Early Frost

Chapter 9

He was running through the dark. Heart hammering, and his lungs not able to take in enough oxygen as he panted, panic raising in his chest, trying to escape from the monster that was chasing him. He did not know what it was that was following him, not really at least, he just knew that he had to get away and get away quickly. "What are you doing? Why are you running away from your problems?" he heard a voice come through the darkness, but he couldn't tell just who was talking to him as he just kept running.

In front of him appeared the figure of his archery instructor, only his normally calm features were twisted into a horrendous sneer. "Look at you, such a coward, my dear little prince," the words came out as almost an animalistic snarl, "I knew that you would never become the warrior that you told your father you would be. You will never account for anything. You are dirty and always will be dirty." Tears came to his eyes as he turned his feet so that he was now running away from the instructor, denying what he was hearing. His father was proud of him, as was his instructor. He then looked down at his hands only to see that they were covered with the black gore of orc blood that had been there after the desperate battle that he had had for his life and that of his mother.

Now in front of him was the shadowy figure of the lord of Imladris, flanked closely by the figures of his two sons as well as the Lords Erestor and Glorfindel. They were laughing cruelly while they talked amongst themselves, cold smirks upon their normally fair features. "I can't believe that he actually believes that we care for him and want him to recover," said the cool voice of Elladan, which was greeted with the agreeing chuckle of his brother.

"It is true," said Glorfindel, his normally warm eyes now turned to ice with his cruelty, "He is soiled, and everything that he touches becomes soiled as well. It would be best for him to just follow in the footsteps of his mother, then none of us would have to be bothered with him anymore."

Horror filled his chest at the hearing of these words, they couldn't truly feel this way about him could they? Why would they have done all that they had for him, dedicated weeks worth of their life towards his well being, if they felt absolutely nothing for him?

His rising tears stayed in his eyes as he turned away into a new direction, feeling desperation as his options were quickly becoming quite limited. His eyes widened as the next person he saw before him was his father. He ran towards him, throwing his arms around the strong body as he hung on as if he were the only link to sanity and life that the prince truly had. Confusion spread through his veins as his father stayed still and stiff in return to the hug. There was no response at all, no greeting, no anything, and thus he backed away from this odd figure in front of him. He then saw Thranduil as he was to the visitors such as the dwarves in the Lonely Mountains. He was dressed in his formal robes that cut him off from the rest of the world and the simple, yet elegant circlet that he wore as his badge of office, his normally warm green eyes taking on the cold glint of the gemstone that held their coloring. "Don't touch me. Do you think that I wish to be associated with one who is as dirty as you? How could you think that you would ever be worthy enough to be considered my son?" The cold eyes then took on the fiery glint of anger as silvery tears began to streak down the paling cheeks of the Prince. "You are pathetic. You couldn't prevent yourself from getting captured by the orcs who then spoiled your worth for the whole of your now pointless life. And on top of that failure you couldn't protect your mother in the least. Did you truly think that I would welcome you back with open arms when you have done nothing to earn my praise." Legolas drew back further away from the figure of his king, feeling unworthy to even think of the fact that this was also his father, if he was worthless as a son, then it only stood to reason that he would also be unworthy as a prince. "That is right, Prince, you should remove yourself from my presence. In fact, since you failed so spectacularly, it is best that you should just follow your mother. I no longer wish to be subjected to your presence." With that he turned away from the now sobbing figure of his son.

With no choice left, Legolas turned back towards the original direction that he had been running from, and almost immediately he knew the exact reason that he had been fleeing. He saw his mother as he last clearly remembered her, dressed in a pale blue gown with an arrow sticking out of her shoulder and blood pouring from the wound. She smiled at him, and he saw that her white teeth were covered with blood that somehow he knew was her own, and he shuddered when she opened her arms for him, silently beckoning him to come into her arms to join her. "Come here my Leaf," she said, the blood trickling from her mouth down over her chin as it could no longer be contained. "I wish you to come join me. I miss you, and it is only your right to come and join me so that I am no longer alone in my death." He backed away, and felt his body collide with that of his father, he could tell because of the cold hands that were pushing him back in the direction of his mother. "My dear, sweet leaf, there is no reason for you to be afraid of me. All I want is for you to join me so that we may be happy together, and you no longer need to bother your father, he truly is very busy and you would just be an inconvenience for him." In return to this he lowered himself to the ground and curled himself into a ball, covering his ears with his hands and cowering away from all the figures that were now surrounding him and murmuring in agreement over his worthlessness, and his being unclean and dirtied by the hands of the orcs.

The final straw came as he felt strong hands wrap around him and lift him bodily from his position, touching him in ways that reminded him of just how dirty he truly was. It was at this point that this person began to speak into his ear, it was the orc, "It seems that no one wants you any longer, garbage. They are leaving you to me so that I may show you your real value." He then began to tear the prince's clothes off of him violently.

