A/N: Thanks a lot for reviewing! :) Again, I am very grateful for any feedback, be it positive or negative :)

When Legolas woke again, he felt disoriented and dizzy. His head was resting against Aragorn's bare chest and Aragorn's arms were wrapped tightly around him.

Slowly, everything came back to him. The horrible experience of finding Aragorn dead and himself withered with old age, finally finding his way back out of the darkness, realizing that he was lying in Aragorn's arms and that everything had only been a dream. Except that he had never had a dream like this, he normally was able to decide himself on which paths his mind wandered during the night. Had it been a vision? But he was not even able to age, even if he faded away after Aragorn's death his body would not change. Was it maybe a warning of staying with Aragorn?

He shook his head and concentrated on listening to Aragorn's steadily beating heart. He could not tell Aragorn what he had dreamt about. He knew that Aragorn already was concerned about his mortality bringing grief to Legolas, he could not add to that weight by relaying this horrible dream to him.

Legolas expressed the wish to ride outside of the city, feeling the need to connect to trees and other living creatures. Aragorn concurred, deeply worried about the elf, who would not tell him what had ailed him last night. He told Legolas about the white figure he had seen and voiced his suspicion that the house was indeed haunted and that the spirits were affecting him in some way.

"Let us leave this inn and stay at another place tonight," Aragorn pleaded.

"But why would a spirit affect most strongly me, an elf, of all people in this house?" Legolas argued. "It makes no sense. Why would it not affect you, being human, more than me? I am not running away like a coward, there is something about this place and I want to know what it is."

So, they had asked the inn keeper about the old woman Legolas had encountered the night before. As was to be expected, he claimed that she was crazy and that he could not explain to himself why she would mistake Legolas for anyone else, having never seen anyone who looked like him. But he did not look comfortable when he told them this and kept glancing wearily at Legolas.

They gave up for now and made their way out of the city. Legolas felt his spirits rise, when he was among trees again; he had not realized how dearly he had missed their presence.

Back on steady ground, in some distance to the entrance to the city, he noticed a parcel of land, encircled by high walls overgrown with ivy. The place looked very old; it clearly had not been destroyed by Smaug. Getting curious, Legolas drew closer.

"What is this?" he questioned, looking at Aragorn.

"It is a graveyard, I believe." Aragorn said.

"A graveyard?"

"Yes, it is where the people of Esgaroth bury their dead."

"Oh, I see…" Legolas said softly. Of course, there was need for a place to bury and remember the dead if they died on a regular basis, he thought. Elves did not have graveyards; in the rare cases an elf died, the body was burned and the ashes allowed to fly free. Suddenly, remembering the dream from last night he wondered whether his body would also one day lie in such a place and he shuddered. He could feel Aragorn watch him concernedly and pulled himself together.

"Can we have a look at it?" he asked.

"Are you certain?" Aragorn replied, surprised at the sudden morbid desire of his beloved.

Instead of a reply, Legolas dismounted and Aragorn followed suit. They entered the graveyard, Legolas bidding their horses to wait for them outside. They walked silently past the graves, Legolas completely overwhelmed by their sheer number.

"How can you go on, when you know with certainty that one day you will die?" he said quietly. Then, realizing what thought he had spoken out loud he paled and whispered, "I am sorry. Forget what I said."

But Aragorn shook his head, pondering his words. "Growing up among elves, I have asked myself that as well for a long time," he replied after a pause. "But then I realized that mortality is also a gift. Knowing each day that my time here is limited makes each moment more valuable to me. And although I do not know what will happen after death I am not afraid of finding out."

Legolas thought about his words, the memory of a friend who had left for Valinor some years ago coming back to him. "I think I can understand that. The time of the elves will soon be over in Middle Earth and the elves are leaving its shores. In the end it is the same I think, although the elves know what awaits them after they have left." Aragorn smiled, slightly astonished, but pleased about the understanding the elf showed towards matters of mortal death and pulled Legolas close into a gentle kiss.

When they raised their heads again, both' eyes fell upon a small grave with a white stone. Legolas started. "It says 'Nimrodel' on the stone," he stated confused. "Is this a common name amongst men?"

"No, it is quite rare for men to give their children elven names. Only the dunedain still practice it."

