Title: An Age Together 
Author: Durin’s Bane 
Author's Email: laurissofi@hotmail.com  
Pairings: Legolas – Haldir  
Rating: I’d say R.  
Summary: Haldir and Legolas are together, blah, blah, yet the 
path to love is hard, long and painful…
Author’s Notes: I’m a member of the “Haldir doesn’t die” club. 
So he doesn’t die, he’s NOT supposed to. (This is elven)
Disclaimer: J.R.R Tolkien had a really boring life and so decided 
to spend the best part of 14 years inventing the things that now 
I’m using for…err… not-too-orthodox activities:). All characters, 
places and so on are his except for when noted.
Warnings: bit non-con, but not really… nothing happens…


R This is a good rating for fic in which there are full sex scenes, but they're not explicitly 
detailed. Almost all levels of violence and language can be covered by an R rating. 
NC17: the equivalent of the old 'X' rating. You'll probably know when your fic requires an NC17



Chapter One: Farewell to Lórien

"It is with great sadness that we see you leave, o fellowship." The 
voice of Galadriel was sad and dark. "Tomorrow you will join us at 
the main flet of Caras Galadhon and then you will go on with your 
journey." She looked at her husband, king of Lothlórien, and her 
voice began to brake. "Some, perhaps all of you, will not make it 
out of this adventure, but may the Valar guide you to your goal 
and back again". With that, she dismissed the fellowship.

It was then that she saw something strange. The marchwarden of 
Lórien, Haldir, had not left the royal flet. His head was low, and 
his eyes, closed. The lady approached him and lifted his head.
It was then that she saw Haldir's eyes were full of tears. 
"Whatever is the matter, Haldir?" she whispered kindly to the 
soldier as she dried his tears. "What makes you grieve so much?"

Haldir didn't need to say anything. The lady Galadriel looked 
through him, and saw what the trouble was.

*****

Legolas smiled as he saw the hobbits sing. His heart was heavy, 
but he hid his feelings. He didn't want anyone to worry about 
him, particularly the humans. Boromir was watching him, and so 
was Aragorn.
He could bear it no more. "I need some quiet place to think" he 
whispered, then stood up. Aragorn also did, and approached the 
prince. "Are you alright,
Legolas?" he asked. "I'm fine, I… just need some peace, that's 
all…" The prince was in no mood to argue, so he simply left the 
camp and went into the trees.

He relaxed as he walked through the trees and looked at the 
animals. 
However, there was still something missing. Legolas lacked 
company.
But not any company, he needed someone in particular. A man he 
held very dear to his heart, perhaps too dear…The prince sighed 
as he sat on a rock, thinking of the journey ahead, but, more 
importantly, of what he would leave behind.

*****

The marchwarden of Lórien walked among the trees, thinking of 
what the queen had told him. "You love him, and he loves you back. 
Go to him now, for then it will be too late." Those had been the 
words of the lady. Haldir didn't understand what she meant until 
he remembered the fact that Galadriel could read minds.

Haldir was so distracted he didn't see the figure in front of him 
until they were only a few feet apart. "Who's there?" a melodic 
voice reached the ears of the marchwarden. He recognized it at 
once. "It is I, My prince" he answered. "Haldir" It was not a 
question. "What are you doing…Where…You should be on duty…” 
the prince was clearly confused, it seemed. Haldir smiled from his 
shelter among the trees.

Legolas' heart filled with joy at the sound of Haldir's voice. 
"Well,
I thought I'd rather come by and…hang out with you". Legolas 
smiled at the answer given. He followed the voice into the trees, 
his voice raw with anticipation. "I see" he said. Haldir answered 
with a faint laugh and approached Legolas. They were only inches 
away now. "I saw you today at the flet," said Legolas. "You looked 
sad…”

Haldir smiled at this. Legolas was so young still, so innocent. "Yes,
I was sad indeed." Haldir said as he caressed the prince's 
features.
"I don't want you to leave…" "Oh." Legolas smiled and then 
gasped as Haldir's talented fingers brushed past his lips. 
"But…we both know I must go, Haldir…the fellowship…" Haldir 
felt tears at the back of his eyes. He continued to caress
Legolas' face and take in every move the prince made. He saw 
that the prince also bared a tinge of sadness. "You looked sad as 
well, Greenleaf." He said in mock worry. Legolas could but smile at 
him and answer with a silent "I was sad…I still am sad." He got 
closer to the marchwarden, silently encouraging his caresses.

 "I have missed you very much, Galadrim. In my dreams I see you, 
every night I crave for your touch, but…" Legolas' eyes were 
soaked in tears, as was his voice. "You are not there. I have only 
the company of four foolish hobbits, an old wizard and two lustful 
humans." Haldir looked at his mate with worried eyes. "If you 
hate that life so much, stay. Come with me, Legolas my dear. We 
can set off to a new land!" he said excitedly. "We'll run far away! 
We will be happy! Come on, Legolas…just stay with me."

The prince sobbed silently. "You make it look so easy…” he was 
cut off by a kiss that made him sob. When the kiss ended, 
Legolas continued to cry silently. Haldir kissed the prince's 
cheek, wiping his tears and embracing him. Then he too burst into 
tears, unable to contain himself.

They sat there for hours, crying and whispering words of love and 
assurance, even though they both knew nothing would be better 
by saying anything.

*****

At last, dawn crept through the thick leaves of the Mallorn trees 
and
Legolas got up silently.

"I must head back" he heard himself say. 
"Fellowship…Waiting…Think
I'm lost" he walked lazily back to the flet where he was supposed 
to be sleeping, a sigh escaping his porcelain lips. The 
marchwarden of Lórien was left alone. He hastily stood up and 
caught the young prince of Mirkwood before he was too far.

"Please…" he whispered in the prince's pointed ear, "Just…stay… 
For a while…” then, the marchwarden started sobbing. Legolas 
looked at him in disbelief, shocked at the emotions of his friend. 
"Valar, I…Haldir,
My friend, I…" he stopped to gently kiss the Lórien elf's brow. "I 
have to go, Mellon-nin… we both know that, now, don't we?"

Haldir nodded silently, understanding. The man he was in love 
with was a prince, and he had a reputation to take care of. He 
nodded again and looked at Legolas. "I know. I love you, Legolas… 
but I know you are a prince and… you must go…”

The day passed quickly and the fellowship of the Ring stood 
before Galadriel for her final assurance and guidance. "And, for 
the last time, we bid you spend a night more and have your leave 
tomorrow." The fellowship nodded their agreement and left. All 
but Legolas, who stood there, rooted to the spot, apparently lost 
in thought. Galadriel approached him and smiled. Legolas was 
having an amazing mental fight inside of him.

The next day, the nine companions stood before nine of the 
Lórien border guards, who dressed them up in a beautiful cloak. 
Legolas was in the middle, and he smiled as Haldir took extra care 
in fastening his cloak. After everyone was ready, Haldir held 
Legolas back.

"I want you to have this" he said, ripping a bracelet off his wrist 
and handing it to Legolas. The prince looked at the jewel, amazed, 
tears prickling at the back of his eyes. The bracelet was made of 
Mithril, the precious dwarven silver, and had small filigrees 
crafted on it.

Legolas looked up and gently brushed his lips against Haldir's, the 
tears finally springing free. Haldir caressed his face and smiled, 
then whispered a faint "come back to me in the end" and stepping 
away.
*****
As they got closer to the falls of Rauros, Legolas couldn't help 
but sigh, silently wondering if he would ever see the man he loved 
again…

Chapter Two: Misunderstandings
Special notes: Haldir doesn’t go to Helm’s deep in this fic. Deal 
with it. 

Haldir scanned the surroundings, his elven eyes searching for any 
possible threat to his people. “So, Haldir, seen anything yet?”  
“No, Rumil, the orcs seem to have learned it is they who suffer if 
they dare venture past our borders.” The marchwarden then 
yawned widely, wondering if his shift was over yet. “Haldir, you 
seem to be tired. Here, go sleep, Rumil and I will finish the 
guard” Orophin advised him. Haldir nodded his thanks and went to 
his flet to try and sleep. However, sleep didn’t find him, and 
hadn’t done so for months…

“Twenty three! Twenty four!” the dwarf hooted in triumph as the 
uruk-hai fell dead around him. “How many you got?” a voice 
answered triumphantly from upstairs the Deeping wall, “I’ve got 
25!” the dwarf opened his eyes wide and bellowed, “well, no 
pointy-eared elf is beating me!” and started cutting down uruk hai 
with a tremendous ferocity.

Many dark hours went by before Éomër and Gandalf rode down on 
the uruk hai, driving them to the huorn forest and into their 
doom. The survivors that were able to help rushed the wounded 
into the healing houses and the corpses were gathered, men and 
elves to be buried, orcs to be burnt. That night there was a great 
feast to celebrate the victory and honor the dead. Yet one 
special fighter didn’t join in the celebration. After a little while 
Théoden asked Aragorn to see what was wrong. “I myself do not 
understand his ways… will you speak to him?” Aragorn nodded his 
agreement and exited the salon. 

The ranger found the fighter sitting in the cold stone floor, 
alone, looking at the bodies of the 200 elves that had given their 
lives in the fight. Aragorn approached him silently, even though 
he knew he had been spotted long ago. Indeed, as he sat down 
beside his companion, he did not flinch, but greeted him with an 
expressionless “Aragorn” that made chills go down the king’s 
spine.

“Legolas... you should be inside, the party is fairly enjoyable and 
there are lots of wine and food…” “I have no reason to go inside” 
replied the elf. “Legolas, we are celebrating!” “I cannot celebrate 
the death of my people!” the elf said coldly. “I cannot drink for 
the victory knowing that dozens of my kin lie dead in this 
grounds, unburied and forgotten like mere animals!” Aragorn 
looked at Legolas and then understood: elves held life very 
preciously in their hearts, and to see the dead elves on the floor, 
coated in blood and not properly honored, was death itself for 
the elf. 

“Now I’m the only one that remains alive…” Legolas whispered 
with his eyes teary. Aragorn knew not what to do but lay a hand 
on Legolas’ shoulder and say “let’s gather them. And burn them. 
They deserve it.” Legolas looked at Aragorn and then stood up, 
nodding. “Yes. They deserve that little token of gratitude…” and 
then the heir to the throne of Mirkwood rolled up his sleeves and 
grabbed the first elf he saw, then held him up and let the rain 
wash his face. Then he lay the elf down in a velvety fabric and 
enveloped him in it. He then took hold of another elf, and did the 
same. Aragorn kneeled down and followed his friend’s example. 

Many hours later, Legolas and Aragorn sat in the wet floor, with 
all the elves properly wrapped in the funeral velvet and placed on 
a wooden altar. The Mirkwood prince then sprayed the bodies 
with oil and set fire to them. “May they rest in peace…” he said 
sadly, then looked at Aragorn and said, “Let’s go find some beer 
to drink for them.” The ranger nodded and the two went inside 
the hall where they found some beer. Legolas raised his cup and 
said, “Hail the victorious dead” then drank the whole cup in one 
swift motion. Aragorn nodded and followed Legolas’ example.

Dawn came, and the party wasn’t over yet. More and more mugs 
of beer were filled and the Rohirrim drained them quickly. 
Aragorn and Gimly were sitting in a table in the center of the 
room, accepting the compliments regarding their strength and 
bravery. Legolas, meanwhile, was sitting in a corner, surrounded 
by people that admired his aim, looks, grace, personality, style, 
devotedness to his kin, and his ability to smile and shake hands to 
the same person ten times without getting annoyed. Eowyn was 
one of them. She continued to shake Legolas’ hand until the 
prince looked at her and said, “My lady, you’ll wear out your hand”, 
then she hastily moved over to Aragorn and Gimly.

