I must apologise greatly for taking so long to get this out. It's been a combination of exams, getting a full-time job (who knew 9-5 was so knackering?), holidays and a miscommunication between myself and one of my betas (long story). As usual I must thank Thuriniel and KhazarKhum for their invaluable help. Well here it is. I hope you enjoy and I'll try not to make it last quite so long next time!

Take care,

Emma x

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind?

For the next few weeks Legolas was gently coaxed by all his family into returning to his former daily routine. He was released from his duties with Thranduil; the King deeming that current circumstances meant a punishment for a false intimacy with Arwen Undómiel was more than slightly irrelevant and unnecessary. During the mornings Legolas trained on the archery field and in sword fighting with the many available partners from the junior ranks of the Guard as they came and went between tours of duty on the borders. In the afternoons, he would go alone on walks or rides deep into the forest. Thalion began to believe that Legolas knew the woods in the vicinity of their home better than most of the elves that had lived there for millennia.

It was during the evenings that Legolas' routine altered from his previous one. He would sit comfortably for hours with his mother or sister, watching them work; be it embroidery, writing letters or practising on their instruments. Always he watched them with the same sadness in his eyes, almost on the verge of tears. Legolas refused to speak to them when confronted, and often grew angry. There was nothing they could do. It was as if he was torn in two. On the one hand, he missed the feminine ways that only an elleth could bring in his life and he found these again with his mother and sister, but on the other hand, sitting with them only reminded him exactly what it was he was missing.

The Midsummer Festival arrived and found the Royal Family a little unprepared. Clothes had not been ordered and speeches had not been written. Minds had obviously been elsewhere. Once focussed on a task though, Thranduil was not one to quit it. His thoughts were quickly bent on making it a festival to remember. But in spare moments, his attention wandered back to his younger son. One day he was in conversation with his wife as they took an evening stroll along one of the forest paths.

"I wonder with whom Legolas should dance with at this Festival," he pondered.

"You would do best to leave that boy well alone Thranduil, you mark my words," Malnarthan said sharply, her eyes flashing in warning.

"I simply think he would recover faster if he has something…"

"You mean someone," she interjected.

"Something to take his mind off things." Thranduil finished with a flurry of his hand.

"I do not think Eldirn was an idle dalliance that can simply be brushed under the rug by a couple of quick dances and a trip merrymaking, Thranduil," Malnarthan said angrily.

"Of course not my dear," Thranduil tried to appease his wife. "I simply meant that perhaps Legolas will not feel the End Days are here if he realises there are other young and utterly personable ellith in the Greenwood."

"You play with fire, Thranduil. If you do this it will go ill."

"I am only doing what is best for my son."

"You have tried that argument before. It did not wash then and it certainly will not wash now!" She pulled her hand from the nook of Thranduil's elbow.

"Ai melethen [my love] do not be so. I will give Legolas the choice and see how it fares with him. I would never force him."

"For that, I suppose, we must all be thankful," she said sarcastically. She kissed her husband on the cheek, happy she had got her own way. "Do you suppose there are any ellith left that Legolas has not already danced with?" Malnarthan said cheekily.

"Oh there must be at least one come of age since the last festival," Thranduil replied with humour in his voice as they both turned to return to their talan.

Legolas surprised everyone, even his father, when he agreed to dance with a young elf named Minaiel [Only-Daughter] once the main feast was over. He even wore the clothes his father had picked without protest. Thalion was suspicious of Legolas' impassive responses and immediately he began to worry. Knowing Legolas as well as he did, Thalion knew that Legolas' cool exterior had to hide many raw wounds. He did not voice his fears, though.

Midsummer's Day dawned bright and warm. The activity in the forest began early. Once more the feast and dancing would be held in the Lant Silivren [Glittering Clearing] and all day elves busied themselves going back and forth setting out tables and countless plates of food. Instead of spending the time with his family, as was custom, Legolas left his talan as the Sun rose and spent many long hours in the forest amongst the trees. He did not return until late afternoon, leaving him little time to dress for the event. A quick trip to the bathing houses and with the help of Emlin, his personal servant, he was ready just in time. He set the uncomfortable circlet on his head once again and left to meet his parents.

