A/N: Hello everyone, I am back with yet another chapter. Nice to see many of you still here reading and supporting my fic. Also, welcome new readers. Thank you to the 13 who included me as one of their fav. authors (you know who you are). Again, it's not being beta as I'm trying hard to do this alone. Trying to be brave. Sorry I took a while to update. I have been busy with school and 'dating' my own 'Brit. boy'. Sadly he is back in England now. It was hard to write this chapter as I had some difficulty to make it the chapter flow smoothly. I hope you guys are ok with what I've ended up with.

Also, thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I know that I left you guys with a mean cliffhanger (I had to do it because I am a victim of many other authors excellent written fictions too). Read on to find out if I killed her or not. Enjoy!

indicates 'self thought'

indicates {telepathy}

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Chapter 15

"I love you," Legolas whispered those three words into Aurwen's ear. "I have always been, from the very first day when I saw you. I have even sent my father a letter, informing him about my plan to marry you. This is why you must not die, my love," Legolas continued before gently kissing Aurwen's forehead. Her lifeless body drove him into deeper anger, "Arrgghh! Curse you, Orcs! Curse you, Mandos! Why now? After having me spent centuries in search of the right maiden? Have I not sacrifice enough, battling against evil for Middle Earth?" Legolas lashed out his feelings.

Upon hearing Legolas's cries, Lundil instructed Dunhirion to cover him as he made his way towards Legolas at a nearby tree. He has never seen Legolas this distraught. As he neared the couple, his first reaction was to check on Aurwen. To his surprise, he felt a pulse, faint but consistent. "She is alive but we need to get her back to Lorien fast," said Lundil.

"S-s-she is alive?" Legolas could not believe what he had just heard. 'Thank you, Elbereth. Thank you for giving us another chance.' Relieved and overjoyed that Aurwen is alive, Legolas got back to his senses. "How are we fairing with the Orcs?" asked Legolas.

"They are relentless. I do not know how much longer we can hold them back. They have us cornered on this little hill," answered Lundil.

"We will hold, for I have a feeling that Haldir will not just leave Aurwen to die," said Legolas before standing up and lifting Aurwen to a safer surrounding. He then unfastened his cloak and placed it over Aurwen to keep her warm. "Fight, my love and be strong. Do not let Mandos win you over," whispered Legolas before kissing Aurwen's pale lips. Turning over to Lundil, he continued, "Let us kill more Orcs." Legolas left Aurwen to the care of the tree spirits.

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"Rumil, how far more are we from the group?" asked Elrond.

"Not very far, my lord, another mile or so," answered Rumil.

As they rode hard ahead, battle cries could be heard, especially from those foul Orcs. Before the Orcs could react, the Galadrim came from behind and struck them hard with arrows and swords, and some were trampled by the horses that barged through the woods. Outnumbered and outwitted, the Orcs fled from the Galadrim.

As they chased the fleeing Orcs, Haldir and Elrond rode steadily up the hill. They were surprised to see that their woodland brothers had succumbed light injuries and that none were killed. Leaving Rumil to scout and secure that rest of the perimeter, Haldir and Elrond both dismounted from their horses and rushed to Legolas.

"Where is my daughter?" Haldir demanded.

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*** Aurwen's POV ***

'Where am I? Where is this place?'

'Welcome, Aurwen, foster daughter of Haldir. You are in the realm of the tree spirits. You have been placed in our care until help comes to you. You are very much alive, my child. What you did is selfless and for that, Mandos spared your life.'

'How do you know my name?'

'You have long been under our observation, whether you have realise it or not. Your love for nature made it hard for us to ignore you. We were the ones responsible for the dreams that you had when you were out daydreaming in the woods. You are a wonderful individual, Aurwen and the richness of your spirit is just too hard to ignore. Help has arrived, my child and you must wake now. We will communicate again.'

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"Aurwen, nin iel," cried Haldir as he rushed to his daughter's side. "What happened, Legolas? Is she-"

"Nay, she is alive but her pulse is very weak. She….she sacrificed herself to save me and for that I believed, she sustained another injury," explained Legolas.

