Disclaimer- I own absolutely nothing.

Ok, I'm not sure whether or not we're allowed to post review responses. So here what I'll do, when you review I'll send you a response through e-mail...is that a fair thing?

A big thank to all of you who are still reading and reviewing! And I know I keep saying 'this is the last chapter' but this really is. Tho of course an epilogue will follow.

And a Huge thanks to EldarExilePrincess for editing this for me, as usual she's done a fab job!

The dew on the grass wet her feet as slowly she glided over the green carpet. The creature in her arms shifted and snuggled into her warmth, making her smile in the hopes that it would warm Niall's heart as much as it warmed hers.

Niall looked up from his game on the ground to see his mother striding towards him. She was dressed in a gown of silver and blue, her hair tied back loosely so that some still spilled onto her shoulders. When his eyes fell upon the surprise in her arms, he felt his heart race and a smile fight to cross the scowl that he had so stubbornly held on to for the long months that they had stayed in Imladris.

Wiping his hands on his clean grey tunic Niall stopped what he was doing.

"What do you want, nana?"

Thalia smiled at him, her eyes lighting up and her smile widening as she sat down with him. Her hand fiddled with the hem of her dress as she kicked off her shoes and placed the carefully covered bundle in her lap.

"I've, found you a gift Niall. Do you want to see what it is?"

The little elfling turned his head to see his uncle Elladan make his way slowly down the path that would eventually lead him to join the two of them. Elladan caught his eye and nodded his encouragement.

Through the weeks that he had been in Imladris, it had been noted that Elladan had spent as much time as he could with the elfling: showing him how he could improve his archery, taking him exploring, and talking about his feelings. Elladan had seen an upset in Niall's heart, and it reminded him sharply of his own discontent during his younger years, and so he sought to aid the elfling in solving the problem and working through his blunt anger before it caused irreparable.

Turning back to his mother, Niall smiled and nodded as he knelt impatiently waiting to see what his mother had brought him.

Thalia laughed at her son's poorly hidden excitement and reached down to uncover a white snout and a black button nose. Niall gasped and quickly pulled back the covering to see the tiny head of a wolf cub. Its dark brown eyes looked up at him and its ear flopped over its head at the sudden movement.

Niall laughed and ran his hand through the short but soft white and grey fur, and before he could sit down, the cub had eagerly crawled out of the blanket and began nuzzling his leg to get attention. The elfling quickly gave into the cub and lifted him into the air, yelping as the wolf licked his nose and wagged his tail.

Sitting back, Thalia watched the scene with a lump in her throat. Her son was smiling, and it was a genuine smile. He looked so happy and it made the rays of the bright sun dim in comparison.

That one smile cancelled out all of the tears that she had shed, and all the harsh words that had been swapped. For it was the memory of that smile that she would take with her across the sea. Her eyes watched him closely, taking in the way his eyes narrowed when he laughed and the way that his mouth curved into a grin. His skin glowed and his clothes were creased, but for once it did not matter.

With a sobering smack, her thoughts crashed when she reached the realization that she would not see him grow up and become the elf that she had always imagined him to be.

But she banished those thoughts when the little cub jumped onto her lap, followed by the excited body of Niall. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, not wanting to let him go. Her mind focused on everything: the smell of his hair, the feel of his body and the way that he hugged her tightly, his breath tickling her ear slightly. She became lost within her mind and Niall simply remained where he was, content in his mothers arms, a place that he had banished himself from what seemed like an age ago.

---

With a stab of guilt I turned my back on the scene below and sat on the stone balcony, ignoring the way that the cut stone dug into my legs but being careful not to wake Lynden, who was sleeping peacefully in my arms. My eyes scanned the room that had been our home through some of our hardest moments. Everything was as it had been over 60 years ago. The same thick rug sat on the stone floor and the same chairs sat before the fire.

My memory was cast back to the nights that I had sat with my wife in my arms reading to her from the many volumes of history that Lord Elrond had kept safely within the library walls. I can remember one of those nights when we had lain together, neither of us saying anything but merely enjoying the silence. And my thoughts had been those of selfish misunderstanding. I had not intended to find Thalia on my journey to Lord Elrond. I had been delivering a letter that I am sure had been of little importance, but it allowed me my freedom and I had taken the opportunity with an enthusiasm that I showed very rarely. Still, I remember the way that she had looked upon me with eyes so full of terror. And I remember the fear that had turned my blood cold when I had found her wounds.

I still cannot help but wonder what my life would be like if I had not found her.

Is it selfish of me that I would have my wife safe and well across the sea while I remain within the forests of the home of my spirit? I can feel my soul resting within the safe haven of Mirkwood, and I have not the heart to leave. Nor can I watch her sail, for I fear that I will lose my heart to the call of the sea. Looking down at her as she sits with Niall, I can clearly see that for all her years and her distress, she still has the heart of a child. And she should run free without fear.