"Come on, Legolas, you are keeping the entire Wood waiting," Thranduil chided as he greeted his son.

"Adar, the feast starts when you arrive and it is your perogative to arrive when you please," Thalion reminded his father.

Legolas did not say anything, but played with the circlet in his head, trying to find an angle where it did not dig into his skin quite so violently. His mother smoothed down his collar and tried to pull his face into a smile like she had done when he was an elfling. Legolas smiled briefly at her, closing his sad eyes when she kissed him on the cheek.

Thranduil did not see the little exchange between mother and son as he hurried them all to the clearing where the Royal Family took their seats. Thranduil quickly assumed his stance to address the elves assembled and began his speech.

Legolas did not listen to one word his father said; his mind was elsewhere. He thought back to the last time he was in the Lant Silivren and how similar feelings of dread had coursed through his veins. The only difference was that that night had ended wonderfully when he had danced with Eldirn, renewed their friendship and then walked her safely home. This one would not end happily at all. Of that he felt sure.

His eyes quickly found themselves settling on Rodwen and Haedron who were sitting close together like any loving family, except without their only daughter. Seated nearby to them as well were Meliel and an ellon Legolas presumed to be her husband Aegas. Legolas felt a familiar stab of pain, the same one he felt whenever something reminded him of Eldirn. When he thought he caught her scent on the summer breeze, when he heard children singing that ridiculous dwarf song on the way to the river as he and Eldirn had done so long ago, or whenever he saw two courting elves happily falling in love. But, he reminded himself angrily, she was in Rivendell and in Rivendell she would remain for the foreseeable future. She had not thought him worthy enough to tell of her removal there, so why should he mourn the loss of her company?

He felt Eiliant jab him in the leg and Legolas was roused from his reverie for a moment or two. It was just long enough for him to realise that Thranduil had finished speaking and that everyone was helping themselves to food and pouring large goblets of wine. Legolas decanted a significant amount of Dorwinion wine into a glass and took a long gulp. He felt Eiliant place a hand on his free arm.

"Not too much now Legolas, or Thalion will have to carry you home," she said kindly. "Here, let me get you some of this venison, it smells delicious does it not? And look at this wild boar! You must try some of this too. Why, it makes my mouth water just to look at it." She carried on this manner of conversation with Legolas throughout the feast, not expecting answers to any of her questions or replies to her remarks. But at least she kept him from withdrawing totally into his thoughts, and stopped anyone else trying to make conversation with him.

All too soon though the tables were whisked away and the Clearing was made ready for dancing. Suddenly, Legolas felt light-headed and he took in a sharp breath. His brother saw this, and as he came to lead his wife to dance, Thalion paused to speak to his brother.

"Sit still and breathe deeply Tithintôr [little brother]. Just this one dance and then you can leave if you wish and go elsewhere. This will not be so awful, I am sure. We will stay close just in case."

Legolas did not look at his brother when he stood up. He smoothed down his clothes and idly brushed some breadcrumbs from his lap. He picked up his wine goblet and took one last gulp of the dregs looking for his courage in the bottom of the glass. He turned away from Thalion and Eiliant and looked for his father, who gave Legolas an impatient stare. A young elleth and an elf, presumably her father, stood with Thranduil. Willing his limbs to work Legolas moved towards them and bowed to the girl and her father.

"My Lady, would you care for this dance?" He asked in a low voice, trying to sound as if the whole thing was not a formality and they had not been engaged to dance together for the past few days.

"Why thank you, Your Highness," she replied, acting her part of the surprised elleth a good deal better than he had his, and Legolas took her hand and walked her towards the edge of the gathered dancers. Thalion and Eiliant were not too far behind.

Legolas was thankful it was a formal dance and he had no guiding of his partner to do because they had both been practising the steps since they had started walking. He hardly looked at his partner during their dance. Instinctively he put one foot in front of the other as they moved vaguely together across the lush grass that covered the floor of the Lant Silivren. Although Legolas moved his feet to the tune of the musicians playing in one corner of the glade, his mind danced a different melody and his hands grasped for a different elleth.

