Lina glanced over at Glorfindel and actually started to worry about the elf lord. He kept mumbling things to himself and she was starting to think that he was losing his mind; the fact that he had a slight twitch at the corner of his eye was also a give away. She knelt next to Aragorn and gently dabbed his forehead with a cool damp cloth. Neither he nor Legolas had woken yet from their 'encounter', if you so wished to call it that. Moving closer to him, she pressed her fingers into his neck to feel his pulse and jerked her hand back when he flinched away from her. His eyes slowly flickered open and focused on her face before frowning at her smiling face. Instead of saying something, his eyes wandered around to look around her and find someone or something.

            "Where is Legolas?" he asked and started to sit up.

            "He is still unconscious but fine. Do you feel well enough to be getting up?" she asked as he moved to stand.

            "Yes, I am well enough to be getting up. I do not need to wait for your permission," he snapped and she cast a look over to Glorfindel.

            The golden haired elf nodded to her and she stood to walk away from the men and get some fresh air. She had no desire to sit around and watch men try to prove themselves to a woman and that they didn't feel pain. There were things more important and demanding of her time. Aragorn watched her go before moving slowly towards Legolas and Glorfindel at the opposite side of the camp. He carefully knelt on his good leg and quickly checked Legolas over himself. Picking up the unconscious elf's hand, he unwound the bandages and inspected the slash on his palm that was sutured.

            "What happened here to him?" he asked before rewrapping it.

            "Lina's bow. When Legolas touched you, he seemed to be pulled into whatever happened to you and both of you were in pain. Knowing what might have happened if we touched you; Lina grabbed her bow and pried Legolas' hand off you to possibly stop whatever it was. What happened Strider? You screamed as if in pure agony."

            "Another vision; like my nightmares. It was like white-hot poker being shoved into my brain and slowly being twisted around. It showed me Annúminas, where Sauros use to call his home. There was a crumpled statue of one of the old kings, I pushed up the left arm and a doorway in a solid wall to my left moved to reveal a set of stairs leading into the earth. The pathway leading into the earth was dark and dank but torches along the walkway were lit; they were lit by themselves, no one was near. I felt unbearable pain while seeing all of this and then I felt someone grip my arm and the vision stopped. I believe that was when I lost consciousness," Aragorn replied as he tried to remember everything he saw and piece it together to actually mean something.

            "That must have been the point that I touched you."

            Both looked down shocked at the elf between them as Legolas slowly opened his eyes to look at them. Surprisingly, his head felt almost numb as he rolled over and pressed his hands into the ground to lift his body up. Holding up a hand to hold off any help, he shook his head and cleared his slightly blurred vision. Flinching at the pain in his hand, he lifted it and looked at the cloth wrapped around his hand and decided to find out about that at a later time. The other two watched him worriedly as he reached for a water pouch and took a sip of water before sitting down across from the other two. He looked at Aragorn and the two stared at each for a moment as if they held a small conversation between them. Glorfindel rolled his eyes and was about to go and find Lina just as Legolas sighed and dropped his gaze.

            "I assume that you did not see what I saw when I touched you?" he asked and Aragorn told him again what he told Glorfindel a few minutes prior.

            "And then I felt you touch me. What did you see?" the human asked quietly.

            Legolas' entire body shuddered and it was caught by both of his friends before he sighed. He still felt the fear that almost consumed him when he looked upon that black-scaled dragon with the burning red eyes; the eyes that pooled like freshly spilt blood. The same eyes that held no compassion or kindness for anyone except himself. The dragon's words echoed clearly in his head as he shuddered again in spite of himself and the tight control he had over his body. Aragorn reached out and gently grasped his friend's shoulder and felt the minute trembling in the elf's frame.

            "Legolas?" he asked quietly and moved to sit closer to the elf.

            "I was in a dark stone pathway and there was something standing in front of me. It was a dragon, a huge dragon; bigger than Sauros or Kore or any of the other dragons. He had midnight black scales and he was adorned with scars, bright red scars almost like blood. His eyes were blood red, like the freshest blood that I have ever seen.

