Wren suddenly awoke, incredulous that she had fallen asleep. It was still dark. She was half-sitting, half-lying across the bed. She looked towards Legolas.

In her horror, she realized that the bed was empty.

The walls of the cabin began to close in around her, crushing her lungs. She was paralyzed in hopeless fear; her thoughts were screaming at her. The loudest of which cried, he has passed and they have taken his body. Wren held her hands to her ears. A howl of anguish began rising in her body, how could she live. She felt as if someone was choking her.

"Aletheîa."

The earth moved.

A voice had just said her name. A voice that she now realized that she had loved more than anything in her world. She held her breath in the deathly silence. Wren knew, that if for a moment, she dared to breathe out, the dream would fade and she would be lost again.

"Aletheîa." She heard it again.

Almost at once, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She spun around, as if someone had struck her. She stared wild-eyed and disbelieving at the perpetrator.

His face was beautiful. She knew that her own face was tear-stained and grey from weeping for hours; her eyes red and her hair disheveled. And yet, when she looked into those blue eyes, it was if none of that mattered. In his eyes, she saw the best version of herself. Her throat closed with emotion, she could not speak.

"Walk with me, Aletheîa. I am feeling more alive than I have ever been."

The simplicity of the request seemed to jar her from her trance.

They walked, Wren could not remember how, her body felt numb, almost disobedient. Breathing was difficult and she wished she could quiet the clamor of her heart, as it deafened her own ears. The stars still hung in the sky, but the full moon was waning and sinking towards the horizon.

She finally turned towards him, as her thoughts coalesced and she tried to gather her speech.

"But, Legolas, how-'' she started.

Legolas looked at her. His blue eyes were alight. And he said, almost gently, "At some point in the early hours of this morning, my fever passed and I felt whole again. I rose, dressed, and waited for you to wake."

That was not an explanation, by any means, but somehow further words stuck in her throat. And indeed, it did not really matter, for she knew that soon she would wake for a second time, and the dream would end.

They walked side by side, then without stopping and without warning, Legolas reached down and subtly, but purposefully took hold of her hand in his.

Stunned, Wren looked down at her hand. It was wrapped in his long, slender, elven fingers. There was a warmth flowing through her, like nothing she had ever felt before.

Wren felt a new hope rising, perhaps this was not a dream. She tried to suppress the hope that began to creep through her, but it persisted and sent her pulse racing.

They walked that way, their hands inextricably linked, until they reached the ridge that looked across the valley. She could feel his tension, increasing with every step. At the cliff top, Legolas stopped and gently guided Wren by her hand to face him.

Tenderly, he took hold of her other hand and raised them both to his chest. She lifted her head and found him looking deep into her eyes. His eyes drew her inside him. She could feel his heart beating, rapid and strong. Her own heart was racing wildly. She found it hard to breathe again.

Legolas began to speak, his voice low.

"I had the strangest dream last night. I may have indeed been delirious. But I dreamt that I heard you say that you loved me. Not once. But over and over again."

He paused, and Wren's face filled with color, her breath was constricted and her throat dry.

"Do you love me, Aletheîa?" His voice was raw and vulnerable.

His eyes burrowed into her soul. Wren did not have the composure to respond. But as she looked at him, she knew her face told Legolas everything he ever needed to know.

He began to speak again. "I thought I knew what love was, till I fell in love with you. But now, I feel like I have a thousand fires burning in my chest, and a thousand drums beating in my heart." 

Wren could see Legolas's pulse throbbing in his throat. She felt like her own heart would explode. 

"I felt like I would die a thousand deaths every time I looked at you, when my love was not returned." Legolas continued, his voice almost hoarse.

The anguish in his blue eyes and the bleakness in his voice was so evident, it broke her. Her own eyes swimming, she released a hand and reached up to touch his face. He closed his eyes briefly, as if her touch hurt.

"I think my desire to live was fading. Without your love, this life ceased to hold any more meaning. Somewhere, as I hovered between this life and the next, I heard your voice in the distance, telling me you loved me. It began like a distant echo. But it grew louder and louder, till I felt your words were flowing through me, giving me hope. I awoke to find you lying draped across me, my hands tightly clasped in yours. At that moment, I knew that I had not dreamt it."

He loved her, he truly loved her. Wren fought her own immobility and opened her mouth.

"I love you more than my life." Her voice wavered.

Emotion flooded her heart as she saw joy leap into his.

Legolas cupped Wren's face with his strong hands and gazed into her brown eyes, with such a love and profound longing, she scarce could have imagined it.

Then he said, "I love you, Aletheîa. Le melithon anuir, mell nín."

He raised her chin and kissed her so tenderly that at first, she hardly felt it; it did not seem real. But his hunger for her rose in intensity, until Wren felt it with every fiber of her being. She was overcome, as she felt his need for her, sweep through her entire body. The whole earth faded and their own eternity began.

When the world began to gently reappear again, she found herself looking at her elf prince, who was staring ardently into her eyes, his breathing was shallow.

"Aletheîa, I pledge myself to you. Le uivelin, meleth e-guilen. Would you agree to walk with me through whatever our lives entail?"

Wren was no longer able to suppress her joy.

"Yes Legolas. Le melithon anuir, meleth nín. And again, I say yes! Guren min gaim lín," she said as the tears rolled down her face.

He lent and kissed each of her tears. Then Legolas swept her up in his arms, brought his mouth to her own and kissed her once again, their hopes and fears now sealed in their love and longing for one another.

Together, they sat and watched the sky, as the light began creep up from the ground and consume the darkness. Wren was surrounded by Legolas, enveloped by his arms, his knees either side of her. She felt his heart beat close to hers and his breath ebb and flow on her skin. Together they were wordless, but content, in perfect peace.

Unwilling to break the spell, but feeling compelled to do so;  Wren spoke, as the first glint of sunlight pierced the horizon.

"We must rise and tell Strider. He will be wondering where we are ..."

Legolas kissed her affectionately on the cheek and smiled, "Yes, although I feel that he must take some responsibility, for not have averting this potential tragedy sooner."

"I wonder how long he has known."

"Well, we will soon find out ... look ... Strider has come himself to search for us himself..."

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Le melithon anuir, mell nín ~ I will love you forever, my beloved

Le uivelin, meleth e-guilen ~ I will always love you, love of my life

Le melithon anuir meleth nín ~ I will love you forever, my love

Guren min gaim lín ~ My heart is in your hands

This chapter was undeniably the hardest to write, and has put me off writing a romance novel ever again. It felt almost impossible to tread the line between captivating and classy, compared to overdone and smutty. I had to borrow heavily from the classics and some of my favorite stories! Anyway, please feel free to give me some gentle/helpful feedback on how I did!

PLOT spoiler: the slow burn romance/angst aspect of this story has come to an end, but you should know that romance is certainly not dead in this particular story, as I may be planning a wedding in New Fornost... Please PM or comment on some of your ideas that you would love to see included and I will see what I can do...😉

Weddings aside, a short Prologue for Part II will be posted on Friday, and thereafter you can look forward to seeing the reappearance of some of your favorite characters (hopefully), their exploits and an adventure that draws all the broken pieces together.

I would love to receive your comments and PLEASE vote on this chapter if you enjoyed it. Each vote and comment helps the wider circulation of my story, I really appreciate them!

Just a trip down memory lane for some old school LOTR Legolas! (don't let the still cover photo with Taurial scare you off!!!) Video Made by Vick, Music by 8 Dawn Music - This Is Why I Was Born.