Reviewer responses...I haven't done them in a while!

Mornflower: There you go, Legolas came back to them! That was a cute review you left! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Marbienl: Yeah, Estel thought little for his own health when he was trying to save Legolas, but they are both all better now!!!

Kelsey: EEEEKKK! Almost made you cry!? Sorry! LOL, glad you enjoyed the story. Here is the final chapter...I'm almost sad to finish it...

Arayelle Lynn: Thanks, read on for the answer to your questions of will they come out alive...

October Sky: Glad you liked...

Sielge: The end of Chapter 7 ended just as it was supposed to. It was a bit of a "cliffie" in more ways then one. The "I promise the same..." from Elladan was really the end of the chapter. Sorry you didn't get it!

I'M GETTING TIRED...I'm gonna lump these...

Deana, Rmc, Lyn, Grumpy, Adlea Evanstar, Gozilla, Tonianne, Silvertoekee, and anyone else I missed: I am thrilled that this story was so well received and I thank you immensely for reading it and reviewing for me! At the end of this final chapter I left a note for everyone, let me know what you all think of the proposal. Hope you enjoy this chapter...

Chapter Eight: Return

"Naneth?" Legolas sighed, shifting from his back to his side on the silky grass beside the pond. "Do you think Estel will come? He was badly wounded, what if he doesn't have the strength to bring me back? Do you know what will happen to Arda?"

His mother nodded lightly. "I do know, Legolas. But it is not something I can tell you. Estel will come and he will bring you back. I feel sure of it. Do you not feel so sure of it yourself?" she looked at him now, her eyes light and questioning.

A small smile crossed Legolas' face. "Aye, I do feel sure of it. I don't know why I even asked you that question. Estel has never let me down before, he won't start now. I risked my life to save him and I've no doubt he will do the same for me." Looking down at himself, he frowned now. "But I am becoming more and more defined in this realm. He must hurry."

Ithilwen stole a glance at her son's form. He had become increasingly solid and she worried about this. The thought dawned on her that perhaps her presence with her son was speeding the process. He had longed to see her for so long after her death that perhaps now that he was with her, subconsciously he was allowing his body to die.

"Legolas, ion nin, I must leave you now. Wait here, Estel will come for you. Be strong my Greenleaf." It was the hardest thing for her to do, but the Queen stood up and turned to walk away.

"Will I ever see you again?"

Stopping, Ithilwen turned. "Yes, Legolas. Long from now once you have sailed. There will be a day when the Elves of Valinor and those who dwell in the Halls of Mandos will be reunited. Until that day, remember I am always with you, here..." she placed a hand on her heart and then, she faded away.

Legolas hadn't felt so unbelievably alone as he did now. Birds chirped in the trees, but the Prince didn't feel a connection to this world yet. He couldn't hear the song of the trees or the earth. He was here, but he was not.

Then, he was no longer alone.

"Ada?" Elladan whispered, not wanting to disturb his father if the Elf Lord was tethering Estel to this world, but knowing he had to. "Legolas has not drawn breath for a full four minutes, his body is shutting down."

Elrond's eyes opened and his son saw the sorrow there. "I know, Elladan. He is fading quickly. I do not know how close Estel is, but he must hurry or we will lose the Prince."

Elladan nodded solemnly, then went back to Legolas' side and stood with Elrohir. The twins exchanged glances and then decided to lend what strength they could to their father and brother. Taking positions on each side of the Human, they laid a hand on his shoulder and pushed their own formidable strength to him as their father was doing.

A small smile crossed Estel's face at the added surge of energy. He felt no fear now, knowing his father and brothers were there, and he fell into the deepest trance he had ever mustered.
"Legolas! Where are you? Please, mellon nin, help me find you!" Estel called, wandering through a grove of trees, back in the realm he had only just escaped from himself. He could feel the strength of his family, but knew he had to act quickly.

