Rating: M for m/m sexual situations in this chapter. You have been warned.

A/N: This chapter is a bit obscure, I'll admit it. If you're not into abstract writing, go ahead and skip this chapter (after this chapter it returns to normal, I promise!). But I include it because it is important and I'll be making some subtle (and not so subtle) references to this chapter for the remainder of the story.

A/N: In this chapter I borrowed a line from Henry Vaughan's poem "I Saw Eternity" and I want to give credit where it's due. The relevant lines from the poem are as follows:

I saw Eternity the other night

Like a ring of pure and endless light

All calm, as it was bright;

And round beneath it, Time in hours, days, years,

Driv'n by the spheres

Like a vast shadow mov'd; in which the world

And all her train were hurl'd.

A white-hot sun burned down fiercely upon a barren land. As far as the eye could see was white earth, stretched thin and almost translucent in the blazing sunlight. No plant life could live in this environment and no rock marred the almost-perfect landscape. Were it not for the solidity of the ground beneath his feet, the only occupant of the land might mistake his surroundings for a sea of mist or perfectly white satin sheets in which he might be floating.

Haldir looked up, shielding his eyes with his hand, looking for some sign from the sky, but the sun filled his senses completely and there was no sky, no earth, no stars or moon or air. There was only the sun, bright and cruel and unforgiving in its orbit. Unable to tear his eyes away or close them against such nobility, Haldir felt like crying from the pain of such beauty. The entirety of his senses was filled with its presence and he felt suspended as in mid-air, the sun-being calling him into existence. The sunlight pored from his skin, so illuminating the Elf that were he seen by another, he or she would not be able to tell him for anything other than a miniature of the harsh sun. Heat flowed through his body and his ears became aware of the singing of the land and sun that no being, mortal or immortal was ever meant to hear.

"Irmo Lórien!" Haldir cried, his voice breaking under the strain of his despair. "For the love of those Eru calls his own, please release me!"

As soon as his voice shattered the singing the awful silence that had permeated the land returned and Haldir was able to close his eyes against the harsh glare of the sun. Slowly he felt his feet return to the ground and a sudden coolness unnatural of the Elves claimed him and he embraced it. Tears streamed down his face and a sorrow that he never knew he could feel swelled within him. Such terrible music was never meant for him and he knew it would have killed him, but to be separated from it now felt like the deepest loss he could ever imagine.

For an endless time he cried. He cried for the stark beauty of the land and the sun. He cried for the music that created life and for the loss of that music in him. He cried for his innocence that the sun now claimed for its own. All that he ever was and all that he ever might have been now was laid waste in this void and he was no longer his own. He was only his tears, and his tears would never end. He poured himself into his tears; his whole being now was crystalline fluidity.

Out of the land ran a small stream, only a handbreadth across but crisp and clean as liquid diamonds flowing merrily over a bed of colored sea-glass, heedless of the brutality of the sun above, unmindful of the nothingness through which it flowed. The colors at the bottom of the river shone green and red and blue and called to Haldir: "Come! Sing! Dance! Play with us! For long has it been since one so fair has joined us. Forget your woes and be at peace! Come and sing and dance and love!"

A yearning greater than he had ever known before suddenly seized Haldir. Greater than his sorrow, it called him forth to the waters' edge. The sun that had so stripped him of all his joy was now forgotten in the intensity of his need to become one with the water. To flow gently over the glass, to become one with the water was his only design. He knew no other purpose. If the sun had called him into existence, then the water was to fulfill him beyond all other hopes of reconciliation to his former self. He was meant for the water, or perhaps the water was meant for him. Either way, he knew his fate was sealed within it and he was to become one with it, complete in its ring of pure and endless light.

Eager as he was to empty himself into the stream, Haldir poured slowly into it, afraid too much joy too quickly would overwhelm his now fragile system. The water mingled and merged and become one with his essence and the music that was in the sea-glass and in the water was now filling him, completing him in a way that he never could have dreamed in his former life, could he remember it. All that was before was less than a distant memory; he did not exist before this moment. Joy, pure and undiluted washed about him, caressing him and seeking his permission to fill him. He denied it nothing and were he yet lucid it would have drowned him. But Haldir the Woodland Elf was no longer; he did not know his own name, or even if he ever had a name. He simply Was, one with the many waters, and that was greater than any other existence.

