JC: We're here! Finally!

Kathrine: Okay, FFNet has been a real bitch to us, not allowing us to post this for days on end.

JC: We don't even know why it wouldn't work, but something just kept screwing up the upload.

Kathrine: But NOW we can and you finally have what you've been waiting for…Ell/L/Elr!!!!

JC: No lemon for FFNet, but AFFNet hasn't let us on either. We're wondering if it's actually our computer instead.

Kathrine: Oh well…we'll try again tomorrow and if it works you'll finally have your lemon!

JC: And without further adieu…CHAPTER 6!

Disclaimer: We do not own Lord of the Rings of any of its affiliates…not that we won't someday. (Stares off dreamily)

Warnings: Angst, Sadness, Near-death experience, Bonding, Slash!

Weight of the Burden

By Jennifer and JC

Chapter 6

Neither twin spoke as they stared at the sight on the bed, unsure as to how to proceed, though both knew that they must. Legolas was pale, his golden mane somewhat drab across the pillow, but it still did not cover the true light within him. Though it seemed as if it was nearly gone. The glow that surrounded the blonde, and every Edhel, was damp, murky in his grief. It was like a tainted grey shadow, looking ready to swallow their once friend (though they hoped he would be that again and more) whole.

Elrohir stepped forward, coming to stand at the blonde's side. As he came closer to Legolas, he could tell that things were far worse than they had believed. He remembered what they had felt with their mother, the despair and loneliness that permeated her spirit. She thought that no one could understand, that there was nothing left that could stop her from fading on Middle Earth. But around the golden prince there was no sadness, no hopeless, no feelings at all. It was empty as if the blonde had nothing left to give.

" Glorfindel was right when he said that he had not the strength on his own to return, even should he wish to," he whispered. " It is like he is already gone, but his body just hasn't realized it yet. Valar, Elladan what have we done?"

" There is still time to change this, to keep him here," his elder twin reminded him. " He is not lost yet." He strode to the other side of the blonde's bed and sat down beside the cold form. Hesitantly, he reached out his hand to touch the pale, sickly face, but halted when his fingers were close enough to feel the chill coming off his body. He wasn't sure if he could take that step, could finally let go all that they had been hiding for so long.

" What if we hurt him too badly?" he asked his brother. " Will he still accept this?"

" He… He has too," the younger twin took in a deep breath. " It is the only way."

Elladan gave a shaky nod before completing his unfinished act, letting his hand stroke the cold cheek. " Legolas, Laiqualasse," he called to the blonde in a soothing voice. " Saes, meleth, koiva. Legolas, please, you family needs you, do not leave them in darkness."

" Saes,lass-tithen," Elrohir kneeled next to the bed, taking the blonde's limp hand in his two, rubbing it between them in a vain attempt to warm it. " We are here, malternil. We have not left you." They continued to speak to him, hoping that he would awaken, praying to the Lady that it was not too late.

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It was so dark. It was something he always despised, darkness, though he knew it was not something to fear. Even before he was born, darkness had tainted his beloved home of Greenwood, turning into the wary Mirkwood, where a spider could attack you at any turn; you were never safe. It was darkness that had taken his mother away from him, killed his grandfather before he could ever meet him, and ruined creatures and living things that were meant to be gentle and beautiful. He hated the darkness with everything he had.

And yet…this darkness he did not wish to leave. It was quiet, peaceful, and lacking all things that had tore him apart in the waking world. He knew that it was not real, not how his world truly was, but he was reluctant to think that he would have to leave. Maybe I won't have to, he told himself. I can stay here, away from the pain and rejection. I will be safe…Safe. He enjoyed that thought.

What reason did he have to go back? It was hard to remember, to think back to what he'd had before the serene darkness. But he could still remember the ache in his chest, the pain that felt as if his heart had shattered into thousands of small shards, slowly biting into the rest of his body and forcing him to bleed from the inside out. It was that pain that forced him to leave whatever he once had in the waking world. But it had also given him this peaceful void that sheltered him from that very same world.

