Chapter 9

*2 weeks later*

The whole of Gondor had been in a frenzy that week in preparation of the coming coronation of Aragorn. Even though they had another 3 weeks to prepare, they expected some of the first guests to begin arriving at the end of the week, and that meant rooms to prepare, food to be gathered, and decorations to be made. This both irritated Evelyn and made her happy.

She was not pushed to her limits everyday between the twins and Gandalf, their sessions were cut short as royal duties took precedent over her, but she often times found herself quite alone and bored when they were not around. However, Legolas had been filling those gaps as of late. If she were not with the twins or Gandalf, Legolas would take her out riding. They had not taken a trip back to Ithilien since he took her there on their first outing, instead they stayed around the fields of Pelennor. Evelyn was okay with that, she looked back on their trip to the future city with fondness. It was probably first time the Elf Prince had opened up to her and let some of his inner most thoughts out. She did not want to go back and have the memory of them on the rock spoiled.

Evelyn sighed, pushing thoughts of the blond elf from her mind. It would do her no good to dwell on such thoughts, already she had let him become to much of a permanent fixture in her days. 'and nights,' and internal voice added, making her cringe, but it was true. Her nightmares had begun to return, and apparently Legolas having the room next to hers, was the one to hear her cry. Not only that, he was the one for the past few weeks that came to her and stayed until the dreams subsided.

It risked both of their reputations here, but Evelyn found she did not really care, she wanted him there, wanted the peaceful sleep that came when she knew she was not alone, and he gave her that. 'Damn,' she cursed to herself. She had let him in more than she had realized, and she was not sure what she needed to do about it. Rubbing her face, she made herself stand up and get ready for her day…with Legolas.

Of course when the knock sounded on her door, she could not help the smile that spread across her face.

"I take it you are ready?" Legolas asked from the doorway, watching with an amused expression, as the woman hurried to the door, eager to go to the stables. He had never seen someone who took such thrill from something as simple as riding.

"Of course I am!" She beamed, striding past him into the hall. "Are you coming?"

He could not help but return her exuberant smile with one of his own. He found himself wondering how it had come to be this way. He worked his schedule of meetings to have breaks when he knew she would be free from her own obligations. He found he could be himself around her, speak freely, something he was not accustom to doing, but he also found it terrifying. He was still in shock that he had told her of his plans for Ithilien, the only other person who knew was Aragorn, and they had been friends for many a year. And then there was his father.

Evelyn watched as a frown formed itself upon her companion's face, and worry clawed at her stomach. She thought about keeping her mouth shut, but she had been lucky lately with Legolas actually speaking to her.

"Something troubles you." She stated rather than asked, knowing if phrased as a question he would surely deny it.

He gave her a small, forced, smile. "My father." He stated simply.

"I don't follow you." She told him, brows furrowed.

"He will, along with most of his court, be here at the end of the week."

"Yes, I would have expected you to be happy to see him after everything." Evelyn replied, turning her attention back to the horse under her so she did not make Legolas think she was giving him the third degree.

"Oh I will be glad, however, my father can be…difficult."

"I do not see what he could possibly be difficult about, you are a decelerated war hero, he should be proud." She laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but she saw from his face his tension remained, and sighed.

"Of course he will be proud." Legolas replied, trying to keep the tension from his voice but he knew he failed. It did not lie, King Thranduil would indeed be very proud of his son, what he worried about he could not say to her, he could not tell her that he worried over what his father would say about her. That is what he kept to himself. But he should not worry about that at all. There was nothing between them to warrant his father's wrath. They were, like the others of the fellowship, good friends. They formed a bond that any would form through such a peerless journey. That is what he told himself as he pulled himself from his thoughts to watch her ride. He had to admit, he has never seen anything quite like her riding, She was one with her horse, they had their own special language, and created something spectacular to watch. They created art.

"Will you teach me?" he asked her as she come close enough to hear him.

She instantly stopped Zenith, giving the elf and incredulous look. "What?"

