CB: *Eyes well up* Look at all these reviews again! *Sniffs* All of you are so wonderful to me; it's just not possible!

Seth: *Mutters darkly about encouragement*

CB: *Nods happily* Now I'm simply going to have to get this chapter out faster for all of you!

Osirus: *Rolls his eyes*

Warning: (Just because I felt like doing another one!) This story contains MALE/MALE relationships, and will eventually lead to GRAPHICAL DESCRIPTIONS of said relationships. It is also an AU, thankyou for your time.

"The ball is entertaining, is it not Legolas?" Elladan turned towards the blond prince, his eyebrows raised to accent his question. "Everyone appears to be enjoying their revelry." He glanced sideways, towards one of the long tables set with food. "Even the dwarves." He added thoughtfully, staring hard at one with a particularly bushy brown beard.

"Mm." Legolas said noncommittally and then, for no reason at all, he sighed.

"Something ails thee?" Elrohir asked, stepping up to his twin brother's side and glancing with curious green eyes at the Mirkwood archer. "You have done naught but stand here all evening and stare across the room." He smiled suddenly, his expression betraying slight mischief, "Look, even the men are having fun." His graceful finger pointed in the direction of a man with shoulder length dirty blonde hair and a beard, who was talking animatedly with Elaría in a corner.

"It seems the Steward of Gondor has taken a liking to this meeting, after all." Elrohir agreed, his voice impish.

"Mm." Legolas said again, brows creasing into a small frown.

Elrohir glanced at him and nudged his brother, indicating the other Prince with a small flicker of his eyes. Legolas' eyes were intent on someone across the room, but the twins could not be sure at whom his gaze was directed. It was focused with an almost frightening intensity and soft, red lips were parted slightly, to allow a rush of air to escape. A pink tongue flickered briefly across them and Legolas swallowed, his eyes going slightly glassy as Elladan shot Elrohir a worried look of surprise.

'What's wrong with him?' He asked silently, using the mind link that few knew he shared with his twin.

'I know not.' Came the thoughtful reply, 'Perhaps it would help if we found the creature that has so entranced him.'

Elladan's brow furrowed and his next reply was quick, with a note of worry in it. 'Is it wise, brother, to concern ourselves in the matters of the heart? If all should fail if we help him, we will feel keenly the fact that it would, in part, be our fault.'  His gaze was troubled as he looked at Legolas. 'You know that when we fall in love it is not only with our heart, but our minds, bodies and souls also. If we somehow cause a knot in the problems Legolas may experience in love, it could be fatal.'

'Are you sure it is love, and not merely lust?' Elrohir asked sharply, his face turned towards his twin, eyes sparkling with interest.

'Nay, 'tis not lust, Elrohir. Lust is only the giving of a body; love is the giving of everything. Look at Legolas, he is intent upon whatever prey it is he stalks, he can see naught else. No, dear brother, there is more in his gaze than lust.'

Elrohir sighed and pulled a slight face. 'You are far wiser in these things than me, I will submit to your superior knowledge.' He admitted, 'But one must wonder who it is that holds our dear cousin (1) in such thrall.'

Elladan frowned again, 'I know not, as of yet, but I intend to find out.' He smiled suddenly, 'But we must tread cautiously in this art of investigation. Lest we are discovered.'

'But in the meantime,' Elrohir prompted, 'you know that a single kiss can mean the binding of two souls together in our race. If Legolas kisses whoever he hath set his eye upon, and his emotion is as deep as you say it is, then his life may be forever bound to that of the other.'

'He knows this.' Elladan replied, 'He knows our customs as well as we do, if he kisses the person, knowing the depths of his feelings, then it is a choice he makes freely.'

Elrohir nodded reluctantly and turned his attention back to the Prince, whose eyes were now narrowed as well, a strange, almost predatory smile upon his face.

********

Arwen smiled sweetly, her eyes betraying nothing as she regarded the shocked expression on Aragorn's face. "Does something ail thee my lord?" She asked politely, watching him with mild concern.

The man's mouth opened and then shut again with an audible click. "No…nothing is wrong Arwen." He managed, allowing a weak smile to show through, "I was merely caught by surprise at your choice of story for me to tell." He swallowed and glanced out across the dance floor again, "Surely I should tell a less well known one?"

Arwen shook her head gravely, "Nay," She replied, "For the tale of Beren and Lúthien is a truly remarkable one, and many of us here never get tired of hearing it." She smiled softly and, raising one pale hand, ran it along the light growth of beard on his cheek. "Hawath ale no ai."(It is a story of love.) She murmured softly, "Alneía dái no eldar?" (Surely you would tell of the two lovers?)

