Eldarion did not turn. He knew that the dreams meant something. Elemariel was always so sensible; sometimes her vision was clouded. Actually, she's a lot like her mother, Eldarion thought to himself. He turned down the south hall and walked a few more paces. To his left there was a hunter green door. He knocked and a tall elf opened it.

"Legolas, I need to talk to you."

"Eldarion, what are you doing up this late?" the elf asked.

Why does everybody keep asking me that?!" Eldarion said as he threw his hands up in exasperation.

"I think it's a question that deserves an answer." Legolas stated.

"Alright. I had those dreams again."

"You mean the dreams in which you see your family lying in a motionless trance?"

"Yes. But this time I slept longer after the dreams had begun, and I saw you and the rest of our family's friends in the same condition."

"Did you talk to your sister?"

"How did you know?"

"Because you always talk to her when you have problems."

"Oh, right. Well, she said that dreams were just a bunch of colors trying to make sense, that they didn't mean anything. Then I said that most repetitious dreams mean something, and she said that I just had these dreams because I thought about them before I went to sleep. Then I got mad at her and left to talk to you. I told her that you'd say something that would actually help." Eldarion told the elf.

"Did she tell you that I'd say the same thing?" Legolas asked him.

"No. Are you going to?"

"Yes. She's right, Eldarion. You can ask your mother, your father, and anybody else and you'll get the same answer."

"Fine. I'll just go back up to my room."

Eldarion yanked the door open and stalked out of the room. Eldarion ran up the stairs to his room. He sat on his bed fuming for a few minutes. Then he realized that he heard voices in the council room. He left his room to get a little bit closer to them. They sounded as though they belonged to his father, his mother, his sister, Gandalf, Boromir, Gimli, and Legolas. Legolas must have taken the short cut, he thought to himself. He found it very annoying that elves could move around from place to place in a house that wasn't theirs faster then the house's residents could. He put his ear to the wall and listened.

"Gimli, stop breathing so loudly. You'll attract unwanted attention." He heard Legolas mock Gimli. He heard his sister laugh.

Eldarion knew Gimli must have made a face at Elemariel and Legolas because he heard a slap and then a loud "Ow!". Then he heard his mother's voice saying, "Be quiet Master Dwarf, you'll wake Eldarion up." Eldarion rolled his eyes.

"We have to send our armies to Isengard." Eldarion heard Gimli continue. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can put a stop to all this and continue with our pathetic lives."

"This devilry comes not from Isengard, Gimli," Aragorn's voice said. "But from a country that has been abandoned for years, or so we thought."

Eldarion could have sworn he heard a slight in take of breath from both Legolas and his sister. It was then that he knew where his father was talking about. Elemariel, Legolas, and Aragorn had hunted there for years. This was also where Legolas taught Elemariel how to shoot an arrow from a bow. After all, she was a Numorian elf, and everyone knew that they were not half as talented with bows as the Sindarin elves. Most men and elves feared this place and never set foot inside its borders. Aldoryth.

"You can't be speaking of Aldoryth, my friend, and if you are you are much mistaken." Boromir said to Aragorn. "There is not a single life form, not even the smallest plant that thrives in this place."

"You haven't seen it lately then, have you?" Gandalf asked Boromir. "The probability that Aragorn is correct in his assumption is high."

Eldarion could only imagine how well that went over. Boromir had a tendency to take it the wrong way when somebody corrected him. And yet the room was silent with thought.

"I'll scout the country." Eldarion heard his sister say. Yeah right, he thought to himself, like his mother would let her go alone.

"You know how dangerous it is, and you know we can't risk losing you. Gondor would be a wreck if they knew their royal family was losing some of its members. And what about Eldarion, how do we tell him where you've gone? He'll run off again, after you, since he's always been so determined to prove that he's as much of a warrior as his sister." This time it was Arwen's voice that spoke.

As argument broke out in the room between Elemariel and her mother and father, Eldarion slightly heard the door open and shut. Yet he heard no footsteps. He thought about leaving and making for his room, but his interest in the conversation held him to the spot.

"You shouldn't be listening to this." Eldarion jumped as he heard a voice in his ear. He whirled around and saw Legolas kneeling next to him.

"Will they let her go?" Eldarion asked. He knew that Legolas knew what he was talking about.

"Your father will, but not your mother. It's a shame, we could use a scout out there."

"Let me go."

"Eldarion, you can't. You're the heir to this throne, what if something happens to you? You've barely been trained as a warrior."

"I know that, but in this family it's always seemed to come naturally. You've got to let me do this Legolas. Please, let me prove that I'm ready to be looked on as a man, not a boy."

"You are a boy, Eldarion."

"I'll go whether you allow me to or not. I'm going to help this cause, and I'm going to make a name for myself."

"You don't even have a sword."

"I'll borrow Elemariel's sword."

"Elemariel's sword? She'll shoot you dead if she ever saw you holding it, much less if you stole it for your own personal use."

"Look, just let your sister handle it. I'll go with her if I have to, if it will make her mother see that she can take care of herself. I'll just be along for the ride."

"Eldarion? What are you doing here? You should be in bed." Elemariel had just appeared in the hallway where they sat.

"Just guess what he's out here for. I'm sure you'll come up with it on the first or second try." Legolas said.

Realization dawned on Elemariel's face.

"You were listening? Eldarion, that was a secret council, you can't listen when you've not been summoned."

"Save your speech, sister dearest. I've already been caught. Why don't you go lecture somebody else? Like Gimli, I hear he's got a lot wrong in his head."

Elemariel opened her mouth to speak, and it looked as if she was going to say something sarcastic. However Legolas grabbed her wrist and dragged her back to the council room.

"Goodnight Eldarion." Legolas said as he turned and walked away.