"It is also a rare name among the elves," Legolas said "Although there was a maiden named Nimrodel in Mirkwood. Her family was kin to Nimrodel of Lorien, who vanished – the one the song talks about – and they named her thus in remembrance of her. However, they regretted it dearly, for she as well disappeared about one hundred years ago. I do not think anyone will dare to name their child thus ever again. She had not even reached her majority when she vanished; she would have turned one hundred years old the following year…"

Aragorn went closer to inspect the small stone. "The death date lies back about one hundred years ago, but there is no birth date on the stone. This is most strange." Aragorn could not find any further signs as to who had erected the stone. However, looking around they found a family grave next to the small stone, bearing the name of the inn they were staying at.

They returned in the evening, both still wondering about the gravestone with the elven name.

They took their evening meal downstairs, hoping to get some more information. And indeed, they were lucky. They were only few guests, all of them not very talkative and soon they were the only people left.

A little girl with dark blonde braids curiously peeked into the room and tentatively made her way in, when Legolas smiled at her. "Do you live here?" he inquired kindly.

"Yes, this inn belongs to my father," she answered watching him with big curious eyes.

"Are you an elf?"

"Yes", he replied smiling.

"How old are you?" she asked. "I've heard elves can become very old."

"I am very old," Legolas confirmed vaguely. "How old are you, little one?"

"I am already five!" she proclaimed proudly, but persisted "How old are you exactly?"

"I am over 500 years old," he replied. Aragorn chuckled, as this statement was hardly more exact than the first, but the little girl seemed not to notice.

"Oh but that's much older than my grandfather was when he died of old age last year! Do you not die?" she continued, clearly not quite satisfied.

"Elves do not die usually," Legolas explained, trying not to look disturbed at the child's odd question.

"But the beautiful lady here in the house, she is a ghost and so she must be dead!"

"Oh, so you have seen her? And you think she is an elf?" Legolas questioned, sharing a look with Aragorn.

"It is a pretty lady and she looks a little bit like you, master elf. She is very sad. And also very angry."

"Do you know why she is sad and angry?" he replied.

"No, she does not speak." Then she suddenly leaned closer to him, whispering "I think grandmother and father know, but they won't tell me."

"I see," Legolas smiled at her. "So, you are not afraid of her?"

"No. But all the grown up people seem to be afraid of her…are you?"

"I do not know," Legolas said thoughtfully. "I have not met her yet, but I intend to meet her tonight."

The little girl was called from outside and told to go to sleep. She smiled and said before she left: "Please tell her I said hello."

They went to bed soon. In search of his nightshirt, Legolas opened random drawers and, encountering a neatly folded white piece of fabric thought a second he had found it. Upon touching the cloth, however, he found how mistaken he was. He took it out carefully and unfolded it. "What is this?" he exclaimed surprised, catching Aragorn's attention.

Aragorn turned towards him and was surprised to find Legolas holding up a long beautiful white dress worthy of any elven princess. "It is made of silk and embroidered by the elves, that much I can tell – indeed, if I am not very mistaken, this is a dress an elven maiden would wear at her marriage ceremony," Legolas wondered.

"Why would such a piece of clothing be here?" Aragorn stood up to examine the dress as well. "This is most strange. Someone must have forgotten it."

"Who would forget an elven wedding dress in a place like this?" Legolas shook his head. "There must be something else to it."

Aragorn's hand found Legolas', gripping it tightly. "What," he said "if the ghost is indeed not the ghost of a human, but the ghost of an elven maiden?"

"Aragorn, you go to sleep. It suffices if I stay awake. I do not need the sleep as you do." Legolas insisted for the tenth time. He was sitting up on the bed with his back to the wall, knees pulled up and arms wrapped around them. His jaw was set and his eyes told Aragorn that he would not yield.

Aragorn sighed. "Alright, I will do as you ask me. I trust you will wake me in case anything happens?" Legolas nodded and bent down to kiss him goodnight. He blew out the candle and Aragorn shifted to a more comfortable position, while Legolas continued to sit up in bed next to him in the almost fetal position he had assumed, as if he tried very hard to protect himself from something.

Aragorn had a hard time to find sleep this night. He was feeling quite uneasy already and the fact that Legolas was insisting on staying up alone during the night did nothing to calm him either. Legolas' hand found his and squeezed it gently and he finally fell asleep.

This night, however, they remained undisturbed.

The following day they still were determined to solve the riddle of the ghost in the little inn. They explored the town further, whereas Aragorn found to his amusement that Legolas took great care to do his braids and dress into his tunic and breeches, making sure to show off his weapons and not to wear anything that could identify him as not male.

