A/N: Hi, here is the next chapter!



Sorry for the really long delay but the Internet wouldn't work and no one in my family could access the Internet. As this has happened I have decided to post the next two chapters for this story at the same time. Hope you enjoy! And I'll get the next chapter up soon.



You may have noticed that when the characters speak in elvish I do not write in elvish but say they are and that is because I haven't got an elvish dictionary and I do not know where to find one. If any of you know any good web sites where I can formalise myself with this I would be really grateful for your help. The only elvish word I do know is mellonamin which is for friend or my friend, so I will use this when it is necessary.

Onto your replies:

Stumpy: I'm not actually sure if there is going to be anymore 'ranger torture' but I'll try and see what I can do. He man find himself in a bit of a spot later on, but that is about it.

And for those who do not understand why Aragorn was beaten back a few Orcs in the last chapter; it was because he had been poisoned by the spirit and was trapped in his mind; he could not fight back, and only going into his mind would be able to save him. Hope this clears up any queries involving the last chapter.

Phantom of Mirkwood

Chapter 5

Into the Past


When Legolas woke he found darkness surrounding him. Elladan was sitting in a chair next to him. "Are you okay?" the elf asked.

"Yeah, kind of." Legolas said, "I have a headache. It feels like that I have dwarves drilling into my head."

Elladan laughed, "You would have. You went sleep-walking in the middle of the night and wacked your head on the cupboard door. It was quite hard and you were moaning in your sleep when we found you. Father sedated you and you've slept for nearly two days."

"What!?! Why would he do that?" Legolas asked.

"You took a hard hit. As I said you were moaning clutching your forehead when we found you." Elladan replied, giggling, "Besides even though you were unconscious you put up a hard fight. We were in the impression that you thought us to be attackers and were flaying madly trying to hurt us. We needed to sedate you so father could heal you. That's all, or otherwise you might have seriously hurt someone."

Legolas eyes Elladan doubtfully. He didn't quite believe what the twin had said, but he did not pursue it. Instead he asked: "How's Aragorn?"

"He's woken up." Elladan replied, "Estel is feeling strange. He had a nightmare last night about what he went through. He saw the creature...."

"Spirit."

"...kill everyone who he knew. Then it killed him, slowly." Elladan said, "He woke up screaming. Father believes that the nightmares will haunt him until the spirit is killed."

"Then we must destroy it." Legolas said.

"Many elves went out to hunt the spirit, but they have yet to return. None of us believe that it will be caught." Elladan said.

"He wants me." Legolas replied softly. "The spirit wants me, Elladan. That's why he's been killing all my guards, so he can get easy access to me. He will only be caught if I am caught. He will come for me and we will have to trap him."

Elladan frowned. "Your father will not allow you to be the bait."

"If we wish to catch him then my father will make allowances."

Elladan laughed. "I doubt that. He probably ship you off to the Grey Havens to protect you!"

"He better not." Legolas said, smiling at the oldest twin.

*****

Later, when Legolas had rested some more, he rose and went to speak to Aragorn. But to his dismay the human was still fast asleep, but his arms were thrashing around madly; as if he was stuck in a nightmare, which in Legolas's opinion the human still was.

Carefully he approached the human, and very quickly grabbed the humans arms and whispered in elvish:"Calm down, mellonamin. You are safe. Go back to sleep. I am here, mellonamin." As soon as the elf prince had whispered these words Aragorn began to calm and he gently went back into the threshold of sleep.

He sat by his friend, watching him. Ever so often the human would moan and Legolas would whisper elvish words to sooth the young human down; usually this worked for a period of fifteen minutes before the nightmares would begin to grip him again. Knowing what the human was going through, the elf could help him, hoping to give him a peaceful sleep.

Legolas did not know how long he sat there but he dare not leave Aragorn's side. After a few hours of waiting - so he guessed - Lord Elrond and his sons entered the room. They were not surprised to find the prince sitting in the room.

"Good morning, my lords." Legolas said.

Elrond nodded, and the twins said hello.

"How is he?" Elrond asked, looking at his young human son.