The prince remained there for some time, shaking hands but no 
longer smiling. He was getting tired of so much attention, no 
doubt spread by Aragorn and Gimly. Fortunately, the dwarf came 
to him and shooed the crowd away with a simple, “the prince is 
tired, now, he needs some sleep, he will be back shortly…” and 
pulled Legolas away from the noisy hall. 

“Gimly, you treat me like an exposition toy!” joked Legolas, 
relieved to be out of the noise. The dwarf just shrugged and said, 
“Get some sleep, master elf, or you’ll faint next time.” “Okay 
then” smiled the elf and went to his room, where he allowed the 
alcohol and tiredness to pull him into a deep sleep. The heir to 
the woodland throne was able to sleep peacefully for the first 
time in weeks…

“Ah, so Haldir awakens!” said Orophin cheerfully as the eldest 
marchwarden sat down. “How was your sleep?” “I really didn’t get 
much, actually…” “Oh. Well, no problem, we have a free night so 
maybe you’ll sleep tonight.” “Yes… maybe…” the siblings finished 
their breakfast and made for the gardens, to chat and have fun. 
Haldir’s mind, though, was not with his brothers, but with 
someone who was far, far away…

“How’d you sleep, orc slayer?” Legolas smirked at Gimly and sat 
down at the table loaded with food. “Ah, stop it, Gimly. You won, 
remember?” “Of course not, you killed the 33rd one.” “Fine, then 
I won.” Legolas said simply then stared at his empty plate. “Aren’t 
you going to eat anything?” asked the dwarf. “I understand you 
didn’t want to go on eating Aragorn’s ´delicacies` but now we’re in 
Rohan…” “No, Gimly, it’s just… I’ve lost my appetite. I’m fine, 
really.” “Alright then, I’ll eat your rations…” “They’re not rations, 
Gimly, it’s my plate.” Legolas corrected him dully. “Ah. Fine then, 
your ´plate`.” 

“And… that is it” said Haldir in between choked sobs. “So… you 
and Legolas…” “I’ve loved him ever since I first saw him… three 
years ago I found that he returned my feelings… and now he’s 
gone again in a quest that might kill him!” wailed the 
marchwarden. Rumil smiled sympathetically and whispered, “Well, 
if you do indeed love him, Haldir, go to him.” “I c-can’t! I’d b-be 
b-betraying a-all your trust a-and…” “Yet if you don’t follow him, 
you’ll betray your own heart, brother. Go to him, we’ll guard the 
borders and make sure everything is fine. Go.” Haldir lay quietly 
for a moment, and then he stood up and uttered four words. “I 
need a horse.”  

*

Legolas walked behind Aragorn, his elven boots leaving no track in 
the fresh mud. He was tired again, but didn’t dare asking Aragorn 
to stop. The human had started to think of Legolas as weak and 
incapable of continuing, and at times, the elf could but agree with 
him. He had started to grow thinner and paler than usual, which 
gave him and undead sort of look, and he refused to eat and drink 
anything.  He was so distracted in his own thoughts he flinched 
furiously when Aragorn spat an angry “Legolas! For the third 
time, *light the fire*!” the elf walked up to where Aragorn was 
and lit a fire. “Why risk a fire, Aragorn?” “I’m cold.” “oh.” The 
prince frowned and looked at the ranger. “You know, you’ve 
changed since helm’s deep.” Aragorn looked at him and Legolas 
saw concern in his eyes. “And *you* are not the same since we 
left Lòrien.” 

This comment had an unexpectedly strong effect on Legolas. He 
faced Aragorn with a stare that would have frozen the fires of 
mount doom and said “what I did in Lothlòrien is none of your 
business, estel” in an icy voice. Aragorn looked back at him and 
scowled. “You think I’m stupid? I know what’s between you and 
that elitist marchwarden.” “*Shut up*!” Legolas shouted, enraged. 
“You have no right to call him that!” Aragorn seemed taken aback 
by Legolas’ sudden hatred, but continued to look at Legolas in 
disgust. “And stop looking at me like that or I swear I’ll hit you!” 
“Lads!” boomed Gimly, stepping between the two, “calm down now, 
no need to get hurt… we are a fellowship!” he said joyfully and 
grabbed Legolas and Aragorn’s forearms. “The fellowship no 
longer exists” said Aragorn as he jerked his arm away from Gimly 
and strode off. “I will find Merry and Pippin on my own!” 

Gimly looked at Legolas, who nodded and said, “Go on, I’ll pack 
everything up and catch up” then the dwarf strode after 
Aragorn. Legolas sat down for a few seconds to think. /that sure 
was rough… okay, I’d better pack…/ then he sighed and stood up, 
only to be violently thrown back to the floor. He grunted at the 
impact and looked up to see a man standing before him. 

“Aragorn!” said Legolas in a choked voice. The human made no 
acknowledgement of hearing the elf and landed a brutal boot on 
Legolas’ chest, making him gasp. “You are a trickster! You made 
Gimly think that I wanted to leave you behind!” “What--? I told 
Gimly nothing!” the truthful answer earned Legolas a hard kick in 
the stomach. “Liar!” said Aragorn. “You fooled the dwarf and now 
he refuses to go on without you! Well I tell, you, *elf*, I’ll find 
the Halflings with or without your help!” then Aragorn continued 
to kick Legolas viciously until the elf was gasping for breath: even 
though no sound had come from his mouth, Legolas was still badly 
hurt. The ranger continued to kick him and then stomped on the 
prince’s face, eliciting a scream from Legolas as he obviously 
broke his nose. Then he shrugged and strode off.

The elf stood up, grunting in pain. He reached in the pouch Gimly 
had left him and found a cloth to stop the bleeding with. He 
grunted again and tried to fix his nose, ignoring the shots of pain 
that coursed through him.  At last, and accompanied by a tidal 
wave of sheer pain, Legolas felt his nose creak back into place. 
He gasped for air as his eyes streamed and wiped his face with 
the cloth, leaving it as good as new. He sighed and grabbed a 
piece of lembas, which he absentmindedly munched on. After a 
while he stood up and packed his stuff, planning to follow his 
companions. He gritted his teeth at the pain when he stood up 
and ignored it, then slowly followed the dwarf’s tracks…

Haldir smiled as he looked at the map he’d been given. The Lòrien 
elves had had news about the threesome’s stop at Rohan and had 
traced a rough sketch of where they’d go next. If the elves were 
right, which oft happened, he would intercept the company in just 
twenty miles. He smiled again, imagining the face Legolas would 
make when he saw him, and urged his horse faster. He smiled 
again and started to whistle happily, not being able to wait to see 
his prince again…

Legolas was limping as he made his way through the trees. It 
seemed like Gimly had been knocked out, no doubt by Aragorn, 
and he was also limping. He followed the tracks and kept walking 
for another hour until the pain on his side was so huge he had to 
sit and rest for a bit. He bandaged the nasty cut with a small 
bandage, and sighed in relief. /well, I don’t think I’ll ever get to 
them on time, least of all with the pace Aragorn’s set up… ah, 
hell, where’s Haldir when you need h—no! I mustn’t think of him! I 
have to stay focused…/ the prince was so deep in though that he 
didn’t notice the figure rushing towards him until it was too late.

Haldir reacted quickly enough to grab his horse’s mane and 
prevent himself from falling. He felt the animal rise on its hind 
legs and kick something in front of them. He heard a small “Agh!” 
and a whimper as the hooves made contact with the… thing… and 
then everything went quiet save for the horse’s uneasy whinnies. 

The marchwarden jumped from the horse and calmed it with an 
elven soothing word. Then he reached to see what he’d hit and 
gave a strangled cry when he recognized the golden hair bearing 
the fine braids. “Oh, no! Legolas!”  He crouched and took hold of 
the limp body that he then guided into a small clearing in the 
woods. “Oh, shit, shit… Legolas? Can you hear me? Oh, gods, 
Legolas, talk to me!” the prince’s pupils were dilated and he wasn’t 
moving. Haldir inspected him and saw that there was a deep gash 
in Legolas’ chest, as well as a big bruise on his side and cuts in his 
arms. He tried to move Legolas into a more comfortable position 
and gasped in horror when he heard a low cracking sound and a 
strangled whimper from Legolas. 

“Don’t worry, Legolas, don’t worry… I’ll take care of you…” 
whispered Haldir soothingly as he cleaned the prince’s wounds 
with a damp cloth. “It’s alright, now, everything’s alright…” the 
marchwarden bandaged Legolas’ cuts and applied salve to his 
bruises, then he gave the unconscious prince some water. After a 
couple of hours, he carried Legolas to a cave close to the clearing 
and lay him down on a soft mossy bed. “Here, rest… I’ll watch 
over you…” Haldir lit a fire and boiled some water, wanting to 
brew some tea for Legolas.

/where am I…? I feel… cold… but warm… what is this? Where am 
I? How did I get here? W—who’s touching me?!/ Legolas’ mind 
was reeling with questions. He couldn’t see and he had no idea 
who was touching his side, softly cleaning, even caressing the 
bruises there. The elf started to panic and gave a soft cry of 
fear: the hand mercifully retreated and he heard a familiar yet 
unrecognizable voice that said, “’tis okay, Legolas, don’t fear…” 
Legolas felt his breathing quickened in fear. /who’s that? Is it 
Aragorn? Is it Gimly? / He was confused, and the fact that he 
couldn’t see made everything worse. He made to move his hands 
but realized they didn’t answer. 

Haldir smiled to see Legolas afraid and removed the cloth from 
his face. He saw the prince’s eyes open and look around, then at 
him. The expression in Legolas’ eyes changed from fear to 
confusion to disbelief in one second. Haldir smiled and said 
“Surprised?” Legolas faced away, unable to believe his eyes. 
“Can’t be…” he muttered under his breath, “can’t be…” 

Haldir leaned forward and lightly made Legolas look at him again. 
“Hello, Legolas. It’s me, Haldir… don’t you recognize me? Have I 
changed?” Legolas looked at him and muttered “It can’t be you… 
you’re in Lòrien…”  Haldir smiled and traced Legolas’ features 
with one finger. “Would you believe me if I told you I came back 
for you?” Legolas stared at Haldir and then smiled, apparently 
believing Haldir. “Did… you really did that?” “yes, Legolas… I 
really did that…” then Haldir leaned in and lightly kissed Legolas. 
The prince sighed in pleasure and smiled when the kiss ended. 
“Thanks…” 

The next morning Legolas woke up to the sound of a man singing. 
He looked up and saw Haldir. The marchwarden was in a very good 
mood, or so it seemed. Legolas smiled and said, “you’re a good 
singer…” then he made to sit up but gasped in pain as he felt a 
stab on his side. “Oh, I was going to tell you, don’t sit, you’ve got 
a cut on your side and—oh. Too late, I see.” Said Haldir as he 
walked up to Legolas and pushed in into lying down again. As he 
cleaned the prince’s wound, he continued, “also some cuts on your 
arms, but I bandaged those and they’ll be healed by tomorrow, 
the latest… and I’ve realized you haven’t been eating.” He added 
in a stern voice, looking at the prince. “Oh, um… I… I wasn’t 
hungry…” said Legolas, suppressing the urge to look away, 
“really…” “Well, you’ll eat *now*, so…” said Haldir as he passed 
Legolas a cup of tea and stirred something that was in the fire a 
bit.

After he’d eaten a bit, Legolas lay down as Haldir continued to 
tend to his wounds. “You know, you shouldn’t worry that much...” 
he commented casually as Haldir took extra care with the cut on 
his side. “It’s just this one is the worst…” he said as he finally 
bandaged it again. “And I’m supposed to take care of you, anyway, 
so…” “Ah, really? And since when, I dare ask?” Haldir looked at 
him and grinned. “Since I first met you.” “Right…” Legolas said 
and chuckled. “Really, why did I find you all alone and defenseless 
I still don’t know” said Haldir: he’d been tried to make Legolas 
tell him what had really happened. Legolas looked at him and 
sighed.

