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The battle of Helm's Deep took a number on each fellow fighting. One could have turned into any direction; all they would have been able to see were dead and wounded people, elves, and orcs. As Legolas was marching through the remnants of the great wall, his eyes got caught on a few deceased elves among the many men. Although he has lived through many battles and fights, his gut twisted slightly from both the grief of seeing his own kind slaughtered and the guilt of living and breathing while they have been robbed of this privilege. just the mere thought that even though Elves were meant to live for thousands of years and were not subject to illnesses or old age, their lives were still so fragile, which many out of his kind did not understand. So many believed that such a long life was nothing but a gift, but in these moments Legolas felt like it was more of a curse; he would see so many more die before he himself would fade into nothingness.
His heart ached as he forced himself to look away from the ground and rather fix his gaze on the sky. The sun was just rising from under the mountain, giving a bright red undertone to the clouds that were scattered all over. 'Blood was spilled the previous night,' he thought and continued his journey towards the horses to meet the others. He barely rested in the last few days, but the adrenaline was still flowing through his body, so he did not sense any fatigue yet. Hence why he said yes to patrolling with Aragorn, Gandalf, and Gimli and finally bringing back the missing hobbits. At least that would be another factor he would not worry about anymore.
He reached the horses in a blink of an eye and kindly pet the nose of a white one. The corner of his mouth twitched but did not make it into a full smile; the ache in his heart was still present. He scratched the animal behind the ear. "Le suilon, mellon-nin."
"Legolas!" he suddenly heard his name from behind his back, making him turn around while holding a strong grip on the horse's reins. "I thought Elves were meant to be quick to get to places, but you surely took your time getting here!"
Legolas squinted his eyes and tilted his head a little as he examined his friend approaching. Based on this warm welcome, the others were waiting for them and them only. "Your words come as if you had been here and waiting for no other thing but for my arrival." Legolas responded and let a faint smile appear on his face as he watched Gimli approach. The dwarf scoffed and relied on his axe when he finally reached the horse and Legolas.
"As a matter of fact, I was waiting for your majesty," Gimli responded, earning a puff of disbelief from the elf, "and dwarves wait for no one! No one!" he exclaimed with fake-sounding annoyance. Legolas could not hold it in any longer and looked down to his short friend and smiled proudly at what he was about to say.
"But the dwarf cannot get on the horse without help, can he?"
Gimli shot him a death stare. "Doom you, elf. Help me up."
****
The next thing Legolas knew was that they were riding through the Fangorn Forest with a grumpy dwarf behind him on the horse and Isengard as their destination to finally reunite Merry and Pippin with them. Gandalf, Theoden, and Aragorn were riding ahead of them, and they were deep in discussion, to which Legolas paid little attention. He was far too distracted by the voices of the trees, which were present in his mind as a constant murmur. At first it was not much trouble for the elf; being the Prince of Mirkwood, he was more than used to the trees and how they usually sound. But this was now different, and after a while it was hard to ignore it: the forest was so full of stories, sorrow, and grief, and they so desperately needed to share it with someone that they gave Legolas and his ears no rest.
Gimli was also talking to him; he heard it as a faint, grumbling sound somewhere beyond the cries of the forest; however, his mind soon became far too overwhelmed and tired to comprehend what the dwarf was saying to him, and so eventually he gave up on replying. Gimli, if he was offended by this, did not show it and eventually joined Legolas in his silence. The elf's eyes were fixed on the path his horse was marching on, and for the first time since he could remember, he dreaded being a Wood-elf. Why were the trees so loud anyways? He was used to feeling and sensing what they were, and he usually sympathized with them, but this was strange even for him. Something was wrong, and he could feel it, though since he could not point out the reason or the cause, he remained silent so as not to burden the others with something that he might be exaggerating.
