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Hello once again! Sorry its been so long…yet again. My pc's had another virus so I haven't been able to get onto a computer for the past couple of weeks!

A big thank you to everybody who reviewed- and read of course. Hugs all round xxx

I hope you like this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think!

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She had had this dream every night since Eleni's funeral, nearly a month ago.

Where the pure white snow covered the ground, yet the flowers remained in bloom, the cheerful yellows and blues, the red roses which stood tall beckoning to her seductively. She knew what was happening but the promises that the roses whispered to her would eventually wear her down and she would willingly become captured in their spell.

Lifting her hand she would place her fingertips on the silky smooth petals of her tormenters. A calming feeling spread through her body and confident that the rose would protect her she wrapped her fingers around the stem. The pressure of the thorns digging into her palms was exquisite and the release when they finally breached the skin was orgasmic.

Unable to stand she fell to her knees.

With a small whimper of loss she felt her dreams melt away and the cold air of the night replace the warmth.

Beside her, her husband slept soundly, his leg possessively thrown over hers and one arm wrapped around her waist. On any other night she would have felt comforted but not this night. This night she felt trapped, she wanted nothing but to return to the safety of her dream, just to feel like that again.

Feeling tears painfully prick her eyes she closed them and against her wished nestled herself into the arms of her sleeping husband. Her movement woke him and automatically he enveloped her in his embrace. He could feel the soft flutter of her eyelashes against his bare chest and he could feel the comforting swell of her breast and the bump of her heavily pregnant stomach against his hardened muscles.

Stroking her hair gently he felt her relax and the withheld emotions of the past weeks began to pour out of her in an inescapable crescendo. Her body shook in exhausted sobs though there were no tears. She curled her body further into him and he was more than willing to tighten his hold, almost becoming one.

The weeks following Eleni's funeral had been hard. Life had been painful, the memories haunting and the loss traumatic. Their son had been their focus. They worked to make him happy, to make him understand, but he already understood. He understood better than they themselves. But he did not tell them that. Instead he listened carefully to what they had said, knowing that it made them feel better.

They had taken him to a hideaway deep in the forest so that they could spend time together. But he knew that they would have to go and so stood apart form them, not trusting his mother's kisses and his father's words.

But Thalia had gained a little weight and Elrond's hope for her and the child had strengthened greatly. The only hindrance was the pain that she felt. Unfortunately due to Thalia's reluctance to accept the babe the child she had not yet bonded with it and as such the babe had reacted badly and had turned on its side, lying on the base of her spine. It hurt her to move and there were even days where the pain was horrendous and walking was impossible.

The pregnancy was taking its toll on everybody and the imminent arrival of the new royal was being eagerly awaited.

Shifting slightly, Legolas cast his eyes around the dark space of their bedroom. Watching the shadows play on the walls as he let his mind relax. His eyes caught the glint of a diamond studded ring on his wife's finger and he could help but smile at the memory of the day they promised themselves to each other.

Thalia sniffed and pulled out of his embrace just a little to look up at him. Her eyes were red and swollen and her hair tousled but it made no difference, she looked adorable to him. She wiped a few stray tears from her cheek sloppily with the back of her hand and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Thanks for that"

She smiled at him and tucked her head under his chin feeling his soft chucked vibrate within his chest almost in purr. She sniffed again and shifted to get comfortable, wincing slightly at the pain when she moved her hips.

Legolas lay back while she made herself comfortable, his mind slowly working to create a sentence.

"Thalia, you know that I am returning to my father's council this morning?"

She nodded her head regretfully.

"You too must try to regain some semblance of life, even if it merely dining with everybody. It is time that we began living. I for one can no longer live like this, it is becoming tiresome"

Feeling slightly put out by his hash words Thalia merely nodded her head, letting the silence descend around them.

Breaking the silence some minutes later she looked up at him,

"I know it's the middle of the night…but I really want a hot bath…fancy joining me?"

She smiled shyly at him, hoping that he would accept but knowing that he would not. Startled by the sudden surge of desire that flowed from him through their bond she gasped and tried to pull away from him. Sensing what she going to do he tightened his hold on her and nipped her neck gently but possessively with his teeth. Her fingers gripped his shoulders as he gently ran the tip of his tongue down the shell of her ear making her shudder. She moaned as he took the tip of her pointed ear in his mouth and sucked gently, rendering her helpless. He lay back and watched the blush rise in her cheeks and felt her shudder in his arms.