"I said, 'will you teach me?'" He chuckled, not sure why he was asking, he just knew that anything would distract him from his thoughts, it would be learning something new.

"Why?"

"You ask a lot of questions. I want a distraction." Legolas replied, watching her mull it over in her head, her thoughts clearly written over her face.

"Sure." She shrugged, still eyeing him intently, wondering what his motives were. "But you will have to use Zenith." She told him. Her horse had carried him though the battle at the Black Gates, she knew she would carry him now, though how patient she would be was another question entirely.

Letting Arod graze beside her, She let Legolas and Zenith get reacquainted with each other.

"Now Zenith knows all of this, it will basically be teaching you how to properly sit and ask for what it is that you want. When your seat is correct, she will put herself in the correct form."

"My seat?" Legolas asked giving her a quizzical look.

"Yes seat. Your bottom and legs. It is a perfectly respectable word in the sport back home. Unless you prefer me to use bottom."

"Seat works just fine thank you."

Evelyn stifled a laugh. "We will only work at a trot today, see how you do. If you get your form correct I may add in a few moves. So to start with, we want a nice forward walk. Make sure she is using her hind end and not being lazy. You want her to push from behind, not pull herself forward. So, roll your shoulders back, keep your stomach muscle engaged, and weight back on your tailbone. It will feel strange at first, like you may roll of her back. You will ask for the trot and keep her on a circle."

"I think you were a teacher back home, not a horse trainer." He teased her.

"I was both. When you win an Olympic medal, people want you training them or their children." She replied, both pleased with her accomplishments and saddeded. She would not have any more students with olympic dreams to teach. Evelyn gulped down the lump in her throat, and put her attention back to her 'student.'

She was pleased to see, Zenith had collected for Legolas, and staying on a nice clean circle. It helped that elves were naturally gifted riders. "Perfect."

"So what now?" He asked her, a genuine smile on his face.

"We will practice what is called a turn on the forehand and turn on the haunches, it will help prepare for the more advanced moves. Now, we will start with turning on the forehand, Zenith finds it the easier of the two.

The object it to have her keep her front feet still and have her back feet move around her in a complete circle. Now we rode without bridles or saddles so it will be up to your body weight and legs aids to ask correctly.

You will first work to shift your weight to your inner seat bone, as you do this place your inside leg behind where the girth would be. Good. Now you will squeeze to move her back end around."

Legolas did so, but Evelyn instantly realized her mistake, she should have said gently or barely before squeeze, but squeeze Legolas did. Zenith's head shot up to attention with a squill and she swung her back side around fast enough to almost unseat the prince. Rushing forward, she tried to hide the sheepish grin on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asked, still stifling laughter, earning her a scowl from Legolas. "Sorry," she mumbled as she contained her laughter. "I'll show you want I mean." And moved to Zenith's side. "No, no, you stay up there," She scolded as he made to get down. "I'll show you from down here."

She placed her hands on his leg, catching him completely off guard, he looked at her in surprise. "Relax." He tried, he honestly did, but he found it hard with her so close and touching him, it was an intimate contact he was not used to. Evelyn, in teaching mode, did not think twice about her actions. With one hand on his knee and the other around his calf she gently slide his leg back. "This is the placement you want, and as for pressure," she paused as she pushed his leg ever so gently against the mare's side, causing her to slide her haunches around a few steps, "That is what you are looking for."

"Now, not all horses are as sensitive as Zenith, and it will take more, but alway start with the least amount possible. Try it on your own now." It did not take long before he had it down pat and they moved on to the next task.

Zenith had proven her wrong and had been rather patient with Legolas, she only bucked twice in frustration from his mistakes, though the last had unseated him. With a hand over her mouth she rushed over to him on the ground, zenith stood behind, purposefully not looking in her mistresses direction.

Evelyn saw him begin to raise from the ground, and immediately scolded him, "Don't you dare move until I make sure you're okay." Legolas obliged, embarrassed he had taken a fall, it had been years since he had come off a horses back.