Legolas was blinking slowly by the time Aragorn and Gandalf had finally stopped in front of them. When the Elf looked up, he saw none other than Merry and Pippin, sitting on some ruins of rocks with pipes in their hands, chewing and laughing as if it were the most beautiful day to ever exist. They were half out of the forest, giving the elf a moment of relief from the agonising loudness that had been tormenting his ears the entire journey. When Merry spotted them, he stood clumsily and raised his arms above his head.
"Welcome, my lords, to Isengard!" he shouted, his words slightly slurring together, and Legolas could not stop himself from smiling at the sight. After all Aragorn, Gimli, and he have been through to save these young halflings, it was more than rewarding to see them in such great shape.
Gimli was not so modest as himself and did not restrain himself from saying his exact thoughts out loud, to which a huge smile appeared even on Aragorn's face. Pippin, much like Merry, responded in an almost offended way, demanding that they have earned the feast they were assaulted because of. Gimli and Gandalf were both taken aback by their answers and manners, but Legolas heard no more of the conversation. His ears were again filled with the cries and sorrows of the forest, and they came so rapidly and suddenly the Elf almost fell off the horse, gaining a look of suspicion and worry from Aragorn. Gimli was too distracted by the "salted pork" of the Hobbits. The man slowly leaned closer to the elf.
"Prestad, Legolas?" Aragorn asked, and Legolas snapped his head towards him when he heard his Elvish. The words of his mother tongue, Sindarin, found their way through the whispers of the forest, so Legolas felt grateful that Aragorn did not use the common language. The worry of the man made his heart flutter more than he wanted to admit it.
"Íruin, mellon-nín." Legolas answered with a hint of playfulness in his words so as to keep Aragorn from worrying. The ranger dragged his eyes once more along the Elf but then decided not to push it. He nodded and turned back to the Hobbits, and so did Legolas.
"You all should meet Treebeard!" said Pippin and threw his hands and legs in the air like a turtle balancing on his shell. "He is just there, at the tower." the halfling said and pointed his pipe in a direction that was most certainly not facing the tower of Orthanc. Legolas frowned. Merry, seeing Pippin's mistake, quickly jumped over to his friend and moved his hand a little to the right. "As I said, at the tower!" Pippin blurted out again, clearly unphased by his previous mistake.
"Hobbits.." Gandalf sighed and helped the two off of the rock and onto the horses. Meanwhile, Legolas looked up to the tower of Saruman, standing tall and full of pride despite being taken over by the Ents. The darkness and cruelty it was pulsing with would have made him shiver, had he not been an Elf. Maybe that was the reason why the forest was so loud. Evilness was surrounding the place, robbing everything and everyone of whatever little light and joy they had inside of them and replacing it with freezing sensations, sorrow, and gloom. The terrible feeling that settled in Legolas in the forest was munching on the dread that was oozing out of Isengard's ruins. Dark magic. Something terrible was going to happen, and Legolas would not be able to stop it.
"Princeling, not to be a pain in your royal back," Legolas heard Gimli say from behind, "but we will be left behind again if you don't go." pointed out the dwarf, and pulled Legolas out of his ocean of thoughts.
"Díhen-nín." he said without realising that he had spoken in Sindarin. "We shall follow them; you're right." Legolas answered and kicked their horse slightly, just to urge it to move. With this the Elf gained himself a suspicious, almost worried glance from Gimli, although he could not witness it as he had no eyes in his back. ' "I'm right?" ' the dwarf thought "What has got into him? '
When they finally caught up to the others, they were completed by a huge Ent, Treebeard, Legolas supposed. With each step taken towards the tower, Legolas could feel the darkness more clearly and stronger. When their horse finally stopped, Pippin was no longer sitting behind Aragorn but was wading through the water towards something, followed by Aragorn's confused voice, who furrowed his brows.
"Pippin!"
