Still I own nothing. Still you rub it in. Thanks... not! Well, here we
go again, hold on tight, coz you're about to embark on a roller-coaster
ride of despair. Sorry for those of you who wanted Legolas to accompany
you on this ride (hey, what girl *doesn't* wanna ride Legolas... I mean
WITH Legolas, yeah, with, that's it!) but he will be leaving the attraction
very shortly. He does come back, though, promise!!!
CHAPTER TWO- LEAVING HOME
The next week passed without much incident, save for the dreams which still plagued Dawn in the deep of the night. They had occurred sporadically at first, but now a night did not pass where Dawn did not wake up sweating and whimpering from some nightmare or other.
Legolas said nothing, but the Elf keenly noticed that the dreams were having a much greater effect on Dawn than they had been in the previous weeks. Her cheeks were often wet with tears when she awoke in the darkness, and once she'd had her nightly dream, it became increasingly difficult for her to settle back into sleep.
At breakfast she was questioned by both Legolas and Thranduil, who was becoming concerned with the weariness that seemed to have taken hold of his daughter-in-law. But Dawn insisted that she was fine, merely a little tired.
Legolas and Thranduil exchanged identical glances as they watched Dawn chasing her food around her plate, oblivious to her audience. They focused again on their own meals, only to hear a sharp gasp and a cry of pain erupt from Dawn out of the blue.
"Dawn!" Legolas' fork clattered to his plate and in a heartbeat he was crouched by her side.
* * * * *
Dawn felt her body being pulled in all different directions, almost as if her insides were being ripped out. She instinctively curled into a ball to protect her body, but could do nothing to protect her heart and mind as she was plagued by tormenting images.
Her Sunnydale family was there again, but they were almost unrecognisable to her. Spike had morphed into vampface, and the rest of them were in the guise of the most horrific monsters beyond description that Dawn had ever seen. They were uglier than Uruk-Hai, and more chilling than the Gentlemen even.
They all smiled at Dawn as they surrounded her closed in for the kill.
With a bloodcurdling shriek, Dawn snapped out of the vision and found herself back where she belonged; in Mirkwood. Legolas was crouched by her, his crystal blue eyes wide with worry. Thranduil hovered behind his son, equally concerned.
"Melamin?" Legolas whispered, reaching for her hand.
Dawn squeezed it tightly as she tried to expel the images she'd just seen from her mind. She groaned in agony. The pain ripping through her body had subsided, but she still felt the ache within from it, and not surprisingly she had developed a splitting headache. "Sunnydale again," she finally managed to whisper. Her free hand unconsciously rubbed her stomach as she fought to regain control of herself.
"Is everything all right?" Legolas asked the moment he saw Dawn's hand flutter to her midsection. He continued only when she had nodded her affirmation that she was indeed fine. "That's never happened before, not while you were awake," Legolas fretted.
"Yeah, I don't remember my dreams hurting so much before, either," Dawn commented.
"What is going on? Dawn? Legolas? Tell me," Thranduil ordered.
With a quick look to check on his wife, Legolas opened his mouth to speak. "Dawn's been having dreams. They started a month or two ago and bring up painful past memories she has of her old life and shows her family there to her as monsters."
Thranduil was a little angered that he had not been informed of this sooner. He was a King, after all, and Kings were used to having everything they desired at their fingertips. He hated the knowledge that he had been deprived of this important information until now. "Why did you not tell me sooner?"
"It's no big deal, really," Dawn hurried to assure him. "I'm fine, I think it's just stress. I bet once everything settles down around here, I'll be five by five in no time!" She forced a smile to back her words. She hated to admit it, but she was beginning to doubt herself here. The feeling that nothing on the Hellmouth was coincidental or without meaning was beginning to grow heavier, sinking into the pit of her stomach.
Legolas and Thranduil looked at her sceptically but said nothing. Deep down they knew she was lying, but they wanted so badly to believe her that they forced themselves to. Dawn noticed the looks aimed at her and decided to change the subject.
"So, a week left before the big happy suicide. Howya feeling about that? Still looking forward to it?" Dawn asked Thranduil, who smiled and nodded at her.
"Yes, I am, Dawn. For I know I leave the Kingdom in capable hands."
