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Faerlain

Lindele – Sweet and sad…great mixture! Thanks for reviewing.

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Tiara Shin- Aww, Celille likes hugs! Hugs Celille too. Certain advantages…definitely! And you stay snuggled close to your Haldir! I have it on good report that he is niiiice and waaaarm……

Though I am sure you have already realised that! Winks.

Thanks for reviewing!

Chapter 12: Home and Alone.

Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap…

Celille's gone.

And I have no idea where.

She disappeared last night, after our argument.

So technically, it is my fault that she has run away.

Again.

I was first told about when I woke up. Adar told me she had been seen riding off on Star-mane. I got angry then, and asked why no one had stopped her. Apparently, she had assured the guards that she would return.

But she never did.

So goodness knows where she is. Out, in the middle of nowhere, all alone, without any weapons. I think she took food and water with her, but I cannot be sure.

But she can't fight! Not very well. All she took to protect herself was her knife.

And she's gone into the forest.

Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap…

A search party has been sent out, but Celille will know this. She'll hide, and no one will find her.

We're on our way back to the palace. Adar said we had to get back before darkness fell again. So we're galloping through the trees, and I am keeping a constant eye and ear out for any sign of Celille.

"Legolas, please concentrate on where you are going," Adar scolds me. "That is the fourth branch you have let scratch your cheek."

"Sorry Adar," I mumble, wiping the blood away with my sleeve.

I hear him sigh. "They will find her," he whispers.

I shake my head. "No, no they won't. She knows we're out looking for her. So she'll hide. They'll never find her."

"They know these woods better than she does."

"Oh well." I'm really not in the mood for more arguing.

Naneth is waiting for us on the palace steps. As soon as she sees me, she runs down, and straight over to me. I quickly dismount, and let myself get enveloped in her embrace.

"Oh Greenleaf," she murmurs. "I have been so worried!"

"I'm sorry Naneth," I whisper back. "I really am." I can feel a slight swelling of her stomach through her dress. I grin and hold her tighter.

Adar joins us then, and leads us back inside. The horses are taken into the stables. I shall see to Rodmín later.

We don't go to Adar's study as I thought we would. We go instead straight to their chambers. Just the three of us. I have been readying myself for a good telling off.

But it never comes.

"No need to look so scared Legolas," Naneth says gently, indicating for me to sit beside her on the end of the bed. Adar sits in a chair opposite. "We're not going to scold you."

"You're not?"

"Of course not," Adar agrees. "You have done nothing wrong."

"But…I ran away."

"So? That doesn't matter. All that matters now is that you are safe."

"But Celille is not."

"Celille?" Naneth asks.

I nod. "Yes Naneth, Celille. The little girl who came with the Men, last year."

"Yes, I remember her. What do you mean she isn't safe?"

"She ran away with me. I found her, but she begged me not to take her back to Befret. So…I took her with me instead. We travelled all the way to the River Isen. Well, almost. We had a few little…mishaps along the way. And we ended up in Fangorn Forest. When we finally got out of there, we were back on the North side. Celille was injured, so we went to Lothlórien. Then Adar came and collected us, but on our way back here, we had an argument, and she ran away again."

"This girl is always running," Adar said grimly.

I nod in agreement. "We have to find her."

"The scouts are looking," Adar told me. "They'll find her."

"We managed to slip past them all once. She can do it again. And it'll be easier for her, seeing as she's by herself."

"You do not have to keep emphasising that fact Legolas. I know she's alone. All the more reason for us to find her."

I sigh and rub my temples. "My head hurts," I complain.

Hint, hint, let me go to my room…

"Go and rest Legolas," Naneth tells me. "You must be exhausted."

I smile gratefully at her and kiss her cheek. I do the same to Adar, and hurry off to my own room.

"Oh thank goodness." Brilmír lay back on the bed as Legolas shut the door.

Thranduil smiled and lay down beside her, tucking her protectively under one arm. "Thank goodness for what?"

"That he's home! And safe. Uninjured, which is a miracle I must say."

"I told you we'd find him eventually."

"Yes, but your timing was a bit different dear. You said two weeks. Not three and a half months! Almost four!"

Thranduil just chuckled. "Just be grateful that he decided to come home without a fuss. He literally flew into my arms, begging for me to bring him back."

Brilmír smiled up at her husband. "And what did he say about the baby?"

"According to Galadriel, he fainted when she told him."

"Fainted!"

"Aye, fainted." He grinned. "Not like our Greenleaf to faint. He was fine about it though. Very excited too."

"He didn't say anything to me."

