Nori was sitting on the bench under the willow when Legolas appeared.  Her heart seemed to skip three beats, then began to race wildly.  She stood, but had hardly reached her feet before Legolas was beside her.

"Are you mad?," he asked abruptly.

Nori blinked, quite taken aback.  She had expected anger, but his tone suggested genuine concern for her state of mind.

"You think I do not love you enough to give up my chance to sail into the West."  He said is softly, as if it were a truth he could not quite comprehend.

Nori felt her knees weaken, and sank to the bench.

"I do not think that," she said, quietly but firmly.

Legolas opened his mouth to respond, but Nori held up a hand to silence him.

"I know you love me, and would turn from that path if I asked.  It is strange to be so sure of something that I would not have believed a year ago."

"I do not understand," said Legolas, sitting beside her.  "Why did you say you do not wish to marry?  Why did you lie?"

Nori began to deny any dishonesty, then thought better of it.

"I was afraid," she said.  "I thought if I told you the truth, you would persuade me to change my mind.  I cannot allow that to happen."

"What is the truth?"

"I love you.  I want to be with you, as a woman is meant to be with a man when they love each other.  But you are not a Man – you are an Elf.  You are meant to go where I cannot follow."

Legolas gazed at her for several minutes before he spoke.

"What have you left unsaid?," he asked finally.

Nori bit her lip and looked away.

"I…I have seen something.  I saw it first in Fangorn.  I thought it was only a dream, but I am now sure that it is more than that."

"Are you saying you believe you've had some kind of vision?"

"Yes.  A vision of you, sailing to the West, many years from now.  Gimli is with you.  There are others, as well, but I cannot see them clearly.  Other Elves, I suppose.  For a long time, I tried to ignore what the vision said.  The idea of a Dwarf sailing to Tol Eressea seemed ridiculous, and still seems strange.  But the truth is often strange, and I believe this vision is true."

Nori looked at Legolas closely.

"In your heart, you know I am right.  I can see it in your eyes," she said, smiling sadly.

"Yes.  Perhaps you are right, to believe what you have seen.  But such things are not written in stone.  I still have a choice, and I am no less willing to choose you."

"I expected nothing less, my love," Nori whispered, touching his cheek softly.  "But I also have a choice, and I choose to let you go.  The look on your face as you stood on that ship…. I have seen that look so many times as we sat together on the wall."

She paused for a moment, as tears formed in her eyes and rolled slowly down her cheeks.

"Somehow, I feel that you would come to wish that you had sailed, and would regret marrying me.  I could not bear that!"

Legolas leaned forward and gripped her shoulder.

"Nori, you cannot know…"

His voice faltered.  Nori gazed at him steadily, and he turned his eyes to the ground.  Far away, he could hear the waves pounding on the beach.  He could not be sure that she was right, but neither could he be sure that she was wrong.  He slumped against the trunk of the willow.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Nori took his hand and squeezed it.

"I do not blame you for anything.  You have nothing to apologize for!"

After a few moments, Nori turned his hand over and kissed the palm softly.  She could feel the calluses under her lips, marks of his reliance on his bow.

"Give my love to Elunell and the others," she said quietly.

She wanted to say more, but could not find the words.  With one final look, she stood and walked quickly into the house, sure she would never see him again.

Two days later, Legolas returned to Minas Tirith.