A/N: Okay! Lady Katanya, calm down for a second will you! :-) I never really made it certain that she is going to be with Mildred. Let me put you straight, she loves Legolas, but she is obligated to go with Mildred because she owes it to the rest of the Fairies. Anyway, the only reason she said all those things in the last chapter was because she did not know if she would make it out of the pool alive and if she doesn't she just wants them both to know that they are the only people that she would have chosen to love. Mildred is more like her best friend so she loves him in that aspect and Legolas is the one that she loves from the heart. I didn't mean to confuse anyone. Sorry! But just remember that almost everything that happens has a purpose. Even that 'skank' as you put it has a purpose. You'll probably end up hating me for the next 4 or 5 chapters, but just bear in mind that I do have a happy ending in mind. :-)

So everybody just take a breath and enjoy the next chapter.







Disclaimer: Tolkien is the creator of anything associated with characters places or events that occurred in Middle Earth that anyone recognises. I am not as good at writing as he is.



Chapter 38: Wings

Legolas and Mildred were waiting near the pool for almost two months. They had begun to trust each other enough to let one sleep while the other watched during the night. The attacks from the wolves were less frequent now and both had injuries from their battles. The injuries were small and did not hinder their fighting abilities, or stop them from walking around. Most of the major injuries Legolas obtained, Mildred was able to heal, thanks to the knowledge he had gained from Celebfaer, but his ability to heal was still rough and he avoided using it unless it was absolutely necessary. Legolas also helped to heal any major injures that Mildred had gained, as the fairy was unable to heal himself.

It was a few days off two months and Legolas had just taken over the watch from Mildred, letting the fairy settle down to rest. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Legolas caught movement near the pool and he was on his feet in a flash, bow and arrows ready to fire if he needed them.

Hearing a cough that was closely followed by the sound of splashing water, Legolas frowned, looking towards the pool suspiciously. Then he heard the two sounds again, this time the coughing was getting worse and it sounded as though whoever was coughing would never stop.

Throwing caution into the wind, Legolas jumped up and ran swiftly to the pool, just as Mildred sat up. He had been awoken by the splashes and when he saw Legolas running towards the pool, he panicked. He knew a little about the pool and he wanted to stop the elf before he caused damage to Celebfaer by entering the pool while she was still in there.

"Legolas, you cannot enter the pool!" Mildred called as Legolas got to the edge. Legolas looked up at the sound of Mildred's voice, panic in his eyes.

"She is choking on water! And I will not let her die!" Legolas said, then he plunged into the water as Mildred, who was already on his feet, ran to try and stop him.

"Legolas you fool! She has to come out herself and you will be in grave danger if you enter while she is still in there. Not to mention what you might do to her!" He called one last time but Legolas was already lost.

Legolas hadn't made it far into the pool before he felt something try to pull him under the water, but he was too far in to go back and before he could blink Legolas was dragged under by something that he could not see.

Mildred was watching from the edge of the pool praying that he did not kill Celebfaer with his foolishness and lack of knowledge. There had been two things that all fairies were taught once they turned 600 from their tutors. The first was that if a fairy was in the pool to cleanse their wings, it could take as long as two years or as short a time as two days. The second had been that one they were in the pool; no being was able to enter the water, until the fairy had come out of the water completely. If a being entered the water whilst a fairy was in there, then there was a risk that the fairy could be killed.

Legolas was pulled under the water by something that he could not sense and he was held under until he thought his lungs would choke. Struggling against the unseen force that held him under and trying desperately to get to the surface of the water for much needed air, Legolas only managed to be dragged even further down into the water. They had thought that the pool was only swallow, but being in the pool as he was now, Legolas realised that it was indeed no ordinary pool. He was being dragged so deep that he was not sure if he would ever see the light of day again. The murky blackness that gave the pool it's colour was choking him and the deeper he was dragged, the less he struggled as his lungs started to fill with water.

Suddenly, right before he thought he would certainly die under the water, an uncanny, strong force pushed him up out of the water and he was shot into the air with the speed of an arrow that he had shot himself.

Mildred watched as Legolas was thrown out of the water, then high into the air, glad that the spell had worked. Once Legolas landed, Mildred ran over there, still keeping an eye on the pool, and cursing Legolas for his stupidity. Mildred had done the spell in the hope that if Legolas was out of the pool, then no further damage would come to Celebfaer. He would not allow himself to admit that it had been to save the elf, who had once saved his own life.