Endless time passed and still the river flowed over its cut bed, out of the land of the harsh harsh sun. The music that was joy and laughter and merriment grew more present and the river was filled with its singing. The song swelled and entered into the heart of the changing landscape as it greeted the ever widening river on its way. Ethereal whiteness gave way to cool greys and browns that soon took on the shapes of lichen covered boulders that hid young fern fronds in their crevices and the colorful sea-glass riverbed became more subdued in its tones, giving way to sand and small pebbles. Still onward the river flowed, gladly greeting its surroundings but feeling a jovial enthusiasm to see what was next to come.

Flatlands gave forth to hills and glens, boulders and ferns turning to cliff sides and mighty trees. Still on the river flowed. "Be merry and gay! Grow tall, green trees, and drink deep. Climb ever higher to the sky and never forget your joy!" it cried as it danced its cheerful way over its ever broadening riverbed. The trees rustled in glad response, feeling gracious and free as if they themselves could take part in the great dance of their friend and move as gracefully through the land as it.

Down the river flowed, over grades and over cliffs, laughing as it fell, each drop of water taking delight in its being unbound from the greater body. Singing as they fell, the drops with unfettered delight struck every slick rock face where they broke yet again into pieces only to be rejoined in glad reconciliation with its former self. Such freedom! Such mirth! "Farewell, farewell you mighty cliffs! Be glad at my coming and do not grieve my parting!" laughed the river so joyously the rocks felt young again, pleased to send the river on its most exuberant way.

And now again the waters doubled in size, barely large enough to contain its own revelry. Deeply it churned, its feet dancing in the silt below and its surface stretching out so as to splash along its shores. The feeling of greatness swelling in its being, its youthful glee turning into more mature, deeply rooted contentment, glad and strong in its existence. On the river flowed, feeling the joy of living creatures beginning to form in its body. Fish and frogs and plant life that ebbed and flowed in rhythm with the dance tickled and delighted the water. "Be strong and glad! Grow and multiply, for I have much to give!" it sang. The living creatures heard its call and answered as on the river flowed; the waters teamed with the abundance of Eru's generosity.

The song began to change. What once was a free-spirited dream, fast and furious in its rapture now became somehow more resilient and pure, the delights of life flowing through its heartstrings causing a deep passion to swell in the stead of the light-hearted headiness. It was a joy of parenthood, of giving life and allowing that life to form and grow in its guidance. Utter contentment overwhelmed the river, peace entering every molecule of its existence. It had come a long way from the crystalline existence of the white land. Though the memory of that place was still strong, it was in the very distant past. Now was a time for reflection and gratuitousness for all that that land had given it; for without it, the joy now present and followed with reckless abandon could never have formed, never have created the mighty river that it now was. It would never have known what peace was or what it meant to truly live.

So contented was the river that it did not notice its gradual slowing of tempo. It was glad of the surrounding area. Large oak and elm trees stood tall and dark against the clearest of blue skies. A warm yellow sun beamed down in friendship on the surface of the water, warming it in its glow. Animals came down to the banks to drink and bathe and birds chirped in the branches of the overarching trees. Amidst the trees there was singing; not the singing of creation, but singing of other creatures that the river could sense were present but could not see. They felt somehow familiar, as a dream that continually pervades a welcome sleep, but they were also elusive as mist through fingers. What were they?

For the first time the river questioned the existence of something so close. Hitherto this place, all things in creation whether known or not were merely instruments in a greater symphony, but now it paused in reflection. It was not there at the birth of existence and was new to the lands through which it flowed, but it was so very familiar, almost as close kin or something out of another life. But there was no other life, no other joy. All that the river knew was its own path, its own part in sustaining life. Still… the voices of the creatures called to it and as it listened words seemed to form. They beckoned to it with such earnestness that a great desire came over it to see what these creatures were that called out in enticing language: "Come back to us! Come back to us and be free!"

What could these words mean? Surely they were not for the river; without it they could not survive for the waters gave life and nourishment to all that grew and thrived upon its banks. "I'm here! I'm always here for you. Come to me and drink deep and live!" it called back to the voices, trying to reassure them of its presence. "You cannot have forgotten me; I am here, ageless before you. Look to find me, for I do not pass this way again!"