Her face is radiant with laughter and beauty as the sun shines down upon her, and as she lifts Niall into her arms, I see a picture that I will treasure in my heart for eternity. Their laughter lifts my spirits and I cannot help but think about what I will miss; the feeling only gets worse as I look at my youngest son, asleep in my arms. I cannot believe that he has grown so much. His hair is light blonde, much like his mother's, and his eyes are blue with small specks of green in them, his tiny ears are pointed and he squirmed slightly as I run a finger over them. Lifting him onto my shoulder, I hold him close to me, he smells of the forest after the rain and of comforting sleeping oils that Thalia likes to bathe him in. My children are my life and I will do everything in my power to keep them safe and well. Which is why Lynden will travel across the sea and Niall will stay with me, his heart is too free and he will do well to remain behind.

I will miss Lynden and I fear that he will not know me, though I think that I worry for naught. My wife will raise him well.

And Niall, he will prove a challenge I am sure. But I hold a hope that under my guidance he will grow to become a great elf, and as a father I cannot help but hope that he will be a wiser Elf than I. I honestly no longer have fears for my son. Seeing him with Elrohir and Elladan has opened my eyes to a much older, assertive and carefree elf than I had taken him for. Perhaps that was my biggest fault.

---

They stood together in the gardens, bathed together in the silver moonlight, the trees whispering in the breeze and the sounds of the nightlife surrounding them. She reached for him, her fingers touching his lightly, tentatively, waiting for him to take her hand in his. Her eyes studied their entwined fingers, her mind taking in the details of the soft but slightly callused skin of his fingers, and the way that they curled around her own slender fingers with their perfectly long nails, and for a moment she could help but wonder how they had gotten to be so long. But most of all she took comfort in the way that their hand fit together so perfectly. She would never forget that, and she almost mourned the absence of a Kodak camera.

Her eyes shifted, and slowly she let them focus on his black boots before she stepped forward. She was so close now that she could feel his breath on her cheek but still she could not look up into those eyes, for that would be her undoing.

"This is harder than I thought."

She tried to laugh, but all she could manage was a sharp cough that burned her throat, and the dam that she had placed around herself was cracking.

He looked down at her with a gaze filled with sadness. His eyes had lightened and were almost glowing, and his lips were curved into a rare smile of contentment. He studied her carefully. Her eyes were cast to the ground beneath her, and her expression was one of regret, but still she looked beautiful. The strands of hair around her face had been pulled back to join a mass of curls that she had carelessly pinned up. The straps of her dress fell over her shoulders, letting the material fall over her arms, and the beautiful skirt swept gently over the curve of her hips and to the floor in waves of silver and blue. She was more beautiful than any other was, and she was his. The light sound of her voice drifted over him and it took him a moment to answer.

"Aye mela, tis much harder."

The silence settled around them, but still neither of them moved. It was as if a spell had fallen over then and neither of them would dare break it for fear of losing each other.

Closing her eyes, Thalia raised her head, her hand moving up his arms to settle on his shoulder as he slid his hands around her waist to pull her to him. Legolas tightened his arms around the soft figure of his wife and buried his face in her hair, letting the fragrance that belonged only to her envelope him. He could feel the flutter of her eyelashes as she laid her head on his shoulder. Standing on her toes, she held him just as tightly, and though her heart was lighter than it had been in years, she still felt the heavy burden of goodbye.

She buried her head into his shoulder and clung to him with an upset that had not taken hold of her before now, and the sorrow poured out of her in a river of silent tears.

Pushing her away from his body, Legolas grasped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead tenderly before letting his lips fall over the tears that she had shed. Leaning forward, he tucked her hair behind her ears and whispered lovingly:

"The gulls will call me home when you need me. And until then, you shall sleep soundly knowing that our love grows stronger still, and when we are together again, it will be a joyous occasion. But until then you may take my heart with you. Keep it safe, for when I return to your side I will wish it back, my love."

Thalia laughed and shook her head, her heart very much lightened. She could feel his strength running through her veins, and it was then that she knew that he spoke the truth. She also knew that soon Sauron the Deceiver would come to power once more, and Legolas would be called to join the fellowship. And though it pained her greatly to know what horrors he would see, she knew that he would be safe. She also knew that he would gain friends that he would treasure forever, and that was perhaps the greatest thing of all.

Opening her eyes, she looked into the pools of blue that had saved her so many times before and would continue to lend her strength through her time without him by her side. Legolas smiled and slid his hand around her neck as he brought her lips to his in a kiss so powerful that both felt a spark run through their bodies.

"It shouldn't feel like goodbye, but it does. It really does."

Her voice trailed off as her throat began to burn and she could no longer speak. Her arms circled his shoulders and her fingers grasped his tunic tightly.

"I don't want to let you go."

"I love you Legolas."

"And I you."

Kissing her temple, Legolas drew back and forced her to look him in the eye.

"I will never let you go. You, my wife, will be forever mine and mine only. But we must. You are no longer content to remain here and I know in my heart that this is right. We are doing the right thing."

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