Learning to forget.

The first thing that Legolas heard was a bird singing. He groaned as he sat up. He reached for his aching.. He frowned his head wasn't aching, even after those rocks had fallen on him. He looked around; instead of the blackness of the cave it was bright, sunlight piercing its way through the trees. Birds were singing, and he could hear elves singing as well. Elves? Where was he?

"Prince Legolas?"

Legolas blinked staring at the oncoming figure.

"Jaeol?"

"What are you doing here?" The words were spoken simultaneously as frowns appeared on both fair faces.

"But, you're dead." Legolas spoke, hesitantly reaching out to touch Jaeol's hair. It was real.

Jaeol pushed Legolas' hand away "Yes I'm dead and if you are here that means you are too."

"What!"

Jaeol gestured at his surroundings. "This is the hall of Mandos, or rather the entry way. You are either almost dead or dead."

Legolas blinked, shocked. "Dead?" He repeated incredulously. "Why don't I feel dead then?"

Jaeol laughed. "Pray tell how would you know if you feel dead or not?"

Legolas shrugged. "I thought death would be painful."

Jaeol smiled briefly, but it didn't hide the pain in his eyes. "Some die painfully, others do not." He hunkered down next the prince his eyes meeting Legolas'. "You don't blame yourself do you?" He questioned.

Legolas was thrown off by the question. He knew exactly what Jaeol was talking about. He pondered the question, looking deep within himself to find the answer. He slowly nodded. "Yes." He stared into Jaeol's eyes, revealing the inner turmoil and pain he had been in the past several weeks.

Jaeol sighed, and placed his hand on Legolas' shoulder. "I should have been the first one to tell you otherwise." He said sadly.

Legolas lowered his eyes, wondering why he was feeling slightly ashamed.

Jaeol tilted the prince's chin up to meet his eyes again.

"Why do you think it is your fault?" He questioned.

"I'm the one who was in charge, I was the one who gave the orders, and I was the one who. Who." Legolas hesitated to finish the sentence.

"Who sent us to our deaths?" Jaeol filled in.

Legolas nodded, his eyes lowered.

Jaeol sighed. "And I wondered if you would ever grow up." He muttered. He looked at Legolas' surprised face. He smiled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Legolas' ear like he was still an elfling. In many ways and manner's he still was. But this was something that Legolas had been forced to grow up quickly.

"I remember when you were just a little elfling." Jaeol smiled in fond remembrance. "You begged your father to learn archery when everyone else wanted to learn sword. You were always different. Not in a bad way, but just different. When everyone else wanted to learn archery you changed your mind and wanted to learn swords." Jaeol laughed. "I think you did it just to be an annoyance to the trainers."

Legolas grinned. How clearly he could remember. How he loved making the oh- so-patient trainer elves, blow up in frustration. Why couldn't he be more like Lomion! Or Tasari! Or Thalion! They all had asked him repeatedly. But Legolas never wanted to be like his brothers. He wanted to just be Legolas, the youngest prince of Thranduil. The trainers had finally accepted that, and Legolas became the best archer in Mirkwood and one of the best in daggers, and swords.

Jaeol studied the prince. He had changed drastically in just a few weeks. He was thinner and had a look of frailty that Jaeol had only seen when Legolas was still an elfling. His eyes told of pain, anguish and torment to his soul.

"It's not your fault Thranduillion." Jaeol stated quietly. Then watched amazed as tears filled the prince's eyes. "It is not your fault, so stop thinking it is." Jaeol wiped a tear off of Legolas' cheek.

Legolas took a deep breath, trying to regain control of his emotions. He gave Jaeol a wavered smile.

Jaeol looked up suddenly.

"Prince Legolas Thranduillion?"

Legolas looked up, and then quickly rose to his feet. "Yes?"

"I am a messenger from the Valar. You are being given a choice, either to stay here or go back to Middle Earth."

Legolas was suddenly shown himself on Aragorn's lap. He suddenly felt pounding pain. Then he was pulled back beside Jaeol. The messenger stared into Legolas' eyes. "You must choose."

Startled Legolas turned to Jaeol. "What should I do?" He questioned.

Jaeol gently turned the confused prince around and gave him a gentle push. "Go back to Earth, Legolas. You are not destined for the Halls of Mandos, Thranduillion."

"Jaeol?"

"Yes Legolas?"

"You do not blame me then?"

Jaeol smiled his figure becoming harder and harder to see, "No." And then he vanished.

*~*~*~*~*

They were running out of air. Slowly but surely, Aragorn could feel it harder and harder to breath. He gently scanned Legolas' face with his finger again, finding the wound and once more put pressure on it. He sighed. Legolas was not dead yet, but he knew that they would probably both die in this cave.

To think, the very place that Legolas would hate to be in, he would die in. Aragorn leaned back against the rock, feeling very tired.

"Legolas?" he gently shook the unconscious prince. "Got to stay awake." He muttered to himself. "Got to."

Clink.

Aragorn forced his eyes open.

Clink.

