A big thank you to those of you reading and reviewing my work! Gilraen is still in Rivendell in this chapter but the story will soon be taking her other places… some nice, some not so nice. So stay tuned. Enjoy!

Autumn Winds.

The summer days turned swiftly into autumn turning the trees of Rivendell lovely shades of brown, gold, red, orange and yellow. Leaves slowly drifted down on it's inhabitants, making all aware of the coming of winter and the snow that would soon color the land white.

Prince Elfwine had done his best to befriend Gilraen on a deeper level during this time. He became a part of her circle of friends and spent much time with Mendir and Teslan as well. Eldarion would also join them when he wasn't required to be present with his father or when he wasn't pursuing the attentions of beautiful elf maidens as he was likely to prefer.

It was on such a lovely fall day that Gilraen found her brother, trying to speak to three maidens who were relaxing by the river. They giggled and smiled at him, retreating down a pathway. Gilraen passed them by and caught her brother by the arm, stopping his pursuit.

"Eldarion, you are much too obvious!" she laughed. She pulled him back towards the river to sit with her.

"If I keep on trying, eventually the no's will turn to yes's," he explained.

"Yes to what? You can't possibly be looking for a wife yet." she inquired.

Eldarion looked at her face in a strange way. Then he shook his head. "You can't possibly understand, dear sister."

"Then explain it to me," Gilraen persisted.

Eldarion laughed. "Suffice it to say, a man has needs."

Gilraen studied his expression and thought about his words. Eldarion looked back at her with a barely repressed smile. Then Gilraen turned red with embarrassment. "Oh!" she said. She could not believe he would admit to such a thing.

Eldarion laughed again at her expression. "Oh come now Gilraen. Don't be so shocked. It's a perfectly natural thing." He watched as she turned her face away, staring into the river. "Perhaps, not for you."

She looked back at his face, eyes wide. "That… that… is not to be considered until marriage!"

These words brought a fit of laughter to Eldarion. He enjoyed getting a reaction out of his sheltered sister as only a brother could. "Sweet Gilraen, perhaps that is the reason Elfwine is so anxious for marriage. He could not have you any other way!"

Gilraen was not only outraged by these words, but now she felt angry as well. How could he say such callous words. Elfwine had acted very honorable around her. Never had he appeared as Eldarion did now. "You… are nothing but a … a… rooster!" she insulted as she pushed her brother a few feet away. It was enough for him to lose his balance and fall sitting in the river. To her great consternation, he was still laughing as she stomped away up the path.

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A bitter wind blew on the last day of autumn and the clouds hung dark with pending snow. The wind had long blown away the last of the colorful leaves and the elf haven had prepared for another winter. On this day Legolas and Gimli came riding in to Rivendell, both excited to see their old friends again. Aragorn had greeted them warmly and all was made ready for a welcome banquet that evening.

Gilraen had joined her family in the courtyard when they had arrived, bowing and smiling in greeting. Gimli had made much about the fact that she had grown since the last time he saw her. It was an easy thing for him to notice, since that last time she had seen him she was yet smaller than him. Now she was the taller of the two and it seemed a different view of him indeed to be looking down at him instead of up.

Legolas had linked his arm through hers as they walked up the stairs and Gilraen felt the familiar butterflies return. They followed the King and the Queen onto the family terrace and were offered sweet honey water to drink. Gilraen took secret pleasure of his touch on her arm even though she knew that he was just being kind. In his glance, she saw no other hidden meanings or intimate wishes. There was no intensity of feelings in which she had observed other eyes. Eyes of hazel which had never concealed the depth of feeling for her.

Still, she searched the pale blue ones, hoping to catch some spark, some recognition that she was no longer a child. But he had only pat her wrist and smiled and said, "Is it not delightful to be all together again?"

Then he turned away from her and stood now with her father, his back to her. Did he not feel the heartache and disappointment which dwelt not five feet away?

Gilraen now shifted her glance to Eldarion, who did feel her pain. He looked at her with pity and made his way slowly to her side.

Do not speak.

Eldarion honored Gilraen's request and he took her hand, pulling her backwards to a more private area. He had always known of her infatuation with Legolas and it was obvious to him that she still felt the same after all these years.

"Gilraen, do you still favor Lord Legolas?" he whispered. He had noticed how she had been with Elfwine these past months and had thought that perhaps she was beginning to let him into her heart.

She sat silent a moment and then answered softly, "If you had asked me that yesterday, I would have said that he was part of dreams, dreams that are good but are not real, because it would be hard to believe otherwise. But today… I see him and I touch his arm… and something happens inside."

"What? What happens Gilraen?" her brother whispered.

"I see that he is real, and not a dream, and that I still feel… love… for him," Gilraen said in sorrow. "But he does not see it. To him I am a child, the daughter of his friend."

"How many times have you seen him since you have traveled together?" Eldarion now asked.