* * * * *
After the breakfast incident, the pains Dawn felt seemed to increase in strength and frequency until she could no longer hide them from her family. Thranduil considered putting off the scheduled party to travel to the Grey Havens with him to offer his support, but Dawn wouldn't hear of it.
She barely slept for four days, too pained by her nightmares to close her eyes at night. But the nightmares followed her into the daylight. At any given moment, the shriek of the young Princess could be heard far across the forest as she collapsed on the spot, hauled out of reality and into her nightmare world.
Legolas himself barely slept under the strain, but the effects were not so taxing on his Elvish body as they were on Dawn's human one. Also, he realised, the pressure of being forced in and out of realities was taking its toll on Dawn, who at times could do little more than lie on their bed and try in vain to silence her whimpering.
Then, on the fifth morning, the pain subsided. Dawn looked to Legolas and smiled her relief. She basked in the morning sun warming her face through the windows and allowed herself an hour of blissful rest. She awoke feeling refreshed and new, and went in search of her husband, who had left her to sleep in peace.
She found him easily, he was waiting for her in their favourite courtyard as if he knew she'd come. It was a large space, with a stone bench, ornately carved in the centre of the clearing and arches stretching over the paths leading to and from the courtyard, adorned with the rich greenery of the Mirkwood.
"You are feeling better," Legolas stated as she came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his upper torso to give him a loving squeeze.
"You bet your ass I am. I feel... free, somehow. Like whatever was going on with me is all over now." Dawn slipped around to stand in front of him, flashing a dazzling smile that reassured him that everything was going to be all right.
Legolas could not help but return the smile, feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. On impulse, he swept Dawn up in his arms and twirled her around and around.
Dawn squealed with surprise and delight as the world spun around her in a blur of greenery. She closed her eyes, giving herself over to the sensation, almost as if she was flying.
Then the pain came tearing back with more velocity than ever before. Her squeals of joy choked in Dawn's throat, quickly overtaken by an anguished cry that chilled Legolas to the bone. He stopped the twirling motion, resting Dawn in his arms.
Her eyes were open, but there was a faraway look in the green depths as she focused on something which seemed to Legolas to be just beyond his sight. He sank to the ground, cradling Dawn's body, which was shaking violently. Sweat had begun to pour from her forehead and her screams still echoed in his sensitive ears.
"No! Buffy, please no!" Dawn's screams began to form into words. Trapped again in her dream world, she could see and feel her sister and the other Scoobies, again in monster form, reaching into her chest to rip out her heart.
As the blond Slayer's hand came into contact with the material of Dawn's bodice, the Key closed her eyes against it and fought for control. A hazy image of Legolas shimmered before her and she strained with all her mind and body to reach him.
Tears had begun to slip down Legolas' cheeks. He paid them no more attention than he did the crowd of concerned Elves beginning to gather around the couple slumped on the ground in the courtyard. He gasped as Dawn's hand suddenly clasped his, and with some effort, she focused on his bright blue eyes.
"Dawn, I'm here. Tell me what to do, Melamin," he cried desperately, squeezing her hand in his.
"Don't let go," she pleaded, her voice barely able to form more than a whisper.
"Never, never Princess. I won't let go," Legolas swore. "Tell me what's wrong."
"It- f-feels like I'm being ripped apart- on- on the inside," she whimpered, another harsh groan of agony erupting from deep within her.
Dawn's eyes lost their focus as she was yanked roughly back into her nightmare. Buffy's hand tore through her flesh and bone with a vile cracking and slurping sound. It reappeared a moment later, triumphantly holding up a bloody mass... Dawn's heart.
Legolas tightened his grip on Dawn's hand, but he could feel it slipping from his. A tear dripped from the end of his chin, the droplet falling towards Dawn's arm. But it splashed on the dirt of the forest floor. Without warning, Dawn had vanished.
