Title: "Hiro Hyn Hidh Ab'Wanath: Let Them Find Peace In Death"

Author: LegolasLover2003 aka Ashley

Category: Book - "Lord of the Rings"

Genre: Angst/Adventure

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to "The Lord of the Rings". I just adore it to pieces!

NOTE: This story is the sequel to "Natha Daged Dhaer: They Are All Going To Die!".

Hiro Hyn Hidh Ab'Wanath: Let Them Find Peace In Death

Chapter 21:
I Am Home

"Hir nin..."

It was as if no one even spoke, for there was no realization of words. There was no acknowledgment, not even a hint of the Elvenking hearing his captain's voice. Standing at his lord's side, Legede feared to speak up again... but the silence in that cursed glade was deafening.

Blood dripped from Thranduil's arm, unchecked, where Ungoliant's claws had slashed at the son of Oropher. His hands were burned, the tunic at his chest had been ripped and burnt from the foul Maia's spilled blood, for the Elvenking had latched onto his screaming son with every ounce of strength he had possessed... and had torn him from the spider's clutches.

Now... the beast lay dead. Smote down by the power of Men and Elves and the white flame. Now... the world could see light again. Or could it?

Tenderly, Thranduil was holding Legolas' unconscious body while Aragorn saw to the prince's wounds. His brothers were ripping the archer's discarded tunic into strips not far away and Elrond too was aiding in the urgent need, using his own cloak to wipe the blood, both black and red, from the Elf's fair skin... skin that was now burned from Ungoliant's spent life.

Legolas barely breathed, his eyes closed as unconscious dreams found him once more. His chest rose and fell lightly, his pulse slow. Aragorn placed a hand to his friend's forehead and for a time, he did not move.

"It will take a day to return to Minas Tirith and Legolas is in no condition for a journey." Elrond spoke softly, the look on the man's face betraying the coming prognosis.

Grey eyes rose up to meet Thranduil's own gaze. "Forgive me, my lord. There is little I can do."

"How can you possibly..." the Elvenking spoke quickly, his voice harsh and cold as dread filled his heart.

Yet Aragorn lifted a hand. "I can mend his arm and tend his burns... but I can not bring him back to us. Only Legolas can do this. His sleep is not natural and..."

"Ú-chebin estel anim." The whisper of Legede drew the attention of the assembled company. "Legolas told me this before ere we left the white city. If he held no hope then..." ~{[ I have kept no hope for myself. ]}~

Silence stretched thin amongst them then. Eventually Haldir returned to tell Celeborn that they had erected a small camp for the night. The Marchwarden knew that they would not be able to ride out yet and had instead instructed their forces to light fires. Of course the company was ill-prepared to remain in the wilds, but now they had little choice.

Standing, Aragorn moved to lift Legolas from his father's embrace, but the Elvenking instead came to his feet, his son in his arms. "Legede, take the cloak from my shoulders." he instructed, glancing back to the captain. "It is the best that can be done but it will at least give him a place to rest his head."

The white haired Elf bowed before unclasping Thranduil's cloak and soon the company was resting amongst their assembled soldiers. Legolas lay still upon his father's cloak, one lithe hand grasped within the fingers of the Elvenking.

"Estel dâr." came Thranduil's voice softly, whispering his son. "You told me hope remains, Legolas. Will you falter now? Ungoliant is gone from this world, ion nin. Come back. This world still has need off you. I... still have need of you."

I wanted to find somewhere to hide
And I opened up and let those fears inside
And I wanted to be anyone else
Only to find that there was no one there but me

Was it real?

Was any of this real?

The world wherein Legolas walked was cold... like the bitter height of winter upon a mortal's bare skin. A cold that the Elf had never truly felt before. He stood, shivering within the blanket of white that surrounded him, yet no snow felt. The mist clung to him like small bits of ice, seeping into his joints and freezing the muscle.

But had he not been burning just moments before?

Blue eyes looked up to the sky, only to see the dark grey clouds above him, thick with a winter's storm upon their lips. Soon it would begin. Soon the snow would come and the Elf would fall beneath the weight of it all. He could endure much, but the blizzard before him was too daunting even for one as hearty as himself.

Why was this happening? Why was he finding himself in darkness when just before he was bearing the steaming poison of Ungoliant?

Looking about his body, Legolas found no trace of the wounds he had been given. His shoulder was mended, his flesh held not a single burn... and yet here the prince found himself, lost in a world not known to him...

Was it a dream?

