Hullo all! :D How is everyone? Good? Oh…well that's nice to hear. It just might make up for the…eh…not-so-great-time our pal Legolas is having. :D

Yes, Cheysulu, insanity can be good, but once we get around Legolas,…well, lets say it can get LEATHAL! ;)

Ecri…yes…yes that'd be nice, getting to Rivendell…see Dr. Elrond and all that…but ya know me, and even if you don't, you can probably *guess* I'm not going to tell you. I'm SORRY, but I can't, it's against…*rifles through ff.net's rule-book* I'm sure there is a rule that says "Writers are not permitted to give away the ending ahead of time" but oh well. :)

Hehe, yeppers, Siri. See, as you said, "Once you get him started, it takes Elrond to shut him up!" I loved that line. SO clever. ;) Oooh I draw people in with my writing? *blushes* gosh, Siri, I dunno what to say.

Oh…yes I do. "Step into my parlor" said Shelob to the hobbit! Bwahaha! ;) No really, thanks for the thumbs up! :D

Ahh yes. And the ol' "Wassup with Legolas the crazy?" question. Ooo! Whish I could help you…well I can, but it's umm *holds up non-descript book* it's in the ff.net book of rules! I CAN'T tell you!…reeeeally! ;)

Okay, 'nuff, probably more than enough, said. Let the insanity begin!

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For full disclaimers and story info, see Chapter 1.

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Chapter 4

Lying Eyes

He didn't hurt. He did *not* hurt! Well, he did, but somehow he knew he didn't. Legolas leaned back slightly in the saddle, trying to will his muscles to stop throbbing. He had in no way injured himself, he was just fine!

He felt Lint slow noticeably. He couldn't meet the eye that looked down at him. "Are you in pain again?"

"Strider, I am fine. We shall never reach Rivendell if we continue this uneven pace. We have not the time to stop every time I feel pain."

"I will not force you to ride in agony, Legolas." Aragorn responded stubbornly.

Legolas shook his head, and his golden hair tossed slightly. "I am not in agony. I have no pain."

"But then, what is it that troubles you?"

The elf seemed loathed to give yet another nonsense answer, but he knew his friend all too well. Aragorn would not give up until he had all the truth Legolas could tell.

"I feel pain, but it is not pain I feel."

Aragorn waited a moment, trying to decipher what exactly the elf was talking about.

"It is-" Legolas continued, seeing the confusion on his friend's face. "It is like when I see you. That is not what you really are, but my mind says it is. I am not in pain, but my mind says I am. It should cause me no harm to ride in pain."

"Perhaps it doesn't bodily harm you to ride," Aragorn looked intently over at the elf. "But it tortures me more than I can say, to see you in pain, real or no."

"Strider-" Legolas shook his head again, and Aragorn could tell he felt terrible, making Aragorn feel so. "Let us just continue on. I should rather be riding in the pain and getting somewhere, then sitting here going nowhere. I feel pain anywhere I am. Anything I do. Let us just continue."

Aragorn consented, reluctantly. "Hold on, my friend."

Whether Legolas could here the words of comfort or not, Aragorn didn't know. He simply booted his horse into a gallop again, and they continued their long journey.

*********

Aragorn slowed Horoth's pace, and looked around. He felt Legolas follow suit next to him. "It is getting dark. Shall we camp?"

Legolas nodded, unable to hide his artificial pain and fatigue anymore.

Aragorn's eyes pierced the darkness around him, and finally, they lighted on a small indentation in the soft earth a little ways off. "How does that look to you, Legolas?"

Legolas followed Aragorn's gaze. "Well, anything that is not a cave is fine in my eyes. Although, I doubt that what I see is accurate anyway."

Aragorn simply took that as a yes, and steered Horoth into the small clearing, Lint not far behind.

The ranger went about finding broken tree branches, and dead leaves to ignite a fire, while Legolas took the saddle bags of food from Lint, and watered the two horses from a tiny stream, that was really little more than a trickle, not far from their encampment.

Aragorn returned to the spot, with an armload of wood.

"Rest Legolas." He told the elf kindly. "I will start the fire."

Aragorn pulled a stone of flint from one of Horthor's saddle bags, and looked around for a good-sized rock.

"How far are we from Rivendell now?" Legolas sunk down to the ground, grateful to not be moving anymore.

Aragorn didn't take his eyes off the rocks he started scratching them together over the dead leaves. "I would say about a few hour's hard ride from the Misty Mountains. I believe we are almost out of Mirkwood."

Silence a moment. Aragorn continued to scratch the rocks against each other, and finally got the hint of a spark.

"Aragorn, do you think your father will know what the problem is with me?"

