The next chapter will be the last… whew. I have to admit that I will be glad to finish this. It's fun to see how the story improves the 2nd time round, but I have to say that rewriting a story is definitely not as fun as writing a new one.

Chapter 10 : The Letter
Háthien cast one last look around her room, trying to remember every single little detail in it. She had come to love this place so much that leaving it forever felt as if she was leaving a part of herself behind. It had been her refuge for so long, a place where she had cried secret tears and confessed all her secret desires. And now she would never see it again.

Closing her eyes, she shut the door and turned away. Saying goodbye was never easy. And there were still so many goodbyes left for her to say.

She found her friends waiting for her. The other Elves who were to join her on this last journey were already there with their horses. Her own mount had already been readied, and stood awaiting its mistress.

Gimli spoke to her first. "Have a good journey, Háthien," he said, squeezing her hand so tightly as if he would break her fingers. She smiled. On the outside the sturdy Dwarf seemed weathered and hard, yet once one got to know him, one would find that he had a heart of gold. She would miss such a loyal friend as he. "Take care of yourself."

"I will."

Éowyn threw her arms around Háthien's neck, hugging her tightly. "I will miss you so much," she said.

Háthien felt tears stinging her eyes, but tried her best to hold them back. "I will miss you too, Éowyn. You have been a faithful friend. I'll think of you often."

"You will be happy in Valinor," Faramir said with a smile, standing by his wife. "We will not know what awaits you there, and shall never find out, but I know that you will find peace and love there." He sighed. "It is never easy to say goodbye to a friend, and knowing that it will be forever just doesn't make it any easier."

"You speak my thoughts, Faramir." Háthien took his hand. "I thank you for all the times I enjoyed your hospitality, and wish you many more years of happiness."

The goodbyes seem to last forever, and with each friend she bade farewell, she felt as if a part of her had been torn out. She had imagined saying goodbye to her friends, yet it had not prepared her for the pain of parting. And she had not even said goodbye to the dearest person…

Finally she came to Legolas. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the ground. He looked up as she came to stand before him. For a moment they stood that way, both trying to find the words to say, and finding nothing.

Just as Legolas cleared his throat, determined to say something, Háthien flung her arms around him. "I don't want to say goodbye to you," she whispered fiercely.

"Then don't," he told her. "I will see you again." As they pulled apart, he thrust a letter into her hands. "This is for you. Read it only when you are at sea, all right? Promise me."

"I promise." She kept the letter, unable to hold back her tears any longer. "How long will it be till we meet again?"

Legolas shook his head. "No one knows, but I promise you that I will see you again. And you know I keep my promises, don't you?"

Háthien could only nod dumbly. This parting was so much more painful than any others, and she wanted to cling on to him, begging him not to send her from his side. But she knew that nothing good would come out of that sort of behaviour, and so there was nothing else to do but to follow obediently when he took her hand and led her to her horse.

As the travelling party began to ride away, Legolas could only stand by and watch as the distance between him and his dearest love grew. I hope I have done the right thing. He knew that Háthien needed to go to Valinor, but could not ignore the nagging feeling in his heart that something tremendous was happening, that something was going very wrong with this parting. It is my own selfishness, he told himself. The longing in my heart that wants her to stay with me.

With a sigh, he turned away and walked back to his room, even though the party was still in sight. He just had not the heart to see Háthien disappear from sight. At least she has the letter. She will know the truth in time.

The journey had been uneventful, and over the party there had been a silence that no one had the heart to break. In each of their own ways, each traveller was saying goodbye to all that they passed, trying to reconcile themselves to the fact that they would never see Middle-earth again.

It had been good to meet Sam again, yet the reunion had been different from all others. Perhaps it was due to the feeling of finality that came with it. They had boarded the ship with the same reverent silence that had ruled over the journey.

The feelings only came pouring back as the ship pulled out of the harbour, and Háthien stood on deck watching as they drew away from Middle-earth. It had been home all her life, and it had been the backdrop to so many of her memories. All the laughter and the tears, the songs and the heartaches. It felt strange to know that she was leaving it behind.

Next to her, Sam sighed. "Goodbye, Middle-earth," he said softly.

"It's difficult to accept it, isn't it?" she asked gently. "Leaving it all behind?"

"Yes, it is. When I was just a lad in the Shire, I'd never imagined leaving it. And now I find that I'm leaving the whole of Middle-earth behind me. Funny how time can change things. You just never know what is going to happen and how that's going to change you."

"That's true," Háthien agreed. When Celoril had first introduced her to Legolas, never in her dreams had she imagined that things would have gone so far. Legolas… The thought of him brought tears to her eyes again. She took a deep breath. "Still… we will find peace in Valinor, and much happiness."

Sam nodded, but did not tear his eyes away from the land he loved. Then he suddenly turned around. "I think I will go below for awhile," he said, and walked off, seemingly oblivious about whatever was going on around him. He had just felt as if he needed to be alone, in peace and quiet, to think about everything that lay before him.

Háthien remained on deck. She had no wish to go to her room, closed in and alone. Out here at least she could still see the vastness of the realities around her, and it kept her from brooding too much.

Unable to shift her gaze from the shrinking land, her hand brushed against something in her bag. She looked down and pulled out a folded piece of paper. The letter. Through the journey, it had slipped her mind, and now she found herself staring at it as if it were strange to her. He said to read it when I was at sea… I suppose that means now. She broke the seal and unfolded the paper.

It could not have really been called a letter, for there were only six words written on the paper:

Háthien, I'm in love with you.

Her hands shook as she read those six simple words over and over again, unable to believe it. Had her own love blinded her? How could she not have known, she who was closest to him? She looked up again. Middle-earth had already vanished, even to her eyes. There was no turning back. No matter what she said or did now, there was no way the ship would turn back and return to Middle-earth. He must have known that, and yet he only wished her to know when she was on board and sailing away?

He knew that she longed for the Sea, and he had made sure that her wish was fulfilled, even if he wanted so badly for her to stay. Yet they had both unknowingly made such a great mistake, a mistake that would cost them so much more waiting.

I'm afraid that even if this is an improvement from the first version it still isn't much good. I guess I'm just not cut out to write Legomances because after awhile they do irritate me a little. But oh well, I'm finishing this!