His feet came to a sudden halt and he was jerked back into the moment. He saw the elleth opposite him was not Eldirn and it sickened him. He felt as though he could not breathe. His bow was stiff as he thanked Minaiel for her company as quickly as he could. He looked around him for the nearest way out of the clearing. He headed straight for it, completely blind to all those he knocked into and pushed past on his way. Once he was away from the elves and on one of the deserted, darkened pathways, Legolas broke into a sprint and let his feet take him wherever they willed.

He stopped in front of a large gate, perplexed, and took out a key from his pocket that he did not realise he had been carrying until that moment. Unlocking the doors he found himself in the Royal Garden.

"As if this night has not been torture enough, now I bring myself here," he mused sarcastically. But strangely, the quiet, twilight air calmed him. The scent of the flowers still lingered in the cool breeze and the beating of his heart slowed. He picked a cluster of fallen flowers off the path and twirled it absentmindedly as he wandered here and there, lost in thought.

All he thought of was Eldirn. Still her words haunted him as if they had only been said moments before.

" What would you know of duty? Your only responsibility is to get out of bed every morning and be present at festivals to eat the food that others have prepared! What would you know of duty?… I could never marry someone so utterly devoid of purpose or usefulness in life, nor one who makes demands of me when they have barely returned to my acquaintance for a month!"

Legolas sank down against the trunk of a tree, his knees pulled up, his elbows resting on them. He sniffed the flowers in his hand and smiled sadly.

"Ai, Eldirn, what have you done to me?" He sighed. "You dance back into my life and then out again just like that after so long. Why must I care so much?" He answered his own question. "Never had I felt such happiness in so short a time. And never have I felt so angry and empty as I do now. 'Tis strange one moment to have this rage boil up inside and then the next to feel so void of any substance or emotion, like some empty shell, the husk of a being." He paused and cocked his head to one side. "I wonder if you feel the same?" He asked no one in particular. His face contorted and his eyes narrowed. "Oh, but of course you do not. Thoughts and feelings must be set aside; you have a purpose and your duties to attend to. They are far more important," he retorted bitterly. "Well, we can all find some of those, Eldirn Star-Watcher."

Legolas tossed the cluster of flowers to one side and stood up. He took in a deep, quick breathe as if to steady some resolve and walked quickly back to the gate, locking it behind him as he left. His step was lighter than it had been for days as he strode along the paths back to his talan. And if anyone had been close enough they would have heard him humming to himself.

The next evening there was a family meal in the Royal Talan. It was their way of celebrating Midsummer, albeit a day late, without the crowds of other elves and the noise of the feast. To his family, Legolas seemed in much better spirits than the previous night. He joined in the conversations without being asked questions directly and he even smiled and laughed. If anything, Thalion and Eiliant seemed more nervous and uncomfortable than their little brother.

The meat course had been taken away by a couple of servants and the five of them sat waiting. Legolas cleared his throat and began to speak.

"I have something I wish to say."

Unfortunately, his brother had chosen the same moment to say,

"Eiliant and I have some news. After you little brother," Thalion added encouraging Legolas to speak. It was a rare event in those days after all.

"I… I," Legolas hesitated. He closed his eyes and swallowed noisily. "I wish to join the Guard."

His family were silent, all shocked by the suddenness of such a great decision.

"Do not all speak at once to give me your good wishes," Legolas mumbled quietly.

"Well done, Legolas my son," Thranduil said seriously. "You have chosen a noble path."

"You already fight well, Legolas. It will be an honour to serve with you," Thalion added.

Malnarthan placed her hand upon her son's arm. She looked concerned and a frown graced her features. "Ionnen, are you sure this is what you wish for from your life, to be a warrior? Do you not think your decision has been a bit sudden? It is a dangerous life to lead, you should be sure to think about it carefully." She paused then added one more question, the most important one. "Will it make you happy?"

"Naneth, I have thought about it and it is what I want to do. I spar with the lower ranks of the Guard when I practise, and I am good, I really am. I know I could succeed and make you all proud of me. I have realised that I must find something to do with myself. I am a prince and I should set an example to the rest of the forest. I am wasted on politics; it bores me no end. No offence, Adar, but I could not sit all day in a study when there is land to be discovered and explored!"

"Will it make you happy?" Malnarthan asked again.

"Yes Naneth, I think it will."

She nodded her head slightly and patted his arm gently.

