Legolas shivered all over with relief as he rode through the valley. It radiated the gentle warmth of autumn's false summer, and the grass was lush and brilliantly green. The horse looked at it longingly, and Legolas patted its neck. "Not yet," he told it. "Our journey is not quite over. First we must reach the House of Elrond, and then I will turn you loose to eat this beautiful grass." The horse snorted, but continued on.

Cresting a low hill, Legolas finally caught sight of the Last Homely House. It seemed a palace to his eyes, an enormous, airy structure nestled against the side of a hill. Gardens and orchards sprawled around it, and animals grazed contentedly in wide pastures. Far off in the distance, Legolas could see the sparkle of a river. The House was much bigger than even the dwelling of the King in Lake Town, and it seemed to be full of people working merrily in the fields or flitting about at the great windows. It was large and fresh and clean, and Legolas was painfully conscious of how small and filthy he must appear riding along the pathway to the door.

A tall, strange Elf came to meet him in the front courtyard. Legolas dismounted and bowed low. "I am Legolas, son of Thranduil King of Mirkwood," he said. "I have come to leave a message for the wizard Mithrandir with Lord Elrond. I ask permission to enter."

The tall Elf smiled warmly. "Welcome to Imladris, son of Thranduil. You are welcome here for as long as you wish to stay. I am Erestor, a counselor in this House. We have met before, though I think you do not remember me. You were a very small child when last I traveled to Mirkwood. It was a long and difficult journey, as I recall. Come inside. You are in dire need of both bathing and feeding. We will care for your horse."

Erestor ushered Legolas inside and led him down long corridors hung with richly embroidered tapestries. "I am sorry that we are in such disarray at the moment. Some nights ago, a group of travelers arrived, and one was severely injured. Lord Elrond has been closeted with him for days now and will not be able to see you immediately. In the meantime, you may stay here and rest." He opened a door and showed Legolas into an elegantly appointed guest chamber.

Tall doors opened onto a balcony, and light curtains fluttered in the breeze. The bed was enormous, easily twice the size of Legolas's own bed at home, and covered with fat pillows and brightly colored quilts. A padded chair stood near a carved table. Legolas opened a large cupboard and found linens, towels and several items of clothing. Erestor drew back a curtain, revealing a bathing area. There was a washstand, and instead of the small wooden tub that Legolas expected, there was a pit sunken into the floor and lined with pottery. A corked pipe extended from the wall above it.

"You do not have such bathing facilities in Mirkwood, correct?" Erestor asked. Legolas shook his head, unable to speak. Erestor briskly collected a towel from the linen cupboard. "Then I will explain. The House is built over a hot spring, and those who built it devised ways to use pipes to bring the hot water to every bathing chamber and carry it away again. Simply cover the drainage hole at the bottom of the tub, then open this pipe to fill it. Replace the stopper when you have enough water, and uncover the drainage hole when you are finished."

"How much water is hot now?" Legolas asked, eyeing the deep pottery tub.

"It comes from the hot spring, so there is as much as you want," Erestor answered. "I guess that you have never had a bath this deep or hot."

Legolas shook his head. "In the winter, we heat water for our washstands, and sometimes for a tub bath. But there is never very much, and it grows cold quickly."

"Ah. In that case, I will give you a warning. Do not stay overlong in the bath. Though the water here is not hot enough to scald, it can be overpowering to one who is not accustomed to it. When you are finished, ask someone to show you to the kitchens, and I will see to it that you have something to eat. Is there anything else you require?"

"No. Thank you."

Erestor bowed and left Legolas alone. Legolas stripped off his travel-stained clothes and folded them neatly in a corner. Remembering Erestor's instructions, he covered the tub's drainage hole with a cork mat that he found on a shelf, then opened the pipe. Steaming water tumbled out far more forcefully than he had expected. It took a long time to fill the tub, but there did not seem to be any limit to the hot water. When it seemed full enough, Legolas closed the pipe and gingerly lowered himself into the water.

It was far warmer than any bath he had ever had. The hot water caressed and soothed his sore body, and he breathed the mineral-scented vapors. His shoulder ached, but the rest of his muscles relaxed quickly in the warmth. The heat also seemed to release something else inside of him, all of the fear and tension of his long journey far from home. To his surprise, Legolas found himself weeping in the hot bath.