The Elf straightened in his seat a little more to have a better view of the scene, just when Pippin finally stopped moving, not even registering all the glances he was receiving, as if he were in a trance. He then suddenly yanked something out of the water and put it close to her face. The sphere looked like fire was burning hot inside of it, despite being in the water until that moment, and black mist was darkening it's appearance. The elf's heart was pounding loudly in his ears as he watched Pippin take it out of the water, but when his eyes fell on that thing, the pit in Legolas's stomach suddenly threatened to swallow him as a whole.
A Palantír.
His eyes widened, and his jaw clenched as the redness in the palantír was looking into his soul. The black mist seemed to revolve around it faster the more he was looking at it, making Legolas's eyes tired just by watching it. His chest began to rise and fall with difficulty, like the dark sphere created a void around him, robbing the elf of one of his needs for life. His grip on the horse was starting to losen, and he felt himself sway a little. This was not unnoticed by both Gimli and Aragorn who both asked the elf what was the matter, however Legolas did not hear a thing. The cries and sobs of the trees suddenly made sense; they could feel the evil radiating from this thing, and were trying to warn Legolas and he failed to recognise their message. The void in his chest was not letting him breathe properly still making him even more lightheaded, when suddenly the sphere was given to Gandalf, who put his cloak over it, and making it disappear from sight.
But Legolas had seen enough. The Palantír, even though he did not touch it only looked at it confirmed his feares about the level of maliciousness they were about to face. The lack of oxygen and this crippling promise of something terrible waiting to happen overwhelmed his already tormented mind so much, that he swayed again, and fell off the horse right into the water below them.
The water was not at all deep, even Pippin, a small hobbit could easily walk in it, but Aragorn having seen how pale and sickly Legolas was looking before he fell had every right to believe that the elf could not help himself out, which was why he jumped off his horse too and marched over to his friend.
When Legolas contacted the water so suddenly his eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise, filling it with the foul riverwater. Immediately, he felt as if his thoughts were shadowed by the very same black fog that was swirling in the palantír. A deep voice was whispering something into his ear but in a language his mind could not comprehend at his current state. His hands twitched as an attempt to cover them and so muffle the agony but his body didn't act along with his brain's orders. The voice was becoming louder and louder, its monotone tone almost hypnotising the elf. The coldness of the water sliced through his clothes and his skin, leaving nothing but coldness where there was warmth before. And the voice was just getting louder, and louder, and louder....
Legolas had no idea how long he was in the water; later he learnt that only for a few seconds. For him, it felt like hours. Just when the elf thought how he would do anything to stop this, stong arms were curled around his torso and lifted him above surface again. The voice immediately stopped, like it was cut in half. Legolas began coughing immediately, trying to get rid of all the water he had just swallowed.
Aragorn was not letting go of his friend even when he was out of the water. Pippin moved closer, as he was already off the horse, while Gimli, Merry and Theoden watched silently. Gandalf, though he didn't get into the water, urged his horse to go closer to the scene. The Strider glanced over Legolas while he was counghing uncontrollably, and lightly patted his back to ease his misery. He threw a worried glance to Gandalf, but his face was unreadable, and he was holding onto the palantír like his life depended on it. Aragorn thus turned his attention back to the shivering elf in his arms.
Legolas could feel all the startes burning his back, but he could not care less, he was trying not to die right then and there. What just happened? The voice was lightly echoing in his ears, and he felt cold to the core. It was different than any other feeling like this before; this felt like not even being burned alive could warm him up, and his insides felt just as cold as his outsides. Once the coughing stopped and he was only lightly panting, he could feel the dread and the horrible twisting in his guts also lessen, but not diappear. However while it might not have been as intense as when he was below the surface, his mind felt foggy and distant like he wasn't fully awake. As his breathing was slowing down again from panting, Legolas straightened back up. He could feel Aragorn's hands around him still. It crossed his mind that without his stance and stupport he would just collapse back.
"Are you alright, Legolas? What was that about?" he asked and Legolas could sense both concern and urgency in his voice.
'Exactly, what was that about..' Legolas thought
"Aye, Princeling" Gimli added "You fell like a sac of potatoes."
