Dear Lancaeron,

You'll notice that I'm sending this with Ithilwen's chipmunk. How she trained a chipmunk is beyond me...

I'm glad to know that everything is going nicely. You knew I'd be worried. You know me far too well, you know that?

Things have been pretty uneventful here. However, I do have a few things to tell you when you get back.

I miss you, Lancaeron. It isn't the same without you here. I even find myself longing for you to sneak up on me again, or bombard me with snowballs. I have a feeling that most of the elves here wouldn't appreciate it if I threw a snowball at them. And don't ask about Thalion and Ithilwen, you know as well as I do that they can get quite brutal in this type of thing.

So, you're with 2 pre-Ithilwens? What's it like? I'd do anything to see Ithilwen happy again...She just has that air of sadness about her. I remember when she first came here, and the three of us (eventually four, with Thalion) would go off into the forest for hours, making up songs and stories and not caring if we got lost. We were so carefree back then...

Maybe when you return, you and I can go to our old hiding place, and we can talk and gaze at the stars like we used to do.

Legolas, Ithilwen, and Thalion say hello. Ithilwen has informed me that she's already prepared a lecture for you if you get back late. I strongly advise you to be back on time, you know how she gets. Besides, I can't stand being apart from you any longer than I have to be.

Namarië, my love, my forever.

                                             -Meriel

I smiled as Eruanna scampered off with the letter. I may have thought Ithilwen to be insane when she first told me of her trained chipmunk, but right now, it was proving to be incredibly useful.

I suddenly heard a knock on my door. "Who is it?" I called.

"Thalion" a voice answered. "May I come in?"

"Certainly!" I replied, and was soon greeted by the smiling face of Thalion. He set down a stack of papers and sank into one of my heavily cushioned chairs.

"Have you seen Ithilwen lately?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"Not since yesterday." I told him. "Has she disappeared again?"

"Most likely" he sighed, before picking up a paper from his stack. "I believe this is yours." He said, handing it to me. It was a drawing of a fire leaping across the trees, burning even brighter than the stars in the background. I had drawn it about a week ago, and had been looking for it.

"Hannon le!" I told Thalion, placing the picture amongst my own collection of papers.

Night fell all too quickly, a sea of darkness washing over us. One by one, the stars appeared, glittering silver in the sky. I looked at them for a while, taking in their beauty. Maybe Nana and Ada were up there, looking at me as lovingly as I was looking at them.