I walk by faith even when I cannot see. - 2 Corinthians 5:7

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Elladan's POV

Her hair spills down her back in silky crimson curls. Her pale skin seems to glow of starlight as she stands by the open window, looking out into the night sky. The moonlight showers her in ethereal radiance. A creamy white dress clings to her body lightly, no sleeves or material over her back or arms to cover her soft skin. A single golden ribbon is wrapped around her waist, keeping the dress tied.

"You told me you would be home hours ago," she says as I approach her silently. I can feel her emotions through our bond. Amusement. Excitement. Love. Contentment.

I stop right behind her, reaching out to trail my fingers down her back. Bashfulness. Delight.

"I intended to keep my promise, Mell nín (My beloved), but Ada kept talking and talking and talking," I breathe, moving her hair over her left shoulder. I lean down, placing my lips on her neck. I feel her tense for a second before relaxing into my touch.

"I missed you," she whispers as I kiss her skin, moving up to kiss her behind her ear. She inhales shakily, and I fight a smile.

"And I missed you," I reply, "I bet you cannot tell."

She laughs beautifully, and she turns in my arms to look up at me. Her green eyes captivate me, as they always do, and I know in my heart that I will never grow tired of gazing into them. They dance with laughter and light and love. I am positive mine reflect her own.

"You are my husband. I know you like the back of my hand," she says with a lift of her lips, and I almost give into her right then.

A lazy smirk makes its way to my lips, and I place my hand on her cheek, caressing her face softly. "You know me that well? I am pleasantly surprised, I must say. We have only been married for a few weeks," I say, my fingers traveling down until my hand is resting against her neck.

"You are not too hard to figure out, 'Dan," she says with a teasing laugh.

I glower at her jokingly, and she smiles brightly. My gaze drops, only just realizing what the front of her dress looks like. Its neck line cuts down far- far enough to leave little to the imagination. I glance back up at her with a poorly concealed smirk. I let my hand slide down from her neck, softly dragging my fingers down over her collarbone and tracing the line of material down her chest.

"'Dan," she scolds, grabbing my wrist and stopping it before I can allow it to go further, "You have been home naught but a few minutes."

I laugh at her, watching delightedly as her cheeks turn rosy. "I have not done anything!" I exclaim, "You have not even kissed me, my wife."

She blushes harder. "You are misbehaving. You do not get a kiss."

I raise my eyebrow at her. "Oh?" I question, and I eye the ribbon holding her dress together, "You know, I do not fancy this ribbon."

"Elladan!" she exclaims, her eyes widening as I place my hands on her waist.

I laugh at her, leaning down to lay my forehead against hers. "You know I love teasing you," I say before placing my lips against hers.

She kisses me back softly for a moment before I step closer, pulling her tightly against me. Her arms wrap around my neck, pulling my head down closer to her's. I deepen the kiss, my hands traveling to the bare skin of her back. One of my hands travels to her hair, tangling in the soft tresses as I fall under her spell.

She pulls back for a moment to breathe. "I love you," I tell her, my voice thick with emotion.

She smiles. "I love you, 'Dan," she replies, rising up on her toes to kiss me again.

Taenya finally allows me to rid her of that horrible golden ribbon, and I indulge in the blissfulness of her love as we fall deeper and deeper into the soul binding feelings we hold for one another.

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I jerk awake, surprised to feel tears running down my cheeks. The dream felt so real, along with the feelings and emotions in it. The love I held for her in the dream was so thick, it was almost tangible, and Taenya reflected that love. I have never dreamed about her before, and I only wish I did not have to start having such dreams after what happened yesterday. I look at the space beside me in hope, but I knew she would not be there. It was just a dream. The sheets beside me are empty, much like my heart at the moment.

I sigh, wiping at my eyes in shame. I should not feel this way. I should not feel as if my heart has been ripped from my chest because one person does not wish to see me anymore. But I do. My chest feels so hollow, and my body feels weak from crying so long last night. I have not cried in many, many years, and I feel weak for allowing it to happen. I have not faced my family yet, but I think my mother knows our meeting went wrong because she has not come looking for me, even though I did not show up for supper last night. She knows to give me space, but I am positive she will come looking for me today.

I roll over, pulling my silken covers over my head. The only thing I feel like doing is falling back asleep and dreaming of her, despite the fact that thinking about her hurts. Remembering our times in the forest, our dancing in stockings yesterday, and the fight all causes a sharp, piercing blade of sorrow to rip through my chest. The pain I feel is worse than any wounds I have been inflicted with by blades or arrows.