Legolas had landed about twenty meters from the pool, scaring the horses so that they had run away and as Mildred approached the elf did not move. So sighing, Mildred picked Legolas up, surprised at how light he was then carried him the ten meters back to where they had made their camp. Once there, Mildred placed him gently on his back on the ground, looking for any sign of life.

He saw none, but before he could examine Legolas further for any damage, Mildred heard a female cough and a splash of water. Worried, he turned around and walked to the edge of the pool, hoping to see her.

The sun started to rise and as it did, Mildred saw something rise in the middle of the pool then start slowly heading towards where he stood. As the sun revealed enough light for him to see the thing properly, he saw it was Celebfaer, hunched over and soaking wet. Except the sight that dazzled him the most was the two wings that were flapping slightly. He guessed that her wings were propelling her forward, as she appeared to be only semi conscious and her wings were fluttering very softly.

When she was close enough to the edge of the pool, she started coughing once more and he could hear her struggling to take in breath. But Mildred found himself unable to move.

He had become captivated at the sight of her wings for they were by far the most intricate and beautiful things he had ever seen. They appeared to be crafted from the finest fibers the world had ever seen and must have been made by a master weaver because the pattern on them were so complicated that not a living being could have done them. Droplets of water were still on the wings and as the rays of the sun shone on them, they glimmered as though gold was woven into the pattern as well. However the one thing that he did notice was that on the top tip of each wing, was a star shaped pattern that had once been the trademark of Queen Asura's first-daughter, Rydia. If he had not believed her to be the first-daughter, he did now.

When he heard her struggled breathing and terrible coughing, he came back to his senses and he looked at her, shocked at her pale face. Her eyes looked as though she was about to die as well, so pale and opaque; so Mildred waded into the pool a few steps and put his arm around her, giving her the support she needed to get from the pool.

Celebfaer felt the touch and she jumped then started coughing once more as she felt her wings go back to their normal spot and then she was picked up and carried. Looking up to see who it was, she saw Mildred and smiled weakly as she went into yet another coughing fit.

"Mildred, are my wings.......?" She asked once it had subsided, but she did not get very far into her sentence because she started coughing once more, so not knowing what else to do, Mildred put her down and let her cough, hoping that she would not die. They were at the campsite now, so he did not have to move her anymore.

"Rydia, you need to recover." He said softly, then he looked over to where Legolas was lying and saw that his chest was rising and falling slowly. So, the Elf had survived the fall but how badly he was injured, Mildred could not tell.

Celebfaer coughed once again and Mildred saw that she was coughing up water, so he rubbed the spot between her shoulder blades, just before the spot where her wings came from her back hoping it would ease her pain. But, she would not stop coughing and Mildred wondered if she would ever stop. He feared that he would lose her and then he would have to explain that to the Queen, for his heart had already accepted the loss of her love to another and now he survived merely to support Celebfaer in any choice that she made. If Celebfaer wished not to go back to the realm, Mildred would leave and make up a story for the Queen, because he knew that Celebfaer was at home among the Elves. Home was where the heart belonged and Mildred knew that Celebfaer loved Legolas and would never love another, so he had accepted the loss and prepared himself for when she would tell him.

But now, all he could do was wait for her to recover and hope that she did not die.

The sun was well into the sky when she recovered enough to talk without going into yet another coughing fit. Mildred was relieved when he heard her voice, however faint it was.

"How long was I gone?" She asked him and he smiled at her.

"I am just glad that you are back."

"How long Mildred?" She asked once more, as weakly as she had said it before.

"A few days off two months." He replied and she nodded, then looked around, then she saw Legolas lying there on the ground, breathing but only slightly and Mildred watched her, wondering how she would react to seeing the one she loved near death.

"What happened to Legolas?" She asked getting up because she was starting to get worried because she knew that the slow rising and falling of his chest was not due to slumber.

"He went into the pool." Mildred said and she whirled around, then had to fight a wave of dizziness before she could function again.

"We have to save him!" She said, then she walked slowly over to him and stood over him, before she kneeled down before him.

"You are not strong enough yet, you still need to recover Rydia!" Mildred protested, falling back into his normal role, and not realising that he had called her by her fairy name. She seemed to hate that name but Mildred fell back into habit and did not realise he had called her that. "And my abilities in healing are not that good. I think he shall recover, eventually, but you are more important at the moment, you need rest!"