He grinned at her, knowing that pregnant elleth experienced increased sensitivity throughout their body…especially their ears.

Looking up at him through half closed eyes Thalia grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down to meet her lips. His breath left him and immediately he took control of her, his hands leaving trails of fire on her skin and his moth stealing the very breath from her lungs left her helpless to him.

With gentle hands he removed the silk nightgown from her body, not worrying about the look of horror on her face at him seeing her as she looked now. His eyes grazed her body for but a second and his need for her increased tenfold. Carefully he turned her on her side and as he captured her lips with his he slid into the silky depths of her, letting out a low groan in his throat.

She whimpered softly in a mixture of pain and pleasure as Legolas lifted her leg and placed it over his waist to take some of the pressure from her pelvis. She closed her eyes, thankful of his consideration and thought.

Once in a comfortable position he lifted his head to look at her. Her face was flushed and her eyes sparking as her hands glided over his skin. With a smile he grabbed her wrists and stilled her hands as he leaned down to kiss her forcefully before sitting back and placing a gently kiss on the palm of each hand.

She moaned as slowly he began to move within her. Her body moved with his, each of them well aware of how the other was feeling, each knowing every curve of their bodies.

Thalia dug her nails into his back as she reached her peak, shuddering helplessly as Legolas caught her lips in a heated kiss. He groaned as he spent his seed deep into her and no longer able to hold himself up collapsed beside her.

He listened as his wife lay panting beside him, trying to regain her breath. He reached over and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead lightly, letting his lips linger on her damp skin.

"I love you"

She whispered faintly through laboured breaths as she struggled to open her eyes.

Legolas moved to slide out of her but Thalia wrapped her legs around his waist tightly,

"Please stay"

He smiled at her and lay back down, still joined with her.

They lay there, both spent but finally contented; the frustration that had built up in their relationship had melted in their passion. Legolas rested his forehead on hers before sliding his arms around her and gently lifting her into his arms.

She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder, not caring where he was taking her but pleasantly surprised when she felt the warmth velvet of the bathroom cough beneath her when he laid her down.

Legolas chuckled to himself as he watched his wife sigh and burrow down into the couch. Her naked body was glorious to him and at that moment, as he gazed upon her it was as if he was looking at her for the first time again and he realised how far they come and what they had been thought, and he realised that they were now different people. But he knew that as they met now as different people, although they would no doubt argue and quarrel they would always find themselves and each other. He shook his head, smiling to himself as he gathered a pile of fresh linens from a shelf and turned the tab in the bath, letting the hot water run into the large tub.

Thalia opened her eyes and reluctantly sat up, quickly gathering a linen to her bare chest.

"Why didn't she say goodbye Legolas?"

Legolas looked at her with an unsure expression. He wanted to tell her what she wanted to hear, but he also wanted to tell her the truth. He mother was a poisonous liar who had damaged their lives in an irreparable way. The memories of her deed were some of their worst and they could never, he could never forgive her for that. But could not bring himself, as he looked at his upset wife who looked so small and vulnerable, to break her heart even more so.

"I do not know Thalia. She did not even say hello, there was no reason for her to say her farewell"

"I saw her. She was at the funeral"

Legolas looked at her, his gaze turning to ice and his expression becoming passive, he did not trust himself to speak. Instead he slid into the bathtub and beckoned to her. She shook her head, resigned to the fact that he would not talk about this with her at that moment. She placed her hands on his shoulders and slid into the hot water slowly finally coming to rest against his chest.

"My back really, really hurts"

"It will be over soon. Soon we will have another child to nurture and teach. A child that we will never let near your mother"

She pulled away form him, her eyes blazing and her lip draw into a straight line.

"Legolas Greenleaf, do not take the liberty of bad mouthing my mother. She only did what she thought was necessary, she wanted my attention. She wanted me"

"And you were mine! She had no right!"

Legolas leaned over her, intimidating her to a degree but he would not back down and she rose to his challenge.

