Title: Bittersweet Memories 
Author: Imlandiel (imlandielsfics@hotmail.com) 
Rating: PG-13 (not in the early chapters, but later on) 
Chapter: 1/?  
 
Warnings: This is S*L*A*S*H Ladies and Gentlemen, which means 
male/male relationships. If you're uncomfortable with this, don't read. If 
you read anyway, then it is your own fault. Don't say I didn't warn you! 
Spoiler warnings for FotR, tTT and RotK.  
 
Summary: An old King writes about the greatest love he has ever known. 
((A/L)). Slightly AU from time to time..  
 
Disclaimer: No, I do not own these characters or anything that has 
anything to do with LotR. Just borrowing..  
 
Authors note: Last but not least, I would like to thank my beta-readers 
Eruantale and Golden wolf. I am forever grateful for all your help!  
 
-------------------------------  
 
This is a tale of love. A love greater than life, and greater than death. A 
love that was destined to perish on behalf of convenience. I am an old man 
as I write this, an old king of an old kingdom. And soon, I too shall depart 
from this land, and head for the Undying Lands.  
 
The story I will tell you is the story of the love between myself, Aragorn, 
the son of Arathorn, and Prince Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood.  
 
It all began on an eventful evening. My foster brothers and I had been 
hunting all day before the enormous feast that would take place later on. 
The feast would be in honour of all the guests that had arrived for the 
Council during the day. I did not want to go to this particular feast, but 
Arwen Undómiel, my foster sister and lady asked me. So I promised to go. 
I will never regret that decision. In retrospect, one could say that it is 
ironic that the one I was destined to wed would guide me to my only true 
love. 
Even now, almost six decades later, I remember what I wore. It was a 
midnight blue tunic, a black pair of leggings and a pair of black leather 
boots. I had chosen this so that the Lady Arwen and I would make a 
match. She would wear a midnight blue gown that she had shown to me 
earlier, before the hunt.  
 
But when I met her, she did not wear her dress; instead she wore a light 
blue gown with silver details, and a small silver crown to indicate her 
royalty. "Estel," she apologized, "I spilled tea over the other gown, so I 
cannot wear it." 
I gazed lovingly at her. "My dearest friend" I said "It does not matter, for I 
should not think that anyone can match your beauty tonight. Although, if 
you should request so, I will go change to a more suitable colour." 
The Lady smiled gently and stole a kiss. "We have not the time. The feast 
will begin any minute now."  
We continued to the ballroom where almost everyone had gathered, except 
for the Steward of Gondor and the party of Mirkwood. The herald 
announced our arrival. "The Lady Arwen Undómiel Peredhil of Imladris, 
and Estel Peredhil of Imladris!" Our brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, quickly 
joined us. 
"Oh but Estel," Elladan joked, "should you not remember to match your 
lady? Or is the mind of Man indeed so frail that you forgot?" 
We all laughed. We had always joked about my heritage, though deep 
inside, I felt a sting. Would I always have to endure this mocking? "Come 
now, Elladan," Arwen said smiling. "The fault is not Estel's, the fault lies 
in my own clumsiness." 
Before either one of us could reply the herald announced "Boromir, the 
Steward of Gondor!" 
"So that is the Steward of Gondor?" Elrohir commented with a sparkle in 
his eye. "I do not like him, his hair is greasy." We laughed once again. 
And then it happened. "Prince Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood!" 
I turned around to see who it was, and my breath caught in my throat and 
my heart stopped. A tall, slender and blond elf entered the ballroom. Still 
at this day, I cannot say if it was fate or coincidence, but he was also 
wearing a midnight blue tunic, a black pair of leggings and black leather 
boots. The colours made a perfect contrast to his blond hair and pale skin. 
At the same time, without me hardly noticing, Glorfindel came to get 
Arwen. "May I borrow you, Lady Arwen? There is someone you must 
meet!" 
"Of course, Glorfindel," Arwen answered and turned to the rest of us. "If 
you will excuse me." I gave her a distracted kiss as she left. 
"Estel, breathe, or you will soon match that tunic of yours" Elrohir 
whispered in my ear; grinning wildly. And I realised that I had been 
holding my breath for quite some time. I slowly let it out and the feast 
continued. 
During the entire feast, my eyes seemed nailed upon the fair Prince of 
Mirkwood. I danced a lot with Arwen and many of those present nodded 
their heads at how perfect we looked together. I had loved it before, but 
now it suddenly made me feel sick. 
Slowly the feast drew to an end and everyone retired to their chambers. I 
got undressed and slipped between the silk sheets. However no matter how 
hard I tried, sleep would not come to me so I got up again, and redressed 
myself, thinking that a walk through the gardens of Rivendell would help. 
How wrong I would prove myself.  
 
I walked silently through the gardens. Everything was still in the aftermath 
of the night. Even the birds had lain to rest. It was one of those magical 
nights where all miracles seem to happen. This night was no different. 
I had wandered through the gardens for quite sometime when I spotted an 
Elf sitting under a tree at the other side of the park, crying. Concerned I 
decided to investigate and as I got closer, I discovered that it was no one 
else than the fair prince of Mirkwood. 
"My Lord?" I asked my voice filled with concern. He looked over his 
shoulder and then flew up. 
"I-I'm sorry.." He stammered. "I did not think anyone was awake. I..." He 
drew a deep breath as if collecting himself, then smiled, a smile which 
never fully reached his eyes. "I apologize for my behaviour. I am Legolas 
Greenleaf of Mirkwood, I have come to heed Lord Elrond's advice in the 
council tomorrow." 
"I know" was all I could muster. He simply looked at me, his face bereft 
of emotion. 
"If you excuse me, I must get some rest before tomorrow." He then 
continued and started walking past me. But I would not have it. I gripped 
his arm and stopped him. 
"Tell me, prince Legolas, why were you crying?" I asked fiercly, seriously 
thinking of hurting the one who had made the fair and ethearal Prince cry. 
"I cannot find a reason to why it is any of your business. I do not even 
know your name!" He snapped and tried to leave again, but I still would 
not let him. 
"I am Estel Peredhil of Imladris" I announced. "Now you know my name. 
Why were you crying?" 
"I have no obligation to tell you!" he said angrily. "'Tis none of your 
business, now let me go!" He shook himself free and, once again, started 
to walk away. 
"It is my business" I called out after him, making him stop, turn around 
and lift one of his oh so delicate eyebrows. "Oh?! How come?" 
"It is my business," I repeated walking towards him, "when one of my 
father's most noble guests is crying beneath a tree in his garden. Then it is 
my obligation to make sure that no one at this house is to blame." 
"Well" the Prince replied "No one here is to blame. If you'll excuse me..." 
I put my hand on his shoulder. "I am only trying to help..." 
"What help could you give? And you are mistaken, it is not your 
obligation, for you are not a son of this house! You are merely a Man!" He 
snapped at me, making my stomach twist. How many times had I heard 
that comment? 
"Well then, my Prince," I spat back at him, "I apologize on behalf of Lord 
Elrond. How foolish of me to think I could help. Though I know not how I 
have offended you Princeling, I bid you good night." 
This time it was me, who turned heel and tried dash into the night, but to 
no avail. He stopped me and turned me around. "I..." he started, biting his 
lip. "You are right, Estel of Imladris. You have not offended me. It is I, 
who should apologize to you. I just do not wish to burden you with my 
problems." 
"I would not have asked, had I not cared." I replied softly. He stood 
silently, looking into the ground. 
"Prince Legolas?" a voice called, not far away. 
The prince panicked. "My life guards!" he whispered. Realising that the 
Prince didn't want to be found just yet, I whispered "Follow me!" to him 
and took his hand. For the third time, someone dashed from the scene, but 
this time we were doing it together. The guards reached the tree just as we 
had disappeared together into the night.  
 
---End part one---


---Bittersweet Memories, Chapter Two--- 
 
Author: Imlandiel (imlandielsfics@hotmail.com) 
Rating: PG-13 (not in the early chapters, but later on) 
Chapter: 2/?  
 
Warnings and disclaimer: Can be found in chapter One. I will not repeat 
myself because people forget/ignore to read warnings and such. Happy 
days =0)  
 
I would like to again thank my beta-readers Eruantale and Golden wolf. 
You'll give them a kiss from me, won't you?  
 
-------------------------------  
 
I brought Legolas to one of my favourite hide-outs... a small clearing in 
the outskirts of Rivendell. I often went there to seek peace and solitude in 
my early days. I had never told anyone of this place, I wanted it for 
myself. But now, someone else needed it.  
 
"No one will find us here, my Prince," I told him. "I use it when I need 
time for myself and so far, no-one has ever found me here. You may use it 
all you want." "Thank you" Legolas replied simply, and sat down on a 
rock. I quietly joined him, not wanting to push the matter. Together we 
looked at the stars, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Though now, sadly 
I do not remember where my thoughts were any longer. This was so long 
ago, and my memories seem to fade. An hour passed before Legolas 
spoke. His voice sounded like an autumn leaf, falling to the ground. His 
words were spoken more to himself than to me. 
"It is so unfair! Is it not?" 
I turned my head slightly and looked at the fair being sitting next to me. 
"What is unfair?" 
"I cannot tell you!" Legolas exclaimed as he got up and started to pace 
very uncharacteristically. I have never seen him pace like that since that 
fateful night. 
"How am I supposed to answer you, my Prince, if I do not know the 
question?" I replied, smiling at the odd behaviour of the prince. 
Legolas stopped and turned to me with a smile. "That is true. And please, 
do not call me prince. Prince is so..." 
"...Royal?" I finished for him. 
At this he laughed, despite his problems. His laugh...  
 
*** **** *** **** ***  
 
"Father? Father?!" 
Aragorn looked up and saw his son Eldarion standing on the other side of 
the desk. "Hmm..?" he muttered. 
Eldarion smiled at the old King with silver hair. His father was so old, but 
his eyes were as keen as ever. "I have come to ask you if you want your 
supper here, or in the dining hall?" 
"What was that?! Speak up, son." 
Eldarion smiled and raised his voice. "I said: I have come to ask whether 
you want to dine here or with the others?" 
"I think I should like to dine here, my son, will you join me?" Aragorn 
replied. 
"As much as I would like, father, but I have already eaten. I am going to 
see the lady Rosaline now." 
"You youngsters, you never have time for your old folks these days" 
Aragorn muttered, but with a smile. "Well then, go and leave me be." 
Eldarion smiled as well. "Good day, father. I will see you in the evening 
then." 
Aragorn watched as his oldest son and the future king left the study. Then 
he turned his attention back to the parchment lying on his desk. 
"Now, where was I.. oh yes..."  
 