Already the voices were fading and the yearning to find those who were attached to the foreign song was but a memory. Once again the river was only a river, part of the world around it yet separate. It could continue its journey unhindered, unfettered by any other desires than to simply be; content for the time, joyful for eternity, ageless and unbound by the constraints of linear thinking.

Now the scenery was changing again. The forest, though ever present, was giving way to a clearing through which the river flowed. Tall grass rippled in an almost nonexistent breeze. Wildflowers nodded sagely in the sun, petals shining white, gold, and red in its warmth. The land sloped gently up from the river bank, unmarred by any tree save a yellow willow whose branches brushed the surface of the water like a lover's first kiss. The river would have felt glad for the contact but for the great sadness that the tree conferred in that caress.

"What is wrong, fair one?" asked the river, "Why so sad?"

"I weep for my friend, for his sorrow runs deep. He sits at my roots as he has for several moons and mourns the loss of his one true love."

Only now did the river notice the strange creature at the base of the tree. Through all the lands and years it had traveled it had seen all manners of animals and birds and insects of all sizes and colors, but this being was unlike anything it had seen before. It was hairless but for the notable exception of long blonde tresses that hung from the head that was buried in its arms. The arms wrapped themselves around two tall legs and from the very center of the figure clad in brown and green there came a voice. It was singing low and melodic and the words were unfamiliar, but a great sense of loss and grief came pouring out and down into the waters, mingling with the song the river had been singing since its formation. Sweet and tender yet full of passion and remorse, the song overwhelmed the river and for the first time since its conception, the river felt something other than its joy: compassion and a driving need to help this being. The nagging sense of familiarity that it had known in the forest of the strange singing came sweeping back, tenfold in its intensity, and this time it could not be ignored.

"Who are you?" asked the river of the creature, mystified.

"My name no longer matters, for I have lost the only one who ever mattered to me. My love, my all, my melethril." His voice was low and the words were spoken softly as if for someone held deep in the creature's heart, but the river heard them all the same.

"If you cannot tell me who you are," the river persisted, "allow me to see your face and to know you better."

The creature looked up. He had large blue-grey eyes that looked as if they, like the river, had once known joy but had lost all hope of ever knowing it again. Now they were hollow, devoid of the soft light that once was held in their depths. The expression on the creature's face was bereft of any emotion, still somehow the river knew that not that long ago the creature had been full of life, wisdom, and love. The sense of familiarity again increased, and now the river had a name.

"You are an Elf," it stated simply.

"Yes," the Elf replied.

"I know your face."

"I came often to this spot," said the Elf. "You have seen me before."

"Nay," answered the river, "I have never passed this way before."

For a moment both were silent. The Elf had no response for this, and the river was pondering something long ago forgotten. It had seen this face before, but where, it knew not. Never had it seen in its long life any being that went about on two feet… and yet… and yet…

Something nagged at the river. A memory was trying to break free, but the river was not entirely sure it wanted to remember. It was another lifetime, something of a less-dimensional existence, long before the tears had begun to fall.

Tears.

It had known something other than joy, once. Pain. Longing. There had been a creature that once stood upon two legs with two arms and two hands that had grasped a head of long blonde hair in agonizing torment as the sun changed all that he was, causing him to become his tears, his tears becoming one with the waters; he was once an Elf like this being. And he was named. And the Elf now before him was named…

"Legolas," the river whispered.

The Elf, who had been gazing absently across the river lost in his own thoughts, refocused his attention on the river. "How do you know me?" he asked, startled.

Suddenly the river tired of its carefree existence. Here before it was a being he as an Elf had once loved. Memories of that other life came flooding back to him like a tidal wave: courtship and marriage to this beautiful Elf had more appeal now to him than forever living his life in the waters that knew only joy. To feel sorrow only served to heighten the joy that came after the mourning. To know of only peace and contentment was no longer enough. He, the once-Elf, needed to be released from the waters, for now they held nothing of value to him. All that his life was was meaningless if Legolas could not be a part of it.

Gathering himself up, Haldir stepped forth from the waters, naked and shining with the waters that streamed off of him. "Good-bye, my friend," he spoke softly to the waters, "and thank you."

