So here's part 9. Enjoy!

After changing into dry clothes, Thranduil headed towards Arandil, prepared to continue on to the outpost with Ellissiel ignoring him. To his surprise, he found Ellissiel perched in Arandil's saddle, looking down at him with a cheeky grin on her face. Thranduil shook his head, a smile on his face as he silently swung himself up behind Ellissiel. As he put his arm around her waist and she urged Arandil forward, he felt all his moodiness vanish. It was with renewed enthusiasm that he joined in the conversations of his friends.

Thranduil listened happily as Ellissiel marveled at the scenery around them. The joyful words she spoke gave him great pleasure as he enjoyed the rewards for organizing their current trip.

"It isn't like I have never seen autumn before," she said happily to no one in particular. "But it just seems like the colors are multiplied tenfold, and the songbirds sound so much more joyous out here. It is as if the Valar themselves were meant to live here. Can you hear the stream just over there? It sounds so melodious. And the wind rustling the trees? I can hardly stand the beauty of it all."

Thranduil had to bite his tongue to keep himself from saying that the beauty of the forest was nothing compared to seeing Ellissiel's joy at that moment. But he could see Lithiavas riding to his right, watching Thranduil and Ellissiel with a smile on his face. As much as he wanted to tell Ellissiel he loved her, he was not going to do it in front of an audience.

After monologuing for some time, Ellissiel finally exhausted all her poetic words about the forest. She and Thranduil rode in silence for several minutes as the other four elves chatted softly behind them. Thranduil finally broke the silence.

"I am glad you are no longer mad at me, my lady," he said with a smile, glancing down at her strawberry-blonde head.

"I was never mad at you, Thranduil," she said, glancing over her shoulder at him. "I could never be mad at you. You are the sweetest, most kind person I know." Thranduil felt his heartbeat speed up, and he became painfully aware that the conversation behind him had stopped. "I doubt there is anything you could do that would make me truly mad at you. You have done nothing but make me smile since we met. I only tease you so you won't get too full of yourself."

"You think I am full of myself?" Thranduil said, hoping Ellissiel couldn't feel his rapid heartbeat as she leaned back into him.

"I think you have the potential to become full of yourself," she said, and he could hear the humor in her voice. "You are a prince after all, though sometimes I do forget that fact. Royalty is always in danger of falling victim to pride."

"Well then I am eternally grateful to have you as a friend then, Lady Ellissiel, to keep me humble."

"You are most welcome, Prince Thranduil. And I must thank you for this most spectacular day."

"If you are happy, then I am happy," Thranduil said sincerely, resting his chin on the top of Ellissiel's head, which made her giggle and him smile.

"Here we are," Thranduil said as Ellissiel stopped Arandil outside a small stone tower. He slid off gracefully before Ellissiel dismounted next to him. "The northern outpost. It's not used much anymore, but if guards are out riding in bad weather the tower can come in handy."

It was less than an hour before sunset, and as the other elves dismounted the six began making plans.

"I'll get a fire started so we can cook some dinner," Novathin said, walking towards the guard station, where a short stack of firewood sat against the wall. "I am famished."

"Are we all sleeping in the tower?" Raina asked, looking up at it skeptically. It was in good condition, but it had few windows and furnishings.

"It should be a nice enough night that we can just sleep out here," Thranduil replied, carrying his gear towards the fire pit. "And you can't watch stars from inside."

"We won't have the greatest view of the comet from here," Ellissiel said, scanning the sky. "Is there an open area that faces more to the north?"

"About three hundred yards that way," Balamaethor said, pointing to the northeast. "There is a ridge that sticks out to the north."

"Excellent," Ellissiel said happily. "We can eat dinner then go look at the comet."

But after they finished their meal and darkness fell, there was less enthusiasm to go see the comet.

"I think I'm going to stay here, Lissi," Raina said, wrapping her cloak tighter around her shoulders. "I can feel the temperature dropping already."

"You'll miss out. It's a spectacular comet. You can see the reddish glow."

"Actually Lissi, I think I'll skip out too. I'm a bit tired," Novathin said, yawning for effect as Lithiavas nodded in agreement.

"Is no one going to go with me?" she asked, exasperated.

"Come on, Lissi," Thranduil said as he stood up. "I will go with you. I would like to see this comet of yours and see what all the fuss is about."

"Great! Let's go find the ridge," Lissi said, taking his hand and starting in the direction Balamaethor had indicated. Before they disappeared into the trees, Thranduil glanced back at his friends, who were all grinning at him. He knew exactly what they were doing, but he didn't care. He was going to get more time alone with Ellissiel, and that's all that mattered.

A few minutes later, Ellissiel and Thranduil were lying on their backs on the ridge, looking up at the stars. The ridge was thin and didn't allow them to lie next to one another, so Ellissiel had her feet facing north, and Thranduil's were facing south, their ears almost touching as their heads lay close together in between.