*** **** *** **** ***  
 
"That was not the word I was thinking of," Legolas laughed. "But yes, 
now that you say it." 
"Oh?!" I laughed with him. "What word were you thinking of then?" 
"Formal." Legolas stated, suddenly serious again. "I hate formalities. Call 
me Legolas, for that is my name." 
I reached my hand out and he grabbed it. 
"Well then, pleased to meet you, Legolas of Mirkwood." His eyes 
twinkled. 
"And you, Estel of Imladris." 
Legolas turned his head back towards the heavens and sighed. "I wish I 
could stay this way forever. Just sit on a rock with a new-found friend and 
forget about tomorrow." 
I took his perfect hand in mine. He turned his head and looked at me with 
a puzzled look. I felt like I could loose myself in those blue oceans that 
were his eyes. "Please tell me. If I am a friend of yours, as you claim, then 
you should tell me. I want to help. I want to take your pain so that you can 
wake up tomorrow with a smile and feel as if the world is at your feet." 
Legolas remained silent for a long while, looking at me. Then his eyes fell 
to our hands as he whispered: "I am to marry an Elven maiden of 
Mirkwood. My father told me just before I left for Imladris." 
"You do not agree with your father's choice?" I asked quietly, slightly 
wondering who the lucky lady was. 
"No!" Legolas fumed; finally letting the rage out. "I would not agree, even 
if he should choose the fairest lady in all of Middle-Earth. I want to marry 
out of love, not on behalf of convenience!" 
He fell silent and then added "I even told him that, in public. He was 
furious. He... he slapped me and told me to go to the council and consider 
my actions." 
I stared at him. I had heard of the fiery volcano that was King Thranduil of 
Mirkwood. But I had also heard of the Kings love for his youngest son. I 
just could not believe it. I was stunned. "He hit you?" Legolas nodded. 
"Then what?" I asked. 
Legolas sighed heavily and lowered his shoulders in defeat. "I am to return 
to Mirkwood and marry her. I have no choice." 
Silence fell upon us once more. I lost myself in thoughts of the seemingly 
young Prince's problems. 
"By the Valar, I wish I could be like you!" Legolas declared. 
"How so?" I asked, not fully understanding my friend. 
"You are free to do as you please, to come and go with the sun." 
Now it was my turn to smile bitterly at his words. "I am not as free as one 
might believe," I told him quietly. "I too have my obligations and duty to 
see to." 
"But it is not the same thing, you..." 
"You do not understand, Legolas. I am Isi--" I stopped myself and 
searched his eyes. "Can you keep a secret?" 
Legolas had been silenced by my interruption. Now he smiled. 
"Of course. That is what friends are for, nay?" 
I smiled back at him and took his hand once more. "You are the first 
person from outside my family who learns about this. It has to be kept a 
secret until the time is right. I trust you to keep my secret safe" I said 
solemnly. "My real name is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. I am Isildur's heir 
and the true heir to the throne of Gondor." 
Legolas looked utterly shocked. "Isildur's heir?" He said after collecting 
himself. "'Tis a jest, surely?!" 
He thought I was jesting. Of course, anyone would. Who would freely 
admit that they were the descendant of such a man? "I assure you. 
Legolas, my friend. It is no joke. I am Isildur's heir." 
"If you say so, then I will believe you," He answered, equally solemnly. 
"Do you now see why I am not free?" I asked, a bit sad. "I am Isildur's 
heir. And at the same time, I am destined to claim the throne of Gondor. I 
must walk a path thinner than the finest thread, with doom on each side. 
What if I fall? Then what?! I will be no better than Isildur." 
A hand cupped my chin and forced my eyes to look into those of the Elf's. 
"Nay," He said. "You will walk that path, son of Arathorn, and you will 
stay upon it as surely as the sun will rise. You will not fall; I can feel it 
within me." 
"If I have the light that is your friendship to guide me, Legolas, I will 
manage. Will you give it to me?" 
Legolas smiled and let go of my face. I missed his hand, but I could not 
recognize why at the time. My words would have been so different, had I 
known. 
"That you already have, my friend. May our friendship last this dark Age 
so that we together can face happier times," He said warmly. 
"And you have mine." I replied with a smile.  
 
While we had been talking, the sun had started to rise. We decided that we 
had to get some rest. After all, the day of the Council would be a long day. 
We walked along the gardens and corridors of Imladris. We stopped 
outside his door where we had to part. 
"Until tomorrow, then?" I asked, not really wanting to go. 
"Yes. Until tomorrow."  
I had to fight a sudden urge to kiss him good night. Instead I just mumbled 
a 'Good Night' and headed for my own chambers. There I slipped under 
my sheets once again that evening, but not even now would sleep come to 
me. The reason, however, was completely different. What did these 
feeling mean?  
 
---End part Two---  
 

---Bittersweet Memories, Chapter Three--- 
 
Author: Imlandiel (imlandielsfics@hotmail.com) 
Rating: PG-13 (yes..) 
Chapter: 3/?  
 
Warnings and disclaimer: Can be found in chapter One. I will not repeat 
myself because people forget/ignore to read warnings and such. Happy 
days =0)  
 
Reviews: Yes please! I EAT reviews like my kitten eats anything she can 
find.  
 
I would like to again thank my beta-readers Eruantale and Golden wolf. 
You'll give them a kiss from me, won't you?  
 
-------------------------------  
 
In a room in a castle sits an old man. His food has been brought in. It is 
cold now, for this old man is lost in memories of the old. He never noticed 
the servant who quietly placed a tray on a smaller table by the fireplace. 
Maybe his hearing is at fault, for it is not what it used to be. Or maybe, he 
never had any plans on eating it…  
 
*** **** *** **** ***  
 
"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned 
here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth stands upon the brink 
of destruction, none can escape it. You will unite or you will fall."  
 
Those were the exact words my foster-father Lord Elrond began with at 
the council; the council that would change so many fates. I remember that 
Council as if it was yesterday... angry words were spoken, words that 
should not have been, had the Ring of Evil not been lying on that small 
table of stone. It carried the responsibility of so many things, I cannot 
speak of it. Boromir, the Steward from Gondor, wanted to keep the One 
Ring. He wanted to keep it so he could save his people. Our people.  
"You cannot wield it. None of us can. The One ring answers to Sauron 
alone. It has no other master," I told him. I could see what he could not; he 
was already under its power. 
"And what, would a Ranger know of this matter?" He countered. 
This is where my new-found friend Legolas faltered. He wanted to help 
me, to protect me. But he should not have spoken. It was not the time for 
such revelations as that. 
"This is no mere Ranger, he is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him 
your allegiance." Everyone was shocked. Boromir the most. 
"Aragorn?" he said in mock surprise. "This is Isildur's heir?!" 
"And an heir to the throne of Gondor," Legolas then added. I couldn't help 
but noticing the annoyed glint in his eyes. Apparently, he did not like the 
Steward any more than Elrohir did. For some reason, that fact pleased me. 
Confused by my feelings I asked Legolas to sit down. After that I was in a 
haze, just what exactly was happening to me? Had I only known...  
 
The council continued, though I did not pay attention. I never heard 
Boromir's bitter words to me. I was drawn back to reality when the dwarf, 
Gimli exclaimed that he never would trust an Elf with the One Ring. I still 
wonder if the following exchange was because of the ring, or Gimli's own 
stupidity. But you could tell that the ring was taking it's toll on the 
Ringbearer, Frodo Baggins. He seemed to be eaten by agony; it seemed to 
be so bad so that when he stood up and said that he would take the ring, I 
wasn't really surprised, though I was saddened that such an innocent being 
like him would take on such a hard task. 
Gandalf the Grey, one of the Istari immediately pledged to share his 
burden, and I would do no less myself. During our travels to Rivendell I 
had grown very fond of the little hobbit and his friends. "If by my life or 
death I can protect you, I will," I said as I walked towards him. I knelt 
before him, and continued. "You have my sword." 
A little too quick, Legolas pledged to follow. After him, Gimli the dwarf 
joined us. Legolas did not seem that pleased about that. Boromir then 
joined us, as did the remaining hobbits, who apparently had been 
eavesdropping all along. 
"Nine companions," Elrond said solemnly. "So be it. You shall be the 
Fellowship of the Ring".  
 
Later that night, I made up my mind. I had to tell him that he would have 
to stay at home. That he was too dear to me. 
"Enter," his melodic voice said when I knocked on his door. 
"Ah, Estel!" He continued when he saw that it was me. "Have you already 
packed?" 
"Well, yes..." I mumbled as I closed the door. He seemed very happy 
compared to last night. He practically danced throughout the room as he 
collected his things. "Legolas?" I asked. 
"Yes?" 
I couldn't make myself say what I had come for, so I looked out the huge 
window instead. "The night sky is beautiful." I could practically hear 
Legolas smile at that. 
"Have you come here tonight only to tell me how beautiful the sky is?" 
"No... I came here to tell you that..." How could five words be so hard to 
say? "You cannot come with us." I blurted out. He stopped dead and his 
eyes pierced into mine. 
"Why?" he said sharply. 
"I... we... you..." I stuttered, unable to say the things I wanted. 
"Aragorn?! Why do you not want me to go on this quest? Have I done 
something wrong?" 
"No! But what if something should happen?" I tried. 
Now he smiled. "Like what?" 
"What if... what if you die?!" I whispered. "I..." 
I was interrupted by a pair of hands on my shoulders; guiding me to the 
bed. We sat down on it and he put his hand under my chin. Our eyes met. 
"Estel, that is about the sweetest thing someone has said to me in a long 
time. But do you not see? I must do this; I must do this to buy time. If I 
stay, I have a marriage waiting for me at home. A marriage I do not want. 
This might be my last chance to live a little." I started to realise how much 
this meant to him. "Besides," he continued "I am a grown warrior with 
fine weapons. I can take care of myself." 
"But what if? Then what?" I argued. "I will not see you die by the hands of 
Elbereth knows what!" 
Legolas sweet smile made me shiver, and all of a sudden I could not tear 
my eyes from his lips. "Estel Peredhil of Imladris," He shook his head, not 
looking at me. "How is it I have been so blessed by your friendship? If all 
Men were like you, we..." He looked at me and trailed off.  
"Estel?" It was barely a whisper and yet it sent shivers down my spine. I 
tore my eyes from his lips and our eyes met. It was one of those rare 
magical moments in which time seems to stop and you almost can reach 
out to touch it. 
Without realising it, I leaned in to kiss him. I had never done this before, 
not even with Arwen, but still I instinctively knew what to do. My lips 
touched Legolas' with a feather light touch. Legolas remain still at first, 
probably somewhat shocked by the sudden turn of events. Then he relaxed 
and pulled me closer, deepening the kiss. I slid my hands around his neck 
and up into his hair and I was rewarded by a moan. He leaned back and 
pulled me with him. He then rolled us around so that he ended up on top 
of me. My hands seemed to have gotten a life of their own; they travelled 
up and down his back. His hands began tearing at my tunic, wanting to rid 
me of it. I lost my mind in the bliss that was Legolas. His hand touched a 
nipple and I responded with bucking my hips, meeting his. And in that 
moment I felt it; Legolas' Elfhood. I became terrified and broke the kiss. 
"Stop! Stop, Legolas!" 
He stopped and looked at me, bewildered. 
"I... cannot... you... I..." stuttered before pushing him of me. "I'm sorry!" 
I got out of the bed and ran out the door and to my chambers. There, I sat 
down on my bed and hid my face in my hands. What was this? I had never 
kissed the lady I courted, but I had kissed Legolas. Kisses belonged to 
love, did they not? 
"What is this madness?" I whispered to myself. "I love Arwen. I have ever 
since I met her and always will. I always will!" As if needing to make sure 
on that, I went out in search of Arwen. I found her on a small bridge, 
gazing at the stars. She turned her beautiful face towards me and smiled 
lovingly. "Estel," she said.  
My name had sounded much better coming from Legolas' mouth. Now 
wait, what was going on? 
"You will leave me tomorrow." She continued sadly "You will leave me to 
meet your destiny. It is written in the stars." I stood silent, seized by the 
moment. When I did not speak, she continued. "Do you remember when 
we first met?" she asked. 
"I thought I had strayed into a dream" I replied. I had remembered that 
moment very well. I still do, after all these years. 
"Long years have passed," she went on "You did not have the cares you 
carry now. Do you remember what I told you?" 
"You said you would bind yourself to me, forsaking the immortality of 
your people." 
"And to that I hold. I would rather share one lifetime with you, than face 
all the ages alone." I did not want this. Not because I did not love her, but 
because I loved her. I tried to tell her as much, but I was silenced by her 
hand. She was placing something in mine. It was the Evenstar necklace. "I 
choose a mortal life." 
"You cannot give me this!" I pleaded. 
"It is mine to give to whom I will," she smiled softly "like my heart." 
We kissed. Though strangely enough, I wanted to run again, just like I had 
run from Legolas. Her lips did not feel right. All I could think of was a 
pair of thinner, more masculine lips. I broke the kiss, frightened by my 
thoughts. 
Once again, a pair of bewildered eyes stared at me. 
"As much as I would like to stay, I need to pack." I hung the necklace 
around my neck and turned to leave. 
"Estel, wait!" she said; hand stretched out. I turned around and took it. 
"Come back to me, Estel. When all this is over I want to find you alive. It 
is all I ask," She pleaded. I merely nodded and left her.  
 