"Then that is good enough for me," she said firmly.

"You have chosen a good time to make your choice, Tithintôr," Thalion remarked. "When Autumn arrives the training of the new recruits will begin. You can join their group. I remember my training," he said with a mock shudder.

"It was not that bad!" Legolas cried. "All you had a few cuts and scrapes and then you went merrymaking almost every night. I remember very well."

"It is not all about drinking and having fun," Thalion said, his tone becoming serious.

"I know. I do not expect it to be. I want to be a good warrior, Thalion, and I am willing to do whatever I must to become that."

"We must celebrate," Thranduil decided. "When the servants come back I will ask them to fetch my best bottle of wine and we can open that."

"This must be a special day," Thalion mused. "Adar lets us drink his pride and joy and he lets the servants go into his cellar. We should do this more often."

"Wait, you had news too," Legolas reminded his brother.

Thalion looked quickly at Eiliant who frowned gently and shook her head.

"It can wait," he answered lightly, his hand resting on his wife's stomach under the tablecloth where no one saw. It can wait about another eleven months, Thalion thought to himself. Inside he was bursting with joy to tell everyone and anyone, but Legolas deserved that moment of joy and attention from their father. Another few days would not matter at all.

Ivanneth [September] came and went and Legolas trained with the other ellyn to become part of the Guard of the Greenwood. His training was hard and lasted almost two years, but he became fast friends with many of those in his group. There are some things that bind the most unlikely of people together and a daily ritual of dirt, grime and pain is one of them. That made the difficulties they all had to overcome much easier and Legolas found the personal challenges were not so hard once he knew there were people who would support him and watch out for him.

Legolas excelled in archery and fought well in almost every situation. He continued to fight well with the long knife and preferred it to a sword, or daggers. But surprising most people, he seemed to have an innate ability for tactical warfare, always seeing the best way to attack or defend a situation. Most importantly he commanded the respect of everyone he fought alongside.

Legolas was accepted into the ranks of the Guard and he joined the units that patrolled the paths and the areas in the centre of the Wood. His knowledge of the landscape was invaluable and he put everything he could into his work. Whenever volunteers were asked for, Legolas' name would be first on the list; he took on all the hardest work without complaining; and when things looked bleak he would rally everyone's spirits. His dedication was rewarded too. He quickly rose through the ranks and was soon commanding his own small groups of elves on patrol and overseeing the assignment of duties.

From time to time he took his turn on the borders, but mostly he spent long months in the forest, meeting the elves and watching over the land. Those that did not know him properly would have said there was not a happier elf in the Wood, but those who did saw the sadness that still lingered occasionally in his eyes. And it did not go unnoticed that Legolas was usually away from home during festival times.

There were some, though, that said Legolas was too dedicated, and not only the unmarried ellith still hoping to catch his fancy. Many nights he declined the invitations from his friends, choosing instead to stay alone in his talan studying old manuscripts from darker times, learning all he could from their battle strategies and how they had succeeded or failed. His weeks of leave from duty were spent more on the practise fields or volunteering for extra tasks than resting or passing time with his family. Whichever opinion elves held there was no doubting Legolas' ability and after only thirty-five years he ranked the same as his brother.

Thranduil was exceptionally proud of his younger son.

It was not only Legolas who was busy during the ensuing years. Eldirn too worked hard at her studies in Rivendell. She extended her stay there by some years longer than expected, lingering to learn all she could from Lord Elrond.

In the winter of the year 940 when the days were beginning to lengthen, Elrond called Eldirn to him in his study on a cold afternoon.

"Please, sit, Eldirn," Elrond gestured to the chair opposite his desk.

"Thank you, my Lord," she replied politely, nervously taking her seat. She could not think why she had been called to see the Lord of Imladris.

"Eldirn, how long have you been with us now?"

"This is my fortieth winter, my Lord."

"Do you not long for home, child?" Elrond asked kindly.

"Of course my Lord! I long to see my family and friends." The colour began to rise in Eldirn's cheeks.

"And your new little brother? How old is he now? Seven months?"

"Yes, my Lord. I long to see him most of all."

"Then why do you tarry here, Eldirn?" Elrond turned his powerful gaze onto the elleth.

