The actual final chapter! Thank you all so much for all your reviews and favourites and follows. It really means so much. You were all wonderful readers and I can't believe this story got so popular. Please take time to review at the end. It would really mean the world to me and if I get to 200 reviews I will write an epilogue for y'all. You guys were an amazing audience and it was a pleasure to write for you. I really hope that this lives up to your expectations.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.

Chapter 21:

I realized it as soon as Elrond made me laugh. He was the father of Arwen, the woman that Aragorn loved, and I had been speaking with him about elves. Meeting Legolas's gaze from across the room only confirmed what I had been thinking.

He walked towards me; that glow still surrounding him that made it look as if he had just descended from heaven. We met in the middle of the room, not allowing ourselves to tear our eyes away from each other. An extreme sense of déjà vu plagued me the entire way. He looked as confused and uncertain as the first time this had happened and I felt just as much longing and love as I had in my dream.

His hand rose to cup my cheek as I knew it would and he leaned down so I could feel the ghost of his breath on my lips. His eyes flickered down to my mouth for a moment before meeting my gaze again.

For a single moment it seemed as if everything had stopped. It was like we were the only people in the world as we just looked at each other, suspended in space and time.

The moment was broken when I suddenly stood on my tiptoes and covered his mouth with mine. He kissed me softly and tentatively as if he was unsure, letting his hand slip from my cheek. It seemed to me as if the floor had slipped out from beneath my feet and I was walking on air.

Unfortunately, the kiss was quick and only lasted a few seconds at the most. We pulled away slowly and I became worried at his lack of expression. I knew that kissing didn't always mean love. What if this was one of those situations?

"I was right," was all he said. I looked at him, confused.

"About what?"

"You really did wander from a dream." He replied simply.

"What does this mean for us?" I asked still not really sure about his feelings.

Legolas looked around before answering. "Why don't we go somewhere more private?"

I nodded and he took my hand, making my fingers tingle. He led me towards the door and into the night. We stepped out to the yard where the coronation had taken place and he took me to the spot where we had watched the sunrise.

There he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, an unreadable expression on his face as he gazed at the moon. I swallowed, now quite filled with worry. He didn't seem to return my feelings and the thought made my heart break. I breathed deeply and tried to focus on the positive things. He hadn't explicitly told me that he didn't love me, though it seemed quite obvious to me that that was the case.

"What does this mean for us?" I repeated after a few moments of silence and I cringed at the way my voice trembled.

"I-" he sighed before turning to me. He looked tired and somehow older. "I fear kissing you was a mistake." I inhaled sharply and bit my lip, willing my tears not to fall.

"May I ask why?" I did my best to keep my voice steady.

"You confuse me," he confessed, for the first time since the kiss showing an expression other than resignation. "I think you're wonderful but you also make me jealous and angry." He paused as if wondering what the best way to proceed was. "You're so different. I don't know if you meant what you said this morning but I can't risk hurting you if you did." He looked right at me and I was surprised at the vulnerability in his gaze. "I do not believe your words were consciously empty, for you would not be so cruel as to toy with my heart in such a manner but that doesn't mean that what you said was true. The race of Man uses words like love more liberally than elves do. Elves fall in love, truly in love, once. Mortals fall in love with ease and fall out of it even more easily. I'm sorry that I cannot risk my heart upon someone who I cannot be certain will always love me. I think it would be better if we forgot about this. You can find someone local and of your race while I go across the Sea." He gazed at me with sadness and raw honesty. "I'm sure there are many fine men available in Gondor and trust me, you'll have no difficulty finding someone who has interest in you."

I gaped at him.

"You say it was a mistake because you are afraid that I do not love you?" I asked incredulously. "How can you say that? Surely you do not think me capable of such idiocy and ignorance that I would tell you I loved you if I didn't mean it!"

"It is not only that," Legolas interjected before I could continue. "I fear I do not love you." I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me. "I know I feel something towards you but who can say if it's truly love? You are odd and new and intoxicating and it is likely that I simply have an infatuation with you. I am sorry for encouraging your affections without the absolute certainty that I loved you. That was truly not my intention when I went to talk to you inside. Kissing you was an accident and a mistake." I opened my mouth to speak but he stopped me by stepping towards me. His words were now laden with emotion in a way that I had never heard from him before. "I want to love you. You're a fine woman and I don't want to hurt you but for that reason I cannot guarantee anything. I cannot pledge myself to you only to find that I do not love you. If you were an elf it would be different but..."

"How so?" There was a harshness to my tone that hadn't been there before and an edge to my voice.

"If you were an elf I would exchange rings with you and we would wait a year," he told me. "If either of us changed our minds we would return the rings and part ways. But you aren't an elf. You're of the race of Man and that means that I would lose my immortality if I gave myself to you. If I realized I didn't love you or you decided that you were bored with me then I wouldn't be able to cross the Sea. I can only give up that option if I can say that my love for you is definite and indisputable. There can be no doubt in my mind, no hesitation in my heart." He paused to gauge my reaction then looked down. When he looked back up at me, I could see how sorry he really was. "For these reasons it was a mistake and although they appear insufficient to you, surely you can understand that the motives which govern me are only noble. They're to protect both our hearts from further pain."

I just shook my head at him, my face wet with tears.

"Can't you see that this will leave me in more anguish than anything else you could've possibly done?" I asked, my voice breaking.

"I suppose it would be too much to ask to part ways as friends?" he said, not really responding to what I had just said.

I shook my head at him.

"No," I told him. He seemed to visibly deflate but he nodded.

"I understand." He replied and he had an expression of hurt upon his face. He began to turn away before he stopped. "I apologize for any pain I may have caused you. Believe me, it was unconsciously done and I shall suffer as much as you for my stupidity."

That's when I got angry. I had traveled across worlds for him and even come back from the dead! I wasn't just going to let him walk away. I wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Kiss me," I said. A look of utter surprise crossed his features.

"Excuse me?"

"Kiss me," I demanded walking up to him, barely leaving any space between us. I searched his eyes. "Kiss me and tell me that you don't feel it. Tell me you don't love me." I had never been so bold before but I was tired of not doing anything. "Please," I added softly.

His gaze softened and I could see his resolve wavering. He sighed and surrendered to me. He took my face in both his hands and hesitated for a moment before pressing his lips to mine.

People always describe the best kisses as the ones that made fireworks go off in their head. I didn't feel fireworks. I felt shooting stars with ten times the beauty and intensity of any artificial light that could be created by man. They spread fire throughout my body, giving warmth to even my toes.

This kiss was more certain than the first one, more sure of itself. It started off slow and light but soon he was kissing me deeply enough to make me forget what my own name was. Somehow my arms had ended up around his neck, holding me in place so I wouldn't lose my balance.

When we pulled apart he seemed somewhat dazed and my breathing was heavy.

"Tell me you didn't feel anything," I said again. He looked at me for a moment, seeming to be in some sort of trance.

"I didn't feel anything," he answered and my heart dropped to my stomach. He rested his forehead against mine and looked into my eyes. A smile graced his lips. "I felt everything."

My breath caught in my throat and he shook his head as if in disbelief.

"This isn't an infatuation," he decided. "I am, quite honestly, completely and utterly in love with you."

Love it? Hate it? PLEASE REVIEW! 200 reviews mean an epilogue and they honestly brighten up my day so much, no matter the length. Tell me what you think, whether it was good or bad. Estrella finally completed her mission to get Legolas to love her and her dream actually came true at the beginning of the chapter (the dream that happened at the beginning of the story). Tell me what you think about that!

Thank you all so much for everything. I love you all!

Goodbye,

~Liliana