A/N: so left you guys on a bit of a cliffhanger! Now to see what shall come of it. You didn't think Thariya's visions would come without consequences did you? I promise she won't stay unconscious for too long. I'm doing my best to develop Thariya and Legolas as a friendship first.

So this chapter is more from Legolas' POV which I found challenging to write. I hope Ive done him justice!

Thanks to all the support. People who favourite and follow: daeb and BarakTheSlayer! And thanks to my reviewers!

eragon95159: I haven't decided about healing yet but Im sure it would be useful to them so I may put it in. Watch out for it! She's not going to use a crossbow as her main weapon is a sword but she also has Elladan's bow to use.

Bitch123's sis: wow the names are getting more and more unoriginal xD. But thank you for your review on chapter 5! I also enjoyed her interactions with Elladan and the introductions.

Arthurlockheart: lool oops! Thanks for pointing it out to me, at some point I'll go back and find them to fix it. I'm glad you love the story and I hope you enjoy this next chapter! To answer your question yes this is defo a slow burner.

- Angels and Douchebags

It was dark. Thariya tried to open her eyes, she willed herself to come back to the light. But to no avail. Her mind was trapped in this void.

The last thought racing through her mind was Legolas protecting her. She reached out to Lorien but no answer, not even a sense of a connection. She was in a place where there was no concept of time or space.

She felt like she was floating. Her energy was spent as she relaxed into the darkness. No. She needed to come back to the light.

Suddenly she remembered what she saw before she blacked. She scrambled to wake herself up to warn Gandalf of what she saw.

His death.

She tried to find a way out of the suffocating darkness but there was no escape. She could sense an ancient evil slumbering around her, she did not know what it was. But her fear was inescapable.

…

"Legolas how do you fare?" Aragorn glanced behind to his elf-friend. Whilst elves were strong and resilient, he had been carrying the unconscious Nauth Herdir for four days. Claiming, as she had fallen into the deep sleep under his watch, therefore he was solely responsible for her well-being.

The Fellowship clambered through rock and snow in the Caradhras trying to find a safer route.

"I am fine." Legolas said strained. Even he would be tired eventually. But he felt a strong bond to Thariya, he would protect her and not let anything happen to her.

"I am impressed the elf-prince managed to last this long." Gimli muttered, begrudgingly impressed with Legolas. He had to admit his dedication to the young woman was extraordinary and confirmed his suspicions. Even if the elf did not see it himself.

"How long is he going to carry her for?" Pippin whispered as he walked behind Legolas.

"Until she wakes up of course." Merry stated blandly.

"But will she wake up?" Pippin asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure." Merry said the frown deepening.

"I miss talking to her." Pippin said sadly.

"You know what I mean. Besides, don't elves get tired?" Pippin asked once more.

"Not easily." Aragorn replied alongside him but looked concerned at Legolas.

"Gandalf might I suggest we stop for lunch?" Sam suggested to the wizard who gestured behind to the struggling Legolas.

"I fear we will be trapped in a blizzard if we do not clear this mountain pass soon." Gandalf grumbled, unhappy with the progress they had made.

Gandalf glanced at the elf valiantly carrying the Nauth Herdir in his arms, a sombre expression on his face.

"Very well." He conceded sympathetically.

There was a brief break for lunch as Legolas nibbled on the Lembas bread. Not feeling particularly hungry, he was missing the company of Thariya who was lying beside him. His eyes softened as his gaze washed over her.

Although he did not know her well enough and he could count the number for conversations they had on one hand, but he felt himself opening up to her. He had never been able to talk about his childhood so easily, to someone he did not know. This connection both thrilled and unsettled him, he wondered if she felt it too.

He brushed the hair out of her face, which did not go unnoticed by a certain dwarf.

"Here lad." Gimli handed a bowl of vegetable stew to Legolas.

"No I am fine." Legolas politely declined.

"Take it, you need to keep up your strength." Gimli insisted sitting down opposire the elf.

"Thank you." Legolas gave him a small smile before taking the bowl. He welcomed the hot stew down his throat as it replenished him with energy. Gimli observed him, worry etched on his usually relaxed features.

"What's on yer mind?" Gimli asked.

"What do you mean?" Legolas furrowed his brows. Gimli gestured to Thariya.

"You do not have to do this." Legolas sighed.

"Pretend to be polite, or friendly with me." He explained further.

Gimli chuckled at Legolas' attempts to push him away.

"I mean to ask about Thariya." The dwarf stated.

"Oh."