"There's Earendil," Ellissiel said, pointing to a bright star shining just above them. "Oh look! That dark blue one? That's a planet."

"You certainly know your astronomy," Thranduil said with a smile. "Your mother must be proud."

"She is certainly prouder that I know all the stars than she is of my horse thieving, anyway," Ellissiel said with a laugh. "She and I used to go out into the hills at night and look at the stars for hours. It was my favorite thing to do when I was little. That, and terrorize the stables."

"I can see you now, tiny little elleth, always underfoot as the stable hands care for the horses," Thranduil said, looking over at her. "How many times did they have to rescue you from getting trampled?"

"Never!" Ellissiel said, sounding mildly offended. "All the horses loved me."

"And the stable hands?"

"They could have done without me," Ellissiel said with a shrug, making Thranduil laugh. Suddenly, she picked up her arm and pointed to a point above her feet. "There it is!"

Unable to see what she indicated from his position, Thranduil rolled onto his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows to look out over the treetops. There, about thirty degrees above the horizon, was a bright red dot in the sky.

"That's the comet?" he asked, noting how it was significantly bigger than the stars around it, but still only the size of a pin head. "I was expecting it to be bigger."

"It's still thousands of leagues away, Thranduil," Ellissiel said, looking up at him as he hovered over her. "I know it doesn't look like much, but it is quite a beautiful celestial body."

There was only one celestial body Thranduil cared about at the moment, and he noticed it was shivering slightly.

"Are you cold?" he asked, concerned, as Ellissiel continued watching the comet.

"A little," she said, hugging herself tightly. "I'll be okay."

"Come here," he said, standing up and walking towards a rock further back on the ridge. He sat down with his back against it, and gestured for her to follow him. Ellissiel slowly got up and followed, sitting down next to him. Thranduil wrapped his arms around her as she leaned against his chest, eyes returning to the heavens.

"Better?" he asked, taking her small, thin hands in his as he felt how cold they were.

"Yes," she said softly, shifting slightly in his embrace before falling silent, still watching the stars.

Thranduil let his eyes and his mind wander as he sat there with Ellissiel, thinking about how much he wanted to keep her like this forever. He wondered what she was thinking about, wrapped in his arms like this. Did she know how he felt? He was so wrapped up in his musings that he didn't hear her when she finally spoke again.

"Hmm?" he asked lazily, his eyes on the comet as he brought his attention back to reality.

"I asked why you are always so kind to me. You really had no reason to be, since I know you were suspicious about my interactions with Arandil. And yet you have never been anything but amazing. Why? What makes me so special?"

Thranduil stayed silent, staring at the red speck in the distance. Now was his chance. He should tell Ellissiel exactly how he felt, that he loved her, and he wanted nothing more than to stay with her forever. But as he opened his mouth, he couldn't find the words. Instead he felt gnawing doubt in the back of his mind. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if by telling her he loved her she would just feel uncomfortable and pressured into something she didn't want? Could he live with himself if he drove her away now, right when things were starting to go so well? No, he couldn't do that. After growing so close to her, he couldn't lose her now.

"Thranduil?"

Sighing, Thranduil, made up his mind. He gently kissed Ellissiel's ear before standing up and holding out his hand for her.

"I think we should be getting back. The others will be worried something happened to us." Ellissiel just looked up at him and nodded, taking his hand so he could pull her up. She was surprised but didn't fight back when he picked her up and started carrying her back towards camp. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, Thranduil felt a lump in his throat. He may not be willing to risk telling her exactly how he felt, but he was certainly going to make sure she knew how much he cared from his actions. So far, she had not pulled away from his gestures of affection, and so he intended to keep letting his actions speak for him, hoping that some day she would realize the truth and reciprocate his feelings.

"So how was the comet?" Balamaethor asked, looking up at them as they reentered the camp. He was lying on his side on the far side of the fire, Raina lying behind him, propped up on her elbow, running her fingers through his dark hair. She too looked up, smiling as Thranduil gently put Ellissiel down on a log next to the fire, wrapping a cloak around her shoulders before sitting down on the ground next to her, leaning against the log.

"Smaller than I expected," Thranduil said casually. "Where are Novathin and Lithiavas?"

"Getting more firewood," Balamaethor replied, giving Thranduil a silent, questioning look. Thranduil just shrugged and turned to look into the fire, wondering if he did the right thing.

"What did you think, Lissi?" Raina asked, looking up at the elleth.

"It was beautiful," she said with a smile, pulling the cloak tighter. "Such a bright red. I saw it last time it came around about twenty years ago, but it was so much brighter seeing it out here."

"So it was worth it?"

"Absolutely," she said with a smile. "You really should go see it yourselves."

"Maybe in another twenty years," Balamaethor said with a laugh. "I am far too comfortable to get up right now."

"So how was the comet Lissi?" She looked up to see Lithiavas and Novathin walking back with arms full of firewood.

"Excellent. You should have come."