If he tried to connect with his body, to feel more than complete nothing and serenity, he felt cold, a deep biting chill that vied to steal his breath against the total fatigue that settled in his limbs and spread everywhere else. He didn't want to feel, it was better not to feel. So he stayed within his darkness, neither dead nor alive, but rather in the absolute and soothing solitude. He did not wish to go back.

But there is something I fail to recall, he thought. Something of great importance. But then he thought. If it was truly so important I would not forget it, so it must not be as important as I believed it might be. At the same time, the little nagging thought kept returning to him. It was almost as if a part of him WANTED to remember, even though he felt so abhorred to doing so. Remembering would mean bringing back the pain, the harsh reality he had fled. He did not wish to do that, not when he had finally found oblivion.

He had finally forced the worries out of his mind, taking in the silence of both the world around him and his thoughts, when he felt something pull at him. It was very soft at first, the slight caress across his cheek, as if a hand had stroked its thumb over it, but then he felt something touch his hair. He searched the black nothingness, but saw no other anywhere. But who had touched him? Who had intruded upon his seclusion?

It was his hand next, but it was not faint, nor did it fade. It was as if something hand enclosed his hand in a warmness he could not recall but seemed very familiar. He wanted it let go. There were feelings in that touch, emotions of sadness, hurt, and desperation. They were a few of the main emotions he had sought to escape. Only… These were not his own shadowed feelings, but those of another.

Who could feel so bleak and grey? he wondered. He knew he himself had felt such desolation and felt sympathy towards whoever else was riddled with the depressive sentiments. The pull became stronger with the more he felt. No! he realized what was happening. He was being called back, they were trying to take him away from his darkness. Leave me be! Let me go! But it was too late, he was already being pulled into a state of semi-reality.

He tried to fight, to force the pull to release its hold over him, but he was not strong enough to resist it. The part of him that had continued to pick away at his memory, became louder as everything slowly came back to him. He remembered his life in Mirkwood, meeting Elladan and Elrohir in Imladris, the death of his mother, his reckless campaign for revenge, finding solace in Elladan and Elrohir, meeting Estel before he became Aragorn and then King Elessar, the War of the Ring, that one night spent with Elladan and Elrohir, the advent of the ache he carried for so long, finding out he was pregnant, the birth of his twin sons, raising Andúnel and Amúntel, the tense reunion with Elladan and Elrohir, the pain in his chest, Elladan and Elrohir discovering the truth, the pain, and then the darkness…

Nay! He did not want to remember! It hurt too much. He wanted to let go, to leave the waking world behind for the rest of eternity. There was too much sorrow back there. /But what of your sons? / that little voice reminded him. / Would your family not need you? Would they not suffer should you pass onto the Halls of Waiting? Can you be so selfish as to force them to endure that? /

No, he thought. I can't leave my sons…I can't leave Aragorn…Gimli…Adar…my brothers and sister…Elladan and Elrohir… He felt himself being touched, though he could feel the solidity of the hands holding his own and the one alternating between his hair and his face. He could see the particular darkness of the back of his eyelids and feel the ragged breath within his lungs. He had returned.

" - back to us, meleth, saes, come back." It was a voice. One that he now remembered as his memory was recalled. Elrohir.

" We are sorry, Laiqualasse," another voice, so much like the one before, " so sorry." Elladan. It had always been that way since he was just a small Elfling. He had difficulty telling them apart and so Elladan had taken to calling him by and elder version of his name and Elrohir would still call him Legolas. He always knew which it had been until he had learned to understand the small differences between them.

He took in a deep ragged breath, knowing his body was lacking in the air it needed to sustain itself. He disliked the feeling of his eyes being closed and fought to open them. Rather than the instantaneous burst of his eyes flashing open, he was forced to endure the uneven fluttering of the weighted lids and the brief flickers of dim lighting of wherever he was.

" Legolas?" Two voices called to him in unison, causing him to finally regain his sight and wait for it to settle itself before he saw the two water pairs of silvery grey eyes that were gazing at him with such emotion.

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The twins almost held their breaths as they watched the blonde finally begin to stir, continuing to call him in hopes keeping him tied to the land of the living. They watched the activity going on behind the prince's eyelids and knew he was close to consciousness. Finally, the lids flittered about, barely opening enough for them to see the sapphire orbs behind them.