"You think me ready to return?" She asked meekly, but unnecessarily because she knew the answer. She had known the answer for a long time. Elrond smiled kindly though.

"You know you have been ready for a quite some time. You are a very capable healer Eldirn."

She could not find any words to reply to either his generous compliment or his gentle rebuke.

"It seems to me," he continued, "that rather than being unwilling to leave, you are reluctant to return, which strikes me as peculiar because I do not know you to be one to shirk from those duties you do not like."

Again she had nothing to say.

"Eldirn, Imladris is a home, not a great hidden city of ages past. Eventually we will all have to leave and face that which we do not wish to acknowledge."

"Yes my Lord," she said blushing, now unable to meet his gaze.

"Soon it will be spring and the snows in the Mountains will melt. The passes will be easier then. You are welcome to remain here as long as you wish, but as I said Eldirn, you cannot escape here forever."

"I understand my Lord. I thank you once again for your kindness and patience in teaching me."

Elrond smiled and as Eldirn rose to leave he called after her. "Eldirn, if you do decide to leave, you would do well to tell my daughter sooner rather than later. If I know her at all, she will want to prepare you a feast before you depart."

"Thank you, Lord Elrond," Eldirn said respectfully and left.

It took her several days to come to her decision, but as Elrond had said, she had to leave eventually; she could not hide in Rivendell forever. She had spent the past ten years writing letters explaining why her return would be delayed by another month or another season even, desperately searching for excuses not to go back to the Greenwood. But she also ached to see her family. Part of her wondered if one of the reasons her parents had begetted another child was because they missed having that sort of joy in the house.

The first person she told of her imminent departure was Arwen. The two had become quite close over the years, more thanks to Thranduil's letter than anything, though Eldirn did not know this. And as Elrond had predicted, the first thing Arwen had said was that there would have to be a feast before her departure. Eldirn's face paled at this thought. She paled even further when Arwen said she need not worry about what to wear because she would take care of everything.

The weeks passed and the days got lighter and longer. The snow on the lower ground had melted and gradually the Misty Mountains lost their white colour and returned to the usual earthy grey on their peaks. With each day Eldirn felt a knot growing tighter and tighter in her stomach, but she could not put off the inevitable and the date of her departure was fixed. Once more the flurry of packing managed to push other things from her attention, but when she was alone at night Eldirn wondered what it would be like at home. She was excited to see her family, but nervous because she knew she could not avoid the inevitable. At some point she would have to see Legolas again and she did not know how she wished that to turn out.

The night before her leaving arrived. Eldirn had spent the day collecting letters and gifts for her parents and little brother before she retired to her room to get ready for that evening's feast. Arwen had promised to send her some help to dress her, despite Eldirn's protests that she could manage perfectly well on her own. But the maid had not arrived by the time Eldirn had finished bathing, so she spent a little time looking at the surroundings. Eldirn had lived in Rivendell almost as long as she had lived in the Greenwood and the place had become like a home to her. She had made friends in Rivendell that she might not ever see for hundreds of years to come, and she was loath to leave them. She wondered how long it would take her to forget her way through the passageways, or which paths took her on her favourite walks around the gardens.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. It opened before Eldirn reached it and in walked Arwen Undómiel, fully dressed for dinner though it was only a few hours past noon.

"I thought you were sending a servant to help me dress," Eldirn said, confused.

"I knew you would never be happy with that, having a strange elf here to help you, so I came instead," Arwen explained sweetly. Eldirn had to smile at such a kind offer from a friend.

"Thank you," was all she managed to say in reply.

"Would you like to see your dress now?" Arwen asked. She had been keeping it a secret from Eldirn for weeks.

"I do not know," Eldirn said warily, eyeing the covered item Arwen carried with suspicion.

"I think you will like it," Arwen said, coaxing the younger elleth as she hung the dress on the edge of the wardrobe.

"You take the cover off, Arwen," Eldirn said as she wrung her hands, strangely nervous. Momentarily her mind flittered back to the last occasion were she had been forced into a dress she had not had a hand in making, but she was soon distracted.

