Airëlus breathed a sigh of relief as he and the other Elves that had journeyed with him rode into the courtyard at Rivendell. Since leaving Mirkwood, they had ridden hard, with only a few brief breaks. Their weariness showed as the Crown Prince jumped off his horse and stumbled slightly as his feet hit the ground. But he steadied himself, and ran up the stairs and into the home of Lord Elrond and his family.

He was tired, exhausted even, though his pushed himself on down the corridor to where Elrond's study was. When he reached it, he kicked the door open, perhaps a little more harshly than intended. But he did not care – he grew more and more worried as each second passed.

"Perfect," he muttered, when he found that the study was empty. He turned on his heel and ran like the wind to the twins' room. Though, they were not in there either. Cursing under his breath, he went next door to where Estel slept. That also, was empty.

Running a hand through his hair and looking desperately around him, hot tears filled Airëlus' eyes. He wished that he had not left Legolas, for he now felt that not knowing was worse than knowing. Exhaling deeply, he swiped at his eyes and made his way swiftly back down to the courtyard.

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One of the Mirkwood riders pulled a letter from his pocket, and looked at it carefully. He had been one of the soldiers to escort Calaen to the borders of Mirkwood, and before the Prince had left, he had given him the folded piece of parchment, and asked him if he could give it to an Elf who went by the name of Berian, when he was next in Rivendell.

He looked around at the Imladris Elves who were gathered around, and touched one of them briefly on the shoulder. "Excuse me, is there anyone named Berian here?"

"Berian? You are talking to him," the fair haired Elf replied.

The soldier smiled briefly. "Forgive me. I am Eveldir, and I have a letter for you. It is from Prince Calaen of Mirkwood. He asked me to give it to you."

Berian's eyes widened in surprise, and he took the folded piece of parchment quickly. He flipped it open and scanned it. The words made his heart skip a beat, but he forced himself to smile at Eveldir, and nod his thanks. Valar, Calaen was asking a lot…

"Has anybody seen Lord Elrond or his sons?"

The fair haired Elf looked up to see Airëlus running down the stairs and back into the courtyard, and he moved behind some gathered Elves, so that he could watch without being seen. No doubt the Crown Prince of Mirkwood would recognise him, and that was not what he wanted if he was to do what Calaen had asked of him.

"Lord Elrond or his sons? Prince Airëlus, they left two days ago," one of the Rivendell soldiers replied. He had just been informed of the happenings back in Mirkwood, and needless to say he was shocked.

"They have left? Celorfyn, where did they go?" Airëlus demanded, his face paling and his heart sinking.

"I was not on guard duty when they left, but apparently they have gone to Mirkwood. I am sorry. It was not known why they left in such a hurry, but…" Celorfyn shifted uncomfortably. "Well, we know now, and can only offer you our sympathies."

Airëlus exhaled deeply, and pushed a hand through his hair. "I must return to my family. I do not ask any of you to come with me, for I have made you ride hard these past two days. You may rest here if you so wish." With that, he jumped onto his horse's back, and kicked the already worn out animal into action.

"King Thranduil would not thank us for letting his son go out alone," Eveldir murmured, watching anxiously as his Prince galloped away.

Berian came out from behind the group of Elves he had been using to subtly conceal himself, and smiled. "He would not, but you are clearly tired," he said. "Besides, it seems as though the King has enough to deal with. May I suggest that you take Prince Airëlus' advice and rest here for a while? It need only be a few hours, if that is all you want, and then you can go after him."

Those few hours, though, could turn out to be fatal for the Crown Prince of Mirkwood.

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"Where are they?" Elrond asked his son urgently.

"The…the King's rooms," Elladan replied. "I think, but I cannot be sure."

As they began running once more through the corridors and up the stairs to where the Royal Family had their private rooms, Elrohir reflected on the length of time it had taken them to arrive in Mirkwood. It had seemed like years. Of course, it was not, but it definitely felt like it.

"Ada, what if Legolas…?" Estel trailed off as they ran up the stairs to Thranduil's rooms.

"I do not know anything," Elrond replied quickly. "All I know is that you must prepare yourself for the worst."

'Valar, let him be alright,' Elladan thought desperately.

He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he was going to see inside, and pushed open the large oak door. Tears immediately filled his eyes. They were too late. He looked at King Thranduil, who was sat on the bed holding Legolas' body close. His head was bowed, and although his face was hidden by golden hair, Elladan knew that he cried.

"Your Highness…" he said softly.

The Elven-king looked up, and shook his head helplessly. "It is too late," he whispered. "Legolas has gone. He has gone to the Halls of Mandos."

"No," Estel breathed.

"I am sorry. When did he…?" Elrond trailed off as he went to the bed, and as realisation hit, he drew in a sharp breath "By the Valar!"

Thranduil looked up at the exclamation. He tried to speak, to ask what was happening, but found that his grief had rendered him speechless. He could only watch as the elder Elven-lord pressed a hand against the Prince's chest, feeling for a heartbeat. He bit down on his lip, wondering what hope there was left.