" Legolas?" They called to him once more and were rewarded with the sight of the lids finally peeling back into a half-opened state, finally allowing them to see the dull blue eyes hiding behind them. Said eyes were blank and yet confused and looked out at them with such listlessness that they almost did not believe Legolas was actually awake.

The blonde made a weak grunt, as if trying to clear his throat and his pale tongue darted out to lick his dry lips. But his eyes never left the twins. He finally felt he'd gathered enough strength, he let a hoarse question, his mouth feeling as parched as the desert between Gondor and Harad. " Why?"

They knew what he spoke of. Why did they bring him back?

Elladan's hand stopped stroking his cheek and reluctantly pulled away. " We've done you a grievous wrong, mellonamin," he stated, his eyes downcast. " Elbereth, we were so stupid…so blind…"

" We…" Elrohir decided to answer for them. " We couldn't let you go. Not when we finally realized just how much you mean to us."

Legolas didn't understand what they were saying, but could understand the tone in their voices. He didn't want this from them, their pity. With his return to the waking world, he felt everything he had lost. The ache in his chest was there and it hurt to know that the two pitied him like so.

" I…" he tried to speak. " I…do not…want…pity…"

" Pity?" Elrohir repeated.

" No!" Elladan shook his head. " Oh, that is the farthest thing from what we feel." He took up the hand that lay upon the blonde's slightly quivering stomach and held it to his chest. " Ai, Laiqualasse, terrible it is that it would take such an event to show us how much we care for you."

The prince couldn't hide the confusion and apprehension in his eyes. Elrohir knew that Elladan was too emotional himself to fully explain everything. He took a deep breath and tried to find the right words. " We have known you since you were a young Elfling, still practically a babe, and yet we loved you as if you were the little brother we never had." These words seemed to cause a depression in Legolas' eyes and he knew that he would have to get to the point quickly. " But as you grew and became who you are, the beautiful, compassionate, gentle, life-loving warrior you were destined to be…our feelings for you changed."

" What…do you…mean?" Legolas spoke, his eyes were drooping still heavy with fatigued. He removed the hand from Elladan's grasp, clutching his chest as the pain worsened.

" We never told you because we knew not how you felt over such things, for you always kept those thoughts closed to everyone, save you father and king," he replied. " But that night upon the Corsair ship…it was the one wish we had always prayed would be fulfilled."

" I don't…under…" he couldn't finish.

" We must hurry, gwan-neth," Elladan spoke, seeing how hard it was for the blonde to maintain consciousness. " This is something we should have done long ago." The elder twin leaned forward and kissed the pale, dry lips of the prince taking in the taste and the feel that he had missed and dreamed of for over a century. Legolas was stiff in confusion, but as his continued to coax him, he slowly relaxed, giving control over to the dark-haired Peredhel.

Elladan finally pulled away, licking the blonde's lips one last time and stared into the awed eyes that did not seem as tired as before. " Amin mela lle," he spoke, his tone and teary eyes proving his validity. " Lye mela lle, malternil."

Blue eyes were wide, looking between both twins as if unsure if he was still within his false world. " Baw," he whispered. " No…lies…please…"

" No lies!" Elrohir shook his head earnestly. " Ai, if we had only had enough courage to tell you before than none of this would have come to pass. He speaks the truth. We love you, lass-tithen… We have for so long that we have forgotten what was it like NOT to love you. We do this, not out of pity or sympathy or duty, but because we love you in a way that we have only known for each other and we would rather join you in the Halls of Waiting than watch you fade. Saes, do not turn us away because we took so long. Saes, say we have not come too late."

Legolas continued to stare at them, his eyes filled with tears, unsure whether or not if he could believe these words. Could his mind being playing tricks on him in his weak state? No, he realized. Not even my sorrowed imagination could give me something so unbelievable.

" Let this be true…" he spoke softly, " for my heart…cannot take anymore."

" 'Lass, this is more true than the stars the Lady weaves into the night sky," Elladan told him as he took up the hand that he held before. Legolas tried to smile at him, but the it was a tired small turn of his lips. He turned then to Elrohir, eyes searching to see if what he saw in the one twin's eyes was in his younger brother's as well.

