Chapter 10 - The Beautiful Dark
"Q and A"

Two days later, Jocelyn started contemplating a journey back to Mirkwood. Everyone was well in Rivendell, except for her. Her mother and father were happily back together, and even Leyna and Tyron seemed to dance around each other in a strange, but not altogether unpleasant sort of way.

Seeing her mother so happy made Jocelyn's heart swell with joy. But a curious thought sprang in her mind. She'd realized that all this time, her parents were not married.

"Mom?" Jocelyn began while Anna was in the kitchen making sandwiches for lunch. "Why didn't you marry Ada?" Anna stopped and turned to her daughter.

"Well, Jocelyn, the issue was complicated. I mean, me even being there and having a relationship with an Elf would have been scandalous, let alone having his child out of wedlock. We'd have been shunned had it not been for his friendship with Lord Elrond. When I found out I was pregnant, he wanted to marry me right away. But I wanted to wait until after I had the baby. Babies, actually. But I didn't know that then. I wanted to be a skinny, beautiful bride. Of course, Calenmir told me that carrying his child only made me more beautiful." Anna rolled her eyes and Jocelyn laughed.

"So, after I had you girls, I started getting so homesick. I mean, I hadn't even told my own mother goodbye. I was still very young, too. And I took you to Earth with me. But that doesn't matter now. I'm home now. We're home." Anna concluded, placing her hand on her daughter's.

"But, Mom...now are you going to marry him? I mean, you're staying here now. So why not? He loves you and when you pass away, he will too. Legolas and I went through the exact same thing. At least you'll get to live as husband and wife." Jocelyn reasoned. Anna looked doubtful.

"Why get married, even? I have considered us married ever since we fell in love. It has never been official, but we've felt like it. Why go through the trouble?" Anna argued. Jocelyn was about to protest again, but Anna cut her off.

"I just don't want to talk about it right now, baby, okay?" She plead. Jocelyn reluctantly gave up. She didn't understand her mother's point of view in this. But maybe her father felt the same way. Maybe living and pretending you're married is as good as the real thing. Of course, in the Elf customs, it was a very nonconformist thing to do. Anna thought nothing of it, but maybe Calenmir did. Jocelyn sighed. 'They are both adults. They can figure it out on their own. I have my own things to worry about.'

Anna was clinging to a shred of hope for her one love. That maybe if they didn't get married, when she passed away, he would go on, forget about her, and live a happy immortal life. But the illusion of hope she'd shielded herself with for so long was already crumbling. She had already agreed to stay in Middle Earth. It would be harder now, for her to convince herself that if they stayed unwed he may have a chance at life after her passing.

That was also the day Jocelyn was about to voice her opinion about leaving to her family. But there was too much going on for her issue to make it to the surface.

She was taking a morning stroll along the path near the house, and was so caught up in her thoughts, that she went a bit further than she intended to. When she finally realized the surroundings were no longer familiar, it was too late.

"Excuse me, this property is off limits to civilians." A stern sounding woman said. Jocelyn whipped around to see a tall, beautiful elleth standing impatiently. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her weight rested on one leg, the other foot tapping madly. She had long, straight black hair and light blue eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know I had wandered this far." Jocelyn answered timidly and turned to walk away. She heard the elleth sigh.

"No, I'm sorry." Jocelyn turned back around to see the woman had sat on a stone bench and was now resting her elbows on her knees, her forehead in her hands. "I have just had a terribly exhausting day." Jocelyn took a few steps toward her.

"Why's that?" She asked, warily testing the waters. After all, she had no idea who this elleth was. The distressed elleth raised her head and eyed Jocelyn.

"We were never introduced properly." She stated politely. Almost too politely.

"My name's Jocelyn Merenfaer." She stuck her hand out. The elleth just looked at it strangely.

"I am Arwen Evenstar, Lord Elrond's daughter." She replied calmly. Jocelyn nearly choked. She was speaking with the Princess!

"Oh, Princess Arwen. Um, hello. Forgive me." Jocelyn apologized, though for what, she wasn't quite sure herself. Arwen laughed.

"Please, Arwen will be sufficient. And what are you asking my forgiveness for?" She smiled as she stood. Jocelyn looked around nervously.

"I don't know."

Arwen laughed again. She gestured for Jocelyn to sit on the stone bench, and was about to sit herself when a servant appeared in the garden.

"Lady Arwen, Prince Legolas has just arrived."