That almost made Legolas smile. Almost. He blinked a few times to will away the fog from his mind and then looked at Gandalf out of all people first. As the wizard's eyes met his, Legolas could instantly feel, that no matter what he said, Gandalf would know the truth. He hugged the palantír even tighter. There was no need for the others to be burdened by this information just yet, his gaze said, and the elf agreed. Not even Gandalf could not have known how the elf might have felt, how he reacted to this place, let alone everybody else. He hadn't the slightest idea anyways, how he could explain it to his friends. Even the wizard only though Legolas recognised the palantír, and it's significance as well as how dangerous it was.
"I just lost my balance." he answered finally looking at Aragorn , who was still supporting his waist. As much as the elf liked how Aragorn's touch made him feel, he put his hands on them, signalling that he could stand on his own. "Forgive me, for causing concern. I can assure you, it was nothing but my mistake."
****
That night rest did not find Legolas. No matter how still he was lying sleep just seemed to ditch him at all cost. Ever since he fell into the water his body could not warm up, causing the elf to shiver, which was not a common thing for him. Whenever he closed his eyes the burning fire inside the palantír appeared drowning in thick, black fog threatening to swallow him as well. His head was pounding and he felt the palantír's constant presence in the room, the evil desperately trying to reach them through that sphere. He eventually sat and stood up from his bed. Dizziness hit him hard when he did so and he thought some fresh air would help, so, without any sound, he moved towards the door. When he passed Gandalf and the palandír quiet whispers filled his ears causing the elf to halt. Sauron was desperately trying to find his way into his find, and gather any and all information that could help him to win this battle.
Legolas would die before he let that happen.
As soon as the chilly air of the night touched his face he thought it was a mistake to come out from the slightly warmer building. He wrapped his arms around himself and put his hood on, as desperate attempts to warm his body. He took small steps until he was standing at the edge of the cliff where he stopped and looked at the sky.
He breathed and looked at the stars. It made him feel better.
Back at his home, in Mirkwood the only way to see the stars was to climb the trees, and not fall from their crowns. Legolas could recall every single time he and his Ada did that together, while he was still young. Thranduil taught his son about the constellations, the stars and moons and Legolas would liksten with an open mouth and sparkling eyes. Standing on the cliff Legolas closed his eyes and for the first time since the start of that day the voices in his ears, the drowning feeling in his chest and the pain in his head seemed to vanish. All of this was so long ago, and yet he still remembered it so clearly. The stars always showed him the way, just like when they guded the young elf to Aragorn, many years prior. Meeting the Strider was also Thranduil's suggestions, and if anyone would have asked what Legolas would do had he not listen to his father the elf could not answer. Aragorn's presence in his life caused him to question many things he thought he had sorted out already in the last century.
An elf and a man could not work together. One is doomed to die and fade and be forgotten as time passed, while the other was cursed to watch it all happen while living their own life. Legolas's heart ached each time this thought formed in his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, hope was always a stronger trait of his than acceotance or letting go. And the way he held Legolas today was certainly not helping the elf in numbing his feelings.
Wait. He was supposed to think of happy memories.
Legolas opened his eyes, terrified at the realisation that despite feeling warmth just a few seconds ago, now he is unable to call any positive memories from his mind. When he tried thinking about his friends, all he could remember was Gandalf disappearing into the darkness of Khazad-dúm, when he tried thinking about his family only the memory of his mother's death flooded into his thoughts. The warmth was again replaced by frigidness as if isicles were being stabbed into his body. He let out a ghasp and his knees bucked below him, making the elf fall to the ground panting. A headache hit him with full force again, and suddenly he was so dizzy that he was genuenly scared of falling into the nothingness below the cliff. The elf, besides all of this, was confused. What was happening to him? What could possibly have been in that water that went down his throat?
"Mellon-nín." he heard suddenly from behind, and he knew at an instant that it was Aragorn. 'Of course he could not sleep either' Legolas thought as he put both his hands on the rock on his siddes to balance himself. A second later a big, warm palm was on his shoulder and Aragorn knelt down next to the elf and scanned him with big, worried eyes.