“Well, it turns out I was getting all weak because I missed you so 
much, and I hadn’t slept in moths and so I started to… um…” 
“Fade?” “yes… and then Aragorn, you remember him, he said that 
he’d go by himself and he came back and beat me up… and that’s 
why you found me hurt. There you go: nothing big really…” 
“Aragorn beat you? The *king of men* beat you for missing me?” 
“Yes… he hasn’t been himself lately; all the stress and 
responsibility have changed him… “

“But Legolas, it still isn’t fair that he hit you!” “I know, Haldir, 
but I can’t blame him…” “You `can’t blame him´??? Legolas, for 
heaven’s sake, he’s abused of the trust you gave him! He can’t go 
hitting everyone just because he doesn’t agree with you! I’ll have 
my chat with him when I see him, that’s for sure…” “No, don’t 
worry, Haldir…” “No, Legolas, it is my obligation to protect you 
and if you’re insulted in any way, I’ll take cards in that business…” 
Legolas smiled sweetly, like only he could, and nodded. “Okay… 
thanks…”

*

The next day, Legolas woke up to see he was alone. He looked 
around and also noticed that the cave had been arranged in a way 
such that it seemed cozy and comfortable. Some moss had been 
arranged to look like a semi-couch, and there were also small 
tables made of wood and a rough door made of cloth had been 
draped over the entrance, blocking the cold breeze from coming 
inside, a fact that Legolas thanked. He heard footsteps outside 
and tried to move backwards, a twinge of fear passing through 
him. However, it was only Haldir, who came inside and smiled at 
Legolas and held up a bowl which’s contents were unknown to 
Legolas.

“Check this out” said Haldir as he passed the bowl to Legolas. The 
prince looked inside and gasped in surprise: the bowl was filled to 
almost overflowing with pure wild honey, and some wild berries 
were submerged in the sweet liquid. The prince wasted no time: 
he dipped his fingers in the honey and fished a berry out of the 
honey, relishing in the taste of it. He looked at Haldir and quickly 
offered him the bowl. “Sorry… do you want some?” “Uh… not 
anymore…” said Haldir, looking at Legolas’ fingers in mocked 
disgust. Legolas laughed and continued to eat, in the end having 
to lick his fingers clean. Haldir’s eyes followed Legolas’ tongue 
with a slight feeling of envy, as if he wanted to feel that tongue 
upon his lips rather than the prince’s own hand. 

“I’m all filthy!” said Legolas in annoyance and he raised his hands 
to show Haldir. He was, indeed, covered in honey. Haldir smiled 
and handed Legolas a big bucket filled with water. “I kind of 
sensed you would need it…” he said with a grin. Legolas grinned 
back and washed his hands and face. “Well, you think I can walk 
by now?” he asked hopefully, still lying on his back. Haldir looked 
at him, examining him, and nodded. “Maybe, with a bit of help.” 
Legolas smiled and held out his hand. “Okay, lift me up then.” 
Haldir smiled and gently raised Legolas from the ground, being 
careful to hold him close in case he lost his balance. 

“Feeling okay?” asked Haldir softly as Legolas held onto his 
forearm for support. “Yes, I… I think so…” the prince nodded 
reassuringly, then let go of Haldir’s arm for a minute. “Here, 
just… walk behind me in case I fall…” Haldir chuckled and said, 
“Okay”. He watched as Legolas took a couple of baby-like steps on 
his own and then trembled considerably. Haldir was immediately 
beside him, holding him by the shoulders. “Alright?” he asked. 
“Eh… yes, alright… thanks, though, I almost fell there” “don’t 
worry, it’s okay…” Legolas rewarded Haldir by gently kissing the 
tip of his nose. 

“Well, the problem is I only have one horse…” “I don’t think we’re 
very heavy, are we?” “No, we’re elves… but we’ll weigh like a 
normal human and the horse will tire… we’ll have to stop a couple 
of times, maybe…” “Yes, that sounds good…” Legolas smiled and 
climbed atop his mew mount. Haldir jumped gracefully behind him, 
took him by the waist and said, “If you feel sore, just tell me, 
okay?” Legolas gave him a quick nod and spurred the horse lightly 
making it whinny and set off, glad to be moving. 

*

Aragorn ran through the forest, pushing bushes away as he did 
so. “Hurry, you lazy dwarf!” he yelled over his shoulder in an 
unfriendly voice. Gimly strode after him, sucking in air like mad, 
and feeling like he was going to faint very soon. Feet away from 
him, Aragorn was at the ready. He stopped walking when he heard 
hooves, and he walked back to where Gimly was, drawing his 
sword. “What is it?” asked Gimly. “Nazgül… keep your ax at the 
ready…” Gimly stood up instantly, drawing his battle-ax as he did 
so. The two companions stood in silence and Aragorn started 
missing Legolas’ unnatural eyesight. He waited, using his good 
hearing to try and tell what was happening. And then he heard a 
soft voice that crept through the trees.

“The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark” 
Gimly sighed in relief and dropped his ax, and Aragorn sheathed 
his sword. “Haldir…” the ranger could say no more when Haldir 
emerged from the trees, and Aragorn saw he was alone. “Yes, 
estel, it is me.” The marchwarden had his bow ready and aiming at 
the chest of the king. “Stay still. And no sudden movements. 
Follow me.” He pointed at the dwarf, “You too, dwarf. Come.” 
Haldir lead them to a small cave, smaller than the one he’d been 
in with Legolas, and signaled the two inside. Aragorn then saw 
that there was someone sitting on a rock not far from them.

“Ah, I see you finally found them, Haldir. Make sure they stay 
there, particularly the human.” The man moved into the light and 
Aragorn’s gaze met cold blue eyes. “Legolas…” “Yes, ‘tis me. I 
must say, it is a surprise to see you’ve advanced so little since we 
last met, given the fact that you were pushing hard when I was 
with you. (Tie him up)” he said in sindarin to Haldir, who complied 
immediately. Aragorn was too stunned to react, and so tying him 
was an easy task for the marchwarden. When he approached 
Gimly, though, the dwarf drew his axe, growling. “(Not him, he can 
stay untied)” instructed Legolas softly, and Haldir backed away, 
still looking at the dwarf with suspicious eyes.

“What are you doing?” asked Aragorn, making Legolas turn to 
face him with a devilish look in his face. “I think you owe me an 
apology” he said simply. Aragorn stared at him, and then spat 
“what? An apology? I owe you an apology?” “I’m afraid so” said 
Legolas simply and he sat down again, cleaning his knives, “Of 
course, if you need me to remind you, I will most gladly do so.” 
The ranger looked at the elf and said, “I don’t know what you 
mean.” Legolas looked at him, his warmth evaporating, and he 
walked up to him. “You mean you don’t remember? Why, Aragorn, 
I am surprised. You mean you don’t have any recollection at *all* 
of having hitting me to within an inch of consciousness just three 
days ago?” 

Aragorn gaped at Legolas, realization hitting him. Legolas wanted 
vengeance for what he had done to him the other night. “Well, 
that… that I do remember…” “Ah, so you do!” said Legolas in 
mocked cheer. “Great then! You’ll also recall that you broke my 
nose?” “Yes…” said Aragorn, feeling himself go red. “And that you 
kicked me and hit me and then left me there alone?” Legolas said, 
still bearing that wry smile. “Yes, and I’m sorry, Legolas, I was 
just so stressed by the entire quest…” “What about now? Are you 
not stressed *now*?” asked the elf. “Legolas, please…” “Leave. Go 
on, continue with your task, seeing as I’m too unworthy of it, you 
do it!” Aragorn flinched as Legolas cut his bonds with his knife 
and looked at him no more. “Go, Aragorn. Gimly, you can stay and 
have something with Haldir and me.” The dwarf stood up, shook 
his head, and went out of the cave. 

“Well, that was indeed relaxing…” commented Legolas as he 
turned to face Haldir and smiled impishly. “Yes, you were good” 
“thanks…” Haldir smiled and asked, “Well, now what? We’ve found 
them…” “We’d better go and, I don’t know… we could follow them 
and make sure they do what they have to…” Haldir nodded: he’d 
been thinking the same thing. “Yes, let’s do that…” and the couple 
mounted their horse and spurred it, following the tracks that the 
heavy dwarf left…

Chapter Three: reuniting old acquaintances.

“Let’s rest, I’m tired…” Haldir smiled and nodded, then stopped 
the horse. The man riding with him jumped from it, wincing in pain 
and grabbing his side. “Still won’t heal, eh?” “I guess not… it’s a 
really nasty bruise…” Legolas raised his tunic and examined the 
black bruise that he had. “It’s going down, thank the Valar… I’ve 
had it for a week now, it’s really annoying me…” he sighed and 
helped Haldir unload the horse, then they prepared to spend the 
night in the small clearing they’d found. 

“Well, ‘night, I guess…” Legolas was cut off by a kiss from Haldir. 
He chuckled into the kiss and lay down onto the soft grass, 
wrapping his arms around Haldir’s neck. “Gods, that was 
awesome…” he whispered when the kiss ended. Haldir smiled and 
said, “I know…” then he moved over and lay down beside Legolas. 
“We’ll have to go to Pelennor fields, you know...” “Why should we? 
We don’t owe your companions anything…” “But I do owe 
something to my father… my people… this middle earth…” 

Haldir nodded and silence fell on the small clearing until the 
marchwarden broke it again. “Legolas… do you have a girlfriend?” 
“I—what?” “You know… didn’t your dad betroth you to some girl 
when you were born?” “No, no, ada wouldn’t do such a silly thing…” 
Legolas laughed a bit and faced Haldir, frowning slightly. “But… 
um…” “You *do* have a girlfriend?” “Not really…” said Legolas, 
looking at the verge of tears. “I must say I’m surprised… I 
expected you to have every girl in Mirkwood after you…” Legolas 
laughed and kissed Haldir swiftly. “Night…”  

“Ride now! Ride to ruin and a red dawn!” Théoden bellowed in 
triumph and he and his Rohirrim charged, killing orcs as they 
went. Legolas and Haldir where with those riders, and fought 
alongside them, shooting arrows from horseback with deadly 
precision. Legolas had not wanted to accompany Aragorn to the 
dead mountain; he was too hurt with the man to do so. And now 
here he was, fighting alongside humans and with Haldir beside 
him. So immersed in thought was the prince that he didn’t notice 
the foul hand that lunged towards him until it closed around his 
windpipe, choking him. Legolas swiftly drew one of his knives and 
sliced the hand of the monster. 

“So everyone is fine?” “We’ve had considerable losses, including 
Théoden of Rohan and half of his Rohirrim.” Gandalf informed 
Haldir. “What about Legolas? Have you seen him?” “No… why?” 
“We… we got separated during the fight and I can’t find him…” 
Gandalf’s features seemed to darken. “Don’t worry, marchwarden 
of Lòrien, you’ll find him…” Haldir nodded and broke into a run, 
desperate to find Legolas. “Legolas! (‘Tis me, Haldir, can you hear 
me?)” Haldir heard a soft groan and ran for it, wishing that it was 
Legolas. Indeed, lying beside a huge mumakil was Legolas, on his 
back, with a crossbow bolt deep into his left shoulder and a small 
thread of blood on his forehead. 

“My love… Legolas, it’s me… are you alright?” “I… I’m fine…” 
muttered Legolas as he stood up, “just a bit dazed, that’s all…” 
Haldir hugged him carefully. “You could’ve died…” “Well… I 
didn’t…” said Legolas, a remark that made Haldir chuckle. “Well, 
let’s get you to the healing houses…” “No, no… I think you can heal 
me, if you’re okay… I don’t want to take the opportunity of 
someone that may be worse…” Haldir smiled at his mate’s 
nobleness and ran to get some bandages. 