When his tears finally slowed, he felt vaguely ashamed of himself, but it also seemed that a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Quickly, before the heat could do stranger things to his mind, Legolas scooped up a handful of soft soap and scrubbed the grime of the road from his body and his hair. When he finished his bath, he felt very warm and sensitive, almost as though he were a new baby.

The clothes he had brought with him had been crushed in his pack, so he laid them out carefully on the floor and pulled on a shirt and a pair of trousers from the cupboard. He had to belt the trousers tightly, but was pleased with the loose fit of the shirt that disguised some of the sharper angles of his shoulders. He felt pinched inside and set off in search of the kitchen.

He found Erestor in the corridor. Erestor looked him over and nodded approvingly. "You clean up quite well."

"I borrowed these clothes from the cupboard. I hope that you do not mind. My own --"

"Do not worry about it," Erestor laughed. "That is why we keep clothes in those clothes-presses. We will clean yours. In the meantime, what would you say to something to eat?"

"Oh, yes, please!"

"I thought so. Come to the kitchen." Erestor led Legolas through the house to a large, warm kitchen filled with the maddening scents of roasting meat and baking bread. He indicated a small table in the corner, and Legolas sat down. After a few moments, Erestor set a plate and cup before him. "There. Eat. You are skin and bones."

Legolas stared for a moment at the delicacies on the plate in front of him. Erestor had given him two slices of light wheat bread spread thickly with butter, several pieces of cheese, and a large mug of milk. Any one of those items would have been a special treat in Mirkwood, but here it seemed that they were commonplace enough to be given away all at once between regular mealtimes. Legolas attacked the food with as much dignity as he could manage. Erestor noted this and slipped an extra slice of buttered bread onto the plate. After Legolas had eaten everything that was put in front of him, he felt comfortably full and much more cheerful than he had when he first arrived.

"You seem happier now," Erestor said. "A hot bath and a little food never fail to work wonders on weary travelers. Let us go and discover if Lord Elrond is ready to receive you."

Elrond had just emerged from the injured traveler's chamber and had settled himself in his library. Erestor knocked twice and slipped inside to announce Legolas. A minute later, he returned.

"Lord Elrond will see you now." He bowed briefly and then walked away. Legolas supposed that the time had come to pay for the luxurious bath and food he had been given. He straightened his spine and entered the library.

Lord Elrond sat at a large table spread with notes and books. He was still in his shirtsleeves from tending to his wounded guest. His ageless face seemed both wise and compassionate, as if he knew every naughty thing Legolas had ever done and forgave him for it. To Legolas's surprise, Mithrandir stood beside him. It appeared that Luindil's guess about the wizard's likely haunts had been correct. Legolas would be able to deliver his message and learn his penance without delay.

He bowed deeply, grimacing a little as the movement sent a twinge of pain through his shoulder. Straightening, he looked into the concerned eyes of the Lord of Imladris.

"Welcome, son of Thranduil," Elrond said in a warm, deep voice. "Erestor told me that you have brought an important message from your Lord."

"I have," Legolas said. "Though the message is for Mithrandir. I had been charged to leave it with you until he should pass by this place. But Mithrandir is here, and that is most fortunate."

"Indeed," Mithrandir said. "I am honored that you made the journey here all on my account. In other circumstances, I would ask you to give your message right away, but I think that I will ask you to wait. I wish to give your news its due, and it is not yet the proper time for the telling of such tales."

"I will call a council in the near future," Elrond said, "though I do not yet know when that will be. I think, Legolas, that you should attend this council and deliver your news there."

The bottom seemed to drop out of Legolas's stomach, and he could feel an uncomfortable heat spreading across his nose and ears. He supposed that this was his punishment, to be made to announce his people's failure in public, to a council of strangers. His throat closed at the thought, and he nodded miserably. Mithrandir smiled at him.

"Come now, Legolas," he said. "I do not think that your news is as terrible as you believe it to be. There have been many unpleasant doings in the wide world lately, and your message alone will not be the worst that we will hear."

"That is small comfort."

