Savina strode quickly down the corridor, glancing neither to the left nor the right. She hadn't seen the entire palace yet, but she didn't particularly care at the moment, she stared at Rayvin, "where are they?"

            Rayvin glanced back at Savina, then pointed to the end of the hall, "they are waiting on a particularly lovely little balcony at the end of the hall that overlooks the garden."

            "Thank you," Savina slowed her pace slightly and looked at Rayvin pointedly, "I would appreciate it being alone with my friends before they leave."

            "Oh," Rayvin coughed and shrugged, "of course you would. The lunch has already been set out so I will make sure no one disturbs you."

            "I appreciate your help, Rayvin." Savina stumbled, still not quite used to wearing a dress, then regained her balance and straightened her crown, glad that it wasn't as heavy as she had expected it to be.

            Rayvin turned and disappeared through a door on the left, leaving Savina alone in the hall.

            Savina pushed the double doors open to reveal a delicate glass chair covered with food and her friends seated around it on matching chairs.

            They eight males stopped talking suddenly and hastened to their feet. Only Gandalf remained sitting, a small smile on his face.

            Yawning, Savina gave them and irritated glance and took a seat, "sit down, nothing's changed, I'm still just Savina."

            "Well, that's not completely true," Gandalf lit his pipe and leaned back in his chair as the others took their seats, "you're the Queen of Moonzaar, as you were meant to be."

            Savina glanced over the side of the balcony at the lush, green garden below and sighed, "my father was King, that says nothing about my ability to rule or my right to do so."

            "But yet you accepted the crown!" Legolas protested.

            "I accepted the crown because the MoonElf nation depends upon hope. The population had dropped from thousands to hundreds within a few years and is quite close to extinction. To abandon my people now would be to sentence them to death, and," she gazed out past the garden, over the beautiful land of Moonzaar, "I cannot do that."

            Frodo studied her mournfully with his blue eyes, "if you ever get a chance, you'd be more than welcome to visit me in the Shire."

            Savina smiled, "thank you," she noticed Sam, Merry, and Pippin eyeing the food longingly, "please, begin eating. Eat as much as you can hold so you have strength to make it home," her voice cracked slightly on the beloved word, she regained control and blinked to keep tears back, "I hope all your journeys are safe."

            Aragorn took a sip of his wine and gazed at her over the rim, "perhaps some of us could stay to keep you company…"

            Shaking her head sadly, Savina explained, "that is not possible. I would not keep you from returning to your homes even if you were welcome here. The MoonElves are kind and hospitable hosts but they are in pain right now. Recent events have forced the MoonElves to build a wall around their hearts that I hope I can knock down. They have developed prejudices and shrewdness and in many ways lost their innocence."

            Gandalf shook his head sadly, "though the evil is defeated it lives on in the hearts of the people," he sighed, "I am afraid we will find that in all corners of Middle Earth, the land has much healing to do before the evil is truly gone."

            Suddenly Legolas jumped to his feet, "your brother!"

            "What?" Savina stared at him, uncomprehending.

            "Your brother is older than you, isn't he?"

            "Well, yes."

            "Then he is the rightful heir!" Legolas stood, his chest heaving joyfully.

            Savina considered this for a moment, the shook her head, "they don't want a rightful heir, they want a symbol, a figurehead…I am that for them. Rayvin and Nor expect me to be a puppet queen, the pretty face stamped over their decisions because the people have in many ways lost faith in their leadership. Rayvin and Nor are my cousins and I know they have good intentions but…" she hesitated, "these are desperate times and good people are going to do some very ugly things."

            "She is absolutely right," Gandalf rose from his chair, "when you return to your homes you will find things different than when you left and people you thought you could trust may turn on you, thinking they are doing right…these are desperate times."

            Gimli, who was eating surprisingly little, rubbed his eyes and frowned, "I will return to my people. Maybe the people of Middle Earth don't want the help of the Dwarves, but they need it and we are the best craftsmen for rebuilding."

            Aragorn rose to his feet, "I will travel to Rivendell and open the hearts of the Elves to the cries of the wounded."

            Legolas, sitting next to Aragorn, also stood, "I will follow you to Rivendell, my friend, and help as much as I can."

            Gandalf studied Aragorn for a moment, "you have responsibilities elsewhere, Aragorn, you know of what I speak."

            "Yes," Aragorn frowned, "I understand, but first I will go to Rivendell."

            Frodo stood up, which actually made him shorter than when he was sitting, "I am going to return home with Sam, Merry and Pippin, if ever you have need of my help, you know where Bag End is."

            Aragorn smiled down at the hobbit, "and you know where Rivendell is, my friend."

            "Then we depart," Gandalf put out his pipe and tucked it into his pocket, "let us return to our rooms and gather out things and be off."