"Nightmares are troubling him still. I've had to soothe him with elvish. He's fine for about fifteen minutes but then he starts flaying again. Each time it is harder to subdue him, but I manage to keep him asleep." Legolas explained.

"If he keeps having the same nightmares then he will." Elrond answered, "One way or another we have to kill this spirit."

"But how?" Legolas asked, "I've never seen one of his kind before. I've heard rumors of these things in the first age but I never thought that these things actually existed still."

"Then perhaps father should tell you." Elrohir said.

"That is why I am here." Elrond said, "In the first age of Middle-Earth in the time of Morgoth. He created lots of creatures to do his bidding. One of these many creatures were spirits of the shadow world. They went around capturing elves for Morgoth, but when he was defeated many of his followers and servants fled. They were all soon accounted for, or so we thought. One of the spirits escaped our grasp and fled. We forgot about it, believing it to have been destroyed with the others. The spirit has lived in Middle-Earth feasting on men and elves throughout all the ages. Or they could've slept in hiding. Whatever this spirit did it was near Mirkwood this whole time. It is most likely that it has just woken up and seen elves in the woods. The spirits like making their victims suffer by targeting people who they care for deeply and killing them first. They study, watching their victims and then make the first move when they can. It shows that, Legolas, that the spirit is coming for you and is taking all your guardians and friends from you."

"Does that mean that Aragorn might be hurt?" Legolas asked.

"He already has been hurt. He risked his life to save that elven child and was nearly killed in the process. That spirit can do many things; evil things. As you know it can send that person into their own mind, thinking they are in the world of the living but they are not. That's what it did to Aragorn. But at the possibility of Aragorn being harmed more is unlikely. It does not know that you and Aragorn are friends and will overlook this. For the moment we have an element of surprise. We may be able to trap him; if we plan carefully." Elrond said. "He's dealt with most of your guards and friends and knows - though you are in your father's halls - that you are vulnerable to attack. Your father knows this but he is willing to make an exception as long as you are not hurt in the process."

A laugh from the twins caused Legolas to scowl at them. "And what's so funny about that?"

"Legolas, you know very well that whenever you and Aragorn spend any amount of time together, one of you usually turn up at either Rivendell or Mirkwood, seriously injured and on death's door. Sometimes its both of you and you cause our father to get seriously worried that he cannot save you in time." Elladan said, grinning.

"Oh and please remind me when Aragorn and I turned up at Rivendell injured?" Legolas asked.

"That's easy," Elladan replied, "Remember the time when you and Estel decided to go over the mountain pass in winter! Just to get to Rivendell to make sure that no harm had come to us during the great snow fall."

"That was not my idea!" Legolas said, "It was Strider's. He persuaded me to go with him! And it wasn't my fault that we were attacked by a roaming band of Orcs; hunted by a pack of wolves and....and was trapped in a cave because of a blizzard! Blame that on your brother, not me!"

The twins laughed. Elrond said: "Well, you gave me quite a shock when Elladan and Elrohir went hunting and found you two struggling to put one foot in front of the other. You were frozen through; you were lucky that you managed to escape from the mountain."

"That was only because you two were hunting and found us sprawled in the snow." the elf replied, getting quite annoyed with the current subject. He always avoided this kind of topic with the twins. They usually were okay with his and Aragorn's mis-adventures, but when it happened so often the twins began to think that he and Aragorn were a disease put together; just to annoy them.

The twins laughed again.

Enough of the current subject Elrond shooed his sons away from the prince.

"Thank you."



Elrond turned back to the prince, a solemn glare in his eye. "You must be aware the dangers that face you if we use you as bait. It could harm you; possibly kill you."

"I know that," Legolas replied, "If I am fated to die to save my people then that is what will transpire."

"Very well," Elrond said, "Then we have preparations to make."

*****

Not far from Mirkwood floated Oronar.

His icy glare was transfixed upon the palace of the elves. This would be when he would attack. Tonight, he would get the prince, and with the human out of the way; there would be no one to stop him.

TBC.....



Next chapter: Aragorn wakes and the trap is set.