Chapter 15

Resigned to the fact that she had mere hours until she would be without her Elven lover, Rhiannon decided to make their very last night together special.

They went out to dinner, to a fancy Asian cuisine restaurant. They both refused to eat the sushi, and Rhiannon would have no seafood at all, so they settled with orange chicken, chow mein, egg rolls, and chicken lettuce wraps.

"Oh, go on then, Legolas. Try it." She was holding out a fork laden with chow mein noodles and a piece of orange chicken dripping with its citrus sauce. "Come ON! It's my absolute favorite. Please? Remember the french fry…" she said teasingly. Finally, he took the fork and placed it in his mouth. She smiled. She was wearing a crimson satin top and dark wash slim-cut jeans, with matching crimson leather wedges with gold trim. Next to them sat a tiny satin red handbag, with a hard cover which was dotted with tiny shimmering diamonds. Legolas was in black dress slacks, black leather shoes and a crisp white collared shirt, with his hair pulled pack over the tips of his ears and tied.

He gave the food an impressed look, and Rhiannon smiled again. She was having more fun than she'd ever had before.

"Okay, now try the egg roll. Taste it, it's good!" He bit into the egg roll and nodded his head in compliment. She laughed.

"Now do you understand why this is my favorite restaurant?" After a sip of his wine, Legolas smiled at her.

"Yes, I do. This is much better than the 'fast-food'. It is also better than the cooking of Lady Melissa." Rhiannon laughed again.

"You can say that again."

They waltzed around to the violin quartet before paying the check and leaving.

On the way home, they stopped at a New York style deli to pick up Rhiannon's favorite dessert, strawberry cheesecake. At home, she persuaded him to taste it, but upon realizing that he found it despicable, she allowed him to feed it to her while she laid in his lap on what would, in about 5 hours, become her new bed, as opposed to their new bed.

Their lips connected, sparks flying with the connection. She placed her hands on the sides of his face and traced kisses up the bridge of his nose, to his brow and over his closed eyelids before going back to his lips, where they shared a mind erasing kiss that lasted for minutes. Sitting up, Rhiannon turned around and straddled Legolas' lap, kissing him once more and tilting her head to give him better access to her neck. He ran his hands up her legs and gripped her waist, leaning forwards until she was on her back, with him above her. Another kiss. Rhiannon wrapped her legs around his waist, and he brought himself down onto her, placing his hands below her head and lifting her up for a kiss. When their lips parted, he laid his head directly center to her collar bone.

They laid that way for hours, just feeling each other's presence and talking quietly to each other about their histories and lives - how busy and frantic they were, how they found release from their stresses. Legolas told her of his activities in Mirkwood, Rhiannon explained her job to him. She turned her head to the window to see the stars coming out. A tear ran down her cheek, and she continued running her fingers through Legolas' silky hair, leaving the tear unchecked. She started suddenly, causing him to sit up and look at her in question.

"What is wrong, Silmeamin?"

"I forgot.. I wanted to take a picture of you before you left… let me go and get my camera." She rose from the bed and quickly went downstairs and to her car to grab her camera from the center console in her car. She rushed back upstairs to find him looking out of the window, at what she knew must be the dogstar.

"Legolas," She said, raising the camera to her eye. When he turned, she snapped a picture, capturing him in a moment where his sparkling eyes were open in surprise. She smiled at him.

"C'mon, work it. Give me a smile." He beamed at her, coming towards her to grab the camera and examine it. She snatched it away, waggling the index finger of her left hand while she held the camera behind her with her right.

"Nope. Not yet." She dashed from the room, holding the camera straight out in front of her. She realized the barrenness of her living room was good for one thing: she only had to watch out for walls when running from the Elven prince who had come forwards in time ages upon ages and was chasing her because he'd never seen a camera before.
She was sure that would come in handy real often.
She risked checking behind her, only to see Legolas gaining steadily on her, and so she turned in an instant, only to be grabbed.

"And now, Silmeamin, you will allow me an examination of the offending item."

She handed it over, unable to speak for lack of breath.

"What does this do?"

"It takes… pictures," she huffed out.

"What are pictures?"

"It's um… it's kinda like… like a moment frozen in time, a scene frozen right there for you to see."

"Like a painting," he said, looking at her for response.

"Yes, but it's much more accurate. It copies the image, instead of recreating it."

"How do you take a picture with this?" She took the camera in her hands.

"Well, first you point the lens at what you want to take a picture of." She pointed to the lens. "Then you look to see if it will look alright," she showed him the viewing screen, "and you hold down this little silver button right here." Legolas was nodding.

He took the camera out of her hands, and put his finger on the button. In an instant, he dipped her, placing his lips on hers, and clicked a picture. When he pulled her back up, she was beaming.

"I really hope that one comes out okay. Let's check it."

They were back in the bedroom, grasping each other's hands and looking out the window at the dogstar, which stood for undying loyalty, something the both of them would always have for each other. But it wasn't just unusually bright. It was blazing, almost difficult, painful to look at. She looked up at him, but he was gazing out of the window, a grim look on his face. He was back in the clothes he had been wearing when he arrived, his bow strapped to his back, quiver and all, and the White Knives in their proper place. She sighed and looked out again.

"Should we say something?" Legolas looked down at her.

"I do not know, Silmeamin. We might try, ' Namaarie. Cormamin niuve tenna' ta elea lle au'.'"

"What does that mean?"
"It means, 'Farewell. My heart shall weep until it sees you again.'" Rhiannon smiled.

"Alright. Let's try that, then." They turned to each other, the dogstar becoming ever brighter in the space between them. A lasting kiss, and then, looking deeply into each other's eyes, they said the words in unison.

Namaarie. Cormamin niuve tenna' ta elea lle au'.

Rhiannon was dizzy. The bedroom was spinning around her in a blur, along with a light that kept getting brighter. She heard his last words to her, whisper as if from far away.

"Amin lle mela, Silmeamin."

She was surprised; she was learning his language.

I love you, my Starlight.

She fell, placing her hands firmly on the floor to help stop her dizziness.

"I love you, too," she whispered to the darkness.