AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok, PLEASE read this before you continue: I have altered chapters 22 and 23; I had to replace parts of 22 and added on to the end, and 23 is a whole new chapter. So, go read those before you scroll down and totally ruin everything for yourself; those are major chapters! Go back to 22, and even though you may recognize the first part, scroll down to the bottom and make sure you have read all of it, and definitely read 23; it is a completely new chapter, the old 23 is combined into 22. I'm sorry it's so confusing, but ff.net got all messed up and I had to fix quite a few things. So, once you have gone back and read those, I hope you enjoy this new chapter! Please review, I would love some feedback on Ch. 23 even if it won't let you review for reasons explained at the end of that chapter. Enjoy! Warning: it gets a bit emotional at the end, but if you have made it this far you should have no problem with it, lol.

Truth:

Kika awoke the next morning and snuggled closer to Legolas - her husband, she thought to herself gleefully. She looked up at his face, peaceful in sleep, and was immediately glad that she had woken up before him, so she could admire him in sleep even as he had once done to her not too long ago, though it seemed much longer. Despite the fact that no one was there to see it, she blushed as the memories of the night before came flooding back. She smiled to herself; she now understood why such things were only to be experienced by wedded couples, it was beyond anything she had ever imagined it could be, she could not imagine ever being with anybody but Legolas. And she would never have to be, she reminded herself. She would wake up every morning with him by her side. And he would wake next to her, as he was doing now.

" 'Quel amrun, Melamin ," he said, running a hand lazily down her spine. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, very well," she managed to reply before he kissed her soundly. "What was that for?" she asked, though the smile in her eyes told him that no matter what the reason, she had enjoyed it.

"For being you, for being my wife," he said, putting special emphasis on the last word. She smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

"So that can be for you being my husband. . . I will never tire of saying that word, 'husband'!" she laughed. Legolas laughed with her.

"I know, 'wife' sounds so splendid to my ears; for the first time I can say it as an endearment instead of something to dread in the future."

They spent all that morning in the room; breakfast was brought by a maid who entered and exited discreetly. They left in the afternoon to walk through the forest, completely oblivious to all they encountered along the way. They were happy to be alone with each other, as husband and wife, free from all worry. They only decided to attend dinner only because it would seem rude not to. Legolas was inclined not to care of the courtiers' opinions of them, but Kika finally convinced him that while he was already respected by them, she, on the other hand, was still not quite in everyone's good graces, particularly his father's. Before the doors of the dining hall, still out of sight of those inside, Legolas gave Kika a lingering kiss.

"That was to tide me over until dinner is over," he informed his breathless bride as he proudly led her to his side at the dinner table. She was painfully polite all evening, so much so that she caught Gimli huffing at her several times, at which times she had to struggle to contain her laughter. Thranduil was surprisingly kind, but even if he had not been, Kika knew that nothing could spoil her wonderful mood. It was when she was walking back to their room with Legolas that a thought, a rather disturbing one, occurred to her.

"Will you have to go back to your guard duty any time. . . soon?" she asked cautiously, not sure that she wanted to know the answer. Legolas smiled and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I have been granted temporary leave on account of our marriage," he replied. "I will eventually have to return to my routine duties, but for now my only duty is to make you happy, one which I am more than happy to fulfill." Kika smiled.

"The simple fact that you are here with me is enough to fulfill that duty." Legolas, however, felt that a repeat of some of the. . . activities of the night before were in order to make sure she was happy, and Kika, of course, did not even think of objecting (quite the opposite, if truth be told!). It was just as they both were about to doze off, nearing dawn, when there came an urgent pounding at the door.

"Prince Legolas! Prince!" Legolas groaned and got quickly out of bed, mumbling something about how he had said that they were to be left alone while he pulled on a pair of leggings. He glanced back to make sure Kika was sufficiently covered before he cracked open the door.

"Yes?" he said curtly, none too happy about being disturbed. The elf on the other side was breathing hard as if form a long run.

"Deregond, he has escaped!" Those words were all it took to make Legolas's blood run cold; not for the danger it would present to himself, or even the Gondorian royal family, but because he remembered the outlaw's words about Kikania.

