His eyes were temporarily blinded, and the color of things was off. Aragorn squinted his eyes as they adjusted to the normal lighting again. The first thing he noticed was that he was on his hands and knees on the ground, which was slightly moist. His eyes adjusted and the man looked around. Legolas' body lay beside him and his sword, in front. Just ahead of him was the last servant of Erdolliel stood with her back turned in an area of dense forest.

"You!" He snarled. She had worked for Erdolliel, in league with his friend's murderer. Snatching up his sword, Aragorn jumped to his feet and charged towards her. She turned in an instant and whispered a very fast incantation. Before he could reach her, a miniature version of the cage of black glass trapped him. All he could do is stand there and give her death glares.

"Stop." She said (Like he had a choice), "I want to talk. I don't have much time." Aragorn continued to glare at her. She spoke again, "Swear you will not attack me." Aragorn poured as much hate and impatience as he could into his one word answer, which apparently she heard.

"Fine." The glass disintegrated around him and he cautiously stepped forward.

"I only want to apologize. And help in any way that I can." She said.

"How do I know you're not going to kill me?" Aragorn demanded.

"My old mistress – she murdered my sisters. Do you really think I would want to kill her enemy for her?" This confused Aragorn to an extent, but he kept his face impassive, now dropping his death glare.

"Your mistress is dead. You can do whatever you wish." Aragorn stated.

"She is dead, yes. That is why I have limited time. As her body dies, her magic scatters. I will fade with the rest of the things she created with her magic. The cave containing the stones collapsed years ago and was being held open by her magic, so the stones are unreachable now. And her underground mansion is no longer existent. If we had stayed in it while it collapsed and fell, you would have dissolved into nothingness." Aragorn looked at her incredulously.

"Why did you save me, then?"

"I couldn't allow you to suffer because of the horrible things I did nothing to stop. Please, accept my apology."

"You haven't given it yet."

"I know. I am sorry. Please forgive me." She took the large shoulder bag that she had on and emptied the contents onto the ground. Among them were Legolas' twin blades, a glowing green orb, and Legolas' soul stone. The one thing Aragorn didn't recognize as his or Legolas' was a leather covered book that he thought looked like Erdolliel's diary. "These are yours, I believe." She said. Aragorn surveyed the objects on the ground.

"The diary?"

"It was Erdolliel's. I think you should have it. It is made of real material, so it will not fade away." It was then that Aragorn noticed she was semi transparent now.

"Thank you." Aragorn said, "But what about my friend?" She gave him a sadly puzzled look.

"His soul and life energy have not yet departed this world. Theoretically, if you found a way to put them back into him, he could be revived. I cannot promise anything, though. The diary may help."

"Oh." Aragorn said, half hopeful, half dejected as he got used to the idea that Legolas might be gone for good.

"I know it seems foolish to name myself now," Said the shadow servant, "But I would like you to know me by a name." Aragorn nodded for her to go on.

"Call meMirima." She said. Aragorn looked into her eyes, feeling grateful for her change of heart.

"I am Aragorn." He said. Mirima was fading away visibly now. "Thank you again."

"I am glad I could help, even in the little way I did." Mirima said. Her voice was soft and hard to hear now.

"One last question; where am I?" Aragorn asked. The answer came from no visible source, but from an echo in the wind.

"You are close to the entrance of Fangorn Forest. Farewell, Aragorn." Then she was gone.

Taking into account Mirima's answer, Aragorn looked around and noticed the familiar tree, fallen over and blackened from the first night Legolas and he camped here. That horrible storm. A familiar sound made him turn, and he saw both their horses trotting up to him. Legolas' horse stopped by the elf and nudged him with her snout, whinnying in concern. Aragorn's own horse, however, trotted up to him and he pet it lovingly, grateful that it had found him. Well, He thought, If I am to try and revive Legolas, I should do it quickly.

Legolas still had the stab wound in his chest, but Aragorn figured that if he was going to have a chance at reviving him, his soul and life energy should find a way back to his body first. The man brought Legolas over to the green orb and gently placed the elf's slender fingers on the orb. The orb was absorbed into Legolas' fingers and his hand trembled slightly. The man eagerly grabbed the elf's wrist and felt for a pulse. There was one – steady and alive under his fingers. Aragorn smiled broadly. Now that he knew Legolas would live, he rummaged through the saddle bags of his horse and found some bandages and a flask of water. He worked steadily, cleaning and bandaging Legolas' stab wound, which he mused would usually be fatal. It had been, he reminded himself. He drank some water from the flask, and then became aware that night was falling. He was hungry and tired, and now with no immediate danger, Aragorn found it harder to ignore the fact that he had not slept properly for at least a week. Exhausted, he set up minimal camp and lay Legolas down on one of the sleeping mats they had. Legolas' weapons, he laid beside him and then he picked up Legolas' soul stone and Erdolliel's diary. There was a leaf that served as a bookmark wedged in one of the pages, and Aragorn flipped to it curiously.

