Disclaimer: I only own the new characters and the plot, nothing else.
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Special thanks to: Anearin and crisundomiel for your reviews and support. Also, thanks Maresia Eterna for being always there for me.
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Chapter 16 - Moonlight ride
Four hooded figures were walking hurriedly towards the stables; two of them were rather small compared to the others. As they reached the place where the horses were settled, a hood was removed, revealing a cascade of long blonde hair. "Let's hurry, but try not to make much noise, I don't want the others to wake up", a female voice instructed.
"Are you sure about this, Eowá?" a tall blond-haired elf inquired, placing a hand over the elleth's shoulder.
Eowáthiel turned around and locked her brown eyed with a pair of blue ones, "I know what I'm doing, Legolas."
Legolas nodded and went to get his horse; Merry and Pippin were already outside, grabbing their ponies by the reigns, waiting for the elves to join them. "I'm going to miss this place", Merry commented, staring at the wooden house, where no light could be seen.
"Yes, I'm going to miss it too… especially little Léssien", Pippin declared not many seconds later, a longing look on his face. "I feel like I'm going to loose a little sister…"
Merry smiled comprehensively; Léssien was a sweet elleth, who had welcomed them and treated them almost as if they were family. "Don't worry, Pip, we'll come back to visit her someday." Pippin seemed to be happier with these words.
After a while, Legolas and Eowáthiel joined them; it was hard to say which one of them had a gloomier expression. "Time to leave, my friends", the elf announced, glancing sideways at Eowáthiel. No words were spoken as they climbed onto the horses, and slowly started to ride away from the house.
Eowáthiel's eyes glanced one last time at the house where she had spent so much time; guilt flooded her mind, but there was no turning back. "I love you", she whispered, as images of Inwë and Léssien popped inside her head, riding at full speed towards the bright moon.
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As soon as Milanil put a foot inside the kitchen, he knew that something was utterly wrong. Inwë was sitting at the table, her head resting over her crossed arms, her body trembling as she sobbed. "Inwë?" the elf called out, stopping at this unexpected sight; the only time he had seen the elleth crying like that was when her parents had left.
Inwë raised her head, and even though tears were streaming down her face, her expression was hard to read. "They left", she said at last, as if that would explain everything.
Milanil's heart sank, but his expression didn't betray his sadness. "Well, we already knew that they were going to leave sooner or later… probably they did so without biding farewell because it would be too painful", he suggested, trying to maintain a casual tone.
"Eowáthiel left me a letter", Inwë said, holding out a roll of parchment that Milanil rushed to grab. His grey eyes quickly read the few lines that were written on it; he handed it back to the elleth, who continued: "As you have read, Eowáthiel said she left in the middle of the night, because she didn't want me to make any rushed decision… you were the only person to whom I confided my intentions, and yet she seemed to be aware of them."
The brown-haired elf sunk on a chair in front of Inwë, and muttered: "Maybe her intuition…"
Inwë wiped her tears and let out an unconvincing laugh: "Milanil, please, I'm tired of lies… you made it clear you didn't agree with my idea; you warned her, didn't you?"
Milanil nodded reluctantly, and spoke before she had time to argue: "But I only did it to protect Léssien; you weren't thinking rationally, Inwë. With time, you'll realize it was better this way…"
"Oh Milanil, but I didn't change my mind."
Milanil let out a cry of despair; why hadn't he seen that coming?
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When Merry and Pippin started complaining they were hungry, Legolas agreed with a quick stop; while the hobbits were busy eating, Eowáthiel stepped away from them to be alone with her thoughts. Legolas saw her walking away and conceded her a few minutes alone.
"Are you alright?" the elf asked, stopping beside the elleth.
As a response, she leaned her head against his chest, and Legolas wrapped his strong arms around her torso. At last, Eowáthiel spoke: "I know I did the right thing, Legolas, I'm just worried about them…"
Legolas kissed her gently on the forehead, replying: "Of course you are, Eowá. But you know that Milanil is watching over them, and Inwë is strong-"
"That's not it", Eowáthiel interrupted, her eyes meeting a pair of inquisitive ones. "I'm worried about what Inwë may do… Milanil told me something she said that disturbed me deeply. I'm hoping that time will put some sense in her head, but I have this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me she is not going to give up…"
"Give up of what?" Legolas inquired, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"Of coming after us."
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"She didn't even say goodbye", Léssien mumbled, twirling her fingers nervously. It was obvious she was struggling not to cry, since she had promised Eowáthiel she wouldn't.
"Well, Léssi, maybe she thought that was the best for everyone…"Milanil reasoned, though he knew for sure that was not the only reason. "Sweetie, don't be mad at her, alright?" the elf added, running a hand over Léssien's red-head.
The little-elleth shook her head and said: "I'm not mad, I'm just sad. But I know she will come back, so as Legolas… and Merry and Pippin promised they would come to visit me someday."
"That's right", Milanil replied, smiling. "Now, why don't you go over to your room and play with your dolls? I'm just going to clean this kitchen, and then I'll be right over with you."
"What about Inwë?" Léssien asked, "will she join us?"
"Hum, Inwë had to take care of a few things, but I think she won't be long", the grey-eyed elf answered, and Léssien nodded. Milanil watched as she left the kitchen. "I hope you know what you're doing, Inwë…"
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Inwë was busy strapping her belongings to her grey-horse's back; maybe Milanil was right, and she wasn't being rational, but Eowáthiel was not the only reason why she wished to go. Lately, her dreams had been haunted by a ghost she believed to be buried for many years now… it was time to do something about that.
She cuddled the horse distractedly between his ears, but her mind was far from there. It was running freely through past moments, and without being sure why, Inwë felt her lips curling into a small smile. A single whispered word escaped her lips…
To be continued…
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Important note: Please, give me some feedback on this story, because I really need to know what you guys think. Should I keep going or not? Thanks for taking time to read this. Take care!