So, I know I said that it would be two more chapters or so, but this is the last one. There was no way of breaking it up without making the last chapter really short. School bites, by the way. See chapter one for disclaimers.

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Legolas shivered. Cold hands were on his stomach, and his shoulder- hands that were not his own. He tried to flinch away from them, but the grip on his shoulder tightened. Gasping, he woke quickly.

"You are in elvish hands now, Legolas. You are in elvish hands," Elrond tried to soothe the prince with the old words.

"You are home, Legolas, and everything is all right," Thranduil added.

Nothing worked. Legolas took in his situation, not really seeing who was near him. "Leave me be, please. Do not do this to me!"

"We are helping you, Legolas. You lost a lot of blood, please relax." Elrond was careful to keep his voice calm and gentle.

"Please, don't,"

"Don't what, onya?" Thranduil said in a low voice.

Legolas' mind was forcing his body to lie still. It was forcing logic into his nerves. 'You know these people. They won't hurt you.'

Without thinking of what his father might think, he said, "Don't hurt me anymore."

It was a whisper, but both Elrond and Thranduil heard it. The exchanged glances.

"It might be better if-"

"No," Thranduil said firmly. "It will not come to that."

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Elrohir lifted his head from the book he had been reading. "Is he all right?"

Elrond said nothing as he closed the door to his son's room.

"By the Valar, please tell me he is all right!"

"He will not die," Elrond said quietly. "Not of any physical wounds, at least."

"Did he awake?"

"He did."

Elrohir tried to hide his frustration. His father was tired. He had been working with Thranduil for almost two full days with little rest. "Please tell me what is happening to my friend."

"My son, onya, you have to understand that Legolas has been through a lot. I fear he never fully recovered from the first time he was in his grandfather's hands. Then to be captured by Tarduain."

"He will never trust the race of men."

"That is probably correct. It wasn't only what happened to him. He had to deal with everything that happened to Arwen as well. Did he ever tell you everything that went on?" He continued when Elrohir shook his head. "Then I shall leave that to him if he should feel inclined to do so. He had to endure many things that any human would never have been able to endure. You only saw a fraction of it. Then to meet the man again in the woods? To come home, and meet his grandfather? And yet again to meet Tarduain, whom he though he had killed?"

"There's that matter too. Legolas had to kill him, or he thought he did, at least."

Elrond nodded. "And a member of his own family. You see now that he will never be the same."

Elrohir nodded.

Unsure of how to go on, Elrond spoke tentatively. "He may not want to be the same."

"Father?"

"Legolas may not have the will to go on."

Both elves fell silent.

"I wish to go see him."

Elrond nodded. "You have my leave."

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Elrohir stopped outside the open door of Legolas' room. Lord Thranduil was in with his son. Legolas, for his part, was asleep. Whether by potion or his own will, Elrohir did not know.

"You will not give up, Legolas."

Elrohir concealed himself in the shadows, listening to Thranduil's words to his son.

"You are a prince. You are held to a higher standard than anyone else. I would expect anyone else to give up, to flee to the Halls of Mandos. But you are not anyone else. You are a prince, and more importantly, my son. I will not have you give up. I will never forgive you if you should flee."

Elrohir jumped as his father laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's the only way he knows how to show love. He's demanding of Legolas because he doesn't know how else to act. It is not his fault. I had experience raising two children with a wife. Thranduil did not have that opportunity. He had to raise Legolas on his own since the boy was a mere child, young to anyone's eyes. You understand that, don't you?"

Elrohir did not answer his father's question. His eyes were still on the form of his sleeping friend. "He is so undeserving of Legolas' love."

"That may be, but then I too would be undeserving of the boy's love. He has known me for long years, and, I think, looked to me as a second father. If I were in that room, right now, I would say the same thing to him. Perhaps not with those words, but the message would be the same." He looked at Elrohir.

Thranduil came out at that moment, ignoring Elrond and Elrohir. Tears were in his eyes, as he pushed past the two elves.

Elrond gave a meaningful look at his son, then followed Thranduil down the hall. Elrohir entered Legolas' room.

"Go away."

Elrohir started. "So you indeed were not asleep!"

