King Thranduil buried his face in his hands, and closed his eyes tightly. "Airëlus, why you?" he whispered. "Why? How can I have lost you?"

"Can you tell us anything about where they were?" Elrohir asked his twin desperately.

Elladan sighed, and leaned forwards in his chair. "All I could see was that they were in a small clearing surrounded by trees," he replied. "It was dark, and hard to see. But the trees were tall, very tall."

"What do you expect? This is a damned forest!" Thranduil snapped. He drew in a deep breath, and swiped at his glistening eyes. "I will not rest until my son is back here. I am going now to send out the rest of the patrols. I will go with them to find Airëlus."

"We will accompany you," Elrond offered. "Though it is best that Estel stays here with Legolas." Just as he finished speaking, the door flew open, and the aforementioned human ran into the room.

"Your Highness, Legolas has gone," he said abruptly.

Horror flitted across Thranduil's face as he jumped to his feet. "What do you mean? But he was…he was healing. How could he…?"

"No, you misunderstand me," Estel amended, silently cursing his bluntness. "He has left the palace and gone into the forest. He heard of Elladan's dream, and has vowed to kill Calaen."

Thranduil flicked his eyes across to the window, and exhaled deeply when he saw that rain had begun to fall. "By the Valar, how could he be so foolish? When did he leave?"

"Thirty minutes back," Estel said nervously. "He asked me to inform you after one hour had passed, but I could wait no longer. Your Highness, he would not listen to me when I tried to stop him. I am so sorry. I should have come straight to you."

"I place no blame on you, Estel," the Elven-king sighed. "Legolas rarely listens to me, so there is no reason why he would listen to anyone else. Did he give any indication as to where he is going?"

"He did not say this specifically, but I believe he has gone to the place of his mother's death," Estel replied. "But I do not think that he would be able to make it there in the time that he has been gone. He is still weak, despite what he says."

Thranduil nodded, and pulled off his regal robes to reveal day clothes akin to those that Legolas wore. "Then there is still a chance that he can be found before he does something even more reckless," he said, throwing a cloak around his shoulders and grabbing his bow. "As for Airëlus, I do not know what hope there is, but I will not believe he has passed on until I see him with my own eyes."

A mere five minutes later, the courtyard was filled with the sound of clattering hooves, shouted commands and rolling thunder. No questions were asked, there was no time. Everyone knew that their Prince's life lay in their hands.

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Legolas sat against the tree, holding Airëlus close to him. His tears had left lines in the blood and dirt on his cheeks, yet they continued to fall silently and freely. He did not care for the pain in his dislocated shoulder or burning abdomen. He did not know what substance Calaen had used on him, but again, that was something that he did not care about.

Exhaling deeply, Legolas absentmindedly brushed some hair away from his brother's cold forehead. "We will go home, Airëlus. I am not going to leave…" He fell silent as drops of rain began to fall from the sky.

It fell swiftly, and mingled with the tears on his cheeks, so that it was impossible to tell the two substances apart. Legolas gritted his teeth and looked down determinedly into Airëlus' face for a brief moment, before pulling the fallen Elf to him in one arm, and attempting to push himself off the ground.

But he did not get far, for the forest floor was both wet and muddy. He stumbled and slipped back to the base of the tree, crying out as his injured shoulder was knocked. "I will not fail you," he muttered, gently laying his brother's body on the ground. He got unsteadily to his feet and threw a nasty look down at his dislocated shoulder, gently flexing his arm. He could move it, just, but the pain would be unbearable.

A sudden clap of thunder resounded above the clearing, followed quickly by a bolt of lightning. It was fate that sent it to strike the tree that Legolas stood under. With a gasp of horror, the Prince dived to the ground and shielded Airëlus' body with his own as one of the branches fell, flaming.

As soon as it landed, the uncountable leaves and twigs covering the forest floor were ignited. Legolas raised his head and cried out as he saw red flames dancing in front of him. He stared around in horror, searching desperately for any way out. But the dry grass was perfect prey for the fire. The deadly killer was feeding off it like crows do a wild animal's carcass. It spread rapidly, eating everything that stood in its path.

"We will get out of here," Legolas muttered. But he knew that he would be unable to carry Airëlus in the condition he was in. There was only one thing he could do: fix his dislocated shoulder on his own.

He took a deep breath and stood back against a nearby tree, horribly aware of the flames that were licking around the clearing. There was a little voice in the back of his head which told him that he should just escape whilst there was still a chance, and leave Airëlus. But never would he do that. He refused.

"Valar help me," Legolas whispered, screwing up his eyes and throwing himself backwards. He hit the tree trunk with such force that his shoulder was immediately forced back into place. A cry of pain escaped his lips, and his vision went black for a brief moment.