* "She was a pretty thing; I may pay her a visit when I get out of here. She threatened me, you know, and I never forget things like that." *

"Have my horse readied," he said without hesitation, and shut the door. He immediately pulled on a tunic and scribbled a hasty note to Kika, in which he apologized for leaving before she awoke and told her not to worry; he would return soon. He grabbed his bow and quiver, full of arrows, and took one last look at the sleeping form of his love before he silently left her behind.

Legolas hurried down the corridor, and stopped the first servant he saw. "Have a guard posted outside my room. No one, including Kikania, is to enter or leave the room." He knew the chances that Deregond would try to enter the palace were slim, but he would take no chances when it came to Kika. He knew he had done the best thing for the both of them by leaving before she woke up, but his heart still ached with worry as he rode away in the direction the fugitive had fled.

~*~*~*~*~

Kika woke with a smile on her lips, stretching languorously before reaching out to Legolas. Or to where Legolas should have been, anyway. She frowned as she opened her eyes to find herself alone in the bed, and a quick survey of the room showed her to be its only occupant. She huffed impatiently and started to get out of bed before she saw the note on the pillow beside her. She could tell it had been written in haste, for there were drops of ink scattered across the page where the excess ink had not been tapped off the pen. The letter read:

Kika,
I am sorry to have to leave before you awaken, but
Deregond has escaped and I must pursue immediately. Do not
worry about me, I will return soon. I must ask that you stay
in the room, for reasons I do not have the time to write here.
I love you,
Legolas

Kika read the note twice before jumping out of bed, throwing on a dress, and immediately ignoring the two things he had asked of her; she was going to worry no matter what he said, and there was no way she was going to stay penned up in his room while he was out there tracking the escapee. However, as soon as she opened her door, she found that Legolas knew her all too well.

"I am sorry, my lady," the guard at the door said as she tried to step around him. "Prince Legolas requested that you not be allowed to leave." Kika did not hesitate to try to sweet-talk her way out.

"Oh, but I have not had breakfast," she said, smiling innocently, "And I am ever so hungry." The guard smiled politely in return.

"I will have your meal brought to you, then," he replied. Kika sighed.

"Well, can you at least tell me how Deregond escaped? He was under guard!" The guard hesitated, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell her, but eventually concluded that if her husband had told her about Deregond's escape at all, then he would most likely not protest to her knowing the means.

"A band of his men attacked the guards, my lady. They killed one elf and gravely injured two more." Kika's breath caught in her throat. If she were out there herself, she would hold no fear for these men, but with Legolas out there. . . she shoved any thoughts of harm coming to him out of her mind.

"Thank you," she replied blandly before reentering the room and closing the door behind her. She was soon pacing the length and breadth of the room, ignoring the tray of food that had been brought in, with her skirt swirling about her feet. She knew Legolas was an experienced tracker. She knew he was an experienced warrior. She knew he had survived many battles unharmed. And yet. . . there was always the chance, however small, that he could get hurt. Or worse.

Kika's thoughts were interrupted when there came a rapping at the door. "Come in," she called, none too kindly. The guard opened the door.

"King Thranduil requests your presence in his receiving room," he informed her.

"Wonderful," Kika muttered under her breath. Her husband had ridden off without her to find some half-crazed human, and now she had to go speak with her disapproving, insufferable father-in-law. Could the day get any worse?

Kika reluctantly twisted her hair into a braid before leaving to meet with the king. The guard escorted her there, and Kika had to wonder what strict instructions Legolas had left. She would have to have a talk with her husband when he returned home, she thought resolutely, she would not be put under lock and key every second he was not with her. She could only hope that those seconds would not be too many, she thought grimly as the doors to the receiving room were opened in front of her. What she saw was a large hall she had not seen before, with King Thranduil sitting on a throne on what she supposed was a royal dais. There was a smaller, slightly less ornate chair on the dais, directly to his right, which she assumed was Legolas's.

"Good morning, Kikania," Thranduil said. To Kika's surprise, he did not sound condescending or disapproving; he was being surprisingly. . . amiable. Kika smiled politely as she curtsied.

"Good morning, King Thranduil." Thranduil frowned a bit before he spoke.