"What happened?" Aragorn asked as he was searching for signs on his friend's face which could lead him in any way.
Legolas hummed. Part of the reason behind his lack of response was because he didn't trust himself to open his mouth, and partly because he could not hear Aragorn clearly. The fog around his thoughts prevented him from thinking clearly and the murmur in his ears from listening properly. This didn't go unnoticed by the Strider, who put a hand on his cheeks. Legolas leaned into the hot touch, which seemed to also clear his mind. The voice in his ears were silenced. He frowned.
"Valar, you're freezing Legolas.." he said and guided the elf to sit down and put his arm around his shoulder as an attempt to warm his friend. He was more and more filled with panic as the elf remained silent, his gaze never leaving Legolas' face.
"The stars are veiled." Legolas said at last, startling Aragorn. He did not expect such answer. When the elf looked at him in the eye, Aragorn would swear it was at least three shades darker then they were normally. "Something stirs in the East. Something...malicious." the elf continued his voice only slightly more than a whisper.
"What do you mean, Legolas? I-I can't follow you." Aragorn asked, his worry spiking. "Do you know something about Sauron?"
Legolas took a deep breath his eyes never leaving Aragorns' "The Eye of the enemy" he whispered, as if afraid of being heard by someone "is here."
Aragorn frowned even more, his hands brushing though Legolas' hair. At least he was now responsive. "Where?"
The elf moved his hand from stadying himself to clutch the sides of his head. He pressed the insides of his palms to his temples, tears forming in his eyes. "Here."
Aragorn's eyes widened but he didn't let Legolas from his grip. He had absolutely no idea what the elf was talking about, but it terrified him to see his friend in this state. Originally, the ranger only planned to come outside and calm his nerves with his pipe. When he stepped outside to light the leaves however he spotted Legolas standing at the edge of the cliff, with his hood on. Aragorn smiled: it reminded him of all the late night adventures they went on when he was younger. The elf meant something different for Aragorn, although he could not quite put his mind to it. And even if he could..he was just a man, he thought. For Legolas, there was Valinor, there was the eternity if the universe, immortality and endless opportunities. But for him? Death, one day. Of old age, if he was lucky. Aragorn shook his head to these thoughts. This was exactly the reason why he needed this pipe-break. And maybe he could kill two birds with one rock; he could talk to Legolas.
He called out once, but the elf didn't seem to hear, which caught Aragorn off guard. Usually Legolas heard his breathing from miles away. The fact, that he did not react to him speaking from only a few meters away was worrying. Then, out of nowhere his friend collapsed into the dirt. Aragorn's heart skipped a bit, the horrible image of Legolas falling playing before his eyes. His legs moved fast and in the next moment Legolas was on the verge of crying in his lapse, both his hands holding his head.
Aragorn would have loved to panic, but he knew very well that he could not let himself. He had never seen Legolas in such state before, that was true, but freaking out would not have solved a thing. Instead, he hugged the elf tighter.
"We're going to to see if Gandalf can help, aye?" the ranger murmured into his ears, hoping that Legolas could hear it "Do not worry for a second, daií, I am not leaving you."
Legolas could feel Aragorn shift around him, and the next thing he noticed was the warmth being spreaded onto his whole back. He sighed in relief; he was truly freezing. And then, he wished he could hear what, but Aragorn started to speak to him. The noise in his ear made it hard to process what exactly he had said, but the elf was certain of one word he heard; daíl.
Beautiful. Lovely.
Did he just-
Suddenly the moment was disturbed by a scream. It came from the house, that was fur sure. Aragorn snapped his head into the direction. "That was Merry." The strider knew he needed to get back inside to help but he did not want to leave Legolas like this in his state, in the middle of the night, alone. He looked back at the elf, and he was sure he saw the moment when the fog seemed to lift from his friend, and his eyes became the shade of blue that the Strider desired so much. "Can you walk, Legolas?"