"This is the fourth," she glumly whispered.

"And still you hold hope for this love?" her brother asked. Gilraen did not answer as she felt confusion in her head over these words.

Eldarion continued, "Gilraen, could loving him be just a habit?"

Gilraen turned her head and looked at her brother. "What do you know of love?" She felt a bit riled that Eldarion would call her love a habit. Eldarion did not like her words and became defensive.

"Forgive me sister," he said stiffly as he rose from his seat, "I have forgotten how wise you are. I should never presume that you do not know yourself… or me for that matter."

He felt her clasp his hand before he could walk away. "Eldarion… please sit down… forgive me." Eldarion took a breath and sat again.

"I know of love, Gilraen."

"I know you do…"

"But there are decisions I must make," he looked at her now, a very serious look. "I suppose you must make them as well." He searched her face, wondering if he should tell her more.

Gilraen could see that he had something important on his mind. She could search his memories if she wished to, but she did not feel right about doing so without his permission. She remembered the day she met Lord Celeborn and he had taken her memories without warning. She did not want to do so with her brother.

"What decisions Eldarion?"

Eldarion glanced around at the family and friends on the terrace. All seemed to be occupied in conversation with others and no one was paying them much attention. He decided he could speak of it.

"Gilraen, when the day of my sixteenth birthday came, mother and father presented me with a box," he explained. "You will be presented with the same at this age. Do not let on that I have told you this, because you are not the age to know yet." He waited for her promise.

She nodded her head in agreement, excited at finding out this great secret in store for her. Was it going to be good or dreadful?

Eldarion continued after a deep breath. "Inside the box is a scroll written by Lord Elrond explaining the gift given to the half-elven of his blood long ago. You remember how Elros, his brother chose to be Dunedain? And Elrond chose to be elven?"

Gilraen realized what he was trying to tell her. "You are being given the choice? I will too?" She looked over to where her parents were standing with wide eyes.

"Yes," Eldarion said miserably, " and I wished it weren't so." Gilraen now looked at him in surprise. "How can you think this is a good thing Gilraen? How will I ever choose? "

"But it is a blessing!" Gilraen exclaimed. "You can choose to be immortal Eldarion. You need never die!"

"Will the men of Gondor want an elf king? Will they not prefer someone of their own race?" he questioned. "Can I love whom I wish? If I was an elf, and I married a mortal, she would die. I would have to watch her die, while I enjoyed good health." Eldarion looked depressed now and Gilraen sensed that there was much he had yet to tell her.

"Do you love someone Eldarion?" she said softly, placing her hand on his arm. His sad eyes rose up to meet hers and he nodded.

"A girl, in Gondor. Her father is a ship captain and he is often away on voyages, leaving her alone," he smiled a hopeless smile. "I had been seeing her secretly for about a year until I was forced to come on this journey. I think, perhaps, I was found out and that it is hoped I will forget about her in this time away. But I will never forget. I have thought that by involving myself with others, I could ease my longing for her, but it has not helped. In every face I meet, I see only hers."

Gilraen took his hand and squeezed it. "I was wrong, Eldarion. You do know about love, even more than I."

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After the banquet that night, Gilraen retired to her room, thinking about the day which was coming to an end. She gazed out of her balcony as Fireal brushed her hair before bed. She had sung for the guests tonight, as she had expected, and she was praised tonight as she had expected. What she had expected with Legolas came true as well. He had treated her with the same affection in which she would expect from an uncle. It was the way he had always treated her.

"Fireal, am I still such a child?" she asked her maid, somewhat absentmindedly.

Fireal was not sure how to answer. She knew that she tread on delicate ground with this question. "Each day that passes, you become less a child and more a woman."

Gilraen knew she would not get the answer she wished. She wanted Fireal to tell her that she was a beautiful young woman and that Prince Legolas surely noticed her tonight. She wanted to hear that he was in his room this minute, composing a poem for her and dreaming of their first kiss to come. But there was no such words of hope from Fireal.

Gilraen closed her eyes. The aroma of a pipe being smoked floated up through her window, reminding her of the masculine world of men like her father. This scent caused her to suddenly open her eyes wide and spring to her feet, walking the distance to the end of her balcony. When she looked at the dark below, she could see no one. Then the glow of the pipe caught her eye and she darted her glance towards a bench beneath her very balcony. "Elfwine?" she ventured.

"Yes, my lady," came his smooth, masculine voice.

"Have you been listening to me?"

There was a slight pause before he answered. "Not on purpose. I came only to smoke my pipe." She could sense the amusement behind his carefully chosen words.

She looked carefully, trying to discern his shape. She could only see a dark outline of him down below. "Well… goodnight then."

"Sleep well Gilraen. Tomorrow you shall be more a woman than you are today," he said, not bothering to hide his amusement anymore.

"Oh!" she huffed, spinning on her heel and hurrying back inside.

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