"If he cannot," Aragorn responded confidently. "No one can. He has healed you before, Legolas, I do believe he can do it again."

"Yes, but this time there is nothing wrong with my body, and that is what he has healed in the past."

Scratch. A slightly larger spark this time. "He is our only hope. If he cannot help you…" Aragorn sighed, angry with himself for being cornered into an unpleasant answer. Even though Legolas knew it full well, he hated to spell it out. "If he cannot help you, I do not know what I shall do."

Legolas leaned back against the dirt wall behind him. "Neither do I."

Scratch. A blue-wreathed spark touched and set flame to a few leaves. It was enough. Aragorn hastily put three pieces of wood, and some more leaves on. Soon, it was a substantial fire.

Aragorn leaned against the dirt as well, and stared across his handy-work. He watched sadly as the blurry figure of his friend closed his eyes and sighed. It was not a sigh of content, but exhaustion, worry, and perhaps sadness.

He stared a long time at the elf, watching as the smoke from the fire caused his pale image to swim and dance. "Hungry?" he asked quietly, barely audible over the crackling of the fire.

"No." Came the wistful reply. Legolas opened his eyes again, his blue-gray gaze hit Aragorn. "Oh, Strider."

"What?" Aragorn looked up from the fire.

"I believe this hurts you more than it does me."

The ranger nodded slowly, pressing his fingers to his eyes, released a sigh. He then understood the feeling that had caused his friend to do so a moment ago. "I hate seeing you like this." He almost whispered. "You have *never* been so-"

"Distant?" Legolas guessed.

"Vulnerable."

Legolas nodded slowly. "I see."

"I- I'm sorry." Aragorn tried to amend. "I did not mean-"

"No, you are right." Legolas dropped his gaze to the inferno of flames, watching as they licked hungrily at the wood, and easily devoured the leaves. "Worry not, my friend. I am glad that you would be honest with me. I never thought of it that way, but it must be so discouraging to see one who has been strong before become weak. You depend on me at times, do you not?"

"Yes." He heard the other whisper.

Legolas nodded. "But now I depend on you, Aragorn. You are strong yourself, and more than that I depend on you because I trust you. Do not be afraid to lead."

"I am no leader. I have not your wisdom, nor your knowledge, nor your courage. I am not who you are and I cannot help you the way you have helped me so many times." Aragorn murmured bitterly.

"No, you cannot, that is so. But you are no worse, Aragorn, just different. You have helped me already: when you sang to me."

There was a long silence, and Aragorn tried to listen to the words of comfort. He had to admit it now; Legolas was being so open and honest, he had to respond in kind. "I am afraid, Legolas: afraid that I cannot save you, and I don't want to lose you."

"You will not lose me." Legolas assured. "Even if I were to pass on, I would still be somewhere with you. Friendship does not waver at a wind, and a friendship like ours burns forever. Forever like an endless candle. Keep the candle burning my friend, and have no fear."

Aragorn closed his eyes and nodded. As he did, he felt something damp slide down his cheeks. He hadn't even noticed that the tears had gathered in his eyes.

Legolas watched as the silver tears reflected the fire.

Aragorn felt his eyes on him. "I still want you to stay with me, Legolas. Here. Right here."

Legolas' heart went out to the ranger sitting across from him. Suddenly, he realized that Aragorn no longer looked up at him in anger, but this almost hurt more to see him in sadness.

"Urin nallon, nin mellon. En er estel."

//do not cry, my friend. There is yet hope//

Aragorn sighed. "Iston." The ranger slowly looked up, and couldn't tell whether his friend was blurry because of the smoke that rose from his fire, or the tears that still haunted his vision. Then he realized that Legolas no longer looked at him, but held his head in his hands.

"Legolas?"

The elf continued to press his hands hard against his temples, then, sat up straight. "I am well."

Aragorn pinned him with look of disbelief.

"I am well." Legolas repeated, with more confidence.

Aragorn stood up, and walked around the campfire. "No you are not."

"Strider, I cannot-" But Legolas stopped mid-sentence, as Aragorn knelt next to him, a flagon of water in one hand, a piece of lemba in the other. "You cannot be well until you have eaten and had some rest." he stood up and smiled. "Honestly, you elves think your immortality keeps you from starvation!"

Legolas smiled back, and though he still wasn't very hungry, ate the familiar food gratefully. Despite what the ranger said, Legolas thought, Aragorn was the perfect leader. Someday, he thought musingly, maybe Aragorn would see that as well.

**********

Aragorn opened his eyes, and stared for awhile at the dark sky, speckled with stars. He felt such peace, such beauty. The stars seemed to sing ancient songs to his heart…Legolas could not see them, or hear them. Dear Legolas, what could he do?

