Here it is, the final chapter! Notes will be at the end. Enjoy!
"Good morning!" Ellissiel said cheerily as Althrin opened his door. "How are you this morning?"
"Fine," he replied gruffly, looking down at her with a strange look on his face. Ellissiel's smile faded, puzzled at his strange reaction.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I'm leaving." Ellissiel blinked, not sure she had heard right.
"Leaving? For where?"
"I'm going south to live with relatives," he said. "Tomorrow."
"Why? When did you decide this?"
"Because I can't stand to stay here and just be an afterthought for the rest of my life."
"I don't understand."
"Did you even know I was there yesterday when you were saved from the goblin camp?"
"No, I didn't," she admitted. "Thank you for saving me. But I don't know what this has to do with you leaving."
"You knew instantly when Thranduil arrived, but you didn't even know or care that I was there."
"That's not true," Ellissiel said. "I do care that you were there."
"After the fact you do. You only cared that your prince was there to save you." The bitter way he said 'your prince' made Ellissiel frown.
"That's not fair, Althrin. I happened to see him and was happy he had come. If I had seen you I would have had the same reaction."
"I find that hard to believe."
"But how is this making you leave?" Ellissiel said, coming back to the main point. "Surely that isn't enough to drive you away."
"I can't stand to always be second in your heart Ellissiel. I always thought-" His voice broke. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I always thought that someday, we would get married. We were so close once. But I can see that it won't happen now. I've been replaced in your heart. I don't matter to you anymore." Ellissiel was surprised by this declaration, but she decided to come back to that issue. First, she had to make him stay.
"You do matter to me, Althrin. I don't want you to leave. I can't imagine my life without you."
"Then come with me," he said, taking her hands in his. "Come with me and marry me."
"But why can't you just stay here?"
"I can't stand sharing your heart with Thranduil, Lissi. You have to choose. Either come with me, or stay here with him."
Ellissiel was speechless at the ultimatum she had just been given. Choose? She could no sooner choose between a heartbeat and her ability to breath. She just stared at Althrin, her mouth slightly open in surprise. Althrin sighed.
"Let me know what you decide," he said, closing the door on her. She just stood there for a long time, staring at the door. Unconsciously, her feet led her to the stables. She opened the door to Arahil's stall and sat down on the floor, Arahil ducking his head down so she could scratch his nose. She reached up to brush a hair out of her eye, and felt tears on her cheek. She hadn't known she was crying, but now that she felt the evidence on her face, she broke down, burying her head in her arms and sobbing.
She didn't know how long she was crying, but eventually she heard her name from somewhere above her.
"What's wrong, Lissi?" Thranduil asked, sitting down next to her as she looked up.
"Aren't you supposed to be studying?"
"I was. But for some reason, I felt like something was wrong, and my feet led me here. Do you want to tell me what the problem is?"
Ellissiel sniffed, wiping her face on her sleeve, wondering how she was going to explain what had happened. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she launched herself into the void.
"Althrin is leaving tomorrow. Permanently. He wants me to go with him. He asked me to marry him."
Thranduil was silent. He was absolutely stunned to hear this, and felt his world shatter around him. He didn't think it could get much worse, but Ellissiel continued.
"He said I have to choose. He won't stay here as long as I am friends with you. So I have to choose between the two of you. And I don't think I can." As Ellissiel broke down in sobs again, Thranduil put his arm around her, feeling the weight of what she said bearing down on him. He had known that in the end, Ellissiel would have to make this sort of decision. But he hadn't expected it to come this soon, or in such a brutal fashion. He hadn't considered the fact that if she chose him, she might also lose her oldest friend. He didn't want to lose her, but he really didn't want to see her unhappy. He could tell this was eating her up inside, and he couldn't bear to watch it.
"You should go with him," he said, taking all the strength he could muster to do so. "You will regret it if you don't." Ellissiel looked up at him in surprise. "You can still write to me, but you have known him a lot longer than you have known me. I don't want you to lose a friendship like that over me."
"But Thranduil-" she started, before he held up his hand, standing up and pulling her up with him.
"I mean it, Lissi. I cannot bear to see you like this. Please, go with Althrin."
"Are you sure?" she asked, her voice shaking.
"I am. I wish you all the happiness in the world, Lissi. I mean it."
"Do you want Arahil and the riding tunic back?"
"Of course not. They are yours. Something to remember me by."
"Thranduil…" she said, unable to find the words to say what she was thinking. Thranduil just held her hands gently, smiling down at her sadly.
"There is only one thing I would ask of you before you go."
"Anything," Ellissiel said, her tears running down her cheeks.
"May I kiss you? Properly. Just once."
Ellissiel felt her body trembling as he looked down at her with his brilliant blue eyes. She saw in them something she had never noticed before. Love. A love that was pure and powerful. Unable to say anything, she nodded, her eyes never leaving his.
Thranduil let go of her hands, running his fingers over her cheek as he stared into her eyes. She felt his hands gently cup her cheeks as he bent forward. Ellissiel closed her eyes as his lips met hers. She suddenly felt like all of her senses exploded. She could hear her heart beating in her chest, she could taste the sweetness of Thranduil's kiss on her lips, and feel the love that he was putting into that one act. When he broke away, Ellissiel immediately felt like she had lost a part of her. She looked up at Thranduil, seeing the sadness in his eyes as he looked at her for what he thought was the last time.
"Goodbye, Ellissiel," he whispered, before turning and disappearing, leaving Ellissiel alone in Arahil's stall. This made her break down completely. Putting her face in her hands, she sank down on to the ground again, crying until she had shed every tear she possessed.