Aragorn sighed and bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Dela ní, Arwen." (Very well, Arwen.) He replied, before his eyes flitted across the room again, and his jaw tightened. "Whom do you wish me to perform with?" He managed after several seconds of silence had stretched between them. "I cannot tell the story alone."

If he had not known better, he would have sworn there was a gleam of triumph in Arwen's eyes, but as her mouth opened, her eyes went strangely blank. "I wish you to dance with a childhood friend of mine," she intoned, and Aragorn noticed her voice sound very different. Lower, sweeter and with an air of severity about it, "You will be instructed by Elaría and two others will join you in your story weaving…but be careful young heir, for one of the other three will capture your heart, and if you give it willingly, yours will be a hard path to walk."

Aragorn shivered as though he had been hit by an icy blast of wind, and the hairs on his arms raised themselves, as if in supplication to the strange voice that appeared to posses Arwen. Then, in the same instant that the Elven Princess gasped and sank to her knees, a sudden thought struck Aragorn like a blow, sending him reeling.

The voice was the same as the earlier one in the clearing.

It was then that two things happened simultaneously.

One of the dwarves, who appeared to have had a bit much to drink, burst into a loud song about gold, metal, something about killing elves and dragons, and had to be hustled out of the room fairly quickly by his companions, all of whom looked more than a little embarrassed by their comrades apparent drunkenness.

The second thing was quite different, and just as unexpected.

A light touch came on the back of Aragorn's arm, and he turned to see a pair of deep blue eyes looking at him in serious contemplation, whilst a full mouth curved into a smile of greeting.

"Estel, we meet once more."

"Legolas of Mirkwood." Aragorn half bowed before meeting shining eyes once more. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance again…in more formal circumstances." He smiled as the elf laughed in delight, straight nose wrinkling slightly as he pulled a rueful expression.

"I admit Estel, our first meeting was not exactly what one would call ideal." He smiled and almost without realising it, and with no forewarning at all, plucked a strand of dark hair that had been hanging in Aragorn's eyes and tucked it behind one of his ears. "But nonetheless," He continued, as if nothing had happened, "Perhaps we will get better acquainted now?"

Aragorn nodded, trying his best to look as though nothing in the world could affect him, not even the beauty of the Elven prince in front of him. "That is a good idea, for I fear we will probably be spending a lot of time in each other's company as it is, so we may as well know one another." He smiled, eyes dancing as the elf ducked his head in acknowledgement. "Come, let us walk throughout the realm of Rivendell this night." He added, almost on a whim, although there seemed to be a slight prod at the back of his mind.

Legolas' eyes sparkled with mischief and he nodded his assent. "Yes, it may be a good way to discover more about one another's characters." He dropped his eyes, suddenly, looking almost shy. "Of course, I will understand if you would prefer to linger here, my personality is poor recompense for these festivities."

Aragorn laughed, "Nay, it was I who suggested the walk, I feel that to back out of it now would be churlish of me." He smiled, real humour flitting through his eyes. "And if you would permit me to say so, your personality is worth more than even the gathering of the finest elves in the land." Grey eyes sparkled with mischief as Legolas flushed slightly, showing an amazing loss of composure for an elf.

"I permit thee Estel." He murmured, bowing slightly, and the two began to walk from the room. Aragorn paused however, suddenly remembering Arwen, from whom he had been distracted by the two events that had happened simultaneously. Glancing round, he noticed that there seemed to be no trace of her…she had simply vanished, like a puff of air on a midsummer's day. Shrugging, he continued to follow Legolas out of the hall.

********

"My cousin!" Glorfindel embraced the slightly taller elf, pecking the youthful male on each cheek before standing back and pretending to crane his neck. "By Elendíl you have grown tall!" He exclaimed, before gesturing with one hand to a pair of seats that were resting along one wall. "I remember you when you were naught but a child." He smiled as they both sank gratefully into the cushions. "'Tis to long since I saw you last!"

"Aye," agreed the other elf solemnly, although his green eyes shimmered with mirth, looking very much like newly grown leaves caught in a breeze. "It must be all of one thousand, perhaps two thousand years!" He smiled and embraced his cousin eagerly again; "Mother would often talk of you, dearest of kin."

Glorfindel let out a disbelieving snort. "Hardly, she has not permitted me to enter her realm for nearly as long as your life span, little one. I was banned on pain of a spanking." He laughed at the shocked expression on the other's face. "I admit, it is true, I do not jest. Ever since I managed to dye your father's hair the same colour as the Eninweed flower…"

"The purple one?" His cousin interrupted, shocked.