He could barely perceive a shimmering in the distance, it looked to be a body of water, and he remembered that he had spoken with Ithilwen beside a pond. He must be there! She would have told him not to have wandered; she knew it was not his time!

Excitement ran through the man and he broke into a run. In this realm he held no grievous injuries and he was immensely grateful for it now as he hurried to find his ailing friend.

It was only a few minutes before the lake came into view. Estel saw Legolas lying on his back beside the beautiful waters and he skidded to a halt ten feet from the Elf. Legolas pushed himself into a sitting position and turned to face his friend, smiling brightly.

"I knew you would come for me," he whispered, standing. "I hope it is not too late."

Estel looked at Legolas in awe. The Elf was normally bright, but here, here he was shining with an inner glow that rivaled any Elf he had ever met. "Legolas, you are deeply connected here..." he muttered.

The Prince's eyes fell and he nodded. "I can hear the songs of this realm. My body has already lost its battle in yours, but I know I can not remain here. We must try; you must bring me back, Estel."

Nodding, the Human reached forward, taking his friends arm in his hand. "I will lead you, but you must walk with me."

Legolas nodded and followed. Soon, the two were entering the trees; following the path Lord Elrond had led Estel along a short while ago.
"Legolas..."

Estel shook his head, his eyes opening and he groaned. The pain came crashing back to him now that he was back in the realm of Middle-Earth. But he pushed it aside and focused on his friend.

Elladan reached forward, feeling for a pulse. "Thank the Valar, Estel! You did it! He is no longer treading the Halls of Mandos. We thought for a minute there he was not going to make it, we should not have underestimated you."

Elrohir was smiling now and he gripped his father's shoulder. "Will he be all right now? The athelas seem to have worked well; his body no longer shows signs of poison from the arrow."

"I think he will be all right now," Elrond whispered, looking toward the Prince who began to stir.

Blue eyes fluttered open and locked on Estel. Blinking, Legolas forced himself to speak, despite the dryness of his throat. "You should be lying down, Estel."

There was a flutter of laughter and Estel nodded wearily. "I think I should."

Once both patients were comfortably resting, Legolas smiled and turned to Elrohir. "I do believe you have a promise to keep now."

Elrohir looked at the Prince in confusion. "What do you mean, Legolas?"

"You said if we came back you would never play another prank on us again."

The twin's eyes widened. "No! You didn't hear that!? You were unconscious, practically dead, how?"

"Elrohir, a promise is a promise," his brother chided, laughing at the look in his twin's eyes. But his smile faded when he saw the look on Legolas' face. "What..."

"Do not think I didn't hear your 'I promise the same...' Elladan," the Prince laughed. "Being almost dead as I was, I had what you might call an out-of- body experience and heard the both of you. I fully plan on holding you to your promises!"

All eyes snapped to Lord Elrond when the Elf Lord let out a hardy laugh. "I should like to live to see the day when Elladan and Elrohir no longer play pranks on you Legolas! But something tells me that they will argue that this promise was made under duress and should not be honored."

Elrohir smiled. "YES, that is it! See, no promise made under duress need be held up!"

"Yeah right, you made that rule up on the spot. And I say no rule made up to aide oneself in reneging on a promise is to be accepted as a rule," Estel grunted, trying to hide a small smile.

"Yeah, uhm...whatever he said," Legolas agreed.

Peals of laughter were heard in the corridor outside the Healing Chambers, though they quickly changed to orders of rest for the injured.

Then, Estel's voice piped up. "Speaking of promises..." he muttered, looking to Legolas, "You have a story to finish."

The Prince groaned at that and buried his head under his good arm.

THE END
A/N: WELL, there it is, the happy ending of the story! I didn't really kill anyone in it, like I said I wouldn't! NOW, here is something for you all to comment on...would you like me to write a Legolas/Aragorn capture/torture/angsty type story? I was thinking of doing something like that, they are captured by Orcs, lots of beating up and fighting and so on...let me know if any of you are interested! PLEASE R/R!

-Gwenneth