Yep, I did tell you that I'm feeling generous so here's the second chapter for today! Enjoy!

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Legolas woke up with a start, his hands automatically reaching for his blades. But he quickly relaxed when he realized that the sound he had heard just now was nothing but the popping of the burning logs in the fire, several yards away.

Stretching languidly, he sat up straighter and looked up at the lightening sky. It was near dawn. Who knew how long he had been asleep. The last thing he remembered was sitting against the wagon wheel, singing softly in the night as he bathed down his brother's fever. It looked like he had been put to sleep by his own voice.

Legolas shook his head and berated himself for dozing off while watching over his brother. Glancing briefly at the still unconscious Keldarion, he stood to toss more twigs into the fire. Satisfied that the flame was big enough to last till morning, he returned to his brother's side.

Gently, he lifted Keldarion's head and placed it on his lap. Stroking his brother's face, Legolas was glad to know that Keldarion's fever was already broken. He was still warm, but not too warm. The only thing that worried Legolas right now was that his brother still had not regained consciousness. When the hot blade was placed on his wound, Keldarion had screamed bloody murder and promptly fainted. He had not even stirred since.

As Keldarion lay quite comatose following that crude surgery, Legolas had taken the opportunity to straighten up the 'hijacked' camp. He had dragged the corpses away and dumped them all in one spot before going through the dead men's belongings for more water skins and some clothes. He had also rummaged around in the wagon until he had found a couple of clean blankets, which he then spread over Keldarion's shuddering form. Next, when he was sure that his brother was in total safety and not in any danger of succumbing to his wound, Legolas had rushed up the hill to retrieve their packs and mounts. When he had returned back to the camp, Keldarion's condition looked no better or less.

Running his hand through his brother's soft black hair—as much for comfort as giving it—Legolas began a silent prayer. He knew that Keldarion's injury was no longer life threatening, but he couldn't help but hope that his elder brother would not fall into a relapse, or worse, develop blood poisoning. If that happened, he had no other choice but to rush back to Minas Tirith to give Keldarion the proper treatment. Legolas hated to abandon the search for Eldarion. But if he had to choose, his brother's life would have to come first.

Keldarion's sudden moan yanked Legolas' gaze downward. His older brother was finally stirring, thank the Valar.

"Kel? You've awakened?" he softly asked.

Keldarion blinked to awareness, staring somewhat dazedly at his brother. "I…I don't know. Am I?"

That caused Legolas to grin. He raised his hand. "That's easy to find out. Tell me, how many fingers do you see?"

"I see two. And if you don't take those fingers out of my face right away, I'm going to shove them right up your nose," Keldarion sweetly replied.

Legolas laughed and embraced his brother. "That's it; you are definitely awake, big brother. How are you feeling, really?"

Not bothering to reply, Keldarion determinedly pushed himself to a sitting position. That, however, turned out to be a big mistake, as great pain instantly exploded in his chest, causing him to cry out in anguish.

Shaking his head, Legolas gently pushed his brother back onto his sleeping pallet. "You are moving too fast and too soon, Kel. Your wound is still very tender. Rest easy now. I'll get you some water."

Cursing under his breath at the constant pain and his own hastiness, Keldarion glared at the bandage neatly wrapped around his upper torso. There were several spots of blood on the white cloth, he saw, but nothing major. Still, he yanked the blanket up to his chin lest his brother notice the bloodied bandage and make a great fuss over it.

"Here, drink," Legolas said. He helped hold the water skin as his brother slowly wet his throat.

"Enough. No more." Keldarion feebly pushed the water skin away when he finished. He briefly closed his eyes, panting from exhaustion. When he reopened his eyes, he found his brother giving him a nervous frown. Weakly, he chuckled.

"You know, Legolas, this is why I fear to have children."

The younger prince was perplexed when hearing that. "Excuse me? What are you talking about?"

Keldarion's chuckles broke off as he winced in pain, clutching at his wounded chest. His voice was grave when he said, "If…if I have a son or daughter, someday I might leave them fatherless."

For several long heartbeats, Legolas gaped at his brother, totally speechless.

"Kel," he said quietly, "You are not going to die."

"Yes, well, I was about to," Keldarion responded with a light snort.

"But you didn't."

"I'm not invincible, Legolas. No one is. Death comes without warning."