The waters murmured back, no longer singing in a language he understood. A sense of joy and well-wishes clung to him and although the song was now foreign, he knew the river was giving him its blessing. "Thank you," he repeated, and stepped up on the bank he went forward to the Elf who was watching him, incomprehension written across his face.

"Who are you?" asked Legolas, bewildered. "Are you Ulmo, come to me in gentler form? Why come to me of all people and why now in my time of grief?"

"I am not Ulmo," answered the other Elf, "but one who would see you happy once again. You will find joy, Legolas," Haldir told him, gently laying a hand upon the other Elf's shoulder.

As if the touch awakened Legolas, a look of mystified recognition mingling with hope and astonishment passed across his face. He scarce dared to believe…

"You," he began in a whispered voice, "you were dead!"

"You know me then?" Haldir asked, hopeful.

"Know you? Can the meadows dare ask if the grass knows it? Can the tree ask if the leaves remember it? You… you were everything to me. We were one, you and I. Haldir…" Legolas breathed.

At the sound of his name Haldir's heart leapt within him. "Yes," he exclaimed, "it is I! I who have loved you since first laying eyes upon you. I have journeyed long through many lands and never knew what I was looking for until I saw you. You are my reason for living, Legolas."

"Melethnin…" Legolas breathed, guiding Haldir's head to his own so that their foreheads were touching. "I thought I had lost you."

"Never, meleth." Haldir whispered, ignoring the guilt that swelled within his breast. Had he not accidentally come upon his love, he would have never remembered… "As long as I live I pledge my love to you. You alone hold my heart, forever and always. May death be the only thing to separate us." Leaning in, he kissed the tip of the other Elf's nose.

"Haldir," Legolas groaned, a tear escaping his eye.

"Shh…" comforted Haldir, leaning in to kiss the tear away, "It's okay. I'm here now." Moving his head over, he placed feather-light kisses on the side of Legolas's mouth, trailing them to his ear. There he nuzzled Legolas, burying his head in his neck.

Legolas sighed, his emotions finally breaking as Haldir placed heated lips on his neck, his lobe, the tip of his pointed ear. Silently the tears streamed down his face, his eyes closed against all that he thought he had lost. Noticing these tears, Haldir placed his hands on either side of Legolas's head and with his thumbs wiped them away. He studied Legolas's face intently, drinking in his beauty, allowing the cleansing tears to fall. For a long time he sat like this, holding his love in his hands, watching for any sign from the Elf that signaled his acceptance of the reality before him.

After some time – Haldir could not guess how much – Legolas slowly opened his eyes and looked upon Haldir's worried face. "I'm all right," said Legolas, and closing the small space between them he crushed his lips against Haldir's.

At first the kiss lingered gently, but with increasing hunger on both their parts it deepened, each Elf trying to dive deeper into the other's soul through that kiss. All that Legolas had felt he tried to tell through the joining of their mouths; all the bitterness and loss and love that had brought him to the riverside became passion and heat. Everything that Haldir hoped to forget – his guilt, his life without Legolas – merged with his joy at having found him again. Their tongues dueled hotly, their arms embraced around each other, each feeling the other in desperate attempts to assure themselves that this was truly real.

Haldir bore Legolas to the ground, the earth softer than the hard bark of the ancient willow. He broke their kiss, causing Legolas to whimper softly at the loss. Looking down upon the other Elf, his eyes shone out his love. "Amin mela lle (I love you), Legolas."

"Amin mela lle, Haldir," Legolas replied, gazing up at Haldir, his eyes shining. He studied the grey eyes intently for a long moment before reaching up and pulling Haldir into another kiss, smiling against his lips before pushing his tongue against the barrier of teeth. Haldir answered his unspoken request and allowed Legolas entrance and once again their tongues tangled. This time it was Haldir's turn to moan, feelings erupting in him that so short a time before he could never have imagined existed. A passionate hot flame rose from his loins and surged through his entire being, the heat so intense it rivaled the very sun. Breaking the kiss he looked down upon his beloved. "Let me see you," he rasped.

Legolas smiled almost coquettishly, causing another swell of emotion to burst in Haldir. Slowly, as if to tease the other Elf, Legolas reached down and pulled his tunic over his head, exposing his bare chest to Haldir.