I went back to my chamber to get some rest before the departure, but 
someone was waiting. "Legolas!"  
"Estel, I..." he started. "I came here to apologize for earlier tonight, and to 
make sure that you were alright." I asked him to take a seat in one of the 
two chairs that was standing in front of the fireplace. He sat down, 
although hesitantly and waited. I paced around the room before I too, sat 
down in the remaining one. 
"If someone should apologize, it should be me." I said quietly "I had no 
right, and I know not what happened. It will never happen again, I swear. 
Will you forgive me?" 
Legolas stared into the floor and did not answer. 
"Legolas?" 
"Hmm?" he looked up before he realised that I was waiting for an answer. 
"Oh yes of course, you have my forgiveness. I... I must go and get some 
rest, if you excuse me." Before I could answer, he was gone. I sighed and 
went to bed, silently hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.  
 
---End part Three---  
 

---Bittersweet Memories, Chapter Four--- 
Author: Imlandiel (imlandielsfics@hotmail.com) 
Rating: PG-13 
Chapter: 4/?  
 
Warnings and disclaimer: Can be found in chapter One.  
 
Reviews: Yes please! I EAT reviews like my kitten eats anything she can 
find.  
 
I would like to again thank my beta-readers Eruantale and Golden wolf. 
Wouldn't be able to do this without you!  
 
-------------------------------  
 
I remember waking up early the morning after. We would not set out until 
a few hours later, so I thought I would use the time to say farewell to 
Rivendell. After all, I did not know whether I would return there or not. 
The quest would claim my life, one way or another. Either I would perish 
and wake up in the Undying Lands… Yes, I know, it is not customary for 
a Man to go to the Undying Lands, but you who read this must remember 
that I have been raised by the Elves. I share all their beliefs. 
I left my pack and additional blankets by the main gates and went to say 
farewell to Rivendell in the only right way; I walked along the beautiful 
gardens and the long corridors focusing my mind on saying goodbye. I 
cannot say whether you ever have felt it, but it was like every stone in the 
buildings and every flower answered me. It was a magnificent feeling, one 
of the few that I will always remember, no matter where I turn my sails.  
 
Before I knew it, it was time to leave. I had been so lost in the sensation, 
that I was now late. Elrohir had to come and fetch me, and he never does 
anything quietly. "ESTEL?!" 
"Yes, Elrohir there is no need to shout," I replied. 
"Estel, my brother, I know not how you intend to protect Frodo Baggins if 
the Fellowship leaves without you," He said, leaning against a pillar. I 
looked him, and then rushed towards the main gates. 
"Estel?" Elrohir's voice always sounds as if he is about to burst out 
laughing any second. But now, the voice behind me no longer had that 
edge. 
I turned around. "Yes?" 
Two words. Two words can say more than a thousand. "Stay alive." 
I nodded and smiled. Then I ran to the main gates.  
 
They were all there. The hobbits, Gandalf the Grey, Boromir, Gimli, and... 
Legolas... he avoided my eyes. I made a mental note to speak with him as 
soon as I got the chance. 
"Well then" Gandalf said. "Now that we all are gathered, we should be on 
our way, we are too late already!"  
We said goodbye to Lord Elrond, who was the only one left. The others 
had already said their farewells. And then we began the long journey.  
 
I did not get a chance to speak to Legolas. He was always busy with the 
pony or scouting. The way he was avoiding me was killing me. We had 
been so good friends, and now he just would not speak to me. It was not 
until we stopped for a meal on the stony hills beneath Caradhras that I got 
the chance. Sam was going to prepare the meal and needed wood for the 
fire. Legolas volunteered to search for some. Realising that it would take 
some time, I too volunteered to help him. He glared at me but motioned 
for me to come along.  
We climbed down the rocks in silence, both scouting for sufficient wood. 
The silence was suffocating me, and after a while I could no longer stand 
it. He was waiting beneath a rock for me to climb down. "Legolas?" He 
turned his gaze to a bush. I was getting irritated. "Stop doing this!" 
That worked. "Doing what?" He countered, sounding as calm as ever. 
"Stop avoiding me, I cannot take it any longer!" 
"I am not avoiding you." 
"Yes, you are. You will not even look at me! What have I done wrong? I 
honestly cannot tell." 
"How about kissing me?" He now looked at me. Anger was blazing in his 
eyes. 
"I said I was sorry." 
There was a pause. 
"Maybe sorry is insufficient," He said, regaining his calm. 
"There is little more I can do." I said, not understanding this. "Besides, 
you came to apologize first. Does that not imply that you though you were 
at fault? And suddenly it is all my error? There is more behind this, there 
has to be." 
I jumped down from the rock sat down on the ground. He joined me 
shortly after. 
"You do not normally kiss a friend like that." He said. "And if you do kiss 
a friend like that, you normally see it through to the end. You do not run 
away. Why did you?" 
I was starting to realise the entire issue. 
"I am so sorry for running away, Legolas. But I became terrified, and I 
cannot tell why it happened. The kiss I mean. I was listening to you and 
suddenly I felt the urge to... you know... to..." 
"To kiss me?" Legolas offered. 
"Yes, and I could not fight it. The next thing I know is that your… No I 
cannot speak of it!" I blushed, being new to the field of love. 
"You must." Legolas urged "I will never understand if you do not." 
I remember wishing to disappear through the face of Middle Earth. 
"Well, your... you could... you were..."  
He waited patiently. 
"Can you not see how hard this is?" I tried. 
He merely smiled and took my hand. I drew a deep breath before trying 
again. 
"I felt that you could... go through with... you know... the act." I blushed 
again and he closed his eyes. "And I got scared." I finished. 
His eyes remained closed and he did not speak. We sat there in silence for 
a while before he quietly whispered "I thought it was me. That you did not 
like me." 
"No! No!" I replied fiercely "That is not true! I like you Legolas. You 
must never doubt that, ever! I just went beyond myself. It was me, not 
you." 
He smiled gently and sighed. 
"I am glad that we solved this for I would not like to loose your friendship. 
Not when I just found it." 
He rose and offered me his hand. "Just to make certain... friends?" 
I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet. 
"Friends." I smiled and we continued our search. We had to go pretty far 
to find the firewood but when we returned to the temporary camp, we had 
our arms full. The rest of the Fellowship looked quite relieved when we 
returned. 
"Well, there you are." Boromir said. "We were beginning to worry." 
"I am sorry." Legolas replied. "But we had to search for a long time before 
we found it."  
 
The fire was finally started and Sam could finally prepare the meal. While 
he did, Boromir tried to teach two of the hobbits, Merry and Pippin, how 
to spar. 
"Move your feet!" I instructed. Pippin did so and Merry complimented his 
skills. But then Boromir accidentally hit Pippin's hand. 
"Oh, sorry!"  
"Get him!" the hobbits shouted and managed to knock Boromir to the 
ground. He began laughing and so did I. It was one of those moments we 
remember the most, when all was fine and we only were friends having 
fun in the wild. 
Someone, I do not remember whom it was, said something flying towards 
us. Gimli thought that it merely was a cloud. 
"It is moving fast. Against the wind!" Boromir countered. 
"Crebain from Dunland!" Legolas exclaimed. Everyone rushed to their 
feet to hide. Sam put out the fire and I honestly do not know how we 
managed to hide the pony, but I do not think we were not spotted by the 
crebain. 
"The passage south is being watched," Gandalf said. "We must take the 
pass of Caradhras."  
 
And so we did.  
 
---End chapter Four---  
 
A/N: Sorry for making Aragorn a virgin.. LMAO I really _don't_ know 
what possessed me! Also, sorry for the short chapter.. I've been too busy 
lately, but chapter five will be longer.. Happy days!!! 

---Bittersweet Memories, Chapter Five---
Rating: PG-13
Warnings and disclaimer: Can be found in chapter One.

Reviews: Yes please! I EAT reviews like my kitten eats anything she can find.

I would like to again thank my beta-readers Eruantale and Golden wolf. Wouldn't be able 
to do this without you!

-------------------------------


Moria... I never liked that particular mine. It makes me feel uneasy. Gimli has restored 
Moria to its former beauty, and it really is beautiful there. But whenever I visit, I still 
expect to meet orcs and cave trolls and other foul creatures. I can still hear the drums of 
the orcs, or the growl of the cave troll.
I will never be able to relax there. Moria is where I almost lost him... where he almost left 
us all. No one knows of this, but Legolas almost died in Moria.

