A/N: Here, already, is the next chappie. ^_^ I LOOOOOOOVE being an evil
writer. . . .Hee Hee. There is much fluff in this. . . and angst. What am I
saying, that's what every chapter's like!
BTW, I wrote the little song @ the end, so no stealing! Or I come hunt u down with a shotgun. . .. *evil look*
Please review! ^_^ Oh, and check out my updates to Captive, if u haven't already, and Brothers in Heart. Thank you! ^_^
~*~
Chapter 6
The dark-haired ranger waited restlessly outside the doors of the healing ward. He was alone in the maddening silence. He had at first paced like a man awaiting the birth of his child. Now, he sat fidgeting and sighing every other moment. He prayed to Eru for Legolas to be spared, murmuring to himself over and over in Sindarin. He also asked Elbereth and all of the Valar. He was paused several times in attempts to catch any sound from inside. His attempts were futile. Hours passed before he remembered the twins. Another enormous burden was dumped upon his shoulders then. He would rise from his seat and look out from the balcony nearby, with never a sign of his brothers. Where they were now and in what condition, only Eru knew.
Aragorn looked up to the light playing on the ceiling as he thought. He remembered the light-hearted fun he had enjoyed with his best friend and brothers before this whole ordeal had ever started. That time seemed like an age ago. How could it have gone so wrong? The shadows of the tree foliage were splashed across the ceiling, constantly swaying and teasing the light. He closed his eyes, sighing with shut lips.
Legolas filled his mind. The golden archer's face spurred a familiar feeling in his heart. He watched the prince laugh beautifully, his eyes glittering with mirth. The laughter was a distant echo, leaving him and fading away. Legolas fell back into the crisp, golden leaves that coated the ground, grinning broadly with the remains of his laughter. The Elf gazed up at the patches of sky in the rustling leaves, blissful to simply look at the beauty of nature that he loved so much. The sun was hidden beyond the foliage, yet it's light streamed through the patches. It played on Legolas' belly, and his fair face as he closed his eyes and chuckled.
So distant, Aragorn thought. Only an echo, ricocheting off the walls of his mind. He loved that memory, however. He cherished it, the beautiful thought of his best friend in joy. He held onto the image desperately, never wanting to let go. Bittersweet music floated there too. He suddenly appeared in the memory, laughing in unison with Legolas and tumbling over to the Elf. Every thing seemed to be slowed, as he fell awkwardly beside the archer, who was smiling up at him as he grabbed the ranger's sleeve. The two of them lay in the leaves smiling. . .
Aragorn opened his eyes. Sweet Eru, he loved Legolas. His chest ached terribly as he dwelled on the dark thought that he might lose his best friend. He sat in a very loose position, staring out into space with glazed eyes. Things flashed through his mind - Legolas smiling at him when he had caught Elladan, the moment Legolas was wounded, Aragorn and Legolas breathing together beneath the tree in the battle glade. That look Legolas had given him when he had refused Legolas' plea to remain where he was, instead of riding to Imladris. Legolas in his arms, crying out in pain and weeping. Legolas whispering " I love you."
His thoughts were interrupted by the swift opening of the door. Glorfindel finally appeared from inside the ward. He looked very worked up indeed, positively flustered. There was a glimmer of pain in his eyes. Aragorn's heart sunk. He must not have good news.
" Glorfindel," he began.
" Come," said the Balrog-slayer, turning back into the ward. The ranger got up and followed quickly.
Elrond looked up at them as they approached, his face grim. Glorfindel left Estel, disappearing promptly past Elrond into one of the back rooms. Aragorn stared at his father with fearful eyes. He glanced down at Legolas to see the Elf was still and pale. He had been stripped of his tunic, and his torso had been wrapped with cloth bandages. His silken hair was splayed across his pillow and shoulders. His eyes lay closed heavily.
" Ada? " Estel prompted shakily, his gray eyes still looking upon the archer dubiously.
" Estel," Elrond began. His voice was somber and crestfallen. " Forgive me."
The young ranger looked at him in disbelief.
" He is dead, Estel," Elrond admitted softly. " We tried the best we could. He was dead when you brought him to us, and we revived him for a time. He tended to the wound, gave him anti-toxins for the poison. But it has been too long, my son. He could fight it no longer."
All the while, Aragorn was shaking his head steadily in denial. He backed away a few steps as Elrond spoke. His eyes flew back to Legolas.
" No," he gasped. " He can't be dead."
