__Legolas's Point of View__

Birds chirped and the leaves rustle in the trees. I sat upon the balcony two weeks later, after Lord Elrond deemed me well enough to begin moving around a bit.

"It's beautiful out here," Estel's voice came from behind. I turned as he took a seat beside me. He pulled a knee up, resting his elbow on it. "I tend to forget that when I'm gone for long periods of time. Did you ever do that? Take for granted the beauty of your home until you saw it again?"

I nodded. If only he knew how much I missed the vines that grew in from my window and the trees, untouched by the darkness that lured me to sleep every night.

"What happened to you?" The question caught me off guard and I froze.

I looked down and closed my eyes. "I was attacked. You were there, remember?" But he shook his head.

"That's not what I mean. Before that, what happened to you? You were out hunting spiders on your own, then father tells me your body isn't capable of fighting venom the way an elf's body should."

I let out a shaky breath. Did I really want to tell him? I knew I would have to tell someone at some point, I supposed it was better to tell him than having to face Lord Elrond. I have too much history with him. I opened my eyes, reaching over to the potted plant beside me to play with its leaves.

"A mission," I started. "I was on a mission in the south with twelve other soldiers. We were supposed to wipe out a nest before it could grow any further. Not the most difficult mission we had ever been sent on and we expected to be home fairly quickly.

"I ordered half of them to take one side, while I and six other took the other. We would swoop in, kill the babies then regroup and wait for the adults to return. Everything was going according to plan until we got inside and realized some had already hatched. We had no choice but to fight them, but our numbers depleted quickly. I was stung several times but kept fighting until, finally, the few that were still stationed outside broke us out. We ran, pulling each other along for what seemed like miles, but my memory is fuzzy.

Most of us were injured and two were dead. I had enough venom in my body to kill two men, but adrenaline kept me going. We stopped and I sent a soldier out for help while the rest of us, hurt and beyond exhausted, simply tried to stay awake. Two more died within the week and I nearly died myself. That amount of venom had destroyed my body and tainted the edges of my fea. I haven't been able to recover from it since."

He sat for a moment, silent. I wondered what was running through his mind. Did he judge me for my soldier's death in failing to prepare properly? Or worse, did he pity me? Finally, he took a breath.

"So why go after the spiders?"

I sat for a moment, unsure if I wanted to admit another fear to him. "I was angry and afraid, I still am." I drew a shaky breath. "I had only fought orcs since then but spiders plagued my mind. I needed to kill them. I needed that power above them. And I wanted to see if I had recovered enough to go back to the fight. Clearly, I haven't. And I'm not sure I will."

I pulled my knee to my chest at the sound of the last sentence. It's been my greatest fear, the reason I stayed away from home for so long. I thought I could heal on my own, but I cannot. Perhaps I won't ever. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Why didn't you seek help at home?"

"I did. There was nothing they could do. I didn't return because what good is a prince who is too afraid to fight for a kingdom at war?" It came out whispered and horse. I knew there were other things at home I could do even if I couldn't fight, but the thought of it made me sick. I closed my eyes and I pressed my hand to my injured side.

"What about your father? Does he know where you are?"

I nodded, eyes still closed. "I have written to him off and on through the years, yes."

Estel didn't comment. He was young. There was no way he could possibly understand the stature I had to live up to at the stronghold. I couldn't heal there. I had to leave, adar and I both knew that.

Before our conversation could get any further, Lord Elrond stepped out. "You should probably come back inside, Legolas. You've been up for quite a while." I nodded as Estel stood beside me. He helped me to my feet and the three of us when back inside.

I didn't realize how tired I had become until I laid down. Immediately the last of my strength seemed to leave. I closed my eyes as I heard someone leave only to open them again as Lord Elrond came and sat beside me.

"I know you're tired, Legolas, but I think we need to talk."

I furrowed my brow and pushed myself up. Something in his tone made me uneasy. He sighed. "Legolas, the number of poisonings and injuries your body has taken over the years has finally caught up to you. These last ten years have been hard on you as well. You haven't been able to rest the way your body needs in order to heal properly, but--."

"Lord Elrond, could recover from this?"

Lord Elrond nodded. "It is probable. But you would not be able to leave for several years. You're fea has been tainted by the darkness and every time it tried to heal itself, it came into contact with poison or simply a tree with darkness in its system."