Some time later, Legolas paced the room he had been given by 
Aragorn, thinking. Haldir was out on a mission given by the lady, 
and he would be back in a full moon’s time. Legolas kept feeling 
uneasy about being alone with the king of men: somehow he hadn’t 
quite trusted him like before since he’d beaten him in the forest, 
almost a year ago. He had started to grow suspicious about 
Aragorn and he didn’t really want to spend any more time with 
him… not alone, anyway… and yet, Aragorn was not allowing him to 
be alone at the moment. Always inviting him to private dinners, 
which made him really nervous, and behaving in a strange way. 

And then, right at that moment, a servant came in. “My lord 
Legolas, master Aragorn wants to invite you to dinner tonight. 
Legolas managed to stifle an exasperated sigh and said, “Tell lord 
Aragorn that I’ll join him at twilight.” The servant nodded and 
left. Legolas then went to the bathroom and slid into the hot 
water tub, relishing in the feeling. He washed his hair carefully 
and picked fine silken robes from his wardrobe. He dressed as 
the prince he was, determined to remind Aragorn his heritage. He 
practiced an uninterested smile in the mirror, and went to the 
royal dining room. 

As he entered, holding himself up proudly yet not arrogantly, the 
prince saw that Aragorn was not alone: the queen of Gondor, 
Arwen, was sitting opposite her husband, and beamed at the 
prince. “Legolas! Good to see you” she said sweetly, and Legolas 
smiled his charming smile and bowed his head. “Lady Arwen, a 
pleasure to see you again…” “Oh, for the Valar, Legolas, drop it! 
We are very close, am I mistaken?” “No, my lady…” “Then why 
such cold politeness? I would prefer just `Arwen´, wouldn’t you?” 
Legolas smiled and rephrased. “Alright then, Arwen…” Legolas 
then turned to Aragorn and bowed his head, and the king 
answered the gesture. 

“Come, sit!” he said joyfully. Legolas picked his seat beside 
Arwen, and smiled at her. The two had indeed been very close, 
since their parents frequently sent them to each other’s realms. 
“So how have you been?” he asked Arwen conversationally as he 
lazily held his glass of wine for a servant to fill. “Oh, everything’s 
well, thank you…” she answered. Legolas nodded in appreciation 
and turned to Aragorn, “I’m sorry, Elessar, we’re leaving you out 
of the conversation…” “Oh, um, not to worry Legolas… I’ve other 
things in mind just now…” Aragorn smiled at Legolas, who 
shrugged slightly and turned back to Arwen. 

The prince had the slight impression that Aragorn was staring at 
him, he felt eyes on him, but he didn’t point out that he could 
sense Aragorn’s staring. After a while, though, he stopped 
drinking and an hour later he stood up gracefully despite the wine 
he had had. “Well, I don’t want to intrude into your privacy, my 
friends,” he said with a bit of a smile, “I fear I must return to my 
own chambers now, much to my deception…” he nodded at 
Aragorn and asked him innocently, “you don’t mind if I give your 
wife a small goodnight kiss, do you, Aragorn?” Aragorn shook his 
head and Legolas leaned and kissed Arwen on the cheek, almost 
brotherly. Then he turned and left the room.

/that went well…/ thought Legolas as he took off his robes and 
was left in his under tunic and leggings. He discarded the pants 
and lay down, half-naked and sleepy. /I must have been mistaken, 
maybe Aragorn wasn’t staring at me…/ the prince rolled over and 
fell into reverie. 

The next day, Legolas woke up and washed himself as he always 
did, except when he opened the door of his room, he found 
Arwen. “Hi,” he said, and without greeting him back Arwen 
informed him, “Haldir’s back early.” Legolas beamed at her, 
“Really?” and they went to the stables, where the marchwarden 
was caring for his horse. “Haldir!” shouted Legolas, and hugged 
him tightly. The marchwarden, oblivious to Arwen’s presence, 
locked their lips in a kiss. He heard Legolas moan softly into the 
kiss, one of the rewards he liked the most, and held Legolas 
close. Arwen smiled and left silently, not wanting to disturb the 
happy pair. 

“So you were happy without me?” “Oh, yes, the snoring having 
stopped, I could sleep – just kidding!” screamed Legolas as Haldir 
tickled him: he’d always bean *very* ticklish. “You didn’t mean it?” 
“No!!! Please, Haldir, don’t… ah!” Legolas howled with laughter and 
after Haldir has mercifully released him, he continued to lie 
down, gasping for air. “Gods… you have no compassion at all when 
you do that!” Legolas gasped, still breathing erratically. “No, I’ve 
never had much mercy, least of all with you,” explained the 
marchwarden, smiling and helping Legolas to his feet. The prince 
wiped the dust of the stable floor off his clothes and said, “well, 
I think *now* we’ll be able to go home, won’t we?” “To Mirkwood, 
you mean?” “Yes…” “Yes, I think so… only if you want to leave, 
naturally…” 

Legolas looked at Haldir, remembering something. He hadn’t told 
the marchwarden that Aragorn’s staring at him was starting to 
worry him; he hadn’t had time to tell Haldir… “Um… yes, I think 
it’d be better if we left…” “You sound bothered, Greenleaf…” 
Legolas smiled a bit and looked at Haldir. “Why can’t I ever hide 
anything from you?” Haldir smiled and then looked at Legolas very 
seriously. “Tell me, Legolas. What has upset you?” the prince 
looked away, clearing his thoughts, and then back at Haldir. “It’s 
just… well… Aragorn has been behaving a bit strangely lately…” 
“What’d you mean, `strangely´?” asked Haldir, frowning. “He… he 
just looks at me like… like he wants to…” “Strip you off your 
clothes and claim you there and then?” “Yes…” said the prince 
nervously, looking up at Haldir, who just commented, “well, *I* 
get that feeling sometimes…” 

“But it’s not the same!” said Legolas, starting to panic, “*I* love 
*you*, not *him*!” “You don’t?” “*No*!” said the prince. Haldir 
smiled and hugged him reassuringly. “Okay then, we’ll leave after 
I get a decent meal and a bath,” “I could help you there…” said 
Legolas, smiling. “Great! Let’s go” and the happy prince carried his 
even happier mate into the castle, where some food was cooked 
for Haldir and his bath was prepared. A while before Haldir 
finished his meal, Legolas left, saying that he’d be upstairs, 
packing. Haldir had nodded distractedly and stayed with Arwen, 
who was constantly questioning him about his exciting trip to the 
misty mountains.

Some time later, after having eaten three helpings of everything 
he’d been able to get his hands on, Haldir went to his assigned 
room to hear a soft muttering and splashing. He entered and saw 
Legolas inside *his* tub, completely naked, smiling at him in the 
most seductive of ways. “Hi…what kept you so wrong?” he asked, 
faking a huge yawn. Haldir approached him slowly, seeing that the 
tub was full of water, and that a flowery essence had been 
poured into it, no doubt by Legolas. The younger elf faked 
another yawn and said casually, “are you getting in or what? The 
water is getting cold…” Haldir quickly took off his tunic and under 
tunic, then his leggings, smiling as he saw Legolas look away. 

Then Haldir got in the tub and saw that Legolas had been lying: 
the water was still steaming hot. He sat in the tub and let Legolas 
cradle his head, and he hissed in pleasure when he felt Legolas’ 
hands massaging his scalp and washing his hair. “You have a gift 
not to get filthy… I remember when Aragorn washed… the water 
ended up a nasty gray color…” Haldir chuckled and asked casually, 
“bet you never washed *his* hair?” “No, I was disgusted by it 
without washing it… but I had to wash Gimly’s once, he had a blow 
to the head and we had to check it… that was difficult…” he said 
more to himself, then he snapped back to the here and now and 
said, “hold your breath for me,” then pushed Haldir’s head under 
the water. When Haldir came up, his hair was looking cleaner than 
ever. 

“Okay, now it’s *my* turn” said Haldir and he quickly switched 
their positions. He wet Legolas’ hair by pushing his head 
underwater too and got the soap. “Ah, I haven’t had a proper 
bath like this in weeks!” Legolas sighed happily as Haldir 
massaged his scalp. “That’s because *I* am the only one who can 
provide a bath like this to you…” commented the marchwarden 
and then chuckled. “Well, that much is certainly correct,” 
muttered Legolas, “since you are the only elf that has ever been 
able to wash my hair… at least with my consent.” They continued 
joking and washing each other until Legolas turned around and 
kissed Haldir shyly, tentatively. 

Haldir smiled and opened his mouth, allowing Legolas to gently 
brush his tongue against his, and helped him turn around for 
better access. Legolas smiled as he leaned close to Haldir’s body, 
feeling his warmth and texture, all the while exploring his mouth 
with his own not-so-experienced tongue. Haldir had taken hold of 
Legolas’ chin and was directing him, showing him how to give him 
the most pleasure, and Legolas was learning quickly. He let Haldir 
return the favor, and the marchwarden slowly explored Legolas. 
Then he decided to go one step further and slid his tongue down 
the prince’s throat, making him shiver.

Legolas had never thought he could feel so good for such a little 
thing. He smiled and then moaned softly as he felt Haldir’s 
fingers graze his nipples. He asked, “What… is that…?” Haldir 
looked up at him and said, “that is just normal scrubbing, 
Legolas… why?” with a wicked smile. “Stop teasing me…” 
murmured Legolas halfheartedly. Haldir nodded and stopped his 
moving, including the fingers in his nipples. “Not that!!” pleaded 
Legolas, feeling how his groin started to warm up.

Haldir smiled and said, “control yourself, love” then swiftly 
started caressing the prince’s nipples again. Legolas smiled 
appreciatively and sighed in pleasure. Moments later, he had 
reached his peak just from Haldir’s amazing skills. Moments later 
he saw that Haldir was absolutely cool himself and asked him, 
“how’d you *do* that?!” 

“Well, if you’d have paid more attention you’d have seen that you 
undid me with only your beautiful voice,” said Haldir, making 
Legolas smile proudly. The prince got out of the tub and wrapped 
a towel around his waist. “Okay, I think I’ll have to go to my own 
room and get clean clothes…” “Hey, why don’t you wear some of 
mine?” Legolas looked up to see Haldir looking at him with a `why 
not? ´ Expression. “Really? I don’t think they’ll fit, I’m smaller 
than you…” “You can wear the ones that don’t fit me very well!” 
said Haldir joyfully as he handed Legolas clothes the color of 
Lòrien: gray and silver. Legolas smiled and said, “Okay then.”

Later that day, Aragorn and Arwen sat at the main hall, waiting 
to bid their guests farewell. After a slight knock on the door, in 
came Haldir, wearing his traveling clothes and cloak. Aragorn 
nodded at him and smiled in greeting. Haldir smiled back and 
kissed Arwen’s hand respectfully: she smiled sweetly at him. 
Moments later entered Legolas, looking perfectly dashing in his 
new silver tunic and gray leggings. He nodded at the two 
monarchs in greeting and stood next to Haldir, who had been 
almost knocked out by seeing Legolas. 

“Hello, Legolas. New clothes, I see?” asked Arwen, smiling at him. 
“Yes indeed, lady Arwen” answered Legolas, smiling at her in a 
most bewitching way. Aragorn could simply not tear his eyes away 
from the prince. “They do suit you, the Lothlòrien colors,” 
complimented Arwen, still smiling at Legolas, who mocked a low 
bow, making her giggle. “And so they suit Haldir too!” she said, 
looking at the marchwarden, who smiled and said, “many thanks,” 
The three continued joking and making double-meaning comments, 
ignoring the dazed expression in Aragorn’s eyes. 

“Well, then we will be going,” said Legolas, standing from his 
chair. Then Aragorn’s brain snapped back to reality and he said, 
“No!” before he could help it. He saw Legolas look at him in 
surprise, and Haldir and Arwen were gaping at him too. “I mean… 
um… you wouldn’t like to spend one more night in Gondor, have 
dinner…” “Actually, Aragorn…” Legolas cast an imploring look at 
Haldir, who just looked at him in a manner that said `I wouldn’t 
mind…´ “That’d be charming…” finished the prince with a 
defeated sigh. The king smiled and led the others to the dining 
hall. 

