So, second-to-last chapter already. I was just wondering if anyone else had seen comments on this story posted on LiveJournal.com. If you wish to go and see them, the address is much else to say really, just read, enjoy, and please review! ^_^
~Lainfaer~
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Elerrina- You think so? Aww… I can't believe you almost cried! That's so sweet! Meldirnin means my friend masculine, according to my dictionary! ^_^
Lothliana- Did I update soon enough Amy? Hope so. ^_^
Morgaine of Ithil- All your questions will be answered in this chapter! Was this fast enough for you? ^_^
A Fan () – Thank you very much for telling me about that. If you go back on, you will see I replied! So, you don't think she is a Mary-Sue, right? Thank you!!! ^_^
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Chapter 17: Valinors' Beauties.
Soon, Arwen had passed away in Lothlórien, and Eldarion was settled on the throne of Gondor. It was now time for Legolas and Gimli to leave the shores of Middle-Earth, and sail over the Sea to Valinor.
They built a grey ship together in Ithilien, and then sailed down Anduin to the Sea. Their journey was quiet and solemn. Both were lost in their own thoughts and memories about their lives in Middle-Earth. Legolas had the letter and poem in his pocket, and his hand would occasionally wander to it. He would also finger the bracelet as he always did. He never took it off.
Many weeks later, they reached the shores of Valinor. Legolas jumped down off the ship first, ecstatic to be on dry ground, and in Valinor. Gimli followed him, a little slower as he was rather old now.
There was a party of Elves awaiting them. Lady Galadriel stepped forward first to welcome them. They both bowed respectfully, and she laughed. "There is no class system here," she told them.
"We must be polite to those who are kind to us," Gimli said in his gruff voice.
She smiled at him. "Very well Gimli."
They walked up the beach, saying hello to many others that had passed over the Sea many years before. Legolas saw many old friends and relatives. Gimli just followed him, his eyes firmly fixed upon the Lady Galadriel in front of them.
Eventually, they reached their new homes. Legolas had a flet in a high oak tree, and Gimli had a cave just below it. Both were warm and welcoming. They were already furnished, and had plenty of food and drink ready.
"Perfect," Legolas heard Gimli say as he settled into his new home.
The Elf smiled to himself. He knew what Gimli meant. He walked to the edge of his flet, and looked out over the woods. He could hear the Sea, and if he climbed a little higher, he could see it. He swung up into the branches, and climbed up to the very top.
He sat on a reasonably comfortable branch, and looked out towards the Sea. He could still see their ship, resting in the bay. Some of their things were still on board, and they had to go and retrieve them. The wind was slightly stronger up here, and smelled salty as it came in off the Sea. It blew through his hair, and refreshed him. He shut his eyes and hugged his knees to his chest. He took a deep breath, and for the first time in many years, he felt at peace.
A little bit later, he clambered back down to find Gimli sat on his flet. "Where've you been?" he asked.
Legolas just grinned. "Looking out over our new home Gimli. It's a wonderful view
up there. Want to see?"
"You know I'll never get up there."
Legolas laughed. "No, suppose not. Come on, we've got to get the rest of our belongings off the ship."
"Alright, I'm coming." They climbed back down the rope ladder and headed back to the beach.
Legolas went on board and started collecting their things. Gimli waited on the shore. He came back up onto the deck and chucked the bag off. Gimli dodged it. "Watch it Elf!"
Legolas laughed. "If you don't want to get hit, then move!" He threw another bag, and Gimli had to run, which was rather difficult, considering his age.
"Unless you had forgotten Legolas, I am getting older whilst you remain young. I can't run as much I used to be able to."
Soon, everything was off, and they picked it all up. "How much have you brought?" Gimli asked as they heaved it all up the beach.
"Just the necessities."
"Legolas, I hate to tell you this, but this is not a necessity!" Gimli held up a bridle. "You can ride without any of these things."
"That was Arods', of course it is a necessity."
"Hmph, maybe." Legolas grinned at the disgruntled Dwarfs' retreating back, and ran up the beach with everything on his back or in his hands.
"Quit showing off!"
They reached their homes once again, and started to put everything away. Every now and then, one would have to go to the other to give him something.
"Gimli, don't you know how to pack anything?" Legolas called down, holding up a very crumpled shirt that belonged to Gimli.
"Yes,
why?"
Legolas jumped down and held out the shirt. "This is a prime example of your
amazing packing skills."
Gimli snatched it out of his hands and stormed back into his cave. Legolas managed to hold back his laugh and climbed back up to his flet.
The days seemed to fly by as they settled in. Soon, they had been there a week, and neither could believe it. "A week? That's impossible!" Gimli exclaimed when he was told.
Legolas, even though he was finally in his paradise, was still sad. There had been no sign of Beinlóth anywhere. He knew she was there, as Galadriel had told him she had often seen her, walking in the woods with her friends. Many others had said they knew her, but none knew where she was.
One day, he wandered down to the beach to have some time alone. He sat down on the sand and breathed in the fresh scent of the Sea. He smiled to himself. He could quite easily sit here for hours, watching and listening to the water crashing along the shoreline. He looked at the bracelet round his wrist.
