Chapter 23

Legolas started from his sleep as his oldest sister screamed. He had not meant to sleep, but apparently his body had been worn out enough to ignore his powerfull will.

"What's wrong?" he asked,looking around for what had scared her so, but seeing nothing.
Limloeth was still asleep, twisting, turning,and fighting her dreams.
"Leave me!" she screamed.
"Legolas," he heard his youngest sister say. "What is wrong with Limloeth?"
"She is just dreaming Lainfea, I'll wake her up."
"I'll help! I like waking people," the little girl said happily and skipped towards the water, taking the empty waterskin with her.

"Lainfea, no! Wait..." Legolas said, but he was interrupted by his older sister.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Limloeth screamed.
"I didn't do anything!" Lanthir said grumpily as he woke, not realizing she was not addressing him.
Legolas smiled. "Guilty conscience?"

His brother ignored the question and looked at their sister instead. "Is she dreaming?"
Legolas nodded and knelt beside his sister.
"Limloeth, wake up. Come on... It's only a dream," he said, waving his hand slowly in front of her eyes. Lanthir reached her other side. "Come on, Lim, just wake up and it will be over. You just have to blink," the younger brother said.

Limloeth gave no sign she had heard them, but kept fighting and screaming.

Legolas was worried. He was familiar with nightmares, all the siblings were; it was a knowledge that was naturally connected with living in Mordor. However, never before had it taken one of them this long to wake up. "Come on,
Limloeth..." he kept repeating. "You are stronger than this, I know you are."

"This is not a dream," Lanthir said suddenly.
Legolas tried to understand his brother's meaning. "What do you think it is then? She is not awake either."
Lanthir shrugged. "I just know it is not a dream. If it was a dream, she would have realized it somehow. Besides, it feels... different. Like she is in danger. Something isn't right..."

"I am not dead," Limloeth whispered. "I'm Limoeth Thranduilliel, and I will not join you, for I am not dead. Please... I am not dead. Leave me. Please." Her voice softened until it died.
"Limloeth?" Legolas asked. "Limloeth, come back to us. We need you." Legolas grabbed her hand but almost dropped it. "She feels like ice," he told Lanthir with a hoarse voice.

His brother didn't listen but kept his eyes fixed upon Limloeth's own. "Her eyes," he whispered. "Look at her eyes."

Limloeth's eyes were no longer the brown eyes that reminded Legolas so much of his mother. They were constantly changing, from blue, to green and even to the yellow, blood-streaked eyes of and orc once. It was as if a thousand souls stayed inside Limloeth's body, fighting to peer out of the window of her eyes. Legolas felt sick of fear, but then her sister spoke again.

"I'm Limloeth Thranduilliel," she whispered a second time. "I. Am. Limloeth. Thranduilliel." Her eyelids shivered a few times as if she was trying to wake up and then they closed.

"NO!" Lanthir yelled in anger.

Legolas did the only thing he could think of. He fiercely slapped his sister in the face, mentally apologizing as he did so.
Her eyes shot open, back to their usual brown,and she blinked a couple of times.
"Legolas?" Limloeth asked weakly.

Legolas let out all the breath he didn't even knew he had held. He hugged his sister. "Oh Lim... I'm so glad to see you."
"Wait," Lanthir said. "How do we know it is really her? We have to make sure. Ask something... Lim.. What is your favorite color?"

Limloeth gave her little brother a glare.
"Come on, Lim.. say something."
Legolas could feel his sister sigh.
"The color of your blood is all that comes to mind right now," she said.
"See!" Lanthir told his brother. "Limloeth's favorite color is green. I told you..."
"LANTHIR!" Limloeth interrupted. "Will you stop being the most annoying person upon his earth for two seconds and respect the fact that I have a huge headache!"

Legolas grinned and looked at his brother, who was staring at Limloeth.
"Lanth..." Legolas said, trying not to laugh out loud. "I wouldn't worry. It's definatly her."

The two older siblings watched, grins on their faces, as Lanthir stamped off to the other side of their camp. Then Limloeth grabbed her head in pain.
"Legolas, you have to promise me something," she said, her voice full of pain. Legolas face was serious once more.
"Anything," he said.
"As long as we are here, I will not sleep again. Promise me that you will not let me sleep. Promise!" she demanded.

Legolas hesitated. He could see the bruised and scars on her body. He could see the dark circles that had returned under her eyes. She needed to rest.

She needed to rest so she could heal herself.

"What happened? What happens when you are sleeping?" he asked his sister,trying to understand what she was asking him to prevent.

His sister paled and stared in the distance. It was no longer dark, but the lights had not gone away. They had stayed on the horizon, begging the elves to follow them, inviting them.

"Limloeth?" Legolas asked, waving his hand in front of her eyes. "What happens when you sleep?"
"They come," she said quietly. "They come, and I'm not awake to stop them from entering."
"What?" Legolas asked, not understanding. "What do you mean? Who comes?"
His sister stared at the distance again. "Them," she said as the nodded at the lights. "The souls of the warriors that died here."
"Orc souls?" he said, not believing a thing like that existed.

Limloeth shook her head. "Sometimes, but I can handle those. It are the elf souls that are most dangerous. They are so strong..." She stared at the distant lights again.
"I don't understand," Legolas said. If they are elves, why would they try to hurt you?"

Limloeth shook her head. "They are not trying to hurt me," she tried to explain. "They are only trying to get out of here. To get to the Halls of the Waiting. My body offers them a change. They want to be out of there so badly, but if they take over my body, I am stuck here. Don't let me get stuck here, Legolas. Promise, you will not leave me here."

"Why don't they try to enter my brain? Why don't they try to take over Lanthir's body?"
Limloeth smiled a bit sadly.
"They do try, Legolas, but your minds are closed. You have better defense walls built around them. I was silly enough to open mine. I need to be open, to be able to heal." She shrugged. "I can't really explain."

However, Legolas had gotten the general idea.
"I will keep you awake," he said, taking her hand in his. "I promise."

She sighed, relieved, and they sat together in silence for a while. Legolas found himself staring at the lights with her.
"Are you sure they are elves" he asked.
Limloeth nodded. "And men as well; warriors from the Last Alliance. Orcs too. All those who died and were left here."
"I can understand why they want to leave..." Legolas said.

Limloeth's face grimaced in pain. "Me too," she whispered. "I can understand so well."

Lanthir strode upto them, his anger at his sibling's teasing forgotten as he had realized something.

"Legolas?" he asked "Where is Lainfea?"
Legolas answered without thinking. "Oh, she just went to get some water to throw over Limloeth to wake her up," he said And then he realized that that happened far too long ago.

Lanthir stared at him. His face was white, his eyes wide. "She went to get water? Valar no..." he whispered faintly, and then sprinted off as fast as he could.

Legolas and Limloeth looked at each other.
"What is wrong with the water? She can swim, right?" Limloeth asked her brother.
But Legolas remembered the look on his brother's face when he had talked about the water last night.

"We'd better follow," he said, fearing the worst.

TBC

CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur : I'm so terribly sorry. I totally forgot to anwer your review..
I hope I made up for it by posting this chapter.

SORRY!

Liek