll ambled surprisingly silently towards the camp. It walked slowly, but its strides were long, and in its hand was a giant club as long as a man's body. My heart leapt to my throat, and through the mist, I realized that they could not see the troll coming straight towards them. I scampered forward, keeping close behind the troll, and trying to see through the darkness, where they were.

The elves sat with their backs to the troll and I. Legolas was sitting by the fire, and the troll raised his club then, ready to smash it down.

"Legolas! Look out!" I screamed, ramming into the troll's side with all my might to stop him, and take his attention away from the camp. Legolas jumped to his feet in an instant.

"Kira!"

"Troll! Help!" I screamed. The elves gathered their bows and swords while the troll came after me. I picked up a large block, beating it against his toes and the creature roared in agony. I dodged his club, and then Legolas was beside me, using his arrows, swiftly shooting one after another into the troll's chest and head. Hallamereth and Dunelin skillfully wielded their swords so the troll was stabbed in all directions, and I had my rock. I grabbed a handful of pebbles as well as some arrows and raced to the top of one of the large standing gravestones, ramming them into the troll's back. The creature howled again, this time, using his back hand to knock down Legolas and throw him to the side.

"No!" I cried, rushing down from the stone and helping him up until he was on his feet. "Are you all right?"

"I think so-" He never finished his reply before I pushed him back down to the ground for I had only just seen the troll's club aimed for his skull in time. In a split second, I pushed him out of the way, and then heard something crack like wood against stone. It was my own bones breaking and my head exploded with pain as I was thrust against a stone and all became dimmer. Hallamereth and Dunelin had been thrown aside and lay still much to my horror, but Legolas was running to pick something up. As the troll lumbered towards me, I felt the breath of its club ready to smash me into oblivion. That was when I saw Legolas, standing on the top of the highest grave marker with Dunelin's long silver sword. The club was poised and I cried out for my death to be swift, but just then, Legolas leapt from the tall stone and onto the troll's back, jamming the sword into the creature's heart. I closed my eyes shut tight and shuddered with the fear and pain of all that had happened. I felt dizzy and cold when I opened my eyes and saw the body of the troll, as big as a tree that had been felled. My eyes came to rest on the gravestone I had fallen against, and with the first rays of morning light, I read the name:

Kirin Aparathon R.I.P.

Father . . . A weight seemed to be lifted from my shoulders then. I knew in those few seconds what it felt like to live, be loved, and then die. Would I survive now? A hand crept to my cheek, warm but with cold sweat. I opened my eyes again and saw his face.

"Oh, my Kira." I would have thought those were the happiest sounding words had it not been for the tears in his eyes.

"Your lip is bleeding," I heard myself say to him faintly, which seemed strangely funny to me at the time because I could not feel my own blood flowing freely. I could not move.

The two other elves were beside me now as well. Dunelin's gentle fingers pressed into my neck and he seemed to gaze quickly over all my wounds.

"She may survive," was his grim reply, "but she must be taken immediately to Rivendell."

"Take me home," I whispered.

"No, no," Legolas soothed. "I am taking you to a great healer, Kira. My people will help you in Rivendell. We can be happy there."

I knew he was lying, but I didn't care. I seemed to be looking at his face through water, and something wet was on my face as well. "Am I going to die?"

"No, Lady Kira," said Hallamereth with a smile.

"I don't care," I told them now, and Legolas clutched my hand tighter. "I am with my father, Legolas. He's here."

His eyes skirted over the gravestone I lay against and then they closed. "I promise that you will not be with your father just yet."

I smiled even though it hurt. "You saved my life."

"And you saved my life once more," he said too, smiling. "How will I ever repay you now?"

"You already have," I said. "I love you, Legolas."

"Just rest now, Kira," he said softly.

"Don't leave me," I said, then I closed my eyes and remembered no more.

*******************

Faded memories from a dream . . .

"You came after me . . ."

Dreams are all you have in death, I thought to myself.

And yet . . .

My memory came back to me in whispers of perfume and humming smoky day dreams in a flawless night. There were no shadows in this new place, only soft light, fresh food, clean smells and beautiful songs with rich harmony, clear ringing. This was a place to be happy, and I shall always remember that about Rivendell.

The first person I saw when I awoke was the most enchanting being I have ever laid eyes on, and elf princess with such pure beauty that my own eyes glimmered in her presence. She wore a delicate crystal necklace, robes of white, and though her hair was as black as a starless night, she was an elf. Like her father, Elrond, Arwen was of the magic and of the old.

"So you are the love of the immortal prince," were her first words to me. "I envy your courage, Kira, but I fear for your heart."

She became my companion for many months as I grew strong again, the aches and pains of my battle growing less every day. I met Elrond once or twice and he gave me a few kind words and praise but for the rest of the elves dwelling in Rivendell, I was a mystery, a rumor, a legend. I waited for Legolas who was in Mirkwood. Apparently, he had been summoned by his father after waiting for days by my side. That much was told to me by Arwen.

"Will he return?" I asked her everyday, and her answer was never certain.

"To us, you must forgive the limits of time," Arwen told me over tea one day. "To us, an hour is a breath of wind when we are younger. As we age in the immortal sense, every hour remains an hour, but we see it as precious time that can be spent doing something which is fair and wise."

I sighed. "I sometimes wonder whether our time together was nothing more than a walk in a flower garden to him."

"Does he love you?"

"He's told me often that he does."

"Then I am wondering," said Arwen softly. "Do you love him?"

"With all my heart."

"Then leave with that."

"What?"

"Go back to your home with the safe knowing that you have
loved and lost."

I shook my head. "I will wait for him."

"Until when?"

"Until I die!" I had said the words without thinking, but Arwen only stared at me with unblinking eyes and they filled with tears.

"You have such spirit and love," she whispered. "If I ever love a mortal man, I hope that I will be able to make the right decision for myself, like you have."

I spent two months after that in Rivendell, vowing to wait for one more month. I was taught elvish by Arwen and I learned of the ancient ways of the elves, a more beautiful and cultured history than I had read in my book.

I waited one more month, and still he did not come. The next morning, I woke up and knew that my time had come to leave. I had already gone after my prince once. I could not go after him again. I packed my things, said goodbye with much gratitude and thanks to Elrond and Arwen, then left quietly, slipping out of the gates of Rivendell to walk at the edge of the forest to my home.

Goodbye," I said quietly to him and to myself, and began walking towards home. I had not walked two feet when a voice halted me.

"Kira!"

I turned around, and ran to him. I could feel our embrace in the wind. We kissed for the last time there, the trees blowing softly around us, green leaves falling. I looked into his eyes for the last time, and they were clear, soft, and serious. He caressed my cheek softly, and then we parted. For our love, his and mine, I would have given anything, but I knew that that path was not meant to be. I could feel it in my bones. We had made our decision.

I was far away from Rivendell, but I could see him in the distance, his figure small against the trees just like the first time we met. I could hear his voice in the breeze.

Kira, Kira."

"Legolas . . ."

From the trees above me, a golden leaf fluttered into my open palms. The golden message in golden ink written on the leaf shared my heart forever with his.

I will always love you.

I placed the leaf over my heart as my feet carried me across the forest and back to my home.

*The End*