Aragorn turned beneath his cloak again. He felt powerless to do anything, frightened by his friend's vulnerability, and his own.

Legolas. Suddenly Aragorn realized that the elf was not sleeping as he had at first thought. Legolas stared at that sky too, but there was no joy in his eyes. "I miss them." He mused quietly, making Aragorn jump.

Although he knew that Legolas was awake, the sudden noise was strange on the night air. "Miss who?"

"The stars."

Aragorn nodded sadly. "You shall see them again."

"Can you see Eärendil?"

"Yes." He nodded, looking up at the familiar star of hope "It shines brightly this evening."

"Then there is hope for this night."

"Indeed." Aragorn responded, glad to hear optimism from the elf.

"You were not named Estel in vain." Legolas smiled softly.

Aragorn was thoughtful a moment. "Legolas, at the campfire this evening, when I said ist-"

"Shh!" Legolas leapt out from under his cloak, and in a lightning motion, had his bow in his hand, and an arrow from his quiver, which had been sitting beside him, already notched. He crouched there a moment. Aragorn sat up straight, and pulled his sword a fraction out of it's sheath.

Silence.

Aragorn put away his frustration that Legolas breathed quieter than he, and stared into the darkness. Nothing…

"I thought I heard a creature in the woods." Legolas whispered. "Something hunts us."

Aragorn did not respond, and slowly sheathed his sword. "I hear nothing, Legolas."

Legolas was slower to draw the conclusion, but finally did, and put the bow and arrow aside. The fact that he didn't returned the arrow to it's quiver worried Aragorn. Legolas wasn't really convinced.

"Spiders?" Aragorn probed.

"No. Too big. And spiders would not stray this far from the dark center of Mirkwood." Legolas sat down on his cloak again, but continued to stare into the dark trees, searching them with his keen, elven eyes.

"Legolas," Aragorn spoke hesitantly, and pressed close to his friend. "Do you not think- well, is it not possible that maybe- maybe you heard nothing? That it was naught but your mind tricking you again?"

Legolas closed his eyes, and Aragorn could see he had struck him deep. "I- I am sorry my friend, I am wrong-"

"It is not you." Legolas sighed. "Strider, I do not know what I shall do. An elf grows to trust his eyes, ears and instincts. How can I accept that mine are incorrect? That they lie to me, though I have trusted them completely for so long?"

"Well," Aragorn sighed, and sat down next to the downcast elf. "It is in times like that, when we must trust our hearts instead. The heart does not lie."

"But I cannot see with my heart, my friend."

"Can you not?" Aragorn leaned forward and tried to look Legolas in the eye, but the elf turned away. "Legolas." Aragorn laid a hand on the prince's knee. "You cannot hear your friends' respect, see your father's love, or touch my friendship. It is true, one cannot breath without the mind. But you cannot truly live without the heart, and your heart, Legolas, does not lie to you."

Legolas was silent, but Aragorn could feel him relax slightly. The words had hit their target, and already the elf seemed to calm, and brighten, if only a little.

"And you do not need to see Eärendil to feel hope." Aragorn removed his hand, and stood to walk over to the dieing fire.

"Estel-"

He turned around to the elf again.

Legolas smiled. "Hantach."

//thank you//

"Ea na gwiil, Legolas."

//be at peace, legolas//

Legolas straitened again. "What is it that you-" he stopped, and whirled around, reaching for his bow and arrow.

Aragorn barely had time to realize what he was doing, before he felt something hard smack him over the back of his head. He seemed to swim in murky-gray mist. He reeled without moving, and all sound was dull. Then it cleared somewhat. When he could see straight again, he saw Legolas swinging his bow around, the arrow he'd originally notched still sitting in it. He swung the bow wildly, and couldn't seem to see what he was shooting at. Finally, he loosed the arrow, but it flew harmlessly into the dark woods. He couldn't see anything.

Aragorn pushed himself to his knees, just to feel another hard blow to his head.

Legolas swung in circles over and over, his eyes wide with terror.

"Khazâd ai-mênu!" Aragorn heard a rough voice shout.

The dark creatures launched their attack on the bewildered elf all at once. Unable to hold his own against all the dark shapes, Legolas sank under their weight, and one of them hastily snatched his bow.

Aragorn could not tell what was happening, though as his head swam in the murky mist again, he vaguely heard Legolas cry out. At the sound of this, the ranger made a valiant attempt to lift himself up again. The attempt earned him another blow on the head, and this time, the mist didn't clear.

Uuuhhh…*puts supposed 'book of ff.net rules' over head* Don't hurt me! ;)