My Lord

Chapter Eleven The Last Goodbye

Standing alongside the Elven army, just waiting, has my nerves bouncing all over. I see Bard racing back on his horse looking more disappointed than he did when he left. He rides over to Thranduil to let him know what has occurred.

Thranduil hops down from his elk and walks toward me with anger in his eyes but a smirk upon his lips. "What?" I ask, curious what could cause such an expression

"He won't budge." He says. I wait for some kind of reminder that he was right and I was not, but instead he leans forward and asks me to remove my helmet.

"Why?"

"Just do as you are told." He says in a hushed but stern tone.

I remove my helmet and tuck the hair that falls onto my face behind my ear. Setting my helmet down at my feet, he grabs firmly onto my shoulders and leans in even closer to whisper in my ear.

"I love you so much," he pauses.

"I love you too," I say, but he continues his thought.

"I want us both to go back home after this battle unharmed, but if all does not go well, I want to /say this last goodbye just in case. He moves from my ear to right in front of me so our eyes are perfectly aligned. We stand just staring into each others eyes, for about two seconds, until one of his hands moves to my right cheek. With a soft touch he closes the little space that stood between us with a kiss. His warm lips press against mine and I return the kiss passionately. I feel a small tear roll down my cheek as I try to hope for the best.

He pulls away so I can see his face once more and I now realize that it wasn't my tear, it was his. I can feel tears start to well up in my own eyes. I tried so hard to hold them back, but I can't anymore. The tears begin streaming down my face and he pulls me into a tight, warm hug. I wrap my arms around him never wanting to let go, but I know I must.

I pull away to keep him and myself from becoming too emotional. I can only stare at his beautiful face now, and with my thumbs, I wipe away his tears and he does the same for me. He flashes me a sincere smile and then turns to leave.

I bend over to pick up my helmet and brush all my hair out of my face before placing it back onto my head. I feel a hand take mine, which takes me by surprise. I look over to see a close friend from my younger years. I can feel my heart sink to my stomach as I squeeze her hand and she squeezes mine. I give my best impression of a smile I can muster and she does the same as a tear slips down her cheek. We both know this may not end well. I look forward biting my lip and am able to hold the tears back this time.. We stand hand-in-hand until Thranduil announces that we will be leaving at dawn.

I will forever remember that last goodbye. My forever could end a long time from now, or it could end tomorrow.

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Updated 11-9-2023