"You're perfect," said Haldir breathlessly as he drank in the sight of smooth white skin that shone with the inner light of the sun. "Absolutely perfect."

"You're not so bad looking yourself," Legolas teased back, running a finger ever so lightly across Haldir's chest.

"Meleth!" panted Haldir at the touch on his overly sensitive skin, "Do not torment so!"

"Do not torment you?" asked Legolas with a mischievous glint in his eye. "How am I tormenting you? Surely not by this," he ran his finger down Haldir's chest and over the well defined muscles of his abdomen, "or this," he added as he ran his fingers even lower and tracing a line above Haldir's most private place, causing Haldir to gasp.

"That's it," Haldir growled, and pressing his body to Legolas's he crushed his mouth upon the other Elf's. He could feel Legolas's arousal through the thin fabric of Legolas's leggings rubbing against his own and the sensation nearly pushed him over the edge. Determined not to give in, however, he scooted down and away from the lips of the Elf who so captivated him. He trailed light kisses down the gorgeous neck, running his tongue over the hot skin, drinking in the fragrance and taste of him. It reminded Haldir of sweet honeysuckle and lilacs, the delicate nectar of which surely must come from Eru himself.

Coming to the expanse of Legolas's chest, Haldir did not stop his ministrations. One nipple he circled with his fingers, teasing it into a hard nub while the other he took in his mouth, allowing his tongue to circle it in much the same way causing Legolas to arch beneath him. Haldir, ignoring the moans he was eliciting, continued in this fashion for many long minutes, simply savoring the delicate flavor of the Elf.

Suddenly this taste was not enough. Not wanting to hurry, however, Haldir slowly dragged his mouth away from Legolas's nipple and allowed his tongue to dance lightly across the surface of the Elf's stomach until he reached the navel. Darting his tongue in and out of that small crevice, he mimicked the more intimate motions he was yearning to indulge in. With one hand still teasing a nipple, Haldir permitted himself the luxury of dipping his other hand underneath Legolas's leggings. Finding the warmth he sought there, he allowed his fingers to explore the hardness there until Legolas started gasping for him to stop.

"What's wrong, meleth?" Haldir asked, stopping his ministrations abruptly, concern written all over his face.

"Nothing!" Legolas rasped, trying to regain his breath. "What you are doing to me… it's incredible! But I need more. I need you inside me, meleth!"

A slow grin came over Haldir's face. "You are impatient, my prince!" he exclaimed wickedly. Without any further comment, he tugged the leggings off Legolas, exposing the sensitive column to the cool air. Legolas arched off the ground, inviting Haldir to enter him. Tempting though it was, Haldir refrained and instead wrapped his mouth around the organ. Massaging it with his tongue brought Legolas to his ecstasy and for a moment the two Elves lay together, Haldir's head resting easily on Legolas's lower stomach, content to be with his love. Legolas was toying with his hair, the sun was warm upon their naked bodies, and all was right in the world. Surely such bliss was only possible in dreams, wasn't it?

"Meleth," whispered Legolas, "that was amazing. I never knew love until you came into my life. I never understood passion or music or what it meant to be alive until you showed me. I can never repay you for such an incredible gift, but I offer all of what I am to you in pitiable exchange."

"Hush," answered Haldir soothingly, "You do yourself an injustice. I was a shell of what I could be until you called me out of the waters and reminded me of something I'd forgotten: love. For I love you, with my whole being, and I would be content to worship your body for the rest of our lives if only you'll let me."

"Let you?" cried Legolas, sitting up abruptly, causing Haldir's head to spill from his body. "Let you cause me more pleasure than I could ever imagine? Haldir, meleth-nin, as I told you on our wedding day, you have me forever and nothing – nothing – will stop my love for you. Even the Valar themselves could not separate us, so devoted am I to you."

"Oh Legolas," sighed Haldir sitting up to look at the other Elf in his eye, "that's all I ever wanted. As you are mine, I am yours."

Slowly he leaned forward and captured Legolas's lips in a delicate kiss that soon gave way to more violent passions. The two Elves, oblivious of all else around them, soon found themselves once again in the situation where Legolas was begging Haldir to enter him. This time Haldir needed no encouragement; once he prepared Legolas's body for his intrusion, he slipped easily inside of him. Slowly with building intensity body met body, Legolas meeting each of Haldir's thrusts with equal abandon until each one peaked and their bodies ceased their movement. For many minutes they lay there unspeaking but completely in tune with each other, Haldir still inside Legolas, reluctant to leave the warmth that surrounded him.