Kneeling beside him she held up fingers for him, "How many do you see?"

"Three."

"And now?"

"Evelyn, I am fine." He said grabbing her fingers from in front of her face, "I promise."

She eyed him quizzically, not sure if she believed him. She looked him over again, head to toe, and did not see anything visibly wrong, but that was not to say he might not have some bruises. Some injuries were not noticeable at first.

"Well, just be careful, any strange feeling, let someone know."

"As you command." He replied, earning a sharp look from Evelyn, making him laugh.

As with all the other times, he was not sure what made him do it, he honestly did not remember cupping her face pulling her towards him for a kiss. He felt her body tense, he should have stopped then, but he did not. Her body relaxed, after a moment, her small hand coming to rest gently on his shoulder, her lips answering his own as the kiss deepened.

She was not sure how long the kiss lasted, or how long it would have lasted had not the sound of a horn bellowing behind them startled them from where they still sat on the ground. Instinct took over and Legolas was on his feet, slinging Evelyn behind his body, they were going through him first. Looking in the distance he saw a large group of riders cresting the hill, A smaller group rode ahead, and where close enough that Legolas knew in an instant who had arrived and his body tensed even more.

"Who is it?" Evelyn's voiced asked from behind him, and he risked a glance at her face. He expected to see fear there, and he was sure there was, but what he saw was a face a sheer determination. Though he scowled when he saw her swollen lips, he had done it again, and he did not know what it meant.

"It is my father, and his party from Mirkwood." He felt her relax behind him, though he remained tense "Come, if we hurry I can get you back and have time to greet my father."

"We can ride to them, I don't mind, I know you must want to see him."

"No." was the terse reply she got and she turned to look at the approaching party before walking to Zenith. From behind, hands grabbed her and hoisted her on the tall horse without a sound. Evelyn watched him out Arod and kick him into a gallop towards the city, leaving her with little choice but to follow.

She was sure they made it to the stables in record time and back to her room faster than she could blink an eye. "Tomorrow, I will come by tomorrow. I will show you the White tree, we have not been there yet." Bending down he placed a small kiss on her forehead and disappeared without another word, leaving her dumbfounded in the doorway.

"Ah, so I was correct in my earlier assumptions, there is something between you and a certain Prince of Mirkwood." A voice spoke from her balcony.

Spinning around, Evelyn groaned. Of all people to have been in her room waiting, it had t be Elladan. She was doomed. "I don't know what you are taking about. We are simply friends." She stated as matter of factly as she could, knowing it was a lie, even if she had not truly accepted it yet.

"Believe what you will my dear, I do not see him giving other members a kiss goodbye." He replied, eyes twinkling in mirth.

"None of the others are women." She retorted, placing her hands on her hips. "Besides, that hardly counts as a goodbye kiss."

"Completely irrelevant, your face says otherwise." Elladan smiled in his triumph. "Just be careful, culture here is different from on Earth."

"Coming from the elf hiding in my room while I was out." Evelyn countered, trying to deflect the subject.

"With the door open, completely within reason."

"I believe that is taking some radical liberties on the rules of court."

"I have never been one for rules." He smiled mischievously.

Evelyn narrowed her eyes, "You will keep your mouth shut, nothing happened that anyone else needs to know about."

"Ah, so you admit there is something?" HIs triumph was getting even better.

"NO! Just leave and keep your mouth shut!" She shouted at him, only making him laugh harder.

"Or what? Shall you turn me into a elven icicle?"

"Don't tempt me!" Evelyn hollered, raising her hand, half wishing she could do just that, sending Elladan running from the room in tears laughing. Shutting the door behind him, she slid down the floor, head in her hands. 'Damn.'