            "He looked hungry and it was not the normal kind of hunger he possessed. He lusted for blood and flesh that only a fresh kill could give him. He enjoys witnessing pain and death; he enjoys inflicting it onto the poor souls that cross his paths. Sauron has reign over him, he told me so. He said it in my mind to me before the vision was broken apart. He said: 'No one can slay one under Sauron's reign. No one.' I have never felt such fear in my life, it almost seemed to freeze me in my very steps and I could not move to defend myself. I can still hear him in my mind repeating those words and I cannot get him out; I still feel his evil, it is everywhere. I feel trapped and the evil is about to consume me," he rambled and started to get a bit frantic.

            Aragorn reached out and grabbed Legolas' shoulders to shake him a bit. Moving directly into the elf's line of sight, he grasped the sides of his head and looked directly into the elf's eyes. In response to his grip, Legolas grabbed his bent arms and tightened his grip almost painfully to cause the Ranger to flinch to himself. Aragorn was worried that Legolas was falling into a panic attack, which though very rare now, could sometimes be debilitating.

            "Look at me Legolas. Look me in the eyes and calm down. Just breathe mellonin, just breathe and look me in the eyes," he said softly, yet with a commanding voice.

            Legolas locked gazes with him and tried to follow his directions as he breathed deeply and looked deeper into the Ranger's gray eyes. The calming gray eyes held understanding and comfort as his breathing slowed even more until it finally reached the normal rhythm. His muscles relaxed as he slumped against the human and broke the gaze. Aragorn glanced over to Glorfindel and the other elf nodded before moving towards the fire to fix Legolas a mild sedative. Legolas closed his eyes tiredly and again cursed the weakness that Tharbad instilled in him. He could no longer get near any type of closed in area without feeling his heart rate speed up and a slight sheen of sweat to appear on his brow. Aragorn said that with time and work, the fear would fade and he would conquer it completely. In the vision, he was underground, and compounded with the fear of the dragon it was almost overwhelming and he was now suffering from it. His muscles felt tight and sore from being tightened so mercilessly so quickly and quivering nonstop. Feeling Aragorn move slightly, he looked up as the human held a cup for him and ordered him to drink. Shooting Aragorn a scathing glare, he obediently drank the cup empty and a few seconds later felt the numbness spreading throughout his entire body. Aragorn watched as the elf's eyes blinked slightly and relaxed into a half-lidded gaze and his eyes became unfocused as the drugs took affect. Sighing to himself, Aragorn recruited Glorfindel's help and moved the elf into a more comfortable position as Aragorn sat next to the elf. Stretching his legs out in front of him, Aragorn looked up at Glorfindel and smiled tiredly.

            "Are you having fun yet Glor?"

            Glorfindel glared at him without speaking and turned to go and find Lina. Probably the sanest one out of the group, he imagined and stepped out into the bright sunshine. His sensitive ears heard her talking to the horses off towards the right near the trees. Walking silently in that direction, he finally found her rubbing her hand down her horse's side while softly murmuring to him. Her hand ran down one of the horse's legs and he obediently lifted it to allow her to clean away the dirt and inspect the bottom of his hoof. When she set it back on the ground, her horse reached around and nudged her with his snout and put her off balance. Stumbling forward a bit, she turned and placed her hands on her hips as she glared at the horse that was trying to look innocent. The task was hard to do seeing how the horse looked like the cat with a few feathers sticking out of his mouth from the poor bird that meet an untimely death. Glorfindel laughed as he neared the two and Lina looked over at him before turning her gaze back to the horse.

            "He enjoys joking around with you," Glorfindel offered and reached out to gently rub the horse's nose.

            "Great, I have a horse with a killer sense of humor," she said dryly before the horse stepped closer and pressed his head against her body. "But I do love him."

            She rubbed her hands up and down his large cheeks before rubbing behind his ears with a smile. Glorfindel laughed again when the horse's tongue lolled out and he was suddenly reminded of a dog. His own horse moved over next to him upon hearing his master's laugh and wanted some attention of his own. The two spent some time spoiling their horses before Lina looked back towards camp with a slight frown.

            "What is troubling you, young Lina?" Glorfindel asked as he ran a hand over his horse's withers.

            "I am just worried about those two up there. Do they really get into as much trouble as you say they do? Pardon my insolence, but it seems kind of farfetched."