It was in the very beginning of the mine it happened. We were waiting for Gandalf to 
decide where to go and Legolas wanted to explore the surrounding area. He asked me to 
join him, and I gladly did. We informed the others and were asked to stay close by. There 
is not much to be said about the mine. Cold, empty...
"They feel dead." Legolas pointed out.
"How so?" I asked, unable to feel things like he could.
He placed his hand on the wall and closed his eyes. "All things carry memories of old. 
They can tell the sad or happy stories of those who have lived close to them. These 
stonewalls do not. There is nothing here." He said sadly and sighed. "Come let us 
continue. We must be back soon."
We continued our little stroll, if one may call it that. We saw corpses every where... 
apparently the dwarves had put up a good fight before surrendering Moria. We tried to 
avoid stepping on any of them, but we could not avoid the cracking sound of bones 
breaking every once in a while. I felt like throwing up. Never again, I promised myself. 
Never again.

Suddenly out of nowhere, there was another cracking sound. But it did not come from the 
bones. Before we knew it, the roof came crashing down on us. We had entered a bad 
passage without realising it. Oh how I remember the suffocating clouds of sand and dust, 
and the pressure from the huge rocks as they did their best to claim my life. I managed to 
free myself from the giant monsters of stone, and sat down to catch my breath as the 
cloud dispersed. It was then it struck me.
Legolas.

"Legolas?" I called out. "Legolas?!" I was beginning to panic. "Answer me!! Legolas!!! 
Where are you?!?!"
There was no answer. I was full of panic now. But wait! Was that not... Was that not a 
hand? A slim, pale, and oh so beautiful hand, slightly glowing in the dark?
"Sweet Elbereth, let him be alive!" I threw myself at the newly built wall in front of me 
and started digging him out. I tore and tore at the rocks and whatever was in the way, but 
it just would not come loose. Any longer and he would not survive. Tears started falling 
and all I could think of was that I could not bare to loose him. My heart would break. I 
would not be able to live without the light that was Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood. My 
tears formed a salty pool of liquid on the cold stone floor. I did not notice. I just kept 
digging. My hands were torn apart by stones as sharp as Anduril's blade. Soon blood 
mixed with dust covered them. But I did not care. All I could think of was the fading light 
of my love. Yes, only now as Legolas was dying dared I say it. Only now did I dare say 
those words that mean so much. I loved him. I had finally admitted it to myself, and that 
gave me new strength. I dug harder and harder, and finally, my bloody hands felt the soft 
silk of Legolas' hair. I freed his face and tried to see if he was alive.
"Do not dare to do this to me, Legolas! Do not even think of it!!" I cried out in agony. 
"You cannot leave me, you hear?! Stay with me, I could not do this without you! By the 
Valar, where are the others? Have they no heart?!"
I never realised that they were too far away from us. They had not heard the turmoil. I 
was so ready to eat them alive for not coming. Fried Gandalf with potatoes and hobbit 
sauce. Suddenly a slight groan from Legolas shook me from my thoughts.
"Legolas! can you hear me?" I nearly shouted, leaning over his face. A soft but pained 
whisper gave me all the reassurance I needed.
"I am an Elf, Estel. I hear better than you. You do not have to shout."
Fresh tears dripped into Legolas' face and he opened his eyes.
"You are crying?" he asked with a broken voice.
I ignored the question for the time being and focused on the more important issues. "Are 
you okay?"
"Yes, I am merely resting under these rocks. Honestly Estel, what do you think?!" I burst 
out laughing at his sarcastic remark. I was so relieved that he was alive.
"I am sorry, I will dig you out. Just stay there."
"I am not planning on going anywhere." He smiled at me, and I could not help but 
smiling back. 'Stay there' is a really stupid thing to someone who lies trapped under an 
entire mountain.
Getting him out was a hard task. I had to be very careful so that I did not start another 
cave-in. And at the same time I had to keep Legolas busy so that he would not go 
unconscious, that would have been fatal.
"How is the best way to slay an orc?" I asked.
"To hug him," Legolas smirked.
I stopped and looked at him. "And you mean to say that when we encounter orcs, you 
will embrace them all and hug them to death?"
"Why not?" He jested. "Surely, they must crave physical contact as we do?"
I merely shook my head and continued digging.
"Alright then, what would you do if you came across an injured baby troll here in 
Moria?"
"Keep it as a... as a... hmm... What is it you Men call it, again? Oh, pets. I would keep it 
as a pet." He answered.
"And when it grows up?" I countered.
"Then I would set it free."
"Really?"
"Yes, really--Oh, wait... I can move my arm now!"
"Great!"
And like that it continued until I could finally drag him out. It is funny how sometime 
things solve themselves in the best possible manner. Maybe fate thought it best to lend us 
a hand before stabbing us in the back.
"Can you stand?" I asked worriedly and offered my hand. He took it and tried to stand. 
Sure, his legs were somewhat shaky but he stood. I wanted to check for injuries, but he 
insisted on getting out of the bad passage first. So with Legolas leaning on my right 
shoulder, we left the passage and sat down on the stone floor. I began checking for 
injuries when he suddenly said something.
"Which way leads back to the others?"
I looked up and realised that we now were in a small junction-point. There were two 
other passageways apart from the one we came from.

We were lost. Lost in a pitch dark passage, somewhere under an enormous mountain. 
Legolas tried listening after the hobbits voices or Gimli's muttering while I tended his 
small cuts and bruises, but he could not hear anything.
"Did we really walk that far?" I asked.
"Apparently we did." Legolas replied while eyeing the two dark holes on each our sides. 
His voice was still somewhat broken after the cave-in. "I wish we had some light. It is so 
hard to see anything even for me." He searched some more before he sighed. "There is 
nothing there."
"What?"
"We did not come this way."
I was shocked, for that meant that... "You mean to say that the only way back is behind 
us?"
"Well, not the only way perhaps. We can most certainly find a way from here. Unless we 
go back in there and try to dig our way through?"
"No, thank you, that passage may collapse completely if we start digging. Incredible, the 
only serious wound I could find was that little cut above your knee. I do not even have to 
bandage it." I said and stood. He smiled at me and stood as well.
"Which is fortunate, as bandages would only be in the way. Now, I agree with you. 
Going back is not an option. Which leaves two alternatives... one, we stay here and wait 
for the others. I do not like that one... we have no way of knowing if they would ever find 
us. The only remaining alternative is trying to find our way back."
I sighed deeply. "Agreed, we have to try to find our way back. I do not exactly want to 
stay here, given the company."
Even here did the skeletons of brave dwarves lie. A everlasting reminder of the hidden 
dangers of Moria. A slow shudder made it's way through my body.
"If we keep to the right at all times we should end up at our starting point sooner or later." 
I continued. "Shall we?"

And so the attempt to find our way back began. It went fairly well until we encountered 
another bad passageway. Only this time we were ready for it. We threw ourselves back 
and I landed a few feet away, on top of him. I must have lost consciousness for a while, 
but when I opened my eyes, Legolas' concerned ones looked into mine.
"Are you alright?" I mumbled softly, fearing that I would loose all control if I did not 
speak. His eyes have always done that to me.
"Yes," was the simple reply. I really needed to say something so I opened my mouth, but 
a pair of blue eyes silently begged me not to. I closed my mouth again and waited for him 
to speak. He never did. Instead, he lifted his head towards mine. My eyes drifted to his 
mouth. He parted his lips and that was all my mind could register before I lost all the 
control I had. I lifted my hand to his face to feel the soft skin there, but another 
interrupted me.
"Estel! You are hurt!" Legolas exclaimed and pushed me off him. "When did this 
happen?!"
Confused by the sudden change I answered. "I do not know. I must have done it when I 
tried to dig you out."
He examined my hands. They were covered in now dried blood mixed with dust and 
sand. I was really surprised that I had missed it.
"We have to clean this or it will surely get infected!" he said matter-of-factly. "Do you 
have anything to clean it with?"
Still confused as I was I tried to untie a small bag that was attached to my belt. I groaned 
when my hands made contact with the belt. Why did these wounds all of a sudden start to 
hurt?
"Here, let me do that." Legolas offered. He fiddled with the leather band for quite some 
time before he managed to untie it. "I am not a good healer, what do I need?"
"Well, can you find the aloe? It lies in a smaller bag."
"Yes, is it this one?"
"No, the other one..." I replied as he held up a small brown bag.
"Oh, there it is."
I helped him through the entire procedure and before I knew it, my hands were neatly 
packed in two pieces of green cloth.
"Thank you Legolas. It would have been somewhat hard to do this without you."
"See, are you not glad that I came along then?" He replied, grinning.
"Well..." I replied slowly. "If you had stayed in Rivendell none of this would have 
happened."
He pouted but realised that I was grinning and started laughing. "True."
"How about continuing? The others must have started to worry now" I said and stood up. 
He nodded and gave me his hand so I could help him up. I could not understand what he 
was aiming at the time; he never did anything like that with the others. But nevertheless I 
gave him my hand and pulled him to his feet. And it was right there I realised what he 
had aimed for. But that implied that he... no. I was deluding myself. Or was I?
The result of me pulling Legolas to his feet was that his face ended up merely inches 
from mine.
"Legolas what are...?" I began but was silenced by his finger on my lips.
"Shh... do not speak."  He removed his finger and took my hand instead. Our fingers 
entwined as our lips drew closer and closer to each others. My mind stopped working and 
I closed eyes fluttered closed. This moment was something I had been longing for ever 
since that night in Rivendell when I had run away, afraid of my feelings.

From somewhere far away, my mind suddenly registered a voice. "Strider?" It was Frodo. 
I let my breath out and thought that I seriously would kill the one who managed to do this 
one more time. I could feel Legolas moving away and I opened my eyes.
"Master Legolas?! Are you there? Strider?! Anyone?" the voice called again. And soon 
another joined it.
"Master Frodo, are you sure it was here you heard voices?"
"Yes Sam, right before that passage crashed."
Legolas and I looked at one another and I could feel him squeeze my hand tight.
"Frodo? Sam?!" I called out. "Can you hear me?"
"Strider!" Sam's voice answered. "Are you alright?"
"Yes we are fine but..."
I was interrupted by Legolas. "I am fine so there is no need to tell them I was trapped," 
He said to me in a low voice. I understood completely, Legolas has never wanted to be 
seen as weak and the hobbits would surely make a fuss of it all. I nodded. "...But we are 
trapped behind the cave-in."
"Do not worry, Master Aragorn!" another voice now said. "I know what to do with a 
cave-in. Just sit down, you two..."
"Be careful now, Master Dwarf," a fourth voice warned. Boromir. "One wrong step and 
the entire passage will fall."
"Ah, but you are forgetting that I am a Dwarf. I know how to handle bad passages. 
Master Gandalf, can you lend me some light?"
"Certainly," Gandalf's voice replied.
"Thank you. Boromir, if you do not mind helping me here. We have to move this 
boulder..."
Legolas and I sat down on a rock and waited. We could have helped from our side, but 
we did not have a clue as to which rock we could move and which rock we could not so 
we just sat there and waited. And before we knew it, there was a hole in the black wall 
and the light from Gandalf's staff blinded us. As the hole grew bigger, Legolas moved to 
climb through but I stopped him.
"Legolas, there is something I must tell you." I said quietly. He stopped and waited. "I 
realised something when you were trapped earlier..."
"What?" he asked equally as quiet.
"I was digging so hard and all I could think of was that I would--" That was as far as I got 
before Gimli shouted that the passage would fall and that we had to hurry. We collected 
the few things we had with us and climbed through the hole. There was the unmistakable 
sound of cracking rocks behind us as we all ran for our lives.