I nodded respectfully. Nothing in me wanted to talk about this. "Good. Thank you, Lord Elrond. I am in your debt."

"Don't think about it, Legolas. I told your father I would help you and I will hold to that in all that I am able." He stood and gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Get some rest for now," he said, as I laid down. "Someone will bring super up in a bit."

I nodded and he and Estel left the room. I waited until their footsteps faded down the corridor before pushing myself up again. My vision went black and I swayed, squeezing my eyes shut. I couldn't remember a time where I didn't feel ill.

I hung my pounding head. I should've followed his advice and rested, but the nightmares that awaited me there brushed against my waking mind. My mind drifted back to what Elrond had said.

It would be years before my body healed. How much longer for my mind? The thought made my heart ache. I missed my father and my comrades. I had seen one of my closest friends five years ago when I came to warn his patrol unit of an oncoming orc attack, but that had been brief and I left before the orcs were all killed.

I let out a breath as sleep demanded my attention. I squeezed my eyes shut, my fists clenching the bedsheets. I was so tired.

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Days turned into weeks and I slowly began to gain back my former strength, though I still only slept a few hours every night and the exhaustion had slowed my progress down. Elrond had questioned me on it, and I told him, but there wasn't much he could do. I was on my own for this one.

I pulled out an arrow. Elrond had just started letting me shoot again. My arm still felt stiff, but I forced myself to pull back the string anyway. The shot when right and I frowned, notching another. This one went right as well, but not as much. I drew a third and it landed true. I let out a breath of relief.

"You shoot better injured than most of my men," a voice said, Estel. I turned around. He leaned against a tree, his arms crossed and a smile split his lips. I shook my head and turned back to my target. I needed to regain my former accuracy.

"Father says you're nearly back to full strength," he said and I lowered my weapon, turning to him, nodding. "Are you going to leave?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. My people need me." I drew another arrow and continued shooting. They needed me, but I didn't know if I could go back.

He came and stood just behind me and I could feel him studying my every move. "You probably don't care what I think, but I hope you find the courage to stay. Father's right. They need you, yes, but all it will take is one spider sting to send you back to where you were a month ago. What is it you tell your men when they are injured? Do you ask them to come back as quickly as possible?"

I didn't answer if only he knew I was likely to stay out of fear. "No, you don't. You tell them to take all the time they need to regain their strength and come back refreshed and ready to fight. Why do you think they would ask any differently from you?" He had a point and I knew it. I left all those years ago because they had asked me to. They knew I needed more help than they could give.

I lowered my bow, my quiver empty. "Alright. I'll write to my father. If they have things under control, then I will stay. But if they need me, then I'll go and damn the consequences."

Estel nodded. "Fair enough."

I nodded once and went back to shooting.

Later that night I found myself at the desk in my rooms. I moved out of the ward a week or two ago and had never been more grateful to the other rooms of this place. My quill tapped against the paper, dry of ink. I just couldn't' put the words down. What if he thought I just didn't want to come home? I shook my head. If he did he would be right. He knows I only left under his request. He wanted me here long ago, I simply didn't have the courage to push down my pride and leave after it happened. He would understand, I knew he would. He had to. If I went back now, my chances of surviving another poisoning would be slim and the nightmares would block out any chance of recovery. The thought made me uneasy, and my breaths quickened. I didn't like admitting that vulnerability even to myself, the very reason I didn't want to come here.

I dipped my quill in the ink.

Dear Adar,

I know it has been a while since you've heard from me and for that, I am deeply sorry. I was living on the outskirts of the forest and doing quite well when I heard of spiders in the south. I thought I would try to fight them to see if I was well enough to come home, but I took an injury. I am well now, but I was poisoned and was brought to Imladris by Lord Elrond's foster son. The two of them have asked me to stay for the time being. Lord Elrond says I am recovering, but it may be a while yet. I am sorry I waited this long, adar. How is the kingdom? If things are bad, I told them I would take my leave immediately, if not, I ask your leave to stay.

Your son, Legolas.

I sighed as I signed my name. He would never understand the reason it took me so long to come even if I told him. Guilt rose in me as the scenes upon scenes of spiders played over in my head. I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my fingers to the bridge of my nose. I long moment past and I pulled myself together, placing the ink back and sealing up the letter. I would send it out in the morning.

