A/N: Alrightie! I know many of you are very excited about this new chapter, so here we go! Enjoy and don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot J

~~Chapter Twenty One~~ He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.

'Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again.'

Valo's world had narrowed to the stone room he had been locked in when they had returned to Meduseld. He had seen no one but Aragorn who visited him when he brought his meals. It was with the Ranger that he sat now, picking uninterestedly at his food. Aragorn was frowning out the window, encompassing the room in a thick silence that neither seemed to know how to break. What does one say in a situation like this? He finally bit th ebullet and broke the silence himself. He could take no more.

"Am I to be a prisoner here then…?"

He hated how weak and scratchy his voice sounded. He hadn't spoken since the night with the Palantir. It hadn't been difficult with no one willing to talk to him in return. He was starting to long for the voice to waken, just so he had something other than the sound of silence bouncing around his brain. Aragorn turned to him with a heavy sigh. His blue eyes were filled with regret and sadness. He had taken him under his care and protection after all. Did Aragorn feel as if he had failed Valo? Or did he feel as if Valo had failed him? The question rebounded around his head like the tolling of a funeral bell. The Ranger kneeled down in front of him slowly, taking his hands in his own.

"Valo…I know that this isn't your fault. Gandalf knows this isn't your fault. The others…just need a little time to see that as well. I can see the goodness in you and I know that you are just as much a victim of this war as any of the fallen outside of Helm's Deep. Even more so I'm coming to believe." His voice was soft and comforting and his sword calloused fingers rested on Valo's cheek for a split moment.

The teen couldn't help the slow rise of tears in his eyes. He could see no light in this like Aragorn did. He was too filled with despair. There was no hope left for him.

"Legolas thinks I'm a monster…" The light in Aragorn's eyes seemed to crumble, throwing Valo deeper into grief, "I'm disgusting…"

He couldn't take Aragorn's sad eyes anymore and he leaned over to bury his face in his knees. The Ranger tried his best to console him but it was to no avail. Valo stayed in that position, curling his grief and self loathing in on himself until he heard the door close, locking behind him once more. His food remained untouched. The next time he saw Aragorn, he had come to tell him that they were moving to Gondor.

~ o ~

Valo was dreaming again. When had he fallen asleep? There was darkness all around. He was kneeling on a stone ground, the smell of sulphur and heat swirling around him, lifting his unbound hair in a breeze. A sickly orange glow emanated from beneath him somewhere though he could not tell from where the flow stemmed. He knew this place. He had originated from here. Mordor. He felt frightened at first and then almost…relieved. Wasn't this where he deserved to be? He could have killed everyone…A heavy, metal clad hand gripped a handful of his hair from behind and yanked him up against a hard armored body. His Master hissed furiously in his ear, his hand clenching Valo's hair painfully.

'I will crush them all and you will watch, my unfaithful one. You are MINE and you will live forever with the knowledge of their deaths on your hands.'

This was what he deserved, maybe even what he needed. He needed to be back with his Master. Who knew what damage he had done being away from him. What if he had hurt his Master? A pang of overwhelming guilt rushed through his body. Unconsciously, he pressed back into the man who had created him, seeking his presence even as the Dark Lord delivered his punishment. He deserved whatever his Master gave him. He couldn't do anything right. Sauron's laugh in his ear was a snakelike hiss as he pulled a blade out from beneath his black as night cloak.

'This is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you. I can touch you now.'

Valo gasped as he was overcome with the feeling of memories stirring, Sauron's laughter and the sharp sting of the blade in his flesh.

~ o ~

Valo knew that he was not doing well. He could feel his mind drifting, refusing to snag hold of reality. He felt like he was fading, little by little. With every time he slept, every "visit" and punishment with his Master, more of his spirit was chipped away. He no longer bothered to look away when Legolas caught him staring. He no longer sought comfort or acknowledgement from the rest of the Fellowship. When they arrived at Pelennor Fields, he sat where he was directed and did not even try to move. He curled in on himself and wrapped himself up in the safe darkness of his mind. He wished he could just turn to ice and shatter, sink into the ground and never have to see Men or Elves or Orcs again. Maybe a field of flowers would spring from his bleeding heart. Maybe something beautiful would come from all of this pain.

~ o ~ Aragorn ~ o ~

Valo was sitting alone on a boulder overlooking their soon to be battle ground on Pelennor Fields. He was looking worst for wear, Aragorn inspected. He had been steadily declining in appearance and health since Legolas had left him. There was nothing worst than not being able to be with the one you love and yet having to see them day by day. He should know. Aragorn had no doubt that, despite everything, Valo still loved the woodland elf with everything that he was. That was apparent in his state of mind and body. Valo was suffering because of the separation. He ventured a wonder if, whatever his charge was, they could fade like elves. If that were the case then Valo's fading would be upon them soon. He looked terrible…Aragorn's heart bled for the boy and he found his feet tracing the way through the soldiers milling about to where he sat. Alone and staring out into the distance as if waiting for some great wind to carry him away to a place that he didn't have to feel the hurt any longer. He stopped next to Valo silently, waiting for the teen to acknowledge his presence. His ward remained silent like he didn't realize he was even present. There was something strange about the air around Valo. It was different here. It had a familiar scent to it. Blood. Aragorn's eyes immediately found his hands and sure as he was breathing, there was blood coating the pale flesh.

"Valo…Valo, whose blood is this?" He began softly. When he received no response from the seemingly comatose child, his fear mounted. Had Valo hurt someone? Even if on accident? One of the soldiers maybe? He grabbed the teen's arm to get his attention, "Valo, whose blood is this?"

