Hi everyone! Thanks for all your responses to this story. I must say I've been really looking forward to writing these next chapters as the romance starts to happen with both Legolas and Elfwine and I love writing romance. Hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Let me know.

Tower of Ice

Aragorn walked up to his panting son and put his arm around him. "Are you all right?" asked the King.

Eldarion glanced up at his father and then cast his eyes down to the dead ice man lying before him. Eldarion had never killed anyone before and the sight of another's blood dripping from his sword was an experience which confused his sense of right and wrong.

The ambush in which the ice men had planned that day was easily overcome. The ice men did not count on the sharp senses of the elves in the King's party and were detected before they could attack.

Eldarion ran into battle despite his father's yells to stay back. The King ran to battle at his side and made sure that his son survived this day. Eldarion was trained very well in weapons but there had not been opportunity until now to test those skills in a real life situation. He fought well and his father was proud of him although Aragorn could see how taking a life had affected his son. The King thought back to the first time he had seen real battle.

"You fought well, my son," Aragorn now told him. "Do not think past the fact that these men have taken your sister and they would have taken the lives of all who stand with you here today if they could have."

Eldarion looked at his father and then at the gathering group of men and elves behind him. He shook his head in agreement and grabbed a handful of snow to clean off the blade of his sword. Aragorn patted him on the back and turned to face the others.

"Has anyone seen any signs of our enemies' direction? We must not be too far behind as it seems these ice men have not been waiting for us overly long." The King looked around at the search parties and waited for a few words of hope.

A man came riding in quickly from the North in all urgency. He had been sent ahead to scout. "Sire, Sire…" the man now yelled as he approached, "a village is up ahead. It has been burnt to the ground. There are bodies all about and I have not seen any living."

Aragorn looked confused. "The ice men slaughter each other? Then perhaps they are not as united as we thought. We will go there and check for any survivors. I think perhaps the wizard has left us a large sign in which to follow. We will search in all directions from this village." Aragorn returned to his horse and noticed Lord Celeborn stepping down from his own mount.

He watched as Celeborn slowly approached a large bird perched upon a snow covered boulder. The bird cawed loudly at the majestic elf.

"Show yourself Radagast! This is no time to cower away in your bird disguise. Gilraen's life is in danger!" Celeborn snapped at the bird.

To the amazement of all, an old man now stood in front of the boulder dressed in brown robes. Many of the men in the search party gasped in surprise. Aragorn slid off his horse again and strode up next to Celeborn. "What news do you bring?" he said in desperation.

Radagast looked now at Aragorn and said, "His name is Falcroun the Red. He takes Gilraen to his tower. They will be there by nightfall."

"Have you seen them? Which direction is this tower? How many are with them? Tell me all." Aragorn urgently questioned.

Radagast shifted his gaze to Celeborn in sadness. Celeborn knew that the old wizard was blaming him for filling Gilraen's young mind with so much knowledge. More, perhaps, then he should have. Celeborn did not want to waste time lamenting on something that could not now be changed. "Tell the King what he wishes to know!" Celeborn now said.

Radagast looked back at the King. "I have seen them from above. There is around forty five or fifty ice men that travel, mostly with spears. I do not think that they were prepared for this. Taking Gilraen was a hasty decision. This will work to your advantage if you do not allow them time to organize. You must ride quickly to overcome them before they reach the tower as they have many more ice men there to fight against you."

"Let us go now!" Aragorn stated. "Will you lead us Radagast?"

Radagast nodded and returned again to his bird form, waiting for all to quickly mount. Off he flew, leading them towards the Tower of Ice.

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The sun was setting when Gilraen first laid eyes on the glistening tower of the red wizard. The closer they came, the more Gilraen realized that the entire tower was made of blocks of ice carefully fitted together. Spaces were left for smoke holes and windows. She also noticed that a large village of ice people surrounded the tower on all sides. The villagers now came out of their homes to see the return of their leader and gaze upon the spectacle of Gilraen. She was unlike anyone they had ever seen before with her elven features and fine clothing.

Ciril had circled around and began yelling to the men of the village to gather around him. He was going to prepare them for the possibility of war with the King's men.

Falcroun continued to pull Gilraen's horse behind his and he did not stop to listen to Ciril. He brought her up to the front doors of the tower and dismounted, waiting for her to do the same.

"Welcome to your new home Gilraen," Falcroun said with a flourish of his arm.

"You live here in this house of ice?" Gilraen asked. She looked at the thick blocks around the doorway in amazement. "It must be very cold."

