A/N: Hrm, hoom. Ah'm back! That last chapter (unfortunately) was not the end. I wouldn't be that cruel... yes, I would. Anyhoo, I had to fix the song in this so it didn't sound romanc-y. The song is by Richard Marx, called Right Here Waiting. (At least I think.) Here's the Inter... Inter... mission... quest... thing. (SQUEE! PIPPIN!)
INTERLUDE: Waiting For You
Oceans apart, day after day
And I slowly go insane
I hear your voice, on the [wind]
But it doesn't stop the pain
It started out so hard, he thought he might slip into madness. Turning around, expecting a face that wasn't there. Legolas hadn't been without his best friend for almost a millennia, but all of a sudden, he was. She rode off into the North ages ago. She had probably crossed the Great River. He'd taught himself to believe he'd never see her again.
If I see you next to never
How can we say forever?
He lived right next to the Eastern border. He'd moved to his father's castle there right after she had left, hoping that if any news came of her, he would be near enough to get it. Nothing. Even so, he didn't move home. He told everyone who would listen that it was too much of a hassle to, but in his heart he hoped...
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
His family said he was being foolish, waiting for someone who wasn't coming back. Such bitter words stung him deeply, the thought that his very family would have his heartbreak than accept his loyalty to his friend.
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
All those long years he had spent with her meant little to him while they passed. While they slipped from his uncaring hands. No matter what he shared with her, he never held it as precious as he should have. He tried to find her, but she had totally disappeared. She was out of his reach.
I took for granted, all the times
That I though would last somehow
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears
But I can't get near you now
Word wandered around the four lands of his strange behavior. A prince, wasting foolishly away in some valley. Aching for a long lost friend. Losing his mind. At times, Legolas believed he was going insane.
Oh, can't you see that maybe
You've got me goin' crazy
It crossed his mind that she may be dead. Then he remembered why she left. She was too strong to die. She would come back. He would wait.
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Unknown to him, turmoil was stirring in the kingdoms. His family called him home to help. King Felair sent an envoy for him to attend royal councils. Legolas considered them, but not seriously. He must wait, it would pain him not to.
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
Too much trouble came. He was forced to leave by his own guilt. His kingdom and his people were depending on him. He was cracking under the weight. Every night that he stayed under the stars on his way home, he thought of her and if she was looking at the same stars. Did she know he tried to wait? Would she forgive him?
I wonder how we can survive
This friendship
But in the end if I'm with you
I'll take the chance
Legolas was home. He felt even madder here than he had in the forest with only a few servants. He became comfortable with his surroundings again. He had been in the forest for centuries, almost three hundred years. He still couldn't forget her.
Oh, can't you see that maybe
You've got me goin' crazy
Queen Eilea tried to tempt her son. She brought in beautiful elves with long locks of golden hair. Legolas thought they were nothing like the dark waves of her hair, not half so long, either. But he saw them and even liked some of them. Yet his heart was still in the East, waiting.
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
Even Northerners would be coming down soon for meetings. Time moved swiftly by. Much was happening. Legolas pushed all thoughts of her to the back his mind, but they were still there. He was still waiting in the deepest part of him. He would always wait for her...
Waiting for you...