A groan escapes my lips as my head pounds in pain. I lie as still as possible, hoping that the grief I feel will slowly go away, but memories of her eyes keep resurfacing and make me want to scream in frustration.

A knock on my door suddenly echoes through the room, and I freeze, pretending to be asleep so that whoever it is will go away. I hear the door creak open slowly.

"'Dan?" my mother questions quietly. I hold back a wince at the nickname, remembering it falling from the lips of Taenya.

I hear her enter my room, gently closing the door behind her. Her footsteps fall lightly on the floor as she approaches me, and I roll my eyes internally. Can she not allow me to wallow in self pity?

She sits down on my bed, pulling the covers off of my head so that she can see me. It only takes a matter of seconds for her to take in my red eyes and tear streaked cheeks. "Oh, 'Dan," she sighs softly, reaching out to touch my cheek, "Ion nin (My son), what happened?"

I grit my teeth. "I do not wish to speak of it," I mutter, looking away in shame of my tears.

"Well," she whispers, stroking my hair soothingly, "Sometimes it helps to speak of things that hurt us. It relieves a bit of the pain. Keeping it bottled up inside will only make things worse."

I am quiet for a moment, allowing her to stroke my hair as she did when I was upset as an elfling. "You were wrong, Naneth. She does not want me still," I say, stopping when my throat constricts with oncoming tears.

"I am sure she still does, Elladan. You-"

"No," I state firmly, "She told me to leave. She told me that she never wishes to see me again."

My mother is silent, just staring at me sadly with her doe like eyes as I try to not to cry.

"'Tis so easy to say things we do not mean when we are angry," she says, her voice soft and comforting, "Anger is such a strong emotion, and it can befuddle our minds and blind us from the true, important emotions that lie beneath it. You see, I love your father with all of my heart, but, when he makes me angry, all I can think about is my fury. I do not think of our walks in the garden or our cold nights spent by the fireplace. I do not remember our days of courtship when I was bashful and anxious around him. And sadly, I do not think of the first time I held you and your siblings in my arms with him right beside me. Anger is so overwhelming, but it is always brief. No matter what your Ada does, I can never stay mad at him for long because I love him, and love covers all hurts."

"But I do not love Taenya. 'Tis impossible for I have only known her for a few weeks," I respond, my throat dry.

She smiles down at me. "Are you sure? Who is to say that you cannot fall in love within one meeting or within one glance? People have a lot of negative things to say about love, but they are just bitter, 'Dan. If you really think about it, we fall in love with people so easily. When you meet a new friend, do you immediately know when your heart begins to love them, or do you just realize it after a long while of knowing them? I believe that there is no 'like'. I think that when we 'like' things, it is just the first stage of love. Love grows constantly. There is no end or final destination. We can stop loving people within the blink of an eye, so who is to say we cannot fall in love just as quickly? I have not seen you cry in a very long time, Elladan. Not many people can affect you so. Look deeply into your heart, and you will see that these feelings you have for Taenya are already much deeper than you have realized. They grow in your heart and soul like the roots of a tree, spreading out and twisting and curling so deeply inside of you that the person truly becomes a part of who you are."

I close my eyes as she speaks, letting her words wash over me like a wave in the ocean. Naneth has always been so wise, something I am sure she inherited from my grandmother. She has a way of making her words crawl under your skin and really sink into your mind. There have been countless nights that I have stayed up with her words tumbling around in my head relentlessly. She makes you really think about things most people overlook. And she is always right.

"What am I supposed to do?" I ask her, my voice hoarse, "I cannot just stay away from her forever!"

"No, you cannot," she agrees.

"She does not wish to see me, though," I remind her.

"She said that out of anger and hurt," Naneth replies, "I do not think she will refuse your company for long. After all, you told her the truth. You admitted you were wrong for lying initially, did you not?"

"Yes," I reply, pushing myself up to sit beside her, "I apologized. But I knew that she would not forgive me, Naneth. I have wronged her."

"She will forgive you. You do not need to give up," she remarks with a determined look in her eye, "Now, I cannot stand to see you like this. You need to get up and get dressed. Breakfast will be served soon, and I expect you to be there. Afterwards, I think it would be a good idea to go and see Taenya."

"She will not want to see me, Naneth."

"Then you will wait outside her door until she lets you in. If this elleth is as soft hearted as you once said she is, then she will not allow you to stand outside for hours," she says with a smile. She strokes my hair again, tenderly.

I sigh, knowing that she will not take no for an answer. "I... I will go," I say hesitantly, wincing as her smile grows, "But I am afraid."