Elrohir lifted the hand he grasped and kiss it, taking time to lay a gentle kiss to every knuckle before leaning forward and kissing the blonde upon his lips as well. He was very gentle and held back, not wanting to tired the young Edhel anymore than he had already was. He pulled back and lifted his free hand up to wipe away the tears that had begin descending down his cheeks.

" Forgive us for being such senseless fools for waiting so long," he asked sincerely. " Perhaps if we had been more forthcoming, you would not have felt the need to hide from us as well."

" No…not your…" Legolas gasped, his breath stolen from his chest. He couldn't breathe and his eyes were beginning to cloud over. He felt so tired; his just wanted to go back to sleep. Even though he knew he should not.

" Amin…hiraetha…" he told them as his eyes began to flitter closed.

The twins felt their hearts race in their chests. " Nay!" Elladan shook his head, trying to keep the blonde with them. " Glorfindel was right, he's too weak! He's still fading!" He looked about the room, wondering what they could do to help Legolas. He knew what must be done.

" Elrohir," he spoke knowing his brother read his thoughts.

" Is he strong enough?" he asked. " I would not want this to fail."

" It is our only hope," he stated before pulling out the blade that was usually kept hidden in his boot. " I'll heat this in the fire, you gather the herbs. I know Estel will have them in here somewhere."

" Yes, gwan-iaur," he nodded. Elrohir stood and moved about the room, opening the cabinets and looking at the different vials, jars, and pouches kept there. He pushed many out of the way and stared into the back of the cupboard, where he knew what he searched for would most likely have been shoved to. Men had very few uses for the herb he sought, but he knew that they most likely kept it around, this being the main healing room for royal family and important guests. He knew they would have it there somewhere. He eyes widened when he saw the dusty jar filled with crushed leaves. He pulled it out and blew it off, sneezing at the thick dust, and reading the label.

" I've found it!" he told his brother just as Elladan was pulling his blade from the fireplace hearth. He then poured a small amount of water from the pitcher on the table into a small bowl beside it. He mixed in the crushed leaved, stirring it with his finger and letting the plants dissolve. Mixing with the water it created a dark hazel-like paste. " It's ready."

" Very well, let us begin." He moved over to the bed, sitting down and taking the blonde's hand in his. " Legolas, are you still with us, malternil?" Instead of receiving a 'aye', the only thing they were rewarded with was the opening of the blonde's tired eyes.

" Good," Elrohir smiled and he took the blonde's left, where his brother stayed upon the right. " Now before we do this you must consent. Do you accept us, into your heart and soul? For once this is done is shall never be undone, unless by the will of the Valar themselves."

The blonde didn't fully understand, but he knew their words were of great import. He could feel the tension in the room and wanted to speak, but he was far too weak to do so. Instead he gave a short nod of his head, hoping it was enough to get his point across. From the small smiles that broke across the twin's faces, he would say that it was.

" We have to perform a Binding," Elrohir told him. " It will help you. We will not let you go."

Turning the blonde's hand, palm upward, Elladan placed the still hot still tip beneath Legolas' index finger. " This shall hurt," he told him. " But is shall only be temporary." He then dug in and pulled down in a slant, creating a red line from the tip to the edge of his palm. The blonde was still too far gone to even flinch at the pain. His lack of response only pushed the two to act faster.

" The fëalia," he told him. Elrohir removed a small amount of the paste and applied it to the cut. He smoothed it over the entire incision before turning his eyes to watch his brother make an identical cut into his right hand. Elladan then took Legolas' hand in his linking them together so the cuts lined together perfectly, the herb paste between them.

Fëalia, a special plant many overlooked, was used to bond ancient warrior Edhil to their brethren in order to save their lives. It would use the strength of another's spirit to tie an Elf to the living world, giving them strength they could not gain on their own. For Mortals, it was truly nothing more than drug that could help with extreme loss of memory and if used too much…could cause something of a strange 'high' for those who used it.

