Disclaimer: I disclaim all you know~
A/N: That was a good cliffie, huh? Hehe… Sorry, I thought it was pretty good! Well, here's chapter 7! And thanks to all my reviewers! Just too lazy to type your names out, ::looks sheepish::
"Yanira… Who is it that you are in love with?"
Yana whimpered and mumbled something.
Elrond stepped closer to her and she cringed. "What?" he asked.
"Elodon," she gasped.
Elrond stood back aghast, his fiery eyes wide with disbelief. "You are in love with that man from Gondor, Elodon?"
Yana gazed upward, avoiding his gaze as pearly tears incessantly trickled down her cheeks. But Elrond stepped closer to her and forced her chin down, causing her to stare directly into his eyes.
"Yanira, I asked you a question," Elrond said, his voice layered with unmasked fury.
Choking back a sob, she closed her eyes. She took several deep, shuddering breaths and stood straight, poised as ever. "Yes."
Releasing his grip on her chin, Elrond straightened his back as well. "Why did you not speak to me of this matter before?"
"I knew you would not agree to it!" Yana said, her voice filled with sadness, contempt, and anger.
"There is a good reason behind why I would not, and will not!"
"What is it then?" she asked, glaring at the elder Elf. "You would let your own daughter marry a mortal man, only because he is king. Elodon is a fit man, worthy of your respect. His only flaw, and I could not even call it that, is that he is not of high social status! I would expect you to not care about materialistic things like that!"
Elrond raised his hand high, as if to slap the blonde Elf. Inwardly, Yana cringed, but she kept her head held high.
"You dare speak to me this way? I who have kept you sheltered since you were so young?"
At this point Yana broke down. "I – I'm sorry! I was not thinking–"
"Yes, Yanira. Please think before you speak aloud! Aragorn, yes, he is a king. But that is not the reason I have accepted his proposal to marry Arwen. Aragorn was always true and faithful to me and his love for Arwen is true as well. Your Elodon deceived me before. How could I trust him now? He lied about a trivial matter such as his social status, how could I trust him with something as precious as my best friend's daughter?"
Yana slid to the floor, her lavender coloured dress pooled around her body. She kept her head on her knees, and wept.
Elrond knelt down next to her. "Yes, Yana, I love you as if you were my own daughter. I would only wish for the best for you - the best is what I would only give for my daughters. You and Arwen are as precious as life to me and I would want you to live forever in happiness!"
Yana looked up at the dark-haired Elf next to her. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
He laid a hand on her arm and looked at her, not with warmth, not with anger, just a gaze of thought. "I see that you love Elodon now, but there is something I do not trust him for. He has not proven himself worthy of my respect in many ways and I have reason to treat him the way that I do. I would be happy if you would accept this proposal from the Prince of Mirkwood."
Yana's eyes filled with tears once more. "Please… May I have time?"
Elrond looked at the maiden whom he had raised as his own. "Yes, Yana, take your time."
He left her room, closing the door quietly behind him.
~*~
From her bedroom window, Yana could see Elrond speaking with Legolas. His face was grim, his eyebrows furrowed. But Legolas merely smiled and shook his head as if to dismiss the gloomy atmosphere. Yana knew what it was they spoke of. Sighing deeply she got up to go sit on her bed.
Feeling the silken blue sheets under her fingers, she lay down, her feet dangling over the edge of the bed.
Elodon, she thought. What can I do? I love you so much, but I must uphold my honour with Elrond. He is right, he has done so much for me and what am I returning him with? My selfish behaviour.
Evening fell on Rivendell; Yana did not leave her bedchambers. Undressing into a thin sleeping gown, she slipped under her covers. Staring at the pale glow from the moon that was emanating through her window, she fell asleep.
The next morning, after bathing, Yana dressed in a special gown of silk. It was a deep scarlet shade, its brocade in a leaf pattern, embroidered in fine gold gossamer threads. She plaited her hair, two thin braids on the sides of her head, tied together at the back. She crushed a rose petal, one that had fallen newly from the blossoms that were in the vase on her dressing table, and dabbed its scent on her neck.
She was ready.
In matching scarlet shoes, Yana walked slowly down the marble staircase. She walked up to Elrond's private library, where he was every morning at this hour. She hesitated, but tossing a stray strand of gold hair from her fair face, she took a deep breath. Lightly, she knocked on the door.
"Come in," she heard his voice come.
Opening the door slightly, just enough for her body to fit through, she entered.
Elrond turned around. Meeting his eyes, she looked down.
"Yes, Yana?"
Sighing, she forced herself to look up at him. "I – I came to tell you of my decision."
Elrond nodded for her to continue, his expression grim.
"I have chosen to accept the proposal and marry Legolas, the Prince of Mirkwood."
Elrond's frown changed to a look of bewilderment. Then he smiled. "Thank you, Yana. You do not know how good this is! Thank you so much!"
Yana forced a smile, but it did not look convincing enough. "Yana?" Elrond began. "I see that you are not happy with this decision."
Yana stood straighter. She seemed to be having to do this a lot. "I am not happy, but I will learn to be. I can learn to love, my lord. I do not love Legolas now and I am in love with another. But it is one thing to love for oneself and another to love for others. I love Elodon, I still do. And I cannot forget that. But I chose to marry Legolas because I know it is a good choice for the future. I will learn to love him," she repeated.
Elrond embraced her. "Yana, you are brave. Very brave. Many strong Elves I have known have not been able to leave one love for another. I am asking you for a favour so large I know not the scale of it. But I do know that in the end this choice will benefit you. Please, trust me."
Yana simply nodded and left the room.
As soon as she was outside the chamber, in the hall, she felt tears rise once again, along with the lump in her throat which had not really left her since the previous day. She blinked rapidly, hoping to stop the tears from overflowing, and she ran outside of the House.
~*~I know, not too long, eh? Well, I hope you enjoyed and I will write more later! It's a tad too late for me to really write a lot, so yeah.. hehe, sorry! But I hope I have satisfied you a bit! Bye loves!~*~
