XV

It was dark, so dark, and all he could think about was the last face he saw. Even then, that was starting to fade like snow melting in spring, but he doubted he had enough energy left in him to hold on to that image.

He became aware of the presence of others around him, although he could neither hear nor see them. He tried reaching out in the dark, but his fingers closed on empty air.

Sudden fear stabbed at him as he felt a strange force, stemming from the beings around him sweep over him and pull him in all directions.

Then, there was an explosion of light, and the beings around him scattered like startled deer. Pain like he had never felt before filled every fibre of his body, and he opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Hands reached out from the light and held on to him, pulling him towards it.

The laughter was next, the same, cold laughter that he had heard before, emanating from a dark space within the light, and he shivered. The voice, the laughter so filled with malevolence that it made his blood turn to ice. He started to fight the laughter and the hands in terror, and his brain reeled in confusion.

A greater flash lit up the area, and he shielded his eyes from blinded. A second set of hands, as familiar and dear as the first pair reached for him, and he felt himself being pulled towards the light. The pain was getting more unbearable, and there was light, followed by darkness, evil laughter, plaintive cries, a loud song that screamed in his ears; they were everywhere at once --

***

Legolas jumped up from his slumber, still breathing hard. It was dark, and the other members of the party lay around him, catching sleep while they could. He frowned as he realised that the twins were nowhere in sight, still missing from when Glorfindel had confronted them. Rising silently, so as to not disturb any of those around him, Legolas soon came across Elladan and Elrohir, conversing in hushed but confrontational tones.

"Are you ever one for theatrics!" Elladan was saying. "Elbereth! Just do as you are told for once so that we can all breathe easier!"

"Roh, there you are!" Legolas said, stepping into view.

Elladan gritted his teeth but maintained his silence as he saw Elrohir turn pale.

"Roh --" Legolas said.

"I am tired and need some rest!" Elrohir said, before walking away without acknowledging Legolas.

A brief look of hurt crossed Legolas's face, and it was caught by Elladan, who smiled at him, before he hurried after Elrohir.

"Did I do something?" Legolas said, as Yuvinel, who had been on watch-duty, came to join him.

"Nothing that you can help," Yuvinel said, looking at the retreating backs of the twins. It was a matter of moments before Elladan caught up with Elrohir, and more heated words could be heard.

"Sorry?" Legolas sank down wearily to the ground.

Yuvinel was about to speak further when a stinging slap resonated through the trees and they looked up to see Elladan clutching his face and Elrohir bolting away. Elladan started walking back to them, rubbing his inflamed cheek. He cast a dark look at Legolas before throwing himself to the ground.

"What happened?" Legolas said, recovering from the shock when Elladan removed his hand to reveal red marks where Elrohir had hit him hard. "This is the second time I have seen Roh hit somebody! What has come over him? He would not usually hurt a fly!"

"Except where two things are concerned: Orcs, and you!" Elladan said, scowling.

Yuvinel nodded in understanding and stood up to leave.

"What?" Legolas said. "Pray tell what is happening, Dan! If there is anything I can do, I would gladly oblige! I do not wish to be the reason for your quarrelling."

Elladan laughed, before composing himself. "It is not your fault, Legolas, nor had it anything to do with you. We exchanged harsh words, and I said something hurtful in my anger, and paid well for it; I deserved the slap."

Looking at Elladan, Legolas knew that he was hiding something.

"Your words do not allay my fears, Elladan. If anything, they add to them."

Elladan opened his mouth and clumped it shut again when Eilwar appeared, and looked as if he were about to say something to Legolas. Still, he kept his peace when they there was a commotion, and they saw an irate Elrohir being forced back into the area by a seething Glorfindel. In spite of the tense atmosphere, Elladan almost laughed out loud in his wrought state at the lack of sleep all around in the camp.

"Eilwar, Master Elrohir would like to say something to you," Glorfindel said.

Elrohir's look was so mutinous that Elladan and Legolas held their breaths, not daring to think what Elrohir might utter in defiance.

"I apologise for my earlier words and actions."

Elladan's and Legolas's jaws dropped; Elrohir rarely, if ever, bowed down in admission that he was in the wrong.

"Very well." Eilwar sniffed, before turning over to Legolas. "No more of your ridiculous tricks, my fair prince. And while we are on the topic, do not think the whole world would be so easily mesmerised by your charms. Valar knows it would do you good to start realising that your arrogance will only bring about your downfall one day."

Legolas clenched his jaw and Elladan rolled his fists into balls so hard that they cracked, but Elrohir did not react. Instead, he turned and walked away, but not before Elladan and Legolas caught sight of his tear-filled eyes.

"Roh!" Elladan called, running after him after motioning for Legolas to stay behind.

To his surprise, Elrohir turned to face him after a brief sprint, tears streaming down his face.

"What should I do, Dan?"

Hesitating at first, Elladan eventually leaned forward and embraced him.

"Hush, Roh. I am sorry for saying what I did; it was rude --"

"But the truth!"

Elladan hissed, and started as his twin looked away in shame.

"Roh, are you saying --"

"Yes."

"Valar."

Elrohir continued to look away, face still wet. The admission he had just made to Elladan had long been in coming, but the circumstances of it could not have been any worse.

"I am sorry, Dan --"

"For?"

"For hiding it from you; for letting something like this happen; for --"

"Elbereth, Roh! Surely you cannot think you had a choice in this?"

"I know not how I can live with this betrayal --"

"What is this betrayal that you speak of, Roh? One of the qualities that your friends have always valued is your having the strength to be steadfast in your love and dedication! I see no evidence of the contrary! Stop punishing yourself!"