"No…" came the soft whisper from the prince's lips as he felt himself revealed to the elements, the wind chill and biting on his pale skin. As he felt both blade and blunt once again his voice was torn from his throat in a loud shriek that was followed by the vocal yelling of the same word. He couldn't believe that he had to go through the same torture yet again, maybe he should do what all those who had cared for him, or at least had seemed to care for him, wanted him too…pass on to the Halls of Mandos instead of fighting against the pain of the injuries and memories to remain among the boughs of his beloved forests. His torture continued, wrenching more and more terrified cries from his throat and this time it did not seem as if the sweetness of blissful unconsciousness would come to aid him.

Glorfindel was pulled from his wondering thoughts when the small body that was still curled against his side in sleep began to clutch more tightly to him, as if to affirm the fact that there was someone there beside him, and that he was not in the process of leaving him. His concern for the slumbering mind of the prince rose when Legolas then did the opposite, pushing away from him and scooting back across the wide bed so that he was not touching the golden lord in any way, as his eyes flew open in what appeared to be terror, though they were still dull and clouded as if in sleep, and silvery tears began to trace down the sunken, pale cheeks. Glorfindel moved over to his side immediately and drew the small form into his arms, at which point Legolas went comepletely limp and squeezed his eyes closed as if to ward away the sight of what ever terror he was seeing within his mind.

If he had been struggling, the situation would have possibly made more sense to the ancient elf who had seen many examples of victims of torture at the hands of orcs, and even on rare occasions had to deal with being a victim himself, but this was the opposite of the normal response. Legolas should have been struggling against his arms, not acting as one who had given up as the tears increased in their flow down the elfling's cheeks. "No…" he heard the young prince's voice pass through the pale lips, louder than Glorfindel had heard the young voice issue forth, and he began immediately to try to rouse him from his sleep that was obviously less than the rest that was needed to aid his recovery.

This seemed to irritate the problem more as now he began to struggle against Glorfindel's hands with as much strength as he could muster, which knocked the caring hands away in an almost alarming fashion, which would have won him a one way trip to the floor had the lord not moved him back to the center of the bed, before a scream issued forth from the young elf's mouth, After the terrifying sound had ceased, the prince once more went completely limp, flopping without grace across the Eldar's lap, head lolling almost back to the mattress before Glorfindel could get his hand around to support it. Something told him that he was losing the prince as he saw the small flame of life inside the elfling fade further away from a state of healthiness than it had been at his arrival, and especially since his attempt at humor prior to the morning meal. Something more drastic needed to be done, and done quickly before he was lost to the Halls.

Carefully he drew the wasted body closer to his, rearranging their position so the elfling was lying flat on his back atop the body of the reborn warrior while he reclined against the headboard, with the coppery-haired head resting on his shoulder arranged so that it was resting against the side of his neck. He held the prince tightly, one arm around his shoulders, allowing the hand to rest over his heart and the other lower, just above his navel to avoid any of the still healing knife wounds that he had suffered, but at an angle so that his hand rested upon the bony hip of the elfling. He then pressed a kiss to the elfling's brow and closed his eyes before allowing himself to fall into a trance.

He felt the flame of his spirit increase as he focused carefully upon the power that he had found within himself at his rebirth. As soon as he felt that he had drawn in enough strength his spirit searched for the fading one belonging to the prince. In the aura of light that he 'saw' surrounding him, he knew the one place of darkness was that were the prince's spirit was residing, slight swirls of gray light now the only thing that indicated his spirit was in any contact with his body at all. Gently Glorfindel surrounded the prince's spirit with his own and began to send his light into the failing spirit, in a technique that he was truly uncomfortable with as it created a slight bond between the two spirits. It was at that point that he found Legolas's mind, and as he continued to pour strength and light into the elfling, their minds spoke in communion, beneath the same shadowed forest that Elrond had found him in the Greenwood.

"Do not worry, my prince," Glorfindel said, keeping his voice as comforting as he possibly could, the warmth in the tenor encouraging the flames of his spirit to take hold in the prince's body. "I will help you to find your light once more."

Legolas lay curled beneath an ancient oak whose branches appeared to have grown in just the perfect way to protect the small body huddling against their trunk, the tears coursing down his face. Brokenly he stated, "Why are you doing this? No one wants me. I am a failure. I could not protect myself, I could not save my mother, and now I cannot even stay alive without aid. I am a failure, unclean and unworthy of any care or love. It would be best if I just fade away, it's not as if anyone would mind that I was gone…" He buried his face no longer in his arms, but now into the ground as if the light from Glorfindel was too bright for his eyes to handle and needed more protection than just his body could provide.