Biting down on his lip, the Prince turned back to Airëlus, his shoulder still throbbing, and his body trembling. He bent down and slipped one arm under his brother's neck, the other under his legs. Exhaling sharply, he lifted the fallen Elf and held him close, ignoring the added pain to his shoulder.

"It's alright," he murmured, moving as swiftly as he could towards the one opening in the flames. "We will get out of here." He spoke to reassure himself.

Lightning struck again, sending two more heavy branches crashing to the ground, right in Legolas' path. He gasped and stumbled backwards, blinded by the smoke thrown into his eyes. Breathing heavily, he turned his face to the side, and buried it against his shoulder, in the hope that his vision would be protected somewhat.

"Not long now," he said softly, glancing down at Airëlus. His voice became choked with emotion as the realisation hit that the battle he fought with the flames was a losing one. But he would not give up.

Clenching his fists under his brother's body, he made to run forwards, but once more was thrown back, this time to the ground as wind swept through the forest. "I am so sorry, Airëlus. I cannot do this," he choked, pulling the fallen Elf into his arms and holding him close. "But it does not matter, because…because…" He coughed as smoke engulfed him. "It does not matter because I will stay with you."

Through the heavy smoke and dancing flames, Legolas caught sight of Calaen's motionless body. He stared at it for a moment, before bowing his head and burying his face in Airëlus' long hair. "I did not know it would end like this."

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"Your Highness, there is smoke ahead!" This report came from Suithien, the Commanding Officer of Mirkwood's troops. He raised himself up off his horse's back, shading his eyes as a grey mist swirled around them all.

The Elven-king cursed and pushed his black charger forwards, galloping through the trees past his soldiers, swiftly followed by Elrond, the twins and Estel. The closer they got to the clearing, the blacker and more acrid the smoke became. It spread out around them, making their eyes water and their breath catch in their throats.

The horses were brave, and they wanted nothing more than to turn and run the other way, but they pressed forwards. It was only the trust that they had in their riders that kept them going. At one point when she came almost face to face with flames, Elrohir's mount reared up on her hind legs, coming close to throwing the unsuspecting Elf.

"Ai Elbereth," Thranduil breathed, reining his horse in. The charger snorted and pawed at the ground, ears laid back against his head. They had drawn to a halt a safe way back from the outside of the clearing, where a wall of fire over thirty feet tall had been built around it, preventing all escape routers if there were any still alive inside.

Elrohir pulled up next to the Elven-king, trying to see through the deadly flames. But as he expected, his vision was obscured. He cursed and stood up on his horse's back, only to jump to an overhanging branch. As he climbed up the tree, he was dimly aware of his father and brothers shouting at him to come down. But instead of heeding them, he blocked out their instructions, and continued climbing.

"What in the Valar is he playing at?" Elrond muttered, watching as Elrohir climbed from branch to branch. But before he knew it, the other twin was jumping up to join his brother. "Elladan! Don't-

"No Ada, they will be able to see if anyone is in there," Estel said, shifting slightly on his horse's back.

Elrond flung out both arms as he sensed both Thranduil and his foster son preparing to jump. "Estel, I forbid you to join your brothers," he said sharply. He looked across at the younger Elven-lord, and shook his head. "Stay there. I know that you are desperate to see your sons, but the twins will bring us news."

The King strained his eyes, trying to see through the flames. The smoke made tears fall, but he did not even notice. "Elrond, if Airëlus and Legolas are in there, then I cannot-

He was cut off by the twins jumping back down and landing lightly on their horse's backs. Both had streaming eyes and dirty faces, though that did not hide the fact that they were worried. More than worried, in fact. Elladan shook his head and swallowed a lump in his throat before speaking.

"They are both in there," he breathed. "Neither of them are moving."

Thranduil shook his head in denial and dug his heels into his horse's sides, willing to risk his own life and ride through the flames. But Elrond reached out and grabbed the charger's mane, hating to see the pain in his friend's eyes.

"You cannot go in there!" he shouted. "The flames are too strong for anyone. To even try and attempt it would be madness. You would be going to your death."

"What are you saying?" Thranduil hissed.

"There is nothing that you can do," Elrond said. "There is no way that you can get through to your sons. There is no way that anyone can. I am sorry."

The King locked eyes with the older Elf, and shook his head. "No. No, I cannot and will not leave them."

It was too late that Elrond realised what his friend meant to do. Thranduil jumped from the charger and ran forwards. He threw his arms in front of his face, and dived without fear through the towering inferno, ignoring the shouts and cries of protest from behind him. All he knew was that he would not abandon his children.

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