Whee! Chapter 2! Thanks to Haldir's Heart and Soul and LOTRFaith for reviewing! YAY! A note: The character Luinen is based off of a character by Ilza10. Ilza won my Lenwe fan art contest. So her character, Rio, was elfisised and put in this story by moi. Ilza art can be found here: http/ilzathebeastomatic. all Middle Earth-ness belongs to Professor Tolkien Lenwe (c) me and Rio/Luinen(c) Ilza 10. With some tweaking to Luinen by me.

The days passed in cheery bliss. The perfumed air creating an atmosphere of calm. I wished that these times would never end, but I would not be so happy. They would come crashing down around me, with little room for escape.

But, in the flower of my youth, I spent my days with Luínen, my closest companion. We were really suited for each other. I, on the steady levelheaded side, was her complete opposite.

Luínen was fiery and spontaneous. She was bubbly and outgoing, just like her name, Luínen means river. It was not her real name, she never told me that. But for me, it was enough. I was in awe of her: the confident way she carried herself, her unique dress, her ruby red hair. I wouldn't say that I loved her. Love is too strong a word to be used idly. Rather, I idolized her. We were best friends, but I wanted to be her, not just be near her.

Luínen was ostracized by the rest of the elves for her outward appearance, so rare in the Sindarian race. But she did not mind. In fact, I think she rather preferred it that way. I remember one day quite vividly, the two of us were sitting by the river, staring aimlessly into the mere.

"Lenwë?" she questioned me.

"Yes?" I returned.

"What do you think of me?"

I did not know quite what to say. I looked at her ruby eyes, eyes that matched her hair perfectly, piercing me with their stare. She held that stare for several long moments, and then the spell was broken.

"Well?" she demanded. "It's not hard. What do you think?"

"I think… I think you are beautiful. As beautiful as the stars, and the harvest moon," I stammered. She did not appear satisfied, however, so I continued. "I need you. You are the only one I can talk to about certain things."

"What sort of things?" She rolled over.

"Secrets, things I am afraid of, matters of the heart really. I could never talk about anything like that with Legolas. He would never understand."

"You might be surprised what he could understand." She sat up and turned away. "You are so lucky to have him, you know? He treats you like his son. I never knew my father. I asked my mother once, who he was, she would only tell me that he was powerful, and handsome."

I looked over at her and saw fresh tears glistening on her tanned face. The sight was not pitiful; she still looked strong but she had an air of sorrow about her fit the break even the most hardened war hero's heart.

"Ai, Luínen, don't cry!" I reached for her shoulder.

"I'm not crying!" she yelled savagely, pulling away from me. "It's just… raining…that's all… raining."

She cried on my shoulder for nearly half an hour. But she did not cry for her father, or for herself, but for me.

"Oh Lenwë, I shall miss you ever so much!" she wailed.

"But, Luínen, I am not going anywhere."

"No, but I am. Mother and I leave tonight. We are going to the west, to the sea. There we can live in peace."

"It will be dangerous," I cautioned.

"Anybody would have to be stupid to challenge me," she retorted.

And she was right. I had often come out on the wrong end of a tussle with her. We had gotten very good at explaining away black eyes and cuts and scrapes, the two of us.

It was nearing dusk. The clearing that was our theater for life was darkening and all the noises of the night were warming up their act.

"I must go." She swooped upon me and swiftly kissed me. "I must go," she repeated. "Good-bye, Lenwë Wílwarîn, Son of Thranduil, second son of Mirkwood!"

"Good-bye" I managed to whisper as she walked out of my life forever. I never knew what happened to her after that, whether she had made it to the sea or not. I stood rooted to the spot, alone with my emotions and the nighttime creatures in the dark of midsummer's eve.

Chapter 3 coming soon! Oh- Rio is Spanish for river. Luinen is Elvish for river. I'm not insane, I promise!