Falcroun smiled at her. "It would seem that way. But it is not cold inside my dear, you shall see." The door was opened by a frightened servant who seemed to cower when Falcroun passed by as if he expected to be beaten. Falcroun ignored him, however, and turned his attention towards showing Gilraen the inside of the tower.

She was amazed to see a fire pit in the middle of the floor. The tower floor was covered with carpets and the furnishings were rich. "Does this tower not melt in the sun?" she asked in wonder.

Falcroun merely shrugged when he answered, "It may. But I can control the weather Gilraen. There will be no break from winter here." Falcroun now turned towards the servant. "Bring us food and drink," he ordered.

"I will have a room prepared for you Gilraen. I was not expecting your company, so while we wait, we can talk perhaps," Falcroun said to her as he indicated a bench against an icy wall.

Gilraen did not sit down. A foreboding feeling was filling her insides and she glared at the smooth talking wizard across from her. "I do not wish to talk," she said.

"I think perhaps that you do," Falcroun said as he lit some herbs on a table. The scent filled the air and Gilraen began to feel her mind cloud. She turned and walked to a window in the ice wall, seeking fresh air to breath.

"Lord Celeborn has burdened you with so much for one so young. Do you not wish to relieve yourself of these useless memories? Do you not wish to stop the terrible dreams that you have?" Falcroun said to her in a voice filled with false concern.

Gilraen looked at him suspiciously. Falcroun spoke with concern but she could sense the greed in his words as well. There was also something else she was sensing about him that made her fear him more.

Deceit.

Her quick mind realized that he would not keep his promise to her. He was overconfident in his abilities and thought that Gilraen would not be able to read his true intentions. He would give her to Ciril once she had given him what he wanted.

Gilraen, we are close. Do not despair. Lie to him. Keep yourself safe until we can retrieve you.

The voice of Celeborn startled her and she looked out of the window to search for any sign of her rescuers. She could not see them with her eyes but she felt their strength in her heart. A fresh hope rose up in her.

Falcroun noticed that Gilraen's demeanor had shifted and he now walked over to the window in which she stood. He looked over the icy landscape and tried to sense what she was sensing. Gilraen became alarmed that perhaps she had given herself away and she quickly began to think of something to say to the wizard to distract him.

"I would very much like not to have such dreams anymore," she told him. "How can you stop them?"

Falcroun began to feel excited by the fact that Gilraen was seemly cooperating with him. He had thought that he would have to take her memories by force, but now he was beginning to sense that she would be more accommodating. He walked away from the window and sat on the bench once again.

"It will not be hard to do Gilraen," he explained. "Come sit with me and share your thoughts as you do with Celeborn. Let me see what is in your mind and I can remove the bad memories for you. You will not have to have such dreams again."

Grandfather, what shall I do?

She pleaded for help as she gazed at the waiting Falcroun. The voice that answered her in her mind was not Celeborn, however, but one that filled her with joy.

Legolas!

Gilraen, do not look out the window again. I am here. I can see you. You must not let him know that I am here.

Her heart filled with hope and she found it extremely difficult not to turn her head and look for him outside. She turned her eyes down to the floor as if she were in deep thought. Falcroun would not be able to read her emotions as well if she did not look at him. "I do not know," she told Falcroun. "It is very draining on me and I am tired. Perhaps after I rest we can share these things."

The wizard stared at her, trying to figure out if her intentions were true

You have come alone? Where is my father?

She feared that Legolas would be caught and harmed.

They are near, waiting to know that you are safe with me. They will not attack until they know that the wizard cannot use you as a shield against them. Try to convince him to let you rest Gilraen.

"Please, will you allow me to sleep for a few hours? The travel has been hard for me." Gilraen now said.

Falcroun squinted his eyes in suspicion. The girl was not a good liar. He had felt a shift in her feelings a moment ago, a happiness that was highly unusual given her situation.

Falcroun rose off his bench and walked over to her. His expression was no longer friendly and he grabbed her arm harshly. "You think me a fool? Who is talking to you in your pretty little head?" He looked around for the servant who had just brought food in for the table. "Go alert Ciril that the King is near!"

Gilraen's eyes opened in fright. She glanced around for anything that could possibly help her. An image of her grandmother, Galadriel, snapped into her mind. In this quick vision, Galadriel was pointing at something extremely bright. The vision was soon gone as Falcroun began dragging her towards the bench.

