11th Chapter posted the same time as the 10th:

Elwyn (The Talk-Part 1)

I missed him.

It had been three days with no word. Three days of pure, unadulterated torture. It made me wonder if he was feeling the same way, being away from me. Mostly, I just longed for his return.

My mother seemed extremely curious of my melancholy demeanor. I believe she assumed I worried about the upcoming battle, as she did, and though I truly did, it was not at the forefront of my mind. Yet.

To be trapped in the White City, unable to better the situation and with no news on the Legolas and Faramir or their whereabouts was making me restless. Extremely so.

I was in love with an Elf.

I almost laughed at the thought.

There was a knock at the door and though it was obvious the visitor had rapped softly, the sound echoed against the ancient oak. Without waiting for my permission to enter, my mother stepped inside my chambers, shutting the door carefully behind her.

She cautiously crossed the room to me and stopped just before my window seat, where I sat most days, awaiting a rider from my father. She did not say anything, and I knew she thought it needless. For a mortal, she was fairly perceptive. Even if she did not know what the reason behind my demeanor was, she certainly knew it was not the absence of my father.

She sat beside me and placed a hand on my knee. "Are you going to tell me what's troubling you?" she asked, though it was a rather rhetorical question. "I do not pretend to know what it is, but it would be nice to."

I opened my mouth and almost lapsed into the language of the Eldar before I remembered that she did not speak it. "It's nothing," I said, shifting my eyes to the window again.

She knew I was not telling her the whole truth, but she said nothing about it. She simply nodded, aware that pressing the matter would not force me to tell her.

"Elwyn…" she began hesitantly. She stared down at her hands, clasped in her lap. "Your father…there is something I know he would want me to warn you of." She lifted one of her hands and covered both of mine with it. "He spent much of his life before and during the War…" she hesitated here, "longing for someone that he could never truly be with." I raised my eyes to her. "And he well remembers the pain of it," she went on. "I know that neither he nor I would wish you to suffer the same fate. Yet you seem to have chosen this path regardless."

I shook my head, allowing my gaze to return to the view of the mountainous grounds behind the Citadel. "Nin tië úná mi m," (My path is not in my hands.)  I said idly, mainly to myself, as she could not understand my words. "What makes you say this?" I asked in the Common language.

"Do not take me for a fool, daughter," she said, almost harshly. "I am not blind. I have seen the way you look at each other."

I did not reply, bowing my head. "Ávan mels,"(I love him.) I told her. And even if she did not comprehend Elvish, she seemed to understand my confession as I knew she at least understood phrases such as melamin (my love). "More than anything."

"I know," she sighed, allowing a little sympathy to shine through. "But it does not change the fact that he is not your kind. Do you wish to cause him such pain?"

"I wish to be with him," I insisted, "Nothing more."

My mother shut her eyes, most likely exasperated. "I wish it were that simple." She paused again, clearly growing uncomfortable. "Have you…" she began, trailing off. I waited patiently for her to continue. "Have you…given yourself to him?" she finally managed.

I shook my head. "No." She gave a sigh of obvious relief and I refrained from telling her that I regretted the fact that he had not allowed me to before he left.

"Then there is still hope." She leaned closer, earnestly. "Let him go Elwyn. Encourage him to sail West before it is too late and there is no reversing what has come to pass. There he can marry among Elf-kind."

"Elves love only once, Amil," I reminded her. I sighed. "It would not be so simple for him. And though I am human, nor would it be for me."

"Elwyn," She attempted to take my hand in hers again, but I drew it back. She winced at this, but continued. "It is the only way you can save his life. If you let this go any further…" She did not finish her thought, moving on to the next. "And when you pass…he will fade into shadow."

I let out a shaky breath, feeling a lone tear slip down my cheek. I rarely allowed myself to think of such things as Legolas fading.

"If you love him, will you let this happen?" she demanded.

"He will not sail," I told her firmly. "Not even if I begged it of him."

"What if your father were to speak with him?" she began, missing my doubtful expression. "Both of them have always greatly valued the other's opinion. If Aragorn-"

"He will speak with him as soon as he knows as it is," I cut her off.

She was silent for some time after this and I got the sense that she was composing herself for the question I knew she would ask the moment the conversation had turned to the Mirkwood Prince. "Have you told him?" she finally managed.

My stare immediately moved again to my window's view. "I have not."

"You must," she insisted. "You cannot keep it from him, especially now."

"I will tell him," I assured her, trying to prevent my voice from rising in frustration. "When it is necessary."

Her brow furrowed in concern. "Is it not necessary now?"

I allowed my eyes to shut and did not reply.

* * * * *

Heehee. "The Talk-Part 2" won't come until Legolas and Aragorn are camping out before the battle, so it's not actually the next chapter.