The sun was at its evening mark when we returned to the dismal brush where the others were gathered.

"What happened?" asked Faewyn as soon as we arrived, deftly running to where Legolas and I had stopped.

"I have elected to go with Falcon," I said heavily.

Faewyn made a dismayed noise and the others looked at each other, startled.

"It is the only way answers might be found," I said bluntly, "And I will take the greatest care to ensure that they are."

"But he will take you again, will he not?" one of the men asked.

"He is bound by an oath to free me if I should find what I seek," I said. "Should he disregard his word, he will be destroyed."

There was widespread nodding.

"When do you leave?" Maldor asked from next to Faewyn.

"Tonight. My one day to search starts this night at midnight."

"Then you must rest," Faewyn said, concerned, "For sleep will not come in the clutches of Falcon."

"I doubt I could sleep with this looming," I said ruefully.

"Perhaps it is best if we leave now," Legolas suggested.

"What? Where would we go? There must be half a day left until the moon is at its zenith." I answered, confused.

"There is a hidden cave not far from here that overlooks the exit to the valley," Legolas murmured, leaning close. "It is dark, you may find more rest there and I will be able see you."

"Very well, but I hardly need you to keep an eye on me." I said irritably.

"I never said it was for your benefit, my lady," he murmured, a faint smile etched on his face.

My eyes widened briefly in embarrassment.

"Then I bid you farewell now," I said to the assembled group, stepping forward. "I promise you, this will not be in vain."

"Mellon nin, you must be careful," Faewyn said in evident distress, "There is no telling what will happen."

"I will search for and find the only thing we came for," I assured them, "And I will return." I looked at Faewyn, willing her to believe that Falcon would never take me for his own again.

"Novaer (Farewell), Gianna," she said, bowing her head slightly, "But I expect to see you not an hour past midnight tomorrow!"

I smiled at this. "Fae, I reckon it might take longer than an hour to walk back here!"

"Then run," she said with an impish grin.

"What have I done to deserve this?" I groaned in mock frustration, shoving her lightly.

"You are impossible," she laughed. "Now, Legolas, get her out of here before I retaliate!"

Legolas rolled his eyes and said lightly, "Well then, we go."

The sadness returned to Faewyn's eyes once more as she turned away from the two of us. The rest of the camp fell silent as we passed, which strangely gave the entire proceedings the air of a funeral.

"I am not going to my death," I said with a grumble as I followed Legolas towards some unknown place.

"We would hope not, Gianna," he said, a heavy sigh on every syllable. "But we can do nothing more than that."

******

"I will let you know if you should wake," Legolas said, motioning to the inside of the cave.

"I am not sure how much sleep I will be getting," I said ruefully, turning in the entrance of the cave to look at him. "It is yet to be seen if I will ever truly sleep in this fell place."

"At least rest," he said gently, "I promise you, nobody will come here without my consent."

He handed me a rolled up cloth which I assumed was a blanket.

"There should be enough there to keep you warm," he said gently.

"Thank you," I said, lowering my eyes as I took the bundle from him.

He inclined his head briefly and stepped backwards.

"Legolas," I said hesitatingly, "If I do not find it..."

"Do not utter those words," he said roughly, turning to me. "You know I loathe this more than anything."

"I know, and I will find it," I said. "But if I do not, you must find out what must be done to end this evil."

"I will," he said softly.

Changing the subject, I asked, "How did you come across Falcon?"

"He had shadowed us for the last day. I knew there was something behind us, but couldn't tell what. In a land where all manner of things lurk, it is not unusual to feel as if you are watched. At the very least, you were not there to witness it."

"Faewyn said you were furious," I remarked.

He briefly stepped into the cave where I was leaning against the wall.

"Of course I was furious," he said. His voice was raw as it echoed in the close chamber. "What he did to you... I had to see you limp in the snow, with dried blood covering your skin. I had to watch Maldor try and heal you as you cried out in pain. But most of all, I had to wait, dreading when I would find out what happened to you, the night you vanished. I had to try and live with the fact that by leaving the camp in that hour, I could have ended your life. The waiting was torture, Gianna. Worse than knowing if you were dead or alive, even, because if I had known, I could have decided whether to keep my hope or to destroy it. You can't imagine."