"Miss Evelyn?" Ceilin's soft voice filtered through Evelyn's thoughts hours later. Once she had picked herself up from the floor she had gone to her balcony to watch the procession of elves enter the city. Being a week early, they had caught everyone by surprise, and they had mustered as many as they cold to great them at the gates. From the distance, Evelyn could not make out individual people, but there was a stark difference between the people of Gondor and the elves of Mirkwood, they stood out like a sore thumb among the humans.

"Coming, Ceilin." She called, pulling herself from her thoughts and walked into the room. She was surprised to see the handmaid laying out large parcels on the bed. She looked up at evelyn in obvious joy, "Your other dresses! They have arrived!" She could not help but smile at the girl.

"So I see, which would you have me wear?"

"Give me a moment, let me look through them. The Mirkwood delegates and King are here, I want you to dazzle them!"

Evelyn laughed at her enthusiasm, "They are elves Ceilin, that would be quite the accomplishment, however, if anyone can pull it off, no doubt it'd be you." There was no reason to hurt her feelings, and Evelyn found she quite liked letting her pamper her, it was very relaxing.

The dress Ceilin picked was not the most elaborate, but she was sure it was runner up, her excuse being that she wanted the other for the coronation celebrations. She should have known no matter what she picked that Aragorn had told the seamstress to make them elaborate. This dress was a light purple, and though it was made roughly in the style she had chosen with the plunging neckline with the soft linen insert draped to make it modest, that and the sleeves were where the similarities stopped. Where she picked simple fabrics, this dress was made of the finest silks, a rich embroidery already sewn into it. The seams where embellished with thick golden threads woven in the pattern of the white tree of Gondor, with a matching gold belt that hung loosely on her hips and swung when she walked. She felt more like a goddess than the simple person she was.

At least she had done anything elaborate with her hair. She had merely just pulled part of it back, defined some of the curls and brought the ends over her shoulders to rest.

"You work miracles, Ceilin." She praised the girl, happy to see the blush spread across her face.

"Thank you."

A knock sounded on the door at that moment and Evelyn raised herself up, wincing at her sore muscles, maybe she should have taken the warm soak Ceilin had advised rather than her quick wash up. Her body had still not gotten used to riding for hours a day.

Opening the door she was not surprised to see the twins, what did surprised her was the look of knowing on Elrohir's face. She turned a sharp eye to Elladan, cheeks reddening in anger, "Elladan, you didn't?!"

"Well, I could not very well leave him in the dark about your dealings with the elf prince." He smiled at her, only fueling her anger more.

"And who else did you tell?" She was seething at this point, she wanted to hurt him, her hands curled into fists at her sides.

He shrugged, "No one but my dear brother here, promise."

"Don't you dare promise me anything, I obviously cant trust you or your promises."

"That was harsh my dear." Elladan said, a more serious note entering his voice. Elrohir had been smart and remained silent during the exchange.

"Harsh? You were the one in my room without my knowledge and witnessed an exchange you should not have, I ask you not to speak of it, and the first thing you do is run tell your brother. So no, I don't think I'm being to harsh." She could feel her body shaking she was so mad. There was nothing between her and the elf prince, and know not only did Elladan think there was but his brother too. How could she trust that he would not tell another?

"We keep no secrets from one another. But, for what its worth, I am sorry, I should have asked first." He told her in all seriousness.

Evelyn raised an eye at his apology, "And if you had asked and I said no, what then?"

"I would have still told him." He replied honestly.

"I figured as much." She sighed and pushed past them to the hall. "Are you going to escort me or not?" She called back when they lagged behind her. Elladan rushed to take her bad arm to hide its odd angle.

"Does that mean I am forgiven?" He asked, the playfulness back in his voice.

"Not by a long shot, I'm still very tempted to turn you into that elven icicle you suggested." But she could not help the smile that threatened to appear on her face. But she made it a point to hide it from the twins, they still had some groveling to do for her forgiveness.