I moved over to the bed and sat down. I wondered where Estel was. He had taken to stopping by in the evenings to check on me. He will likely come by at some point. In the meantime, I pick up the book sitting on the nightstand and open it, picking up where I last left off.

Time escaped me as I fall into the storyteller's world until a knock comes at the door. "Come," I said and closed the book, sitting up. I hadn't even realized I had laid down.

The doorknob clicks and Estel steps in, his cloak and sword from earlier, gone. "I didn't wake you did I?" he asked and I shook my head.

"No, I was reading."

He nodded. "Good. Did you write to your father?"

"Yes," I answered, setting the book aside. "I'll send it out with a servant in the morning."

He was silent for a moment and I had come to know that meant something was on his mind. I motioned him in and waited, wanting to see if he would ask on his own.

We moved over to the small sitting area and sat down. Finally, he cleared his throat. "I don't understand. What were you doing in that Inn?"

I smiled, looking away. "You asked me the same question then, didn't you. I was just passing through."

He looked at me, skeptical. "I've seen the way you handle yourself when you're in your right frame of mind, mostly, and that was not it."

I sighed and moved away. He was bound and determined to pull every secret from me. "That was the place, well the new place, where it all went wrong. But don't feel like talking about it."

He didn't press the issue and turned the conversation elsewhere, for which I was grateful. I had yet to figure out this man and why he would care so much about me. I thought maybe he was trying to work an angle, but the more I talked to him, the more I found that not to be true. He was genuine. He wore his heart on his sleeve, not being old enough to understand very few people will catch your blood when you carry your heart like that.

Days past and I found myself spending more time with this strange man. He wanted to know everything I could tell him about my homeland which I did, though I didn't have the heart to tell him how much it hurt to describe the place I wanted nothing more than to go back to.

A month passed like this, he would come over in the evening and we would sit outside and share stories late into the night. He never asked what had happened that day, but I could see his curiosity in the way he would bring the conversation close and then back out of it at the last second.

Finally, a letter came from my father while Estel and I were fishing in the lake. My hands shook as the page handed it to me and I opened it. I hadn't heard from him in ten years. I had sent him letters, yes, but I never gave him a place to send return letters to.

Dear Legolas,

You can not understand how happy I was to hear from you and to learn you are in Imladris. Things here are under control. I won't deny that I want you home, but I also know the pressures that come for you when you are here. Enjoy your time away and rest. Allow the light to heal your fea. I wish you all the best,

Your father,

Thranduil

I folded the letter back up and placed it in the envelope. Estel glanced over, quickly turning away when he saw me look over. "It looks like I'm staying," I said. Estel smiled and I forced myself to return it. The shortness of the letter made me wonder if all was not well at home. I shook my head. I couldn't think about it now. Within a few weeks, the snow will come and I wouldn't be able to get back home even if I had to. Estel looked at me. "So now what?"

I teach myself to sleep without dreaming, I thought. Instead, I shrugged. "We fish, I guess." Estel smiled and shook his head. Then his face darkened.

"I'm heading out soon, Legolas. My men have healed and rested long enough. We have to protect the shire. Dangerous men are getting too close for comfort."

"Let me go with you," I said. I doubted Lord Elrond would let me, but it was worth a try. Estel shook his head.

"Adar says you must stay here until spring," he asked, leaving no room for argument. "He doesn't want to risk you encountering darkness just yet."

I nodded, knowing that was what his answer would be. I marveled for a moment at how much power he held with his tongue. I understood that power, I myself used it, but for it to be so prominent in someone so young, hardly more than a child baffled me. I wondered, and not for the first time if there was more to him than what he let on. But I let the matter drop as a fish pulled at his line and his face lit up. I laughed along with him as he pulled a wide-mouth bass from the river.

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I watched him leave, horses packed and weapons sharpened. I longed to go with him if only to simply leave this place. My arm moved to my side and the feint soreness there proved the wisdom behind the decision. It took far longer for my wounds to heal than it should have and, though I knew the reasoning behind it, it still unnerved me.

The wind blew and I pulled my coat closer to my body as a shiver passed through me. The first flakes of snow slowly began to fall as Estel and his men set out down the stone path. I turned back inside, closing the window behind me and moving to sit by the fire. It was going to be a long winter and all I could do was sit and try to win the uphill battle with my own poisoned mind.

