Chapter 30

Adrianna felt so much sorrow swarm over her that next morning. Her brother had distanced himself from her, she had lost her precious horse and, of course, she had been parted from Legolas for longer than she would have liked, and would be for even longer.

She leant on her elbows as she sat at her window staring out at the courtyard of The Glade of Tarasara, watching the sun rising up over the dark trees that had caused her so much fear. Her brother had not long retired from the archery range and had made his way past her chambers to engage in his own, and Adrianna had stared at the empty archery range since then.

The Princess sighed before pulling on her boots and reaching for her bow as she left the confinements of her private chambers.

The only Faye's about were the ones on patrol, and the guards on duty at the gates of The Glade. None disturbed her or asked if she required any company as she entered the archery range. She walked towards the target at the very end of the field before drawing an arrow and notching it.

This was the first time she had trained in weeks, but she felt as though she hadn't missed a single day. She sighed when her arrow hit off centre, and her eyes became watery as she thought of the strong arms of the elf Prince around her, his warm breath on her neck. She felt safe, protected and secure in his arms and as a chilly wind blew, Adrianna shivered.

She notched an arrow before taking careful aim again, she aimed just above the centre of the target before releasing her arrow. She released her breath as it hit the target, dead centre.

"Excellent aim, Ade."

Adrianna smiled at the sound of his voice, and when she turned around, Legolas was standing at the target lane beside hers. She threw her arms around the Prince and stood on her tiptoes to place a small, meaningful kiss on his cheek. "You've returned sooner than I'd thought." She stated, taking a small step back. "I'm glad."

The elf smiled in response, "The Lady Galadriel foresaw our want for her council; she met me in Rivendell."

"I hope everything went well?"

"Brilliantly," He responded, moving forward to entangle his fingers in her chestnut locks. "Better than we could have hoped."

"What did she say?"

"What we had thought," He replied. "Although our fathers' will be disappointed that we will not marry in either Kingdom, they will respect us that we have not chosen one as a priority. She could not inform us where to marry, but advised us that our decision to do so in neither Kingdom would prevent our fathers' from disliking one another."

Adrianna smiled, "Then we shall marry under the stars, as we so wished."

"She said something that made me wonder, Adrianna."

"What is it?" She asked, "Was it bad?"

Legolas frowned, "I'm not sure." He replied, "She said that, fate could perhaps determine something for us."

Adrianna reflected Legolas' same facial expression, "What could that mean?" She wondered.

"I'm not sure." He replied, "But I hope everything will be in our favour."

"As do I." Adrianna replied. She took his hands in her own, concern crossing her fair features, "I hope you were safe returning through the woods of the Glade?"

Legolas nodded, "I could see many Wargs from a distance, but they did not come close enough to hear my horse's hooves."

Adrianna nodded, "The Wargs seem to have doubled the size of their packs." She replied, "But all that matters is that you had no trouble in coming here."

The Prince smiled, "I was thinking." He began, "We should perhaps ride out tomorrow, to see if we can find a clearing in which we can wed? Then return to Mirkwood to write out other invitations, and announce the wedding."

The idea couldn't have been more wonderful, and Adrianna's eyes sparkled when she replied, "Yes, that sounds perfect." Her thoughts then returned to the loss of her horse, and she returned to her sorrowful state.

The elf's features softened, "What troubles you, Ade?" He asked.

"Persephone." She whispered.

Legolas then recalled his conversation with Gandalf the day before. About the Wargs capturing one of the Royal horses. Persephone was dead.

"Ade, I'm sorry." And, of course, he meant it. The mare had belonged to Adrianna's mother, and the bond the Princess had had with the white beauty had been as close as best friends. He understood the bond between a person and their horse, for he had kept Arod with him after the Fellowship, as Aragorn had kept Brego. The white horse was the Prince's loyal riding companion, and was currently resting in the stables of the Glade.

"It's alright," She replied. "She was very old, my mother had received her as a gift from her grandfather for her six hundredth birthday. It's just sad she didn't pass away in peace."

"I'm sure the Wargs didn't maul her." Tobias stated, coming to stand beside his sister. "It was quick and painless, I'm sure."

"That's surprisingly reassuring." Adrianna replied, frowning. If Tobias was trying to be mean, well…she'd rather know the facts of Persephone's death than not. "She wouldn't have died in pain then, I'm glad."

Tobias shrugged, "I'm just trying to ease your pain."

Adrianna turned to face him, "I thought you'd retired to bed?"

The Prince shook his head, "I was visiting father." He replied, "I saw the gates open, so I came to greet who had arrived." He turned to Legolas and bowed his head in respect. "It is good to see you, Legolas. I hope the Warg packs did not trouble you?"

"Not at all, Tobias." Legolas replied, returning the gesture of respect with a bow of his own head. "You look well."

"Thank you." The Faye Prince replied, "I trust you shall rest well tonight, especially after your travels."

"I shall." The Princes' bowed their heads towards one another again, before the Faye parted from the archery range.

Legolas offered the Princess his arm, and together, they followed the Faye Prince out into the Courtyard. "I shall see your father quickly." The elf informed Adrianna, "To announce my arrival, then I shall retire for the evening."

Adrianna nodded, "I will come with you." She replied, smiling. "For I do not wish to retire just yet."

Legolas smiled, "I will be happy for your company."

"Why?" She asked, her eyes shining with laughter. "Are you afraid to speak with my father alone?"

The elf chuckled at her statement, and as they walked up the stairs towards the Hall, light rain began to fall from the skies and catch the small silver bells in the trees, which began to chime gracefully and elegantly.

A/N: I am incredibly sorry for the long wait you all had to go through! But I'm back now, and will hopefully be updating every other Tuesday :) I would go back to updating on a weekly basis, but I have one other story I'm mainly working on (It's Assassin's Creed in case anyone is interested?) so I will alternate the updates between the two :) my other time is occupied with lectures and assignments!

Anyways, I'm back now :) Please review, you must have missed me so much! xx