TO ELVEN SWORD: Glad you liked Chapter 10, I loved it too! =0) Sad to write, sad to read. Oh well… it served it's purpose!

TO LALAITHOFTHEBRUINEN: I'm not too sure what she's got either. Hehe. I just went around and looked at symptoms for different respiratory-type diseases and came up with a mix of them all. I'm so sorry to Gwynna, but I really don't want to be her now. I'm so evil. Sorry, Gwynna!

TO THE REST WHO REVIEWED: Thanks for the reviews! I'm sorry you don't get individual replies but I don't really know what to say. =0) Sorry about that! Well hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 11 : Days Go By

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"That's very good, Gwynna, your Elvish is improving." Fenwë leaned back in his chair by Gwynna's bedside. Recently she stayed in her bed a lot, except for meals, and occasionally she would want to watch Legolas practice his archery in the fields. She no longer had the strength in her arms to shoot an arrow herself. Fenwë suppressed a sigh. Even though no one (except Gwynna herself) had actually said anything out loud, everyone knew that there was no longer any hope for her. They had tried everything, but nothing was working. Now, in silence, everyone's hopes were to make Gwynna's last days comfortable and enjoyable. And so Fenwë had been delighted when Gwynna expressed his wish to continue learning Elvish. He brought her books everyday, and sat by her bedside for hours on end, both working hard, and talking about anything except for Gwynna's situation.

Gwynna put down the book and started to get out of bed. Fenwë fought the urge to leap up and help her. Gwynna could get out of bed herself, and Leorian, Legolas and he had decided to let her do as much as she could by herself. "Gwynna hates depending on others; she's always been very independent," Leorian had said with a sigh.

"Where are you going, Gwynna?" he asked, preparing himself to follow her wherever she went. She was never anywhere alone these days. As much as they had decided to let her be independent, they had not went so far as to let her be alone. Especially Legolas. The only time he was away from her was in the mornings when there were issues he had to attend to. At times Fenwë would have thought that Legolas would have had his entire study moved to Gwynna's room (or otherwise Gwynna's bed moved to his study) so that he could be with her all the time. Leorian also tried to stay with Gwynna all the hours of the day, but he was getting old, and had succumbed to illness once or twice himself. He had then been sent back to Minas Tirith for awhile, to get some rest. Fenwë shook his head. Get some rest indeed. He did not believe that Leorian had slept a wink in Minas Tirith, and now he was on his way back to Ithilien.

"I'm going to the gardens… I feel like getting some fresh air," Gwynna said absently. She seemed to be in her own world more and more these days. Fenwë did not think that she was daydreaming; she just did not seem to be very aware about things happening around her more often than not. Was she already leaving them, bit by bit, little by little? Would she be completely lost some day soon?

Gwynna left the room with Fenwë right behind her, and they almost banged into Legolas, hurrying on his way to Gwynna's room. Legolas smiled and took Gwynna's hand. "To the gardens or the fields, my lady?" he asked. One would have thought that he was just being polite, but a closer look at his eyes betrayed the worry and fear he felt.

Gwynna smiled back at him. "To the gardens. I feel like being among the trees and the birds today."

Legolas nodded and made a little bow. "May I have the honour of escorting the lovely lady to the gardens, then?"

Gwynna laughed, and Fenwë gave Legolas a nod over her head before going on his way, leaving the two alone. Legolas would watch over her now.

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"It's such a beautiful day," Gwynna said happily.

"It is, isn't it?" Legolas agreed. "Springtime in Ithilien is always beautiful. Its beauty far surpasses that of Eryn Lasgalen. Or what I remember of it, at least. I have not gone back for a very long time."

"Don't you miss your father? I cannot imagine spending so many years away from my father." Gwynna rested her head on his shoulder, and Legolas shifted a little to put his arm around her.

"Yes, I do miss my father sometimes, but we were never that close. Not like you and your father. My father had always been busy. Being the king took up a lot of his time. Usually when I spoke to him, we spoke as king and subject, instead of father and son."

"That must have been horrible!"

Legolas laughed. "It isn't as bad as you think. It was just that at that time, there were so many things to take care of, so many different evils to fight. And it wasn't as if there was no love between my father and I. There was. We just didn't express it as freely as you do to your father."

Gwynna tightened her grip around Legolas' waist. "I still think it's terrible not to be able to love your father openly." She closed her eyes, and when Legolas looked down at her, he found her asleep.

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NOTE: This is a very short chapter but once again I just didn't want to start something new in the same chapter. Doesn't seem right somehow.