Still don't own the Hobbit. So, I had a family member tell me that the last chapter was extremely confusing...which I discovered was because it wasn't the sixth chapter for this story. I am really surprised no one thought to tell me about the problem...Well, all better now. I hope you all enjoy it! :)
As he came to realize how thoroughly he'd given away his heart, he increased his efforts to convince her to come with him. He told her tales of Gondolin and the elves there, trying to show her how wonderful it was with his words.
She was very reluctant, and he found he wasn't as shocked as he should be when she finally told him that her mother had forbidden her many years ago to travel more than a couple of miles from the cave. He could see how much she loved her mother, even if he was convinced the woman didn't deserve the title.
He would never express that thought out loud, however. He was pretty sure she wouldn't speak to him again if he ever did. Besides, it sounded like most of the fault lay with her father.
This was confirmed in his mind when she mentioned that her mother had stayed with her until her father had made her leave. He could really get behind hating her father. He got the sense, though, that she didn't hate him. No, it was worse than that. She was terrified of him.
He tried not to think about that too hard.
He sometimes wondered what kind of an elf her father was, to act the way he did. In the darkest hours of the night, he wondered if he was an elf at all. Her coloring was so different from any elf he'd ever known...could her father really be an orc?
As he thought about that, he decided that even if he was, it wouldn't matter. His heart had been given, and he could not believe she could be evil in any way. No matter her heritage. It did seem unlikely, though, considering her beauty.
Time went on, and he knew he couldn't stay for much longer. He still had a duty, one he had put off too long as it was. He couldn't pretend to himself anymore. He was fully recovered, and she knew enough to survive at least until he could come back and try to convince her to leave again.
He was determined that she would not spend another decade in this place. He would do everything in his power to convince her, even if he had to beg. In the mean time, he had to tell her he had to leave, and perhaps even...
She took the news poorly. He could tell she did, as her face went from bewildered, to conflicted and confused, to closed off. He tried to explain that he had a duty to his King and had stayed to long already, and she did stay and listen to everything he said, but she didn't say a word.
As they got ready to sleep, he hoped that she would understand. As his eyes closed, he tried not to think about the other thing he needed to tell her...he knew if he did he would never get any sleep. He thought he heard a few noises, as if she was slipping out of the cave, but he left her be.
Let her have the time to herself to think.
When he woke the next morning, he knew he couldn't put it off any longer. He had to tell her how he felt. He couldn't leave with her not knowing. He felt a strange kind of nervous giddiness fill him at the thought.
He'd prepared for this. He'd taught her everything he could to help her understand. Now he just had to hope that her heart was the same as his. As he finished taking extra care with his appearance, he blew out a breath.
Here goes.
He went to find her, and was unsurprised to see her gazing out the cave entrance at the trees and sky. He hesitantly put an arm around her as he came up beside her. She looked up at him, startled. He had always been very careful to maintain the lines of propriety he insisted on. He met her gaze with an incredibly serious one of his own.
"There is something I must tell you before I am forced to leave. And a question I have felt growing in my heart."
He was ecstatic. She said yes! With conditions, but she said yes! He felt as though his heart was too big for his chest, as if it was trying to burst from him and proclaim his happiness from the top of every tree and mountain.
He felt a little guilty thrill. She was determined that they would wed before he left, and he had to admit the thought pleased him. Unfortunately, her other condition did not fill him with happiness. He did not want to leave her here, but she was insistent.
She was not leaving without telling her mother, and he could not stay the year it would take for her mother to return. He needed to get his report to the king, and check up on the affairs of his House. Yet she wouldn't back down on this point at all.
He could understand, he supposed, no matter how hard it was. It would be unfair for him to keep her from saying goodbye, as she was willing to give up everything she'd ever known to come with him. He would hurry, and do his best to be here shortly after her mother came.
A year was not much time to get back and get everything done, but he would do it. The thought of returning for her, and having her come with him and introducing her as his wife...of living the centuries to come with her by his side...he was ecstatic again!
They followed every tradition and said every vow. As the daylight fled, he found himself turning to his new bride and kissing her softly, sweetly. She had done all of this for him, and he wanted more than anything to show her how special she truly was.
As they shared their marriage bed, he put every effort he had into showing her how much he loved her. They both knew he had to leave when the sun came again, and so they stayed up the night just loving one another and sharing their hearts. As the light of dawn started to light the sky, he kissed the tears from her face.
"I will go as if wings carried my feet. I shall return before you know it. I love you, my heart. Never doubt it."
As he left later that morning, he could not resist turning often to see her. When he could no longer see her for the trees, he turned his gaze forward once again and allowed his own tears to flow. It would be a long year.
He was devastated a year later, as he came into the clearing before where the cave entrance had been. There were scorch marks everywhere, and the cave entrance was now just a jagged pile of impenetrable boulders. The carcass of a large blue dragon lay near the devastation.
From what he could see of the signs, it appeared a pair of dragons had fought to the death, uncaring that they had taken the life of a solitary elf lady. He felt his feet carry him to the rubble, searching desperately for any sign that she had survived. There was none.
He felt his knees buckle, and tears stream down his face as he howled in agony. His companions let him be. He had brought a squad from his House, and his friend Ecthelion had refused to stay behind again. As the daylight turned to dusk, he felt a hand fall onto his shoulder. He looked up into the concerned and teary eyes of his friend.
"We must leave this place. It will be dark soon, and we must find safe shelter. I am so sorry, my friend."
As he allowed Ecthelion to lead him away, he vowed he would never forgive the Dragons for this. Bad enough the rest of the atrocities they caused, but this...this was personal.