"From what Aragorn has told me, Thariya's visions usually take a toll on her. This one must have been bad for her to be unconscious. However she is breathing so that's a good sign." Legolas explained.

"Have ya tried talkin' to her?" Gimli suggested.

"I beg your pardon?" Legolas choked on his stew.

"Well I am just thinking, wherever her mind is, she must feel alone and lost. Perhaps if you talked to her, it may bring her back to the light." Gimli finished her stew standing up.

"And I was not pretendin' to be polite. If we're on this quest together, despite the tensions twixt our races we might as well get along. If ya want anyone to talk to." Gimli muttered before walking off.

"But we are not friends." He emphasised.

Legolas smiled for the first time, at the back of Gimli's head at his kind words. It sounded ridiculous but Legolas thought what was the harm in trying?

…

"And are you sure she was not in the halls of Mandos? Have you checked properly Namo?" Lorien said flustered pacing about his gardens.

The precarious situation with his Nauth Herdir had sent him in a spiral of panic. If she was simply unconscious he would be able to sense her spirit and mind, reach out to her. But he felt nothing.

"Irmo I am aware of all the souls that reside there, she has not passed from this world." Namo frowned also increasingly unsettled by this.

"I will keep you updated brother." He left leaving Lorien to his worries.

"My love it is possible due to the nature of her extreme vision, it exhausted her spirit. She needs rest." Ëste the mistress of healing replied.

"Yes but I should be able to sense her. Unless she's-" Lorien stopped, his face darkening.

"Unless she's what?" She asked.

"In the void."

"How is that possible?" Ëste was shocked.

"It is not unheard of. I am just worried about what she will find in there." Lorien's gaze darkened.

…

The Fellowship continued on walking up the mountain slope when suddenly Frodo slipped on shale, the ring of power exposed on the snow.

The man of Gondor immediately brought his attention to the Ring gleaming in the snow and grasped it in his hand, eyeing it with curiosity.

"Boromir!" Aragorn called out to the man, his own arms protectively around Frodo.

"It is such a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing, such a little thing." Boromir entranced by the gold ring dangled in front of his face.

"Boromir, give the ring to Frodo." Aragorn ordered, his fingers brushing over the hilt of his sword.

Frodo took a sharp intake at breath, his eyes wandering over Boromir with anxiety. Boromir's eyes fixated on the ring, a smile appeared on his face before he snapped out of it and gave the ring to Frodo.

"As you wish. I care not." Boromir smiled before walking off.

The next day the luck of the Fellowship ran out. There was a blinding, blistering blizzard up the mountain pass. Both Aragorn and Boromir carrying two hobbits each, their boots sinking in the snow. It was so bad that even Legolas, as light-footed as he was, sunk into the snow upon carrying Thariya. He adjusted the cloak around her tunic so she was well covered, with no sign of waking up soon. If they continued along this path, they would perish within the day's end.

Legolas' eyes scanned their environment but it was blurred. Suddenly he heard faint sound in the blowing wind.

"There is a fell voice in the air." He called out urgently. He looked down at Thariya and watched as her mouth moved. His eyes lit up at the sign of life in his arms.

"Thariya moved!" He said excitedly.

"It's Saruman." Gandalf shouted. But it was too late, a bolt of lightening hit the snow covered rocks above them.

"He's trying to bring down the mountain. Gandalf! We must turn back!" Aragorn shouted.

"No!" Gandalf replied, as he chanted into the wind trying to counteract Saruman's own magic. His voice rumbled against the mountain-side threatening to bring the whole thing down. Another lightening crack exploded against the shale as a huge snow avalanche thundered down towards them.

The fellowship threw themselves against the cliff. Legolas once again shielded his body over Thariya as the snow crumpled down over them.

…

"It's cold." Thariya muttered in the void. It became suddenly freezing where she was as her teeth chattered she rubbed her arms together.

She still didn't know where she was but she gasped at the fact she had just spoken. It had been so long she almost forgotten the sound of her own voice. Maybe she was in her mind again. But why was it so dark?

She felt terror creep into her heart. She felt so very alone. She had to get out, but she just didn't know how to.

"But you are not alone Thariya." A deep voice echoed into the dark.

Thariya shuddered with dread at the new voice.

"W-Who are you?" She stuttered hoping this was just a nightmare. All in her thoughts. Not real.

"Someone very old. And patient." The voice replied after a brief moment of silence.

"What do you want with me?" She tried to navigate around the space she was in, but no luck.

"I just want you to explore the full extent of your powers, young Nauth Herdir." The voice held amusement.

"H-How do you k-know me?" She shivered drawing info herself.