Legolas sighed. Lowering his head, he squeezed his brother's hand. "Really, Kel, do we really need to discuss such dismal matters?"

For a while, Keldarion was silent. His eyes were exceptionally bright as he gazed deeply at his brother's magnificent features, so different and yet so alike to his. Then, gazing at their joined hands, he spoke, "I'm not afraid of dying, brother. It's leaving behind my loved ones that scares me so."

Looking up, Legolas opened his mouth to say something. He then changed his mind when he saw the grim expression on Keldarion's face, as if his older brother was about to make a thorough confession to him. Whatever it was, it must have everything to do with his current estrangement with his human wife, Aislinn.

Keldarion cleared his throat before he continued, "One of the things that makes me so afraid to have children is that I…I don't know if I can be a good father to them."

Legolas stared incredulously at his brother. "That's nonsense! You will be a good father. I saw the way you handled my twin boys. I saw how gentle and patient you were with them. Like Nara once said, you are the ultimate father material!"

Smiling, Keldarion replied, "Ultimate father material am I? What did she say about you then? The ultimate husband material?"

With a naughty grin, his head cocked to one side, Legolas pretended to be thoughtful. "Actually, yes, she did say that."

He then shook his head at his brother. "But that's beside the point. What I'm trying to tell you is that when you have a child, you will forget all the fears and anxiety that has been plaguing you. You might think you are a terrible father now, but when you hold your son or daughter in your arms, you will immediately know that nothing will stop you from giving your child the love and protection he or she deserves. If you have already shown it with my twins, what make you think that you would do any worst with your own children?"

Keldarion looked gratefully at his brother, but he still seemed a little sad. "I've become a changed person, Legolas. After the Corsairs captured me and made me their slave, some light in my heart died. It took me no great effort to turn from a warrior into a cold-blooded murderer. I've told you everything of what I did to my former captors. I've done many evil things to them to get my vengeance. I'm not proud of it, but I won't regret it either. You know how black my heart had become, little brother. I don't want any of that blackness to spread down to my children."

Like a fish, Legolas' mouth opened and closed repeatedly for a full second.

"Are you telling me that you think your blood is stained and that you don't deserve to have offspring?" He whacked his brother upside the head. "Kel, you are so dense!"

"Hey!" Keldarion protested, rubbing his smarting head. "What did you do that for?"

"To make you see reason!" Legolas retorted. "Really, Kel. Is this why you up and left your wife in Mirkwood and drove me up the wall with your strange moodiness? Valar! I feel like strangling you!"

"But I was just telling you the truth! This is what I really feel!"

"Well, let me tell you what I feel; it's baseless." Legolas shook his head. "Sincerely, Kel, for someone so smart you can be terribly dumb sometimes. Let me remind you that every child born into the world is so pure they are like a piece of white cloth. It is the parents' responsibility to give their children the appropriate colors—be it blue or green or yellow or red. It's your choice, to decorate the canvas of your child's life. If you want it black, then black it is. Only you can decide. Remember, it is the parent's current actions that will shape a child's character, not the past deeds of his or her sire."

For a long time, Keldarion gazed at his younger brother without speaking, his eyes slightly glistening. When he finally spoke, his voice was a bit unsteady with emotions, "You know, Legolas, you sound a lot like our father. Did he give you some…uh…tips for such speech?"

Legolas just laughed. "Why? Did I sound too smart to you?"

"Yes, too smart it creeps me out." Keldarion faked a shudder. Smiling, he turned away to look at the dancing flame. Thinking of his wife, though, caused his smile to slowly fade.

Legolas saw this, and knew that their talk was not over yet. "What is it, Kel? What else do you need to tell me?"

Stabbed by anxiety, Keldarion swallowed. "I'm still scared, Legolas."

"What are you afraid of? Do you still think you're not fit to be a father?"

"It's not that. It's just that…" Keldarion released a heavy sigh of despair, and looked straight at his brother. "I'm afraid for Aislinn."

"Why would you be?"

"She has been begging me for years to give her a child to carry, but I just can't do it, Legolas. I can't see her pregnant. What if she dies when she gives birth to our child?"

Legolas' eyes widened when he finally realized what Keldarion's trouble really was. His brother was afraid that his wife would die the same way their mother did!