Legolas sat down and faced the awkward silence he knew so well. 
“I see you have a great kingdom…” he muttered uncomfortably as 
he ate. “Yes…” Aragorn was gazing at Legolas with that horrible 
look in his eyes again, yet no one noticed: no one, except Legolas. 
The prince shifted in his seat, trying to attract Haldir’s look, but 
to no avail. “Legolas, I was wondering if you’d come to my room 
after dinner?” the prince froze at the words and turned very 
slowly to look at Aragorn. “To… your room?” “Yes, I’ve got to show 
you a… bow that I found. Numenorean, I think.” Legolas’ eyes 
widened at the prospect of seeing such a bow, but he still 
doubted whether it was a good idea or not. At last he stood up 
and nodded. “Let us go then.”

Chapter four: the breaking of a friendship
Special notes: Sorry, but I kind of don’t like Aragorn, so I made 
him the bad guy… deal with it again…

“Yes, it is indeed a Numenorean bow…” said Legolas as he rolled 
the bow between his experienced fingers, “you’re lucky you’ve 
found it, this is an exquisite piece of machinery… an excellent 
weapon…” the elf was inspecting the bow with all his focus and 
didn’t see Aragorn until he was right in front of him. “See, you 
could begin a collection, this would be a unique acquisition…” the 
prince’s voice trailed off and he looked in shock at how close he 
was to Aragorn. “But I guess that is entirely up to you, is it not, 
so I’ll let you think it over and…” he smiled nervously at Aragorn 
and made to move to the door. However, Aragorn grabbed his arm 
and kept him as close as before. 

“Aragorn, this is *really* inappropriate…” Legolas muttered, 
starting to get scared. “Inappropriate? I don’t see why it’s 
inappropriate…” smiled the ranger, pulling Legolas closer. “Don’t!” 
screamed the elf, trying to step away, and then he yelled as 
Aragorn jerked his tunic open. “What are you doing?!” he shouted 
in horror, and pushed Aragorn to get him to move away. Yet 
strider was quick too, and he smashed Legolas against a wall, 
knocking the air out the elf’s lungs, making him gasp in pain… a 
chance that Aragorn didn’t waste: he plunged his tongue deep into 
Legolas’ mouth, relishing in the taste of it. 

Legolas was losing consciousness. /this can’t be happening/ he 
thought desperately as he felt Aragorn thrust his tongue into his 
mouth again. Gathering all the strength he had left, he pushed 
Aragorn’s chest. The king staggered, his back hitting the 
opposite wall, and Legolas ran out of the room, terrified, tying his 
tunic and wiping his mouth as he did so. The elf knew not what to 
do, whom to tell, where to go… only one thing was clear in this 
mind: he and Haldir *had* to get out of Gondor. 

Haldir and Arwen jumped in their seats when Legolas crashed 
into the room, tripping and falling at Haldir’s feet. “Legolas, for 
the Valar’s sake, what is wrong?” asked Haldir as he helped him 
stand. “He—he did it, Haldir!” “Who did what, what is wrong, 
Legolas?” “Elessar, Haldir! He did it! He tried to do it!” Haldir 
needed no more explaining. He held Legolas and rubbed his back 
soothingly. “Hush, Legolas, its okay now, I’m here, its okay…” then 
he looked at Arwen. “My lady, I’m sorry, we have to go…” “But… in 
the middle of the night?” she asked worriedly. Haldir thought 
about it, and then he said, “If you’ll excuse us, Legolas is tired 
now, he needs to sleep…” “If there is anything you need, just call 
me…” “We will, my lady, thank you…” answered the marchwarden 
and he stood up and dragged Legolas to their room. 

When they entered Haldir’s chambers, Legolas, was shaking 
uncontrollably. “Calm down, Legolas, it’s okay…” Haldir soothed 
him as he gently led him to the bed and making him sit next to 
him. “Haldir, I...” Legolas muttered, still shaking. Haldir made him 
lie down and tucked him under the covers, whispering soothingly. 
Then the marchwarden slid beside Legolas after having discarded 
his tunic. “It’s alright… everything’s fine…” he rubbed Legolas’ 
back and caressed his hair. Legolas seemed to be soothed by this 
and he laid his head on Haldir’s chest, still shaking a bit. 

“What happened, Legolas?” asked Haldir gently, waiting to see if 
Legolas was ready to discuss the subject. “Aragorn… after he’d 
invited me to his room…” “Yes?” “He…showed me the bow and 
before I knew what was happening, he… he sort of jumped on me, 
I… he pushed me against the wall and he…” there it seemed like 
Legolas could go no further: he wrapped his arms around Haldir’s 
neck, sobbing. “Hush, my love…” said Haldir softly, caressing the 
prince’s cheek. “I j-just c-can’t believe it, Haldir…” Legolas 
sobbed, terrified, “I never… never thought he’d want to…” “I 
know, Legolas…” Haldir smiled and kissed Legolas very softly, and 
was thrilled to see Legolas kiss him back, wrap his arms around 
his neck and open his mouth slightly, allowing him entrance. 

The marchwarden lifted Legolas by pushing his back slightly and 
intertwined their fingers. “I love you, Legolas. Never forget 
that,” he said into the pointed ear. Legolas looked at him and 
smiled bewitchingly. “And I love you too, Haldir… always…” then 
he leaned forward and kissed Haldir. “And I’ll always be here for 
you,” whispered the marchwarden softly, as he felt tears in the 
back of his eyes. Legolas was looking at him and in his eyes Haldir 
could see everything—grief, deception, sadness, despair—he 
could do nothing but kiss Legolas again, more softly. “Sleep now, 
my prince, I will watch over you…”

The next day, Legolas woke up and jerked in fear at the figure 
beside him before realizing it was Haldir: the prince was still 
much traumatized about Aragorn’s assault. He gently caressed 
Haldir’s cheek, waking him up. “We have to go…” he whispered 
softly. Haldir nodded and stood up. “Care for a bath before we 
leave?” he asked, and Legolas nodded eagerly. Haldir smiled and 
went to prepare the bath. Just then there was a soft knock on 
the door. Legolas looked at the door with suspiciousness. Finally 
he grabbed one of his knives from the bedside table, stood up 
and opened the door, holding the knife up. He lowered it when a 
surprised Arwen looked at him. 

“Um… good morning…” she said shyly. Legolas sheathed the knife 
and bowed at her. “Good morning. Sorry, I… just safety…” he 
stammered shamefully. She smiled at him and said, “You’ve 
improved since last night…” the comment made Legolas freeze. 
He looked at her with wide scared eyes. “What do yo mean…?” “I 
mean, last night you were…” but Arwen trailed off when she saw 
Legolas’ panic. “Um, is Haldir here?” she asked casually. “He’s 
bathing,” answered Legolas, somewhat more relaxed. “I can call 
him…” “No, I just wanted to know if you needed anything.” Legolas 
smiled at Arwen’s concern.” No, thank you, we’re just fine…” 
“Alright then, will you have breakfast with me?” 

Legolas’ smile slid off his face. “Um…” “Elessar is outside, he 
won’t be with us. Just the three, what do you think?” “Oh… yes, 
lovely…” Legolas managed to smile again, relaxed by Aragorn’s 
absence. “We’ll be down in a while…” “Okay” smiled the queen, and 
she left. Legolas closed the door and turned to see Haldir in a 
bathrobe looking at him. “It’ll be alright. I will protect you,” he 
added in mock worry and chuckled as Legolas frowned at him and 
threw his magnificent hair back. “We’re having breakfast with 
Arwen, thought you’d like it,” he informed and looked at Haldir. 
“Did you bathe already?” “Nope, I was waiting for you,” answered 
the marchwarden and he grabbed Legolas’ hand. “That’s 
charming,” joked Legolas as he let Haldir drag him into the 
bathroom. 

Haldir hummed as he and Legolas entered the dining room. Arwen 
was sitting there, but Aragorn’s seat was empty. Legolas sighed in 
relief at it and smiled when Haldir tugged at his hand playfully. 
“Lovely day, too sad you’re leaving” she said in a calm voice as 
they sat down. “Yes indeed… Legolas, eat” chuckled Haldir as he 
saw Legolas looking at him in a dreamy way. “I… yes, sorry…” the 
prince stammered and ate some fruit. Then the doors blasted 
open and Aragorn came in. 

“Elessar!” said Arwen, as stunned by the king’s presence as her 
companions. Aragorn walked over to Legolas and, without further 
ado, slapped him hard across the face. The effect was 
instantaneous: Legolas was knocked off his chair by the force of 
the slap but recovered himself and stood up, facing Aragorn; 
Haldir and Arwen sprang from their seats too and the 
marchwarden grabbed Legolas’ hips to prevent him from charging 
at Aragorn. 

“You filthy human!” spat Legolas angrily as he struggled with 
Haldir’s strong grip. “Havo dad, Legolas!” whispered Haldir as the 
prince calmed down and sat, still fuming. “He’s not worth it” he 
said looking at Aragorn with disgust. “Elessar, apologize!” said 
Arwen, astonished. The king looked at Legolas, who didn’t look 
back, and said, “He is a stupid elf; I don’t apologize to his kind.” 
Then the king turned around and made for his chambers. Legolas 
couldn’t help himself.

“Come back, you moronic rapist, and say that again!” Haldir 
slapped his hand over Legolas’ mouth, but it was too late: Aragorn 
turned around and drew his sword. This time Haldir was too 
stunned to react and didn’t hold Legolas down. The prince stood 
up and grabbed his knives. “I said you are a stupid elf” he 
growled. Legolas smirked and said, “then you have an awful taste, 
trying to rape a stupid elf.” With that, Aragorn lunged forward. 
Legolas dodged him and grabbed the king’s throat, ignoring Haldir 
and Arwen. “Admit it!” he whispered, crushing Aragorn’s windpipe, 
“Admit that you tried to rape me! I hate you!” he yelled and then 
stormed out, leaving his companions stunned, rooted to the spot. 

“Legolas!” Haldir rushed to stand beside his mate. “My love…” 
“He’s a jerk,” said Legolas, “I don’t want to have anything to do 
with him. I hate him…” he sobbed silently in rage and Haldir 
hugged him tightly. “Listen to me. I love you, do you understand? 
And I will never contradict you, because I love you. I will never 
leave you, and he will not harm you any more, I swear.” Haldir 
then leaned into Legolas and gave him a slight kiss, which was 
gratefully accepted. Then Legolas took Haldir’s hand and they 
left Gondor, never looking back…

Chapter Five: Time goes on

Legolas hummed as he bathed. Even though he missed Haldir’s 
company, he knew his mate was too busy to do such trivial things: 
after all, the meeting was coming up, and Mirkwood had to be 
dashing, which was almost complete: they had rid the forest of 
spiders long ago and were focused on bringing back its color and 
light. He heard a knock on the door and said, “Just a moment,” 
before rinsing his hair and wrapping a towel around his waist. He 
opened the door to see Haldir and beamed. “Back early?” “Back 
early,” answered the marchwarden and kissed Legolas. “I love 
your suit,” he said with a smirk as he entered and closed the 
door. “Thanks,” said Legolas as he went to the dressing room and 
emerged transformed into a very handsome and, sadly for Haldir, 
clothed prince. 

“Well, what did you do?” “Normal stuff: paperwork, some lists and 
letters,” answered Haldir as he sat on the bed. “I am exhausted,” 
he murmured. Legolas smiled at him and took off his robe, and 
Haldir saw he had changed into pajamas. “I knew you’d say that…” 
he said softly and he pulled Haldir under the covers with himself. 
“Wait…” said Haldir, and stripped off his boots and leggings, 
leaving only his tunic on. Legolas smiled at him and caressed his 
arm, humming still. Haldir smiled too and said, “If you’re not 
sleepy, you can leave, don’t worry…” “Nah… I’d rather stay with 
you,” answered Legolas and he moaned softly when he felt 
Haldir’s lips on his own. He wrapped his arms around Haldir’s neck, 
eager for more. 