Arwen turned to Jocelyn. "Oh wonderful! Come Jocelyn, you can greet him with me!" Arwen exclaimed, and grabbed Jocelyn's wrist, dragging her after her. Legolas, during his years of travels on Mirkwood business, had met Arwen in Lothlorien and they had become friends. Of course, Arwen had no idea that Jocelyn and Legolas were actually engaged. And Jocelyn's smile widened as she was drug along and the information sunk in. She was going to get to see her fiancé!

Legolas was just dismounting his horse and handing her over to the stable boy when Arwen called to him. He looked up at her, not seeing Jocelyn, who was hid behind the Princess.

"Hello, Arwen! I'll just be a moment. I have business to tend to." He said gleefully, and headed off in the direction of Calenmir's cottage.

"Hold your horses mister!" Jocelyn chirped, and Legolas stopped in his tracks. Was that Jocelyn's voice he just heard?

Arwen turned around and looked questioningly at Jocelyn, whose eyes were fixed on Legolas as he turned slowly around. Jocelyn stepped in front of Arwen and began walking down to meet him.

"Jocelyn!" He exclaimed, and ran the rest of the way to her. He enveloped her in a monstrous embrace and somehow found her lips with his.

"What is going on here?" They heard Arwen ask perplexedly. The couple looked to her.

"Oh, Arwen, Legolas is my fiancé." Jocelyn explained, and Arwen's jaw dropped. Jocelyn giggled.

"Just wait until Ada hears about this!" She exclaimed.

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Legolas had gotten a brief chance to visit with Calenmir's household before Arwen dragged him off to visit her father and tell him the rest of the story, what he hadn't heard since Jocelyn returned to Middle Earth. When the Lord of the city visited the cottage before, he hadn't the heart to ask Jocelyn to recite the story, because of the grief in the house. It was late in the night before Legolas was allowed to return to the cottage. Calenmir, Leyna, Anna, Jocelyn, and Tyron were all there. They continued their visit early into the morning.

At first, Jocelyn was ecstatic. She was with her family, everyone was healthy and happy, and she had her very own Elf right beside her. They were one big happy family! Or so she thought. As the night grew on, things caught her attention that disturbed her.

She noticed uneasily how Legolas cast distrusting glances at Tyron every now and then. And even more uneasily she noticed how Leyna cast longing glances at Legolas every once in a while. Jocelyn realized how complicated her present situation really was.

Tyron had been sleeping on the couch, but he relinquished it for that night, so Jocelyn and Legolas could sleep comfortably together. Anna instead had placed him on the floor of Leyna's room. She did not figure it would be a problem, since none knew of Leyna's harsh words toward the Guard. Tyron also had noticed Leyna's yearning looks at the Prince of Mirkwood, and a jealous twinge had sprang up in his gut.

When Jocelyn and Legolas were finally alone, she got to tell him all about her suspicions of Tyron's plan, and how he explained it all. Legolas bit his lip in thought. Thankfully it was dark, otherwise Jocelyn would've interrogated him on the emotions she would've been able to read on his face. He was torn inside between wanting to tell her the truth about how Tyron had tried to force him into giving her up and keeping it locked up, bottled up inside him. The secret he kept from the one person he trusted most had started eating away at him inside. The only thing that kept him holding it back was the fact that she would be so angry at Tyron and it would only cause more problems.

Meanwhile, inside Leyna's bedroom, the tension and awkward uncomfortable darkness was almost unbearable. Tyron was searching inside himself for the courage to speak to her about her words that day. But she came up with it first.

"Tyron, let me ask you something." She began abruptly, and he heard her sit up in her bed. "How can you know you feel such things for me when you have known me such short a time? And when you've just come off my sister?"

"Just come off your sister?" He shot back, "Even if I had just "come off" your sister, (which I haven't, I'd forgotten about that a long time ago), it wouldn't matter. I feel this for you. No one else, and I can't have anyone else but you." He poured out his heart, and she was silent. Somehow, whenever he spoke, the emotion he spewed from every word wrenched her heart for being wary of him. A burning question he could not hold back any longer filled Leyna's silence.

"Leyna?" He began softly.

"Yes, Tyron?" She answered wearily.

"Do you still love Legolas?" He asked frankly.

"Why are you asking?" Tyron cringed. She was avoiding the question. That was not a good sign.

"I was just wondering. I noticed the way you looked at him today." He was sure Leyna could hear the hurt in his voice. She hesitated.