"Know how to handle a bad passage, Master Dwarf?" Legolas teased as everything 
calmed down around us.
"Well, I got you two out, did I not?" Gimli countered.
"You did, for which we are very thankful." I replied and motioned for Legolas to be 
quiet. "Let us just hope that these things are normal here or this place will be swarming 
with orcs before we know it."
"Agreed. Just to be safe, we should get moving." Gandalf said. We all got to our feet and 
started our fateful journey through the Mountain Halls.

---To be continued---

A/N: As promised, longer chapter. Happy days!
//Imlandiel - who got Shrek-vibes throughout the chapter (hence all the humour).. 
Imagine Gimli saying "I like that Boulder, that is a nice boulder!" when digging our 
lovebirds out LOL

---Bittersweet Memories, Chapter Six---
Author: Imlandiel (imlandielsfics@hotmail.com)
Rating: PG-13
Chapter: 6/?
Warnings and disclaimer: Can be found in chapter One.
Reviews: Yes please! I EAT reviews like my kitten eats anything she can 
find.
I would like to again thank my beta-readers Eruantale and Golden wolf. 
Wouldn't be able to do this without you!

A/N: Sorry for the delay. School and exams.. Bleh! Anyway, to avoid 
confusing people, -- --- -- Means Flashback/End of flashback.

-------------------------------

Later that night, Eldarion came home from visiting the Lady Rosaline. He 
went to the kitchen and got some food before he headed for his personal 
chambers. On his way there he passed by his father's study and saw lights 
burning. "Is father still awake?" He asked himself and entered the small 
chamber. He smiled at what he saw. His father had forbidden anyone to 
touch the mess in there unless he asked. King Elessar would of course not 
use that word to describe the state of his study, but it sure was a mess. 
Parchments were lying everywhere; you could almost expect to find them 
hanging from the ceiling. However, that was not what made Eldarion 
smile.
No, what made him smile was a loud snoring sound emanating from the 
head resting over an open parchment. Deciding that the study was no place 
for a king to sleep, the son of said king gently shook his fathers shoulder. 
"Father?"
"Mmm?" was the sleepy answer.
"Should you not sleep in your chambers, sire?"
"Mmm..."
Sighing, Eldarion shook his father a little harder.
"What?"
"Father, let me take you to your chambers."
"Eldarion?! What are you doing up at this late hour?" the King's voice was 
still sleepy and somewhat grumpy.
"I just came home, father. Lady Rosaline's father told us some wonderful 
stories of the War of the Ring."
That did the trick. "Did he, now? What would he know of it?"
"Nothing more than you, I am sure. Will you please go to bed now father? 
You have a lot to do tomorrow."
Aragorn stood and with some help from his son he left his study for the 
night. They wandered through the banquet hall, some corridors, some 
other halls and the throne room.
"Eldarion, my dear boy. Do you happen to have the answer as to why I 
decided to place my study in one end of the castle and my chambers in the 
other?"
Eldarion smiled. "Your body was younger when you and mother did so, 
sire. You did not find it troubling to walk through the entire castle then."
"Are you implying that I am old?" Aragorn jested.
"Well, I guess that I am, father."
Both father and son laughed quietly and continued. When they entered the 
king's chambers, Eldarion bid his father good night and headed for his 
own chambers.

Aragorn stood silently for a while, lost in thoughts. Then he went to the 
bedside table and lit the candles there. At the windows he pulled the soft 
grey curtains. They had been a wedding gift from the Elves, and had 
wonderful embroideries made of silver embedded in them. Aragorn's hand 
lingered there for a while as he thought of the beloved Arwen, his late 
wife.

-- --- --

She had been loved by all of Gondor's people. And she in turn had loved 
them back. A 'Queen of the people' was what everyone said. Almost seven 
years later, when was announced that she was pregnant, the people of 
Gondor celebrated for two whole weeks. It was a glorious time. The King 
and Queen were overwhelmed with gifts and tokens. Everyone was so 
happy and it stayed that way for months. Until the night their first child 
was born. As Aragorn thought back, he realised that all he could 
remember was blood. Blood, and his newborn son. It was as if Sauron had 
come back for one last revenge, to take the most beloved star of Gondor. 
Aragorn locked himself in his chambers the first weeks. He would not eat, 
or drink. If anyone knocked on the large doors, all they would get was an 
angry "Go away!" if anything at all. Everyone admired him for his 
courage to grieve as openly as he did, most Men would not. Word was 
sent to Rivendell of the Queen's death and the birth of their child. Aragorn 
was given the privacy to mourn his beloved in peace.
Five weeks after the child was born, his maid thought it to be enough. She 
thought that grieving is all well, but the King could not be allowed to 
forget his son and heir. She therefore gathered all the courage she had, 
wrapped the child in blankets and went to the King's chambers. Courage 
or not, she was still nervous when she stood outside the double doors. She 
took a deep breath and knocked firmly. No answer. She knocked again and 
was this time rewarded with the all so familiar "Go away!"
"My Lord, I-I will not leave." She stammered.
There was a moment of silence. "Who are you?! Who dares to defy my 
orders?"
"I am Marilla, my Lord. The nursemaid who is taking care of your son."
"My son?"
"Yes, my Lord. I have him right here and I will not leave until you see 
him." Marilla had now forgotten all about being nervous.
"He is here?" The door flew open and Marilla tried desperately to hide a 
gasp. The King looked like a ghost. She of course had not seen them 
herself, but he fit the description of a Nazgúl. His face was hollow and his 
eyes were like dark holes hidden deep in his face. His eyes wandered from 
her face to her chest where his son lay. "Is this...?"
"Yes." She opened the blankets that covered the child's face and smiled. 
"This is your son, My Lord."
Aragorn took his son in his arms carefully and a tender smile made itself 
evident. "He is so beautiful!"
Now, that is something all fathers say about their children, but this child 
really was beautiful. He had inherited his mothers raven hair and soft skin, 
and his father's intense eyes. But the most remarkable thing about him was 
the slightly pointy ears. Tears started falling from the King's eyes. "My 
son..." he choked. "What do you call him?"
"He has no name My Lord." Marilla replied, tears falling from her eyes as 
well. She knew now that their King was back.
"You must have been calling him something these past weeks!" Aragorn 
insisted.
"Well, I have been calling him Eldarion, My Lord."
"Eldarion? Why?"
Marilla blushed. "I am not famous for my knowledge of the Elvish tongue, 
My Lord, but I believe Eldarion means "Son of Elves". He looks like an 
Elf, My Lord. The other maidens thought me crazy to name the child 
without asking, but I thought that the child must have a name and when 
you never came out I.. well.." She trailed off, realizing that she was 
babbling and that the King did not even listen.
"Eldarion..." Aragorn whispered. "Yes, his name shall be Eldarion. We 
must celebrate his birth! Oh where have I been lately?"
"It was understandable My Lord." Marilla answered solemnly. Aragorn 
smiled sadly and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Marilla, I cannot thank you enough for coming here today. It will not be 
nearly enough, but is there anything I can do for you?"
"Serving under you and taking care of Eldarion is more than enough My 
Lord." Marilla said. "Well come then, Let us wake this castle up!"

-- --- --

"That was so long ago!" Aragorn thought to himself and changed into his 
sleepwear. "But it was even longer since Legolas..." He shook his head. 
He reached for the bag he always kept with him and made sure that a 
small birch-bark envelope was still there. He opened it and out fell a little 
of the grey powder it contained. He stood silently for a while as if 
listening to something, before answering.
"Not tonight though." He whispered. "I must finish the letter first. But 
after that nothing binds me to this place. Then I will come. Soon..."
The old man slipped under the silk sheets, and blew out the candles before 
sleep came to claim him.

---To be continued---


---Bittersweet Memories, Chapter Seven---
Author: Imlandiel (imlandielsfics@hotmail.com)
Rating: PG-13
Chapter: 7/?
Warnings and disclaimer: Can be found in chapter One.
Reviews: Yes please!

A/N: The lines in this chapter are quite mixed. Some are from the movie, 
some are from the book and some are from my head.. Happy days! It is 
also somewhat AU. Since this is a .txt version, // means that something is 
written or that something is being thought (of sorts).

-------------------------------

The next morning Aragorn had his breakfast before returning to his study. 
He entered the room and sat down behind his huge oak-wood desk. He 
studied the parchment before lifting the quill...

//I will not go further into the happenings of Moria. You have most 
certainly already heard of them, and the events that took place in Moria 
are not interesting here... No... It is not interesting until afterwards... in 
Lórien.//

*** **** *** **** ***

It was hard. It was so hard to get them on their feet, we were all in shock. 
The one thing that we never could imagine would happen had happened. 
We had lost Gandalf.
It was a hard task that was now dealt upon me, to lead the Fellowship. But 
I swore to myself that I would honour Gandalf's request and lead them to 
victory. This was why I had to tell them to move, it was now my task.
"Give them a moment, for pities sake!" Boromir asked, desperately trying 
to hide his own grief.
"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs, we must have reached 
the woods of Lothlorien by then," I replied as calmly as I could. 
Thankfully he listened and we could get on our way.

Haldir of Lothlórien. As you know, my friendship with the Guardian goes 
far into my past. He might sound arrogant, but once you get to know him 
you will find that it is quite the opposite. He has always been like a brother 
to me, and he has always been there to guide me; this time being no 
different.
I tried to convince him of letting Gimli pass with the rest of the 
Fellowship. He had never liked dwarfs, Haldir. He seemed a bit distracted 
though, throughout our entire conversation his eyes darted between me 
and Legolas... He knew of my feelings. But of course he, if anyone, would 
know. He was quite obviously intrigued, for he gave in too easily given 
the relations between Elves and Dwarves. He did request that Gimli would 
be blindfolded though. The request resulted in having us all blindfolded. 
Therefore nothing really happened during the first half of our journey to 
the City of the Galadhrim. Nothing that I knew of at the time, anyway.
Halfway there, we met another group of Elves, marching towards the 
Northern borders of the Golden Woods. They brought word from Lord and 
Lady that we no longer needed to be blindfolded.
"Look upon us with friendly eyes, son of Gloin! Look and be glad, for you 
are the first dwarf to behold the trees of the Naith of Lórien since Durin's 
Day!" He said to Gimli as he removed the blindfold from him.
I was the last one to be freed from the blindfold, but when I opened my 
eyes I found that I could not breathe. It was one of the most beautiful 
places I had ever seen, it still is. Though, I do not travel there as often 
anymore. Most of the Elves there have already sailed to the West.
"Behold friends, you are now in Cerin Amroth," Haldir said proudly. "This 
is the heart of the ancient realm. We will rest here for a while before we 
continue. We should reach the Caras Galadhon at dusk."