" Estel, " Elrond began grievously
" No," Aragorn almost shouted. " I won't let you give up on him. I won't let him die, damn it. He can't die. "
" There is nothing we can do," Elrond insisted. " He is beyond the world of the living now. We cannot reach him."
" That's a lie," Aragorn exclaimed. He strode to kneel at the Elf's bedside, searching the Elf's face frantically. He took the prince's hand in his as his eyes flew about. Elrond backed away slowly, pained to his son in such a state and to know he had lost one who had been like a son to him nearly as much as Estel himself. He watched the ranger murmur to the dead Elf with a distraught expression upon his ageless face, until finally he left them alone to find Glorfindel. The matter of his twins was still fresh in his mind.
Elrohir's eyes nearly sunk closed as he rode. He had to stay awake, he kept reminding himself. Elladan was unconscious in his arms, dying from blood loss. Elrohir would be quite surprised if they made it home without falling off the horse dead. He was so weak himself, he had to fight to stay awake. His motivation was the fact that he had to get his twin home, lest Elladan die. It drove him. He prayed to Elbereth for Legolas to be spared, wherever the prince was now with Estel. He knew that he most likely near enough home to call for aid telepathically. Yet he had not the strength to do so. If only Glorfindel would come bestride Asfaloth now.
" Elladan," he breathed faintly. He knew his brother wouldn't answer him. " We're almost there, brother. You're going to live."
Elrohir slowly let his head come to rest upon Elladan's shoulder, closing his eyes. He just wanted to rest. Just for a moment. Tendrils of raven hair lay over his cheek. He was well aware of the horse moving beneath him, of his gloved hand gripping the reins, while his other lay over Elladan's breast. Yet after a while, it all began to slip away. Elrohir was giving into his weariness, just as Elladan had.
He suddenly let go and slipped off the horses' back, falling to the ground and rolling a few feet before coming to a stop. He hadn't felt it, being in the state he was. Elladan had fallen with him as well. The horse had trotted off, leaving them for the time being. Elrohir opened his eyes a few minutes later to find himself lying on the ground. He was disoriented yet managed to turn his head to look to his left. There, a few feet from him, was Elladan. His twin had not woken. If Elrohir had been well, the possibility that Elladan was dead might've registered in his mind. Instead, he stared at his twin for a long while, before outstretching his hand and grabbing Elladan's. His gray eyes fluttered, and he knew no more.
Legolas would not answer. He was motionless and silent. Aragorn paused, waiting for a reply. His gray eyes still searched his best friend's face. So pale. So cold.
" Mellonin," he uttered. His hand lay over the Elf's brow. " Mellonin, you must wake up." Legolas remained as he was. Tears brimmed in Estel's eyes as he looked upon his best friend. His thumb stroked over a small patch of Legolas' brow.
" You can't die," he said quietly. " You can't die, please." His chest shuddered with a brewing sob. " Please."
In the solitude of the otherwise empty ward, the huddled figure of a man bent over a bed was bitter to behold. Aragorn bowed his head to lay upon the Elf's breast. There was no heartbeat to give him that unnamed feeling in his stomach. Only silence.
" Legolas," he cried brokenly. " Please."
He gripped the Elf's slender hand tightly and rose again. Tears were streaming down his face as he looked down upon Legolas. His hand cupped over the Elf's side, over the wound. His healing powers stirred within him. But he knew it was not only the wound. Legolas had lost all of his strength with his blood and in fighting the poison. He needed more, someone else's. Estel's.
Aragorn clasped both Legolas' hands in his own, their fingers lacing together naturally. He leaned over slowly and laid his lips to Legolas', breathing into the Elf with every last breath of air he possessed. All the while, he thought, // " By the grace of the Valar, I give him the Breath of Life." //
He opened his eyes and lifted away from his best friend. Aragorn gathered Legolas up in his arms, holding the limp Elf to his chest. The blonde was slumped over Aragorn, with his fair head upon the ranger's shoulder. He held onto the archer with all tenderness, mustering up his healing power in order to revive his soul brother. The man's spirit reached out for the Elf's, for they had been bound through love and blood for years, and began to pull it out of shadow and back into light.
// " Lasto beth nin,"// Aragorn breathed. // " Tolo dan meleth nin."// Listen to my voice. Come back to my love. //
Tears soundlessly fled from the ranger's closed eyes, as he tapped into the supernatural powers of his love for Legolas. A love so rare and so profound, it could transcend all things and tie two hearts together to make them one. It could transcend even death.