"Kel…"

"Don't take this wrongly, Legolas. I'm not blaming you for what happened to our mother. In fact, you are the best gift she has ever given me in my entire life. But I can never forget that day, when I paced for hours in front of her chamber as she fought with her own life to bring you into the world. I banged at the door when I heard her scream with pain, but no one would let me in. They said that she had fallen down the stairs, and that she had hemorrhaged because of it. She insisted in bringing you out then and there for fear that it would kill you along with her. When you were born, you looked so small and delicate we thought you might not last a day. In the end, it was mother who died. She, a strong beautiful elven queen, gave up her life for the love of her son."

By then, tears were already rolling down Keldarion's cheeks. "Mother had lost her fight, so how can I be assured that my wife, a mere mortal, would survive through childbirth? Oh, I do want children, Legolas, very badly. I envy you your twins. They are so perfect and beautiful that I want another pair of them for my own. But should I put Aislinn through all the pain just to get what I want only to regret it later? Ai, Valar. I'm so torn. I don't know what to do…"

Weeping himself, Legolas soothingly stroked his brother's head, whispering some endearments. "I know what you need to do, Kel. You have to talk to Aislin—and I mean a true heart to heart talk. Tell her everything. Let her know your fears. Your wife is a good and smart woman. I believe she knows what to say to you to cease your worry, if you would only listen to her. It's her body, her womb that would carry the child for nine months. Who are you to say that she is not strong enough to become a mother? She is not going to die at childbirth simply because our mother did. These are two different persons with two different circumstances. Look, Kel, whether you believe this or not, I think that not only are you going to dandle your children on your knees, but also your grandchildren."

Brushing his tears away, Keldarion smiled. "You make it sound so wonderful."

"It is wonderful so stop making it so bloody hard," Legolas stressed on, wiping his wet eyes against his sleeve. "Take one thing at a time and you are going to do fine. Trust me, I've been there. I do get paralyzed by fear once in a while but…Oh, for the joy of being a father! There's no words to describe it."

"Your word is enough to convince me." Keldarion nodded. "All right, little brother. I'll talk to Aislinn when I get home—if we get home, that is."

"Don't jinx it." Legolas warned with a mock glare. "We will get home. In fact, I'm thinking of turning back to Minas Tirith so that you can get the proper rest and some medicine…"

"No!" Keldarion all but shouted. He immediately winced and groaned out loud from the sudden pain in his chest. "We must…not go home until we find Darion. I'll be all right. You said so yourself."

"Sometimes I have no idea who is the most stubborn between us two." Legolas rolled his eyes. He gently placed his brother's head on a folded blanket and rose to her feet. "Are you hungry? I found some leftover soup in a pot."

Keldarion grimaced. "You mean, you can stomach the food of the people that we killed?"

"Why not? They don't need it anymore, but we surely do." Legolas wryly grinned. "Or do you want me to cook?"

"You? Cook?" Holding his throat in one hand, Keldarion made a gagging sound. "Ai! Elbereth save me from food poisoning! Thank you for offering, Legolas, but I have to decline. I don't want to jeopardize my virility. Now get me the blasted soup."

Chortling with mirth, Legolas walked towards a small black pot sitting next to the fire. He lifted the lid, and was instantly assailed by the tasty aroma of mixed carrot and mushroom soup. His stomach rumbled involuntarily with hunger. Muttering to himself, Legolas searched around for a cup or a bowl to scoop out the soup.

And then he froze when he suddenly sensed a strange presence near the camp. He felt like he was being watch. His face composed, Legolas calmly walked back to his brother's side. Keldarion was staring hard at him, for he also had sensed it.

Giving his brother a brief wink, Legolas picked up his bow, nocked an arrow into position and aimed it at a point somewhere in the darkness. "Whoever you are, come out now or I have no other choice but to shoot you. Believe me, I never miss."

Tense silence reigned for a several seconds.

Shortly after, someone spoke, "I believe you, my friend. In fact, I know firsthand how dangerous you are with that bow."

A tall golden-haired man came into view. He was bare-chested and smiling from ear to ear as he approached the camp. "Hello, Legolas, Keldarion. Long time no see."

Legolas slowly lowered his bow, his mouth gaping open.

Keldarion gasped, blinking rapidly like an owl.

They knew the man. He was the famous draq named Gallard, or more well-known as the King of the Tasqamaran.

In other words, Hawkeye the eagle had returned…in the flesh.

TBC…

I hope I'm not too late, but I would like to take this opportunity to wish Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there! We love you moms!