We all wandered about, lost in the sheer beauty of Lórien. Lost was also 
the grief over Gandalf, a great happiness filled us as we all took in the 
scents and sights of the Golden Woods. Suddenly I found that Haldir had 
joined me. He said nothing, but simply followed me as I wandered further 
into the woods.
"Estel, finally you have come to visit me in my home." Haldir smiled and 
hugged me. "'Tis good to see you again, I was beginning to miss the 
company of the brothers of Imladris during hunts. It is not quite the same 
without you."
"I am certain that the results of your hunting have improved greatly 
without Elrohir and Elladan around, given the fact that my beloved 
brothers find it more interesting to chase each other instead!" I laughed 
and returned the hug "It is good to see you as well, Haldir. It has been 
long; you should come to visit more often."
"Alas, time flies." Haldir sighed. "Time flies to swiftly me to follow, how 
long has it been?"
"Almost eight years." I replied. "It is no time to you I am sure, but eight 
years is a long time for a Man."
"And much have you achieved in this long time, for it has indeed been a 
long time. I have heard words from Imladris of you and the Lady Arwen. 
And I see now the words are true, you are wearing the Evenstar."
I nodded and opened my mouth to speak, but I was interrupted.
"But it is not what intrigues me..." He paused for a while, thinking. "No... 
what intrigues me is you and the Prince of Mirkwood."
I closed my mouth and opened it. "Me and the Prince of Mirkwood?! 
What is so intriguing about me and Legolas?"
He chuckled and patted my shoulder. "Who would have thought? You and 
the Prince of Mirkwood..." I felt a blush coming. Why do blushes always 
come when you need them the least?
"Blushing are we?" He was now grinning. "So you admit having feelings 
for him?"
I could seriously kill him. My face had the colour of the carpet in the 
throne room. "Well..." I began. He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, yes. I have 
feelings for Legolas! Now you know so wipe that smirk of your face or I 
will do it for you!!"
His grin turned in to a suppressed snigger. "Dearest Estel, there is nothing 
to be embarrassed about."
"I am not embarrassed."
"Oh? Then why does your face have to colour of that other Man's tunic? 
Was it Boromir you called him?"
He had me there. I started to grin as well. "Yes, Boromir is his name. I 
hope I managed to escape the embroideries though."
"What?"
"It is bad enough that I am red as his tunic; I would not like to have white 
dots all over my face as well."
That did it. Haldir could not contain his laughter any longer. His melodic 
laugh filled the forest. "You really are something!" He said as soon as he 
managed to calm himself down. "But you are changing the subject."
"There is nothing to talk about! Even though I recently found that I have 
other feelings than those of a friend for Legolas, he does probably not 
return them."
"How can you be so sure?" Haldir asked. "Have you the ability to read the 
minds of others?"
"Of course not! But why would he? I am just a mortal man; I will die 
within a century. It would be foolish!"
"So you say that Arwen is a fool as well?"
I groaned, he did not understand. "No. It is not the same."
"Is it not? She loves you. So does Legolas. Why else would he allow you 
to kiss him? And why would he try to kiss you? Not once, but twice!! 
Come, we must get back to the others now. It is time to continue."
How could he know? I had not told him any of those events...
"Haldir, wait!" He stopped and turned around. "How do you know?"
"A little bird with Golden feathers told me. Come now!"
As in a haze I followed him back to the others. Well there my eyes slowly 
wandered to the approaching shape of Legolas. My heart was pounding 
loudly, everyone must have heard it. Was it true? Did he really love me 
back, or was Haldir playing one of his never ending games? Legolas must 
have thought I was ill for he came to me as soon as he reached the group. 
"Aragorn?"
I looked at him dumbfounded. "Legolas!"
"Estel, are you well?"
"Is it true?"
Legolas' eyes wandered from me to Haldir and back again. Concern turned 
to realization. "Not now. Later tonight!"
We reached the City of the Galadhrim at dusk, just like Haldir had said. 
And as Lord Celeborn asked of the whereabouts of Gandalf, reality came 
crashing down over us. Gandalf! How could we have forgotten this great 
loss? The Lady Galadriel locked eyes with me, and tears started to fill my 
eyes.
"He has fallen into shadow... The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. 
Stray but a little, and it will fail to the ruin of us all."
She kept speaking, but I could also hear her voice inside my mind.
//"You are troubled, son of Arathorn, with other matters than that of the 
Quest."//
//"Aye"//I replied simply. There was no point in denying that.
//"The path in front of you is dividing into two and you know not which 
one to take. One is for the best of your people, while the other is for the 
best for your heart. It is an important decision and you must soon 
decide."//
//"It is so hard. I cannot even tell if he feels like I do. And if he does, I will 
hurt one no matter which path I choose to take."//
//"Why not let them help you decide?"// Galadriel answered and broke eye 
contact. Her next words were addressed to the entire company. "Be at 
peace, the borders of Lothlórien are well protected. Go and rest, for your 
souls are weary with sorrow."

'Later tonight' Legolas had said. As the evening turned to night I found 
that I was getting nervous. What would he say? What would he do? I was 
sitting next to Frodo and Sam, repairing some of my arrows when he 
descended from his chambers. He had been given personal chambers; he 
was a prince after all. I had been offered personal chambers as well, but I 
preferred staying on the ground. I wanted to be close to the Ringbearer in 
case anything would happen. Where was I? Oh yes... Legolas descended 
the stairs that lead to his chambers. He had changed into a lovely blue silk 
tunic, no doubt a gift from the Lórien Elves, and he was carrying a ewer. I 
could hardly take my eyes from him. His fair face and hair was glowing 
like the stars in the sky above, by the Valar I love him. He filled the ewer 
with water from a nearby fountain and returned to the stairs. He lifted a 
foot to take a step but stopped himself and turned around.
"Aragorn?"
I shivered for some reason, was this 'later tonight'? "Yes?"
"Now is the time, will you come and speak with me?"
"Of course," I replied nervously and followed him to his chambers. He 
must have sensed that I was nervous for he gave me a reassuring smile and 
lead the way.
The chambers were beautiful, they truly were. In fact, it would be a shame 
to call them chambers. The floor had been built upon the branches in one 
of the trees. There were no walls, but pillars that lifted the magnificent 
roof. And the large open spaces between the pillars could easily be 
covered with the soft white curtains you could find on each side. The large 
bedroom had a huge four-poster bed, and a set of chairs with a table 
between them. "This is where I live when I come to visit Lórien," Legolas 
told me, and gestured for me to have a seat in one of the chairs. He sat 
down in the other and filled two silver cups with water from the ewer. 
"Apparently, my father knew I would pass here for I received a letter from 
him." He then continued.
"Oh?" I answered. I did not want to pry in his personal affairs.
"Yes. He was not particulary pleased with my decision to go on this 
Quest." He glanced up. "And Lady Anariel's family is apparently fuming. 
They of course are merely afraid that my father has changed his mind. A 
marriage between me and their daughter would secure their secure in the 
court. It will also let my father control them more, but that is not 
something they have realized yet... It is sickening, this game they play!"
"Why do you tell me this?" I asked puzzled. He had no reason to. I did not 
have anything to do with the Elven kingdom in Mirkwood...
"Well..." He began, but interrupted himself and lifted his cup. It was now I 
realised that I was not alone with being nervous, his hand was trembling. 
His face revealed nothing, but his hand did. He took a sip and gently 
placed the cup back on the table. As he continued, his voice was as calm 
as ever. "I tell you this because you need to know what you get yourself 
into."
My heart skipped a beat and I felt that haze come over me once again. 
"Wha..." I cleared my throat. "...What do you mean?"
"If we do this, not only will I embarrass him by declining the offer made 
by Anariel's father, but he will not understand." He grasped my hand. "My 
father is conventional, you know that. He will never understand that two 
males can love each other."
"Love each other?!" I croaked, interrupting his long speech of the right to 
love one another, no matter what race or gender you belonged to. He 
stopped dead and looked at me, terrified.
A long moment passed before he spoke. "You do not love me." It was not 
a question, but a statement. A slight redness made it's was to his cheeks, 
making him look adorable.
"What?" I asked, confused. He got up from his chair and turned his back at 
me.
"Please leave," was the answer.
I went through the entire conversation again and realised what he was 
thinking.
"No!" I shrieked, and practically jumped of my chair. "It is not what you 
think!"
"Oh? What do I think then? Just go Estel..." Came the dead reply.
"But..."
"Go."
"But..."
"GO!"
"No, I will not leave until you understand!" I said, sitting down again.
Legolas sighed and turned around, his eyes was closed. "I have 
embarrassed myself enough. Do not make it worse, I beg of you."
"But you have gotten it all wrong Legolas, I do love you!" I cried.
Legolas slowly opened his eyes again. I saw them fill with hope. "You 
do?"
"With all my heart!"
"Then why did you say..."
"I did not say that I did not love you." I interrupted. "I was just... well... 
astonished I guess. I could not believe my ears... you love me! It is 
madness."
He smiled and took my hands from across the table. "No, it is fate. And I 
would not change it for the world."
I looked at the hands holding mine, marvelling at their beauty. Then my 
eyes travelled to his arms, and his shoulder, his chin, his mouth and finally 
his eyes. "If what you say is true... what will happen?"
Legolas sighed. "I know not, the ways of my father are mysterious to me. I 
cannot say. But honestly, at this moment I care not of my father... Estel?"
I could not help myself. My eyes had found his lips again. I found it quite 
intriguing to watch them move. To see them form around words, and 
occasionally see his tongue lick his lips as he did quite often. I found 
myself growing hard by the very movement of the slick muscle. And I 
became afraid again... But I soon decided that I really had to do something 
about that fear, so I got up on my feet and offered him my hand. His eyes 
focused on something behind my hand and a coy smile made itself 
evident. He took my hand and let me drag him up.
"Will you run this time?"
"No." I replied steadily, and leaned in to kiss him, just like that night in 
Rivendell. Only this time, I knew what I was doing. He met me halfway 
and kissed me slowly, lovingly. When we broke for air he asked "Are you 
sure you want this? We could wait..."
"No. I have not been as sure about anything as I am now." I replied and 
captured his lips again. It did not take long for the kisses grew more 
frantic and passionate.
Small piles of clothes were lying every here and there. And soon, the 
inhabitants of the talans close by pulled their curtains for that was 
something the two lovers had forgotten all about...