The elf's find could not comprehend what was going on, but to the question he nodded. That was all that Aragorn needed. He stood up quickly and bolted for the door. Legolas was a little behind, but he followed. Aragorn basically broke through the door and stopped to look around. Legolas slammed into his back.
The sight was terrifying. Pippin was holding the palantír in his hands, and Merry was screaming for help. Aragorn jumped into action and snatched the cursed object from the hands of the Hobbit, and threw it on the floor just for Gandalf to cover it witha piece of cloth again. Pippin was lying on the floor and Gandalf went over to him, with Merry close to his side.
There was only a brief moment when the palantír was neither in Pippin's hands or covered by Gandalf, but that seemed to be enough time for the evil to reach for him. The very second, that Aragorn let go off the sphere a deep soul-wrecking sound filled Legolas' ears. The elf stumbled and squeezed his eyes shut, but he was already inside of his mind. His hands were pointlessly coverning his ears.
The light of elves will never be enough to balance out the darkness of Mordor. You will never be able to save him. You will never be able to save your friends. Help me instead. Help me find the Ringbearer. Help me find him. Help me..
"No.." Legolas said, but wheter it was out loud or only in his head he could not tell "I-I will never serve the darkness." his voice wobbled but he forced himself to form full sentences.
The Ringbearer, the Ringbearer. The Rin-
The voice was close to being unbearable now, but Legolas kept thinking about his previous statement. I will never serve the darkness.
And then it was suddenly cut. Gandalf covered it.
Nausea rose in Legolas' chest as he quickly opened his eyes. He saw Gimli's and Aragorn's boots approaching, but he didn't care. He clasped a hand over his mouth, straightened his knees and ran out of the room.
Aragorn knew what was going to happen. Legolas' former words were repeating in his ears. He is here. As soon as te palantír was out of his hands his eyes began to search for Legolas, who he spotted in a very similar position than before. He was in pain. His eyes were shut forcefully, and his mouth was moving but he didn't hear anything. Gandalf covered the palantír in the next moment, and the strider could see the elf visibly relax in an instant. Aragorn's chest was heavy with worry as he looked over to Gimli who was also moving towards his elf friend. But Legolas left the room before either of them could reach him.
Once outside again, Legolas steadied himself on the side of the house wiht one hand and the other he wrapped around his stomach just when he was forced to gag painfully. Nothing came up and he winched. Was he just talking to Sauron? Did he take anything from his mind? Did he accidentally endanger their whole mission..
Another pathetic gag wracked his body, forcing him on his knees. He felt awful. His head was pounding again and he shivered violently. His surroundings spun with his head making his upset stomach even worse. He squeezed his eyes shut; elves don't get sick. The fact that he was even able to feel this bad was shocking; and had something to do with that visit to Isengard. The elf, as pathetic as it might sound wished Aragorn, Estel would be with him.
"Legolas!"
May all his wishes come true like this one did. Aragorn, followed by Gimli just stepped outside when they saw the elf on his knees, and how terrible of a situation he was in. The Strider, once again scroutched next to his elf friend; Gimli, given his small figure only stood a few steps away. Aragorn watched Legolas shake like a leaf as another empty gag left his body. With his strong hands he steadied the elf, as he swayed dangerously. He was still, cold as ice.
"Easy, easy Legolas." Aragorn said, his voice low "Odulen an edraith angin."
The warm touch of Estel brought some life back into the elf, but he still looked miserable. Gimli wondered how that would be possible; elves don't get sick. He did act weirder today than he normally does the dwarf thought, and winched in sympathy. His eyes met Aragorn's; silently their gazed discussed the confusion and worry that was growing bigger and bigger in their hearts.
"Legolas, don't fight it." Aragorn said "Relax, just let it happen, You're okay.." he whispered and hoped he was not mistaken.