            Savina rose, "there are horses waiting for you out front, I will meet you in front of the palace in twenty minutes." She caught Gandalf by his sleeve, "Master Wizard, can I talk to you for a moment?" She caught Legolas' eye and he stood aside to let the others leave first.

            Gandalf took a seat again and gazed up at Savina, "you are wondering about many things. Unfortunately, I am not the one who can answer all your questions, but I can try."

            "Who was the cloaked figure that appeared to me at my home and at the tavern?"

            Gandalf's brow furrowed slightly, "that is complicated. It was your father, but it wasn't. It was a magical projection that is usually only an illusion but can, for short times, be made solid by the one projecting it. Many powerful mages use projections to attend meetings and events that they cannot or do not wish to physically attend."

            Savina nodded slowly, then sat down, "what about Tasselhoff Burrfoot and the map?"

            "The map was of MoonElf make, probably your father made it or had it made long ago, and it was in his possession when the Dark Lord took his body. He sent it to ensure that you knew the way and would arrive safely in Mordor." Gandalf frowned, "I am sorry to say that I do not know where Tasselhoff is…he may still be in limbo or he may have moved onto death."

            "He took my place…" Savina wiped a tear from her cheek, "I owe him my life." She suddenly looked very determined, "I will have a memorial erected for him." Realize she was running out of time, she continued, "And the visions? The pain in my head? What about those?"

            Gandalf studied her for a moment, "those were a result of the evil spell cast upon you years ago that made you yearn to travel to Mordor and would compel you to take the first opportunity that arose. It was actually very stupid of the Dark Lord not to just send someone to fetch you, but I suppose he thought he had more time than he really did." He stood up and stretched, "I must gather my things, but," he took Savina by the shoulders and looked directly at her, "we will meet again soon." With that, he left, closing the door quietly behind him.

            Savina turned to Legolas, tears in her eyes and her thoughts churning with all the new information and the enormity of what was going on.

            Legolas took her in his arms and laughed, trying to lighten the situation a bit, "just when we thought we'd get to be together."

            Instead of laughing, Savina cried. She cried for every second that she'd had with him and every moment they would be apart. She cried tears of pain that they were being torn apart and tears of joy that she'd found her love. "We'll be together someday…after all of this is over."

            "Then I guess it's a good thing we'll both live for thousands for years," Legolas stroked her hair and kissed her one kiss, lightly, then left to retrieve his things.

            Savina stood on the balcony for a while, then washed her face and composed herself. She opened the door and found Rayvin waiting for her. She gazed at Rayvin for a moment, realizing she should be angry, but she wasn't. Rayvin was doing what she had to do out of love for her people. Savina decided that she ultimately admired Rayvin and loved her from the bottom of her heart.

            Rayvin shifted her weight to her other foot, "are you ready to see the guests off?"

            "Yes," Savina said in a kind of resigned voice, then followed Rayvin down the richly carpeted halls and past gracefully arching pillars to the front door, which was made of glass and silver. It was opened by two palace guards dressed in rich blue uniforms and Savina stepped out into the sunlight to see eight horses, each bearing someone she loved and admired, standing shoulder to shoulder. A large crowd of MoonElves stood clustered on either side of the shining black street, apparently the whole population had showed up to say goodbye to the heroes.

            What was she to say at a time like this, when her heart was breaking to pieces? She cleared her throat and called out in a strong, controlled voice that didn't in any way reflect her feelings, "may your paths be safe, may you find your homes still standing, may your loved ones be waiting for you with open arms. You are always welcome in Moonzaar." She put certain emphasis on the last part and glanced at Rayvin and Nor, who stood to her right, out of the corner of her eye.

            So the Fellowship of the Ring departed, their horses trotting along the obsidian road, the sound of the hooves ringing loudly through the air. At the city gate, they turned and waved.

            Savina watched them until all she could see tiny specks in the distance.

            Then they were gone.

            And even though over two hundred MoonElves surrounded her, she was completely alone.

            Rayvin glanced at her brother, then stepped close to Savina and spoke quietly, "you should sleep, we have much to do tomorrow."

            Savina turned and regarded her somewhat coldly, then nodded, "yes, I have much to do." With that she turned and disappeared into the palace.

The End

Author's Note: Actually, it isn't really "the end" since as soon as I post this chapter I am starting Chapter One of the sequel to The MoonElf.

I'm sorry these last few chapters weren't as action packed as the rest of the story, but it's necessary to clean up messes you make and though this seems like a cliffhanger it's actually very well concluded. I know a lot of you are angry with me because Savina and Legolas never ended up together, and that she took the throne in the first place, but this story is far from over.

I hope you have all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.