"Yet comfort it must be," Elrond sighed. "In the meantime, you are among friends here. Stay and enjoy the comforts of my House. I am sure that you are exhausted from your journey, and the rest will do you good."

"Thank you." Legolas moved to bow once more, but flinched from the ache in his shoulder. Elrond was on his feet in an instant and moved around the table to Legolas.

"You are in pain," he said. "May I see?"

"The wound is not new," Legolas said, mortified at the fuss he had caused. "It has healed once before, and it will heal again."

"I am a healer in this House as well as its Lord," Elrond responded. "I have just come from tending one of my guests, and it is no trouble at all to tend to another." He pulled a chair out from the large table. "Straddle this. Can you remove your shirt?"

Legolas sat down on the chair, unlaced the shirt and managed to slide it down over his shoulders. In a moment, he felt Elrond's experienced hands manipulating the aching shoulder. "What caused this injury?" Elrond asked.

"It was an Orc arrow, several months past. I do not think it was poisoned. It healed well, but there was a rockslide in the mountains during my journey here. I fear that the rocks must have struck me harder than I had thought."

"Do you hurt anywhere else?"

"I was struck hard on my head when I first received the arrow-wound," Legolas said. "My head ached for a long time while I recovered. I had thought that past, but the headaches have returned since the rockslide."

"I see. Relax." Elrond placed on hand on Legolas's shoulder and one hand on his head. A gentle warmth spread from his touch, slowly driving the pain away. "I think that the newly healed muscle was torn again in this rockslide," Elrond said, "and that the shock of the rockslide also reawakened your head injury. You are fortunate, however; these injuries were tended skillfully the first time, though perhaps by a healer whose skills have not yet come into their full flower."

"Gilveril is not much older than I am," Legolas admitted. "But she is already one of our best healers."

"I should like to make her acquaintance one day," Elrond said. "She appears to have a gift for healing that will become especially powerful in time. How do you feel now?"

Legolas realized that his pain had vanished while he had been distracted answering Elrond's questions. "It does not hurt any more."

"Good. I have encouraged the torn flesh to mend itself. You may speed the process by resting until the council. Eat, sleep, and explore this House. Do only what seems pleasant to you."

Legolas recognized a dismissal when he heard one. He bowed graciously to Elrond. "Thank you, Lord," he said, and left the library.

Imladris proved to be a complicated place. Fortunately, Legolas had a good sense of direction and managed to find his way back to his guest chamber. From there, he contemplated Elrond's instructions and decided that the best course of action would be to explore the House and discover what pleasant things it offered.

He wandered the main building for an hour. There were many lovely rooms filled with books or works of art or curiosities, but Legolas did not know if these were public areas or if they belonged to someone specific. Once or twice, he would see another Elf in one of the marvelous rooms, but found that his throat closed and his stomach knotted at the prospect of talking to these strangers. He wished that he could find Erestor and ask him about the rooms full of books, but Erestor was nowhere to be seen.

At last, Legolas came upon a door that led outside into a small courtyard garden. The flowers in the carefully designed beds were just beginning to fade, and a tree shed its golden leaves over the stone paths. Legolas skirted a small reflecting pool and found a stone bench under the tree. He sat down and closed his eyes as a wave of homesickness crashed over him.

Footsteps on the stone path alerted him that he was not alone. He opened his eyes and saw a Man standing in front of him. With a startling pang of relief, he realized that the Man's face was familiar.

"You are Aragorn," he said.

"I am. And you are Legolas, son of Thranduil." Aragorn smiled. "I am flattered that you remember me. We met only briefly, and that was more than a year ago."

"You brought Gollum to us," Legolas said. "And that has proved to be memorable indeed."

"I sense a story behind that."

Legolas nodded. "Yes. There is a story. It is not one that I care to tell right now."

"That is fair enough." Aragorn sat down on the bench beside Legolas. "May I ask what brings you to Imladris? You are far from home indeed."

"I am." Legolas grimaced at the reminder. "I came to leave a message from my father for Mithrandir. Mithrandir is here, but he will not hear the message until a council that Lord Elrond intends to hold at some time in the future. And so I must tarry here in Imladris for a time."

