A/N: Hello again my very precioussss readers. I have been very busy lately as I started college about 3 days ago so I'm sure you will all understand when I tell you that I probably won't have time to write as often. But, nonetheless, I shall do my best to keep things quick and interesting. Once again I encourage everyone to review because with so many things going on in my personal life, it really helps to know that there are people out there who take an interest in your work and appreciate what you're doing. That's about all that comes to mind right now, enjoy the new chapter, I luv u all! Oh and by the way, Marion, I checked out that thing you asked (cos it also confused me). "Vilya" is of course the name for an elven ring of power but it is the name of the ring of air- see the connection? Air-sky. So I suppose the quote is right but hey, I'm only assuming. I hope that clears things up a bit, though. And now, onto chapter eight.



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



Late Thursday Afternoon



When she woke up, it was already late Thursday afternoon and her head was pounding as if it had been hammered for hours. She opened her eyes cautiously but realized that there was no sun outside. Instead, the sky was gray and clouded and the rain was absolutely pouring. She needed fresh air desperately so she walked through the door and onto her balcony, letting the rain wash her over. Sadly, standing outside did not prove to be a wise move as lightening suddenly struck a nearby tree and the thunder crashed, spreading an eerie feeling to all who were listening to the rain.



Dileriyen, now completely soaked, sighed as she re-entered her room and carelessly stood about, eyeing the room for no particular reason. A million thoughts and emotions clung to her but the one that stood out the most was obvious.



*He hates me.*



Yesterday's events replayed in her head endlessly and all she could get herself to think was 'he hates me'. This would not do. She needed to clear things up in her own head before any further action was taken and talking to Legolas was unfortunately no longer an option open to her. So, she sat down and made a promise to herself to be honest with her thoughts, else there would be no point in pursuing the matter further.



*I should have controlled my actions but I let my anger cloud my better judgment. We are equally at fault but I suppose I am more so for I need not have been so aggressive. That was truly uncalled for. But what have I done to you Legolas to make you hate me so? I accept that I have been difficult at times- as have you. I could have borne any insult but never had I expected for you to tell me that you hated me and that you wanted me out of your life. So I suppose this is the hard part- letting go. I love you too much to not respect your wishes.. I am sorry*



This got her crying again for new emotions were now mixed with the old ones, adding further confusion to an already difficult situation. She felt like such a fool. But, assuming that she had finally pushed him too far this time, Dileriyen decided to accept her fate and respect his final wishes. She would let him be and stay out of his life- permanently.



She smiled to herself as she looked out of the window, memories coming to mind.



*You hate this weather, I know and you never really did outgrow your fear of thunder and lightening so you must surely be hiding somewhere right now. Alas! For you shall have me no longer to comfort you. I just hope that you are not seeking comfort with any other.*



With that last thought she suddenly jolted upright in the seat she had comfortably been slouching in.



*Surely he would never...no...That's absurd.* she continued to think to herself. But Dileriyen had never been good at consoling herself and this moment was no exception.



"Why you filthy little, no good-" she started out loud when a light tapping came at the door. She jumped up and ran over to open it, extremely disappointed to see that it was only a maid. (A/N: isn't it always?!:)



"You are finally up milady! Thank the Valar! His Highness has been wanting to talk to you for some time."



"Legolas wants to talk to me? Where is he? Did he sound angry when he asked for me?"



"Beg your pardon milady? Tis the King who awaits you."



"Oh." she stated dryly, cursing herself for her foolishness.



"Indeed, I have not seen the Prince for hours milady. He must truly be missing if he is not with you! But I am sure he will turn up soon. Young elves are hard to keep track of ! Good day ma'am." She said cheerfully and left.



So there stood Dileriyen: confused, disappointed and just plain miserable. She decided that now would in fact be a good time to head to the library. Yes, come to think of it, she too had words for Thranduil- and quite a lot of them.



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



Legolas finally got up the nerve to relax his grip on his pillow and pulled the blanket slightly off of his head. He absolutely *detested* weather like this and the mere thought of it made him shudder. It had been raining and thundering for hours, leaving him incapable of leaving his bed, much less his room. He had been holed up there all day but the weather had only just begun to let up.



*Finally! I have never been so bored in my entire life! I suppose it is time to leave this room. But where to go? It is too muddy to go walking but if I stay in the palace I will risk running into Dileriyen and I'll bet she is as unready to see me, as I am to see her. So what other option have I?! Oh for Valar's sake.. I'm condemned to my room..*



He was thoroughly upset with his current predicament and bored out of his mind. He had nowhere to go, nothing to do and no one to share his misery with. And is that not always so? We never truly know the value of what we have until it is gone. Our Prince was just finding out the hard way. Legolas let out a long sigh he had been holding back. He walked out onto his balcony and turned his head to the left, gazing at her balcony, mere feet away from his- a distance he could easily jump, as he had done so many times in the past. But no more. And she was not there. He looked forward, sadness glinting in his eyes, and watched the sun as it slowly hid itself behind the trees. He thought he heard the noise of hooves as he listened to the sounds of the forest.



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



Five minutes later



Panic was in the air as the two guards raced through the palace and sought out the King. He was undoubtedly in his library so that was the first natural place to look.



*knock knock knock*



They sped into the room.