The marchwarden coaxed Legolas’ mouth open and slowly traced 
random patterns inside the prince’s mouth. He heard a soft sigh 
and smiled. “I love you so much…” he whispered, and was answered 
with another soft moan as he caressed the prince’s ears. “Oh, 
gods…” whispered Legolas as he shivered under the treatment. 
Haldir smiled and held Legolas up, slowly removing his tunic. The 
prince held on to Haldir’s back and kissed him again, feeling how 
Haldir’s hands traced his ribs and chest, how they tweaked his 
nipples and teased his navel. “Legolas…” said Haldir as he loosely 
grasped his hand and directed it to his thigh, “I love you…” the 
prince avoided eye contact, his pupils dilated in pleasure. He 
sighed in shock as he felt his own hand on Haldir’s flesh, moving 
on its own accord, slowly… “Haldir, I...” he stammered. But the 
marchwarden sealed his mouth with his own lips and started 
thrusting into Legolas’ hand, slowly. “Haldir…” said Legolas, 
breaking the kiss. He looked at Haldir and saw the need there, 
the huge need, but Legolas was scared…

“I shan’t hurt you…” begged Haldir, “Please…” Legolas swallowed 
hard and nodded, his hand moving faster. “Ah, yes…” Haldir 
moaned very softly and rewarded Legolas by tugging open the 
prince’s leggings and softly caressing his thighs. The prince’s eyes 
widened and he muttered incoherently when he felt how close 
Haldir was to touching him so intimately. “We can… stop…” said 
Haldir softly, ceasing his thrusts into Legolas’ hand, yet still 
gritting his teeth at his need, “if you want…” Legolas looked at 
him and muttered, “I’m… not sure…” yet he cringed in fear when 
Haldir took his elfhood in one hand. “Haldir… I… don’t…” 

Haldir understood and let go. Legolas sighed in relief and tugged 
his trousers closed. Then he looked at Haldir with tears in his 
eyes, “I’m so sorry…” but the marchwarden said, “Only when you 
are ready to be touched, you will be, my love. I promise you that,” 
then he stepped from the bed, his tunic hiding his sex, and said, 
“I’m going to rest now…” with a smile, and he entered the 
bathroom. Legolas smiled at Haldir’s comprehension: after five 
years, Legolas hadn’t really stopped fearing sex for what Aragorn 
had done. He heard a small groan and Haldir came back, looking 
well-sated and tired. “Well, we got closer this time,” he 
complimented as he lay down beside Legolas. “Yes… I swear I’ll 
make it up to you…” “No need at all,” said Haldir, smiling. He gave 
Legolas a soft kiss and hugged him. They both sighed and drifted 
off into reverie…

Weeks later, Mirkwood hosted a great reunion: the alliance of 
men and elves was being honored, and a company from Gondor was 
coming to the forest. Legolas was very nervous about having to 
see Aragorn again, but he had the courage to face him, he knew 
so. And he wasn’t stupid; he knew he’d defend himself if Aragorn 
dared touch him again. “Ready?” “Yes, just one click here…” he 
snapped the ceremonial robe closed, “and done. Shall we get 
going?” Haldir smiled and nodded. The descended the marble 
stairs to find Thranduil speaking to… Legolas’ nightmare.

“Morning!” greeted Haldir happily yet coolly. Thranduil turned and 
beamed at the two men. “Good day, happy couple,” he greeted 
back, making Haldir smirk and Legolas laugh. “Ada, you joker… 
hello, Elessar,” greeted Legolas coldly. The king smiled cruelly and 
said, “Good morning, princeling,” with a bow. Thranduil frowned 
and Legolas scowled at him Aragorn. “You shall respect me, 
Dunedin,” he said curtly. Aragorn nodded and bowed again. “Let’s 
eat!” said Haldir, feeling the approaching storm. “I don’t feel like 
eating,” commented Aragorn, and Legolas looked at Haldir, who 
gave him a plain `control yourself´ look. “Then you can eat 
nothing… anyway, I’m headed for the gardens…” said Thranduil 
and he set off. 

“Let’s go ride Hasufel,” suggested Haldir to Legolas. “But I’ve got 
these robes on…” “So? You take them off!” explained Haldir 
calmly, and pulled Legolas by the hand. The prince smiled and 
said, “Okay,” then he turned to Aragorn and said in an 
expressionless tone, “If you want to join us, we’re at the 
stables…” then the two friends ran to the stables. There they 
rode Hasufel and ate a small picnic, without Aragorn’s company. “I 
don’t trust him…” “I know you don’t: I wouldn’t either,” said Haldir 
softly, eating an apple. “Not after that anyway, but you ought to 
be more… less skittish about him, you know…” “But… it’s just 
difficult…” “I know, but trust me, he’ll stop bugging you if you 
don’t pay him any attention,” said the marchwarden. Legolas 
looked at him and nodded, “Very well then, I shan’t pay heed to 
what he says…” “That’s more like it,” cheered Haldir and they 
stood up to go to their room. 

“Yes, yes, the trip was lovely…” Aragorn dozed away as he 
listened to his wife. How longer was this dinner going to take?! 
He looked at Legolas and his groin warmed up. He looked back 
down and touched Arwen's thigh. “My love, dear hosts, I’m 
exhausted, I’ll see you in the morning,” he stood up and exited 
the dining room. “You have a weird husband, lady Arwen,” laughed 
Legolas, relaxed. “Let us drink to…err… men and elves?” he 
suggested, drinking. The other two followed his example.

That afternoon, Legolas and Haldir were in their room again, 
Legolas reading and Haldir cleaning his bow carefully. They heard 
a knock, and Legolas muttered, “Come in,” without giving much 
thought to the matter. However, he heard a low, “good evening,” 
and looked up to see Aragorn. He smiled coolly and looked at the 
king. “Hello, Aragorn. What may we do for you?” “I was wondering 
if Haldir would be kind enough to explain me this,” he held out a 
note. “It is in sindarin and I don’t really understand. The rest is 
in my room.” Haldir looked at Aragorn and stood up, leaving his 
bow. “Sure, lead me to your room,” he said, and he was guided out 
of his room by Elessar. 

Legolas heard then a low thud and a soft groan, and he sprang 
from his seat, reaching for his knives. “Haldir?” he called out, 
straining to hear something, “love?” yet no sound came. Legolas 
hurried over to the door and saw Haldir lying on his back, 
unconscious. “Damn it…” muttered the elf as he took Haldir’s arms 
and dragged him into his room, and laid him on the bed, making a 
huge effort to raise Haldir’s dead weight. “Haldir? Wake up, love, 
what happened?” he asked, perplexed. Then he heard a soft creak 
and a door being bolted and he turned around slowly, his knife 
still tight in his hand. 

“Legolas.” Aragorn whispered as he approached the elf, “I still 
wonder how you can be so stupid to let me trick you *again*…” 
“What do you mean?” scowled Legolas, “you haven’t tricked me 
twice…” “Oh, I have… I have indeed…” Aragorn smiled and showed 
Legolas a small knife he held under his sleeve. “Here is my ace. I 
hope you have one too…” he chuckled devilishly and approached 
Legolas, who held up his knife. “Get away from me!” he whispered 
coldly, but Aragorn just looked past him to Haldir. “He is very 
stupid too; he should’ve trusted you…” “He does,” “I don’t think 
so… and if he does, he doesn’t obey, that’s no good,” explained the 
king, expertly deviating Legolas’ look for two seconds to look at 
Haldir. Unfortunately for Legolas, two seconds was all Aragorn 
needed.

The king jumped on Legolas, closing his hand around the elf’s 
throat. Legolas’ eyes widened in shock and he raised his knife, but 
Aragorn hit his stomach and made Legolas drop the knife. 
“Let…go!” shouted Legolas, weakly, but Aragorn only smiled and 
dropped the elf to the floor, straddling him instantly with his 
body’s weight. Legolas gasped as he felt air leave him again and 
fought desperately to get the king off him. “Get off me,” he 
whispered, almost choking. Aragorn, however, was busy tying 
Legolas’ hands above his head and making sure Haldir was still 
under. 

“so beautiful…” he crooned viciously when he saw Legolas look at 
him, “I’ll try to make this pleasant… for me,” he said as he looked 
at Legolas. “Now, such a beautiful body shouldn’t be covered… 
let’s get you out of that confining tunic…” “No! Aragorn, don’t do 
it!” Legolas’ voice was threatening, but also it held a tinge of fear. 
Aragorn smiled at this and grabbed Legolas’ knife, with which he 
slowly cut the shirt open. “Aragorn, I’m warning you!” shouted 
Legolas as he felt himself go red, “I will kill you if you dare touch 
me!” but the king continued to smile and he ground his hips, 
making Legolas feel the lust that consumed the king. “Calm down, 
pretty elf; soon, very soon, you’ll be begging me not to stop…” 

The prince gasped in fear: this was it, he would be raped right 
here. He looked at Haldir’s unconscious form and begged, let him 
wake up, please… yet he knew it was no use: Haldir was not here 
for him, not now. And when he woke up, Legolas himself would 
probably have died…He tried to ignore the feeling of Aragorn’s 
hips on his groin, tried to suppress the tears of shame and 
loathing that threatened to spill from his eyes, tried not to feel 
anything, not to think…

“Come on, Legolas, lift your hips now…” the elf looked up and saw 
Aragorn was now naked: he was struggling to get Legolas out of 
his trousers. The elf gathered all his might and kicked Aragorn 
on the face, making him crash his head with the small bedside 
table. Aragorn seemed knocked out cold. The elf gasped in relief 
and said, “Haldir? Please, please wake up…” yet there was no 
answer. The prince filled his lungs with air and shouted, “Help! 
Somebody help! Hello?” yet no one came. Legolas then tried to 
move away from Aragorn and he managed to get on the bed 
beside Haldir. He tugged at the marchwarden, desperately. 
“Haldir, *please*, I need you to wake up… I need your help…” 
Haldir grunted, but remained unconscious. And Legolas felt a 
hand pull him back to the ground, and shove his pants off. He 
yelped and turned around, but Aragorn retained is hips in place. 

“now, elf…” he said almost insanely and he clasped a hand over 
Legolas’ mouth, “I will take you,” the king of men backed up to get 
some impulse, Legolas braced himself to take the shame of being 
ravaged… and he heard a loud thud and something big falling. His 
hips were free now, and he turned and opened his eyes to see 
Aragorn with a stream of blood on his forehead. Then he felt 
someone pick him up and lift him to the bed, covering him. 
“Legolas…” the prince burst out crying and held on to Haldir’s 
neck. “Legolas hush, it’s fine, and I’m here now…” “Gods, Haldir, 
thank you so much…” the prince choked and cried even harder. 
“Don’t cry… are you hurt?” “No, I’m okay…” Legolas continued to 
cry for some time and then calmed down. Haldir tied Aragorn up 
and sat beside Legolas, holding him tight. 

“Did he hurt you?” “No… but…” “I know… it is okay…” Haldir 
hugged Legolas and kissed his forehead, and Legolas hugged him 
back. “I owe you so much…” he whispered against Haldir’s shirt, 
“you have done so much for me…” “Hush, my love… not as much as 
I owe you…” Legolas smiled shakily at the comment and let Haldir 
soothe his fear and carry him to a peaceful sleep, empty of 
nightmares and other thoughts.