She dully registered walking to Althrin's house again that afternoon, telling him that she would go with him. He had smiled broadly, hugging her tightly before kissing her happily. Ellissiel barely noticed his kiss, so very different from the one she had shared with Thranduil. Althrin had then taken her hand and led her home, where he told her parents their plan before he started towards her room to pack. Dintieron and Minuial knew something wasn't right when they looked at their daughter's emotionless face, but they didn't say anything. Ellissiel packed for the rest of the day, feeling empty inside. When Althrin left, kissing her again and saying he would be back in the morning, Ellissiel locked her door, not wanting to talk to her parents, and sat down on the bed, staring at the floor.
Several times there was a knock at the door, and either her father or mother's voice called to her, asking her to open the door and talk. She ignored it, not moving from her seat on the bed. She didn't move until a knock on the door was followed by a voice she did not expect.
"Lissi? It's Raina and Balamaethor. Can we come in?" Ellissiel got up and opened the door, letting them in before shutting it behind them again.
"We heard," Raina said sadly, holding her fiancé's hand as they watched Ellissiel sit on her bed again. Ellissiel remained silent, staring at her hands.
"We think you are making a mistake," Balamaethor said softly, his voice full of concern. "We all do. Including your parents."
"Thranduil told me to go," Ellissiel said dully, not looking up. "So I am going."
"He only said that so you wouldn't have to go through the pain of making a decision. He never wanted you to make this choice. He loves you Lissi. Telling you to leave was the hardest thing he ever had to do."
"But he did," Ellissiel replied. "And so I am going. I already packed."
"Then unpack," Raina said, taking a seat beside Ellissiel and taking her hand. "You will regret leaving for the rest of your life."
"But I will regret losing Althrin for the rest of my life, too," Ellissiel said. "Thranduil agrees."
"You won't regret it as much as you will leaving Thranduil. You love him, whether you realize it or not. And if Althrin was your friend and really loved you, he wouldn't make you choose between the two of them. Not like this."
Tears started falling from Ellissiel's eyes again as Raina spoke. She was so confused. She couldn't bear the thought of losing either of her friends. She wasn't sure she loved Thranduil, but she believed now that Balamaethor was right when he said that Thranduil loved her. But, Althrin loved her too. He had been her friend since they were small, and had stuck by her when no one else did. She was at a loss as to what to do.
"I know this is hard, Lissi," Rania said softly, squeezing her hand. "But we don't want to see you make the biggest mistake of your life. We will let you think about it, I know you have a lot to sort out. Please, consider what we've said before you decide anything."
Ellissiel watched them both go before lying down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling, wishing the answers could be found there.
"Are you ready to go?" Althrin said with a smile, looking down at Ellissiel as she sat on the couch, her possessions in bags around her. She looked up at him, not saying anything. "Come on, there's a horse outside for you." Ellissiel stood, walking towards the door and looking out. But when she saw the dapple gray horse waiting for her, she picked up her skirts and fled.
"Lissi!" Althrin called after her, making to go after her. But Dintieron grabbed his shoulder, a small smile on his face.
"I'm sorry, Althrin. But Ellissiel won't be leaving with you. I wish you a safe journey south."
Thranduil was sitting on a hill, looking up at the clouds. It looked like it was going to rain. He sighed, leaning back against the willow tree that stood alone on the hilltop. He kept thinking about when he had stumbled upon Ellissiel almost four years ago on this same hilltop. He now wished that he hadn't been so reluctant to tell her how he felt. If he had said something earlier, she might not be leaving at that moment with Althrin. Sighing, he closed his eyes, waiting for the rain. It soon started, pattering against the leaves above him. He was alright with the rain. It made him think that the sky might be sad for him.
He heard the rustling of leaves nearby, which could not be attributed to the rain or the wind. Looking up, he stood abruptly as he saw Ellissiel standing across the clearing from him, exactly where he had stood four years before. She was standing in the open, the rain steadily picking up and soaking her dress, but she didn't move. She just stared at Thranduil.
"What are you doing here?" Thranduil asked eventually.
"I couldn't leave like that," she said, her voice betraying the fact that she was crying. "I can't leave you like that."
"I just want you to be happy, Lissi," he said, barely making it through his sentence before his own voice cracked.
"I can't be happy without you, Thranduil," she said shaking her head. "I love you."
Thranduil stared at her, not daring to believe he had heard her properly. He had been waiting to hear those words from her since the moment he saw her. For a moment, he wondered if this was real. Was his mind constructing this fantasy out of his pain? Ellissiel walked towards him slowly until she was standing right in front of him. She reached up and put her hand on the side of his face as she looked up into his eyes. Her gentle touch was all he needed to know that she was real. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the tears in her beautiful hazel eyes.
"I love you, Thranduil." Her voice was barely a whisper as she smiled up at him through the rain. "I cannot stand to be parted with you for a single day. I want to be with you for the rest of my life."
Before Thranduil knew what he was doing, he had bent forward, kissing her passionately. He felt her arms around his neck as he picked her up, still kissing her as he spun her around in the rain. He couldn't even feel the water falling on his skin anymore. He couldn't feel anything but Ellissiel's lips on his, her thin body in his arms, and the beating of his own heart. When he put her down finally, he looked down into her hazel eyes, seeing the love there that he had always hoped for.
"I love you so very much, Ellissiel. I always have, from the moment I first saw you. There is no one in this world who I could ever share my life with besides you."
"You won't have to," she whispered with a smile. Thranduil quickly captured her lips in another kiss, content to kiss her in the rain until the end of time.
Yes, there will be an epilogue. It will make more sense if you've read I Keep Looking for Something More, but it is not necessary for you to have read it first. Part of it will take place after the events of that story, so some of the characters will be new to those of you who have not read it. I hope you enjoyed it, and I would love reviews, on this chapter or the whole story. I will post the epilogue early next week. Thanks everyone!