disclaimer: I don't own any of this, it all belongs to Mr. Tolkien. I'm not making any money.

A/N: Sorry this took so long guys, I'm exhausted from school and can hardly keep up! This chappie is a little shorter than I would like, I'll try to make the next one a little longer.

Special thanks to the Lovely and Talented Eleni for beta'ing.

please note that in the portions of this chapter that takes place among mortals, // // is elvish.

Ok, no more chatter, on with the fic!

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Darkness surrounded him.

It enveloped him body and soul. In fact, it seemed as though the emptiness and the darkness were becoming a part of his very being.

Thranduil opened his sapphire eyes slowly, gazing at his prison for the first time. He was not alone, Celeborn, Glorfindel and Elrond were all present.

None of them were bound, at least, not with any ropes Thranduil could see. The room was jet black, the only light in the room came from the open door across from him.

Though none of the Elf Lords were physically restrained in any manner, none of them moved toward the opening. They just stared straight ahead, as though lost in despair.

As Thranduil stared apathetically at the door, he caught a glimpse of ebony hair. He squinted, and waited patiently. Soon, the hair appeared again, this time accompanied by a head.

Smoky grey eyes twinkled at him, and bell-like laughter echoed through the emptiness of the room, and danced through his barren soul.

The sound of the maiden's mirth warmed a heart frozen by pure evil, and snapped the Elven King free from his invisible bonds.

Celeborn, Elrond and Glorfindel still did not move, it was as though they didn't see him, or each other. They certainly didn't seem to hear the maiden who now whispered his name from the wide open doorway.

Filled with uncertainty, Thranduil rose from his cramped position on the floor, and stepped forward, slowly crossing the room.

The maiden continued to call his name, her eyes twinkling, and her slender arms beckoning him fervently.

Picking up his pace, Thranduil stepped to the doorway, and stood just inside it, feeling suddenly trepiditious about leaving the safety of the prison.

She beckoned him again, reaching for him joyfully, extolling him to just cross the threshold.

With a start, Thranduil recognized the maiden, Arwen Undomiel, daughter of Elrond, and Queen of Gondor.

The wheels started turning in his shrewd mind as he wondered why she would call to him, and not Elrond, or Celeborn, for they were her kin. Even Glorfindel made more sense, for she had known the Balrog-Slayer from birth.

Suddenly certain that leaving the room wasn't a good idea, Thranduil took a step backward, only to find himself swept forward by a great, howling wind. Before he could stop himself, the former Elven King was floating six feet in the air outside the dark room, supported by the wind.

"I have no more time to play games with you, Oropherion. I bear a message, do not lose hope, for salvation will come when the Harpist rejoins his kin. You have neither been forsaken, or forgotten." Her silvery eyes flashed with a strange combination of temper and humor.

"What do you mean? Explain yourself!" He sounded very much the elven king, but the effect was ruined by his very undignified position floating in mid-air.

"There is not time, I was sent to give you hope, for you are the only one with strength of will to motivate your companions. I cannot reach them, and so I am charging you with keeping my family alive, for I am not in a position to protect them. I must go now, have faith, and do not lose hope!" With those last words, her fair form faded away, and Thranduil again found himself cloaked in darkness.

But this time, it did not seem so very dark.

~*~

Elladan rolled over, and grunted.

His mouth felt as though it were filled with cotton. He vaguely wondered what it was about Middle Earth that inspired that feeling in elves. The last time he'd felt this way, Aragorn had gotten he and his brother drunk on ale.

Sighing, the rather sore elf climbed out of the bed, and wandered into the front room.

Logan was sitting on the porch, still puffing on his peculiar 'pipeweed', and staring out at the sea.

Elladan came forward and placed a hand on the shorter man's shoulder, Logan didn't turn around, but gestured out to the shoreline. "Friends of yours?"

Elladan blinked, and followed where he was pointing.

Sure enough, Elrohir and Legolas were sitting side by side on the beach looking at the shack and Logan with inscrutible expressions.

Cell-hu was the first to notice Elladan's presence, and bounded joyfully across the short yard. He didn't stop when he reached the porch, but leapt over Logan, who dove out of the way, and knocked Elladan over unceremoniously.

Wincing, as the very wet, very smelly dog proceeded to slurp his face joyfully, Elladan shoved the animal out of the way, and greeted his missing companions with almost as much enthusiasm as Cell-hu had shown.

The brothers hugged one another fiercely, before dragging a slightly unwilling Legolas into the warm hug.

//"How did you find me? Are you hurt? Have you seen Aragorn?"// The questions spilled out of Elladan's mouth faster than Elrohir could keep up.

//"Stopstopstop, enough!"// Elrohir laughed, and released his older brother with a last warm squeeze. //"We found your human friend over there. He saw me walking on the shore, and kept calling me 'Dan'. After I said your name a few times, he seemed to realize I wasn't you, and took us to where you were sleeping."//

//"Why didn't you wake me?"// Elladan's brow furrowed in confusion.

//"We tried, but you were dead to the world,"// Legolas chuckled. //"We decided to let you sleep, since we couldn't wake you anyway."//

Elladan rolled his eyes, and turned to his twin, who was trying to keep Cell-hu from putting his rather long nose in a rather inappropriate place on Logan's person.

The human laughed, and shoved the dog away, "Nice dog, Dan. I assume you know these guys?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you for finding them for me, and they wish to thank you for finding me as well." Elladan bowed slightly, and smiled.

"Tell then they're quite welcome. You guys hungry?"

Elrohir and Legolas watched all of this with wide eyes, //"You speak their tongue?"//

Elladan nodded, //"It's a rather long story, I'll happily tell you inside. Logan here,"// He placed a hand on the man's shoulder.//"...Has offered to cook a meal for us."//

Exchanging a look, they agreed wordlessly, and followed Logan and Elladan into the house, leaving a rather depressed looking Cell-hu sitting alone on the front porch.

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Weeeeee! They're all back together again!!! Now, maybe they can get down to business.

Ok, next chapter comes out... someday. You can expect elf lord torture, some elven confusion, and Elladan learns to line dance! (just kidding on that last one, I doubt that will happen, but it would be funny, wouldn't it!)