The covers were parted and slipped off to reveal a gown so beautiful, so suited to her, that she was lost for words. It was Eldirn's favourite shade of dark green, one that reminded her perfectly of the trees surrounding her family home in the Greenwood, with silver leaves sewn round the neck line and around the sleeves at her elbows before the fabric billowed out to make the sleeves bell-shaped. Around her waist would sit a long sash that was a darker green with the same leaf pattern.

"Oh," Eldirn breathed airily. "Oh Arwen, I do not know what to say. It is wonderful."

Arwen only smiled and took it out from the covers. Eldirn traced her finger over the soft material, feeling the quality beneath her fingers and sighed. She heard Arwen laugh gently as she stroked the dress longingly.

"If you stop touching it, Eldirn, we can put it on you."

"Very well," Eldirn said, tearing her eyes away from the dress to look at Arwen.

Arwen had quickly learned that Eldirn was more modest than most elves, so she handed her the dress and turned her back. There was some rustling and then the noise stopped.

"Could you help me tie the sash? I cannot make the fabric flatten properly."

Arwen manoeuvred Eldirn to in front of the mirror. As she tied the fabric at the back, she paid attention to the way the material bunched at the front; she pulled it in to flatter Eldirn's slim figure.

"There," Arwen said once she was satisfied.

"Oh Arwen, it is beautiful. I cannot thank you enough."

"We are not finished yet, now we must do your hair."

Eldirn sat in a chair and let Arwen play with her hair, braiding two thick sections on the sides of her head into one long plait that fell down the centre of her hair, leaving half of her hair to flow freely down her back.

"You just need one more thing," Arwen mused and reached for Eldirn's jewellery box. "Do you mind?" She asked.

"Not at all," Eldirn replied.

Arwen rooted around, pulling out several necklaces but not finding one she was happy with until she had reached the very bottom.

"I have not seen you wear this before, yet it cannot be new because it was right at the bottom of the box tangled amongst things." She held up a silver chain with a seven-pointed star on it. Eldirn stared at it, her eyes filling with tears as she remembered the last time she had looked upon that chain. "Eldirn?" Arwen asked, kneeling next to Eldirn's chair.

"I have not seen that necklace since I hid it at the bottom of that box before I came here," Eldirn said softly. Tentatively she reached out and touched the pendant where it lay pooled in her lap. Arwen gently stroked her hand and Eldirn took up her story. "It was given to me by an ellon, but we fought the next day and we parted on bad terms. I had known him in my childhood and then only a few weeks previously we had reformed our acquaintance quite by accident at a festival in the Wood. I did not deserve such a gift from him, I knew that when he gave it to me, but he was so insistent and wonderfully earnest. Later, he would not take it back. He said he could not bear to look at it." A tear escaped from her eyes followed by another and another.

"He is the reason you have stayed here for so long, is he not?" Arwen said gently, handing Eldirn a piece of material to dab her eyes on.

"If I go back then I will know whether it is meant to be or not, and I am afraid of the answer."

"Do you love Legolas?" Arwen asked.

"How do you know?" Eldirn asked, dismayed that her personal business was known by more people than she thought.

"Thranduil wrote to me when you first came here. He said you had been a particular friend of Legolas'. I simply read between the lines. And you either pale or blush at every mention of his name by my brothers or by me when letters arrive from the Greenwood. He is a good elf, Eldirn. He would want you to keep this as a memory of your times together regardless of the way you parted. Of that I feel sure. I got to know him quite well during his time here. Did he ever tell you about it?"

"No, he would not speak of Rivendell when I tried to raise it once. I did not try again."

"I think we have time for this tale. Shall we take one last turn around the gardens you like so much?"

Eldirn smiled and nodded her agreement. At last she felt she might understand something of what Legolas was wrestling with when they first got reacquainted.

As they walked and talked, Arwen summarised Legolas brief stay in Rivendell, their plan to stop the nagging of their fathers and then the night the story had all unravelled, ending in Legolas returning to the Greenwood in disgrace.

"Legolas seemed to me like an elf who let his heart rule him, never his head. He has had to learn quickly that that is not always the wisest course in life and that sometimes we should stop and think before we do things."

"That seems true enough," Eldirn added, her mind thinking back to Legolas' impulsive end to their night merrymaking.

"What are you thinking?" Arwen asked. "You have a strange smile on your face."