Concerning Life Energy and Souls

It read at the top,

One cannot live without the both.

Life energy alone cannot sustain a person.

They will lie in an eternal coma, until such time when their soul returns. Eternal coma is permanent if in effect for more than forty eight hours

A Soul alone cannot sustain a person.

They will be trapped in a body not able to move or breathe or live. They will eventually die completely.

A horrible fate befalls anyone who must live with only one.

Aragorn read over the page again, noticing it was written in Westron. They will lie in an eternal coma, until such time when their soul returns. Aragorn looked at the unconscious elf lying motionless. Eternal coma. He felt that was worse than letting Legolas die. Why did this have to be so difficult? Legolas' soul was trapped within a stone, and his life energy was useless without the soul. He felt aggravated at himself. If he had found a way to mix his soul and life energy, he might have been able to revive Legolas sooner. Aragorn knew now that he wouldn't be able to sleep until he had at least tried to restore Legolas' soul.

Tossing the stone back and forth in his hands, and subconsciously letting his thoughts stray to the fact that he had done the exact same thing with the fire soul stone many days ago, he tried to find a way to release the soul inside. It seemed obvious that he had to open the stone somehow, but how to open it? He wondered if just smashing it open would do the trick. As stupid as the idea was, Aragorn seriously considered it for awhile, but pushed it aside for eventually. He considered going to Elrond. Surely his father would know what to do. Then he remembered the time limit. It was going to take more than two days to get from here to Rivendell. Something in the back of his mind called him back to the idea of just smashing it open. The more Aragorn thought about it, it seemed like the only option. It was stupid, the idea that he would be putting Legolas' life on the line trying an idea that might not work. But then, if he didn't try it, Legolas would be as good as dead. Aragorn decided to risk it.

He tried many things, but the stone seemed like it didn't want to break open. No matter what he smashed it against, it wouldn't break. He even tried with his sword multiple times, and when that didn't work, he used Legolas' long knives. It wasn't breaking, and the day had turned to night. How many hours had passed? How much time did he have left? Suddenly, a thought stuck him, and he searched Legolas' pockets (All the while feeling intrusive) until he found the last empty stone, crystal clear and cool blue. He didn't have to consider it; somehow he knew this was the last thing he would try. He held Legolas' soul stone and the empty stone above Legolas a distance apart, and then with all the strength he could gather in his arms, he clapped the stones together.

A loud crack sounded and it felt like an explosion had just went off inside Aragorn's hands. He released the stones immediately and stepped back, realizing that both the stones had been turned to dust. When he looked back at Legolas, a shimmering green mist was descending on the elf. Legolas glowed magnificently green for a brief moment, and he was still again. It was like the explosion had never happened. The stones were gone, Legolas remained the same. There was nothing else Aragorn could see that he could do. Legolas was alive from a technical aspect, but had his soul returned? All there was left to do was wait.

There was no denying now, that Aragorn was exhausted. Maybe, he thought, he should sleep lightly. The horses seemed fine with staying in the forest now, for some odd reason. If anything approached, the horses were sure to make a noise, and he would be ready. And he was so tired. Eventually, the man convinced himself to sleep, and lay beside Legolas, closing his eyes only for a moment, he told himself.

I am sorry for the long-ish wait. The story is coming to a close in the next few chapters. Have fun without me until then.

Note: About the reason Mirima could teleport Aragorn and Legolas out of the mansion while it was collapsing vs. when all three shadow servants could not teleport Aragorn and Legolas to Erdolliel's home before. The reason she can now teleport people is because she didn't teleport them out of there. She created a portal to the entrance of Fangorn and made it envelop them. That kind of portal could only be made after Erdolliel died because her magic was scattering and Mirima was able to grasp enough of it to make a portal - which requires alot of magic energy.

Nobody has asked me about this yet, but I thought I'd explain it.

* Ynnealay *