"If this be a dream... would that I could wake." Legolas whispered as he continued to walk forward, pressing on through the wastes that lay before him. "Why?!" the Elf suddenly screamed into the emptiness all around. "Have I not done what was asked of me?! What more could I have done?! ANSWER ME!"

When no sound came back, the prince fell to the ground, tears springing from his eyes as the snow began to fall. He curled his body, knees pressed hard against his chest. His heart ached... how he wanted to see his father once more, to hear his sister's laughing voice again, to hunt with Legede... to see Estel's grey eyes... to laugh the twin sons of Elrond... to walk the paths of home... or of Lorien or the Fangorn one last time.

"I do not want to die... please..." Legolas whispered to the nothing of this strange world.

But then, as if upon the wind, his own voice came back to him softly through the snow.

"Ú-chebin estel anim."

I let those hard days get me down
And all the things I hate got in my way
I could of screamed without a sound
I found myself silenced by those things they say

It was quiet now. The rush of battle had ended long ago and even now most of the camp slept. A few were posted as watch around the assembled group... but for the most part, those beneath the naked trees of Ithilien took rest that night.

Legede however, could find no peace in Elven dreams. He had been forced to pull his liege away from the prince in order for Thranduil's own wounds to be tended by Elrond with the aid of his sons. Standing alone now, having found a place of solitude a few yards from the camp, the white-haired Elf felt as if the weight of the world were crashing down upon him. Tears were in his blue eyes, and for but a moment he steeled himself. His king had shed no tears. Why then should Legede allow himself the luxury of his own grief?

Sighing into the night, the captain turned his eyes upward, staring at the stars overhead. The approach of a mortal man alerted him a few moments before Aragorn appeared but a couple feet away.

"I worried when you were no longer among the camped.." the King of Gondor spoke, seeing Legede standing against the trunk of a small tree. "Hir Thranduil's wound will heal swiftly. Be glad in that small comfort."

A slight laugh escaped the Elf and he turned his gaze upon the man. "To keep one friend and lose another... 'tis no real comfort, King Elessar." he sighed softly, gazing back to the stars. "Legolas is... well he is Legolas. I have known him since he was just an Elfling scampering through the Elvenking's Halls. So bright. So full of love and light. War changes many things, my lord. So too, does it change the Eldar, though the change comes slower it seems."

Aragorn smiled softly as he came to stand at Legede's side, his own gaze turned to the stars. "He is still bright and full of love and light. But I fear he has lost himself in his own grief. Fallen to his pain... Would that I could wake him but..."

"Legolas is not as strong as he once was." Legede finished the man's sentence for him, understanding the implications of such a statement. "I fear for Thranduil." turning, the captain looked back through the trees to the small encampment. "If Legolas departs this world for Mandos' Halls... my lord shall leave these lands... and I will be compelled to follow him. There is nothing for me in this world, King Elessar. Only Thranduil and Legolas and Legolia remain. They are my family."

For a time, Aragorn said nothing. He understood the captain's pain in a sense... knew that to lose everything easily drove an Elf across the sea. Even now, Elrond had spoken of leaving these shores to be reunited with his beloved. The twins would remain and become the Lords of Imladris... and it would be a miracle of the Valar if Rivendell could escape being burned to the ground within the first fortnight. Yet Elrond was the only Elf whom Estel had known who expressed such a desire... until the War of the Ring... until Legolas himself confided in him that sailing to the west was something his heart bid him to do every day that he drew breath.

"What happened to your true family, Legede?" the King of Gondor asked.

Smiling sadly, the captain fixed Aragorn in his gaze. "My parents died long before Oropher even came to the Greenwood. Foul things walked the land then... If it were Orc or Goblin, Troll or Warg however, I know not. My sister and I were safe in our village, not much older than Legolia really at the time. We grew... Oropher and his son Thranduil came to the Greenwood and I pledged my loyalty to them. To the Sindar."

"You are Silvan?" Aragorn asked and he was soon rewarded with a nod.

"I am Silvan and was Captain of my people. We merged with the Sindar, accepted them as lords for they were far better equipped to deal with the evils of the world than my people were. And so I followed, we followed, ever more northward until... there was a war. I lost my Lord in the first battle of the Last Alliance. Thranduil was spared and when we returned home, he took our people to the far north of the Greenwood. There we dwelt... the Elvenking building his halls to house our people from further pain and suffering. Locked away in our own little world." Legede laughed at the thought. "As if we could escape evil's grasp, hmm? There was a revolt in Mirkwood then. Galenion, Thranduil's elder brother, tried to slay his kin. My nephew learned of the treachery and was murdered by Morolas, Thranduil's firstborn. When the news reached my sister... she fell into her grief, for already her husband had been lost to her. Not long later she died. Both Galenion and Morolas were exiled for their treachery... but the damage had been done." the captain couldn't help but shake his head at the memory of it all. "I never took a wife, King Elessar. I have no true family now for all are within Mandos' Halls. That... that is why I fear so greatly for Legolas. He is... like a son to me."