            Glorfindel sighed and remembered a time when he thought the same thing. He knew very well what Elladan and Elrohir could get into but nothing could have prepared him for traveling with Legolas and Aragorn. They were forever pushing the bar higher at how injured they could get themselves. He never would have believed it until he went on a hunting trip with all the sons of Elrond and the prince of Mirkwood. That incident had made him wary of any trips that he went on with those four and to always pack an excessive amount of bandages and herbs and any other healing item that anyone could possibly think of needing. And the scariest part of it all…he knew that it could always get worse. He didn't want to know how it could, but he knew it could. It always happened. One incident, he had made the fatal error of thinking that it couldn't get any worse and just when he finished thinking it; it did get worse, much worse.

            "Lina, believe me when I tell you that I once thought the same way as you. That there was no way that two people could find that much trouble and get themselves that injured and still venture outside of their houses. Somehow, they always find a cave that looks sturdy but then they get in and it collapses. If they are near a river, one of them will fall in and almost drown. If there are arrows being shot at them, one will always be hit with it and it will always have some poison on it. If there is some evil elf or evil human or evil dwarf or any other evil thing out there, Legolas and Estel will probably have their run in with them and either one or both of them will be tortured. It has almost become a fact of life and every one of Mirkwood and Imladris has accepted it. There has still not been a time when both of them have walked home unaided and uninjured; and to be honest with you, I do not think that it will ever happen."

            Lina raised her eyebrows at the golden haired elf and slowly nodded. "I understand now. And my best bet would be to keep a few feet between them and me?"

            "I would more than likely advise to keep a few realms between you and them. Valar, knows that I am thinking about it. I should have traveled to Lothlorien to escape this. But I was hoping that since I was traveling with just Estel that everything would be okay but no. We had to run into Legolas and now the trouble is just going to migrate towards us even more."

            Lina noticed that the elf was actually very serious and started to laugh before she could stop herself. The whole concept just sounded outrageous to her but she had a good feeling that he wasn't joking to amuse her. She looked up and focused on the person walking towards the two of them before realizing that it was Aragorn as her laughing slowed and stopped. Her gaze dropped to her horse before looking up at the man as he stopped in front of Glorfindel and her.

            "When Legolas awakens we will ride for Annúminas which should be in about two or three hours," Aragorn said looking at Glorfindel.

            Lina raised her eyebrows at him and stepped a little closer to be sure that Aragorn saw her. For some reason, she suddenly got the feeling that he didn't like her very much or held a very low opinion of her and she had no idea where he may have gotten it from. Pulling herself up a bit taller, her eyes narrowed and she pulled out the look that all women came with.

            "How long will the ride be then?" she asked and his gaze finally turned to her.

            "It does not matter, because you are not going," he said and turned to start walking back towards the camp.

            Lina's jaw dropped in shock before she ran after him and stood in front of him to stop his pace. She really didn't care how injured he was, she was not going to allow him to walk over her like some rug in someone's house to wipe his feet on.

            "I am not going? I beg your pardon, did I hear you correctly? You did not just give me that order," she said still partially shocked.

            "Yes I did. I will not allow a woman to travel with us and slow us up and possibly get herself injured. We can not take the risk," he said and sidestepped her to continue on his way.

            "Slow you up? I beg to differ hon. I do not care who in Arda you think you are but you have no right to give me orders as if we are in some army. I am traveling with you to Annúminas whether you like it or not. You will need the extra help if I am to believe everything that I have heard and seen," she snapped and poked his chest.

            She realized how silly the scene might have seemed to anyone that was watching. He was a good foot taller than her and her she was poking him in the chest and yelling at him. She didn't know if her brother would fall over laughing, encourage her, or tell her to back off. Hopefully, he would be encouraging her and laughing while she yelled at the future king of men. But then again.

            "Do you know who I am?" Aragorn asked and pulled himself up to his full height and virtually towered over her.

            "Actually, yes I do, and to be honest, I really do not give an orc's ass. Even Manwë himself and the other six of the Valar needed someone there to tell them to shove something up their ass when the time called for it. You may be destined to become the king of men but you still have a lot to learn about dealing with people one on one. And learn to accept help when you need it, even if it is from the most unlikely source," Lina sneered as her eyes flashed dangerously.