"We saw it while we were gathering firewood. I must say, I thought it would be more impressive from the way you were talking about it."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Lissi said as Novathin set down his firewood and took a seat, while Lithiavas started feeding the fire. "I enjoyed it."

"What did you think, Thranduil?"

"It was interesting, but I think I was more impressed with the planet."

"I suppose that's fair," Ellissiel said with a sigh. "It is bigger."

"Well I am going to bed," Novathin said, stretching out on his blanket. "It's been a long day and we get to do it all again tomorrow. Goodnight."

There was a chorus of 'goodnights' as he turned his back to the fire and pulled a blanket over himself. The rest of the elves sat in silence for some time, falling asleep one by one. Thranduil moved from his position next to Ellissiel so he could lay down more comfortably, quickly drifting off as he lay on his back next to the fire. Lithiavas kept tending the fire for awhile before he too passed out, quickly followed by Balamaethor, who fell asleep holding Raina's hand.

After staring into the fire for almost an hour, watching the embers burn slowly, Ellissiel finally stood up and stretched. Unaware that Raina was still awake, she sat down next to Thranduil, wrapping her cloak around them both before resting her head on his shoulder and her arm on his chest. Raina smiled as she watched Thranduil shift slightly in his sleep, putting his arm around Ellissiel as she finally started to drift off. Raina soon followed suit, her fingers still entwined with Balamaethor's.

Thranduil woke shortly after dawn to a quiet campsite. No one else stirred as he made to get up, but stopped when he realized there was something heavy on his chest. Looking down, he was surprised to see strawberry blonde hair covering his right shoulder. He stopped moving and lay still, closing his eyes as he felt his fingertips brush against a lock of Ellissiel's hair. He sighed contentedly as he started absentmindedly running her hair through his fingers, listening to her soft breathing as she slept.

Several minutes later he sensed movement from somewhere nearby and opened his eyes. Balamaethor was standing at his feet, arms crossed as he looked down at the prince, a smirk on his face.

"Can I help you?" Thranduil said softly, not wanting to wake Ellissiel just yet.

"Just wait until we get back," Balamaethor whispered back. "I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about."

Thranduil didn't reply. He knew he had a lot of explaining to do. But that could wait. For the moment he was preoccupied, as Ellissiel shifted slightly, her eyelids fluttering as she began to wake up.

"Good morning, Lissi," Raina called as she saw Ellissiel sit up. "How did you sleep for your first time out camping?"

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Ellissiel replied, stretching. "Though I suppose that's mostly because Thranduil made an excellent pillow."

"Happy to help," Thranduil said with a smile, sitting up and leaning on his elbows. "I'm glad you slept well."

"I hope I didn't interrupt your sleep at all. I know I have a habit of moving a lot when I sleep."

"I really didn't notice," Thranduil said honestly.

"Good," Ellissiel said with a smile. To his surprise, she leaned towards him and kissed his cheek before standing up and going to help Raina with breakfast. Thranduil's eyes met Balamaethor's, knowing that he did indeed have a lot to explain.

"If I get on first are you going to ignore me again?" Thranduil asked as he finished putting Arandil's tack on as Ellissiel scratched the horse's nose.

"No, I had my fun. I will ride with you today."

"Are you sure? I can't stand being on your bad side."

"I'll be fine," Ellissiel said with a smile. "I'll even ride side saddle so I can have a real conversation with you if you'd like."

"That would be nice," Thranduil said, mounting Arandil and holding out a hand to pull Ellissiel up. She took it, allowing him to set her gently on saddle in front of him, her legs folded on Arandil's left side as they started back down the mountain.

"You are strangely passive today, Lissi. May I ask why?"

"Well you did come all the way out here just to let me look at a red dot in the sky, the least I can do is be nice for a change."

"I'm not sure how to react to this side of you," Thranduil said with a half smile. "I am so used to the side of you that has to challenge everything I say."

"That part of me had a long day yesterday and needed a break. It's easier to let you have your way for once."

"Hmm, I may come to like this new side of you."

A few paces behind them, the other four elves where whispering amongst themselves, watching Thranduil and Ellissiel.

"Do you think he told her?" Lithiavas asked Balamaethor under his breath, careful to keep his voice from being overheard.

"From the look he gave me when they got back I would say no, but I have never seen Ellissiel quite so attached. Something must have happened."

"At least they aren't avoiding each other," Raina said softly. "I was concerned that may happen if Thranduil pushed a little too hard."

"They both seem perfectly happy," Novathin agreed, watching Ellissiel smile as she listened to Thranduil. "It doesn't look as if that much has changed."

"I'm itching to know what happened," Balamaethor said, eyes on his friend. "I hate having to wait to ask."

"You'll find out this evening, calm down," Raina said, rolling her eyes. "You three are like young ladies gossiping about who is wearing what to a ball."

"Hey, we've been watching this drama playing out for a while now. Can you blame us for our interest?"

Raina just rolled her eyes again, falling silent as the three male elves continued speculating about the relationship developing in front of them.