Holding that first letter to my heart and smiling, I took a deep breath and then unrolled it and began to read it. I knew even before I read the first word that he was safe and that was what mattered most to me. So I was able to read the rest of it with a smile and sure enough just as he said he would, he had found the Dunedain and Strider along with them. He wrote that he was surprised Strider was very fluent in Elvish and knew a lot of the Elvish ways though he did not know why. They were still getting to know each other. But they were traveling a lot and Strider seemed a very wise young man. Well then again, to us elves all humans even the elder ones were young.

            See, we lived for thousands if not millions of years--like my aunt Galadriel who was older then the moon itself--we were immortal in a sense though not invincible as that was proven by our ability of getting hurt and killed in the last war. I rubbed the left side of my head where I had been wounded nearly half a century ago. It seemed to me that Legolas was content with being among the human men. He was learning from them and they from him. Mostly though, he seemed to stick with Strider. The two were developing a bond. I could see it as I looked out over the water. My gift of sight just as pronounced as that of my aunt and uncle, was growing stronger with the passing of time.

            But my love was happy. He was far away from me and that seemed to be his only ache. Unless he did not wish to share it with me in the letter but he not once mentioned his father or his home in the Woodland Realm. Perhaps the mission had made him focus. But he did write how much he missed me and our quiet nights in Lorien. He was very impressed by Strider; the Ranger was skilled with both horse and sword and could shoot a bow and arrow if need be. I smiled as I finished the letter. I hesitated only briefly before grabbing a quill and parchment to write one in return.

            I told him just how much I missed him and how empty my heart felt. Then I told him about what happened with Melchel. I felt that I owed it to tell him the whole story even though he had yet to come to Rivendell. But telling him about it allowed me to tell him more about myself too. I knew he would be surprised about uncle Elrond's decision to banish her and even more so by where I chose the soldiers to take her. But all that was better than my taking her life. I wondered how much this Strider fellow knew about Rivendell and whether or not Legolas told him he was betrothed.

            I ended my own letter then. And ran down to the night courier who once I explained where it needed to go, took it immediately. Usually on long journeys, we would send our day couriers but the one on duty tonight, said he needed a long trip and so he left with it immediately. I knew the elf well and he was an experienced swordsman so I knew he would be safe in his travels even though they were taking him half way up Middle Earth. He also knew the lay of the land and how to avoid goblins and mindless orcs.

            I need not wait long as Legolas' letters continued to arrive and mine were sent to him. The same courier would take them back and forth sometimes spending a couple of hours or even a couple of days with the Dunedain while Legolas would write his own letter back to me. The courier was none other than Lindir who was of council to my uncle but since these were peaceful times, he took on other jobs. He looked young as many elves did and was a quiet man though often unnerved. When the dwarves came to Rivendell before the great battle, he was quite nervous, but he seemed to be alright amongst men now. He felt honored to be chosen time and time again by me to be my courier. What I did not know, was that uncle Elrond had also placed Lindir strategically into that position so he himself would know the job was done properly. That and ask Lindir from time to time where the Dunedain were located.

            I laughed to myself when reading the letter from Legolas regarding his reaction to the whole Melchel issue. He was quite a bit stunned I would say. He did not expect things to be so dramatic when I got home. Then in his 4th letter, he stunned me. He said the Dunedain were going to stay in place for a bit and he could leave and meet me half way for a day and a night. I agreed without hesitation and a week later, rode out to meet him. We met on a plain halfway just as promised. He was already there when I got there; had a tent set up and a fire going. I hopped off of Sunset as soon as I rode in and he grabbed me into a long, tight hug. He swung me around as I laughed and laughed.

        After he set me back on the ground he kissed me. It was not a short kiss either; all of how much he missed me was being transmitted to me in that kiss. I felt the same way and therefore must have done the same because when we broke apart, he looked at me with a glint in his eyes. He looked me over and his fingers touched the broach he had given me which was where it always was; on Altherial's holder right on the front. His fingers lingered there as his eyes softened even more as they met mine. We stood there without saying a word, as we remembered that moment when he proposed to me. Words were just not needed sometimes. I smiled at him as my eyes lingered on every single one of his features.

        It was still day time, the sun was out so I wondered why the fire was needed; he saw me looking oddly at the fire and then he showed me a small bundle of lavender that he had placed in the fire. It made the whole air around the fire and tent smell amazingly. I was the first one to speak then:

"How did you know to do that?" I said, my eyes widening. He smiled.

"Remember how I said I too was learning from Strider? Well it turns out lavender can be used for many things and not just tea as we elves know it. Lavender is used to repel goblins and their wargs who cannot stand the smell and also does not hurt when you are trying to make the air around you smell fresh." He said expertly with a wink as I laughed.

"Well is that not ingenious of him? I am quite glad you are with him then. I do not care for either goblins or wargs though I rather not have them spoil our time together though the smell is divine." I said grandly.

"You love it then." He said to me in statement of fact instead of a question.

"Yes very much and I love you....very much too." I said then winking at him as I moved a little away and twirled in the grass just taking in the intoxicatingly delicious scent. I was wearing a simple gown and a cape both of which twirled around me as he watched me with a big smile on his face.