"I am not yours. I belong to nobody"

She made to get out of the tub but Legolas reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her round to meet him.

"You belong to me. I am your husband. I love you and I will always care for you but if that woman comes anywhere near you or our children again, I will kill her Thalia"

A chill ran down her spine and she shivered at the tone of his voice. He had meant every word.

"I don't want to fight with you"

She turned to look him, her eyes pleading with him but she was too proud to say the words. He smiled half-heartedly and pulled her to him.

"I see her everyday Legolas, I can't let go. I can't let this baby take her place"

Legolas sighed, not wanted to have this conversation at that moment but knowing that he had.

"Nobody will ever replace Eleni. But we must embrace this babe. We are bringing another life into this world. It is not the babes fault that their sibling has passed into the care of the Valar is it?"

Thalia shook her head,

"For all our sakes we must embrace this child. We will cherish this life; it is a chance for us to make right all our wrongs and to learn form our mistakes. Our family will always be strong if we remain a family"

Thalia bit her lip and placed her hands on her stomach as the baby visibly kicked, making a ripple on her smooth taunt skin.

She smiled, a true smile. It was a smile that he had first seen in her first smile and for the first time she looked excited at the prospect of the arrival of her baby.

"I feel like me again"

Her whisper was faint and he struggled to hear her. But he heard her nonetheless.

The couple spent an hour relaxing in their bath until Legolas dragged a reluctant Thalia out of the bath. Thalia had talked non stop about decorating the nursery for the bad and in turn re-decorating Niall's room for him. She was excited about the baby, that was perhaps the greatest gift of all.

The shadows played on the wall like shimmering spectres. The floor was littered with damp linens that the two had cast of after their bath. On the dressing table a glass of water stood beside a discarded hairbrush and a carelessly placed hair pin. Legolas dark blue tunic lay on top of Thalia's day dress. Their shoes had been kicked under the bed and would no doubt remain there until they remember them, along with various other items.

Two bodies lay naked on the bed, one sleeping peacefully the other laying restless.

Thalia lay back, desperately willing her body to relax. Her chest felt tight and her arms were itching almost to the point of burning.

Despite the darkness of the room her eyes drifted to the box that lay on her dresser. It was the box that held her most precious jewels; her circlet, a few diamonds, and the last razor that she had brought to middle-earth over sixty years ago.

Looking at the sleeping face of her husband Thalia carefully lifted the thin sheet and slipped out of bed before silently making her way over to the box, wrapping the sheet around her body as she went. With fumbling fingers she found the key and managed to open the box.

Quickly glancing towards the bed she gathered the box to her chest and made her way over the almost dead fire. Abstractly she quickly re-lit the fire and sat before it, excitement flowing through her.

The lid came off with a pop and she smiled as she wrapped her finger around the cool plastic of the razor as she reverently pulled it out of the box.

She couldn't help the smile that slid over her lips as she looked at it in earnest. She knew it would get rid of everything. The guilt, the hate and the helplessness. She had to do it.

Suddenly aware of the empty space beside him Legolas slipped out of sleep let his eyes focus.

"Thalia?"

His gaze fell on the figure of his wife sitting before the fire, her back to him. Quickly searching their bond Legolas understood what she was feeling. He had been thought this before, but this was not the same. This time it was different.

Getting out of bed he fastened a sheet around his waist and made his way over to the fire.

She gave no indication that she knew he was there and he made no presumption.

Silently he sat behind her, his legs on ether side of hers and her back pressing against his chest.

Looking down he confirmed what he had known.

She sat; one arm carefully balanced on her knee, a razor in her other hand. Three deep cuts on her forearm. He watched with final understanding as she moved her hand and placed the razor on her skin once more. She stopped as he ran his hand over the arm that held the razor before gently placing his hand over hers.

He held her hand as she drew the blade across her skin, watching as the blood bubbled over the wound and ran down her wrist, finally dripping form her fingertips. And still he held her hand, his other arm sliding round her body to hold her to him.

She leaned back into him, exhausted. A thin sheen of sweat shining on her brow, the delightful throbbing of her arm as she was freed form her thoughts.

"You held my hand"

She whispered. Smiling gently he leaned down to whispering her ear.

"I will always hold your hand"