Untold Stories (the Sequel to Forbidden Love)

Return to the Land of Dread

Artemis' POV
200 Years Before the Battle of the Five Armies

Artie-

I know you don't want to come back to Mirkwood, and I hate to tell you that Father hasn't changed. He won't let me talk about you, and I don't think he even cares that you left. But I've missed you so much.. I feel like I've been torn in half, like there's a hole in my heart that will never be filled without you. It's like I've lost an arm, I feel so incomplete. And losing you hurts even more. Could you come back? For me?

And there's this girl I met. Nestarion's daughter, Thalia. She's so beautiful and kind, but I have no idea what to do. I've never talked to a girl like that before. Help!

I've tried to sneak off sometimes, to ride to Lothlórien and find you, but Father or his guards always catch me. Even when I tried to send you letters they stopped me. I hope I'll be able to send this without getting caught. Father might have barely noticed when you left, but he would punish me something dreadful if I tried anything like that.

Missing you always,
-Legolas

A tear slid down my cheek and splashed onto the page, blurring the exact words that had caused it to fall- "a hole in my heart". For the first time in my life, I wondered if he really understood. I felt the same way- running away had been the most painful thing I had ever done. And he made it sound like I didn't care.

For two thousand years I had felt the way he had described, like I was one half of a whole, without its pair. Incomplete, alone. Like something was missing. Despite the fact that I now had Aunt Galadriel and Uncle Celeborn, who actually loved me, and Haldir, who had been like a brother since I arrived, I still needed more.

I sat on my bed, tears stinging my eyes. Of course I wanted to go back. I wanted it more than anything in the world. But I couldn't bear being ignored by Thranduil again. Could I? As I glanced over at my double knife sheath, hanging up, another memory stirred. My eyes lit on a dent in one handle and I remembered that that knife actually belonged to Legolas. We had accidentally swapped once, and that had been the only way I could tell. We'd never gotten around to swapping back. Every time I held the knife my fingers would find the dent and I would remember. I would remember how Legolas threw it and almost hit Thranduil as he walked by. He was so startled that the knife spun badly from his hand and hit the edge of the target hilt-first, causing that dent. Thranduil wasn't very happy, needless to say. Like he wouldn't be happy with me if I returned. And for the first time in over a thousand years, I cried myself into the rest state.

When I awoke, I read the letter again. It was so hard to decide. I was about to start crying again when I heard a light knock on the door. I blinked twice before calling, "Come in!"
It was Aunt Galadriel. "Are you alright?"
"Yes...no...I don't know. Not really," I replied, holding out the letter. She sat beside me and read silently. When she had finished she looked over at me.
"You want to go back." It wasn't a question. "But you do not want to have to endure Thranduil ignoring you."
She'd hit the nail on the head. "Exactly."
"Think how you have lived here. Without Thranduil paying attention to you." She was right, as usual. Here or there, he wouldn't notice me. But there, I would be with Legolas. I sniffled once or twice.
"How could a father do such a thing?" she asked. It was a rhetorical question, of course, but I answered it anyway.
"I think he blames me for Mother's death," I said through the tears that were already falling.
"Ridiculous," she replied. But she didn't go any further. She just hugged me tightly.
"Go. Go back to Mirkwood. Back to your brother," she told me after a while. "Nothing is more important than to be with those you love."
"But I love you," I whispered. She ignored me, and I knew what she meant.
The next day I was on my way. The wind blew cold on my cheeks and tossed my braid behind me. I was taking the most direct route I knew, though it would take about a week. Gil-galad, being an Elvish horse, would not get tired no matter how fast I ran him, so I dug my heels into his sides and set him to a gallop. I wanted to be in Mirkwood as soon as I possibly could. Alone, I had time to contemplate things. I realised I no longer cared about Thranduil. When I was younger, I needed that father's love. But now I had Celeborn and Galadriel, and that had made me strong. I was full, and so Thranduil didn't matter.

I rode hard and made it in six days. As I neared Mirkwood's edge, Gil-galad's ears flicked up. He clearly sensed a familiar place, and I suddenly wondered what he had been thinking when I forced him to leave his home. Despite the worry gnawing at my insides I giggled aloud. I rode through the forest rather than using the paths, and though it had been so long I still knew all the secret pathways. I guess some things never leave you. Using the secret trails I soon reached the treehouse we had shared as children. I felt a pang of nostalgia as I looked up at it, dismounting already.

I climbed the rope and stepped onto dusty floorboards. I realised sadly that, without me, this place hadn't seen much use. My boots were quiet on the soft wood as I walked tentatively through the curving hallway that led to the main room. My foot had barely touched the floor inside the main hall when the lights flicked on and I saw him standing there. Waiting for me. Though the light was still dim and I could barely see him, I knew him at once. Two thousand years and I still knew him like the back of my hand. Better, in fact. I had been trying to learn sword fighting, with little success. My battered hands were a symbol of my failure. As my eyes met his it was like looking into a mirror, seeing the memories, the pain, the longing, reflected there. The silence stretched awkwardly for a moment before Legolas broke it. "You came."
"Of course I came," I replied. "I've felt so incomplete every day I was there. I had to come." I ran across the room and threw my arms around him, and he hugged back strongly. The firmness was comforting, and we hugged like we would never let go. Tears began to stream down my face, but they were tears of happiness.
"I missed you so much," I whispered.
"And I you."

Time seemed to stop as we embraced. No one wanted to be the one to break away. Finally I did, curiosity burning. "So who's this girl you were telling me about?" Legolas laughed and I laughed too, just enjoying being together, happy. For now, that was all that mattered.