“I don’t think I’m strong enough for my father to see me,” 
whispered Legolas. “How am I going to explain…?” “There’s 
nothing to explain, love. It is the ranger who should give the 
explanations…” Haldir soothed Legolas and offered him some 
fruit, which was pushed away. “I’m not hungry…” he murmured 
wearily. “But Legolas, you *have* to eat something.” The prince 
looked at Haldir with teary eyes and ate some pear. “Very good…” 
smiled Haldir and he hugged Legolas close to him, kissing his 
forehead. “I just haven’t understood…” sobbed the prince. Haldir, 
sensing the upcoming storm, hugged Legolas tighter. “Me 
neither… but I have an idea…” “What… is it?” “You’re very 
appealing. Maybe that’s why…” whispered the marchwarden, 
making Legolas smile and hug him back. “None could have seen 
this coming,” explained Haldir softly, “but it’s over now, he’ll be 
gone tonight and you’ll be safe…” 

That night, Haldir carried a weak Legolas into the main hall. They 
saw that Aragorn was heavily escorted: three guards stood 
beside him, all of them frowning: apparently, the news of 
Aragorn’s attempt of rape had traveled through the whole place. 
/they might as well want to know, / thought Legolas, /it might 
help them stay safe…/ “good evening,” said Haldir icily to Aragorn 
and nodded to Arwen, who approached Legolas with teary eyes. 
“Oh, my dear Legolas… I am so sorry…” the prince smiled sadly at 
her and let her hug him tight. He heard her spill tears for him, 
and he kissed her brow softly. “(Arwen, you have to be careful…)” 
he whispered in his native tongue to the princess, “(Here is the 
proof of how dangerous he can be…)” the prince choked a bit 
there and his voice died. “Ai, Legolas. I know,” answered Arwen 
and smiled reassuringly at him. Then she stepped down, looking at 
Haldir with concern. 

“He shall be fine,” assured the marchwarden, “Just some rest and 
company and he’ll be fine.” Arwen smiled and nodded, and then 
she turned and left, leaving Aragon standing alone in the hall. 
“Now… Aragorn…” muttered Haldir, and the ranger looked at him, 
scowling. “We… that is to say, Legolas, Thranduil and I, have 
decided that it would be best to just banish you from Mirkwood. 
You are a shame for our people, a criminal… a threat.” He finished 
and looked straight at the ranger, angrily. “Very well,” answered 
Aragorn, “I shall leave and never return. But have in mind that as 
long as I live, he will not be safe,” he gestured at Legolas, who 
wasn’t looking. “Oh he will. He will, even if he leaves this land. He 
will have me,” whispered Haldir, and Legolas smiled a bit and 
stood up, looking at Aragorn with pure hatred. 

“estel.” He whispered coldly. “Or should I say estel the rapist…? 
Now everyone knows… who you really are… what you’re capable of 
doing…” Legolas smiled at Aragorn, a smile full of loathing and 
grief. “And no one will ever trust you again. What will become of 
you then, I wonder? Will you be able to take al the humiliation 
and loneliness, or will you die, alone, rotten in your own self-
loathing? Yet I do not know, and I never will, and I do not care. I 
don’t care about you anymore, do you understand? I don’t care 
what the hell happens to you. For you are no longer my friend, and 
I don’t know you anymore.” The prince said those words and 
turned around, “I believed in you. Now I don’t know what to think. 
Namarie, Aragorn, son of Arathorn. And may you never cloud my 
life again.” And he entered, just like that, into the palace. 
Aragorn stood there, hurt by his words but nonetheless still 
angry and lustful. Haldir looked at him and entered too, closing 
the door behind him. 

“You did well,” repeated Haldir, looking at Legolas as he changed 
into his informal clothes. “He will break the alliance, I know he 
will. He will come and attack…” “And if he does? We will outlast 
his army, we are more powerful, we are elves!” said Haldir 
passionately, and Legolas remembered that Haldir was a good 
speaker. “Yes, but still, killing men for one man… one awful man…” 
“What has to be done is done, Legolas, and if you are insulted I 
will protect you and kill the insulter. Aragorn is the insulter now, 
see? I will *not* leave him after what he’s done to you, twice 
now!” raged Haldir, and Legolas looked at him sorrowfully. “Haldir, 
it isn’t that easy… he will bring doom upon his people for what he 
wants…” “And still won’t have it.” Haldir finished, fuming. Legolas 
smiled and nodded. “Yes… he won’t… but then… why risk death?”

Some days later, Legolas was in his room with Haldir and they 
heard a soft knock. “Come in,” they both chanted dully, and were 
astonished to see Arwen come in. “Arwen… the guards didn’t 
announce you…” stammered Haldir, as Legolas stood up and 
greeted the queen, who was crying. “What is wrong, dear?” asked 
the prince, holding her. “Estel… he left me…” “*what*?” spat the 
two males, looking at her. “Yes… says he will come here and kill 
you… oh, Legolas, I was so scared, he seemed so honest, and I had 
to come warn you…” “Its okay, my lady, we have protection…” 
“And so do you, you shouldn’t leave...” advised Legolas, and she 
nodded, “I won’t…” Legolas looked at her and asked, “So you’re 
sure he’s coming to attack us?” she nodded and began to sob 
again. Legolas hugged her and Haldir looked at them, perplexed. 
“With the whole Gondorian army.” She finished tearfully. Legolas 
looked at Haldir and muttered, “Tell Ada. Arwen, you sit here… 
can I get you anything?” 

Haldir sprinted through the halls. “My lord,” he gasped as he 
entered Thranduil’s study, “Aragorn will be attacking, lady Arwen 
told us!” the king looked at him for some time, reading him like a 
book. “When will he?” “I… don’t know, sire.” “Very well: Find when 
he will be here and I will arrange the army. They won’t know what 
hit them…” said the king calmly as he stood. “And Haldir… make 
sure Legolas isn’t left alone…” the marchwarden nodded and 
whispered, “I will remain with him at al times.” The king nodded in 
agreement and Haldir made to leave, yet he was stopped again. 
“Haldir…” Thranduil approached him and patted his shoulder. 
“Thank you… I don’t know what I’d do without all the hope and 
strength you have given my son and me… I consider you my son 
except I know how much he loves you… ” Haldir smiled, said, “It is 
my pleasure, Ada,” and dashed from the room. 

The prince laid Arwen on the bed when he was sure she was 
asleep. Then he tucked her in, made sure she was comfortable 
and was about to leave when Haldir came in. “What did he say?” 
“How soon?” Haldir asked back, and Legolas said quickly, “they 
were just about to depart when Arwen came. If they stop every 
other night, they’ll be here the day after tomorrow at the least,” 
then he looked at Haldir and said, “I will fight,” shyly, as if he 
were not obeying. “He is not against that, you may fight. But make 
sure we’re together, to watch over each other…” the prince 
nodded and kissed the tip of Haldir’s nose. “Let’s go to my study, 
I have something to show you…”

Haldir looked in amazement at the huge exposition of bows in 
front of him. “that one is from… lord Celeborn,” said Legolas 
after a short time, “and that one is from lord Elrond, and I’ve 
also got my dad’s and my grandfather’s… and also the bow from 
Cirdan of the grey havens… and I have a Numenorean here, it is 
very rare… and also a dwarven bow that Gimly gave me, which I 
find amusing…” Legolas went on, pointing and explaining where 
each bow came from. “*and* there is yours!” he said excitedly, 
and Haldir saw that his own bow was lain in front of him, 
exquisitely exposed. “But it isn’t signed… see, every other one is 
signed by the owner, there you can see my father’s name…” he 
pointed a tiny `Thranduil´ written on the inside of the bow. “Will 
you sign me yours?” he pleaded, and Haldir smiled and said, 
“Sure.” The prince carried the bow to a table and handed Haldir a 
small golden quill and some silvery ink. “Write it very small…” he 
said as he watched eagerly as Haldir marked his bow. “Thanks!” 
he squeaked and kissed Haldir before carrying the bow back to 
its place.

“And those are…” “Oh, those are mine! My dad has one made 
especially for me every age, they are original and take months to 
make…so there…” he pointed at the two magnificent bows, and 
then at the ones next to those. “those there I’ve won on contests 
and wars…” he explained, and Haldir remembered Legolas was no 
boy, “and there is a space to see if I can buy Gil-Galad’s… but I 
know it’s worth an eye off the face, so maybe I won’t get it…” he 
looked at some vials with colored liquids and said, “and that’s my 
bow oil. I never use those, because they’re *so* expensive… that 
one is made from… I don’t remember, something like spider 
blood…” he indicated a green vial, and then a golden one. “Lòrien 
made. Mallorn sap, unless I am very much mistaken?” asked Haldir 
and Legolas smiled and said, “I forgot whom I was speaking 
with…” they continued looking at the bows until Haldir looked at 
Legolas and asked him, “Which one is your favorite?”

Legolas thought for a moment and said, “I love my grandfather’s… 
and my mother’s as well. But I don’t have a really favorite one… 
maybe the one I got in Lòrien… yes, that one would be it…” he 
pointed at the bow of the Galadrim he had been so generously 
given and smiled. “And the oil?” asked Haldir, intrigued, and 
Legolas said, “the one made from the spider… thing…” he smiled 
again and sat on the carpet floor, and Haldir did so too. 

“Am I very boring?” Haldir snapped his head up to look at Legolas. 
“What?” “Am I very boring?” Legolas repeated, smiling a bit. “I 
always thought I was a bit dull… maybe… do you think I’m boring?” 
he asked again, shyly. “No, I don’t think you’re boring… why?” 
“Just asking…” said Legolas quickly, but Haldir saw his spirits lift. 
He gently took Legolas’ chin and made him look at Haldir. “I would 
never think of you as boring,” he whispered, and locked their lips 
together. Legolas shivered a bit but held fast, hugging Haldir. 
“There’s no one with a spirit more jumpy than you,” said the 
marchwarden when the kiss ended, and the prince smiled. 

“Archers!” Legolas frowned as he barked the order in a 
nonetheless calm and kind voice, “this day we have come to. The 
human who tried to insult our kingdom is coming towards us. We 
have no choice but to stand fast and engage his forces in a 
battle. He shall be taken by surprise, and all his men are to be 
captured and, if possible, unharmed or either not deadly so. Their 
king, estel, I want alive. (Adapt and conquer!)” He said 
triumphantly and his men raised their bows and cheered him, and 
Haldir tugged at his hand reassuringly. “Good speech,” he 
whispered softly into the prince’s ear, making him smile. “I hope 
none die,” he said softly, “I feel bad about killing men for one’s 
greed.” But he pulled himself together and held his bow, waiting 
for the moment…

Aragorn came into view, leading at least 2000 men into the 
Mirkwood valley. Legolas gave the sign and his 500 elves shot 
their paralyzing arrows. Here and there, men fell, stunned and 
soon the leader was standing alone, his sword in his hand. 
“Legolas!” he shouted, and the valley echoed around him. Legolas 
climbed down from the tree and approached the king, calmly. 
“Strider,” he greeted softly. He saw Aragorn turn and raise his 
sword. “500 elves are around you, Aragorn, there is no way you’ll 
beat me.” He understood and dropped his sword. “Very good, now. 
Why did you send your army here? It is futile, Aragorn. And you 
know it is, which makes it even the more ridiculous… don’t you 
think?” 

Aragorn said, “Yes,” and Legolas smiled coolly. Then he turned 
around and walked away, slowly, his smile disappearing as he 
reached the waterfall that protected Mirkwood. “Have you no 
human dignity as to apologize?” he said softly and saw Aragorn, 
who had walked away slowly and with no dignity.  Legolas 
understood and he entered the palace, his home, never looking 
back. 