Legolas' pale, blue eyes flew open with a sharp intake of breath. He gasped for air and panted against Aragorn's chest. His heart was racing, and Aragorn could feel it. The ranger almost cried out in his joy but resisted and only smiled to himself, as his arms tightened around his beloved Greenleaf. The Elf was weeping as well, though he was not sure why.
Elrond and Glorfindel burst out of the back room they had disappeared into, in shock to discover that Legolas lived, although he had been dead to them before. Yet not only did the prince of Mirkwood live, he glowed with life more vibrantly than usual. The two elder Elves gave each other knowing glances, suspecting Estel of having revived him. Glofindel grinned broadly behind Elrond, while the Lord of Imladris only shook his head with a suppressed sigh.
Aragorn rocked Legolas in his embrace gently, smiling through his tears. He rubbed the Elf's back soothingly as the archer sobbed and choked, rightfully frightened of what had happened. His lithe arms were draped around the ranger's shoulders, with his chin resting on the right. His golden hair clung to his porcelain skin, his bare shoulders and upper back. After a while, Aragorn let go of the prince a just a bit and lay him back down as he would a baby. The ranger leaned over the Elf, with his hand cupped over Legolas' hip and the other upon his fair head, and smiled tearfully. He kissed Legolas' brow softly and simply stayed as he was, gazing down at his best friend. And from somewhere inside of him, a chuckle emerged.
Elrohir's eyes lifted opened to reveal glassy pools of disorientation. A squeeze to his hand had awakened him from shallow unconsciousness. He stared across into his twin's eyes, into his own face, into his own soul. And yet they were also his brother's. The ground beneath Elrohir was stained crimson with the Elf's blood, and Elladan's chest scarcely rose and fell with the pain of his wound.
" Elrohir," the elder twin murmured.
Elrohir's eyes glimmered, and Elladan's wavered in return.
" I'm glad you're with me," he admitted.
Elrohir gave a small nod. " I'm glad you're with me too."
They paused for a long moment, before Elrohir broke the silence.
" I love you," he said with a tear-laced voice that was almost hopeful in a strange sort of way.
The light in Elladan's eyes trembled again. " I love you too," he whispered.
They squeezed each other's hand tightly, and Elladan tried to compose himself as he looked away from his brother and up to the sky. Elrohir still stared at his twin with eyes so wide and glassy, it was heart wrenching.
" Do you think Legolas is well? " Elrohir asked his brother, as if they were little again. Elrohir had always needed his brother's reassurance that everything was going to be all right.
" Yes, Elrohir," Elladan answered. His closed his eyes with a smile, and Elrohir saw a swift tear disappear into his tresses. " Legolas is fine."
" I'm glad," Elrohir concluded. " I'm glad he and Estel will be together forever."
" So will we," Elladan uttered quietly, watching the gray clouds that seemed so far away.
" We weren't meant to be apart," Elrohir said, thinking aloud. " That's why we're both here now. "
Elladan turned his head away from the sky to look at his beloved twin once more.
" I'm glad I'm not going to die alone," he said.
Elrohir smiled faintly. " I'll follow you," he whispered. Another tight hand squeeze.
Elladan closed his eyes, weeping without any other sign of it other than the tears that were raining down his face.
" Why? " he whimpered, almost inaudibly.
" Because I love you," Elrohir said, again sounding like a little child. Elladan released a shaken laugh.
" Sometimes I worry if you love me too much," he said.
" No," Elrohir said with a shake of his head. " I love you just enough."
Elladan smiled. " Just enough," he echoed. " Mother used to say that."
Elrohir nodded to himself. " I know."
" Do you remember that lullaby she used to sing us?" Elladan queried, sounding very tired and calm.
" That was a long time ago, Elladan," Elrohir began. " Even for us Elves. That was when we were children." Yet he thought about it and tried to remember.
// " Winter breathes a secret to you." //
Elladan smiled.
//" Whispers vanish in darkness' veil.
Starless night looms o'er the land.
And all is silver in the hills,
In the valley of Imladris.
All is white in winter dreams.
Fair Elves walk in pale moonbeams.
Elbereth laughs in white alfirin.
Petals float down from night's velvet wings.
Winter breathes a secret to you." //
Elrohir's voice died with last word, and Elladan was still, with his eyes closed peacefully. The wind was in his raven hair, as Elrohir squeezed his hand again. He let his own eyes slip closed, and followed his twin with his sweet voice only a memory on the wind.