---To be continued---

(Review!)


---Bittersweet Memories:  The Morning Afterr...---

Rating: PG-13
Author: Imlandiel (imlandielsfics@hotmail.com)
Warnings and disclaimer: Can be found in chapter One.
Reviews: Yes please!.
Worship: My beta-readers (Eruantale and Golden Wolf) and my kitten, 
please.

A/N: I am terribly sorry for the huge delay! I did not have a clue as to how 
to continue. Anyway, this one turned out to be somewhat short, which 
means chapter nine _might_ be longer. This one is pure fluff through and 
through... of sorts.. Happy Days!

Well now, on with it!

-------------------------------

The sun in my eyes was what woke me up that morning. Small rays of 
sunlight had found their way down through the thick foliage of the 
Mallorn trees, and into my eyes of all places. Disoriented, I opened them 
and saw beautiful carvings in the white ceiling above me. Had they been 
there the night before? I could not remember, but then again, my mind had 
been filled with other things the evening before. My entire body was numb 
after our love-making, but it was a numbness I was willing to endure.
I looked down and saw Legolas' head resting over my bare chest. A 
feeling of absolute joy instantly fell over me as I watched his head rise and 
fall back with every breath I took. His hair looked like pure gold in the 
sunshine, shining with an impossible intensity. I lifted my hand to his head 
and ran my fingers through it; it felt so soft against my fingers. A small 
contented sigh escaped his lips. "Legolas?"

"...Hmm?"

I chuckled low.

"What are you laughing at?" Legolas asked, sleepily.

"You."

"Whatever for?" He now lifted his head and opened his eyes.

"Because you are my happiness."

"As you are mine."

Moments passed without notice as we both let ourselves drown in the 
others eyes. Once again our tongues encircled as we shared a kiss full of 
promise and love.

"Maybe we should get up, my beloved," Legolas panted as we broke for 
air.

"Mm-hmm, maybe we should..." I replied and watched as Legolas sat up, 
and began searching for clothes. But I would not let him, not yet. 
Especially not while he still was undressed.

"Estel, what are you doing?" I had knocked him down on the floor and 
straddled him.

"...And maybe we should not?! I prefer staying like this for a little while 
longer." I said and lowered my eyes to where our groins met, before 
looking back up at him. His eyes had followed mine and I could feel him 
growing hard again. "What do you say?" I bent down and began licking 
my way down his chest.

"I say... ahh..."

I had found his nipples. "What was that?"

"I say... oh... we stay."

With a triumphant smile, I reached up and kissed him. "What a wonderful 
idea!"


A long while later we sat with our backs against the bed, the sheets spread 
over our bodies.

"To think you were an innocent before yesterday!" Legolas shook his 
head. "Seems impossible."

"I am a quick study." I said and smiled when he chuckled.

"Indeed. And I will be happy to teach you all I know, at least when it 
comes to satisfying a certain Elf of Mirkwood. But Estel, we should really 
get up now!"

"I agree. Can you help me find my breeches?"

"If you help me find my tunic."

"Deal. But Legolas?"

"Yes?"

"Should we not tell the others about us?"

He was silent for a while before answering. "Maybe not. At least not yet. 
You and I are both bound by so much. Our heritage, family..." he paused. 

"You are betrothed Arwen, and my father wants me to bind myself to the 
Lady Anariel..." he then added with a wry smile. "But beside all that, it is 
more fun this way, do you not think?" his smile became mischievous. I 
smiled and agreed. I just hoped that I would be able to last between the 
few moments we would have alone in the future, for I still thought we 
would all journey together to Mordor.

We got dressed, and then descended the stairs to have breakfast with the 
others. Thankfully they were all still sleeping, so when they woke up we 
just pretended I had been among them all night. I remember looking at 
Legolas and we shared a smile. We both knew how wrong that was.
Although unfortunately for us, Haldir decided to join us for breakfast. And 
trust me when I say that he knew almost everything about last night. He 
just had to sit and smile knowingly at both me and Legolas every once in a 
while, between talking politely to Frodo, or laughing at one of Merry or 
Pippins escapades. It was quite annoying really, especially since both 
Legolas and I could not help smiling back at him and then at each other 
every time. After breakfast Legolas and I left the rest of the Fellowship for 
a stroll in the beautiful lands that was Lórien. We walked along a trail, 
hand in hand. We met other elves along the way, who greeted us with a 
knowing smile. I suddenly felt quite paranoid, so I asked Legolas if he had 
noticed it as well.

"Yes. I thought I was imagining it, so I did not ask."

Another group of Elves passed by, greeting us and smiling. I nodded 
before stepping aside to let them pass.

"Apparently you were not. What is going on here?"

We let the matter drop and continued our stroll in silence.

"I wish Haldir had decided to stay away from breakfast," Legolas 
suddenly said with a fond smile. "Keeping us a secret will be hard if he 
makes us smile like fools each time he looks upon us."

"I would have to agree." A voice from behind us said. We both turned 
around, startled. And there, leaning against the base of a Mallorn was no 
other than Haldir. He smiled happily at us before continuing. "That will be 
hard. Especially since almost every Elf in these woods already know."

My mouth fell open. So that was why all the Elves we had met had acted 
so strangely! "But how can they know?" Legolas and I cried in unison.

"Legolas my friend, I know not if you have noticed, but if you do not draw 
the curtain the inhabitants of the neighbouring talans can see your every 
move."

"Oh no! That means that my father will know!" Legolas covered his 
mouth with his left hand. "And everyone in Rivendell, they will kill me. 
Arwen will kill me!" I continued, while feeling the colour drain from my 
face.

"Do not worry, my friends. I believe your secret is safe, and the Lady of 
Light will make sure. But I would advise you to draw the curtains the next 
time." Haldir said and sat down on one of the massive roots. Relieved as I 
was, I began laughing at the whole situation. It was, after all, quite 
hilarious. It still makes me chuckle. Soon all three of us were laughing 
hard.


A few days later, it was time to leave the safety of Lórien. The Lady of 
Light gave us all gifts.

"You are troubled, Son of Arathorn. The fates of many people lie upon 
your shoulders... Maybe this will lighten your heart," said Galadriel. "I 
was asked to keep this for you, should you ever come this way." Then she 
lifted from her lap a great stone of a clear green, set in a silver brooch that 
was wrought in the likeness of an eagle with outspread wings. As she held 
it up the gem flashed like the sun shining through the leaves of spring. 

"This was the stone I gave to my daughter Celebrían, and she gave it to 
hers. Now it comes to you as a token of hope."

I accepted her beautiful gift and pinned it on my breast. Somehow I felt 
better now, and less troubled.

As the others began packing the boats, she asked me to join her for a walk. 
I silently walked beside her, waiting for her to speak. "You carry the light 
of both Arwen and Legolas now, yet you can only choose one. Be very 
careful in your decision, and consider all possibilities, for the fate of them 
both is bound to what you decide."

I bowed my head and sighed deeply. So much depended on me now, I 
carried the fate of two wonderful Elves, I was to lead the Fellowship, and I 
was to be king over a land I cared nothing for.

A hand lifted to my chin made me raise my head. "Do not let my words 
hinder you. When the time comes you will know what to do. We shall not 
meet again, Elessar. Namarië." And so we were on our way. We paddled 
the entire day, and stopped only at nightfall to get some rest. Legolas 
again volunteered to collect firewood. Thinking back, I might have been 
too quick in asking if I could join him. Of course he let me, and together 
we left the camp.

We wandered about, collecting wood. It did not take long for us to find 
enough wood to keep a fire going all night, those woods were old. I was 
about to turn around and head back when Legolas spoke, his voice sending 
shivers down my spine. "Do you know why I led us this way?" He had led 
me? Funny, I had not noticed. "No. But I can guess." I smiled, for as I 
thought about it, I realized that I could no longer hear the rest of the 
Fellowship. No friendly conversations or giggling hobbits. Legolas 
dropped the wood he had collected and closed the distance between us 
with a speed I did not think possible, not even for an elf. He took the wood 
I had in my arms and tossed it aside. Then he put his arms around my 
neck. I answered by encircling my arms around his waist.

"Do you now?" He said with that oh so sensual smile.

"I do. And it does not matter how much you scream, my beloved one, they 
will not be able to hear you." I tried to reply solemnly, but the corners of 
my mouth were twitching. Legolas' smile grew wider. "Really?"

"Mhm... Do you want to know something?" I nuzzled his ear.

"What?"

"I have missed you today."

"I was right beside you!"

"Yes, but that was not good enough."

"Am I close enough now then?" he asked.

"I do not know... you could be closer yet..."

He pulled back to look me in my eyes. "Let us get closer then!"


Like this it continued... until that fateful day, when the Fellowship was 
shattered.


---To be continued---

(Review!)




---Bittersweet Memories:  Promises---

Rating: PG-13
Author: Imlandiel (imlandielsfics@hotmail.com)
Warnings and disclaimer: Can be found in chapter One.
Reviews: Yes please!.
Worship: My beta-readers (Eruantale and Golden Wolf) and my kitten, 
please.

-------------------------------

This morning, like many others during the Quest, was bright and beautiful. 
I had not been able to sleep during the better part of the night, mostly 
because Legolas was sleeping on the other side of the fire instead of in my 
arms. But another thing that kept nagging at the back of my head was 
Boromir's words to me. He had approached me earlier that evening... His 
words repeated themselves in my head, over and over. Had I started to 
worry more for the Elves than the welfare of my own kin? Did I really 
have so little faith in them? At the same time, another voice at the back of 
my head asked "What of the Evenstar? What of Arwen? Have you 
forgotten her completely?!"

After a long while of self-torment, I could not stand it any longer. I rose 
from my make-shift bed and went for a walk in the forest. It did not take a 
particularly long time for me to realise that I had been followed. Nor did it 
take long to understand who it was; he made no attempt to sneak up on 
me. But I kept walking to get me and the one following me further away 
from camp.

"Legolas, should you not rest?" I called out in the Elven tongue as soon as 
a fair distance had been reached.

"How could I when my love and leader does not?" he asked in turn, as he 
stepped fully into the pale light offered by the moon. The moon made his 
inner light glow even stronger, making him look even more ethereal than 
usual. "How could I possibly get any form of rest, when I am not in the 
arms of my beloved?" He continued, arching an eyebrow.

I heaved a sigh and moved into his open arms. We shared a loving kiss, 
long and sweet. Then he gently led me to a tree and sat down, gesturing 
for me to follow. I sat down in front of him and rested my head on his 
chest, listening to the steady heartbeat of my love.