*

“Legolas…” the elf’s eyes focused and he looked up at Haldir, who 
smiled. “Hi… I fell asleep, sorry…” he smiled shyly and stood up. 
He was in his room, but had no memory of getting there. “What 
happened last night?” “We had a party and you sort of got drunk,” 
explained Haldir still smiling, “and then you came and threw up 
and I laid you down.” “Oh…” “Yeah… it was hilarious…” chuckled 
the marchwarden and he kissed Legolas’ brow. “I can only 
imagine…” answered Legolas and he ate some bread from his tray. 
“You okay?” asked Haldir and Legolas knew he didn’t mean, `are 
you still drunk´. “I will live, I guess…” he whispered softly. 
“Where’s Arwen?” he remembered suddenly, and Haldir pointed 
to Legolas’ right, where the queen seemed to be deep in sleep too. 
Legolas looked at Haldir and asked shyly, “I didn’t… you know…” 
“No,” said Haldir chuckling, “you didn’t do anything,” Legolas 
sighed in relief and then smiled. “Good.”

Chapter Six: meeting friends

“No, really, you stay, I like having company!” insisted Legolas and 
Arwen looked at him doubtfully. “But I have to return to 
Imladris, Legolas…” “Then can we go with you? I’m tired of 
Mirkwood, I want to travel!” said the prince excitedly, but Haldir 
took his waist and said, “love, you know it is dangerous…” “But… I 
will go with you!” pleaded the prince, and Arwen smiled softly. “I 
see no harm: Imladris has good protection as well…” Haldir 
thought for a moment and then nodded. “I guess we can arrange 
something…” Legolas smiled and hugged him. “Thanks…” then he 
turned to Arwen. “Let’s go pack something for your dad!” and 
they both rushed to the princess’ room. 

*

Two days later, Legolas rode his white Meara and Arwen her 
stallion, with Haldir and three expert guards beside them. “How 
long for us to stop?” asked Legolas to Haldir, who signaled the 
guards to find a camp. “Not long,” he answered. After five 
minutes the small group stopped and Legolas mounted down and 
offered Arwen his hand. She smiled at him and let him help her. 
“Do you want to race?” asked the prince suddenly, and Arwen 
looked at him. “What?” “Come, race me. First one to get to that 
tree wins and cares for the other’s horse!” the princess shook 
her head and Legolas frowned and sat down, bored. 

That night, Legolas brushed his hair while Haldir gave 
instructions to the guards. They would make shifts of three 
hours each, two guarding while two slept. Because of this, Haldir 
wouldn’t stay with Legolas, but the prince knew he wanted him to 
be safe and didn’t resent that fact. Arwen came in and smiled at 
him. “Want a hand?” she offered and he nodded: the princess 
took the brush and finished doing his hair. “It’s gorgeous,” she 
complimented, making Legolas smile and whisper, “thanks.”

“You know, I’m surprised we dared stop, considering that it’s a 
long journey and that the faster we get to Rivendell the better…” 
said Arwen, and Legolas looked at her and explained, “if he does 
find us, we want to be rested.” She nodded and then leaned close 
to Legolas, who cradled her head like a brother and sang a short 
song. They both fell asleep in a while. 

After three weeks of long and tiresome traveling the group found 
themselves in the gates of Rivendell. They were thankful that 
they hadn’t had any complications, and the two monarchs were 
like elflings, joking and laughing: Haldir was happy to see Legolas 
in that state. They entered the realm and they said hello to 
Elrond, then Legolas and Haldir went to their room.

“Are you tired?” asked Haldir after a while. “A little bit, but not 
really, I mean… I would rather have you kiss me than sleep, for 
example.” Haldir smiled and kissed Legolas softly, undemanding. 
Legolas smiled into the kiss and pulled Haldir closer to him. 
“Well…” said Haldir as he felt Legolas hug him, “am I lucky or 
what?” “Yes, very lucky,” answered Legolas and he kissed Haldir 
again, more boldly. “I’m glad we’re here, no more stress, you’ll 
finally get to sleep…” commented Legolas as he got in the warm 
bed, “no more worries that maybe we’re being followed… no lonely 
nights,” he finished, and Haldir smiled and nodded. “That’s right, 
now I *am* available!” Legolas smiled and sighed when Haldir 
hugged him. “Night,” he said softly, but Haldir had already dozed 
off…

The next day, Legolas woke up to the sound of Haldir humming. 
He smiled when he saw a tray had been brought to them. 
“Breakfast!” he cheered and Haldir smiled and held out some 
bread. “Yes, a decent meal, at last,” he said smirking. They ate 
their meal, at times quietly, some times joking or chatting, and 
after a while Legolas was lying in bed, relaxed, watching lazily as 
Haldir sorted and unpacked their clothes. “We didn’t bring very 
formal clothes, I see…” “No space,” explained Haldir shortly, and 
Legolas sniggered. “I see…” 

“Haldir…” the marchwarden turned to see Legolas look at him 
with a nervous expression. “Yes?” “I… I need a favor, I… I want 
you to be with me… more often…” Legolas seemed confused 
himself. “What do you mean?” “I know that… now we are here, 
there is no danger, but…” “Oh… okay, I will stay with you,” said 
Haldir and he smiled, and then he lay down beside Legolas, who 
unexpectedly hugged him and kissed him shyly. Haldir opened his 
mouth and let Legolas experiment with his tongue. “You’re getting 
better,” he smiled when the kiss ended, making Legolas smile 
shyly and kiss Haldir again. 

After he had kissed him, Legolas smiled and let Haldir return the 
favor by taking over dominance. He smiled at the tenderness that 
Haldir showed, at how carefully he explored Legolas, making sure 
the prince enjoyed it. And Legolas was, in fact, enjoying the kiss. 
He shifted slightly to let Haldir have room to move and broke the 
kiss when he had his lungs screaming for air. “Gods…” he 
whispered softly as he felt Haldir’s hands on his neck, caressing 
the soft fuzz in the back. “Oh gods…” his whisper grew into a 
more frantic one when Haldir reached his pointed ears. “Hush,” 
laughed Haldir, yet he was obviously enjoying the effect he had 
on Legolas. 

“Here, let me…” he whispered and he slowly, very slowly, 
proceeded to kiss Legolas’ neck. The prince sighed in delight and 
bit his lip to prevent any undesired sounds to leak out. As Haldir 
opened his tunic, though, he remembered a pair of rough hands 
ripping his clothes apart, shoving his leggings down…Legolas’ eyes 
opened wide and he tried and failed to release a panicked scream, 
making Haldir jerk up and look at him. 

“What is wrong?” he asked softly, but Legolas didn’t answer. 
Haldir took him by the chin and made the prince look at him. 
“Legolas…?” “I… I remembered… that night… he…” Haldir 
understood and hugged Legolas. “Will I ever get over it, Haldir?” 
asked the prince wearily, “will I ever be brave enough?” “Yes, 
love, of course you will be brave enough,” Haldir encouraged him 
softly. “I’m a whiner!” sobbed the prince sorrowfully. Haldir 
chuckled and shook his head, “you are not a whiner, you silly elf! I 
would certainly be all nervous about this if I were you,” Haldir 
said reassuringly. Legolas smiled and nodded nervously.

“But please… if you only let me show you that I mean you no 
harm…” Haldir sounded pleading now. Legolas looked at him and 
then said, very softly, “I want to trust you…” “Then do so, love. 
Do so…” said the marchwarden, and he slowly kissed the prince 
again, who yielded and kissed him back. When the kiss ended, 
Haldir looked at Legolas questioningly. “I… don’t know…” said the 
prince, “I want to be with you… but yet… I fear to be so…” then 
Haldir felt a surge of anger and frustration. “Gods, Legolas!” he 
shouted, making Legolas wince and look at him in shock, “don’t you 
understand?! You are just so hot *I* could easily have raped you 
too, and I don’t think it was the human’s fault!” he looked down at 
the blue eyes and slowly registered that those eyes he loved so 
much were shedding warm tears. He remembered what he had 
just said and clapped his hand over his forehead.

“Legolas…I... forgive me…” the prince just continued to look at 
him and then, after a while, he turned around, shaking in agony. 
He reached over to cradle Legolas, to soothe him, and thus was 
struck still when a shuddering, “don’t,” reached his ears. “Legolas, 
I am sorry…” “Don’t,” came the reply. Haldir then took Legolas’ 
waist, turned Legolas to face him and locked their eyes. “I. love. 
You.” He stated softly and then his voice broke. “I didn’t mean… 
so stupid thing to say… I’d never hurt you, Legolas… really…” 
Legolas looked at him shakily and nodded slowly. “I know…” he 
managed before collapsing on the bed, unconscious. 

Haldir gave a panicked scream and checked Legolas’ pulse: weak… 
very weak. The marchwarden picked the prince up and took him to 
Elrond's study. “My lord, please help him!” he said to the king, 
who expertly checked Legolas’ eyes and forehead. “I… I think 
we’re losing him…” “But why?!” asked Haldir desperately. And then 
Elrond fused their eyes and said, “Legolas is dying of a broken 
heart. There is only one explanation, Haldir… yet there is still 
hope…” the marchwarden swallowed and nodded: he had been the 
cause of this; it was his fault that Legolas was leaving. He cradled 
Legolas’ head and whispered nonsense while Elrond applied salves 
and herbs in the hope of doing something. 

Three days later, Legolas woke up. His head felt dizzy, and he 
couldn’t focus his eyes. But the worst was the pain in his chest, 
deep inside him… Legolas knew this was no superficial injury: it 
was his heart that hurt. The door creaked open and Legolas 
turned to see the figure that he loved, but felt disappointed and 
angry at. 

“Thank the Valar you woke up…” whispered the marchwarden, his 
voice barely hiding the emotion. “I… I feared the worst…” yet 
Legolas didn’t smile at him, nor made any acknowledgement of 
having heard him. “Please, Legolas… I love you… I was just… I 
didn’t mean to hurt you so…” “Still. You hurt me,” Legolas 
whispered coolly, and Haldir felt his knees go weak. “But love, 
please understand, I was carried by the emotion…” “Allow me to 
correct that. You were carried by lust, *not* emotion nor love.” 
Legolas said wearily, “which means that you neither love me nor 
care. You just want me to be your little toy…” Haldir was losing 
the battle of wills as tears sprang from his eyes. “You know that 
isn’t true,” he choked out finally, and Legolas looked at him. 

“You know I’d die for you, Legolas. Don’t say that, because you 
know I do love you.” Then Haldir leaned in and kissed Legolas, who 
surprisingly returned the kiss shyly. “Sorry,” he said when the 
kiss ended, and Haldir smiled and wiped his tears away. “But I 
can’t… I can’t trust you again…” “Yes you can… just forget this 
little episode… I beg of you… I will earn your trust again, but 
please give it to me,” begged Haldir. Legolas thought for a 
moment, and then he said, “You promise?” “Yes,” said Haldir and 
he kissed Legolas, “I promise you, Greenleaf.” 

Chapter Seven: the beginning

Legolas walked slowly out of the hall. His reunion with his father 
had been tiring and dull. He didn’t notice the figure coming 
towards him until he found himself locked in a tight hug. “How did 
it go?” asked a cheerful Haldir, but Legolas didn’t answer. Right 
now, he felt like drinking some tea and sleeping for three days… 
“Tiring,” he said at last, and was thrilled when Haldir lifted him 
and said, “then you need some rest. Come on,” and carried him to 
his room, placing him lightly in the bed. “Thanks…” said Legolas, 
unable to suppress a yawn. Haldir smiled and kissed Legolas’ brow. 
“Sleep, love,” he whispered, yet Legolas didn’t hear him: he was 
already deep in reverie…

After a while, Legolas woke up to see Haldir cradling his head and 
smiled. “Haldir…” he whispered, and the marchwarden jerked 
awake, “I forgive you. For what you said the other day. I love 
you,” then he smiled, and Haldir smiled back. “So this is it,” said 
Legolas, “this is how it all ends…” then Haldir leaned in and kissed 
him. “No, love,” he whispered, “this is only the beginning.”

THE END

Too bad? Bad? Good? Very good? Comments, opinions and 
constructive criticism please write to laurissofi@hotmail.com. I 
promise to answer!