That's out there somewhere
And it can't be that far away
That's where I'll find myself
And I'll find my way out
That's where I'll find out

He was so very cold now... Not even the hardy bodies of the Eldar could resist such a resilient and pervasive chill.

Shivering, Legolas could no longer will his body to move. Too long had he been in this strange dark grey snowy land... Too long had the bite of the wind and the snow pounded against him unrelenting.

Had it been an eternity since he felt the warmth of a fire or the embrace of another? Everything hurt though nothing were wounded, and not for the first time did the prince wonder what world he walked within.

"Ring gardh..." Legolas whispered into the whipping wind. "Ring enni..." ~[{ This world is cold... I am cold... }]~

It was then that he saw something through the snow. A form, lingering on the very edges of his vision. For a time, he thought it was familiar. The light that radiated from the figure was warm... comforting... It reminded the prince of home.

"Ada..." Legolas moved to stand, reaching for the figure, but his body was too cold now and he fell. Still however, the prince reached forward. "Ada... Tulu enni..." he called out, his voice weak even to his own ears. ~{[ Father... Help me...]}~

Still the cold pressed down upon him and the snow turned to ash. The chill in his bones burned as fire... but still Legolas reached his frozen hand outward toward the figure in the distance. "U-anna i-estel im... Estel dâr..." The tears he shed froze against his face and soon the Elf was blinded by ice. ~{[ I do not give up hope... Hope remains... ]}~

Once more he reached out, stretching as far as his arm could manage, and with the last ounce of strength left to him, Legolas cried out, his voice echoing on the very winds themselves.

"ADA!"

But I woke up to the real life
And I realized its not worth running from anymore
When there was nowhere left to hide I found out
That nothing's real here but I won't stop now until I find a better part of me

"Aragorn!"

The sound of Elladan's voice rang through the trees and immediately the King of Gondor hastened toward it, Legede right behind. Within moments he came to a stop beside the fire, his worried grey gaze seeking immediately the twin who had called to him. But both El and Ro were on the other side of the small glade, standing just to the side of Thranduil, who knelt by his son's prone form. Elrond too came at the call as did Celeborn, Haldir, and Gandalf.

Stepping around the fire's light, Aragorn took up his own kneeling position on Legolas' other side. But when nothing happened, he could not help looking into the eyes of the Elvenking.

"He reached for my hand." Thranduil spoke softly, his blue gaze never leaving the seemingly peaceful visage of his son. "I took hold... and then I heard his voice."

Quickly, Aragorn began to check the prince's pulse, finding it had increased some. The Elf's color was still off, but if Legolas had moved and spoken... that was more than the man could have hoped for.

"Speak to him, hir Thranduil." Aragorn whispered softly. "Draw him from this nightmare which holds his soul in darkness."

For a few moments, Thranduil said nothing. He brought Legolas' hand to his lips, kissing the knuckles that were now wrapped in bandages torn from the archer's own tunic. In fact, most of his son's body was bandaged, the damage caused by Ungoliant's defeat was extensive and would take time to heal. But the prince would never be able to heal if he did not wake first.

"Legolas... You will not leave this world. You have never left it before and you have been through far too much to leave it now. Think of the things you have yet to do, ion nin. The people you have yet to meet or the places that this damned mortal man beside you has yet to drag you to." Thranduil could not help but smile at the thought... and Aragorn shared in that smile. "There is so much here for you to see and to do, Legolas. There are many who love you. The darkness is gone, ion nin. It is time to come home." When nothing happened, the Elvenking gripped the prince's hand all the tighter, tears slipping unbidden from his eyes. "Come back to me, Legolas."

In the glade, none dared to breathe. What nightly bird songs there were had ceased and an eerie quiet crept up on the camp. No wind... no sound... just a heavy stillness.

Then, the soft breeze was the first to alert Legede and he turned his eyes up into the trees. For a time he said nothing, until, urgently, he looked to his king. "Call to him, Thranduil." the captain spoke, dropping all formality. "He is trying but there is nothing for him to cling to. The trees want him to be spared. You must let him take hold, mellon nin."