"We have run out of time for niceties Gilraen. You will show me what you know now!" Falcroun yelled at her. He shoved her onto the bench and grabbed her head in his hands to force her to look at him. Gilraen kicked and swatted at him.

Then the sound of an arrow whizzed through the air and the sickening smack of it entering Falcroun's neck was heard. The wizard released Gilraen's head and stood up screeching in pain and looking towards the cause of it. Standing on the icy blocked window sill was Legolas, bow at the ready for another strike.

Falcroun grabbed at his staff as Legolas shot him with another arrow to his chest. The angry wizard almost fell on his staff, but managed to fling his arm out towards Legolas. Legolas felt a great force knock him backwards and out the window into a bank of snow below.

Falcroun was breathing hard with pain. But his anger gave him strength as he began stumbling towards the window to finish the elf off.

Then the force of Gilraen's body knocked him to the ground as she threw herself onto him from behind. Reaching quickly into the leather satchel that was tied onto the wizard's belt, she pulled out the Silmaril and held it up to his cheek, pressing with all her might. She shut her eyes but held on with all her strength as she heard the wizard's skin sizzle and burn. His screams were echoing throughout the icy tower. He tried to move and throw her off his back but she had wrapped her other hand around his long grey hair and was holding tight.

She was determined to not let go until he no longer moved or made a sound. She could not let him kill Legolas! She kept her eyes tightly shut as the Silmaril was very bright and she had no wish to see the burning of the wizard. The stone felt cool in her hand as she had no evil in her heart for it to vanquish.

Then she felt two hands upon her waist pulling her up and off the wizard. Gilraen struggled a bit until she opened her eyes and looked back at the elf now holding her to his body. "He is dead now, Gilraen," he said as he squinted at the bright light in her hand.

She dropped the bright stone onto the floor and turned her body into his arms. Her arms wrapped around Legolas and held him tightly as she released the tears she had been holding back, sobbing onto his chest.

Legolas wrapped his arms around her tighter and rested his cheek on the top of her head while she cried. Relief washed over him that he had found her alive. He closed his eyes, feeling her soft hair on his face and the warming feel of her in his arms. His cheek moved along the top of her head in a caress and suddenly he found his lips placing a small kiss on her forehead.

He heard a little gasp as Gilraen's wet eyes now looked up into his. The kiss had shocked her as it was so tender and lover like. Legolas had never shown her such affection before.

Legolas now realized that he had acted without thinking. "Forgive me," he said as his arms dropped to his sides. "We must leave quickly. I can hear now that the battle has started outside the village."

Gilraen had not heard anything up till then, so distracted by Legolas was she. She now turned her head towards the window and heard the sounds of swords clashing and men yelling in the distance.

She felt Legolas grab her hand and start to lead her towards the door.

"Wait," she cried. She ran back in the room and picked up the Silmaril. She wrapped it in her cloak and went back to where Legolas was standing. He was staring at her in question.

"Yes, it is what you are thinking it is," she said with a small smile. She could see that this news amazed him. "I will tell you more later," she said as she took his hand once again and they headed out the door. Surprisingly there was no one guarding the tower and they were able to slip away on a path in which Legolas had created earlier.

"The villagers must all be at the battle," Legolas mused. "This Ciril is an ignorant captain to leave things so poorly managed." They reached his waiting horse and he helped Gilraen up behind him.

"He is the least intelligent person I have ever had the dishonor to meet," Gilraen told him as she put her arms around him to hold on.

Feeling her arms around him and knowing how she felt about him made Legolas's heart beat faster in his chest. Never in all his long years had a maiden affected him so. He had admired many beautiful maidens in his lifetime and had courted some that his father had recommended to him, but always absent was the feeling he found himself now experiencing. Never had a maiden unnerved him and made him question his thoughts.

Never, until now.

He rode away from the battle sounds, determined to get Gilraen to safety as was the plan. He was aware of every place in which her body was touching his as she held on behind him. When he felt her head lower to rest against his back his pulse quickened in excitement.

Then he began to berate himself for these feelings. Think of what she has just went through, he told himself. I will not be another beast who covets her body! Aragorn should kill me for having these thoughts! I would deserve it!

Legolas resolved to get his feelings under control as he knew this was hardly the time for such things. There were many things to consider and he always prized himself for his ability to be rational and reasonable. He did not know what was to be done about these feelings, if anything. He needed time to sort this all out. Yet… feelings such as these, felt most urgent.

Coming up: Our love triangle heats up! What will Gilraen do?

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