Glorfindel felt the bond now forming between the young elf and himself deepen as his heart bled for the young prince. He gathered the small form into his arms and cradled him gently as one would a very small elfling, pressing soft kisses to the top of the coppery covered head. "Small one," he whispered gently, "I am doing this because yours is a light that should not fade from the world in such a way. I feel the need to give you a chance to learn of your own worth. You are no failure. Indeed you have shown such courage in the short time that I have known you, and I am sure you showed much more prior to our meeting, otherwise how would you have received all these injuries."

The small figure shook his head into the golden lord's chest, which should have muffled his voice, but Glorfindel still heard his words as plain as the light of day, "I am unclean. Anything that I love or touch will only come away as dirty as I am now…I will never allow myself to be loved by anyone because it would spoil them."

The crystal blue eyes widened for a moment in surprise before they closed in understanding of the sort of torture that the prince was speaking of, one that he understood all too well for one of the eldar remaining on the shores of Arda. He knowingly tightened his grip on Legolas. "Do not believe that what has been done to you has made you dirty, my prince, for that is far from the truth. Only your own actions can determine that. All this shows is your true strength as one with less strength and courage than you have shown yourself to have would have already faded by now, instead of the smiling and laughing young elf that I saw earlier this day." The only reply that he received to this statement was Legolas burrowing deeper into his grasp and he felt the tears soaking his formal tunic. "It will be alright, young one. I will help you through this. Lean on my strength and do not lose hope. I will stay by your side and help you through this. Have hope and know that though it seems dark now, the sun still shines and will light the way once more."

The prince lifted his head from the golden lord's chest and looked at him with his watery green eyes, haunted with the memories of all the memories. "Do not leave me," he whispered the plea brokenly before he returned Glorfindel's grasp in a breath stealing embrace and he repeated into the muscled chest, "Please don't leave me." He then seemed to fall into a sort of trance. Glorfindel took this as a good sign as Legolas's mind was no longer showing signs of trouble so he lifted him gently as he rose to his feet and found his way back to the light, exiting the shadowed forest.

With that he opened his eyes once more, blinking several times to allow them to adjust as he saw the prince's guest room lit by several lamps and candles, giving it a warm, homely feel. The whole process must have taken longer than he had anticipated as he looked out the window to see the brightly shinning star of Eärendil, giving him a brief pang of homesickness at the memory of the hero as a child in Gondolin. He sighed as he returned his attention to the small elf that was still in repose upon his lap, and was pleased to see that some small amount of color had returned to the previously ashen complexion although he still remained far too pale. He realized that he had only won a small battle on Legolas's road to recovery and the war was far from over, but he was hopeful that with the aid of the bond that he now shared with the young one he would be able to continue siphoning strength into the ailing elfling in order to keep his mind focused on the future, not the shadows of the past.

He heard a sharp intake of air to the right of the bed and glanced over to see both Elladan and Elrohir sitting on the couch keeping watch over himself and Legolas, and he raised an eyebrow in question over their presence. Elrohir took it upon himself to answer the unspoken question and quietly, so as not to awaken Legolas, said, "We heard Legolas cry out, and ran here from Ada's study as quickly as we could. We found you glowing like a bonfire and in a trance that no one could break. Erestor went back to work to cover for your absence for the rest of the day, so 'Dan and I have been sitting here to make sure nothing went wrong."

Elladan rose from his seated position and left saying, "I will bring us all some dinner, I am sure that you at least are hungry, sir." Elrohir watched his brother leave, and once his mirror image had disappeared through the door and his footsteps were no longer clear in the air he shook his head. The golden lord looked at him, befuddled by the expression on the younger twin's face, and raised a sculpted eyebrow to express his confusion, knowing that if he were to talk, he could disturb the still sleeping prince, something that he was unwilling to do.

The first thing Elrohir did in return was to bury his face in his hands, a shudder running through his whole body along with the gesture. He then spoke, his voice muffled by the presence of his hands, and barely loud enough to be heard. "Elladan did not react well to what happened earlier today. When he saw you on the bed with Legolas in the healing trance that forced his feä to stay here, there was a time where he panicked. I have never seen him ever react that way to anything. It started with him freezing before he ran to the bedside and I had to restrain him from trying to pull you and Legolas apart. He fought me 'Fin, it was like he didn't even remember who I was." His voice then trailed off brokenly, which Glorfindel knowingly deduced was due to the tears that he had buried his face in his hands to hide. It was in this moment that the ancient warrior was reminded just how young the twins were, even though they acted much more mature due to the forced growing up they had faced with the untimely capture, torture, and death of their beloved mother. It explained the determination that they both showed in aiding Legolas in his recovery, they did not want to see the events of the past repeat themselves once again.

