You guys still reading? Wonderful! Keep on suffering and don't forget those death threats at the end.

@Pixie Stix; Thank you very much! And thank you for your tips. I already have a beta reader, but I guess she also needs a beta for herself! An alpha beta for a beta! Ha! Ha! Anyway, I already have a new beta in mind that will help me with my future stories.

Okay. Carry on reading.

What's going on? Why is Kel acting like this? What in Mordor is going on? I killed her? I killed mother? Why did he say that? Why…?  Legolas ran blindly ahead, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. Has Keldarion gone crazy?

The dejected prince headed for the only place he could think of; the stable. The prince suddenly had a desperate need for a wild ride. He rushed to open the gate of the first box he came to. But as he was pulling the gray stallion out of the box, Legolas instantly became aware of a commotion coming from the last box in the stable. Curious, he walked towards it, pulling the stallion behind him.

He found that three stable hands were attending to a heavily pregnant mare. The mare was in labor. "Her time has come?" he asked.

The other elves were startled to see him there. "Yes, your highness. Actually, her time is already past due," one of them answered.

"Past due? Is something wrong?" Legolas immediately grew concern. Leaving the stallion to the stable lad's care, he came near and knelt down by the mare's head. He could see the great pain in her eyes. Something was indeed very wrong with the birth.

"It is a breech, your highness. The foal has turned sideways."

Legolas winced. This is terrible! No wonder she's in so much pain! "How long has she been like this?"

"Several hours now."

"Why didn't you do anything?" Legolas snapped. He hated to see any kind of animals to be left in misery like this.

"Forgive us, my lord. Graden, the vet, is away and not anyone of us here really know how to handle a breech birth."

The prince calmed himself down. The healer inside him snapped awake. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, ordering, "Prepare some warm water. And some blankets. I'll help turn the foal."

"They are right here, your highness," the elf pointed to the said things in a corner.

Legolas went to the water to wash his hands. "Good. Now I want the two of you to sit here by her head. Hold her steady, speak to her, calm her down." Legolas was already moving down towards the mare's rump. He stared at the birth canal, calculating the situation. He reached down and rubbed a comforting hand over the mare's belly, trying to locate the position of the foal's head and legs. Then he got down to business.

Gently, he pushed his hand through the canal. It's the only way to turn the foal inside to its right position. The mare whined in pain and despair. "Hold on, my sweet. Just a little bit more," Legolas crooned to her all the while. "Your baby will be fine. And so will you. Just hold on."

Legolas cringed in pain when the mare went through a massive contraction suddenly. Her inner organ clamped down on his arm tightly. Sweating now, he waited patiently until the contraction passed before he started reaching again. It was an exhausting process. The prince would gently move his hands, slowly turning the foal back to the right position, while the mare would have contractions now and again. Then he realized that the mare was weakening. "No! Don't give up on me, my sweet! Come on! Not much longer!"

Finally, after some intense moment, the foal finally burst through the canal, covered in membrane and blood…but it was not moving.

Legolas was frantic, afraid that the foal had suffocated. He broke the soft membrane away and hastily searched for pulse. There they are, but why is it not breathing? Legolas bent down and forced some air into the foal's mouth, trying to resuscitate it. Legolas was so intent in his effort that he was not aware of another presence in the stable.

Keldarion looked over the dramatic scene in thoughtful silence. He noticed the way Legolas bent protectively over the foal, stubbornly trying to bring the small being back to life. He wished that they still had the healing stone with them now to help the desperate situation.

The foal finally breathed on its own. It started to move, already seeking for the mare. Legolas laughed softly. "See, my sweet? I told you…err…he or she? Oh, it's a he! I told you he's going to be fine…sweet lady…?"

Legolas blanched when he saw that the mare was deathly still, her eyes glazed. He looked up to the elves sitting by the head. They shook their heads back at him in sorrow. "She has passed…m…my lord," one of the elves said tearfully. "She has lost too much blood."

As tears started to pool in his eyes, Legolas cursed himself. He was too intent on the baby that he completely forgot about its mother. Still in disbelief, Legolas reached forward to touch the mare's pulse. Nothing. He felt nothing at all. No heartbeat either. The mare was already dead.

The prince lifted his hand to brush a wild strand of hair form his eyes…and saw the massive blood that covered his arm to his elbow. Both his arms were drenched in blood. The mare's blood.

My mother's blood.

He looked at his arms in horror. "…if you didn't kill her, tearing out of her womb!!!!" The ugly words came back to him again, attacking his already bleeding heart. On the verge of hysteria, Legolas stood up and stumbled blindly out of the stable…

*************

He didn't know how he got there but Legolas found himself kneeling in the shallow part of the stream behind the royal garden; the water up to his waist. He tried to wash the blood off his hands, scrubbing his arms raw, his eyes blurry with tears. The blood won't go! Ai! Why is it so hard to come off?!!

He was dismayed when he found himself breaking into gut wrenching sobs; his lithe frame shook with it. He sensed someone approached him from behind, but he didn't dare look up.

With a constricted heart, Keldarion gazed down at his miserable brother. Legolas was crying pitifully, sobbing his heart out. Sitting in the water beside him, Keldarion reached down and helped wash the blood away. "Looks like I've hurt you again…much deeply than I ever thought possible. I understand if you won't forgive me, Legolas. I've been too cruel on you. But, still, I'm very sorry. I didn't mean what I said."

Legolas didn't reply. His throat felt too dry, his heart too heavy. All this was like a nightmare to him.

"Do you remember that day when we were stranded in the bog, when Aragorn blamed himself after that? Remember those words you said to him? The foal is not to be blamed for its mother's death during its birth. Your words were true…they still are."

"I can't save her…I killed her…"

"No, Legolas," Keldarion said, not really sure whose death that Legolas was referring to. "None of this is your fault."

"I'm sorry…"

"No! I'm sorry! Please, Legolas. Stop blaming yourself. I feel terrible already. I shouldn't have said what I said. If hitting me would make you feel better, than hit me. I deserved it."

Legolas looked up, his silver eyes were filled with agony. "What is going on, Kel? I hardly know you anymore."

Keldarion sighed and pulled his trembling brother into his arms. "I don't know, my brother. I don't know. But I think you were right." Sighing again, he continued, "I'll talk to father."

TBC…

P/s: Still screaming? Hate what I'm doing to Kel? I hate it too that I cry myself to sleep! Argh!!! Anyway, prepare for tomorrow. Last chapter. If you hate angst, don't read. Go away. Shoo!!