As Legolas relived the painful event to Haldir, Elrond got to his knees and examined Aurwen. Just as he feared, Aurwen's injuries were getting worse, internal bleeding was one of them and a new injury to the head added more stress to her frail body. It seemed that the tip of an arrow narrowly brushed the top of her crown. It was a known fact that tissues surrounding the head were delicate and sensitive, and a slight tear or gash to the skin could look much worst than the actual injury itself.

"She is very weak. Her head injury is not serious but she is still bleeding internally. We must get her back to Lorien," urged Elrond. "She will recover but I cannot say much about her future on having her own little elfling," he continued before raising to his feet.

As soon as they finished hearing Elrond's assessment, both Haldir and Legolas acted in unison by bending down to reach for Aurwen. The action almost got both heads collided. It was Haldir who backed away at the very end, knowing that Legolas's presence will soothe Aurwen more, since he knew of the love his daughter professed for the Prince.

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** Back in Lorien **

"Grandmother!" exclaimed Elladan as he pushes himself into Galadriel's chamber. "Is it true that Aurwen has disappeared?"

"Yes, my child and you should not be here, Elladan. You need to rest," said Galadriel to her grandson. "Your father and Haldir were among the group sent out to find and aid our woodland clan and because love conquers all, Aurwen left in a haste to search for Legolas, and many believed that Dunhirion is by her side." Letting her eyes guide her, Galadriel paid more attention to her grandson. "There is a strange essence in the air and it is clouding many minds with love. I felt its overbearing strength since the day I handed the Star of Luthien to Aurwen and I realised that you are affected by it. How is your heart dealing with all the stress around you, Elladan?"

"As I have told you before, grandmother, I am well," said Elladan.

"I believe you, Elladan," Galadriel answered with a smile. "However, its strength will not last. I can feel its power diminishing as we speak and that could only meant one thing; the necklace has been given to and accepted by Aurwen's right match," Galadriel explained.

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It was already dark by the time they managed to stable Aurwen for the ride back to Lorien. Like any loyal horse, Andune emerged from the dense forest just as Legolas was about to mount his horse. Andune gave Legolas a gentle nudged on the shoulder.

"He wants you to ride on him, Legolas," answered Haldir. "Andune has a special bond with his mistress and he feels that he is obligated to take her back to Lorien. Let me carry Aurwen, while you mount Andune," Haldir offered.

Both were being very careful when it came to handle Aurwen as they could not risk any further injury as Elrond left immediately for Lorien after he managed to stable Aurwen's grave condition.

Satisfied that Aurwen was in safe hands, Haldir gave a gentle tap to Andune's behind before he mounted his own stallion and rode back to Lorien.

"Noro lim, Andune. Your mistress is in great distress," urged Legolas with Haldir riding closely behind them.

Meanwhile, Elrond arrived at the welcoming hall and without much hesitation, he made his way towards the healing wing. Upon reaching the door, Elrond came face to face with Elrohir.

"Adar, you are back," greeted Elrohir as he followed his father into the chamber. "Elladan is with grandmother and Erestor is in your chamber. I can inform both of them of your arrival," suggested Elrohir but the quietness that was coming from his father was bothering the younger twin. "Adar, is something a matter?"

"Forgive me, Elrohir for not hearing you. I am rather distress as Legolas and Haldir are making their way back. Aurwen is gravely ill and Elrohir, please keep this to yourself. I do not want to stress Elladan any further," Elrond answered with a big sigh.

"I understand you clearly, Adar but what about Erestor? Should I tell him of this news, as he might be able to aid you," asked Elrohir.

"That would be wise, Elrohir but before you go and find Erestor, I need you to help me prepare the bed and some herbs which I need for numbing purposes. Once you are done, find Glebil, as I could use his assistance," answered Elrond.