Carefully, Glorfindel unwrapped his arm from Legolas's shoulders, trusting the repose of the elfling to keep him from falling off his lap. He then made a clear gesture for Elrohir to join him, and wrapped the young twin in his strong embrace and kissed the crown of his head in a fatherly manner. Gently he whispered into the pointed ear, "I know how hard this is for the two of you. I am so proud when I see both you and your brother and the fine elves that you have grown into. You both inspire all around you with your actions and this is no different. We all need the chance to express our emotions and stress else the weight shall bury us, this is all your brother has done. He shall be fine, you will see. He still loves you, just as you still love him."

During the stream of his comforting words he felt Elrohir cuddle close to his side, wrapping the golden lord in his embrace to take comfort from, and he smiled when he saw the young one also include the young prince in his embrace as if to help support him as he had taken one of the strong arms away from his safe support, the younger twin's tears dampened his tunic, but Glorfindel soon felt their flow slow before stopping and the body relaxed as he fell into an exhausted sleep. Glorfindel closed his eyes peacefully at the shared warmth of the closeness of the two young elves, taking strength from their presence even as they drew upon his strength in return. He heard the door open once more and opened one of his eyes hiding the slight amount of irritation at the interruption to the quiet and comfort that he was feeling. His gaze was met with the figure of Erestor smirking at him from the doorway. He closed his eye once more to ignore the advisor's presence if he was going to refuse to enter the room the rest of the way to speak with him. He heard the soft foot steps come over to the recently vacated couch.

"You have now made this whole ordeal dangerous for yourself," the baritone voice of Erestor came softly from his side being careful with his tone and volume to avoid disturbing the two sleeping young elves. "I hope that you realize that."

"He was going to die," Glorfindel defended himself against the gentle admonition. "I understand both what this means and what he is going through, although we have yet to have been told what the twins know of what happened when he was captured by the orcs. I can be strong enough for both of us." He turned his head and pressed a chaste kiss onto the top of the prince's head.

The door to the chamber opened once more and the two elven lords looked up to see Elladan standing in the frame with a full tray of food in his strong hands a look of concern upon his fair features. "Is all well?" he asked with a distinct tone of sorrow in his voice, as he walked through the door and set the tray onto the table that stood next to the original position of the couch. His stormy gray eyes held both concern and the concentration that he held while trying to hold back the tears that were in them. Glorfindel saw this and, trusting Elrohir's grip on Legolas to keep him in place he removed his hand from Legolas's bony hip and beckoned to the elder of his lord's sons to his side and wrapped him in his strong embrace as the young peredhel mirrored his brother's position, adding his arms to keep the still sleeping prince in place. Elladan then also followed his brother's previous actions and sank deeply into sleep almost at once.

Glorfindel looked over to see that the advisor's smirk had widened into almost a real smile and he glared good naturedly at his friend at the expression. "We always knew that you were their favorite," he said with humor in his voice. He chuckled at the disgruntled look that passed over the golden warrior's face, before he became serious once more, which led to the questioning raising of a blonde eyebrow that seemed to be a favorite gesture of the ancient warrior. "I found the rest of the message from Elrond that you threw so carelessly amongst your mess of paperwork on the desk." Glorfindel nodded to encourage the advisor to continue. "It seems that Thranduil is taking the loss of his wife as hard as Elrond anticipated. He has talked to Galion, the Greenwood's steward, and they have agreed that the best thing for the king is to get away to deal with his grief. After the funeral, Elrond is bringing him here so that he may be with his son."

A look of unease came to Glorfindel's face as the realization of the king's famous temper of the king would be turned towards him when what he had done in making a bond with his son. "We will deal with that when we get that far. Until then our job is to continue helping in every way that we can. I cannot change what I have done now, and I would not even if I had the choice."

Erestor nodded at this sentiment, "I know, my friend. In light of this though, you should spend at least the next few days with our guest in order to make sure we do not have a repeat of this afternoon's events. I will not lie to you, for a while even I thought that we would lose the both of you as your glow faded. I have faith in your strength, but you are entirely too selfless at sometimes." A chuckle came from deep in his chest as the blonde seneschal tried to stifle a yawn without the use of either of his hands and he ruffled the golden locks, careful not to disturb any of the three young elves that were using his friend as a pillow, chuckling again at the glare that he was given at this action. "I will leave you to rest now, mellon. I will finish organizing Elrond's desk, and then will return to check on all of you." He then quietly retreated from the bed chamber, and Glorfindel followed his three charges into the realm of elven dreams.

A/N: Things are starting to look better for our young prince! What a relief. My thanks go out to daisymall13 for your continued reviewing. Until the next chapter, please review!