"I am fine, he is the one that needs to be healed." She said, then she put her hands on both his cheeks, feeling that they were as cold as ice.

Then she went into another coughing fit.

"I cannot let you kill yourself Rydia!" Mildred said, jumping up and running to her side, trying to stop her from coughing or helping Legolas, he was not sure. He felt the pang of jealousy again and he hated himself for it.

"My name is Celebfaer!" She said to Mildred, a tinge of anger in her voice. Then coughed once more and had to push Mildred away before she could turn back to Legolas and start to try to heal whatever had been done to him.

She put her hands on his shoulders, then started to whisper some words that Mildred could not hear, so he just sat down and hoped that she did not tire herself out. As her words hit him, he gave up all hope that he had of her returning to the Fairy Realm with him and so he sat, finally giving in to despair.

Legolas suddenly felt warmth moving through all of his freezing cold body and wondered what was happening to him. He had been floating through the world in search of something that he could not put his finger on. He had heard his father's voice calling out to him to stop him from leaving, but Legolas knew he had to find whatever it was that he was looking for. It seemed to be important.

That was when he heard Celebfaer's voice calling out to him, telling him to come back also. His body began to warm up more but still he walked on, away from the voices of the people that he loved. He knew that he had to find what he was looking for before he could go back.

Once again he heard Celebfaer's voice. It was stronger this time and held an air of command that he knew he could not deny. So, Legolas turned around, searching for her instead now, his previous search abandoned and forgotten. His body became warm enough for him to be able to feel his fingers and toes once more and as Celebfaer watched him, his eyes fluttered open, then shut once more.

Hope filled her then, as she knew that he was not completely lost in the dream world that Elves go to when they are badly injured. If they get lost there, the only hope of saving them is if a powerful healer, such as Elrond is present, otherwise there is no hope. That is what Galadriel had taught her about Elven healing. The way Celebfaer healed was a mixture of both Elven healing and Fairy healing, which was odd, but seemed to work for her.

So, trying once more, Celebfaer called out to him, urgency in her call and this time his eyes opened and he looked up, wondering what had happened to him and where he was.

As Legolas opened his eyes, he saw a lady looking down at him whispering words he could not hear. She had beautiful wings and was dressed in silver, except that her hair was wet and as his eyes focused more she stopped whispering the words and looked into his eyes.

"Legolas?"

"Are you one of the Valar?" He asked her softly and she laughed then she started coughing.

When he heard the coughing he was brought back to the real world quickly and he sat up, his head spinning as he did and the pain that he had been able to block out whilst in the dream world, coming through from his limbs and back.

"Celebfaer!" He said, then fighting the pain in his limbs, he put his arm around her shoulders lightly so he would not crush her newly fixed wings and when the coughing was over, she looked up at him.

"Legolas? You are alive?"

"Yes. I do not know what you did my love but I think you have saved me, yet again." He said and then he remembered Mildred and looked up to see him sitting not too far away, watching and then Legolas turned back to her. "Are you okay Celebfaer?" Legolas asked and she nodded.

"My wings are restored." She replied and then she started to shiver.

"Quick get her some more clothes and some blankets or she shall freeze to death!" Legolas said, then he hugged her, trying to keep her warm as Mildred went to get some blankets and clothes.

It took Celebfaer two weeks to get back to her normal self and for the whole time that it took, Mildred and Legolas waited on her, fending off wolves and crows when they dared to come near and eventually she was nursed back to good health. Legolas also needed to recover a little from his venture into the pool, but it took him only three days to recover. Celebfaer however, took the whole two weeks to recover.

When she knew she was better, she stood up, and she walked over to where her horse stood. Ignoring the calls of protest from Legolas and Mildred, she greeted her horse, rubbing its nose and the horse replied by nuzzling her neck.

"Ready for the last part of the journey?" She asked it softly and this time her two companions were at her side and she looked up at both of them. "Come now. Mildred, Legolas we must be off this mountain before the foul air corrupts us all. We will take it slow because our need is no longer great, however I promised the King I would return his son to him as soon as I could." She said and Legolas laughed.

"Then she is well. We will leave." Legolas said and Mildred nodded.

"Agreed."









A/N: I hope that you all enjoyed that and from now on I shall speed up a little bit and get the story line rolling again. I hope! Next post will probably be Wednesday night because that is when my last exam is, then it should be more frequent from then on. Cheers!