"Please, call me Thranduil, if you will; you are the wife of my son, my daughter-in-law, and such formalities are not necessary." He continued, which was most likely a good thing, since Kika had no reply to what he had just said; she did not know what to think, he sounded genuine, but she still did not know if she could trust him. He continued, "I know what you must think of me, that I am some horrible monster because of what I did, how I deceived you, but I would ask that you give me a chance." He stopped and seemed to shake himself. "I am sorry, please, come sit down," he said, gesturing at the seat beside him, "You should not have to stand before me like one of my subjects." Kika hesitated; it did not seem right that she should sit upon the dais with him. He smiled, quite kindly, Kika was forced to notice. "Do not worry; yes, this is Legolas's chair, and yours will soon sit beside it, but it has not arrived yet, and I am sure he would not mind your sitting here while he is gone." Kika smiled in return, a bit shyly, as she stepped up onto the low platform and sat. The king continued as soon as she had settled. "My biggest weakness is my son. I am one of the most overprotective fathers you will ever meet, though one might not know by the way he is constantly riding off into battle. . ." Kika saw a shadow pass over his face, one that she knew could not have been feinted. "When I married his mother, she was a commoner. The scandal our marriage caused, the gossip, it tore at her spirit, which in and of itself caused me pain, for I loved her greatly. She could no longer belong completely with either the common folk or royalty. She sailed to the West only a few years after Legolas's birth; he was the only thing that kept me from following her. When she left, I my heart went with her, and she still holds it. I swore to myself that I would not allow my son to endure the pain that I had to do, that he would somehow fall in love with a maiden of appropriate rank. After so many years, centuries, millennia, of thinking that, the thought of his marrying a commoner never even crossed my mind. Until you arrived," he said with a sigh, looking at her sadly. "I suspected something the first day he introduced you to me, and I was sure the next morning at breakfast; I could see it in his eyes, in the way he looked at you, even then. It was a reflection of my own eyes when I first met his mother." Thranduil wore a pained expression; Kika could tell it was costing him greatly to be so open with her. She hesitantly reached over and placed a gentle hand on his arm. Thranduil smiled a little before continuing. "After I found out that you were a commoner - or so I thought at the time - I was desperate, willing to do anything to spare him the pain that his mother and I had to bear. I had forgotten -" He halted to compose himself a bit before he continued, "I had forgotten what it was like to be in love, to find the one you are meant to be with forever. I had forgotten that nothing can stand in the way of that." He looked her in the eye unwaveringly. "I know that there is no excuse for what I did, that no amount of explaining can ever change the pain I caused you and Legolas - I thought at the time that I was doing the both of you a favor. Obviously, I was wrong. I will not say that I am not relieved that you are royal through the blood of Lady Galadriel; I am glad, for I can now be at peace knowing that the two of you can be happy together without having to concern yourselves with the politics of your union. All I can say for myself is that I am extremely sorry and I hope that somehow you can find a way to look past what I have done. Legolas loves you deeply, and now that I have come to my senses, that is enough reason for me to be fond of you already." He paused. "Even if you could find it in your heart to forgive me, it will be quite some time, if ever, my son can do such." As he finished, Kika smiled, though teary-eyed.

"My lord, my forgiveness is already given freely; you acted out of the one thing that could also drive me to act rashly: love for Legolas." She saw a bit of light enter the king's eyes as she said this, but the sight of his happiness was cut short as her vision blurred and she felt the all too familiar pain between her eyes.

Thranduil watched on in concern as she closed her eyes as if in pain, then turned a ghastly white. "Kikania? Are you well?" he asked. At the sound of his voice, her eyes snapped open, though she did not exactly focus on his face. She clenched her jaw tightly, and seemed to look through him rather than at him.

"Yes, I am fine. I am sorry, I must leave now." She walked stiffly towards the exit, turning once to stop and bow before she left and the doors closed behind her.

Kika walked quickly, nearly ran, down the hall, trying to keep herself in control. 'I have time,' she told herself. 'The vision was not clear, the edges were fuzzy, that means I have a good bit of time. I have time to prevent this; it will not be like before.' This offered her no comfort as she sensed the guard take his post as she closed her door behind her, however, for she knew what she had seen. She had just seen her husband's death.

A/N: ok, all together, now: OH NO!!! I hope some people review or Eru only knows what may happen. . .