They came back early in the evening, hoping to get more information on the maiden's ghost. The inn keeper seemed to be out this evening and only a maid tended to the guests, who claimed to be newly employed and know nothing at all. Soon they were once again the only people left and made to go upstairs into their room when suddenly the door opened and an old woman came in who Legolas recognized as the one he had encountered two nights ago.

She was carrying the white dress they had found in their room with her, waiving it like a flag and cackling madly. "I found the dress when I cleaned your room, master elf; some elvish devilry must have brought it there. It keeps following us everywhere, but maybe you can take it away from us? Even as the city burned down, the wedding dress she never wore was unscathed by the flames. We left it, but soon found it lying in our new home. Since then we tried to get rid of it several times, but it kept coming back over and over again." She dropped the dress on Legolas' lap unceremoniously and left the room still laughing, leaving them in a stunned silence.

"I suppose it will do no good if we follow her and question her further…" Aragorn said, looking at the door which had swung shut behind her rather disbelieving. "She is utterly mad."

"I believe you are right. I will stay up tonight again and see whether I can meet and speak to the maiden's ghost," Legolas replied, lifting the dress of his lap and folding it neatly.

"I would like to stay up with you. Or instead of you," Aragorn offered, frowing. Legolas shook his head, smiling thankfully. "I will be fine, please trust me."

Legolas had been waiting for quite some time and began to wonder whether the ghost would stay away this night as well, as she had the previous night. He was holding Aragorn's hand, for his comfort as much as for Aragorn's who had clearly had difficulties to fall asleep again. He was feeling slightly guilty at causing his companion so much worry, but he wanted to face his fears alone – he had never been fearful and he did not like how the presence of the spirit seemed to affect him.

The room was very dark, but not too dark for him to see the shapes of the furniture. Suddenly the door opened and shut again with a thud. He started, letting go of Aragorn's hand and looked around. And then he saw her. A transparent figure was standing in front of the window, the moonlight illuminating her in an eerie way. And indeed, when he looked at her features closely, he recognized her. It was the elven maiden who had vanished from Mirkwood more than one hundred years ago. He shivered involuntarily as if cold. Anger was radiating from her. "Nimrodel?" he whispered. But she did not reply, maybe she was not able to communicate with him in that way. All she did was look at him sadly and shake her head as if in disapproval. Then he knew no more.

"I congratulate you on your marriage," Elladan said, looking from Legolas to Aragorn, who was smiling in utmost happiness. "As do I", his twin added. "Please do take good care of each other". Legolas looked around him in surprise. Was this a dream again, the same kind of dream as last night? But why did it seem so happy then?

Aragorn took his hand. "What is it Legolas? Are you not glad we are finally married?" He shook his head in wonder, staring down at Aragorn's calloused hand holding his. Why did everything seem so real? Hundreds of guests had gathered around him; he could hear their voices, feel their presence… He returned his attention to Elrohir and Elladan who were still standing in front of them. "Of course we do not want to keep you too long…," Elrohir said winking. "We will leave you alone then." They smiled suggestively and departed.

"Well, they are right, are they not? It is time." Aragorn smiled at him. "Time for what?" Legolas asked, still feeling disoriented. He felt Aragorn's hand on his lower back, guiding him towards the door. "Time for our wedding night, of course." Aragorn laughed. "What is the matter with you today, Legolas?"

- - - Several weeks passed and weeks became years. And Legolas noted Aragorn becoming more and more withdrawn and he felt hurt and worried and was uncertain what to do. Until one day, when Aragorn said to him "I love you no more, I am sorry," with an earnest face, looking apologetically. "I have taken a lover. She is the most beautiful maiden I have ever laid eyes upon and she will also be a much more adequate partner at my side once I am king. I believe it would be best if we parted our ways."

Legolas stared at him in disbelief. "But we cannot part as we are wed." He said, feeling like he was losing the ground beneath his feet. The world was spinning and he wished it would stop, trying to formulate a clear thought. "The elves do not allow it, this is true. But men can part their ways if they want," Aragorn said and with that he turned and left.

Legolas fell to his knees, suddenly feeling sick. His heart felt as if it would burst and he hugged his arms around himself, desperately trying to keep his chest from breaking open. He fell to his side and suddenly he realized what was happening. He heart was broken and so he was fading away. Finally, after what felt like an eternity in agony, everything went dark.