I looked at him in anguish. "Legolas, how can I mean so much to you?"

"I do not know," he said heavily. "I met you when you were nothing more than a confused little girl, wondering why she was here. But now you are a woman in mortal years, so strong and beautiful I cannot begin to see anything else."

I wanted to reply but my voice failed to emerge, rendering me speechless and lost in the mere presence of the elf before me.

He crouched in front of me, leaning so close I could smell the light scent of honeysuckle. Right before our foreheads touched, he pulled away, whispering "Losto vae (Sleep well), Gianna."

I watched him stand up and resume his post at the front of the cave, his steps as light as the dawn.

I was in a haze after that, his words repeating over and over again in my mind. I saw the tenderness in his eyes as he spoke to me, but the bitter pain that returned when he turned away did not escape me, either.

With a light shudder, I turned over and rested my cheek against the cold wall of the cave, pulling the blanket close.

How could I ever say goodbye to him?

At that moment, all did seem lost. I would walk into the arms of fear and evil and nothing would be accomplished.

I sank into a stupor of weary acceptance with the one consolation that me last goodbye would be to Legolas.

After an undetermined amount of time, I felt him step inside the entryway again.

"It is the necklace that causes you such despair," he said, his voice echoing around the cave like a song.

I looked up.

"Remember what is, not what could be," he continued. "Gianna, you will succeed. There is no one more capable than you."

"Perhaps," I said numbly, "And perhaps--"

Uncharacteristically, he cut me off.
"Perhaps nothing," the prince said.

"Hannon le, Legolas," I said drowsily.

With a faint smile, he knelt beside me and briefly touched my cheek. Through he smiled, I knew that brief contact with me hurt him, as he winced and sat down next to me to catch his breath.

It was comforting to feel his touch, even when I knew he felt pain because of it.

"That pain is nothing compared to other forms of it that exist," Legolas said thoughtfully. "That is the irony of Falcon."

He returned to stand at the front of the cave, barely visible in the darkness.

It seemed that the night went on more quickly than any other. It was funny, really, that the shortest nights led to the worst days.

With a start, I felt myself sinking into sleep, exhausted from the day prior. I wove in and out of vague visions, floating amongst tall trees and spinning through a myriad of voices until one voice woke me with urgent fervor.

"Gianna," said Legolas from next to me. "They are here."

All sleep gone, my stomach twisted into an uncomfortable knot and I sprang to my feet.

"Already?" I whispered desperately, willing this entire thing to work in my favour.

He nodded once and stood aside to allow me to stand up. I straightened my tousled tunic and took a breath before striding to the entrance of the cave and peering down. A single bobbing lantern shone out among the moonlit rocks, lit by an eerie orange light.

"I do not know how long I can stay," Legolas said, not looking at me.

"You have already done everything for me," I said quietly.

Without another word, we watched Falcon emerge from the darkness like death himself.

"Well hello," he said smoothly. "I'm so glad you have decided to make the right decision and pledge yourself to me. It's such a nice feeling to be able to prepare for another member of the...family." His wild eyes laughed in the dim light.

Legolas stiffened, although he said nothing. We both knew he tried to goad us at every opportunity.

"Consider yourself fortunate to be able to see me for one more day," I said icily, "Since I will not be staying for more than that."

"Keep telling yourself that, darling," he said wickedly, narrowing his eyes.

"Enough with the pointless comments, Falcon," Legolas snapped. "It is near midnight and you promised her a full day, not a minute less."

"Very well," he said, pretending to be  mildly offended. "Come, my lady." His burning sarcasm made my blood boil.

He turned to Legolas, who still stood behind me, gripping his bow so tightly his knuckles were white.
"Come if you want," he shrugged nonchalantly, "As if makes no difference to me. But you'll find that after a certain point, you can no longer follow."

His words left me chilled, although I had already known that must have been the case.

The walk was cold. The weather, of course, added to the feeling, the horrible, icy tension that kept anyone from talking.