Perhaps he had grabbed his arm a little too roughly but it did not warrant the near shriek of pain that came from the boy's mouth, his eyes watering in agony. Aragorn let go as if he had been shocked. Valo's eyes looked as if he were teetering on the edge of some unknown precipice, a breaking point in which he could see no bottom or eventual outcome. Green emeralds were fractured and shattered into a thousand iridescent shards.

"It's mine…" Was the whisper that came to him, soft as a breeze through the blackened dead trees of some forgotten forest.

Without hesitation or warning, the Ranger scooped his charge up into his arms, striding quickly towards his tent. He paid no mind to the curious or intrigued eyes that followed them there. He laid the quaking teen onto his bedroll, and practically tore the sleeve off to get to the cause of the blood. What he saw made his reel back in horror and disgust. Someone had taken some sharp object and carved a word into Valo's skin. The word MINE bled freely and in stark contrast to the pale skin of its host. As soon as he laid eyes on it, the small wizard began to cry, large heaving sobs that wracked his tiny frame as if he would shake into a million pieces and scatter to the winds. The Ranger's heart felt gripped in the vice of guilt for not protecting his distressed ward and terror, because the implications of it all were too great. Only one could have done this to someone as sweet and innocent as Valo, only one held this much possessiveness and malice over the young wizard's life. They had learned at Isengard that the Dark Lord could possess Valo's body and they had witnessed firsthand that he could possess his mind after the Battle at Helm's Deep. Could it then stand to reason that he could possess his dreams then as well? Could actually cause him harm from afar? The very idea sent a cold thrill of terror through his very bones.

~ o ~

Valo sat in Aragorn's tent, laying beside the Ranger as he slept fitfully. He wished he knew how to give good dreams to someone. It hurt his already aching heart to see the one man who stood by him in pain. He rolled out of the pallet, moving silently to the entrance of the flap. He wasn't really supposed to be walking out and about amongst the soldiers seeing as how he'd been in total isolation. Then again, no one had really told him to stay in the tent. There weren't many lights on. They didn't want to alert any enemies to their presence after all. One light in particular burned with an intensity that drew him closer. A familiar aura pulled him inside like a month to a lantern in the night. The flap swayed back in the wind as if heralding his arrival. Hazel eyes turned to him as he entered, their owner stiff and awaiting his arrival. Lord Elrond…

"The taint of your Master seeps into the very air and earth around you." His deep calming voice was like cool soil on Valo's singed nerves.

Lord Elrond may have seen him as a threat when first they met, but he was a strong and fair leader, a powerful ally and a kind man. If anyone could advise him, it would be the Elf Lord. Valo took a desperate step towards him, his emerald eyes pleading.

"Please, help me…" He whispered brokenly, reaching out, begging for any sort of aid he could find.

"Only you can help yourself now, Dark One." Came the response from beneath the black cloak.

Valo thought that he could detect a trace of sadness buried in his voice. His last hope fell into a shattered pile of desolation at his feet. How could he help himself? How could he change his very fate? He was created to be one thing, his Master's Key to regeneration. What other purpose did he have?

"I don't want to be this. I don't want to be a monster." He couldn't even bare to look at the pure Elf as he spoke. He covered his face with his hands, trying his hardest not to weep in anguish.

He could hear the sounds of Elrond's cloak swaying in the night breeze before a soft, solid hand squeezed his shoulder lightly.

"I may not have quite the foresight of the Lady Galadriel but I do know this. There is still hope."

"I cannot see it." Valo whispered, finally letting his hands fall and look up at the Lord of Rivendale.

Lord Elrond, he noticed, had the same cheekbones as Lady Arwen. He was Lady Arwen's father. Valo's face creased lightly in a frown.

'Your mother died to save you…love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign… to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.'

Where had he heard that? The voice sounded old and kind, someone he had…trusted? Loved? The voice in the memory-vision made him feel safe but sad at once. Mother…He had never before pondered the fantastic concept that was a mother. Had the vision-voice said his mother? The thought brought on another stray vision, this time with images to go with the voices.

'It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. He opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father."Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' for photos… knew yeh didn' have any… d'yeh like it?"'

The speaker was a great enormous man who seemed to be almost swallowed by the sheer amount of facial hair he possessed. He had kind beady eyes and a big smile that told him immediately that this was a friend and not an enemy. The leather of the book was a solid weight in his hand, so real that he could almost make out individual grooves in the cover even after the vision was faded. He had never had such an intense sensory vision. Valo had to check his hands to make sure he wasn't in fact holding a book filled with moving portraits. He was so caught up in the imagery that he was shocked out of his thoughts as Elrond said his name. Valo's eyes cleared of fog and he focused on the Elf Lord, still frowning.

"Lord Elrond…do you think I ever had parents? Before the Dark Lord and I came from the other place?"

The man's elegant brow creased in thought.

"I don't know, young one, but I believe that somewhere, at some time, there were people who loved you very dearly. Perhaps there is still…Like Legolas."

Valo winced, his heart cringing in heartache that remained just as potent as that first day at Isengard. His loss of Legolas's love was like a deep wound, festering and infection his soul with despair and uncertainty.

"Legolas doesn't love me…not anymore." His voice was no louder than the wind passing the tent by.

Aragorn came into the tent calmly just as Elrond's last statement forced the teen from the tent, his mind forcing away the anger and hurt that his words inspired.

"I know that he does…"

How dare he give him hope in a situation where there was none. Cruel words fell unkind on his hurting heart.

R&R! :D