They had them lined up in the great hall, standing at the entrance, waiting to greet the elven party. Aragorn, of course, was at the head of the procession followed by the hobbits, who clearly did not know what to think of their situation, as they shuffled back and forth on their feet, Evelyn felt their pain and uncertainty. After them stood Legolas, then Gimli, and herself, the lords of Rivendell where after her and then the lords of Erebor and Dale. When the doors opened She saw Gandalf leading them in followed closely by who she knew instantly to be King Thranduil. He was gorgeous, though all elves where, and he held a striking resemblance to his son. What struck her the most was his haughty air, Even without having spoken with him, she could see the way he held himself, the way he walked. He was important, he knew it, and was going to make sure everyone else knew as well. His dress was elaborate enough to rival even the elves of Lothlorien in its splendor. And the Autumn crown on his head was adorned in glittering jewels.

They had finally made it to her, and she found she was not ready for her introduction. "Let me introduce Miss Evelyn Kenward, our honored guest and member of the Fellowship." Gandalf spoke, drawing everyones attention to her. She gave the King the mandatory curtsey and returned upright, holding on to her bad arm with the good one.

"It is my pleasure your majesty." She spoke, looking to the floor,

"So you are the one I have heard so much about." He stated, his voice clear and smooth and full of curiosity and something she could not place, but she was pretty sure it was close to disdain.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to look up, taking slight satisfaction watching him draw back from her appearance, clearly no one had warned him. "That would depend on what you have heard, your majesty."

She watched the king raise an eyebrow, taking her in, "Interesting." He spoke more to himself than to anyone, but Evelyn heard him and those closest to him as well. And with that the procession moved on, and she discreetly watched the elves pass, one in particular caught her eye, for no other reason than she caught the elleth eyeballing her intently. She was tall and beautiful with dark wavy hair. But she did not have the soft demur look of other elven females she had meet. No, this one was hard and seemed to instantly take a dislike to her. Evelyn's thoughts were confirmed when she caught the woman's sneer. This would be a long few weeks indeed.

To her left she heard a sharp intake of breath, and looked over, Legolas was standing ramrod straight, his hands curled into fist at his sides. She could not fathom what had caused such a reaction from his own people, but the answer quickly became clear, it was the elleth that sneered at her.

"Corwen." He greeted in voice that she thought he had only reserved for her upon their first meeting. It was forced and cold, but she felt there were pent up emotions being tightly sealed beneath the surface. Tomorrow,perhaps, on their walk, she would ask him about it. Maybe.

"My Lord Legolas, it is so good to see you, it has been much to long. What has it been? Thirty years?"

"Sixty." He replied, emotions flashing across his faster than Evelyn could track. Clearly, somehow or another these two had a history, and whether it was good or bad, she could not tell, but it left a sour taste in her mouth.

She was more than relieved when the introductions were done and they were able to sit for dinner, she did not think her nerves could take much more. As usual she was given a seat of honor at the main table, with the addition of King Thranduil and his top advisors. Luckily she had Gimli to entertain her to her left and Legolas across from her, though she noted he seemed distant and hardly spoke or even looked her way. She brushed it off from him being tense over his father's arrival.

The rest of the dinner passed uneventfully and when the men retired to have their drinks and the woman to the dressing room, Evelyn excused herself from, bidding her friends a goodnight, and made for her room.

The morning was hazy, light clouds covered the sky threatening to thicken and bring rain later in the day. She woke groggy, she had not slept great, and was sure her dreams plague her through the evening, though luckily this was one of the morning she did not remember them.

With a sigh she rolled out of bed and rang for Ceilin, she definitely needed some strong morning tea to wake her up. And she was pleased to see that she did not even have to ask, Ceilin had come prepared with it when she walked in.

"Thank you Ceilin, you know me well." She smiled at the girl. "I'll have you go ahead and help redress for the day, so you can have most of the day to yourself. Nothing fancy, just a simple gown to walk around the city will suffice."

"Of Course!" She replied, thrilled at having most of the day off.

