I sit and wait
Does and Angel contemplate my fate?
And do they know
The places where we go
When we're gray and old?


He clasped her hand in his as she whispered that she loved him, only seconds before she breathed her last. They had been married for less than a year, and she had been ill for more than half of that time. In a way he was glad that she had been "put out of her misery" as they said, but yet at the same time he was angry and frustrated. He blamed himself for her death, if she had not given up her immortality for him this would have never happened. She would not have gotten sick. She would not have died.

Elessar was a mess; he had no idea what to do. His life no longer held a purpose. The king stood slowly, letting go of his wife's hand, and stumbling out the door. His mind was numb, he could not feel, think, anything.

"My lord?"

The king jerked his head up at once, looking over at the guard. He merely stared at the other man for a moment, "Have a messenger sent to Lord Elrond telling him what has happened," he muttered, his gaze returning to the floor.

---

Aragorn sat on the floor in the Citadel of Minas Tirith, his head in his hands as he thought of the events that had occurred since Arwen's death. Elrond had come, so had Glandalf, and the hobbits. They had all tried to comfort him, but to no avail. Aragorn had placed his steward, Faramir, in charge of the city for the time, deeming himself unfit to rule. He still blamed himself for Arwen's death, though many had told him it was not his fault.

"Aragorn?"

His head shot up at hearing the familiar voice, "Legolas..."

"I heard what happened," the elf said softy, sitting down next to his longtime friend, "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright to you?" Aragorn asked, almost accusingly, "My wife just died! You think I am going to accept that and move on?"

Legolas shook his head slowly, "No, of course I do not," he said, pushing some stray strands of golden hair behind a perfectly pointed ear, "If there is anything I can do to help, anything at all..." blue eyes locked with gray, "do not hesitate to ask."

A sigh came from the king, "Thank you, mellon-nin."

The elf smiled at him and stood; "If you need anything at all..." he said one last time before turning and walking off down the hall.

As Aragorn watched the elf prince walk down the corridor he noticed, as if for the first time, just how beautiful his friend truly was. His eyes followed the elf's every move until he was out of sight. Slowly, as he watched the elf he felt certain emotions that he had locked away rise back up within him. That was when he realized...

'Cause I have been told
That salvation lets their wings unfold
So when I'm lying in my bed
Thoughts running through my head
And I feel love is dead
I'm loving Angels instead

Weeks passed. Legolas continued to stay in Minas Tirith even though Aragorn has told him he would be all right if the elf left. However, the king was still deemed in a condition unfit to rule. It seemed as if he had completely given up on life. Legolas often had to force the man to eat, force the man to go out side. Aragorn rarely, if ever, left his bedroom now. He would not speak with anyone, with the exception of Legolas.

The one thing that Aragorn thought about during his times alone were the strange new emotions he was feeling for the elven prince. He continued trying to convince himself otherwise, but there was no denying it.

Aragorn was in love with Legolas.

---

Far from the citadel, in a dark corner of Minas Tirith three men huddled together, conversing in soft voices.

"I told you, now is the perfect time."

"How are you sure?"

"Have you seen how he has been acting?"

"What about the elf? The blond one?"

"He is just one elf. How hard could it be to get past him?"

"I am still not sure about this..."

"Relax. Besides, it is not as though anyone will miss him. After all, Gondor needs no king."

And through it all she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I'm right or wrong.
And down the waterfall wherever it may take me
I know that life won't break me
When it comes to call.
She won't forsake me
I'm loving Angels instead.

"Aragorn please, you have to eat something."

"I am not hungry."

Legolas sighed, "Please, you have not eaten since dinner the day before yesterday. Do not tell me you are not hungry."

"What does it matter?" the king asked dejectedly, "I am not allowed to do my job anymore. This whole king business was a mistake from the start. Faramir is doing fine without me, so why should I have to do anything?"

"Aragorn you were born to be the king. Do not let one thing ruin your rein, especially something you had no control over."

"It was my fault she died," Aragorn mourned, "If she had not given up her immortality then-."

The man stopped abruptly as Legolas' hand landed a resounding slap on his cheek. "I am sick and tired of your self pity and angst. Stop right this instant!" Aragorn stared up at the angry elf in shock, one hand on his reddening cheek and mouth partway open. The king did not say anything, so Legolas continued, "You had no more control over her choice than anyone else, and you know it. Get over yourself Aragorn. Gondor lost her queen, she needs her king."

Aragorn could only stare at Legolas for the longest time. When words finally returned to him he said in shock: "You slapped me!"

"And I would do it again if it would knock some sense into you," Legolas answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I – I think it worked."