BTW, I wrote the little song @ the end, so no stealing! Or I come hunt u down with a shotgun. . .. *evil look*
Please review! ^_^ Oh, and check out my updates to Captive, if u haven't already, and Brothers in Heart. Thank you! ^_^
~*~
Chapter 6
The dark-haired ranger waited restlessly outside the doors of the healing ward. He was alone in the maddening silence. He had at first paced like a man awaiting the birth of his child. Now, he sat fidgeting and sighing every other moment. He prayed to Eru for Legolas to be spared, murmuring to himself over and over in Sindarin. He also asked Elbereth and all of the Valar. He was paused several times in attempts to catch any sound from inside. His attempts were futile. Hours passed before he remembered the twins. Another enormous burden was dumped upon his shoulders then. He would rise from his seat and look out from the balcony nearby, with never a sign of his brothers. Where they were now and in what condition, only Eru knew.
Aragorn looked up to the light playing on the ceiling as he thought. He remembered the light-hearted fun he had enjoyed with his best friend and brothers before this whole ordeal had ever started. That time seemed like an age ago. How could it have gone so wrong? The shadows of the tree foliage were splashed across the ceiling, constantly swaying and teasing the light. He closed his eyes, sighing with shut lips.
Legolas filled his mind. The golden archer's face spurred a familiar feeling in his heart. He watched the prince laugh beautifully, his eyes glittering with mirth. The laughter was a distant echo, leaving him and fading away. Legolas fell back into the crisp, golden leaves that coated the ground, grinning broadly with the remains of his laughter. The Elf gazed up at the patches of sky in the rustling leaves, blissful to simply look at the beauty of nature that he loved so much. The sun was hidden beyond the foliage, yet it's light streamed through the patches. It played on Legolas' belly, and his fair face as he closed his eyes and chuckled.
So distant, Aragorn thought. Only an echo, ricocheting off the walls of his mind. He loved that memory, however. He cherished it, the beautiful thought of his best friend in joy. He held onto the image desperately, never wanting to let go. Bittersweet music floated there too. He suddenly appeared in the memory, laughing in unison with Legolas and tumbling over to the Elf. Every thing seemed to be slowed, as he fell awkwardly beside the archer, who was smiling up at him as he grabbed the ranger's sleeve. The two of them lay in the leaves smiling. . .
Aragorn opened his eyes. Sweet Eru, he loved Legolas. His chest ached terribly as he dwelled on the dark thought that he might lose his best friend. He sat in a very loose position, staring out into space with glazed eyes. Things flashed through his mind - Legolas smiling at him when he had caught Elladan, the moment Legolas was wounded, Aragorn and Legolas breathing together beneath the tree in the battle glade. That look Legolas had given him when he had refused Legolas' plea to remain where he was, instead of riding to Imladris. Legolas in his arms, crying out in pain and weeping. Legolas whispering " I love you."
His thoughts were interrupted by the swift opening of the door. Glorfindel finally appeared from inside the ward. He looked very worked up indeed, positively flustered. There was a glimmer of pain in his eyes. Aragorn's heart sunk. He must not have good news.
" Glorfindel," he began.
" Come," said the Balrog-slayer, turning back into the ward. The ranger got up and followed quickly.
Elrond looked up at them as they approached, his face grim. Glorfindel left Estel, disappearing promptly past Elrond into one of the back rooms. Aragorn stared at his father with fearful eyes. He glanced down at Legolas to see the Elf was still and pale. He had been stripped of his tunic, and his torso had been wrapped with cloth bandages. His silken hair was splayed across his pillow and shoulders. His eyes lay closed heavily.
" Ada? " Estel prompted shakily, his gray eyes still looking upon the archer dubiously.
" Estel," Elrond began. His voice was somber and crestfallen. " Forgive me."
The young ranger looked at him in disbelief.
" He is dead, Estel," Elrond admitted softly. " We tried the best we could. He was dead when you brought him to us, and we revived him for a time. He tended to the wound, gave him anti-toxins for the poison. But it has been too long, my son. He could fight it no longer."
All the while, Aragorn was shaking his head steadily in denial. He backed away a few steps as Elrond spoke. His eyes flew back to Legolas.
" No," he gasped. " He can't be dead."