"Nothing," Eldirn said, all too quickly. Arwen took it as a good sign for Legolas and left it at that.

"I think perhaps we should go inside," she suggested and led the way back to the main buildings of Rivendell. "You should not be late for your own farewell feast."

Eldirn enjoyed her last night in Rivendell, though she was preoccupied for much of it. The thought of her necklace on her dresser back in her room ensured that. The knot had returned in her stomach, bigger than it had ever been before, and all she could think of was the last time she had seen Legolas: the disgust on his face when she had become angry with him and said those things she did not really mean, the awful things he had said in return and then the tears in his eyes as he turned his back on her.

It was a long night for Eldirn. She had many friends to say goodbye to and by the early hours of the morning she felt she had received enough good wishes to last her a lifetime. Eldirn retired to her room which was full of packed-up boxes, took off her dress and climbed into her bed, only to spend the rest of the night pondering what would have been if she had not left Greenwood in quite the manner she had, or if she had even left at all.

The morning of her departure dawned bright and crisp. Eldirn said goodbye to her closest friends and family once more on the steps of Rivendell, before wrapping a cloak around herself and mounting her horse. With one last look behind her and a wave to say farewell, she rode east with tears streaming steadily down her face.

Elrond had given her the protection of three of his best guards and thanks to their skill the journey over the mountains was blessedly uneventful. After three days Eldirn found herself on the borders of her homeland once more. The horses had slowed to a walk and they were travelling under the eaves of the forest until they found the forest road. Suddenly, elves jumped out of the trees from all around and surrounded them.

"Who are you and why do you travel in these lands?" demanded a voice behind her that Eldirn vaguely recognised.

"We escort a lady back to her home." One of her guards spoke haughtily. "We expected her kin to be a little more welcoming."

"Who do you travel with?" the voice demanded again.

Eldirn dismounted and turned to face her questioner.

"I am Eldirn Star-Watcher," she said firmly, "your Highness," she added, realising she was addressing Thalion.

"Welcome back to the Greenwood, my Lady," Thalion said cheerfully, motioning to the elves around him to lower their bows. "I imagine your friends are eager to return to Rivendell, so we can see you safely home from here."

"Thank you," she said.

The guards quickly unloaded Eldirn's boxes from the Rivendell ponies. Thalion approached Eldirn.

"You have been gone many years Eldirn, quite longer than expected."

"I found I had much more to learn than I expected, your Highness," she countered easily.

"You have returned on a good day. I am taking my troop back east later today once our replacements arrive. You shall not have more than an hour or two to wait I should think, then we will load your belongings onto ponies and we shall be on our way," Thalion said, impressed with the way Eldirn seemed to be handling herself.

"Thank you," was all she said in reply.

Eldirn thanked her Rivendell guards and watched as they galloped back the way they had come. She rummaged through her pack and found a book to read to fill up the rest of her wait. Settling down in the crook of a tree just well enough away from the other elves so as not to get in the way, but without feeling as if she had lost their protection completely, she began to read. She was smiling to herself the whole time at the thought of turning up unexpectedly at home and what her mother would say.

That evening she found out. Rodwen screamed with delight and wrapped her baby girl up in her arms and cried with happiness. Haedron looked on, smiling, while her new baby brother gurgled in his father's arms.

Not more than a few miles away there was a similar homecoming for Thalion. He pulled his son against his side and ruffled his hair then sat down and listened to the boy's excited chatter about everything he had done during his father's absence. Finally Thalion managed to quieten his son long enough to approach his wife. Eiliant kissed him and pulled him tightly against her to embrace him. When she pulled back she saw a funny look on his face.

"There is something strange about you," she said.

"I have news," Thalion replied cryptically arching an eyebrow.

"Oh do tell," she encouraged.

"Today, my troop and I escorted a certain elleth back from the edge of the forest. She had arrived there accompanied by her own little escort from Rivendell."

"Eldirn is back!" Eiliant gasped. "How I have longed to see this day," she said as her mind rapidly schemed for ways that Legolas should come across Eldirn one day soon.

"But the question is, do I tell my brother?" Thalion asked, troubled. He drew Eiliant back from her plotting.

"No, let them be," she said with surety. "They will find each other soon enough."