The voice let out a monstrous chuckle, it was the most terrifying sound she had heard in her short life.

"Unimportant." It replied simply.

"Then what do you want?" She tried to find courage within herself as she spoke firmly.

She thought back to Elladan and Rivendell. Legolas. Aragorn. Arwen. Fréaláf. Her friends would want her to be brave. Courageous.

"Nothing. Just to observe you. Surely you have felt it, the pull to the darkness." The voice boomed in the void.

Thariya tried to ignore the voice, trying to remove it from her mind and thoughts.

"You cannot hide your thoughts from me child. You first encountered it at the river." The being stated, reading her memories.

"I stopped them." She spat out, remembering the Nazgul. How she felt fear. Terror. Darkness Temptation. She thrived off making them suffer.

"You enjoyed it." The voice leered.

"My servant is doing his best to find you. But you will fall into the darkness all by yourself. You are more powerful than you know." It said.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed as she felt a surge of energy explode from her. She felt the being wince, as if in pain and retreat slightly.

"Oh but you are alone." And then it was gone. She sighed in relief, clearly she managed to harness her power to keep it at bay. But she needed to get back.

"Thariya.." She heard a distant voice, there was a familiar ring to it.

"Thariya can you hear me?" It was far away.

"Are you okay? Give us some sort of sign." The voice begged. This was different from the dark voice before, it was friendly. She reached out with her mind, a small sense of relief washing over hee and could sense protective energy.

"We need you..."

…

"It is no use she cannot hear me." It was nightfall now and Legolas had placed the young woman down on the rocks, by the dark lake.

The mountain pass was too dangerous to cross, so they were going through the mines of Moria.

"Keep trying lad." Gimli placed a hand on his shoulder before walking off.

"Thariya we need you. Come back to us. Come back to me." Legolas whispered by her ear. He placed a kiss on her forehead, missing her company. Missing the friendship he had started with her.

Legolas could sense magic radiating off her, but it was unfamiliar to him. He felt deeply unsettled by it.

"Wherever you are, you are not alone. Your friends are with you." He spoke close to her ear, hoping she may hear him.

"The walls of Moria!" Gimli exclaimed in amazement. They approached a narrow stretch of wet rocks and trees.

Gandalf tapped his staff against the cliff rocks as blue runes illuminated in the starlight.

"Itidin...it only mirrors starlight and moonlight." Gandalf muttered.

The silvery tunes became more prominent and extended into a full archway, resembling a door. Gandalf walked over to Legolas along with Aragorn to observe their young companion.

"She does not wake." Legolas watched her his eyebrows furrowing.

"No. But you said she moved her lips?" Gandalf checked.

Legolas nodded.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps it was a trick of the light." He grumbled.

"Do not doubt yourself Mellon, she would want us to stay hopeful." Aragorn reassured the worried elf.

He too was exceptionally anxious for Thariya. He knew of her visions but none had rendered her unconscious. He was eager for her healthy return, and equally eager to hear what she has heard that was so terrifying.

"Yes. While I agree, there is a dark energy surrounding her." Gandalf stated darkly.

"What?" Legolas' eyes shot up.

"She is causing it?" Aragorn asked equally surprised.

"That I do not know. But this does not bode well. Let us hope she returns soon and tells us yourself." Gandalf said as he walked back towards the archway.

"It reads 'the door of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak friend and enter.'" Gandalf translated.

"What do you suppose that means?" Pippin asked watching the door.

"It's quite simple. If you are a friend, speak the password and the doors will open!" Gandalf said confidently.

But after several hours of chanting elvish magic at the archway it refused to open. The Fellowship felt downtrodden and exhausted, and the whole ordeal with their tenth member made them feel hopeless.

Merry and Pippin dealt with the grief in a different way. Boredom had got the better of the hobbits at they tossed rocks into the dark lake, finding bigger ones each time. Pippin found a particularly large rock he was about to throw.

"Do not disturb the water." Aragorn said ominously, catching his arm in time. He watched the water as ripples began to appear on the surface of the lake.

"It's riddle. Speak friend and enter. What's the elvish word for friend?" Frodo asked after a while.

"Mellon." Gandalf replied. The illuminated rock face divided into the middle, revealing two great doors which swung outwards. The inside was black, so dark it was deeper than the night.

Legolas picked up Thariya in his arms once more and sighed. He did not enjoy the underground nature of the dwarves. No, his heart yearned for the trees of the Woodland Realm, the open night sky with thousands of stars.

"Did I ever tell you my favourite thing about home?" Legolas whispered down to her.

