Disclaimer: Don't own any of the recognizable characters. Nope. Not one. There have been several kidnapping attempts aimed at Legolas, and one for the twins, but the stupid human just keeps getting in the way. Guess that I'll have to get him out of the picture first, won't I? Also, the only profit that I turn from writing this is the lovely reviews that you'll be leaving.

Authors Note: Well, thanks for reading this everybody! Arialas was kind enough to point out to me that I have been spelling Elladan wrong up to this chapter. Smacks head and runs away to sit in corner If anybody else catches any more foolish errors like this, please drop a review about it. Or shoot me. Whichever one's easier.

Chapter 3:

Legolas awoke with the first rays of the sun. He didn't arise immediately, taking a minute to assess himself. The episode from last night had frightened him quite a bit more than he had let on. He had felt fine upon his arrival. The trip to Rivendell had been an easy one, even a relaxing one, especially after the tension of being back with his overly stressed father. He hadn't begun to feel that something was off until much later on in the evening, after he had gone swimming with Estel and the twins. It had begun slowly, a dull ache in the back of his head. The pain had steadily increased. Just when Legolas had almost been worried, the pain leveled out, just above a throb. Legolas was satisfied with the pain no longer increasing, and turned his attention to greeting his old friend, the elm tree that grew over the pool.

What is wrong Legolas? The tree asked him, detecting his discomfort the minute that they touched.

Nothing. My head hurts. I'm not sure why though. He replied, swallowing a lump of uncertainty that had formed in his throat. He wondered if maybe it was something important after all.

Well, let me see if I can do anything for you.

Thank you. Legolas replied, glad that the tree was so kind-hearted. Many of the trees in Mirkwood were being eaten away at by the long lingering evil of Sauron, and even some of the ones closer to his protected home were getting mean.

Legolas was assailed by a fresh throb of pain, it hit him at exactly the same instant that the tree entered his mind. The tree's leaves all rustled suddenly without a breeze, the equivalent of a sharp exhalation from a human. It pulled back with the lessening of the throbbing sensation.

It is an odd ailment…I do not know what could have caused it, my friend, but I do not think that I can help.

At that moment, Estel reached his branch. Legolas smiled at his best friend, and then leaned back into the crook formed by the tree's branches and the trunk. "So, how are you my friend?" Legolas asked the tree in Sindarian, smiling warmly, vocalizing his question for the benefit of his mortal friend. It is probably just a stress headache. Do not worry, it will go away. He thought to it.

The night wore on, and the tree spoke to him of all that occurred since the last time that they had met. His headache eased up some as he relaxed, but it was decidedly still there. He began to feel tired. His throat was raw. He sang, wanting to turn his mind to something else. His voice sounded hoarse, but he didn't think that it was noticeable. A couple of minutes later, however, his voice cracked. Estel shot him a look. Elladan and Elrohir had finally climbed out of the water, and joined them in the tree. Elladan asked him if he was all right. Estel seemed to think that he was tired from his trip, and after thinking on it for a minute, Legolas decided that his strange headache probably had something to do with all of the stress that he had been dealing with lately, so he agreed, and accepted Elladan's suggestion at an early bedtime tonight.

He climbed down out of the tree, the throbbing sensation lessening a little as they walked towards Rivendell. He sang on the way, and though his voice was hoarse, his heart was light, and he basked in the company of his best friends. Legolas drank a cup of strong tea as soon as he got back to his room. This helped considerably, and by the time that he laid down to go to sleep, the dull throb was barely noticeable. He slept quite comfortably. Upon finding that all traces of his headache had vanished, Legolas jumped out of bed and began getting prepared for the day. He bathed and cleaned his teeth.

Considerably refreshed, Legolas pulled on a fluffy white bathrobe, and walked back into his room. He picked up his comb and sat on the end of his bed, running it through his still-damp hair thoughtfully. What had caused his headache last night? He wasn't sick, and elves weren't prone to migraines, which was what he had had symptoms of last night, according to Estel. He quickly dismissed the idea of poison. There had been no chance for someone to poison him since he had been in Mirkwood several days ago, and he didn't know of any poisons that were that slow acting. Perhaps he would ask Elrond about it later, if he had a mind to, but for the moment Legolas chalked his mysterious headache up to all of the stress that he had built up while in Mirkwood's sudden release upon his arrival in Rivendell. He had just finished combing his hair out, and was beginning to braid it when Estel burst in.