" Estel, " Elrond began grievously
" No," Aragorn almost shouted. " I won't let you give up on him. I won't let him die, damn it. He can't die. "
" There is nothing we can do," Elrond insisted. " He is beyond the world of the living now. We cannot reach him."
" That's a lie," Aragorn exclaimed. He strode to kneel at the Elf's bedside, searching the Elf's face frantically. He took the prince's hand in his as his eyes flew about. Elrond backed away slowly, pained to his son in such a state and to know he had lost one who had been like a son to him nearly as much as Estel himself. He watched the ranger murmur to the dead Elf with a distraught expression upon his ageless face, until finally he left them alone to find Glorfindel. The matter of his twins was still fresh in his mind.
Elrohir's eyes nearly sunk closed as he rode. He had to stay awake, he kept reminding himself. Elladan was unconscious in his arms, dying from blood loss. Elrohir would be quite surprised if they made it home without falling off the horse dead. He was so weak himself, he had to fight to stay awake. His motivation was the fact that he had to get his twin home, lest Elladan die. It drove him. He prayed to Elbereth for Legolas to be spared, wherever the prince was now with Estel. He knew that he most likely near enough home to call for aid telepathically. Yet he had not the strength to do so. If only Glorfindel would come bestride Asfaloth now.
" Elladan," he breathed faintly. He knew his brother wouldn't answer him. " We're almost there, brother. You're going to live."
Elrohir slowly let his head come to rest upon Elladan's shoulder, closing his eyes. He just wanted to rest. Just for a moment. Tendrils of raven hair lay over his cheek. He was well aware of the horse moving beneath him, of his gloved hand gripping the reins, while his other lay over Elladan's breast. Yet after a while, it all began to slip away. Elrohir was giving into his weariness, just as Elladan had.
He suddenly let go and slipped off the horses' back, falling to the ground and rolling a few feet before coming to a stop. He hadn't felt it, being in the state he was. Elladan had fallen with him as well. The horse had trotted off, leaving them for the time being. Elrohir opened his eyes a few minutes later to find himself lying on the ground. He was disoriented yet managed to turn his head to look to his left. There, a few feet from him, was Elladan. His twin had not woken. If Elrohir had been well, the possibility that Elladan was dead might've registered in his mind. Instead, he stared at his twin for a long while, before outstretching his hand and grabbing Elladan's. His gray eyes fluttered, and he knew no more.
Legolas would not answer. He was motionless and silent. Aragorn paused, waiting for a reply. His gray eyes still searched his best friend's face. So pale. So cold.
" Mellonin," he uttered. His hand lay over the Elf's brow. " Mellonin, you must wake up." Legolas remained as he was. Tears brimmed in Estel's eyes as he looked upon his best friend. His thumb stroked over a small patch of Legolas' brow.
" You can't die," he said quietly. " You can't die, please." His chest shuddered with a brewing sob. " Please."
In the solitude of the otherwise empty ward, the huddled figure of a man bent over a bed was bitter to behold. Aragorn bowed his head to lay upon the Elf's breast. There was no heartbeat to give him that unnamed feeling in his stomach. Only silence.
" Legolas," he cried brokenly. " Please."
He gripped the Elf's slender hand tightly and rose again. Tears were streaming down his face as he looked down upon Legolas. His hand cupped over the Elf's side, over the wound. His healing powers stirred within him. But he knew it was not only the wound. Legolas had lost all of his strength with his blood and in fighting the poison. He needed more, someone else's. Estel's.
Aragorn clasped both Legolas' hands in his own, their fingers lacing together naturally. He leaned over slowly and laid his lips to Legolas', breathing into the Elf with every last breath of air he possessed. All the while, he thought, // " By the grace of the Valar, I give him the Breath of Life." //
He opened his eyes and lifted away from his best friend. Aragorn gathered Legolas up in his arms, holding the limp Elf to his chest. The blonde was slumped over Aragorn, with his fair head upon the ranger's shoulder. He held onto the archer with all tenderness, mustering up his healing power in order to revive his soul brother. The man's spirit reached out for the Elf's, for they had been bound through love and blood for years, and began to pull it out of shadow and back into light.
// " Lasto beth nin,"// Aragorn breathed. // " Tolo dan meleth nin."// Listen to my voice. Come back to my love. //
Tears soundlessly fled from the ranger's closed eyes, as he tapped into the supernatural powers of his love for Legolas. A love so rare and so profound, it could transcend all things and tie two hearts together to make them one. It could transcend even death.