Both Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other in confusion, for they could hear nothing but the wind in the dry branches overhead. But Aragorn understood. Legolas had been partial to communing with trees in a way that those of Imladris seemed incapable of doing.

Silvan Elves...

Thranduil clasped his son's hand even tighter. "Take hold of me, Legolas. I will not let you fall. You are my son. Harken to me!" Again he was met with only silence and the Elvenking despaired. Thranduil bent forward, resting his head against his son's softly rising and falling chest. "I am not so proud as I would refuse to weep before the Valar for you to be spared, Legolas. Come back to me, tithen pen... come back to me, tithen Greenleaf..."

Nothing... only the quiet of the night answered back... and so Thranduil wept, clinging to his son.

Until...

"A...da..."

Quickly the Elvenking sat back, his gaze once more focused on the prone form of the prince. The tears returned, but they were tears of happiness and joy... for staring back at him was a blue gaze all too familiar.

"Ion nin..." Thranduil whispered, gently kissing the prince's fingers once more.

Legolas smiled softly, his body weak and his voice even weaker... but he spoke nonetheless. "I am home... ada..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Elvish Words To Know:

Ada = Father
Hir nin = My lord
Hir = Lord
Ion nin = My son
Tithen pen = Little one
Tithen = Little
Mellon nin = My friend

Author's Notes:

- Song used (italics bits) in this chapter are "The Real Life" by 3 Doors Down. A lot of you will recall that I tend to use a lot of their work in my angst stories, hehehe.

- Yeah, the chapter was longer this time, but I felt to have it all go down at once instead of break it into two separate chapters.

- Lots of stuff the Legede said to Aragorn is being addressed in both the story "Nothrimraegath" and "Serebrûn" so... expect more about his past as well as Legolas' past and the past of Thranduil as well in those stories.

Muse Moments:

Nil yawns, stretching her arms over her head. "I'm glad you let me inside, Paris."

"Yes well you came for me so I only think it's fair to repay that debt. Besides..." he smirks, using Nil as a pillow. "You promised to watch a movie with me."

"And indeed we are, ne?" she laughs then blinks and points at the tv. "FARAMIR CAN SING!"

About that time, Legolas walks in with an apple that he's apparently been eating for some time now. "Faramir?" he asks, glancing to the television.

Nil giggles, "Yep! Seeeee it's Faramir AND Elrond, though he isn't singing and he's got a beard..."

"Elves can not grow bear...ds..." Legolas blinks in surprise. "Truly... it is Lord Elrond... and Faramir..."

Giggling still, Nil hits the 'guide' button on the remote to show the movie's contents. "It's a film called 'Oranges and Sunshine' and has both David Wenham, Faramir's actor, and Hugo Weaving, Elrond's actor in it. I want David to sing more..." she giggles again, "Oh! And Legolas, Friday we should watch this 'Spartacus' show on Starz."

"Spartacus?" he asks in confusion, the name not known to him obviously.

Nil winks. "I like it when Craig Parker's evil."

"Craig Par...?"

"Haldir." Paris says suddenly. Both Nil and Legolas look at him like he's grown a second head and Paris just shrugs, "What? Even I know that Nil has some crazed fancy for movies and shows with Lord of the Rings actors. After all, she has only been telling me day after day about this nature show on BBCAmerica that has Dominic Monaghan... um ah... Merry the Hobbit that is, in it. I swear she won't shut up about it until it airs on the 22nd! So, it's only natural that I know these names so that when I find a movie or television show... I can tell her."

Legolas rolls his eyes, "You really should not encourage her."

Grinning, Nil hugs Paris from behind. "Thanks, Paris. Now I know why I keep you around. Even when you get too... clingy..."

Finished with his apple, Legolas throws the core and it hits Paris on the forehead. "Author's Pet."

Muse Moments Author's Note:

- Yeah um, as Paris said above, Dominic Monaghan does have a new series debuting on BBCAmerica on Jan 22nd called "Wild Things".

- Also, the movie I mentioned called "Oranges and Sunshine" IS a real movie but it's very sad and depressing and rated R for content and language.

- Also, the "Spartacus" thing is true too cause I looked up from writing this chapter (my tv was still on starz where I was watching the Wenham & Weaving movie) and saw Craig Parker and it's re-running on Friday nights right now.

- Side note, I was watching "Game of Thrones" because Sean Bean was in it... keyword being was... -sigh- So yeah... not watching that one anymore.

- If anyone knows of any other movies or tv shows with any LOTR actors, let me know! On that note... I think I'll go watch "Australia" with David Wenham... -wink-