* * * * *
Don't hate me for splitting them up, please. [pouty whining voice] I hate myself for doing it enough and I wanna slap myself even as we speak... or as I write. Just wait and see where it takes us and I hope you won't be disappointed. But R&R & let me know what you think because I am addicted to your reviews! Oooh- next chapter the songfic kicks in too, so I hope you like that when it comes. I've never really tried a songfice before, so fingers crossed it doesn't completely suck. [Ducking out of the way of whatever painful objects Legolas/Dawn fans are throwing at me] ~Anoron
CHAPTER TWO- LEAVING HOME
The next week passed without much incident, save for the dreams which still plagued Dawn in the deep of the night. They had occurred sporadically at first, but now a night did not pass where Dawn did not wake up sweating and whimpering from some nightmare or other.
Legolas said nothing, but the Elf keenly noticed that the dreams were having a much greater effect on Dawn than they had been in the previous weeks. Her cheeks were often wet with tears when she awoke in the darkness, and once she'd had her nightly dream, it became increasingly difficult for her to settle back into sleep.
At breakfast she was questioned by both Legolas and Thranduil, who was becoming concerned with the weariness that seemed to have taken hold of his daughter-in-law. But Dawn insisted that she was fine, merely a little tired.
Legolas and Thranduil exchanged identical glances as they watched Dawn chasing her food around her plate, oblivious to her audience. They focused again on their own meals, only to hear a sharp gasp and a cry of pain erupt from Dawn out of the blue.
"Dawn!" Legolas' fork clattered to his plate and in a heartbeat he was crouched by her side.
* * * * *
Dawn felt her body being pulled in all different directions, almost as if her insides were being ripped out. She instinctively curled into a ball to protect her body, but could do nothing to protect her heart and mind as she was plagued by tormenting images.
Her Sunnydale family was there again, but they were almost unrecognisable to her. Spike had morphed into vampface, and the rest of them were in the guise of the most horrific monsters beyond description that Dawn had ever seen. They were uglier than Uruk-Hai, and more chilling than the Gentlemen even.
They all smiled at Dawn as they surrounded her closed in for the kill.
With a bloodcurdling shriek, Dawn snapped out of the vision and found herself back where she belonged; in Mirkwood. Legolas was crouched by her, his crystal blue eyes wide with worry. Thranduil hovered behind his son, equally concerned.
"Melamin?" Legolas whispered, reaching for her hand.
Dawn squeezed it tightly as she tried to expel the images she'd just seen from her mind. She groaned in agony. The pain ripping through her body had subsided, but she still felt the ache within from it, and not surprisingly she had developed a splitting headache. "Sunnydale again," she finally managed to whisper. Her free hand unconsciously rubbed her stomach as she fought to regain control of herself.
"Is everything all right?" Legolas asked the moment he saw Dawn's hand flutter to her midsection. He continued only when she had nodded her affirmation that she was indeed fine. "That's never happened before, not while you were awake," Legolas fretted.
"Yeah, I don't remember my dreams hurting so much before, either," Dawn commented.
"What is going on? Dawn? Legolas? Tell me," Thranduil ordered.
With a quick look to check on his wife, Legolas opened his mouth to speak. "Dawn's been having dreams. They started a month or two ago and bring up painful past memories she has of her old life and shows her family there to her as monsters."
Thranduil was a little angered that he had not been informed of this sooner. He was a King, after all, and Kings were used to having everything they desired at their fingertips. He hated the knowledge that he had been deprived of this important information until now. "Why did you not tell me sooner?"
"It's no big deal, really," Dawn hurried to assure him. "I'm fine, I think it's just stress. I bet once everything settles down around here, I'll be five by five in no time!" She forced a smile to back her words. She hated to admit it, but she was beginning to doubt herself here. The feeling that nothing on the Hellmouth was coincidental or without meaning was beginning to grow heavier, sinking into the pit of her stomach.
Legolas and Thranduil looked at her sceptically but said nothing. Deep down they knew she was lying, but they wanted so badly to believe her that they forced themselves to. Dawn noticed the looks aimed at her and decided to change the subject.
"So, a week left before the big happy suicide. Howya feeling about that? Still looking forward to it?" Dawn asked Thranduil, who smiled and nodded at her.
"Yes, I am, Dawn. For I know I leave the Kingdom in capable hands."
* * * * *
After the breakfast incident, the pains Dawn felt seemed to increase in strength and frequency until she could no longer hide them from her family. Thranduil considered putting off the scheduled party to travel to the Grey Havens with him to offer his support, but Dawn wouldn't hear of it.