"Good, I was not going to wait on you hand and foot for much longer."

The king nodded mutely as he stared blankly past the elf in front of him, "I think I am ready to say goodbye."

Legolas smiled faintly, "How can I help?"

When I'm feelin' weak
And my pain walks down a one-way street.
I look above
And I know I'll always be blessed with love.
And as the feeling grows
She breaths flesh to my bones
And when love is dead
I'm loving Angels instead

It was the first time since her death that Aragorn had entered the garden alone. In its own way it was comforting, but it also saddened him. Though in the past weeks he had been feeling himself falling more and more in love with Legolas, he still missed his wife, and this was her garden. The walls were high, but covered in creeping vines to disguise the white stone and make it feel more like the forests of her childhood home.

Legolas had helped to plant it Aragorn realized suddenly as he looked up into the branches of a tall tree. That was why it had this feel to it. The feel that he was deep in the forest when in fact he was only a few paces from his door. Maybe that is why he loved it so much.

A twig cracked behind him and the king turned around to see what was there, and then his world went black.

---

The king woke again with a pounding headache that made it hard to think. But when he woke the first thing he realized was that he was not home, the rough wood beneath him was enough to tell him that. The next thing he realized was that he was bound, his hands tied behind his back and his feet tied together, but he had not been gagged. He thought about screaming, calling for help, and then he heard the voices of his captors.

"You see, the elf was not even there, I told you we would not need to worry about him," one said, and Aragorn knew they must have been talking about Legolas.

"So what do we do with him now?" another asked, "Just kill him, or do we ask for a ransom first?"

"We ask for a ransom, of course, are you stupid?" the first one said again, "Do you know how much they will pay to get their king back? And when we get the money, well, then we kill him."

Aragorn's eyes widened in shock as their plan was revealed to him, he was a captive of men who wanted nothing but money. Oh why had he gone out alone?

"Here, you take our message to the elf," the first one ordered.

"What, why me?" asked a third voice.

"Because you have not done anything, that's why."

---

Legolas was frantic by the time the messenger arrived, Aragorn was nowhere to be found, and everyone feared the worst. But then he heard footsteps and spun around, a man stood behind him dressed all in black with a mask hiding his face. Suspicious.

"I have a message for you, Elf," the man said holding out a piece of parchment, "You will follow our directions if you ever want to see your king alive again."

But Legolas was smarter than that, and in the blink of an eye he had a knife at the man's throat. "On the contrary, I think you will follow my directions if you want to live." The man gulped, he had not expected the elf to be so fast, he certainly did not look like he was this good a warrior. "Where is Aragorn? What have you done with him?"

"He is safe, for now," the man said, trying to keep up the façade of courage.

Legolas pressed the knife harder against the man's throat, "You will take me to him, and maybe I will spare your life."

The man hesitated, but when the blade at his throat broke this skin he nodded swiftly, "Yes, yes, I will take you there." He said swiftly, not able to agree fast enough.

And through it all she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I'm right or wrong.
And down the waterfall wherever it may take me
I know that life won't break me
When it comes to call.
She won't forsake me
I'm loving Angels instead.

Aragorn woke again to the sound of argument; his captors were arguing about – He strained his ears to listen to the words – ways to kill him. How pleasant. Then all voices stopped and he heard, "Release the king if you want your friend to live." He recognized that voice, he recognized it but his pounding head could not place it to a face.

There was a battle cry, and a gasp, then suddenly one of the attackers was hauling Aragorn to his feet. "So you are awake, too bad you won't have long to enjoy it," the man sneered, half dragging the addled man along the ground. Aragorn looked back over his shoulder at where his savior fought, but all he could see was a blur of gold and green, like a guardian angel.

Then the water hit is feet and he looked down, looked to where the man was taking him. The river. Anduin, the falls. He knew what would happen, he could not swim bound like this, he would drown, he would – and then he was in the water.

---

"Aragorn!" Legolas screamed, feeling his heart lurch as he saw the king struggle helplessly as the river swept him further towards the waterfall. He ran down the bank, following the river, but was stopped by the last of the men. He struggled, "Aragorn!" the elf fought viciously in the man's grasp, watching desperately as his king headed ever closer to the falls, "ARAGORN!"

And then he fell.

And Legolas finally managed to break free, the man stumbling backwards clutching a broken nose as the elf launched himself off the cliff and over the waterfall after the man he loved.

And he would never know if that man loved him back.

And through it all she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I'm right or wrong.
And down the waterfall wherever it may take me
I know that life won't break me
When it comes to call.
She won't forsake me
I'm loving Angels instead.