"He's tired. Let him rest, and then he won't let you out of his sight. You'll see."

"I hope you're right," she agrees, closing her eyes. "Because I certainly won't be letting him out of my sight for a very long time, so he's going to have to get used to my company."

Thranduil laughed and kissed her cheek. "I am sure he won't mind spending time with his precious Naneth after being separated from her for so long."

"Good."

Celille, where are you…?

I'm pacing in my room, trying to think where she could be.

I've been home three weeks now, and there are no signs whatsoever of Celille. We've looked everywhere, but it's as if she's disappeared right off the face of the Earth. I understand now how Adar and Naneth must have felt when I ran away.

Everyone seems fine about that now. I got a few funny looks when I started riding and practising my archery again, but now, everything is more or less back to normal.

If only Celille was here!

I miss her company, I really do. She was a great friend to me, loyal and trustworthy. And now she's gone. She was exactly like a little sister. I hope my real little sister or brother will be as nice as her.

I feel so helpless, wandering around the palace, my room, the gardens. There's nothing I can do. No one will let me go out alone yet, for fear I might run away again, but I've learnt my lesson there. Don't run away. It only causes more pain later on.

Another scout has just got back. I look to see if they have Celille with them, but they don't. I'll find out what they discovered later on, if they found anything at all that is.

It's been so long now, I am starting to fear that she is already dead, eaten by one of the forest creatures. A Warg may have got her, or maybe Orcs. Or even worse, goblins. Trolls…

"This is stupid!" I yell, sitting down hard on the edge of my bed and holding my head in my hands. I know that my going out there to search probably won't make nay difference, but at least it would be an extra pair of eyes on the lookout.

"Prince Legolas!"

There's someone knocking at my door. "Come in," I call.

A messenger peers round. "Your father wishes to see you in his study. Now, it's an emergency."

Have they honestly found something…?

I dare not hope as we hurry down the hallway to my father's study. It has been three weeks now; it is highly unlikely that they have found anything.

We go in, and I see the head of the scout that has just arrived back talking earnestly to my father. He's sat at his desk with a thoughtful, serious expression on his face.

"Adar?"

He nods at the guard, and then turns to me. "Legolas, Captain Tulus believes that they might have found something."

I look at him. "Tulus?"

"We were searching quite near the Mountains my Lord," he starts. "Right near the Far Western border. We came across this, tangled up in a thorn bush." He takes something from behind his back, and I feel instantly sick.

It's the necklace.

My sapphire leaf that I had given Celille in Lothlórien. The black twine it was attached to was twisted and fraying in places. I took it from him, and just stared at it dumbly, feeling the stinging behind my eyes as tears welled up. But I could not let them see me cry.

"Hannon lle," I whisper, and run out. I can hear Adar calling for me, but I ignore him.

I run down the hallway, take the stairs two at a time, out the main doors, and into the garden beside the palace. I pay no attention to the weird looks people are giving me as I run. I leave the garden gate banging open against the wall. I can hear the stones crunching beneath my feet as I hurtle down the path. But I cannot feel anything. Just numbness.

I tear across the lawn, right into the very far corner. There's a large chestnut tree here, and I easily scamper up it. When I was about 7, a tree house was built for me in this tree, and the remains of it still stand today.

I crawl, sobbing across the wooden planks that were the floor, and collapse on a heap in the farthest corner. I grip the necklace tightly in my left hand, the glass leaf cutting into my palm. But I cannot feel the pain. Only the numbness that I have felt ever since I first saw it.

I don't know how long I lay there, but someone comes up to me, and embraces me. I think its Adar, but I cannot tell. He's whispering to me, but I cannot hear the words. I can't smell the sweet perfume smell of Naneth, or the freshness that Adar always smells of, the polish of the wooden desk in his office.

It's cold, and dark. The person is cradling me against their chest, and I feel a little better. They have very strong arms – it is Adar. Finally, exhausted by my crying, I lean my head against his chest, and nestle there silently.

He carries me back inside, and to my room. Naneth is waiting there for me, and she comforts me as best she can. But still I cannot hear anything. Only the pounding of my own heart in my ears, the quick, shallow breathing that is my own. I don't feel the warm sheets or the soft pillow beneath my head. I still hold the necklace, and refuse to let go of it.

Adar has returned to his study I think, or maybe his chambers. Naneth won't leave me tonight. She'll stay by my side as long as I need her there. She knows, she understands.

Perhaps tomorrow, I will be able to hear and feel her again.

Ahhhh, another new chapter done and dusted! I wait eagerly (and somewhat impatiently!) for you reviews. Until next time my darlinks!

Faerlain