All too soon, however, both Haldir and Legolas became aware that they were not alone. The river, as if by some dark will of its own, had risen and was lapping at their feet. Unlike its prior beckoning that was cool and gentle and full of gladness, this was a cold, harsh demand, commanding Haldir to rejoin with it.

"No!" Haldir cried aloud in response to the silent pressing of the river. "You cannot have me!"

"You will join with us. It is your destiny." The voice was dark and foreboding.

"You're wrong. Legolas is my destiny. I will never submit."

"If you do not come by choice, we are prepared to use force."

"Never. Nothing you can do or say will entice me to come." Haldir stated loudly but firmly, not allowing the alarm that was rising in his chest to be heard in his voice or seen in his countenance.

Haldir's words seemed as a signal to the river. Up until this point the water had been dark and the surface choppy but now it started to churn and writhe as if in pain, violent in its wrath. A cold wind sprung up and started whipping the Elves' long hair against their bare skin, causing welts to rise and eyes to sting. The sun which had been so friendly just moments before was now covered in foreboding clouds which seemed as a herald of some dark fate.

"Legolas!" screamed Haldir almost frantically, trying to be heard over the howling of the wind. "Hold on to me! I – I'm slipping. I can't… I can't stay firm. Don't let me go!" With this final plea Haldir felt something cold grab his ankle. It was a hand, dark with the stains of mud and dried blood, its nails cracked and oozing something that resembled tar. Haldir fought against it, but the Orc-like being that held him yanked him roughly against the now hardened ground, pulling him into the river.

"Legolas! Meleth-nin! Don't let me go!"

"Haldir!" The voice of his beloved seemed oddly soft and calm, as if it transcended all of Arda and was apart from the chaos that surrounded them.

"Don't let them take me!" Haldir was close to a panic. "I can't… I can't fight them! Meleth!"

"So stop fighting."

At these words Haldir froze. How could his love let him go so easily? How had this Elf have been mourning him so deeply mere hours ago when he thought he was dead suddenly now stop caring?

"Meleth-nin! Please… doesn't our love mean anything? Will you watch as I am taken from you?" Haldir pleaded, his hope waning as he spoke.

"Haldir, it's okay. You're safe."

Haldir was now halfway submerged in the dark waters, but its frigidity did not seem to affect the Elf. Instead he started flailing, trying to fight off his attackers. He was being pulled down by the pawing hands of armies of creatures so loathsome that Orcs themselves would be repulsed. But all this terror around him was not as terrible as what he saw on the land which caused him once again to cease his motion.

Legolas, who moments before had been swearing his fidelity to only Haldir, was now in the arms of another Man. Where he came from or who he was, Haldir could not guess. But as they stood there together, the winds around them ceased and the sun shone above them as if it was announcing its approval. They seem suspended in a place of peace, completely unaware of the raging storm about them. The Man who had shoulder-length brown hair and a cropped beard held Legolas as Haldir once did. Legolas was gazing back up at the taller Man with adoration clearly outlined in every angle of his face. As Haldir looked on horrified the Man bent down and oh so gently placed a kiss on Legolas's forehead before tilting the Elf's chin up to meet his lips in the most tender of kisses.

It was that moment that Haldir became aware that the waters were closing in about his neck and that soon he would be submerged. Trying one last time to free himself, Haldir kicked and pushed at the creatures holding him. "Legolas!" he screamed desperate to regain the Elf's attention. "Meleth-nin!"

The other Elf never responded. He seemed not to notice that his husband was being taken away. As the waters covered his head the last thing he saw was Legolas throwing his arms about the Man and placing a kiss against the nape of the Man's neck where his head had rested last.

"Haldir." Once again Haldir heard the soothing voice of his beloved, seemingly coming from somewhere above. Despite the fact that he had lost the battle against the river and its icy, bone-chilling waters were completely filling his senses, Haldir heard his love's voice.

"Legolas?" he croaked, feeling defeated yet oddly hopeful.