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Months passed and I began to feel better than ever. The nightmares came less and I began to get a full night's sleep once every few days. I took to climbing the trees again. The snow blanketed the earth and I glided across it, walking for miles every day to gain back my former endurance.

No word had come from Estel or my father, but that was to be expected. I waited as patiently as I could, something I think every soldier has a hard time mastering, before finally asking Lord Elrond for odd jobs to keep me occupied. He laughed when I asked him, and then had me making arrows by the fire in the Hall of Fire.

I sat there for hours on end each day, glad for the distraction. Then, one afternoon as I tied an arrowhead to the shaft someone spoke. "Is that not something someone of a lower status should be doing?"

I looked up to see Estel, clad in a soaked cloak with snow caked onto his boots.

He gave a sad smile and came to sit beside me. I continued working silently, waiting for him to tell me everything that had taken place. But he was quiet, giving off an air of malaise, something that was unusual for him. I wondered at it and looked over, noticing the bandages on his hand. He must have seen my glance because he answered before I could ask.

"Orc sword. It's not much and will heal in a few days."

I nodded. "Where were they?"

He ran his uninjured hand through his hair. "Just outside of Mirkwood. It's dark there, Legolas. Darker than it was just two months ago."

I sucked my teeth at the news. I knew it would be, something told me it was only going to get worse, and quickly, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment. Still, it made me feel more than a little useless, sitting here making arrows for elves that will more than likely only use them for target practice. My mind went back to Beorn and I wondered if he was still fighting them.

Estel placed a hand on my shoulder. "Your people will pull through, just as they always do. Put some faith in them."

I nodded and silence fell between us once more. Estel lowered his hand and pulled his knee to his chest, bowing his head.

"What happened out there, Estel?" I asked. I'm no novice, I know the toil the road along gives, not to mention when something goes arie.

Estel looked up at me, his eyes glistened red against the light of the fire. He cleared his throat. "I lost three men." His voice cracked, rough as though he had aged a millennium. My heart sank for him. Losing soldiers was never easy, but the first few were always the hardest. They hurt the most because up until that point, you believe no one could actually be killed in your unit. Hurt, maybe, but to have their fea torn from them as their blood waters the ground? No, it simply wasn't possible. Now it was my turn to comfort the young captain.

"It wasn't your fault. They knew what they were up against and followed you anyway. They fought for their own reasons and under their own decisions. Don't take that right from them."

He nodded but refused to look up. "Sometimes I wish I could take my mother and leave, go to Gondor or Rohan where we could live a simple life and not be mixed up in all the politics and hiding."

I furrowed my brow, confused. "Estel, why can't you? You are not an elf, you would be welcome there. Why do you fight with the Dunedain here?"

He looked up at me, pushing his hair away from his face. He opened his mouth, then closed it as if he thought better of saying what he was about to say.

I gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "If you do not wish to tell me, that is fine. But you have my word that I will not repeat your secret if you do not wish it so."

He looked at the ground, handing his head once more. I wish I could understand the stress he seems to be under. It is more than just that of losing men.

He took a deep breath. "You won't tell anyone? Not even your father?" I shook my head.

"I--I am, well, Lord Elrond told me and my mother confirmed it, I am..."

"Get it out, Estel."

"I'm Isildur's heir. My true name is Aragorn, son of Arathorn and I am the rightful king of Gondor."

I froze. Of all the things he could have told me, that was not listed among them. I opened my mouth, but no words formed. "Isildur's heir? I thought the line had died many years ago."

Estel--Aragorn--nodded. "So does the enemy, and it must stay that way. Very few people know this, Legolas. I can't afford for that to change. Middle-earth can't afford for that to change."

I nodded, fulling understanding the guts it took for him to speak such secrets. "I understand, Estel. Don't worry."

He let out a breath. "Thank you."

DO I HATE MYSELF OR SOMETHING?? THIS THING IS 4k WORDS AGAIN! Editing this was a BEAST XD Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this. I'm not sure I'm happy with it. Let me know what you think! I may come back and edit it more later, but for now, I have tonight and tomorrow to finish this before the new year XD Thanks for reading!

-Sierra