            Aragorn held his ground and stared the young woman in the eyes. He couldn't believe that he was getting a lecture from a baby about things that she had no clue about. Glorfindel stood off to the side trying to stay out of the argument but was ready to jump in if the need arose and he would have to pull the two apart. Personally, he thought that it would better if Lina stayed with them while they traveled towards Annúminas but that was his thought and he doubted if Aragorn would appreciate him putting in his two shillings.

            "If this lecture is over with, you had better be on your way. It is a long ride to a safe town before night falls and I would hate for you to be alone after dark without protection," Aragorn said simply.

            Lina growled and spun on her heel as she marched towards the camp to collect her few things. Rolling up her satchel of herbs, she checked Legolas' palm once more before walking towards the two again. Her small pack held everything she carried with her and all that she would need; her quiver was filled and her blades ready with her bow across her back. Whistling for her horse, she swung the small pack over the horse's withers and mounted quickly before looking down to Glorfindel. In his eyes, she saw a plead for forgiveness and she smiled sadly at him.

            "It has been a pleasure Lord Glorfindel and I imagine that I would have enjoyed traveling with you but it seems like I am being sent away like an insolent child. Keep Legolas' palm clean and it should be healed in two days time," she said and he nodded before bidding her farewell.

            Lina turned and glared at Aragorn before spinning her horse and swinging her cloak over her shoulders. The horse cantered smoothly off into the forest leaving the two alone in the small clearing that the horses used to graze. Glorfindel watched until she disappeared before turning to look at Aragorn. He looked back and the elf allowed the disapproval to show in his eyes before he turned and walked to where Legolas rested. He knew that Aragorn was a grown man and that he couldn't tell him what to do but he felt that sending Lina away was a bad idea.

            Lina sat astride her horse as he cantered away and she held her head high even though her eyes were burning. She couldn't believe that he sent her away just because she was a woman and young. The mere thought made her blood boil with anger and the anger transferred to her horse as he snorted in agitation. Casting a look down at her mount, she slowed the horse to walk and breathed deeply to calm herself. Her horse stopped and his head turned around to look at her and she looked back.

            "What?" she asked when the horse's gaze turned accusing.

            He gently bit her foot before looking back at her. Lina would have been the first person to admit that she had a special bond with her horse. She liked to think that the horse was what she might have acted like if she was a horse. Stupid thought, she knew, but it was the truth. She and the horse were so alike it was almost frightening.

            "You heard what he told me. He does not want or need my help, he is a big man. He does not need the help or aid of a woman; or no, forbid the idea that a woman might be a warrior and a healer and actually know how to handle herself. Oh the horror of it!" she snapped angrily and swung off her horse to pace in front of the animal.

            The horse watched her and she actually believed that he was listening and was attempting to answer her. Stopping her pacing, she looked the horse in the eyes and the two stood there for a few minutes in silence.

            "You think they will get into trouble," she said and the horse nodded. "You want to trail them."

            Once again the horse nodded and Lina threw up her hands before starting to pace again. Should she trail or not? She had no doubt that they could trail them and no one would notice; she was very confident of her stealth and tracking skills. Maybe let them get one day's head start and she would follow the signs they left behind. She had nothing else to do or occupy her time and besides, she was intrigued by this mystery. Stopping, she looked over at the horse and raised her eyebrows as she crossed her arms across her chest.

            "It would be fun," she mused and the horse neighed.

            Knowing her mind was made up; she smiled brightly and swung up onto the horse to turn him back in the direction they came from. She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and urged her horse towards the camp again but at enough distance that the elves couldn't detect her.

            "To trail it is then and Valar be damned if we get caught."

            The horse neighed and tossed up his head as they trotted along. Lina started to work out in her mind how she was going to do this. Very carefully.

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And here is the new chapter. I love being home on the holidays and not having a damn thing to do. I have so much time to sleep and work on my story. Well I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as much as the others and are enjoying this story so far. I know I am, personally.

I hope everyone had a marvelous Christmas and will have an even better New Years. I hope everyone has a special someone to kiss when the ball reaches Zero. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dha-Gal- Bravo! You remembered where you saw this chapter before. Anyway, I do not know if it is a good idea to give me skittles. It is sugar and I can get into trouble with sugar when I get all hyper and all that fun stuff. But who cares? Well, my parents will when I start to run around the house and tormenting my big brother and the cats and everyone is looking at me like I just grew a second head. It has happened before; I mean running around the house and tormenting my brother and cats, not the head thing. Yeah, I am going to shut up now.