Legolas' pale, blue eyes flew open with a sharp intake of breath. He gasped for air and panted against Aragorn's chest. His heart was racing, and Aragorn could feel it. The ranger almost cried out in his joy but resisted and only smiled to himself, as his arms tightened around his beloved Greenleaf. The Elf was weeping as well, though he was not sure why.
Elrond and Glorfindel burst out of the back room they had disappeared into, in shock to discover that Legolas lived, although he had been dead to them before. Yet not only did the prince of Mirkwood live, he glowed with life more vibrantly than usual. The two elder Elves gave each other knowing glances, suspecting Estel of having revived him. Glofindel grinned broadly behind Elrond, while the Lord of Imladris only shook his head with a suppressed sigh.
Aragorn rocked Legolas in his embrace gently, smiling through his tears. He rubbed the Elf's back soothingly as the archer sobbed and choked, rightfully frightened of what had happened. His lithe arms were draped around the ranger's shoulders, with his chin resting on the right. His golden hair clung to his porcelain skin, his bare shoulders and upper back. After a while, Aragorn let go of the prince a just a bit and lay him back down as he would a baby. The ranger leaned over the Elf, with his hand cupped over Legolas' hip and the other upon his fair head, and smiled tearfully. He kissed Legolas' brow softly and simply stayed as he was, gazing down at his best friend. And from somewhere inside of him, a chuckle emerged.
Elrohir's eyes lifted opened to reveal glassy pools of disorientation. A squeeze to his hand had awakened him from shallow unconsciousness. He stared across into his twin's eyes, into his own face, into his own soul. And yet they were also his brother's. The ground beneath Elrohir was stained crimson with the Elf's blood, and Elladan's chest scarcely rose and fell with the pain of his wound.
" Elrohir," the elder twin murmured.
Elrohir's eyes glimmered, and Elladan's wavered in return.
" I'm glad you're with me," he admitted.
Elrohir gave a small nod. " I'm glad you're with me too."
They paused for a long moment, before Elrohir broke the silence.
" I love you," he said with a tear-laced voice that was almost hopeful in a strange sort of way.
The light in Elladan's eyes trembled again. " I love you too," he whispered.
They squeezed each other's hand tightly, and Elladan tried to compose himself as he looked away from his brother and up to the sky. Elrohir still stared at his twin with eyes so wide and glassy, it was heart wrenching.
" Do you think Legolas is well? " Elrohir asked his brother, as if they were little again. Elrohir had always needed his brother's reassurance that everything was going to be all right.
" Yes, Elrohir," Elladan answered. His closed his eyes with a smile, and Elrohir saw a swift tear disappear into his tresses. " Legolas is fine."
" I'm glad," Elrohir concluded. " I'm glad he and Estel will be together forever."
" So will we," Elladan uttered quietly, watching the gray clouds that seemed so far away.
" We weren't meant to be apart," Elrohir said, thinking aloud. " That's why we're both here now. "
Elladan turned his head away from the sky to look at his beloved twin once more.
" I'm glad I'm not going to die alone," he said.
Elrohir smiled faintly. " I'll follow you," he whispered. Another tight hand squeeze.
Elladan closed his eyes, weeping without any other sign of it other than the tears that were raining down his face.
" Why? " he whimpered, almost inaudibly.
" Because I love you," Elrohir said, again sounding like a little child. Elladan released a shaken laugh.
" Sometimes I worry if you love me too much," he said.
" No," Elrohir said with a shake of his head. " I love you just enough."
Elladan smiled. " Just enough," he echoed. " Mother used to say that."
Elrohir nodded to himself. " I know."
" Do you remember that lullaby she used to sing us?" Elladan queried, sounding very tired and calm.
" That was a long time ago, Elladan," Elrohir began. " Even for us Elves. That was when we were children." Yet he thought about it and tried to remember.
// " Winter breathes a secret to you." //
Elladan smiled.
//" Whispers vanish in darkness' veil.
Starless night looms o'er the land.
And all is silver in the hills,
In the valley of Imladris.
All is white in winter dreams.
Fair Elves walk in pale moonbeams.
Elbereth laughs in white alfirin.
Petals float down from night's velvet wings.
Winter breathes a secret to you." //
Elrohir's voice died with last word, and Elladan was still, with his eyes closed peacefully. The wind was in his raven hair, as Elrohir squeezed his hand again. He let his own eyes slip closed, and followed his twin with his sweet voice only a memory on the wind.