A/N: Hello all...I truly apologize, for when I said that I would update very soon I forgot to mention that this is as -soon- as it gets in college. I'm rather depressed really. This week has been terrible except for Tuesday. Everyone seems to be taking their frustration out on me. And on top of that, I have been having nothing but midterms and paper assignments. Woe is me...honestly though, I feel like crying...

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Dileriyen looked around her in complete and utter frustration. Her eyes were about the only parts of her body she could move anyway. A million questions ran through her head but she found it impossible to answer even one of them. She wanted to cry but she was in too much pain to do so.

*What is my name that I do not remember? Where am I? What am I doing here?* she asked herself miserably. But that little voice inside her seemed to also have forgotten. Was there no one who could aid her? Oh how at that moment she wished she could have been left to die in the woods. It would have spared her being in this sorry state...

Galadya noticed the girl's distress and tried to calm her down. This mystery girl needed rest and everything else, Galadya was sure, would fall into place as soon as she had recovered from her ailments.

"Lady do not exert yourself! You must sleep for I can only heal you to a point; the rest is your body's task. You must give it a chance to recover from whatever it is it has been through. Come now, go to sleep. All shall be better in time and tomorrow is a new day..."

Galadya had barely finished her sentence when Dileriyen found herself dozing off. Images swam through her head of this and that. It was of no comfort to be in this house but, then again, it was not the house that bothered her. It was something else. Something about the town that she just could not place. It looked peaceful enough but for some reason she had no trouble picturing it amongst flames, people screaming, running this way and that...warriors fighting off monsters... death... death all around her. Orange and yellow. And then black. Death always seemed to be black. No, she should not be here in this horrible place. This -Bordertown- or whatever it was called. Cruel things had happened here.

*No...it's not fair for me to be left behind...I will never be happy without them...such painful, painful losses...Mother- do you hear that?...You dare challenge meee? Yes, I do!...filthy demon...laughter...what kind of a name is that?...green leaves...a tiny bundle in her arms...then she smiled back... pain once again... that filthy, horrible demon...you three are a family, never forget that...sweetheart, it's alright... I shall be watching over you...*

She began to cry in her dreams, even though she was not aware of it...

*Go back to bed and let me sleep!...it's getting louder...I won't let anything happen to you... I KNOW that arrow had my name on it... But just what do you think you could possibly do to me?... Is it morning already?. You are forgiven. What in the name of Mordor did you do that for?!... I hate you! Leave my life and trouble me no more!...*

And with that her eyes snapped open. She was upset, though for reasons she could not remember. Random pieces of random conversations were of no use to her now. She needed answers. Something in her kept telling her to keep on searching for those answers. Why was she out in the woods alone? Where had she been? Where was she going? And the most important question of all: *Who am I?* It was too much stress for a weakened mind and body to take so she tried once more to sleep, promising herself to go after those answers as soon as she was capable of doing so. She closed her eyes and tried to shut off her mind but one last image lingered. It was her angel once more...his voice...those eyes...she knew them so well...that face without a name...she longed to touch him but he was not there... Her hand suddenly flew to her neck and felt around for something, something that was also missing. *I have lost it as I have lost him...* she thought, although she did not know of what or whom she spoke. The necklace was gone, her memory was gone and all she could see was the blurry image of her angel. Green, green leaves...



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Three days and nights they had searched for her non-stop. Under every bush, on every tree, along every path. But she could not be found. Thranduil had to be carried back to the palace after collapsing to the ground with exhaustion. The search went on after those three days, even though he could not participate in it. He lay in bed, eyes glazed, looking at nothing in particular. He would not commit the sin of believing that his child was dead. She definitely was not. Of all people, Dileriyen was certainly not one to die in such a graceless fashion. She had too much strength for that. Besides, the Valar had always favored her, or so he thought.

No one could truly understand what Thranduil was going through at that time. After losing Sildeniel he had never thought that such pain could be relived. Unfortunately, he was wrong. It was being relived as we speak and it was stronger than it had been before. Sacrificing Legolas for the quest, not knowing whether he would return or not was a hard matter to deal with. Then, the only child he had left. Andorel's daughter, his daughter. The only memory of his friend, or rather brother, that he had left. His second child. Oh how much he loved her. His wife was gone, Andorel and Fundowien were gone, Legolas' fate was unknown and Dileriyen... only the almighty Eru knew of her state now. Thranduil, for the first time in his life, was left all alone. And the sadness hit him, again and again. He wept much those three days but at the end of the fourth day, something happened that brought hope to his waning heart.

The guard ran up to him and placed it in his hand. It glittered perfectly still for apparently it was lying undamaged on the ground, farther away then anyone had anticipated. But detailed searches always bring results and the shine emitted from the ring could not be mistaken. The good part was that no blood was on the necklace or the ring. It lay brilliantly in Thranduil's hand now, awaiting its rightful owner. She was not there, but she was alive. He knew it. In his heart, he simply knew it. And that was all that mattered.

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One whole week passed and still, there was no sign of Dileriyen. The guards were exhausted and almost everyone had given up hope that she was still alive, except for Thranduil. He would not lose faith now. Not now, not ever. He had ordered them to branch out these last few days in the hopes that perhaps they might find traces of her in the deeper parts of the forest, footprints maybe. But the steps of elves are light and even though Dileriyen had walked on after leaving the cave, there were no prints to be found. Besides, that region had been searched and abandoned due to the fact that it was too far out of the way and therefore quite unlikely for her to have been there. Also, the entrance to the cave was blocked which led them to believe that no one could have got in. How would it be possible for Dileriyen to be so deep in the forest anyway? Surely the spiders would not have to that much trouble. No, it was very unlikely altogether. And thus they kept on searching for her, in all the wrong places...