Deana- Thank you very much for the compliment. Everyone just loves angst, everyone needs angst. I think it should be put in the food pyramid with a warning: "The constant intake of angst may cause serious problems to your health, like: shortness of breath, crying, the desire to strangle the author, outbursts of random yelling at computer screen. Please take caution when reading angst stories."

Elven Kitten- It is okay, everyone is allowed to miss reviewing one chapter; just as long as you leave a long review for the next chapter. And that I receive a note from your parents excusing you from failing to review the last chapter; really, that is all. I think it is time for me to go back to sleep.

Roccovende- I thought it would be a nice Christmas present. I do not understand patience; I never leaned it in my vocabulary. With the code it is kind of what you mentioned. I have the same affliction: give me a simple fraction or decimal problem and I will take me three hours to do it but give me a calculus problem or physics and I will finish it in five minutes. They were looking for a difficult code when instead it was a very simple one. This dragon is not going to be good news but he really will not 'show up' until a while. He is only a walk-on character, has one scene and that is about it. Well in relation to Draco and 'Dragonheart'; I watched the movie and during the movie I got the idea of a story with a dragon in it and I was like: "Hey, that would be cool." So I started to work on the story and Sauros took after Draco a bit but then I started to work on him and he became really my dragon. And I did take a line from the movie for 'Unspoken Words' so I will tell that right now. And I am so disappointed, I did not get Orlando Bloom under my tree for my present, but I will get over it. I hope.

Legalady- You are going to get both chapters response in this one. Well thank you very much for the compliment, I hope this story is enjoyable to everyone who reads it. And I am very humbled to say that I have read Cassia's stories, the first one I ever read of hers was: 'Change of Heart, Change of Mind' and that was when I first started reading the LotR stories and before I actually started writing so it was a really long time ago. I love the line: "update soon or else," that is just hilarious to me. I love getting threats on the reviews about my story after I leave a cliff hanger chapter. Kind of morbid, I know; but the death threats really keep me going and make me happy.

Astievia- Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year! Heehee, tis the season to be jolly. I think it happens to everyone, Valar forbid if Elrond ever goes somewhere with those two. We will have a crazy elf lord on our hands…two, with Glorfindel, oh, Legolas and Aragorn are in trouble now.

Elvendancer- I have not seen a single Harry Potter movie; I read the books but have not seen the movies. Do not think myself shorter either. *drops head in shame* Yes, I did one of the 'late night stay up till horrific hours in the morning working on this chapter because I just could not stop and even though I am falling asleep at my keyboard, I am still typing away because I just can not stop' moments. What can I say? I am famous for them and my night crawler tendencies.

Grumpy- Lina is just…Lina is just Lina. What can I say about her? She is developing into her own character and becoming quite the little lady, especially after this chapter. Little Lina has an attitude on her does she not? I love her though; her physical description is actually me. I have the spiky hair, well not spiky but short enough that I sleep wrong on it then it will come out spiky in the morning. All of your questions will answered in due time.

Bill the Pony2- This is going to be classified as a New Year's present, an early one. You are very welcomed and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others.

Snow-Glory- Being between a rock and a hard place has always been my favorite place. There is one quote (I do not have it with me now, it is down in Charleston at my other place) but it reads: I believe in getting into hot water, I think it keeps you clean. I do not remember who said that but just to put it out there, I do not own this quote! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and a happy holiday to you and a Happy New Year!

Star-Stallion- I must agree, that was a very bad Jack Sparrow impression. I love that one line that he does in the movie (I have it posted in my room so I can continuously look at it): Me? I'm dishonest and you can always a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest you have to watch out for because you can never tell when they're going to do something incredible…stupid. I just love that line.

Lauren- I just have to say that I love your little comments during the proofread chapter. And yes, Lina did pull out that bitch mood that resides in all women. I swear when I pull mine out I think everyone runs and hides. It is hilarious actually. I had the same image in my mind, Lina standing about a foot shorter than Aragorn yelling at him while poking him in the chest and backing him up a few steps. Eh gads, I love it.