"I agree." Legolas stepped out from behind some bushes, causing the twins to jump. "Please, Roh, I wish to know why you shun me, why you refuse to look at me anymore."

Elladan watched Elrohir, cursing Legolas for coming in at this most inappropriate moment.

"I -- I --" Elrohir stammered, staring at Elladan with pleading eyes.

"Roh, what is wrong with you?" Legolas said. "And what is this secret you have been hiding?"

"You heard?" Elladan said, eyes wide with horror.

"I failed to understand a word of what the two of you were speaking of, and demand a full explanation!"

The twins did not reply.

Legolas's face took on an indignant expression as he realised what they were doing.

"It is a sign of utter rudeness and disrespect to speak to one another such in the presence of your friends!" Legolas said. He had always known that the twins possessed the ability to communicate using their minds, but they had made it a point never to do so in front of him as a gesture of the friendship and trust shared between them. "It seems I waste my time when you clearly do not value my friendship!"

He then turned with as much dignity as he could muster and walked away without looking back.

"Roh, go after him," Elladan said.

"What?"

"Trust me, Roh. Do it for the both of you!"

Elrohir hesitated, knowing that Elladan spoke the truth, although it could not be said that he did so without a fair amount of misgivings. His mind made itself up though, when he recalled the look on Legolas's face as he had turned away from the twins, the way he bit his lip so that he would show no other emotions on his face, and the way his lip still trembled despite his greatest efforts to still it.

"Legolas!" he cried, running up to where Legolas had stopped to lean against a tree, breathing hard, clutching at his shoulder. "Lass, what is wrong?"

"I am fine!" snarled Legolas, letting go of his tunic, and trying to walk away.

Elrohir grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Dan and I are sorry --"

"You probably do not realise this, but I cannot do this without you, Roh!"

"Lass --"

"What have I done to drive you away from me? You seem to be so inhibited, so different from the Elrohir I used to know! I can tell you no longer feel comfortable with me around, Roh."

"You have done naught. Please, do not think it your fault!"

"Then I will have you tell me the reason for this! It hurts me to be treated thusly, Roh, to not have you trust me! You may not think it, but I do feel pain too!"

Elrohir felt as if his stomach had just been squeezed painfully as Legolas made his rare admission of vulnerability.

"I will always see you as near to my heart as a brother, Legolas, although whether I am worthy of your regard remains to be decided!"

"You are worthy of far more, my Elf-knight! All I ask is that you not feel tainted by the love and respect I have for you, gwador -- sworn brother --."

"I can only pray that I live up to it," Elrohir said, and he reached to and clasp Legolas's slender hand.

"I am sorry for my outburst. It was unreasonable, and I did not mean to --"

"It is good you admit to not being invulnerable, Lass!" Elrohir said, although his tone was too hearty to his own ears. "It looks like my many years of nagging might finally be bearing fruit! All we need is for you to stop trying to do things that will invariably end up killing you!"

"I fear you need another two hundred years to break this bad habit of mine, my dear Roh!"

Legolas hesitated for a while, before saying, "There is something I wish to tell you, but only now find the chance to say: I am breaking my betrothal to Caeriel."

"What?"

"I ask you not to question my decision."

Elrohir took a deep breath to calm himself before he said, "Pray tell the reason for this, then!"

"It was an unfair situation in the first instance, and I think it in the best interests of all involved that I end it!"

"Whose interests, Lass?"

"Would you force one to bind herself to you when she does not love you, Elrohir?"

"How would you know she loves you not? She agreed to marry you! What has brought about your sudden change of mind?"

"How do you know this elleth you claim to love loves you not? Have you ever asked?"

"This is ridiculous! What has this got to do with me?"

"I do not understand why you think loving another is shameful, Elrohir!"

"And I do not know why you are breaking your betrothal!"

"I do not know if I love her!"

Elrohir sighed, but did not trust himself to speak.

Legolas took in a deep breath, and said, "Too many things are happening at once, Roh. I have not been able to sit down and think."

"Is thinking the answer? It will only make you more confused."

An irritated hiss escaped Legolas's lips, and Elrohir reached out and grasped his arm.

"Do you know the feeing of loving one so much that you think your heart would break from it?" Legolas said.

Elrohir paled at his words. "Yes, I do."

"Tell me, what is it like?"

"You do not ask to be loved in return, but only that the one that you love is happy. Thoughts of your love never leave you, no matter how hard you try to make them go away, and you worry for them so constantly until you think your head might explode from it all."

"I do not feel this for her!" cried Legolas.

"Lass, listen to me. You doubt only because you want to!"

"Do I?"

Elrohir took a deep breath before he reached out and pulled Legolas to him and held him close.

"Sometimes you do not need to know anything. What is worth knowing will come naturally."

"But yet you look at yourself with disgust for a love that you could not help! Why?"

"It was something that should not have been allowed in the first place!"

"And who are you to say?"

"There is no point in thinking about it now, not when we have the fate of the world at our hands. We were chosen to come on this journey for a reason, and I will see that we do not fail!"

"I feel safe, knowing I have your sword watching my back." Legolas smiled at Elrohir, causing him to return the smile with a more strained one of his own.

"You have grown, Legolas, to possess such strength in you. Do not let any try to convince you otherwise," Elrohir whispered, placing a kiss on his forehead.

"And the stone that you found --"

Elrohir cut him off by dropping his head as if to bury his face in Legolas's hair, and brought up a hand to grasp his neck, causing the blue eyes to widen in shock. Instead, Elrohir brought his mouth up to his ear and whispered, "Now let us get out of sight of whoever is watching us."

*****
Sindarin Translations:
Gwador -- (sworn) brother
Elleth -- female Elf