"Go away."

"I will not leave you, Legolas. You should know that by now."

Legolas sat up, wincing and moving a hand to his stomach. Elrohir instinctively rushed forward to help his friend.

Legolas' body shuddered. It was an involuntary reaction, but both elves took note of it.

"You can trust me."

"I know that," Legolas said through gritted teeth. His own reactions were irritating him.

"Would you mind, Legolas, if I stayed here for a while? Until your wounds heal, at least?" He meant more than the physical wounds Legolas had.

"You need not stay," Legolas said. 'No, please stay, please stay. Please. I need you here.'

Elrohir dropped his head. "All right. I understand."

'NO!' Legolas' mind screamed at him.

"I'll have someone bring you food, later."

Legolas looked horrified.

"I know you don't want to see anyone, but you are to be a ruler someday. You cannot avoid your subjects." He left before Legolas could argue.

Elrohir sighed. Legolas had been through so many things. He was friends with Elrohir, so of course he had been hurt numerous times. He had even had run-ins with orcs more than once. He knew what pain was. But this was different. Tarduain and his grandfather had played on the physiological aspect of their dealings with Legolas. It wasn't the fear of pain that made the prince shudder, but the fear of betrayal.

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Thranduil looked Elrohir over carefully. True, he had been his son's friend through nearly everything, including the same nightmare twice. He would not admit it, but part of him was jealous that his son would recover faster with Elrohir around than with him.

"You may stay."

Elrohir nodded his thanks. He knew this was what Legolas wanted, but was too scared to ask for, even when it was offered to him. He would stay as long as he needed to.

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It had been nearly four months. Legolas' wounds had healed quickly, though his stomach still ached sometimes where the blade had been driven in. Elrohir stayed faithfully by his side, pushing his friend just outside his comfort zone when it was needed. Legolas was slowly taking to socializing again. He even went on a hunting trip with a few of his closest friends, and without Elrohir. The young elf refused to go because he knew Legolas needed to do this on his own. Aldarion and Telemnar, and their group of elves had been sent for and were no longer exiles. They learned what happened from Elrohir, in part, and slowly pushed their way back into Legolas' life.

Elrohir sat next to Legolas on the windowsill of the Great Library's balcony. "Your father talks much of sailing to the Undying Lands."

Legolas let his eyes fall on the horizon. "He will go someday, and leave me with Mirkwood. It seems so pointless. Nearly every elf will sail to the Undying Lands soon. There is nothing left for us here."

"My father has spoken of ties that keep certain elves here. Maybe you will have one of those ties. At any rate, those elves that stay will gladly take you as their king."

"I do not wish to be their king."

"You are legendary, Legolas. Even the youngest elves in Imaldris talk of you."

Still keeping his eyes on the horizon, through the thick trees, Legolas sighed. "If I am so legendary, why do I feel so alone?"

Elrohir licked his lips in thought. "Legends never die, Legolas." He put a hand on his friend's shoulder, still noticing the shudder that passed underneath it. The reaction was always there, but Elrohir grew used to it. He left the room. With one last look at Legolas, he knew it was time to go home. Everything was going to be all right.

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To my reviewers: Well, second story over, what do you think?

Dimostiel: Thank you so much! I will check out your stories as soon as I get time. I'm really short on that at the moment.

Artemisa: Well I can't just tell you! ::smiles:: You need to wait and read.

ElizabethBlack4: Sure, NOW you tell him he's not a pansy. Lol, thanks for the great review!

Das Blume: Yeah, double major. It's worth it, but it does take up most of my time. Ah, no worries, you're forgiven! Ah, jeez, and the comparisons there: Kaftka? Poe? I wish. ::big smiles:: Haha, what, you expect your grandfather to turn all evil on you? Is that how you're gonna convince her? Oh my gosh, you're making me blush so much. Thank you, thank you! True, he was a bit mad from the beginning. Elrond may have yes, but not in the way you're thinking. Kudos for saying that. Did you catch the reference to it in this chapter? There's actually a future plot line that gives you a more in depth look at Thranduil's last phrase, "however accidentally," and more into his judgment of Legolas as well. Actually, that might be next story, I can't remember at the moment. A single word, or a single phrase? I don't think I could do it in one word. Uhm, Good man/elf with flaws. Thanks a million for your reviews!