"Aye, the same…well…she hath banned me for fear of a repeat incident."

Their laughter rang throughout the hall, causing many heads to turn and look at them. Glorfindel was doubled over, nearly choking with mirth, as his cousin swept long blond hair from his face and passed a hand over his forehead, trembling with the laughs that shook his entire frame. "Ah, mercy cousin, that cannot be it!" He managed eventually.

"It is, I swear by the race of men! Your mother hath banned me all these years for that same prank!"

Both elves calmed down enough for more air to enter their now tired lungs and they smiled at one another, aware of how similar they looked. "It is good that I may see you again, cousin Glorfindel."

"It is good that I may see you again also, cousin Sauron." (2)

********

"Arwen?" Elrohir waved a graceful hand in front of his sister's face as she stared blankly at the wall. "Arwen, Evenstar of elves, are you all right?" He pursed his lips thoughtfully when her deep blue gaze turned on him, and she smiled slightly, her face wearing a trace of bittersweet sadness and perplexity.

"I tried to tell him." She murmured, her eyes puzzled, "I tried to tell him, but the words would not come out, and now…it seems as if I cannot even direct my own wager."

What?" Elladan looked worried as he grasped her hand; shooting his twin a worried glance over his sister's head…this wasn't turning out to be his night. "What are you talking about Arwen?"

The beauty of the elves looked at him, bemusement in her very features. "This morning…Legolas told me something about a man he met…he… he said his name was Estel." The words crept almost reluctantly past her tongue, like a mouse from its nest. "I saw the love in his eyes when he spoke of this one being, but I did not think much of it, until I saw this same Estel watching him this evening." She let out a soft sigh, but one that echoed decades of suffering, "It has torn my heart, and in a moment of jealousy, I wished to make him look like a fool."

Elrohir made as if to interrupt, but his twin held up a hand warningly as Arwen continued.

"I suggested a wager, Estel should dance for us at the next such gathering and he should be helped. However, before I could part my lips to speak, it was as if I became caged in my own mind, I heard a woman's voice say to me, 'hush my child, let me talk to the king of men, and I will make him see the right path.' When I tried to respond, I could not do so, and I found that this same woman was speaking to Estel through my body." Arwen shuddered and her eyes filled with tears. "I know not what is happening!" She cried, her voice tinged with worry, and so saying, she buried her face in the front of Elladan's tunic and began to weep.

"Perhaps we should inform father of this." Elrohir said thoughtfully, his face more than a little worried as he watched his sister's shoulders shake uncontrollably. "I feel he could lend wisdom to this matter."

"No!" Arwen lifted her face to look at her brother, her wet eyes shining with adamant denial. "He warned me against loving Aragorn and yet I did not heed him, he will think only that I have brought this upon myself." She sighed and wiped away the few tears still streaking her face. "We must discover a solution ourselves…but I do not wish to hurt anyone." She sighed.

"Love is a double edged sword." Elladan reminded her gently, "If Aragorn returns to you, will you be able to live with the knowledge that he gave up something precious, and hurt our dearest friend? If Aragorn turns his affection towards Legolas, will you be able to live without his love, and will he be able to live with the selfsame knowledge that you would have had?"

Elrohir nodded and turned to look at his sister, his face grave and wise beyond even his years. "Surely you have heard of that saying, Arwen; 'If you love something enough, let it go. If it doesn't come back, it was never yours to begin with?'" He smiled, and his expression too, was one of bittersweet melancholy that seemed to reflect the suffering of all elves. "It is like that my Evenstar, you cannot hold Aragorn for yourself, always, he must be free to choose his own path."

Elladan smoothed some hairs back from her pale face. "Go and dry your eyes, dearest sister," he said softly, "And return when you are more composed."

Arwen nodded, her eyes filling with tears once more, and her fingers clutched the fabric of one dark blue sleeve, toying with it as she crossed the room and disappeared into the shadows by the door.

The twins watched her go, gazes thoughtful as they linked arms and moved into a quieter corner of the room. "She is hurting." Elladan said softly, his eyes never leaving the spot where his sister had vanished, "She is torn between respect for Legolas and Aragorn, and respect for her own emotions."

Elrohir sighed and rubbed one hand across his eyes. "If I had known that this ball would present so many problems, I doubt I would have come." He grumbled, almost good-naturedly, but not quite joking. "At least now we know who had so preoccupied Legolas' wits this evening." Shifting slightly, he turned to his twin, "I think it would be prudent to have a drink." He said, with no trace of humour at all, "I have the strong desire to bury all our woes in the bottom of a goblet of strong wine…and I fear this urge will only get stronger as the weeks progress."

