Daughter of Stars of Earth

Chapter Seventeen-Slow Fade

"Did I ask for honesty?" He shouts back at me while pressing harder, but for now, we're evenly matched. "Did I ask for you?" His voice is low now but still stings as much as his yelling, if not more. "If it's honesty you want, I wish you'd never came at all."

I break the stand-off with a swift kick to his crotch, watching him fall to his knees and placing the pole under his chin so he looks at me. "If you want to continue lying to yourself, fine. Do it. Rot away in this forest as it rots with you. But it will not be because of me." I pull back and allow the pole to fill the space between us as I take a breath. "That night in the forest, my vision? It was of you." His eyes widen. "I found a little girl roaming the forest and she was mine. She was ours. You could have been meleth nin (my love). We had found...something again but now you have thrown it away, not me. Not me." My hand squeezes the wooden pole as tears swim in my eyes before I toss it away and storm back into the palace.

I can barely see as I stuff my things back into my pack. Food left for me after sparring is convenient and all of it goes in. I've just finished writing my letter to Legolas and have placed Thranduil's great crown, my final gift, atop the envelope when my doors swing open. My convictions only steel when I see the king.

"I forbid you to leave." He demands as I sling my pack around my body.

"I would say I'm insulted that you think you could stop me, but I'm so unsurprised that your insults no longer faze me."

"I am still the king of these lands and you will obey me." His voice has a desperate tint now and I'm sorry to hear it. Desperation will not change my mind, only weigh down his heart. I take a breath and turn, heading to the balcony before he grabs my wrist. His eyes search mine before he presses his lips to mine and I melt. His hand is tight in mine but his lips are soft. Pleading. During this kiss I release all my emotions; the affection that could have been love, the hope I'd felt, and now the potent sadness. My cheeks are wet and as we part he kisses my tears, but more are there to take their place. My eyes meet that sad, shimmering blue.

"In sparing yourself this possible heartache, you have shattered mine. And I laid myself open for you. Understood you. Cared for you. And now...I leave you."

"Aeolin..."

"Goodbye, King Thranduil." I whisper as crystals gather in those clear pools. I hear Taryn land outside the window and don't hesitate in dropping out. I slide down the trunk of the tree and easily slide onto Taryn's back.

"Ready, dear one?" He asks and I take a deep breath, looking around at the woodland realm before an ellon comes walking out of the shadows with a pack himself.

"Legolas, your place is here," I tell him instantly as he bows to Taryn.

"My place is with those I love." He combats and as Taryn nods he slides onto his back with me. My eyes finally go to the king on the balcony with shining tracks on his cheeks. His jaw clenches, but he nods once.

"I'm ready, great one." I agree and Taryn takes to the sky like a comet, leaving the greenwood far behind.

It doesn't take us long to reach Elrond's company and to see him again soothes some part of me, but I'm afraid it will take far longer than one journey for this ache to heal. However, there are many distractions on the road including a pesky Greenleaf that refuses to leave my side. Another distraction after we arrive in Rivendell is the lovely Arwen asking about her sapling and telling me of a man that had since traveled north. I'm glad of her questions and stories for when she is busy, I am but a ghost wandering through the beauty of Rivendell. Something that the king does not fail to notice.

I've planted myself in a relatively secluded spot beneath a bridge near a softly trickling brook that filters off the cliffs into the breathtaking valley below. The moss is soft beneath me and a few patches of flowers surround me. My hand is buried in my sketchbook as I lose my mind to simple movement and the beauty around me. "So this is where you hide?" My eyes snap up to find Elrond sliding off the bridge to land next to me. I smile weakly.