"What troubles you so, Estel? What makes you go into the forest alone 
when you should be lying down, recovering your strength?" When I 
offered no immediate answer he moved me so he could look into my eyes. 

"Please, tell me. If I can ease your worries, I want to help you." And I 
could not help it; my eyes left his to seek his lips. I watched with great 
interest how they moved as he spoke. When he spoke no more I lifted my 
hand to his face and touched his lower lip with my thumb.

"Have I no trust in Men, Legolas? Have I spent so much time among your 
kin that I no longer care for my own?"

He took my hand and entwined our fingers, with his other he once again 
made me look into his eyes. "What in this world makes you believe that? 
How can you even begin to ask yourself such a question?" He asked in 
earnest.

"Oh... it was just something Boromir said earlier..."

"That man!" Legolas spat out. Suddenly I realized that a certain degree of 
hatred towards the race of Men existed even in him. And I began to count 
myself really lucky to even be let near to him, let alone to be loved by 
him! "He is not even half the man you are! Look at him... he wanted to 
take the Ring to Gondor. Yes, I heard the entire conversation." He added 
when I looked surprised. "I heard all he said. He cares not for the well 
being of any but his own. He is being taken by the Evil of the One ring, 
cannot you not see that? While you... you try to do what is best for all of 
the people, not just one. And besides, have Elladan and Elrohir never 
taught you not to trust men with greasy hair?"

"What? You heard that?!"

"I am an elf," was the simple answer.

"And a very attractive one at that."

Silence fell over us both as we sat at the base of the tree. We sat like that 
for a long time before any more words were spoken.

"What else is troubling you?"

The question was so simple; I just wish the answer could be so as well. "I 
think you know..." I replied tiredly.

"Ah, yes. I think I do." Legolas said, mostly to himself I think, for it was 
barely a whisper.

"I truly do not know what to do. She does not fill my thoughts like she 
used to..." Legolas did not speak, but his hands squeezed mine, urging me 
to go on. "I have always looked to the memory of her face for strength... 

But now when I search my mind for it, I find two faces. One is hers, but 
the other is new. It is you, Legolas." I closed my eyes and once again saw 
what I was trying to explain. "I see her standing next to you. And I do not 
know what to make of it."

It took a while before he answered. "I think... No, I do not know either. 

Only time will tell."

"Oh, let us forget about it for now. If time indeed will tell, we can do 
nothing about it now."

Legolas merely smiled and brought my lips to his.

"Let us get some rest."

"Here?!"

"Yes. We are not yet out of distance from our camp. Sam is... no, it is 
Pippin whom is mumbling in his sleep... something about mushrooms, I 
dare say. I hear everything that is going on there. Let us have one night of 
rest with each other."

Early in the morning Legolas woke me with a sweet kiss. "We had better 
get back, or they will begin to wonder." He told me as he tried to get up.

"Forget about the world." I muttered, trying to keep him down. And I did 
have the upper hand; he was behind and under me.

A musical laugh filled the forest. "Estel! Can you honestly say that you 
mean that?"

"Hmm... no..." I mumbled while tracing his jaw-line with my lips. They 
found his and before I brought them together completely, I whispered "But 

I mean this..."

"I know you do." Legolas said when we broke the kiss. "And I mean it as 
well. But we have lingered here for too long, so get up."

One last pleading look did no good, so I slowly got up. Legolas got up in 
one graceful movement and embraced me.

"I love you, Estel. You are the keeper of the light in me. And no matter 
what the future holds in store for us, I will love you now and forever."

That declaration left me stunned. Elves do not easily give their love and 
affection. That I held his heart I knew, for he would never allow anyone to 
get close to him unless he approved of it. But to hear it spoken out loud 
was something different. To hear promises of undying love was almost 
more than what I could handle.

Legolas must have seen this for he smiled softly. "Breathe Estel. It is 
nothing too special."

I let out the breath I did not know that I had been holding. "Nothing too 
special? Are you jesting Legolas?!"

"No. Why would I?"

"You entrust me with your heart and then you say 'tis nothing?" I shook 
my head.

There was a moment of silence, before Legolas spoke, very quietly.

"Do you not want that trust?" His eyes fixed on something on the ground.

"Oh Legolas, you listen but you do not hear!"

Legolas slowly raised his eyes to meet mine, they looked so sad. I 
tightened the embrace and continued. "Never again say that your heart and 
soul not are special, for they are. Never in my life have I met anyone like 
you. Never in my life have I met someone with your strength."

He lowered his eyes towards the forest floor again. I broke the embrace 
and took his hands. "Legolas, look into my eyes."

He lifted his face and fixed his eyes on mine.

"I am very honoured. If you dare to trust your inner light with a mere 
mortal like myself, that is." It was as if I could feel his whole being start to 
sing, and then one of his rare, genuine smiles broke through. But there was 
more I wanted to say. "Just never say that it is like any common gift, for I 
have lived long enough among your kin to know otherwise. And you have 
just given me the greatest gift an Elf can give."

He smiled softly, sadly. "No, one Elf has presented you with an even 
greater gift. A gift which I am forbidden to give."

I sighed and smiled weakly. "Come, let us return to camp."

We walked side by side, in silence, back to camp. Suddenly Legolas 
stopped me.

"Oh, I nearly forgot why I came after you last night."

"There was a reason?!" I asked incredulously, but with a smile.

"Very funny Estel." Legolas grinned. "I meant to tell you that I wrote a 
reply for my father before we left Lórien."

"Oh? What did you say?"

"That I had no intention of leaving the Fellowship, and that I had given my 
word. Leaving would mean breaking it, and even my father would not 
have me do that."

"But you are not bound to go any further than you want?"

He bit his lower lip before answering. "As long as you are with me, I will 
want to got further. He does not know full contents of the oath to the 
Ringbearer yet, but it will not be long before he does."

"Then what?"

"By then I will hopefully be beyond his reach. I hate to do this to him, but 
I will not marry Anariel. I did not want it before, I definitely do not want it 
now. I have you."

"I love you, Legolas. And I want to return your oath to..."

"Shh! Do not speak. Someone is awake at the camp!"

And indeed someone was. Well, someone would not describe it as we saw 
Sam sitting next to the ashes from the fire, Frodo sitting with his back 
against a large rock, and Merry and Pippin was not there.

"Strider, Master Elf." Sam acknowledged as we slowly entered camp. 

"You did not happen to find any wood lying around, did you? I am trying 
to light the fire so we can have some breakfast, but we do not have any 
wood."

I glanced at Legolas. "Well master Sam, we did leave camp to find some 
b-"

"And we did!" Legolas interrupted. "'Tis just that it is to much for us to 
carry. We decided to come back for some help."

At the same time, Merry and Pippin appeared from the opposite end of the 
camp. "Sam, you will not believe this! We stumbled across a pile of 
wood... of sorts... in the forest. How often do you think that happens?" 
They shouted while half-running to where Sam was, their arms full of 
wood.

"Ah, I see you found it." Legolas said calmly. Surprised as I was, I looked 
at him and meant to ask him when he made that pile, but he motioned for 
me to be quiet.

Sam opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a low 
thud. Pippin had tripled over a root and fallen, making all the wood he had 
spread across the camp.

"No worries! I am fine," he said when I came running to help him up. 

"Just more hungry." He then added when his stomach growled. Of course 
this turmoil had awoken both Boromir and Gimli so soon we all sat around 
the fire while Sam made breakfast.

"We will rest here for a few extra hours and continue in the afternoon! 
Rest yourselves today, for the night will hold much work for us." I 
declared to the Fellowship after breakfast.

"Is it not better to travel by day only and avoid the orcs on the eastern 
shore?" Boromir asked. And he was right. It would be easier to travel now, 
and avoid orcs and other foul night creatures. But I had other reasons for 
wanting everyone to be well rested before continuing.

"I have been considering that as well. I believe that we, sooner or later, 
will be confronted by orcs. Better will our chances be if we are well 
rested."

But then something I did not expect occurred.

"We should leave now." Legolas stated. He had been staring into the forest 
ever since we got back from our nightly rest.

"No." I argued. "Mordor orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for 
the cover of darkness." He opened his mouth to protest but I lifted my 
hand to silence him. "I know that orcs are at their best under the dark 
hours. But we can use that to our advantage."

"'Tis not the eastern shore that worries me." He just said. I frowned and 
waited him to continue. "A shadow and a threat has been growing in my 
mind. Something draws near, I can feel it." An uneasy silently fell over the 
camp. "I trust you Aragorn, to make the right decisions. We will wait for 
the cover of darkness." Legolas said when he realised that his words had 
frightened most of us. I simply nodded and searched my pack for a 
whetstone and unsheathed my sword so I could sharpen it. Slowly the 
friendly chatter of Merry and Pippin returned as the day went on.
When the time came I stood up and declared that it was time to continue. 

"But mind you, we are reaching the parts of Andúin which I am unfamiliar 
with. But still there will most definitely be dangerous places we wish to 
avoid. The river is full of stony parts, and it will be much harder to spot 
them now." I myself gave Sam the task of watching for stones in the 
water.

We erased all traces of our camp and got back onto the river. We decided 
to try and reach the Falls of Rauros before our next stop. When the sun 
started to set, I started to feel what I believe Legolas had felt... well... I do 
not know how to describe it. It was like we were watched. And at least one 
point, Legolas cocked his head to his right and narrowed his eyes as if 
something... or someone was there. Even Boromir was shifting uneasily in 
his boat. Something was definitely amiss.

Night came, and the stars shone encouragingly. We had been drifting for 
quite some time for the currents were strong at that part of the Andúin. We 
did not use our paddles much, which was a gladly accepted change since 
my arms had been aching from the hard work a long time. It was 
sometime around midnight, I think, that Sam cried out at the front of the 
boat.

I looked up and saw the shadows of sharp rocks a few yards ahead. At the 
same time, the rapids forced the boats towards them.

"Aragorn!" Boromir shouted, "We have to try and go back, there is not a 
chance that we will live if we are to continue!"

He was so right. "Back! Go back!" I shouted and tried to turn the boat. My 
arms immediately protested, bit grinded my teeth and tried to ignore it.
Slowly we fought our way back upstream. Suddenly, as if out of no where, 
a black-feathered arrow sunk deep into the side of the boat I was in. My 
head shot up towards the eastern shore.

"Orcs! Head for the western shore!" Boromir shouted.

"Frodo, Sam, help paddling!" I hissed through still gritted teeth. Arrows 
kept coming, some landed in the water around us, a few managed to hit the 
boats, but never did the arrows hit any of us. I still do not know it the orcs 
were bad archers or if it was our Lórien cloaks that made us hard to hit.
After what seemed like forever, we reached the other side and the arrows 
did no longer reach us.

"Seems like we might as well rest here tonight. Tomorrow we will decide 
what to do next."

---To be continued---

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