I meant to update yesterday, I really did. But I went on an impromptu sleep-over (you're never too old for sleep-overs!), so I couldn't. I'm soo sorry I made you guys wait this long, it was not my intention. Please forgive me!

To my most awesome reviewers -

silvertoekee - Yes, even elves are not perfect. I'm glad I didn't turn everyone off with my horrendous depiction of Legolas in the 'memory'.

grumpy - Why thank you, and yes I agree. 3000 years is more than enough time to be wise. Apparently our dear elf needs a little extra though. :P

MG87 - Wonderfully torturous? Cool. I was just hoping to get you all to come back. *grins* As for those chill pills, I've got lots. People keep giving them to me but I never use them. They're such downers. *hands you a baggie of pills* All yours, babe! :P

Deana - Yes, yes it was.

Templa Otmena - Thank you very much. I'm always glad to hear what people think of the story, instead of the story line. Did that make any sense? lol. And as far as Ilithien goes, I really like her too. To bad she's dead. *grins* By the way, what does your name mean? It's really pretty.

ElvenRanger13 - I know. Aren't I aweful?

I LOVE LEGOLAS!! - Hey, I love him too. *grins* And thank you!

Collio02 - I agree, he most certainly deserved it.

Estel Elven Enchantress - Nope, sorry, not gonna happen. And thanks for the positive feedback on the whole weak-and-pathetic!Legolas thing. I was really worried about that, but I've gotten such great reviews about it, and how it wasn't a bad thing. It made me feel a LOT better about it, let me tell you. :)

LegolasLover2003 - *cringes* I know, I know! All my chapters are so short. I hate that, but there's really not much I can do about it. *shrugs* I almost thought that you weren't going to review chapter 8. I'm glad I waited. *grins* I felt so sad when I didn't get a review from you. Thanks for doing so, even if it was at the last minute. It made my day!

"Memories of Ilithien"

Chapter 9 - Lines of Tears

~

"Ilithien?" Estel asked as he and the she-elf walked the paths of Imladris. They had just been to visit the grave of Gilraen, Estel's mother, and were now slowly returning to the large house at the center of the valley.

"Yes, my Hope?" Ilithien asked, glancing over at the boy. He was growing so fast, nearly 15 years old now and far more physically advanced than the elf children his age. Compared to him they were but children, and he nearly a man.

"Will you… what will happen to you when… when I die?" He asked, watching her out of the corner of his eye. He had spent the last ten years in the city of elves and he knew more about them than any other human in existence. He knew they slept with their eyes open, he knew that they did not feel the cold, and he knew that they could die of grief.

"My heart will break." Ilithien said softly. She reached one delicate hand up and brushed his cheek with her fingertips, their eyes meeting for a moment before they continued their walk.

"Will you…" Estel was hesitant to ask this next question; for inside his heart was torn. "Will you… pass to the Halls of Mandos?" He asked quietly. He feared the answer, for though he wished for someone to love him that much, so much that their own lives meant nothing without him, his greatest fear was to be the cause of an immortal, or any, death. Sometimes he thought that it would be better to go unloved all his life than to be the cause of such a terrible act.

Ilithien stopped on the path and turned towards him, taking his too-large hands in her own and looking into his dark eyes.

"Estel, your passing will leave a hole in my heart that will never be filled in all of eternity." She said softly, smiling sadly at that which she knew was inevitable. "But even with your death I will still have much on this earth to live for."

"Like the prince?" Estel asked. Unlike the prince's view toward him, Estel was happy that Ilithien had someone whom she loved and who loved her back just as much.

"Yes, like Legolas." Ilithien said, squeezing his hands gently. "And also, after your death, as long as I live a part of you will as well. In the memories I hold of you." Estel smiled at this.

"For all my long years after your death I will tell any soul who will listen of the young Edan who stole my heart. I love you, my Hope. And I will never forget you." She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his brow. When she pulled away he was smiling. (… Human …)

He was about to say something in reply, but a loud voice called out from the path in front of them. "Estel! Where are you? We're going hunting, come with us!" Elrohir's voice shouted. Estel smiled again then ran up the path, shouting back at his brother.

As he disappeared around a bend Ilithien wiped away the tears that slipped down her pale cheeks.

~

The air around Estel became thick. Thick with rage, and fear. Thick with insanity, and dying hope. The world around them, man and elf, constricted, screaming of the death, the murder, that was about to take place. Estel closed his eyes and prepared for the killing blow.

But he felt nothing. Instead he heard a scream. A scream filled with rage and contempt and fear and horrified realization. He opened his eyes to see Legolas wrapped tightly in the arms of the other elf prince, the one Estel had seen during the fight.

The knife Legolas had held, the one that had come so close to taking Estel's life, now lay useless on the ground as Lindelen held Legolas, pinning his arms to his sides, forcing him to stop struggling. Legolas growled in frustration, jerking in his brother's arms.

"Release me!" He demanded as the other elf's hold tightened.

"No." The older prince said calmly, gently, pulling Legolas away from Estel, one slow, struggling step at a time. "Not until you cease this madness. Legolas, do you realize what you do? You have threatened the life of the only creature on this earth that Ilithien loved as much as you. If she were here she would be horrified with you."

"I do not care!" Legolas shouted, still struggling. He had managed to work his arms loose and now he pushed at his brother's chest, trying to force him to break his hold. But the other elf held all the stronger, pinning Legolas to him, his hands firm but surprisingly gentle as he held his fighting brother.