She barely slept for four days, too pained by her nightmares to close her eyes at night. But the nightmares followed her into the daylight. At any given moment, the shriek of the young Princess could be heard far across the forest as she collapsed on the spot, hauled out of reality and into her nightmare world.
Legolas himself barely slept under the strain, but the effects were not so taxing on his Elvish body as they were on Dawn's human one. Also, he realised, the pressure of being forced in and out of realities was taking its toll on Dawn, who at times could do little more than lie on their bed and try in vain to silence her whimpering.
Then, on the fifth morning, the pain subsided. Dawn looked to Legolas and smiled her relief. She basked in the morning sun warming her face through the windows and allowed herself an hour of blissful rest. She awoke feeling refreshed and new, and went in search of her husband, who had left her to sleep in peace.
She found him easily, he was waiting for her in their favourite courtyard as if he knew she'd come. It was a large space, with a stone bench, ornately carved in the centre of the clearing and arches stretching over the paths leading to and from the courtyard, adorned with the rich greenery of the Mirkwood.
"You are feeling better," Legolas stated as she came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his upper torso to give him a loving squeeze.
"You bet your ass I am. I feel... free, somehow. Like whatever was going on with me is all over now." Dawn slipped around to stand in front of him, flashing a dazzling smile that reassured him that everything was going to be all right.
Legolas could not help but return the smile, feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. On impulse, he swept Dawn up in his arms and twirled her around and around.
Dawn squealed with surprise and delight as the world spun around her in a blur of greenery. She closed her eyes, giving herself over to the sensation, almost as if she was flying.
Then the pain came tearing back with more velocity than ever before. Her squeals of joy choked in Dawn's throat, quickly overtaken by an anguished cry that chilled Legolas to the bone. He stopped the twirling motion, resting Dawn in his arms.
Her eyes were open, but there was a faraway look in the green depths as she focused on something which seemed to Legolas to be just beyond his sight. He sank to the ground, cradling Dawn's body, which was shaking violently. Sweat had begun to pour from her forehead and her screams still echoed in his sensitive ears.
"No! Buffy, please no!" Dawn's screams began to form into words. Trapped again in her dream world, she could see and feel her sister and the other Scoobies, again in monster form, reaching into her chest to rip out her heart.
As the blond Slayer's hand came into contact with the material of Dawn's bodice, the Key closed her eyes against it and fought for control. A hazy image of Legolas shimmered before her and she strained with all her mind and body to reach him.
Tears had begun to slip down Legolas' cheeks. He paid them no more attention than he did the crowd of concerned Elves beginning to gather around the couple slumped on the ground in the courtyard. He gasped as Dawn's hand suddenly clasped his, and with some effort, she focused on his bright blue eyes.
"Dawn, I'm here. Tell me what to do, Melamin," he cried desperately, squeezing her hand in his.
"Don't let go," she pleaded, her voice barely able to form more than a whisper.
"Never, never Princess. I won't let go," Legolas swore. "Tell me what's wrong."
"It- f-feels like I'm being ripped apart- on- on the inside," she whimpered, another harsh groan of agony erupting from deep within her.
Dawn's eyes lost their focus as she was yanked roughly back into her nightmare. Buffy's hand tore through her flesh and bone with a vile cracking and slurping sound. It reappeared a moment later, triumphantly holding up a bloody mass... Dawn's heart.
Legolas tightened his grip on Dawn's hand, but he could feel it slipping from his. A tear dripped from the end of his chin, the droplet falling towards Dawn's arm. But it splashed on the dirt of the forest floor. Without warning, Dawn had vanished.
* * * * *
Don't hate me for splitting them up, please. [pouty whining voice] I hate myself for doing it enough and I wanna slap myself even as we speak... or as I write. Just wait and see where it takes us and I hope you won't be disappointed. But R&R & let me know what you think because I am addicted to your reviews! Oooh- next chapter the songfic kicks in too, so I hope you like that when it comes. I've never really tried a songfice before, so fingers crossed it doesn't completely suck. [Ducking out of the way of whatever painful objects Legolas/Dawn fans are throwing at me] ~Anoron