Legolas didn't register any of that. The terrible feeling that settled in his gut the moment they arrived in Isengard felt as if it was trying to exit from his body in the most painful way possible. He tried to steady his breathing but it was not working, shallow pants were all that were escaping his mouth, too short to properly fill his lungs. Then his stomach contracted again; this time more violently than previously. Had Aragorn not been there to steady him Legolas would have fallen over as he managed to bring up the water that he swallowed in Isengard - nothing else. Aragorn frowned, but didn't say anything just held the elf in his misery, as another mouthful of water came up.
His throat burned and he felt lightheaded when it finally passed. He was close to hyperventialting now and wanted nothing else than to sleep - and yet he somehow felt better. The nausea was fading, and he could no longer hear the murmur in his ears. He was still cold, but he felt like it was possible again to feel warmth. He felt the light again in the world.
The elf slumped back into Aragorn's chest, his head resting on his shoulder. His eyes were half closed, but he could still see the glowing blue eyes of the ranger.
"Goheno nin" his voice was no more than a whisper.
Aragorn put his hand on Legolas' chest. He still didn't know what exactly happened, but he knew that in his current state, the elf couln't explain anything. "You have nothing to apologise for. Posto, Legolas" They would talk later, he thought.
And the elf was happy to do so.
****
When Legolas came to his senses he was lying on something that was surely not Aragorn's chest; this he did not very much like. He willed his eyes to open; he eypected them to be heavy and his vision to be blurry, but to his surprise and relief this was not the case. He breathed, and his lungs filled with oxygen.
"Welcome back, Son of Mirkwood."
Legolas turned his head and sat up. He was in their room, with Gandalf and Aragorn sitting next to him. The wizard was clutching his staff and Aragorn moved from his seat to sit at the elf's bed. He was looking deep into his eyes. The dark circles of worry and lack of sleep did not slip Legolas' attention.
"How are you feeling?" the ranger asked, and the elf let a small smile slip onto his lips.
"Much better."
"You were lucky your body got rid of that dark magic before your light was taken from you fully." Gandalf said making both heads turn into his direction. "Sauron and Saruman have a fair trade in the field of dark curses. And you, an Elf, creature of the light had no business at a land so dark and stained with curses as Isengard. I should have known. Forgive me, for my mistake."
Aragorn's face twisted in confusion. "What do you mean, Gandalf? What was happening to him?"
Before Gandalf could answer, Legolas opened his mouth and words started flowing from him.
"He found his way into my head, didn't he." Gandalf nodded, and so Legolas turned back to face Aragorn again "When i fell into the water in Isengard- he somehow found his way into my mind." Legolas said and shivered to the thought "It felt like he was..dragging the life, the light out of me."
Aragorn's eyes widened. "But you don't feel him anymore, do you?"
Legolas shook his head. "No. I don't."
"And let's hope it remains this way." Gandalf said and stood up "If you can excuse me, I shall check on our Took. He had his meeting with the evil last night as well." the wizard said and slowly left the room, leaving the elf and the ranger by themselves. The silence that filled the room wasn't awkward - it was rather a comfortable stillness waiting to be broken.
Aragorn lifted his eyes from Legolas and stared at his hands instead. "You gave me quite a scare, you know." he said his voice low "I though I might lose you at least three times."
Legolas' chest tightened as he placed his hand on top of Aragorn's, causing the man to bury his gaze again in Legolas' eyes.
"It was you who helped me though it." the elf said "Whenever I felt like slipping your warmth, your touch...guided me back, Estel. You were my light when my own was taken away from me."
Aragorn even forgot to breath at the words of Legolas. His fingers curled over his hands. He couldn't take his eyes off of the elf sitting in front of him. It was a long time ago, since he was called by his elvish name.
"I would save you from anything." Aragorn couldn't stop himself from speaking anymore. "Melin tirië hendutya sílalë yá lalat."
Warmth exploded in Legolas' chest. His light was shining brighter than ever.