The day drug on and on and still no sign of Legolas. Had he forgotten? Had he been caught up with his father or Aragorn? She had no way of knowing, but she did know this was later than he had ever shown up by hours, even when the meetings did run over. She sighed, and knew she had to accept he was not coming today, promise or no. She was unsettled by the ache that she felt from his absence, but pushed it aside. Just because he did not come for he did not mean she could not go see the White Tree.

With her shoulders set, she walked out her door and made to find it own her own. She would be damned if she would sit in her room alone pouting over being forgotten. And so she ended up finding herself on a random bench, in a random garden, that she had never seen, waiting for a familiar face to help her back to her room. She was helplessly lost, and had been for hours, though so far none had come and the hour was growing late.

She felt her nerves beginning to creep up on her and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, willing herself to calm down. It would be okay, and then a voice broke her concentration,

"Evelyn? What are you doing all the way out here?"

It was Aragorn. The relief that flooded her at that moment was palpable, and she could not help the sigh of relief that escaped her as she smiled at her friend.

"I was trying to find the White Tree, and seemed to have gotten myself helplessly lost."

The future king gave her smile, though internally he was wondering why she was out alone, it was not a habit of hers, though he decided to keep that thought to himself. "Well, you are in luck, I seem to find myself with free time, I will show you the tree." He smiled and offered her his hand which she readily took.

"Thanks," She told him, linking her arm through his.

It turned out she was not too far from her original destination, however, she doubted she would have found it on her own, the tree, took her breath away. It was young, but she could tell it would be beautiful in its prime. It was all white, bark and growth alike.

"This is the Fourth tree of Gondor. Gandalf helped me to find and plant it."

She looked at her friend and gave him a friendly nudge, "May it grow in health and beauty during the days of the king."

He smiled at her, giving her a small hug, wondering at how far the woman had come since leaving Lothlorien. But then he noticed that her attention had been drawn elsewhere and her body suddenly tense. Looking up to see what had startled her, he spotted Legolas walking towards them. He looked back at Evelyn a questioning look on his face. Why would she have such a reaction to Legolas? They had become quite close of late, according to what Legolas had told him. He had not said as much to his friend, but the conversation had been enough. He had his thoughts that Legolas had feelings that went deeper than friendship for the woman.

Aragorn returned his gaze to Legolas and now saw what caused Evelyn such distress, the Lady Corwen was draped on Legolas' arm and he finally put two and two together.

"Legolas was going to show you the tree today was he not?"

Evelyn jumped and gave a startled look to her friend, abashed that she should be so easy to read. "Yes, he never showed. I see now that he was otherwise engaged." She replied, her voice eerily calm, causing Aragorn concern.

Why the elleth had even come did not make sense to him, given their past, but as to why she was with Legolas alone, worried him even more. Legolas had steered clear of his fathers realm since he first met him sixty years ago, one of the main reason was the woman he was now with. What was his friend playing at? They would be having a serious conversation later. With a regrettable sigh he lead Evelyn forward, their only exit was taking them past Legolas and Corwen.

When they were in speaking distance, Aragorn broke the tension, "Good Evening Legolas." Evelyn chose to stay silent and take in her surroundings rather than look at the elves in front of her.

"Aragorn," He nodded his head with his greeting, before continuing, "This is the Lady Corwen of Mirkwood. Corwen, this is the Lord Aragorn. A long time friend and member of the fellowship." He paused and looked to Evelyn, the unreadable mask was back in place, and Evelyn had to stop herself from taking an involuntary step back from his in-personable nature. "And this is Lady Evelyn, another member of the fellowship." He stated, voice void of emotion. It was as if he barely knew her at all when he spoke about her. She did her best to hide any confusion that may read on her face, but she knew she would do poorly.

"A pleasure my lady," Aragorn stated blandly, "What brings you up this way mellon in, I thought you would be otherwise engaged?" He asked, letting his friend know as subtly as possible he had questions for him.