"Well," Aragorn said, "you will be able to complete your task sooner than you think. I arrived several days ago with a party of Hobbits, one of whom was injured. Elrond worked long and hard to heal him of his injury, and I am told that he awoke this morning. The council will be held tomorrow, when he is strong enough to attend."

"A Hobbit?" Suddenly, Legolas was too curious to be homesick. "Do you mean that Bilbo Baggins was injured? Or is this a different Hobbit?"

"A relative of Bilbo's," Aragorn said. "How exactly they are related I am not certain. You may ask Bilbo, and if you can understand the answer, then you are far more clever than I. If Hobbits interest you, there are three more somewhere in the House. Truth to tell, I am surprised that you have not seen any of them yet; I am sure that Bilbo in particular would love to see an Elf from Mirkwood and hear all the news from that part of the world."

"I have not seen any Hobbits," Legolas said. He ducked his head, reminded of his immediate predicament. "I have barely seen anyone. Imladris is much larger than I had imagined it would be, and I do not know the place at all. Lord Elrond said that I should explore the grounds, but there is so much of it that I do not know where to begin."

"You did not ask someone? Any resident would be happy to show you around."

Legolas wondered how to explain to Aragorn why the prospect of approaching one of the tall, rich, well-fed Elves of Imladris daunted him. He had never believed that a place as wonderful as Imladris could possibly be real, but here it seemed that people lived in fantastic luxury as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. The prospect of a place where there were no Orcs or spiders, where an endless supply of hot water ran from the walls, and where no one ever had occasion to fear that there would not be enough food to last through a long, bitter winter was overwhelming to Legolas. He looked helplessly at Aragorn. "They are strangers," he offered.

"Ah." Aragorn said, and there was an odd expression on his face. Legolas thought that perhaps Aragorn had understood what he had tried to convey after all. Aragorn gave a warm, friendly smile. "I believe I can solve that problem. I am familiar with Imladris, and it seems that I am not a stranger to you. If you would like, I can be your guide."

"I would like that."

"Then I will show you Imladris," Aragorn said. "Is there anything in particular that you would like to see first?"

"I do not know," Legolas said. "There is so much here. I would like to know if I am allowed to look at the books and beautiful things, and I would like to see the valley and the gardens, and my father told me that this is a land where apple trees flourish. And I wish to learn what has become of my horse. He was eager to eat the grass when we first arrived in the valley."

Aragorn laughed. "He will be cared for well. In fact, he is likely becoming friends with all of the other horses in the stables and the pony that the Hobbits brought with them. Let us go visit the horses, and then I will show you some of the gardens and orchards, for it is a beautiful day, and we should not waste it."

Legolas smiled. The sunshine already seemed warmer now that he had familiar company. Aragorn led him to the stables, and Legolas saw that his horse had the run of a large box lined deeply with straw. It was eating its way through a manger full of fragrant hay and seemed quite pleased with its surroundings. Assured that the horse was in good hands, Legolas patted its neck and left the stables, eager to see what other delights the valley offered.

Aragorn showed him the gardens where the last of the summer's crop was just being harvested. The wheat had been cut several weeks earlier, but the stubble-filled fields seemed enormous, and Legolas realized why wheat bread was an everyday food in Imladris. Further away from the main House were pastures where sheep and cows grazed contentedly, and houses where flocks of large, fat birds waddled and pecked at the ground. "Those are chickens," Aragorn said. "Their meat is tender and of a very different flavor than the wild birds of the woods. I think you will like it."

In the distance, Legolas could see the woods that ringed the valley, and he heard the rushing of a river. "This is a beautiful country," Legolas said. "I think I would like to ride through it and see it all."

"Perhaps we will have time to do that, if you choose to tarry here for a while after the council," Aragorn said. "In the meantime, we should return to the House. I will show it to you and introduce you to some of the residents there, so they will no longer be strangers to you. Tonight there will be a great feast, and we will have to prepare for that."

Legolas tried valiantly to imagine what would constitute a feast in this bountiful valley, but found that he could not. He supposed that he would find out soon enough, though. He took one more look around the landscape and then walked back to the House with Aragorn, eager to see more of the wonders of Imladris.