"Well, I might a little bit. But I know there is no chance of us ever being together, because he is with my sister now. They are happier together than we ever could have been. And I am glad for that." She stated. Tyron smiled in the darkness. How alike their situations were.

"Do you still love Jocelyn?" Leyna asked abruptly. Tyron furrowed his brow as he thought on his answer. Then he smiled as he spoke.

"I might a little bit. But I know there is no chance of us ever being together because she is with Legolas now. He makes her happier than I ever could. And I, as well, am glad for that." He heard Leyna giggle. "And now I have you to fill my thoughts instead." He added, and her laughter ceased for a moment. But he heard her smile.

"Leyna, you are such a mystery to me. Everything you do and everything you are fascinates me." He noticed now that he was sitting up as well. Through the darkness, his Elven eyes could make out Leyna's figure sitting cross legged on her bed, looking at him. She swallowed hard, her composure slowly falling to pieces with every tender word he spoke softly to her.

"I owe you a kiss." She whispered so softly even she was unsure if it was actually said aloud and not only in her head.

Tyron stood up warily and sat on the edge of her bed. Sure, she said she owed him a kiss, but she was a very complex elleth. Unsure what her reaction would be, he slowly extended his hand to brush the back of his fingers against her cheek. Much to his relief and delight, she leaned into his touch, and placed a hand on his.

Upon feeling her touch, it was as if a dam had broken. Tyron could not hold back the urges he had suppressed for so long. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers firmly. Leyna straightened up, standing on her knees. Tyron did as well, and pulled his body closer to hers, wrapping his arms around her slender frame. Leyna's arms circled his neck, her hands running through his hair, holding his neck and pressing his lips strongly to hers.

Surprisingly, Leyna's mind formed a few rational thoughts. She analyzed the emotions that churned and blazed inside her. Was it supposed to be so strong that it hurt her heart? She decided it didn't really matter, because she liked it. Being so close to someone. Especially having that someone being Tyron. He was so sweet, kind, innocent...she could describe every detail of his personality. She loved everything about him. And she the sensations he caused shooting through her body.

The feeling was exquisite. And she decided never to let it go. Unbeknownst to her, Tyron had already made that promise to himself.

A/N...Ya readers are slackin again! Just when I started getting like 10-11 reviews/chapter, the last one dropped down to 6! You got my hopes up, and now they've been dashed. So whoever read this chapter, take two seconds to click the review button and say 'nice job' 'update soon' or even 'meh, it wasn't so hot...add this...' I'm fine with two word reviews, though, as KT knows, I love long reviews. So anyway, if you could see me right now, you'd say 'aww' because I'm making puppy dog eyes begging you to do me this small favor. ( I sure expend a lot of time and energy pleading with these readers, don't I? )

I was just reading about Arwen in the Appendices of the ROTK, and have decided that this story is set when Arwen was younger, still full of glee and laughter. She is young, and has returned to Imladris to visit her father for a while. Because she also lives in Lothlorien with her mother's people. This is far before she meets Aragorn. And before Legolas and Aragorn become friends, as well.

Ilenya the Fair - that was a tough question, wasn't it. You made a good choice, though I myself would have to go with Orlando. Of course. Everything that man does is heavenly. He is just pure goodness and light. Lol anyway, thanks so much for your review!

TPfan333 - I'm glad your headache went away, and I'm glad my story serves as a distraction from your crazy teacher. Lol, my Trig teacher tries to be cool by making these terrible jokes, and he's so happy when we laugh. The poor man doesn't realize we're laughing at HIM, not the joke. Anyway, thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you're happy with the story!

Nessa Inwe - Hey Nessa, did you like Leyna in that last chapter? From your review, I'm guessing you did. She was being real strong, and in this chapter, she totally gave in. Tell me what you think!!

Artria - Ah yes, high school. The wonder years. Best times of your life. Except when you get gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe and get impaled with a pencil walking down the crowded hallways.
Thank you for your unconditional update-impartial love! Aw you're so sweet! And...shhhh! You found out my secret! I lace a mix of heroin and cocaine in with the paragraphs. Poor unsuspecting readers...
You were right that time, I needed to read your crazy ramblings. It cheers me up. So review soon!

Katie - you didn't have to wait long until they were reunited! Glad you reviewed, and please keep it up!!

Goddess Diana - Thank you so much! I'm super glad you liked it, and I really did like your new chapter, too. As I'm sure you've read in my review. Hope to hear from you soon!

-Austin B.