"I was thinking about warning you," Falcon said carelessly, half an hour later. "I suppose I am, now."

"I don't suppose you'd like to elaborate," I said sourly.

"I'm not sure that will be necessary," he said lightly, as if he was making a suggestion.

Suddenly I heard a low grunt of pain only to find that behind me, Legolas had been trapped by a transparent barrier, exactly the same as that which had kept me from the vision of Faewyn when I was with Falcon the first time.

"What did you do?" I exclaimed, rage colouring my words.

"Why, nothing," he said, blinking. "I did tell you there would be a point he could not follow. I am not so blind as to ignore that betraying this location to that prince will only warrant an attack."

"As soon as I leave, I could also inform the others of this location," I pointed out.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," Falcon said absently, "Except for the fact that you are probably never leaving, and if you do, there is no way you will know where it is since the barrier is flexible and it is currently dark out."

I turned back to look at Legolas.

"No dirweg, Gianna," he said, inches away from me. I could still hear him, interestingly.

Be careful.

"Abarad," I said softly, hoping with all my heart it were true. Until tomorrow.

He calmly inclined his head and stepped back, soon vanishing into the night.

"Well, that was touching," Falcon said in a bored voice. "But now we may not arrive by midnight due to your tarrying along the way."

"I did not," I said petulantly. "You closed him out, not me."

"Stop whining," he commanded.

"Oh, does it bother you?" I said venomously. "I'll keep going, then. Falcon, it is cold. Falcon, I hate you. Falcon--"

He whirled around and pushed his hand over my mouth. "Or we could waste more time," he hissed.

I kicked him in the stomach and he recoiled, surprised.

"Well," he said, regaining his absurdly arrogant demeanour, "It seems the maiden is upset."

"Go," I said through gritted teeth.

"If you wish it," he shrugged, holding the lantern high again.

At long last we reached it. Seemingly abandoned by day, I knew, but now there was the added bonus of menacing torchlight seeping from the craggy holes in the ruined tower.

Obviously not the main tower, it still had the air of an important building, even in the post-defeat state.

Falcon pushed open a door that looked so abused, I wanted to apologise to it as I passed.

"Come," he said, walking quickly through the darkness.

I swallowed my fear, something I was quite good at by now. The necklace could no longer control me as long as I remembered how I truly felt.

Without further ado, another door swung open.

"This is all that is left of any of the witless words or ridiculous wise remarks written by anyone taken by Sauron and Melkor," he said with a dry laugh.

I shuddered at the use of Morgoth's true name.

He pushed me into the room and I stumbled into what looked like a pile of discarded parchment. Scrolls lay tossed and torn about, paper covered in thin, close lines of Tengwar littered the floor, and occasional books were cast amongst the dust like chattel.

"I will see you tomorrow," he said, laughing slightly. "Be sure to wash the ink stains off your clothes before our wedding feast."

At this disgusting consideration, I slammed the door behind me.

Now I was faced with an impossible task. I took a cautious step and heard the rustle of parchment. It really was everywhere, impossible not to step in. I quickly realised that so much of this was priceless, records of great elf-lords and documentation of treaties and exchanges between people, mostly elves.

I picked up a particularly worn piece and tried to discern the words, although the positively disintegrated paper and faded ink made it impossible.

Interestingly, it was written in Westron, which caught my eye.

My lord Fingolfin,

Our armies are well trained and want nothing more than to ride side by side with you to face the Great Enemy. Consider this a treaty of peace between the houses of Fingolfin and Hador, to outlast any infliction of evil upon us. Take heart and courage, for ere the morning comes, we shall ride under one standard.

The signature was too faint to make out, but it was obvious what this was. A letter, from so many years past it was little wonder how it still lived. The Battle of Unnumbered Tears--so much needless death. Both mighty Noldor lord and proud son of man has fallen that day, cursed by the same evil I fought now.

The seed of evil sown among men.

I put the parchment down, realising my hands were shaking.

Fingolfin. So many years had passed since he and his kin had walked Arda.

And yet, cruelly, their same tormentor still survived, bound to haunt the sins of all.

I took a breath and began to look.