Elrohir nodded before reaching for the sterile sheets and towels. He then placed the towels on the side table before covering the bed with sterile sheets. Next, he moved towards the herb cabinet. Unlike Elladan, Elrohir was never interested in healing but making numbing herbs was his speciality. He and Elladan even perfected the concoction which they stumbled upon by chance while making it to numb the pain from injuries in which they hide from Elrond. This remedy was later adopted by Elrond, for it lasted much longer than the original version. After Elrohir completed his task, he bade farewell to his father and left the chamber.

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With Aurwen safely secured in his arms, Legolas pushed Andune to run hard and fast. Every second counts and the harder he pushed, the faster they will get to Lorien. A sudden gasped from Aurwen made it clear to Legolas that she was in great pain.

"Fight the pain, melamin. Lorien is not far away and remember, you are everything but weak," Legolas whispered words of encouragement to Aurwen. "Stay strong." Legolas then glanced over his shoulder and hollered at Haldir, "She is in great pain, we must hurry."

"We are near, Legolas. I have spotted my guards among the trees. Ride hard ahead, do not worry about me," Haldir hollered back at Legolas.

"Legolas," gasped Aurwen.

"Ssshh, melamin. We are home. I can see the city ahead of us. Noro lim, Andune," urged Legolas.

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"Galadriel, is something a matter?" asked Celeborn. "You have yet to touch your meal."

"I am fine, Celeborn. {It is Aurwen, my love. She is in a very delicate condition. Haldir and Legolas are bringing her back to the city. Please keep your expression neutral, as I do not want to cause anymore stress towards our grandson's recovery}. I am just a little tired today," answered Galadriel. {Celeborn, they have arrived at the great hall and Elrond is attending to them. Let us just stay here. We cannot risk having Elladan to know about this grave news}.

Trying hard to hide the news from Elladan, Celeborn continued with his meal. "Elladan, how are your wounds healing?" asked Celeborn.

"They are healing well, grandsire. It was nice of you to invite me over to share this lovely meal with you and grandmother," replied Elladan.

"Do not be silly, Elladan. You are my grandson and you or Elrohir or Arwen are welcome to join us on any meal at any time. It has been too long since we last shared anything at all as a family," Celeborn continued with a smile. "Also, Aurwen's begetting day is three weeks away. That was the reason why your father and Erestor are here. We have even extended the invitation to Arwen and Estel and the remaining members of the Fellowship," added Celeborn.

"Does Aurwen know about this?" asked Elladan.

"Nay, my child," answered Galadriel. "This banquet is being kept a secret from Aurwen. It was Haldir's idea to celebrate his daughter's begetting day."

"It is a wonderful idea. Not everyday someone reaches a millennia," added Elladan, "and I have just the right gift for her."

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"Legolas, Haldir, I need you both to be outside or in the waiting area. I do not want Elladan to know of this, as I have learned from Elrohir that he is making great progress in his recovery," ordered Elrond as he gently pushed both Haldir and Legolas out of the chamber. "I have enough help here," continued Elrond as he glanced over to both Glebil and Erestor. "Do not worry. Take my advice and go clean yourselves up. It will be a while before I sent news of Aurwen's condition to either one of you." Elrond then left the two elves in the corridor before going back into the chamber to perform his duty.

"Lord Elrond is right, Legolas. There is no reason for us to sit here and wait," said Haldir.

"Haldir, before we go our separate ways, I have something to tell you. Today, in the woods, Aurwen and I have pledged our troth to each other and we hope to bind, one hundred years from today, that is if you will allow us," said Legolas.

"You have my blessing, Legolas. Aurwen really loves you and you are her intended match," said Haldir as he clasped his hand on Legolas's shoulder. "Have faith in the Valar, she will be your wife."

"Haldir, you do not know how happy I am to have you blessing. Thank you, old friend," said Legolas before giving the Marchwarden a hug. "Also, can you have someone send me a set of writing tools, as I need to write a message to my father about the change of plan. I do not want to alarm him, as I am to arrive back in Mirkwood within three days."

"I will have one of the maidens bringing those things to you and when you are done, I will use one of the falcons to deliver your message to the King," said Haldir. "After all, we are family."

tbc……….

nin iel - my daughter

melamin - love

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