"Choose your fate, Legolas Greenleaf. Come back to the light of this world, or carry on into darkness," Elrond said, closing his eyes. "Come back to us, pen-neth. This is not yet your time."

"Come on, Legolas," Estel muttered. "Come on, fight. You can do this."

"Lasto beth nîn, tolo dan nan galad," Elrond continued. "Lasto beth nîn, tolo dan…" He trailed off into silence as the young Prince's eyes snapped open, flickering with confusion.

"Valar…" Thranduil breathed.

Elrond let out a sigh of relief and withdrew his hands. Legolas had been reluctant to accept his spirit, and had kept trying to push it away. The Elf Lord was weakened, and as he got to his feet, he swayed slightly. But he held his balance, and made his way over to his sons. They looked at him expectantly – their friend's head was turned to the other side, and they had seen nothing. But Elrond merely shook his head, and gestured them outside.

"Oh Legolas," Thranduil breathed, drawing the Prince close. There were so many things that he wanted to say, so many times that he wanted to tell Legolas that he loved him, so many times that he wanted to reassure him that everything would be alright.

"Ada…"

"No, do not speak," Thranduil whispered. He kissed the top of his son's golden head, and closed his eyes tightly. "You are safe now. You are safe."

Legolas raised his eyes to meet his father's, and as he spoke, his voice became choked with emotion. "Ada, I don't want to leave. I don't want to die."

"I will not let you," the Elven-king said softly. "I will never let you go again."

"I am so sorry that I did not believe you. I should have known that you would never…" Legolas closed his eyes as a single tear fell. "Ada, can you forgive me?"

Thranduil was just about to reply, but was cut off as the door opened again. He looked up to see Lord Elrond, and smiled weakly. The dark haired Elf inclined his head and watched the re-united pair in silence for a moment, before taking a step forwards.

"May I speak with you, Thranduil?" he asked. He hated to tear the King away from his son so soon, but it had to be done. He had to be warned.

The Sinda Elf narrowed his eyes, and it looked for a moment as though his stubborn side was going to come through. But then he lowered Legolas so that his head rested against the pillows. "I must go to Lord Elrond, ion-nin. I will not be far, only outside this room."

The Prince was both weak and tired, but he launched himself up and grabbed the front of his father's robes. "No, don't leave me. Please, Ada. I…I'm scared."

"Nothing will happen to you," Thranduil replied, gently prising his son's fingers away. "I give you my word on that."

"Ada, please…"

The Elven-king brushed some hair from Legolas' eyes, and smiled. "There is nothing to forgive," he said softly.

"What do you…?"

"I did not answer your question," Thranduil replied. "I am doing so now, and I am telling you that there is nothing to forgive. It was not your fault."

Legolas nodded slowly. "Ada, you will come back?"

"Even if Elrond threatened to set his mother in-law on me, I would come back," Thranduil whispered.

Over by the door, the Noldor Elf coughed. "I heard that," he said dryly.

Legolas smiled weakly, and watched as his father went to the other side of the room. He could see that the two elder Elves were discussing something, but they spoke in low voices, and he was unable to hear what was being said. He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the pillows.

"It would be best if Legolas did not hear this," Elrond whispered.

Thranduil shook his head, and glanced back at his son. "No. I am not leaving him."

"Very well, I will just be wasting my time if I argue with you." Elrond paused, and sighed deeply. "He is not yet out of danger. I know that he is back with us, but that is only because I helped him along."

"I cannot thank you enough," Thranduil replied.

"Yes, but like I said, Legolas is not yet out of danger. He alone can decide the fate of his life. There are only so many times that I can save him," Elrond said gently. "Keeping him here against his will would be cruelty."

Thranduil looked across at his son, and smiled weakly. "He said that he does not want to die."

"Hmm. All the same, we must keep a very close watch on him, and he must not be left alone, even if it is only for a few minutes," Elrond said. "At least now that I know what is wrong with him, I will be better able to help."

"Thank you. The rooms that you and your family usually use are available," Thranduil said distantly.

Elrond smiled, and touched a hand to the younger Elf's shoulder. "I will leave you two alone."

The Elven-king nodded, and closed the door. He leaned against it for a moment and closed his eyes, wondering exactly how long this drama would continue for. Then, sighing deeply, he went back over to his son, and sat on the edge of the bed, immediately taking the Prince's hand.

"Ada, where is Airëlus?" Legolas asked softly.

Thranduil hesitated. In all that had happened, his eldest son had slipped from his mind. "He…he is not back yet. But do not worry. He will be here soon enough."

"Will he?"

The King nodded reassuringly, though inside, he was afraid for Airëlus. He could not identify what it was, but there was something telling him that not all was well. He sensed that this ordeal was not over. Far from it in fact…

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Lasto beth nîn, tolo dan nan galad……….Hear my voice, come back to the light (FOTR)