Chapter One:

*One Year Later*

Current Mood: Contemplative

Current Music: You had time- Ani Defranco

I got a letter from Ameron today. I was a little excited when Tamar handed it to me, but also a little afraid. We haven't spoken in so long…I guess it was good for us, but I'm not sure what to say to him.

The letter itself was nothing special. Just telling me what is happening in Lorien, how he was promoted to Lieutenant and about all the new duties he has now. It was nice to hear from him, and he seemed…a little more like the old Ameron. The one I fell in love with so long ago. It made me happy that he's happy. The only thing was, he never asked about me.

I suppose he thought I would write back anyway and so he wouldn't have to ask how I was, but…it would have been nice to know he's thinking about me. There were no 'I miss you's, not even an 'I love you'. I miss hearing those things, but it didn't bother me as much as it should have. I can't explain it. Am I falling out of love with him? How could this be? What could I ask of him that would change how I feel? What could he do?

What could I do?

Maybe I should see him. I do miss him, perhaps I should go and see if we can work this out. I have to at least try, but…part of me doesn't want to. It's saying that when I go it will be just the same awkwardness and loneliness even when I'm with him. I don't want to have to feel that again. I just don't know what to say to him anymore…I think after one hundred and twenty- three years we've said it all. I wonder if he's as frustrated with this as I am. Or…maybe not.

"Beautiful, Isn't it?"

Mirien jumped as Doran broke into her thoughts. She smiled warmly at her friend and looked back to the horizon before her. Below them, the bow of Airëlussa rent the colors of the sunset on the surface of the Anduin. Mirien leaned so far over the railing, watching the living tapestry before her, that Doran grabbed her cloak and pulled her back.

"Doran!" she said with a smile, "You know this is the most beloved time of day for me. When have I ever complained of the sky?"

"Every morning," he said with a smirk, " 'when the sun would chase away the moon and it's light banish the stars.' Do you not think I know you after all these years, Mirien?" She laughed and again turned her face into the wind, watching as the sun sank behind the trees.

" 'And every evening Varda would take her leave of Manwë to paint the sky with stars,'" she recited. She watched the final rays of the sun fade and turned east in anticipation for Varda to begin her work.

"Where does that come from?" asked Doran. She looked to him in surprise.

"You don't know me as well as you think you do if you need to ask me that!" she laughed. "It was a song my mother would sing to me every night as we watched the stars appear. There was a clearing near our home in the trees where we could see them clearly." She paused and smiled as she looked east. "She's probably out there right now."

"You miss home, don't you?" asked Doran. She shrugged. She tried to look indifferent but instead seemed wistful.

"Which one? In Mirkwood with my parents or in Lorien with my husband?"

"You know what I mean," he said. She sighed.

"Yes, I suppose I do." She looked up at him and frowned. "I got a letter from him this morning."

"I know. What did he say?" She smiled slightly and sat on the railing. He sat beside her.

"Basically that I should come home. He didn't say it directly, but if you read into his words something that's not there you could almost imagine that's what he's saying." Doran chuckled.

"So really nothing has changed."

"No, nothing's changed." She looked up at the sky in that moment, just in time to see Earendil appear above them. "It's been over a year that we've been apart, and yet I feel that I could go on for another. Is that bad?"

"Yes it is," he nodded gravely. He saw her downcast expression and then grinned, elbowing her in the ribs. "Go and see him," he said. "Tell him how miserable you are. Make him do something about it!" She laughed and he caressed her face with his hand. "You need to do that more often, it's good for you." She stood and looked out over the Anduin, thinking. After a moment she turned and shook her head at him.

"Alright, Doran, you win." He stood with a cry of triumph. "Turn the ship around. Tell the others…we're going home."