He then passed the knife to Elrohir, who repeated his brother's actions by making a cut into Legolas' other hand, but in the opposite direction of the one on his right. Still the blonde did not respond to the heated steel digging into his sensitive skin. He repeated the application of the herb to this cut as well. Next, he cut into his hand in the identical way of the cut he'd made on the prince. Lifting the blonde's hand up and into his lap, he held it, closing it in his own so as their cuts, too, was aligned.

Taking a breath in unison, the twins began an echoed mantra that seemed to carry around the entire room, filling it with enchantment. " Let this spirit thread bind our soul to his, linking us forever, taking strength from one another. Let the Valar grace our union, the merging of our minds, souls, and hearts into one being. Let our bond be done so that he may live and we shall live together, as one, if that be the Valar's Will."

It was almost as if the breath was stolen from the bodies and their hearts stopped for a moment before suddenly beating once more, each moving with the same rhythm as the other two. Their hands burned and they watched as Legolas began to take in deep breaths, his body twisting unconsciously, and sweat breaking out across his face. The twins knew that they had to hold on, even as he tried to force them to release his hands. It hurt, it burned...he couldn't breathe.

" Hold on, my prince," they spoke together, neither relinquishing their hold. " You must be strong. Do not fight it."

The Lord of Eryn Gael seemed to calm at their words, his body still stiff. He was trying to give in, to accept this linking of his fëa to theirs, but the weight of Mandos was heavy on him, the spiritual tugging between the two pulls straining his body and mind as well. Finally, his entire form went limp, his breathing evening out as the binding succeeded. He felt different…whole for the first time in his life. There were two other presences within his thoughts, soothing him, letting him seek their minds as comfort. He knew who they were.

/ You have done well, malternil. / Elladan kissed his temple affectionately, letting their minds caress his weary spirit. / Our spirits are forever bound together. /

/ Never shall we part. / Elrohir swore. / Too much time has been wasted between us. /

Legolas opened his eyes wearily, allowing the twins to see the renewed spark rather than dull, clouded orbs. / Bound? / he whispered to them.

They nodded as one. / But not complete. We must finish our binding of body so our union will be set. Are you prepared for this, malthener? /

/ Aye, gwenyn-elen. / He smiled softly to them.

/ Then let us be one. /

The twins smiled in return, Elrohir leaning in to kiss him on the lips. Legolas gave a low moan as his opened his mouth to the other, allowing him to plunder as he willed. Elladan kissed his cheek before trailing wet caresses down to his neck and then shoulder. Neither released their hold on the blonde's hand, as they knew it was the best way to help their bonded to regain strength, by transferring it to him through the special herb and blood. They would take their time, relishing in proving their love and completing their bond completely. It had been too long a wait and too much had transpired for them to put it off any longer.

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Translations:

Laiqualasse - Green leaf (old Sindarin)

Saes meleth, koiva - Please love, awake

Saes, lass-tithen - Please, little leaf

Malternil - Golden Prince

Adar - Father

Mellonamin - My friend

Gwan-neth - Younger twin

Peredhel - Half-Elf

Amin mela lle- I love you

Lye mela lle, malternil - We love you, golden prince

Baw - No

Lass-tithen - Little leaf

Saes - Please

Amin hiraetha - I am sorry

Gwan-iaur - Older twin

Fëalia - Spirit thread (made-up enchanted herb)

Edhel/Edhil - Elf (sing)/Elves (pl)

Fëa - Spirit

Malthener - Golden one

Gwenyn-elen - Starry twins

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Kathrine: End of this chapter, onto the next!

JC: Okay, Fëalia is complete made up by us. We just thought that they would need a little 'booster' to help them pull Legolas back since he was so far gone.

Kathrine: And did anyone else notice the second meanings for the Twins' names? Elrohir's means 'Star-rider' and Elladan's means 'Long Valley of Stars'.

Kathrine: We thought about and in a way that reminds us of Rivendell.

JC: That's why Legolas calls them, Starry twins.

Kathrine: Anyway, we hope you liked this chapter and we're definitely going to try to get AFFNet fixed up for us so you can have the lemon. It's obvious where it is at so keep looking.

JC: Drop us a review and let us know what you think. Until next time, Namaarie!