"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" bellowed Thranduil, his irritation resonating in the room. He was right in the middle of his conversation with Dileriyen, who was now giving him a complete narrative of *her* version of yesterday's events. Had it not been for the interruption, the conversation would have inevitably led to some kingly confessions and apologies- as was his reason for wanting to speak with her. But fate, it seems, has always a new trick up her sleeve.



"We deeply apologize your highness but there is an emergency- it can not wait." Spoke one of the guards, hurriedly.





"Well go on then! What has happened?!"



"We were attacked in the woods your Highness and caught completely off- guard. We held them off as long as we could but there were too many of them. They killed three of our men and amidst the skirmish, the creature Gollum escaped. He must have been expecting it for he would not come down from the tree we allowed him to climb, else we would have returned him to his cell hours ago. We have been unable to re-capture him milord."



"Oh no. This is indeed terrible news," said Thranduil as he slumped into his chair, feeling rather sick to his stomach. But Dileriyen merely sat there, picking up the conversation but not understanding a word of it.



"What's a Gollum?" she inquired curiously, turning to face Thranduil who had now gone quite pale and was in deep thought. Naturally she knew nothing of the events going on in the outside world and Thranduil had not had the opportunity to tell her. But now was not the time.



"My child, you must excuse me for I have pressing matters to attend to. Everything shall be explained in time and our conversation is far from over."



Dileriyen knew she was being ushered out of the room so she took her leave politely. Thranduil was obviously very disturbed about something and there was so much more to say but it all had to wait until tomorrow. So, she headed back to her room, not having anywhere else to go, anything else to do or anyone else to share her misery with. She stopped just outside of Legolas' door and stared at it (completely unaware that Legolas was inside, slowly being bored to death). She felt that it looked upon her now as if she were a stranger. She went ahead and entered her own room. And for the millionth time since waking up, her thoughts turned to Legolas.



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



"Send men out immediately and see if you can't recapture the thing. Do be discreet, though, for I do not want the whole kingdom in an uproar!"



*We shall have enough of that when I make my announcements tomorrow night* he thought to himself.



"And send for my son, I shall want a word with him at once."





"Yes milord, we shall do all we can!"



The days seemed doomed to get worse and this new turn of luck was not something that Thranduil appreciated. Everything had to be re-thought and re-planned for he had little, or rather, no hope of Gollum's recapture.





Legolas entered the room in a hurried confusion and got right down to the point.



"Father, have my ears heard true? Has Gollum escaped?"



"I am afraid you have heard correctly son and I have no hope of his recapture, in case you were wondering. And though I am glad to be rid of his evil here, I shudder to think of the damage he will inflict on our cause. I have had to do some spur of the moment thinking, that is why I called you. I must ask you to go to Imladris as a messenger and inform them of our troubles. It is with a heavy heart that I place this responsibility on you son, yet there us no one else that I would consider for it."



Some seconds passed as Legolas stood in thought and confusion. Thranduil became nervous for a moment, fearing that he had indeed placed to great a responsibility on his son, and his tension was evident in his eyes as he watched and waited patiently for Legolas' reply. Legolas, sensing his father's uncertainty, brought himself out of his thoughts and back to the present.



"Fear not father for my duty is clear and I will not say nay to a request such as this. I shall pack my things and leave tomorrow. If all goes well and I fare quickly, I should reach Imladris within a few days."



"Very good son. Go then, pack and get some sleep perhaps, for you may not be getting much on your journey."



But packing wasn't the first thing Legolas had in mind. There was no telling how long he would be gone but his heart sensed that it would be for no short duration- and his instincts usually proved right in these matters. So, the situation with Dileriyen being what it was, he started writing a letter to her- which seemed to be the only appropriate thing to do at the time. Facing her now, before his departure, would be disastrous. He would probably end up losing his will to leave, something he could not risk for he was needed. And so, after a good hour of thinking and writing, this is what he came up with:



Where do I begin to explain all that has happened? You by now have no doubt heard of my departure, know my destination and the details of the circumstances surrounding the situation. Nothing ever gets past you, Dil. And so, I must be completely open with you concerning my sentiments else I shall be incapable of leaving. I hope in my heart that you do not hate me enough to be glad of my departure and beg of you to think of me at least once in a while during my absence, long as it will most certainly be, for know that I think only of you and my heart is torn.

How does one possibly say goodbye to the very essence of his life? I do not know the answer to this question, though I have thought long and hard to console myself with something reasonable. Instead, I will rather say that this is not goodbye Dil and that I will return. I will return to you. I pray to the Valar that by then you will have found it in your heart to forgive me. The things I said- I did not mean them (as I hope is the case with you) and though I sense you will agree that we are both equally to blame, I want nothing else than to put yesterday's events behind us.

When the time has come to leave I realize that there is so much needed to be said and no proper way to do so. Time is no longer a luxury offered to us. I beg of you to not come after me, something which you might be contemplating at this moment. Seeing you will only fully destroy the little will I have left to carry out my duties and I can not bear the thought of you in harm's way. We are facing dangerous times and the palace is the safest place for you to be at the moment. I must now conclude my letter somewhat abruptly as there are matters to be finalized before I go. I am truly sorry. I have three words in mind that my heart so greatly wishes to express to you, but I have decided to save them for when I return. You have my word, they will be spoken when the time is right. Know that you shall be in my heart and my thoughts every second, wherever my roads may take me. Wait for me, I promise to return. Farewell,

Legolas

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

A/N: :((((( she doesn't even know that he's leaving. I don't know about you guys, but I'd be pretty upset.