"I love you very much too." He said as he took me into his arms mid-twirl.

            He helped me take my satchel into the tent then after tying off Sunset along with his own steed. After that we took a walk around the area where we were. He asked me to tell him in greater detail more about what happened with Melchel and I spelled out the whole story to him to a lot of gasps and shaking of the head. We were both shaking our heads when I finished telling him the story. Then he asked me:

"Why Dol Guldur? The necromancer has been gone from that area since your aunt banished him."

"Because goblins and orcs still crawl around there long after the war. I figured she would not last long. After everything she did, hurting Arwen even a little bit but knowing full well how badly she could have hurt her, was the last straw for me. I could not take her life; uncle Elrond was right. But dropping her off by the side of a forest seemed just too easy. She needed to pay for everything she had done. I do not suspect she is alive now. Goblins can smell our scent quickly. Good riddance." I said with a shudder as he looked at me with drawn eyebrows.

"Not for one moment of all of that, were you afraid that she may somehow harm you?" He asked.

"No, not at all. Why?" He shook his head and smirked.

"Just because I was worried more for you and yet you continue to surprise me with your fearlessness and skill. Perhaps you will always surprise me." He smiled at me then as I smiled back.

"I know my own strengths, my love. And I know my own weaknesses. I do not cater to the latter but play by the primary. That is how I learn to be a better warrior. It is who I was meant to be since birth, princess or not. And yes perhaps I always shall. But I do not think that is a bad thing for you, is it?" I asked teasingly raising one eyebrow. He kissed the tip of my nose before answering:

"No it is not. I rather like it. You are unlike anyone I have ever met before. Which is a benefit for me and also for the fact that we fell in love. The fact that you can love someone without a home is an honor in of itself." He said shrugging as I looked him straight in the eyes and took his face in my hands.

"You have a home Legolas, Prince of the Woodland Realm. You have a lot of them; 3 in fact. Your place of birth will always be your home whether you go back there ever again or not. And now you also have Lothlorien and Rivendell. The latter of which I hope you get to see soon. It is nothing like anything you have seen before and perhaps you will fall in love with it and love it as much as I do because it will surely love you back. Just as I do."

        I then kissed him without waiting for a response. I knew then that it still bothered him though he mentioned it not in his letters. After that we sat still for a little while as we gathered our thoughts and the sky began to darken. As the sun started setting, I decided to change the subject and asked him:

"So tell me about Strider. Have you found out his real name yet? And what have you told him about yourself if anything? I know you mentioned he speaks fluent Elvish and knows about our lands and people. Which means he has had to live among elves at one point." He nodded though I knew not at which part.

"I have told him where I have come from originally and who my father is. He knows I am here with you though he does not know your name. He knows I am betrothed to a princess of two elven lands though; his eyebrows did take flight when I mentioned that part. He does not understand it and he asked if he could tell me his own name later. We have been feeling each other out. Perhaps soon, this mystery will solve itself for both of us." I nodded.

"I am not at all surprised by his reaction to my title as that is pretty much everyone's reaction to it. I am guessing you did not tell him which two lands. Perhaps on one of your next visits, you can bring him along. I would very much like to meet him." He nodded then. It sounded appealing.

            We went inside our tent then and spent a blissful night together. In the morning, he made me breakfast and we ate together. I sat silently wondering what it would be like to wake up to him every morning and have breakfast when we finally exchanged our vows to each other. But I knew that that was still a long distance away. There was a war in the future; I just knew it though not many were even willing to broach the topic so I kept all of my research to myself.

            Finally it was time to bid him farewell as he headed back to the Dunedain and Strider; I really hoped that Strider would be willing to meet me. To my delight, a short time later, I received a letter from Legolas saying that he and Strider who had become fairly close would come and meet with me in our by now favorite location to meet, so I knew he probably learned his real name by now. I had also come across something suspicious during my research about the One Ring. It mentioned a whole genealogy tree of the last known wielder of the One Ring and how uncle Elrond was part of that battle when Sauron had the ring and a human King named Isildur cut off the finger of Sauron with the ring on it but failed to destroy the ring because it put a spell on him as it did anyone who touched it.

            But that is not what got my attention; it was another name mentioned in the book; a descendant of Isildur named Arathorn; the same man King Thranduil told Legolas about when he gave him the mission to go and find the Dunedain in the first place. And that this line of humans were part of royal lineage to Gondor the kingdom of men. I started putting pieces together; no longer needing the Dunedain books because I had found the missing link; Strider. He was the last surviving member of the royal lineage of kings. Except his real name was still alluding me yet seemed to be at the tip of my tongue and that is why I wanted to meet him in person. I knew I could get him to tell me and I had a feeling and not the good kind that my uncle was responsible for keeping all this information from me. Everything was connected and coming together.

            One way or another I would find everything out, I thought to myself as I strapped Altherial to me and rode out of the gates of Rivendell to meet Legolas and the elusive Strider for the first time as far above in the main house my uncle watched my departure with uneasy eyes.