Elladan laughed wryly and nodded. "I think I shall join you."

********

"Tell me Estel, do you not think it strange that elves have no concept of greed or lust for power?"

Aragorn threw his head back and laughed at the innocent, almost childlike question that had tumbled from the woodland elf's lips. "Aye, I do indeed." He replied, amusement still colouring his voice as pools of shadow lay about his eyes, and light from the cold moon struck his face, making him seem shadowed from view. "I do not begin to understand how creatures who have lived for so long cannot understand the rushing roar of anger that floods a man's mind, making him wish for no more than to mortally wound his enemy. I do not begin to understand how your people have survived without the need for power, for even good men long for it every so often, in the darkest pits of their hearts. I do not begin to understand how your race can feel no greed, either for possessions or flesh." He smiled, "Despite being adopted by your race, I do not begin to even pretend to understand them."

Legolas tilted his head to one side, his eyes both mischievous and curious, and Aragorn swallowed slightly, trying to ignore the elf's tempting lips. "You say possessions of the flesh, Estel, surely every creature is free in your cities, as they are here?"

"No, in the cities of men there are slaves, and when a man chooses a mate, he is bound to that person for all eternity. That is possession of the flesh."

"Ah," Legolas sighed as they continued to walk, "I believe I understand. Elves, too, choose a mate for life, but we do not have slaves…it is wrong to imprison the soul of another living creature."

"It is indeed," Aragorn agreed, "However men are hungry for possession, as I said, and they do not see it this way."

Legolas nodded as they came to an almost unconscious halt in a small clearing that was ringed with trees. Deep shadows made inky patches on the otherwise silver grass and leaves rustled as the ever-present gentle wind blew through them in small, rushing torrents. "But surely, when a man chooses his mate, that at least is voluntary." He smiled, and his gaze flickered across the clearing before darting upwards to glance at the stars. "Men must fall in love as well, must they not? It is not our race alone that is bound by the pain and joy that is the joining of two souls as one, for love is a free choice."

"I disagree." Aragorn shook his head, but upon seeing Legolas's puzzled expression, he attempted to explain himself more fully. "Love is never a free choice, in any race. Love is instant and binding, yes, but all too few are ever given the choice of falling in love with another. It is something that is instantaneous and cannot be contradicted by any given force. Love is something that endures the ages and in its own way, it is as binding as the chains of any slave. Its hold is fast as the strongest lock of any dungeon."

The blond prince's eyebrows rose in astonishment. "How strangely you compare love, Estel. As though it is imprisonment? No, love is the setting free of one's emotions, like a caged songbird that has been released. It is not the enclosure of which you speak, but more a land with endless boundaries and horizons. Love is the sweetest and most tender thing."

"It may be sweet and it may be tender," Aragorn countered, "But its sweetness is that of the bitter kind. For what if you fall in love with someone who has no idea of your regard, and does not return the emotion, what then?"

"I would woo them to the very ends of this earth." Legolas said firmly, "I would make sure I was their last thought at night and their first on waking, I would pursue them even through the centuries and I would not rest until I had ensured their love was a gift to me alone." He smiled at Aragorn's expression. "Such is the nature of the love of the elves."

"Such is the nature of the love of men, also." Aragorn said, "Although my race does not seem to go about things in so delicate a manner as that of my foster kin."

"How then, would you pursue your love?" Legolas frowned, looking up at the slightly taller man, his blue eyes quizzical and holding an expression Aragorn couldn't quite put his finger on. "With songs as we do? Or flowers that have been gathered with only your love in mind?" He smiled, "Or in a less subtle manner?"

"I would take them on a moonlit walk through the realm of the elves of Rivendell." Aragorn answered, almost without thinking. He did not truly understand what he had said until he noticed the tips of Legolas' ears had turned a slightly flushed colour, and then he smiled when he saw a sudden advantage in this seemingly innocent game of wits.

Legolas tried to remain calm, but the man's words had sparked a profound stirring in his soul, and all at once he was nervous, excited and unsure of himself, a far cry from his usual composure. "I feel that this discussion should end now, Estel." He said, with as much force as he could manage. "Come, we will return to the hall." And he turned to go.

But Aragorn grabbed his wrist and spun him around again exceedingly fast, so that, elf though he was, he nearly lost his balance. "I had not finished answering your question." The man said, a strange spark in his eyes that suddenly reminded the startled elf of burning fire. "I would the bestow upon them a kiss, to seal my affections." The man continued, and before either truly knew what was happening, he was kissing the shocked prince.