"I do not care what Ilithien thought of that filth!" Legolas growled, his eyes dancing with icy fury. "It is his fault she is dead!"

"Legolas-" Lindelen started, but he was cut off by a harsh kick to his leg.

"No!" Legolas screamed, fighting like a cat tied in a bag and tossed into a river, all manner of training leaving his mind as he twisted and kicked and pounded his fists like an angry child against his brother. "I will not hear your words! For mine speak true. If it were not for him Ilithien would be alive today. For she never would have left me. She returned to Rivendell only for him. If he had not come she would have stayed in Mirkwood, safe with me.

I would have protected her. I would have kept her safe. But she returned, to watch over him 'til his death. She returned to the place that cost her her life. She returned to him, to them. To those who could not protect her. They did not protect her. Why did they not protect her?"

He was babbling now, letting out words that he barely heard, no longer struggling in his brother's hold. He slumped in the older elf's arms, his body finally giving in, showing the signs of fatigue caused by blood loss and the strain of battle. His breathing was labored, his chest heaving against Lindelen's, and his eyelids sagged in exhaustion.

"They let her die." His mumbled words continued. "They let her be taken and tortured. They did nothing to stop her pain. Her suffering. He allowed her to leave, to go where she was not protected, not safe. And they did not protect her. They did not keep her safe. They stayed securely away while she was destroyed. They did nothing to help her. They did not protect her.

Why did they not protect her? How could they have let this happen? How could I have been so weak?"

Lindelen and Estel both gasped aloud when they heard Legolas' words. I. Not him, not them, but I. And they knew it was no mistake.

"I did not protect her." Legolas cried in anguish, his body collapsing against his brother's. "I could not help her. She died because I could not help her. I was too weak. She suffered and died because of me. Because I let them take her. Because I was too weak. I was too weak. How could I have been so weak?"

Lindelen looked down at his little brother and saw the lines of silver tears that slid down his face, mixing with the red and black blood, creating a horrific sight on the once princely face. Legolas' whole body shook in Lindelen's arms as his words rattled off, condemning himself for what he could not have changed. His eyes were no longer filled with rage; instead they were deathly hallow, crying for the life they had lost once again.

Legolas continued to speak the condemning words, his voice now nothing but a whisper, his face contorted in unspeakable pain under the coat of gore. Finally his words died away, though his lips, stained with blood, still moved. His body stopped shaking, becoming limp instead. Lindelen quickly tightened his hold on his brother's frail body so that it would not fall.

The elder prince wrapped his arms firmly around his brother's waist and slowly lowered them both to the ground, cradling the younger elf in a circle.

*

Legolas did not know when his body was lowered to the ground. He could sense nothing of the world around him. He felt nothing, heard nothing. His vision blurred, then sharpened, then blurred again until he couldn't tell what was real and what was not. Eventually everything turned black and he was lost to oblivion.

*

Lindelen watched as his brother's eyes became unfocused, almost as if he slept. But the heir of Mirkwood knew better. He had not seen this look in many centuries, but he knew well that it was not that of an elven sleep. This look, blank and unfocused, yet full of relief, was much more.

For it meant that his brother retreated. Ran from the world; the dark, cruel, cold world that had brought him so much pain and so little hope. The world that had stolen that little bit of hope from him.

Lindelen shifted so that he cradled his brother in his arms like a babe, then stood and started walking towards the battle field, a sorrowful figure walking through the dark night. Estel followed at a slow pace.

*

Legolas didn't know how long he stayed in the darkness; it could have been minutes or centuries. All he knew was that he found it. The place he had found the first time so very long ago. The place where he knew he could go to escape the pain and endless suffering of the world.

At first it was no more than a tiny light, a pinprick in the dark fabric of oblivion. But his mind sought out that light, chasing it down, drawing it ever closer until he exploded into it with such force it took his breath away.

This was his place of safety. Of sanctuary. No hurt could find him here. This sanctuary seemed almost alive as it once had, all radiance and peace and tranquility, nothing but light swirling with a mass of colors.

Greens and browns and yellows of the forests he loved radiated the world around him. Deep blue and pale blue and blue as dark as night to represent the endless sky and the rivers of life that flowed through the rich earth. Red and orange of dying leaves in autumn, purples and pinks of crocuses in the spring, icy white of winter and deep gold of summer. A thousand colors of all that he loved, swirling and twirling and mixing in a mass of light.

He stood in a great expanse of the color, though there was nothing but colors beneath his feet. He looked to the horizon into the deep depths of spinning paint, but there was nothing to see in the far reaches of his hidden realm. No beginning, no end. No earth beneath or sky above to meet like desolate lover's always reaching but never touching.

There was nothing. Nothing but colors and calm and peace and safety. And…

…Her.

To Be Continued…

Okay, I've got 2 chapters left after this and I have a request from y'all. I really REALLY want to get up to 100 reviews. I've never made it that far before. Now, I know I'm pretty far off, but you've all been so good about reviewing and a simple 12 and a half reviews per chapter would get me there. I don't think that's too much to ask. I think. Would you get me there, pretty please with sugar on top? It would make my year if you did.

Now, I'm not demanding reviews, cuz like I've said in the past, I HATE that. I'm not going to hold chapters for ransom. It's just a request. Thanks so much in advance whether you do or don't get me to 100. You guys are the best reviewers anyone could ask for no matter what and I adore each and every one of you! *blows a big kiss to all my reviewers*

Until next time!

Adrienne