"Well, on Mereth-Nuin-Giliath, the feast of starlight. I would walk along the trees of the Greenwood forest. Climb their branches so high and thick, until I emerged from the canopies. I would be exposed to the beautiful night sky and all their stars. You could even see as far as Esgaroth and the Lonely Mountain." Legolas smiled remembering his homeland.

"I would love to show you one day." He glanced down at her peaceful face. She stirred in her sleep-like state, causing Legolas to grin. He did not know how but he knew she had heard him.

The Fellowship entered in the darkness of Moria, unsettling most of them. Gimli saw Legolas' downtrodden face, the same hopeless face he had displayed since the Nauth Herdir had been rendered unconscious.

"Soon master elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves; roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone. This, my friend is the home of my cousin Balin...and they call this a Mine!" Gimli scoffed.

Gandalf emitted light from his staff but the Fellowship recoiled as they found many dwarf skeletons strewn about the stone chambers. There were arrows, axes and shields rusting about.

"This is no mine...it's a tomb." Boromir replied solemnly.

"Oh..no..no..no." Gimli cried in sorrow as he looked upon the dead bodies of his kin.

"Goblins." Legolas placed Thariya on her cloak upon the ground as he yanked an arrow out of one of the skeletons form an ancient battle.

They all drew their weapons as they began backing away towards the doors they had entered.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here." Boromir's voice was laced with regret.

Suddenly a large tentacle wrapped itself around Frodo's ankle, yanking him down to the ground. The hideous monster began dragging him towards the lake, catching Aragorn and Boromir's attention. The Fellowship fight together to hack the limbs of the beast as the creature reaches the surface of the water. They rescue Frodo pulling him towards the entrance.

"Into the mines!" Gandalf shouted as they hurriedly entered the doors once more. A rock slide seals the closing doorway, leaving them in darkness.

"We now have but one choice...we must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard...there are older and fouler things than the Orcs in the deep places of the world." Gandalf said warily.

Unbeknownst to them, the young Nauth Herdir had been listening to their conversation and exploits, she was beginning to differentiate which voices were speaking.

She listened to Legolas' story about his homeland and her heart ached. He confided in her about so much of his past, he was so different to what she had imagined and yet she was in no position to respond to any of his stories. She imagined the Woodland Realm in it's glory and blushed if she could, when he said he had wanted to show her.

Then she felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt. She felt guilty for enjoying the attention he had been giving her. When the one who loved her was in Rivendell, the one who was willing to court her. No she did not forget Elladan.

More voices joined in and suddenly there was a cacophony of noise and panic which she could sense. She felt dread, they needed her help! The time of her vision was soon coming to pass, and how could she stop it when she slept.

She mustered her strength and energy.

"Wake up Thariya." She willed herself, summoning the magic from within her.

"WAKE UP!" She screamed into the void and felt life flowing back into her.

The Fellowship passed over various made structures. They walked over a stone bridge above deep mines and continued up stairs, passing though cemeteries and dwarf skeletons strewn all over the mines. The atmosphere was thick and dense around them, as if there was no more oxygen to breathe. The path had split into three passages which disappeared into dark tunnels.

They had reached a stalemate as Gandalf sat on a rock frowning.

"I have no memory of this place." He whispered.

Legolas stood with Thariya in his arms, feeling a strange energy in the air.

She suddenly opened her eyes widely and rolled out of Legolas' arms onto the rocky ground.

"Thariya!" Legolas jumped in surprise, as the rest of the fellowship ran towards her.

She slowly sat up from her position on the ground as Legolas rushed towards her, his arms lingering on her forearms.

"Thank the Valar you are alright!" He had a relieved smile on his face. She returned her own smile.

"Mellon." Aragorn helped her out before engulfing her in a hug.

"We missed you, we feared the worst." His eyes darted downwards. Thariya placed a finger on his chin tilting it up to meet her eyes. She gave him an encouraging smile.

"Oh you're awake lass." Gimli came over with a smile on his face as he patted her back.

"I don't know what pointy ears would have done!" He chuckled walking away.

She glanced at Legolas who to his credit maintained a stoic face. But he made a mental note to beat Gimli later on.

Gandalf, I must speak with Gandalf. She directed the message to Legolas. Their eyes widened in surprise when they realised what she had just done.

She had spoken to Legolas. In his mind.

A/N: I hope you guys liked that little development! It was in my plan the whole time for her powers to develop like that. Hope that answers the question of my guest reviewer in chapter 2 who asked if she was going to carry the pen and paper around! Let me know what you think