It came again.

A ray of sunlight suddenly pierced the cave.

"Aragorn? Can you hear me?"

There were sounds of rocks scrapping against each other.

"Legolas? Aragorn?"

Aragorn smiled. It was Elladan. Whenever he needed help Elladan always seemed to be right behind him just waiting for him to get into trouble.

"Elladan?" His voice came out only as a whisper. Immediately the all was still.

"Aragorn?"

"We are in here Elladan."

"Are you ok?" The worry was clearly evident in the elf's voice.

"Legolas is unconscious, I think he just has a concussion, not a skull fracture, but I can't tell in the dark."

"Ok Estel, we are hurrying."

A soft groan broke through the stillness of the cave. Aragorn shifted trying to get a look at Legolas' head.

"Legolas? Can you hear me?"

He was answered with another groan.

He pushed back the fair hair. "Legolas?"

"Aragorn?" The whisper was barely even a sigh of breath.

"Legolas, can you feel this?" Aragorn grasped Legolas' leg. "Squeeze my hand if you can."

He was awarded with a slight pressure clasping his hand. "Where does it hurt?" He questioned, continuing to feel each of the long slender limbs, checking for any broken bones, once again.

"H. Head. Hurts." Legolas' voice was a little stronger.

"You've got a bad concussion, Nin Mellon. You need to stay awake ok? Elladan is rescuing us." Aragorn said quietly. Then almost as an afterthought he continued. "Again."

"I heard that."

Aragorn jumped. The voice came almost from right beside him.

"Sh. Sho. Sho tired." Legolas' voice was slurred as if he had been drinking too much, which Aragorn knew wasn't the case.

His worry upped even further as he tried to remember what his father had taught him about head injures. Something told him that Legolas' slurred speech was not a good thing. "Legolas? Can you see the light?"

Legolas hurt all over. But his head hurt the most. He tried opening his eyes, yet they seem so heavy. He forced them open everything was a complete blur. He blinked several times, trying to focus. He could see light streaming in. He started to nod, but froze when pain set his head on fire. He tried speaking again, but found that he couldn't due to the dryness of his throat. He chose instead to once more squeeze Aragorn's hand.

"Elladan? Do you have water?"

There were muted voices in the background.

"Legolas you've got to stay awake." There was obvious panic in Aragorn's voice. As much as he wanted Legolas couldn't seem to fight it.

"Please." There was desperation in his voice.

Legolas forced his eyes open again. Trying to focus on something, anything. He couldn't. His eyes refused to focus. He felt something at his lips and felt a cool trickle of water slid down his throat. Then felt as Aragorn began to gently sponge his head with some sort of material. He tried to move his arm, but was stopped by Aragorn.

"Hold still, you'll only hurt yourself more." Aragorn soothed.

Legolas licked his lips. "What. What happened?"

The hands on his head stopped. "What do you remember?"

Legolas held still as the memories flooded back. Orcs. Surrounded. Cave. Rocks. He smiled slowly. "Only that I saved your neck. Again."

Aragorn could not help release the sigh of relief.

"Estel? Be careful. There might be some rocks that will fall on you and Legolas." Elladan warned.

Legolas could feel a few pebbles fall on his legs, then more sunlight flooded in, causing the prince to close his eyes, the pain making him feel nauseous. It was worse than his previous concussion that was obvious.

He bit back a groan, as another bolt of pain seemed to make a jagged streak through his brain.

"Legolas?" Aragorn's concerned voice brought him back to reality. "Please, you've got to stay awake."

He forced his ever so heavy eyelids open again, this time to see two blurred shapes before him. He could vaguely see their lips moving, but for the life of him, he couldn't hear what they said. He tried focusing but his eyes were too blurry already.

Aiya! Why couldn't he focus his eyes or hear?

"Las?" The sound came rushing back to his ears, making him groan again. The darkness eagerly beckoned him, but Legolas fought to stay awake if only for Estel. His head was pounding as if Durin himself had taken a hammer and was using his head for his anvil.

"Legolas? Can you hear me?"

Legolas could read the words formed, but his hearing had gone again.

"Squeeze once if you can hear me." Aragorn held up one finger. "And twice." He put another finger up. "If you can't."

Legolas squeezed twice. His vision had once more started to blur before Aragorn's sentence was finished, but he had gotten the gist of it.

Aragorn turned to Elladan. "What do you think?"

Elladan shook his head, not liking the situation one bit. "We need to get him to Rivendell right away, that head injury looks really bad."

"No." Their attention turned to Legolas.

"Legolas we need to get you to Riven."

"No." Legolas' voice was stronger. "I want to go home." He pleaded, opening his eyes and trying to focus again. "Please." He whispered. "I want to go home."

Elladan and Aragorn exchanged glances. "How far are they from here?"

Elladan thought it over. "Mirkwood is a little closer, but I think father should look at him."

Legolas gripped Aragorn's hand as another wave of pain washed over him. "Please." He was begging now, not caring anymore. "Please, I want to go home."