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Meanwhile, going back a bit...

"She what!" bellowed Elrohir not believing what he had just heard. How could she have left without even saying so much as a goodbye to him? No, he couldn't believe that she would do such a thing. Not after he had poured his heart out to her and proposed, no less! This must all be some sort of misunderstanding or cruel joke on his father's part.

"Do not yell in disbelief son. You have heard true, Dileriyen has left and has probably reached Mirkwood by now. I expect her to send me a letter sometime within this week, telling me that she has made her way there safely. On the other hand though, I doubt you will make it out of this room safely if my suspicions are true. Come, sit down, we must have a little father-son talk."

"Just a moment father, am I to understand that you left her to travel back alone?"

"Quite. Yes, I am rather displeased about that myself but she would have it no other way and you know how stubborn she can be about these things. But do not worry, Dileriyen is quite capable, as you know."

"Yes, quite capable of getting herself into trouble! Father how could you?"

"That son, is the least of your worries now. Have a seat, please."

Elrohir sat down nervously. He was very upset, not to mention completely confused and irritated. His father was making him nervous with all this "we must have a father-son talk" business. What did he have up his sleeve now?

"I am going to ask you a few questions son and I advise you to answer truthfully for I will know if you are lying. Understood? Good. Let us begin shall we. What do you know of the situation between Dileriyen and Legolas?"

"I...hardly anything really..."

"Incorrect, now please try again!" He gave his son a 'you better tell the truth' glare this time and Elrohir began to squirm. Things became all too clear for his liking and there was no way out. If there was one thing you didn't do, it was lie to Lord Elrond. Especially if he was your father.

"Well...I do know that they are not on speaking terms at the moment. Apparently our dear Prince has found himself another." He said trying to mask his smile. (A/N: Boy, you gonna get it now)

"And pray tell what reason would he have for doing that, my son?"

"I...do not know?" he tried lamely but his father would have none of that and simply sent him another stare, this time, a much harsher one that meant "do not test me child!"

"Well...maybe Dileriyen might have lead him to...ah...believe that perhaps...ah...um...she might not... love him... anymore..." He mumbled the last bit but Elrond heard every word and his face transformed into an expression of pure anger. He now spoke extra calmly.

"And Valar help you child, why do you suppose Dileriyen would do such a thing?"

"Ah...well...because she... does not...love him...anymore." he tried, staring at the ground but the cat was practically out of the bag and it seemed that Elrond had already figured it out so there really was no point in further prolonging the inevitable.

Elrond began to yell at his son with outrage. This was completely unacceptable conduct! From his son, no less. Absolutely disgraceful. And how foolish of him to think that he might actually get away with it. Children these days! Always up to new mischief.

"OUT WITH IT ELROHIR! I WANT EVERY SINGLE DETAIL, SKIP EVEN ONE WORD AND I SHALL KNOW. ANOTHER THING: I SUGGEST YOU CHOOSE YOUR WORDS WISELY, SON, FOR THEY SHALL NO DOUBT BE YOUR LAST."

So, amidst mumbles from a certain son and screams of outrage from a certain father, Elrond finally managed to hear the complete story. How does one begin to explain the foul mood he was in? Who wouldn't be? Well, this would certainly be a conversation to remember. In fact, it was only the beginning of many more problems yet to come.

They spent from dawn till dusk in that room, taking turns attacking and defending but Elrond had finally managed to shed some light on Elrohir's fuzzy thoughts. He got it through to his son that what he did was a very, very low deed and he needed to redeem himself. That would be his punishment. Elrohir had certainly lost his father's trust and respect. He now needed to find some way to make things right. He was sent off to consider his actions thoroughly and Elrond sat now alone in his room, thinking. Perhaps it would be good for Elrohir to go to Mirkwood and apologize to Dileriyen in person, explaining, of course, his actions in full detail. Yes, that was definitely the best thing to do right now.

He now sat down and wrote to Thranduil. He stated in the letter everything that had passed and suggested that matters needed to be worked out immediately as they were already quite out of hand. He even apologized for his son's juvenile behavior and then requested leave that Elrohir stay with them until everything was sorted out and Thranduil saw it fit for him to return to Imladris. It was a very suitable letter. He sent it off to Mirkwood the next day but little did he know that he was in for quite a shock when the reply came...

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Elrohir ran all the way to his father's library. Something was very wrong. He had been summoned urgently and his stomach twisted and turned in every direction, sensing that something was not right with the world. It had to be about her. He could just feel it. Running through the door, he approached Elrond reading the contents of the letter for what was probably the hundredth time since he had received it.

"Father, what news do you have? Is something the matter with Dileriyen?"

He looked at his son quite grimly, not really sure how to phrase his next sentence.

"Yes...she seems to be...missing..."

"What?! What do you mean missing?" He started screaming. What on earth was going on?

"Her horse...she returned to the palace in a frenzy, without Dileriyen. They have been searching for days but...all they could find was her necklace...they believe she was taken...by spiders..."

Elrond now raised his head and looked into his son's eyes. Elrohir was left speechless but one knowing look at his father and it was clear what he had to do. There was not a moment to lose, already, it might be too late. But hope was something he would not let fade away.

"I *will* return..." he said determined. Not waiting for an answer, he turned around and was almost out the door when Elrond said:

"Son..."

"Yes father."

"Bring her back."

And off he flew through the gates of Imladris and towards the wilderness of the forest.

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A/N: Go on, I've written another chapter.