She had promised. She had sworn to him that she would await him in Lothlórien. But she had broken that promise. He felt as if he should be angry with her. But he wasn't. He still cared for her just the same.
"Legolas."
A soft voice shook him out of his reverie. He looked round. But the beach was empty.
"Legolas."
He stood up and looked back the way he had come. There was no one there, but he could feel someone watching him.
"Legolas."
"Who's there?" he called out.
"Don't you know me?" He spun round. The voice had come from his left-hand side.
"Hello Legolas," Beinlóth said softly.
He just stared at her. His voice had deserted him.
"Say something," she said softly.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked coldly.
She shrank under his steely gaze. Those eyes, once so warm and friendly, had turned cold and hard. "Aren't you pleased to see me?" she asked.
"I would have been, if we were in Lothlórien, and had gone back in time many, many years. Then yes, I would be extremely pleased to see you. I never thought our next meeting after I left Lothlórien would be on the shores of Valinor. So I don't know if I am pleased to see you or not."
"Legolas, I'm sorry. Just
let me explain."
"There is nothing to explain. You promised Beinlóth. You promised you would
wait for me. And you broke that promise." He turned away and started to walk
back up the beach.
"Because I had to!" she called after him. "To protect you!"
He spun back round.
"Protect me? Beinlóth, I don't need protecting, not any more."
"You did then. Please, just listen to me."
"Alright
then." He stopped walking. "What
did I need protecting from?"
"Me."
"You? Oh don't be ridiculous. Why did I need protecting from you."
"It's all to do with my life in Milathon."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"Legolas. I have that curse upon me…"
"It doesn't matter here! It cannot hurt you here, not any more." He walked back
down to her. "This is Valinor Beinlóth. Not Middle-Earth. The curse was lifted
when you left those shores."
"Exactly, that was why I
left. I couldn't risk your life."
"I would only get hurt if we went to Mirkwood, which we didn't. We never got a
chance."
"Legolas, you have to understand. I didn't belong in Lothlórien. I was an
outsider."
Celeborns' words came back to Legolas.
*Flashback
(Legolas' P.O.V.)
"She felt out of place, an outsider."
"Well who made her feel that way?" Legolas demanded, glaring at the Lord in front of him.
Celeborn removed
his hand from Legolas shoulder. "No one Legolas. She
just felt she did not belong here. If she belonged anywhere, it was Mirkwood,
but she could not go there, as you know."
"I shouldn't have left," Legolas said softly, sinking back into his chair. "I
should have stayed here, with her. She needed me, and I abandoned her again."
He hung his head in his hands.
"You did not abandon anybody," Celeborn assured him, crouching beside him. "You know you had to remain with the Fellowship. It was your duty, and you cannot deny duty Legolas."
"But for almost 80 years, she was my duty," he told him, looking up. "I promised her parents that I would look after her, protect her, and I have failed. What use am I really, if I can't even keep a promise to my best friends?"
"Do not say that Legolas. Everyone has a purpose in life. You believed that yours was to protect her, but perhaps it wasn't. You may not even have completed your necessary task yet. We all have something to do in our lifetime here, and I believe that yours was to be in the Fellowship, to help save Middle-Earth. You have completed that now."
"But how can I go on without her?"
"It will be hard, but you have many friends that will help and support you. You must now return to Mirkwood to see you family, and so that Gimli can go back to Erebor. Then, you will both return to your new homes. Gimli back to the Glittering Caves and you to Ithilien. When the times comes, you shall also go over the Sea to Valinor. She is waiting for you there."
*End of Flashback
"Why did you feel that way?" he asked.
"I belonged in either Mirkwood or Milathon, and I could not return to either. I waited a while for you, but soon, it just got too much. I had to leave. I didn't even know if you would ever return to me." She sniffed away the tears that were threatening to fall.
Legolas' heart softened at her expression. "Beinlóth I'm sorry, I just…I missed you."
She stroked his cheek. "And I missed you. I never thought I could ever feel this way about someone, and then you came along. That time I saw you in the stable, I just…liked you, a lot. You were one like me, and you appeared to know me. That gave me great comfort. Then, when Milathon was attacked, and we had to run, my heart broke. I knew I might never see you again. Gwaloth died, and my whole world seemed to collapse around me. I had lost my two closest friends, and only had the horses. I went to Lothlórien, and made many new friends, but it wasn't enough. I needed you Legolas, and there was nothing I could do to get you. I felt lonely, scared, and angry. Angry that I couldn't go to Mirkwood, angry that you didn't come to Lothlórien. Then you arrived with the Fellowship, and my world seemed fixed again. That month we spent together was the happiest time of my life. Yet I still felt separated from the rest of the world. And in some respects, I still do. I…"
But she was cut off as Legolas pulled her close to him in a searing kiss. His arms held her round her waist and her arms slipped round his neck.
"Forget it," he told her when they parted. "We're together now, and that's all that matters. As long as you are here with me, that is all I care about. You don't have to tell me anything." He kissed her again.
"Very well," she whispered, her forehead against his. "I'm with you now. That's all that matters."
"Yes," he replied.
"That's all that matters."
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Chapter 18, the last chapter coming as soon as I get enough reviews. 6, I think we'll say this time. Thank you! ^_^
~Lainfaer~
P.S. New story coming very soon!