Gilraen3: Lol! I was gonna say, if pain wasn't your sort, you're reading the wrong story. Thanks for the review!

Legolas'-Calandra: Ah, thanks, I love you too. Sheesh. ::smiles:: I did answer your question. Read chapter seven. Lol, oh, okay, you did. We'll see about his death, hm?

Tamara: There isn't really a "this time" to it. It's more of an underlying theme with Thranduil, and I promise you will find out more about that later.

Nikki: Ah! You are so sweet! ::does little happy review jig:: Now that that's out of my system, lol, not to give anything away, but this is a Legolas/Aragorn friendship fic. He hasn't met Aragorn yet, so dying is gonna make that really hard. ::wink:: Thanks for the compliment. I was planning on one or two more chapters, but this is it. I'll leave you with a summary and an excerpt of the next story too, Of Elves and Men. Thank you so much!

Coolio02: Haha, so many people have said that. So I'm guessing no one wants him to die, then? I may have to go rewrite that part. ::smiles::

Bec: Ah, yeah, I haven't gotten any of my work done. I might as well shoot myself in the foot right now. Like I've said to others, there's a plot line behind his father's judgment. Sheesh, there's a plot line behind EVERYTHING in my stories. I'm not kidding, there may be a little "insignificant" detail, but it will more than likely pop back up again three or four stories later. It'll be fun to see how many of them people catch. Unfortunately, this story is wrapping up, with this being the last chapter. I tried hard for it not to be, I really wanted another chapter after this, but it would have ended up really short. I don't have any quirky twists in this one, but all the better, because Estel's in the next one! As always, I'll leave you with the excerpt for the next story in the last (this) chapter. Thanks for the review!

Sky: Can't wait for the update! Thanks for the kind review.

As a last note, don't hate me for making Thranduil like this, okay? There is reason to my madness, as you'll find out later.

Now for the next story:

Of Elves and Men

It's been a long time since Legolas last visited Rivendell. Many things have changed, including the human now living there. Can the two let go of their animosity long enough to escape the danger they are thrown into?

Despite the agony he knew it would cause, Legolas forced his eyes open. He was in a type of arena, with thousands of evil creatures looking down at him. Wild men, orcs, Uruk-hai. there was no end to them. Suddenly, everything went black. If it had not been for the pain he still felt, he would have thought he had gone unconscious.

"Estel!" He called out desperately. "Estel, I cannot see! What is happening?"

The man's voice came from above the prince. "I will help you," it said calmly in elvish. "They are releasing wargs upon you."

"I cannot fight them! I cannot see!"

"Legolas, I will help you. Do you trust me?"

"No. What choice do I have now, though?" Legolas wanted to cry out in defeat. His life now rested in the hands of a man. Worse yet, it was a man who hated him.

"I will not lead you astray."

Legolas took a deep breath, calming his over-heightened senses. He dropped into a crouch, saving his energy for when it would most definitely be needed.

"Behind you, Legolas. They approach from behind you."

The prince turned. He hated this- he was on display like a savage animal. He was yet again being used for the entertainment of perverted beings.

"They are advancing."

He held his knife in front of him. He could smell the foul breath of the wolves of Isengard. He let his other senses tell him when the beast was about to attack, though he heard Estel too in the background. He felled it quickly.

"To your left!" Aragorn shouted above the jeering crowd. He watched as Legolas turned just in time to stab at it. He turned to his captors. "Let me down there! Let me help him!"

"It's your own head, human."

"Let me down there!" And so he was given Legolas' other blade, and thrown into the pit with the prince.

"I promised I'd help you."

"Estel, go. You are only fighting to your own death down here."

"I owe you, stupid elf. You saved my life, now I'm kind of obligated to save yours."

Legolas did not respond to the man, instead focusing on the task at hand. He heard stalky footsteps, and thrust his knife forward, until he felt flesh, and then warm blood. "Estel, I'm too tired for much more of this."

"I know. You have to hold on for a little while though, all right?"