Story Name: Dark of Night
Pen Name: Elena Roan
Disclaimer: Don't own any of them, written purely for enjoyment.
Rating: M
Warnings: very dark
Summary: When Legolas journeys from Mirkwood to Rivendell seeking answers to his unease and troubling dreams, little does he realise what awaits him and his gwador.
Editor: Michelle
Timeline: III 2990 (Aragorn 59 years old)
Note: AragornStriderEstel

Chapter 4: Dark Discoveries

The five horses slowed to a stop as they reached the clearing just over a day's ride from base camp. Near the centre still lay the remains of Strider's horse, and from the appearance it was still untouched by scavengers. Raven had described the horse as having been savaged, that description was a big understatement; all four of the elves found themselves hoping that the poor animal had been dead before the wounds had been inflicted.

With a grave glance at each other Elladan and Elrohir dismounted and moved over to the horse. They'd known the horse was dead, but had had no idea it was this bad. The two blond elves dismounted slower and neither appeared in any hurry to go to the horse, if any of his companions had been in a position to see his face they would have seen dread flit through Legolas' eyes.

Glorfindel followed Legolas as he slowly moved in the direction of the horse, then took a few quick steps to gain the other elf's side, reaching out a hand to grip his shoulder as the prince seemed to sway slightly in the dimming light.

"Legolas? Are you well?" he asked softly, the question causing both twins to snap their heads around to regard the pair.

The twins looked at each other and after a quick silent conference Elrohir stood and quickly made his way to the two blond elves while Elladan continued the inspection.

"What is it?" the raven haired elf asked as he reached them, noting as he did so that Legolas did not seem to be looking at the reality around them but rather looking deeper into the unseen world.

"Darkness has melded itself with the plants here," The prince answered, though it seemed almost as if he had not heard the question. "Danger dwelt here, it has left its mark. Darkness long forgotten has shrouded this place. The trees shriek from it, the plants whimper, the animals shy away."

Elrohir was just starting to absorb what his friend was saying when he nearly leapt out of his skin as Legolas' eyes snapped up to meet his.

"We cannot stay here," The prince stated.

"Very well," Elladan answered softly from behind Elrohir, having abandoned his inspection when his attention was caught by the prince's words. "We shall camp elsewhere tonight and return tomorrow to search for tracks."

After they received a short nod from the prince Elrohir moved past him towards where Raven stood with the horses.

"Is there somewhere close by where we can camp for the night?"

Raven looked surprised. "Would it not be better to camp here? It is getting dark."

Elrohir shook his head. "Darkness has claimed this clearing, there will be no rest if we stay here."

"Well...," Raven said thoughtfully, though he was obviously puzzled, "there is a cave nearby, would that work?"

Elrohir hesitated for a moment and glanced back at Legolas, surprisingly receiving a nod in answer and turned back to the Ranger. "Yes, as long as it is not home to the shadow."

Raven looked at him oddly but led the way to the cave. The elves waited only long enough to get Legolas' nod of agreement before heading into the cave to set up camp.

Once the fire was burning merrily Legolas moved to stand near the cave entrance, gazing intently out into the night.

The twins shared a concerned look with Glorfindel, they all had seen elves that were more sensitive to the unseen world and wood elves in particular were more inclined that way but they'd never seen the prince like this. They'd actually expected that of the four of them if any showed this sort of reaction it would be Glorfindel as he was one of the few who could stand against the creatures who were more of that world than this.

Glorfindel rose silently and walked over to stand next to the prince.

"You should rest; we can stand guard easily enough," Glorfindel urged softly.

"No," Legolas replied. "Darkness haunts my dreams, rest does not seek me there."

Glorfindel turned to regard the other elf as he gazed out into the night. "How long?"

"What do you mean?" Legolas asked, confused, breaking his concentration on the darkness outside the cave to look at Glorfindel.

"How long have you been unable to find rest?" Glorfindel pressed.

"Since the dreams started," Legolas hedged, unwilling to specify the exact amount of time.

"Then you should at least try to rest," Elrohir inserted softly, recalling that the dreams had started before the prince left Mirkwood and indeed had been one of the reasons for the trip. Taking in the travel time, the blond elf probably hadn't slept properly in over a week. "Please allow us to help; we may be able to keep the dreams from troubling you this night."

"You will be unable to help Estel if you collapse from exhaustion," Elladan added as Legolas looked at them uncertainly.

"Go," Glorfindel urged, "I shall stand watch."

Reluctantly the prince left the cave entrance and moved over to the twins, ignoring as best as he could the wide eyed stare of the Ranger. Elladan convinced him to eat while Elrohir arranged the sleeping rolls for the night. Once that was done and Legolas had finished eating, the twins got him to lie down, staring him into submission when he tried to argue.

"Your adar (father) taught you too well," Legolas complained as he complied.

"Thank you," Elladan responded with a smile.

"Now sleep," Elrohir added in a soft elvish command on the tail end of his brother's comment from his position near Legolas' head, his hand resting lightly on the prince's forehead. The blond elf managed a weak glare at them before his eyes glazed in elven sleep as the exhaustion he'd been refusing to acknowledge came to the fore.

Elrohir chuckled lightly while Elladan moved to mirror his twin on the other side of Legolas. Once he was in position and without even needing to glance at each other they both began singing softly.

Legolas sighed quietly and slipped deeper into sleep, below the level of elven dreams, causing them to smile but neither let up the song.