Elrohir watched Lunian pass, then looked at Legolas. He frowned immediately. "What happened?"

"I lost her before I ever had her," he answered hoarsely, still feeling like he couldn't get enough air, like his heart was being ripped from him, and like he could collapse onto the floor. Only a show of will that surprised himself kept him upright, but he didn't want to see what his face told the world.

"What did she say?" Elrohir asked, his voice angry and eyes dark for his friend's obvious pain.

"She told me to go home. To leave."

Elrohir blinked, and slowly smiled. He clapped his hand on Legolas's shoulder, and laughed delightedly. "You haven't lost her at all, Legolas."

"You didn't see the look in her eyes, Elrohir. She meant it."

"I'm sure she did." Elrohir grinned at the confusion Legolas wasn't trying to hide even as he led him into the library, pushing him down into a chair after closing the door so they wouldn't be overheard. "Stop reacting to the pain, and think. Lunian cares about her friends, correct?" he barely waited for Legolas to nod. "And she knows how they're feeling most of the time, always if she's looking at them and can see their eyes." Legolas nodded once more, still not making any sense out of whatever point Elrohir was driving at. "And she's seen the light in your eyes recently."

"It's hard to hide," Legolas grumbled softly.

"Exactly." When Legolas just blinked at him, Elrohir sighed and sat down across from him. "She would never hurt one of her friends willingly, unless she thought it to be in their best interest. I would guess she figured it out, and decided to send you away thinking she cared nothing for you in the hopes you would be able to convince yourself you don't love her." He grinned again despite the still solemn air. "I bet she came up with some reason you should leave at once."

Legolas looked at his friend in mounting confusion and painful hope. "But she is empathetic to my feelings," he knew that much from having watched her confusion increase since their return to Imladris. "How could she handle destroying me?"

Elrohir sighed. "She probably felt everything you felt just as keenly, for when she's concerned for someone the link becomes stronger, letting her pick up on things she would have missed. It probably ripped her apart at the seams, but she can be very stubborn when she wants to be, and strong when she needs to be." He shrugged. "If she had convinced herself, as I believe she must have, then she would have endured anything to cut you off from her, to save you." Elrohir smiled again. "She does care about you, Legolas, that anyone with eyes can see. Though she may yet think of you as a friend, she wishes you no pain, and would rather loose her friendship with you than watch you place yourself in the same hopeless position Arwen is trapped in."

"And if you're wrong?"

Elrohir smiled faintly. "I can't be wrong, because then I don't know her at all." His smile broadened to a grin. "Come with me," he murmured, getting up quickly, leading Legolas down the hall. He stopped before a room Legolas had never entered, and tapped his ear before pointing at the door. Soft sobs could be faintly heard through the light wood, obviously muffled somehow by the person within. Before he could move to enter, to comfort her, Elrohir laid his hand on his arm, stopping him. He led him away while still shaking his head. "No, leave her be. She will avoid you until you leave."

"How can I leave like this?"

Elrohir lifted a brow in surprise. "Since when have elves been so hasty in such matters?"

Legolas let out a breath that bordered on a growl. "Since they began falling in love with mortals!" he snapped back before lifting a hand to his temple.

Elrohir smiled and placed his hand on Legolas's shoulder again. "Return to Mirkwood, my friend, and give it time."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wow… one more review and this will be my most reviewed story. I haven't bothered to count e-mails, though.

I know it's short, but I'm getting tired of writing. I've got several stories all trying to get some time in, besides the ones I'm working on now, along with papers coming at me in all directions, and it seems everyone I keep a normal correspondence with have never heard of a little thing called e-mail, so I actually have to write out what I have to say to them. It wouldn't be bad, except I'm so used to typing I can almost keep up with what I'm thinking when I type, but end up pages behind when actually writing… which bites when it comes to taking notes in class. If I keep up, they're illegible, and if I don't… Sigh. School.

Oh, well.

So, it's a short chapter. You should all be used to it for this story, anyway.

I shall promise that from here on out any chapters under a page in length—on my computer, in my formatting, blah, blah, blah—will either be posted with another chapter or another one will come in a day or so. Of course, that will only happen as long as the computer/site agree to agree and let me upload as I intend. That has been a continuing annoyance for me… Am I the only one who is forever getting error messages?