" I had not expected to find you here," Legolas said, looking downward toward his dear friend.

Gimli grinned and took a seat on a nearby rock. He had been waiting in an open bit of the ruins, certain that Legolas would soon be weary of walking and wish to rest in the tall piles of rubbish. "As I have made mention before, Legolas, I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox."  His chuckle was not echoed by the soft tones of the elf, and he found himself staring with concern into the expressionless face hovering above him. 

Legolas did not smile, but sat down opposite the Dwarf. His shoulders remained stiff and his back was erect.  His eyes, though usually an open window into his mind, were strangely clouded only expressing an intense weariness.

No words were spoken for a long time, both were comfortable with the stillness, and it seemed that actual articulation was unnecessary; both knew what the other was thinking.

It was Gimli who finally broke the silence. "So, Master Elf, what shall you do now?"

Without hesitation Legolas responded, though he spoke slowly, his voice uncharacteristically distant. "I will return to Lothlorien. Perhaps there are warriors there who would be willing to aid us in this battle for we are in dire need of assistance."

"Nonsense." Retorted the rumbling voice of the Dwarf. "The war has never looked more promising for the peoples of middle earth, what with Gandalf's new tree warriors. Do not hide behind excuses."

Legolas' thin lips pressed together in light annoyance. "The war has never looked promising for any of us. I cannot remain here, not now. The fellowship has broken, we have found the halflings and our duty is fulfilled."

"The duty of a warrior is never fulfilled, you should know that. You are needed here, Legolas. You are a leader, a strong fighter. You owe it to the people," here his voice softened a little, "you owe it to your brother. What do you think would happen to him if we fail?"

With force that surprised Gimli, and himself as well, Legolas leapt to his feet and cried, "That man is not my brother! Lianrei was a warrior, a master of armies and a noble friend. Have you seen him, Gimli? Like a child he sits, begging the protection of a small hobbit. I will not…I cannot…watch as he is led about, a slave to fear, haunted by the memory of the pain inflicted upon him.

Gimli would have stood as well, if he thought it would help matters, but he decided that it would be useless to stand up to an Elf who was nearly twice his height. And so he contented himself with the forcefulness of his deep, commanding voice and spat back, "Is that what this is about? Confound Elfish pride! It is true that he is weak, it is true that he has changed, but do not allow your own guilt to muddle the matter!"

"Guilt!" Legolas' eyes flashed in anger, "It was not my fault that he was taken! I would have fought for him…I would have searched had I any doubt that he was not living. If I had but been with him, instead of cowering in the back of the line with all the other archers, I would have ripped the heart from each creature who dared to touch the heir of the line of Greenleaf! …I…I would have…" His voice faltered as he realized the depth of hate in his words.

Gimli looked up at his friend, saw the surprise in his eyes, the look of defeat that hung upon his proud features and made a deep rumbling sound deep in his throat. "Go ahead and say it. You would have killed each one of them slowly, methodically with all the hate and malice that your stubborn heart could muster. You would have disregarded their please for mercy, ignored the stirrings of compassion within your soul and reveled in the screams of your enemies. For you, vengeance would be as beautiful as the diamonds below, and cold as mithril. I know… I have felt the anger as well. But you were not there, Legolas, son of Threnduil, and so your brother was captured, tortured and replaced by the broken figure you see today."

The harshness of his words seemed to bite a cold path through the heart of Legolas, though the pain wormed outward, not inward. It seemed to come from somewhere deep and hidden, attracted to the surface like flies drawn toward the scent of carrion. For a moment he felt overwhelmed with anger toward his friend who would be so cruel as bring him this torment. But that moment was short indeed, for the pain found it's release in a flood of anguished tears.

No more was said that night, nothing more was needed. They remained together until the sun rose, and it seemed to them as though a great weight had been lifted, and a great many words had been spoken, though it was really very few. When the morning had come to settle fully, and the skies cleared, Legolas slowly made his way back to the camp and began preparing to march.

Author's: Note: Whoohoo! I am so very proud of me…look…I actually wrote another chapter! FINALLY. Sorry about that, but I've been rather stuck. Any ideas? By the way…if you think this chapter was a little…too…mushy… I think I agree. But oh well, it was darn fun. Reviews PLEASE!  (It makes my life worth living…  Well…sorta.  Ok, so I'm not really that obsessed…but it sounded good.)