It was an experience neither would forget.

Soft lips met slightly thinner ones in a gentle caress that spoke of loving tenderness, but at the same time passionate devotion and protection. Deep blue eyes fluttered closed as large hands moved to each elbow and pulled their respective owner closer into the warm embrace. Aragorn's eyes also drifted slowly closed, as though his lids had become too heavy to keep open, and he felt the tiniest of sighs before the elf in front of him seemed to melt into his arms. For the space of a heartbeat, the world seemed to pause, as if contemplating this strangely perfect sight. The wind ceased to move, the leaves to rustle and even the stars to shimmer.

Slender arms became linked behind the man's neck as he continued to kiss the creature whose perfection both in body, soul and mind had captured him from the very first moment their eyes had met in the clearing only that morning. Suddenly, and shockingly, a warm tongue gently traced the crack of his lips, and Aragorn's eyes flew open again as his lips parted in slight shock at the elf's boldness. However, they drifted closed again as the fluttering tongue gently caressed his own, not so much as an act of lust, but one of playfulness.

In the moment when both began to respond eagerly to one another they seemed to be bathed in a soft, warming glow and it was with a strange emotion that both felt a part draining into the other's soul.

'I'll never leave you.'

'I'll never be gone from your sight.'

'This world will be as winter without you.'

'I will find no joy in summer if you are not by my side.'

Legolas frowned, even as continued to kiss Aragorn. The words were echoing around his head, the voices sounding strangely like his own and that of the man's, but at the same time, they were very different, older, almost wiser, with a strangely unreal quality to them that spoke of a timelessness.

Slowly, they both parted, lips still gently nudging against one another as foreheads rested together, noses almost touching and nearly cross-eyed as they tried to look at one another.

"I see that in some ways, men are as subtle as elves." Legolas managed eventually, smiling slightly as his fingers played in the dark hair at the base of Aragorn's neck. "It would appear that you are as courteous in your kissing as any one of us." He smiled, and licked his lips slightly, blue eyes catching a stray ray of moonlight that seemed to make them glow.

Aragorn laughed softly, and reluctantly stepped back, allowing his companion some room. "It would seem so." He agreed softly, and his hand reached out, almost of its own volition to stroke one pale cheek. "And now, Prince of Mirkwood, you have learnt how I would woo someone I cared for…very much."

Legolas looked hard for a second into the depths of grey eyes, and what he read there made him smile. "It would seem that you also have learnt how I would receive a plea for my affections, son of men." He smiled, "But now, I feel our presence will be missed if we were to remain here much longer. It is far safer for us to be back in the hall, for the night is growing old in her passing."

Aragorn nodded, and they both began to walk back in the direction of the merry making, pausing only occasionally to stop and look at one another for brief seconds in newly found wonder of what had passed so quickly and so suddenly, and seemed now to fill up the whole of their respective worlds.

And only the rustling of the grass marked their passing.

********

Arwen had searched high and low for Aragorn, but she had not found him.

She had just returned to her room, and was beginning to ready herself for bed, when outside her open window, the trees began to sing. The forest seemed to resound with some hidden joy, and as she rushed to her balcony, she heard what it was talking of and she smiled, for it was singing about the joining of two souls, and this was something that was regarded as special, even by Elven standards.

As she stood there smiling, though, a sudden pain lanced through her heart and she dropped to her knees, shaking as she pressed one now trembling hand to her chest. Her head became bowed, as if a giant force was bending it and she panted for breath, struggling to maintain some sort of composure.

After a few brief moments, the pain subsided, but the thought that had echoed in her head, did not.

'And so it has begun…'

To Be Continued…

(1) Not literally cousin, it can be an endearment or term of respect as well.

(2) No, you did not read that wrong! Sauron is an elf. Now, I know this is not keeping with the time line and situations set by Tolkien, but that's why it's an AU!

CB: Well, you can all thank the reviewer who asked me to put in more 'Aragorn/Legolas', for the little kiss scene…besides, it's about time something happened anyway, isn't it? Reviewers are all adored beyond belief, thank you to everyone, and in particular Estel_Elf, who drew me a fantastic fan art…loved it, hope more come because they make my day even more than reviews *hint, hint, nudge, nudge* and they'll all be popped on my site…which WILL be up eventually. (People who draw fan art will also have this fic dedicated to them, oooooh, great prize *sighs* well, I've tried…)

Many thanks to all!

Cobalt