"The Lady Corwen wished to see the Great White Tree of Gondor." He replied, not looking at Evelyn. He had originally planned to bring her here today, spend the afternoon with her, Then his father and Corwen had shown up, and everything changed.

"Aragorn, It has been a most taxing day, I think I will retire now, I will leave you with your friends." She stated simply and broke away from his arm, she could not stay here much longer and keep her composure and she was not about to make a scene—not in front of Legolas and certainly not in front of that elleth he chose over her. "A pleasure meeting you My Lady."

"I shall escort you." Aragorn told her, worried something could happen on her way there.

"No need, I am sure I remember the way." She told him, giving him a tight smile and turned on her heels to leave.

Her heart was racing and her mind flooded with questions. Had he ditched her for the elleth? It certainly seemed so, or had his father given him no choice? Either way, she was hurt, and she did not wish to be around people at the moment till she could sort herself out. But a voice stopped her.

"My Lady."

It was Legolas. She stopped involuntarily, and turned around. He was standing on the opposite end of the causeway, with no one in-between them, most people were getting ready for dinner at this time. Had he followed to apologize? Or to explain himself?

"I though we were past such formalities." She stated, repeating his own words to him with a small smile, trying to lighten the atmosphere. If they had any effect on him, he hid it well.

"I was mistaken." His voice was clear and smooth and eerily vacant of emotion, she instantly thought of Thranduil. This was not the Legolas she had gotten accustomed to, this was the Prince of Mirkwood, not her friend.

"Excuse me?" She asked walking to meet him, where she was not shouting to be heard.

"I was wrong to let our relationship grow as it has. I should have put a stop to it long ago." He looked at her with cold eyes, the eyes she remembered seeing when they first met in Lorien.

"I…I don't understand, what are you talking about?"

"Our meetings, our time together, I should never have let it happen. I knew better and let it drag on, but now it must end. I am sorry If I have given you any wrong intentions, I should not have."

Evelyn starred at him opened mouthed "End?" She questioned, her heart frozen in her chest at his words. She could not breathe.

"There can be nothing else between us. Relationships do not work between mortals and elves." He starred at her dumbfounded face, steeling his resolve for his last words, "I want there to be nothing more between us."

Her anger was bubbling now, was he truly breaking up with her when they were not even together? She had no clue what was occurring, what had changed him so in the course of a day? This was not the elf she had come to know, even in Lothlorien he had never been so cold hearted. For the life of her she could not think what had happened. Evelyn felt her chest constrict.

"Perhaps you should inform Aragorn of that before he marries Arwen and not to me," She snarled, hiding her pain with anger.

"She has sailed. It matters not."

"We shall see." She hissed through gritted teeth, watching with satisfaction, the quick flash of confusion that crossed his face before he one again regained his control.

"Remember what I said. There is nothing for us, Mortals and elves do not mix. I do not mix with mortals." He turned on his heels and strode away before his resolve broke. He did not think he could stand to look at her any longer and not change his mind.

With the realization hitting her of what she said hit her again, she rushed forward, "Legolas! Legolas wait!" she saw a falter in his stride, but he continued to walk away from her, "But I'm not…" He was gone around the bend, "…mortal. I'm not mortal."

She did not know how long she stood there in silence, the people of Gondor passing by her, giving her curious stares but saying nothing. She was frozen in place. Her mind could not comprehend what had just occurred. She did not want to. She felt like she could vomit, scream cry, all of the above, but she could do nothing but stand there staring at where Legolas had disappeared. And then she felt it, the crushing weight of despair that engulfed her body and soul. Staggering backwards she turned and fled.

With an agonizing sob she slammed her door shut and locked it, dropping to the floor. Why now of all times did she have to realize, now when he had purposefully walked out of her life that she had fallen in love with the Prince of Mirkwood.

*Okay my lovely readers, don't hurt me! I know a lot of people will be mad at this chapter, and will have a mountain of questions regarding the sudden shift. I promise it will all be explained in later chapters! please, as always R&R!*