I feel that I must tell you this before you start reading, some of you may think by the chapter title that this is the end. It's not. There is still a lot more to go. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 10: Saying Goodbye

When Linwe had said she would get someone to force feed her, she hadn't been lying. She went straight to her room to get Amras.

"How did it go?" Legolas blurted out right when Linwë stepped into the room.

"Unfortunately, not very well. She thinks that you hate her," Linwë burst out laughing.

"What is so funny?" Legolas asked, alarmed.

"You proposed to her! I mean… Amin hireatha," she said, calming down some. "Actually the reason I am here now is because she is still refusing to eat."

"What do you have in mind?" Amras asked.

"Well, she has to eat…"

"Are implying that we force her to eat?" Legolas questioned.

"I suppose so," Linwë answered.

"Fine, let us get to it then," Legolas started out of the room.

"We will need food first, Legolas," Amras pointed out.

"True. I will get that now and meet you in her room."

"Alright." They exited the room and went their separate ways.

On the way to Rachel's room Linwë informed Amras on where Rachel was from and her whole story, then an idea came to her.

"Amras, do not tell Rachel that you know. I promised her that I would not tell Legolas, but I never said that you would not. After we get her to eat, you can tell him, because I feel that he needs to know. After that, let us see if we can get them back together."

"You have got a lot on your plate."

"Me, no. Us, yes."

"Us? I have never played matchmaker before and I do not intend to start now."

"Shh, we are here."

"Rachel, it is Linwë and Amras, we are coming in," Linwë announced.

Legolas was only a minute behind them.

"What is he doing here?" Rachel whispered to Linwë when he came in carrying the food.

"He is worried about you. We all are. I told you that if you did not eat, that I would get someone to force-feed you. You still have the choice of eating on your own. Which is it?"

"Fine, I'll eat. Leave the food and go."

"Sorry," Amras told her. "We do not leave until you eat."

"Duh. Why do you have to be so smart? Fine, you can stay. Give me the food."

Legolas handed it over and Rachel ate it all. She was starving. The three watched in amazement. They had never seen a lady eat so fast.

"Happy?" Rachel asked sarcastically once she had finished. "I ate. Now get out."

"Rachel, I am sorry, but you had to eat," Linwë apologized.

"Sure, I am sorry too, but I want to go home. Why won't you let me?"

"There must be other ways. Do not lose hope until we speak with Mithrandir."

"You don't know what it's like. If you knew, then maybe I would listen to your reasoning, but not until."

"Rachel, you cannot leave. Tell me what you meant. Please, do not leave me here. I still love you, if that is what you are worried about."

"No, Legolas. Just leave. All of you."

"I will leave only if you promise not to kill or hurt yourself," Legolas compromised. "Unless you promise me that, I will not leave you alone at all."

"Fine. I won't hurt myself, now leave."

"Come, Legolas, let us go." Amras pulled the concerned elf out of the girl's chambers.

When they arrived back at the Linwë's rooms, she invited Legolas and Amras in.

"Amras has something to tell you."

He told Legolas everything that Linwë had told him. When he was finished, Legolas could barely speak.

"What I do not understand is why she did not tell me. It is not like I would have shunned her for it."

"She wanted you to think that she was like everyone else here, but when you started taking an interest in her, she thought that if she did tell you, that you would stop," Linwë explained, though she had never spoken to Rachel about it, she assumed that was the reasoning behind everything.

"But I would not have!" Legolas exclaimed. "I would not have cared. It is just surprising to find out when I propose."

"We know that Legolas, but Rachel obviously does not. Maybe you should tell her instead of us," Amras suggested.

"I suppose it is worth a try, at least now that I know," Legolas agreed. "I will go in an hour, she should be over our previous visit by then."

"Alright, good luck. Stop back afterward, will you?" Linwë asked.

"Sure. If this does not work, I do not know what will."

"If it does not work, I am sure we will think of something," Amras assured his friend.

"I hope you are right. Good-bye, I shall see you later."

"Rachel, may I speak to you?" Legolas called, standing outside her door.

"That is what you are doing now, is it not?" she shot back.

"I mean civilly. Please let me inside so that we may talk things over."

"Alright," she sighed, and opened the door to admit the elf.

"Rachel, I am not angry with you. I never was. When you told me those things in the forest, I was merely shocked. Please, forgive me for misleading you."

"There is nothing to forgive, my lord. I should have told you about my past a year ago, as Linwë advised me to, but I was stubborn and didn't want many people, err, elves to know."

"You did nothing wrong. Everyone is allowed to have secrets, even you."

"Thank you, Prince Legolas."

"You need not call me "Prince". You have always just called me Legolas. Would you explain to me now what you meant by your words?"

"I expect that I owe you an explanation." Rachel related everything about her life to the prince. When she finished, he was amazed.

"Amras did not tell me that well," he muttered under his breath, forgetting that she had elven hearing.

"What?" she exclaimed, not pleased at all that Amras had told Legolas about her past, or that Linwë had told him. Of course, she thought, I did give her permission to tell Amras if she didn't tell Legolas, but now both of them knew. She hoped that they would keep the secret to themselves.

"Linwë told Amras. She also told Amras to explain to me about you because she thought that I deserved to know. I wish that I would have heard it from you, but you refused to tell me. I am happy that I know. Please forgive them. They did nothing wrong. If you are angry with anyone, be angry with me for listening to them and for not pressing you for more information before any of this happened."

"Legolas… I am sorry. You have no idea just how sorry I am. I am sorry for the pain that I have caused you and that that you have afflicted on yourself. I am even more sorry for the pain that I know that you will feel when I tell you this… Legolas, I… I cannot marry you. Now that you have heard my story you must understand. It would not be right."

Legolas nodded dumbly.

"If you'd like to leave now, I would understand."

"I believe that I shall leave you now," he said slowly, carefully selecting each word before giving it life. "But only because I must speak with my father, you see, he will be leaving in three months and wishes me to marry before I am crowned King."

It was now Rachel's turn to gape. Yes, she had known that the king wished his son to marry, but it was a complete surprise how little time he truly had. It shocked her even more that of all the elven maidens, she had been his first choice.

Legolas tried to read her expression but all he found was surprise. Surprise at what though? That he didn't know and probably never would. He looked straight into her eyes. To Rachel it felt like he could see right through her into the very depths of her soul. She was afraid to break eye contact but didn't care at all for the seeing look that graced his face for a quick second before he turned and left her to her own devices.

She was stunned. She sat and stared, her eyes unseeing, thoughts of marriage and home, and Kyle, and her parents, and Faerlain, Itarilde and Gildor ran rampant through her mind. And that was how Faerlain found her.

"Rachel? Linwë told me that you are speaking now. I wondered… well, Gildor and I wondered if you would care to join us for dinner tonight. I swear I am not a horrible cook."

"I would never believe you if you said that you were. Are elves bad at anything?"

"Saying goodbye…"

a/n: So... that's depressing. I hope you enjoyed this! This is your present for the holidays. I won't be updating until after Christmas.

Rayame: You spelledLinwë right, only it has the ë with the dots over it. Yeah, she's stuck in the middle, but in a way she's putting herself there. Thanx for reviewing.

IwishChan: I know, I feel sorry for them too, but I do enjoy torturing them.

Faerlain: You appeared again

Emiliana: thanks for reviewing

Heather: did you like the site?

I'm in a hurry. Got to go.