" Good morning Legolas!" He said brightly. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, thanks. Too much stress released too quickly. My brain couldn't process my feeling so good." He joked.

"Well, it's good to see you up so early. Lots to do today. Have you eaten yet?"

"Does it look like I've eaten yet?"

Aragorn looked pointedly at Legolas's bathrobe and half-braided hair. "No."

"Sharpest ranger in middle earth? Pfft, I don't want to think of what kind of observational skills lesser humans must have" Legolas taunted. Aragorn didn't rise to the bait. "Yes, and look at you! It takes you longer to get ready than it does Arwen. Fine warrior you are. You would miss the battle in order to braid your hair properly."

"I wouldn't go quite that far…" Legolas replied contritely, finishing the last braid. "There, all ready." The two walked slowly down to the dining hall, enjoying the peace and quiet of the deserted halls. The dining hall only contained a few people, the real early risers, although most of the population would be awaking fairly soon. Elrond was sitting in his place, eating a bowl of fresh fruit and drinking tea, pouring over one of his books.

"Good morning Ada!" Aragorn exclaimed, plopping down next to Elrond and swiping a strawberry.

"Indeed it is. Get your own food."

"Legolas is getting it."

"Oh, so he is feeling better than?"

"Excuse me?"

"Elladan said that he was not feeling too well last night."

"Ah, yes, he had a bit of a headache. From all of the stress. He feels perfectly all right today"

"Well that's good to know-good morning Legolas!" Elrond said, turning to Legolas as he approached, balancing a tray of fruit and pastries on one hand, and one with milk and juice on it on the other.

"Good morning lord Elrond." Legolas replied, setting the trays down on the table.

"Good morning Legolas. How are you?"

"Just fine, thank you very much."

" That's good to know. I trust that all goes well in Mirkwood, what with you being back so soon."

"Soon! It's been two weeks."

"Well, with political dealings, I would consider that soon."

"uh-huh. Well, yes. Everything is fine. Just working out some kinks with the neighbors."

"Ah. Border disputes. It is surprising indeed that you are back this soon. But enough chatter. Look! Estel has already finished his breakfast!"

"And he is starting on yours." Aragorn said through a mouthful of pastry.

" Oh no you don't." Legolas admonished, "You'll lose that shapely figure of yours". He swiped the pastry out of Aragorn's hand.

Aragorn shot him a look of mock indignation, but quickly retreated back to his own seat, allowing Legolas to sit down. The pair ate their breakfasts quickly, both feeling that they had a lot to accomplish that day, and the hours were already fleeing away from them. First they would go to the archery range. Legolas had not had a chance to practice archery for almost three weeks now, and was convinced that he would lose his skill.

They walked across the sprawling green lawn of Rivendell, The targets just visible in the distance, rising up out of the early morning fog.

Reviewer Responses:

Invisigoth3: Wow. You like my title? Weirdo. I suck at titles. So, anyway, sorry about the super long-updateness. I've been extremely busy, and spent a few days just jotting down my thoughts, without structuring them. What a nightmare to edit! I'm never "just jotting" My thoughts down again. Thanks for reviewing again!

SmilingDragonGirl: Wow! Another long review! I Loooove long reviews. Well, I'm glad that you liked it so far. And if you think that the end of the last chapter was a cliffie… Well I don't know what the heck the end of this chapter is. It kinda just ends right where I should've put two more pages, but I didn't want to make people wait longer.

Deana: Here was your chappie. Hope that you liked it. I'll try to get four up soon.

Scoliosis: Sorry that the update took so long. I'll try to get four out a lot sooner.

DarkStarofMirkwood: Well, I don't think that I'm gonna tell you why quite yet. Ten bucks if you can guess 

Heraldtalia: Well, same thing to you. I won't tell you yet, but you can go ahead and try to guess. You never will. cackles

Jadeyuy: Well I'm guessing that this chapter had left you even more confused, so sorry about that!

Arialas: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Gosh! Imagine if I had spelled it wrong for my whole fic! Wow. And the really horrible thing is that I totally knew how to spell it, and just suck at life…and thinking about that I'm doing…Things like that. If I missed anything else in this chapter feel free to point it out to me.

Elven Hope: Yes, we're all suckers for elf tourture. And believe me, there will be some very heavy elf angst a few chapters in the future. I've barely begun being mean to dear little Leggy.