"There is nothing to be afraid of, 'Dan, except for your own fear. Fear is what holds us back from doing great things. If you do not patch up your relationship now, then there will be no future for you and Taenya," she says, standing and smoothing out her skirts, "The question is, would you really let her go so easily?"

She touches my cheek softly as I stand up, and I bend down to let her kiss my forehead softly. "Thank you," I tell her quietly, searching her eyes, "I seem to be saying that to you a lot lately."

She smiles happily. "I am happy to be able to help you. I love you," she says, and she turns to walk to the door.

"I love you," I reply, striding over to my dresser with a new sense of purpose. The door closes with a thud as she leaves, and I quickly change into a clean tunic and pants, pulling on my purple robes. I slip on my boots and comb out the tangles in my hair, quickly braiding back two strands on either side of my head.

When I am finished, I leave my room, walking down to the dining room quickly. The air is warm, and the sun is shining down brightly. The elves I pass bow, greeting me with cheery smiles, and I try to keep my new positivity in place. 'Tis hard to stay positive when my chest still aches and anxiety eats away at my mind. But I try, knowing my mother is right. I cannot just sit around and let Taenya slip through my fingers, and the faster I get her back, the better.

I push through the door leading to the dining room, and I am not surprised to see Gweyr and Falenas sitting down at the family table. Arwen is speaking animatedly to Gweyr, whose cheeks are flushed red against the paleness of her skin. Her honey colored hair falls down her back in large waves, and I can tell by the droopiness of her eyes that she is not feeling well but trying to be strong. Falenas sits dutifully by her side, absorbed in an animated conversation with Elrohir. Glorfindel is speaking with Naneth, making her laugh at his poor attempt at jokes, and Ada watches them all silently, a satisfied smile on his face. His gaze flits over to me, and from the look he gives me, I understand that Naneth has told him everything.

He smiles, gesturing toward the table. "Elladan, come sit down, Ion nin (My son). We were waiting for you," he says, and I walk over to the table, sitting down beside my brother.

The servants bring out our food, placing porcelain plates in front of us and filling up our goblets with wine.

Arwen smiles merrily at me as we begin to eat. "Gweyr is pregnant," she says, glancing at her new friend with shining eyes, "About six weeks."

"Congratulations," I reply, genuinely happy for the couple. It is not often that elves become pregnant, and the occasion is always celebrated merrily by everyone.

"Thank you," Gweyr says, smiling, "And good morning to you."

"Good morning. Are you feeling well?" I question, my eyes roaming the unnatural paleness of her complexion.

"As well as is expected when you are with child," she says with a small laugh, but I do not miss Falenas's concerned look.

I nod politely, feeling awkward around them. At any moment they could ask about Taenya, and I would not know how to reply. "Adar makes a special tea that helps ease the nausea," I offer, glancing at my father whose lips lift slightly into a kind smile.

"I will arrange one of the servants to bring you some at once," he says, calling over a servant girl with brown ringlet curls and blue eyes.

Elrohir looks at me, and I can see the questions in his gray eyes. As twins, we hold a special bond that allows us to feel each other's emotions, and I know without a doubt that he felt my sorrow yesterday and this morning. Now I am sure he feels my anxiety and fear. He does not say anything, thankfully, only giving me a small encouraging smile.

I do not speak for the rest of breakfast time, and when everyone stands to leave, I immediately head for the stables. Elrohir follows me, keeping his distance until we are safely in the stables, away from the eyes and ears of others, before his questioning begins. "What happened, 'Dan?" he asks, his tone uncharacteristically serious and concerned.

"I told Taenya the truth, and now she does not wish to see me again," I reply, cutting out the details that will only bring back my raw emotions. I do not wish for 'Ro to see me cry.

"How impetuous," he mutters under his breath in shock, "But you told her the truth! You admitted your wrongs, and she kicked you out? I do not understand."

"You do not know Taenya as I do," I state, defending her actions immediately, "She grew up in the forest. She has no friends, 'Ro. She has never felt how it feels to be lied to by someone she trusts, until now. Her actions were to be expected. I lied to her, and she is allowed to be angry with me. Taenya is very innocent and trusting, and I crushed her trust in me. Now it is up to me to rebuild it."

Elrohir crosses his arms over his chest, watching me with calculating eyes as I ready Sirdal for our short trip that will determine my fate and Taenya's.

"What do you plan on doing?"

I turn to look at him, meeting his gaze evenly. "I plan on winning her back."

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A/N: Yay for Elladan! Goin' to win back his lady ;) So what do y'all think is going to happen? Tell me in the comment section because I'm anxious to hear your theories! Love y'all, and God bless! <3

Love,

Josie