"Yes, it is I." The voice sounded somehow relieved. "It's okay now. You're safe. It's time to let go."

"I can't."

"Yes you can. Open your eyes."

Reluctantly, Haldir did as he was told. He found himself in bed under more blankets than were probably necessary. It was a comfortably sized room with a wardrobe on one side of the room and double doors on the wall opposite the bed. Two unfamiliar Elves stood in one corner and Legolas was sitting beside the bed holding Haldir's cool hand in his warm one. Morning sunlight streaming in the window and Haldir could hear the gentle chirping of a morning lark outside.

Feeling completely confused at this abrupt change of environment, the first thing that came to his mind popped from his lips. "Where am I?" he asked.

Legolas smiled, relief clearly written on his face. "You are in the palace of King Thranduil in the realm of Mirkwood."

Haldir remained silent for a moment, allowing himself to adjust to his surroundings. Only a moment ago he was in an entirely different world, one that was in some way more real to him than this world ever was. The colors were sharper, the smells more intense, and the elements somehow more alive than here. The entire experience now resided in his memory as actual events, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that it was just a dream – for now he realized that was what it was – he simply could not accept it. He could still feel the intense heat of the sun, the cool fluidity of his body merging with the river until he became the river, the journey that seemed timeless, the grassy knoll where he and Legolas made love –

Oh Valar! He could remember hearing Legolas's voice as it permeated his dream and now… now he knew that it was Legolas really responding to him in real life. Did that mean he had been speaking aloud? If so, how much did these Elves – and Legolas – hear?

Sending a quick plea to whatever powers were listening than he did not do something unintentionally rash, Haldir thrust aside the memories of that place and fought to find something to distract him from these mortifying realizations.

"What happened? How long have I been out?" he finally asked.

"You collapsed in the kitchens," Legolas answered, "and to answer your second question, you've been asleep for four days."

"Four days!" gasped Haldir, sitting upright in astonishment. Whether it was amazement at the fact that he could possibly sleep that long or if it was that the events he had just lived through took place in so short a time he could not tell.

"Yes," smiled Legolas, "four days. We've been trying to wake you, but it seemed as if every time we did you only sank deeper into your sleep."

"How did this happen?" asked Haldir.

"Tell me, do you remember having any dreams?" Legolas replied.

At the question memories that were hovering so close to the surface of Haldir's mind came flooding back to him with crystalline clarity. He tried to suppress the heat he felt rising to his cheeks and the feelings stirring in him, but was only partially successful. "Yes," he responded, "I remember them quite vividly. They were rather strange, actually."

"Just as we thought." Was that a smirk on Legolas's face? "We believe you were a victim of the Enchanted River."

That made sense. What did not make sense, however, was how this could have happened. Haldir remembered that there was a goblet which he spilled on himself; surely this must have been water from that river, but how it came to be in that cup, he could not guess.

"In a way," Legolas continued teasingly, "we have much to thank you for. You inadvertently answered the great riddle of what was wrong with my father with your clumsiness."

At the reminder of the king's collapse Haldir felt a wave of concern rush through his body that was soon replaced by hope. "Do you mean he was only asleep? Which means he must have awoken by now!" A feeling of excitement ran through him before he saw the look on Legolas's face that dashed his exuberance.

"No, he still sleeps," Legolas replied. "Unlike you, he did not merely come in contact with the water, he ingested it. It's more potent when it's inside you, and he may be out for some time to come."

"Oh." Haldir did not know what else to say.

"But now we know it's not serious, so thank you, Haldir!" Legolas said lightly.

"You're welcome, I guess," chuckled Haldir, "though I suppose it will be long before you think of me as anything but the most ungraceful Elf you ever met."

"Now that you bring it up," hinted Legolas slyly, "you may very well be correct. But tell me. What sort of dreams did you have? Be honest…"

888888888888888888888888

Meanwhile while Haldir was asleep, elsewhere in the land…

"It is done as you wished," the Wild Man said, bowing before his master. "The king is fallen and the prince has met with the Dwarves. Your plan is falling into place."

"Perfect," the master said, an evil gleam reflecting in his eyes. "Now all we have to do is wait…"

To be continued…

A/N: While I found no record of water from the Enchanted River having different effects on people whether they touch it vs. drink it, for the purpose of this story it will.