The next morning with Legolas still slumbering Thranduil got up. He had fully intended to stay and keep watch over his son, that was until a message was delivered. A group of dwarfs had been captured trespassing in the forest. His mind instantly went to his son's vision. Could they be the dwarfs he had mentioned? He needed to find out. So he called for his head healer to sit with Legolas while he slept with the orders to fetch him if the prince showed any sign of discomfort. And so he left to interrogate the small party.

Legolas woke an hour later aching from head to toe. After some convincing he dismissed the waiting healer reassuring him that he would be fine. He got dressed quickly. Wondering where his father was, they had scarcely been apart these last few days and now he was gone with out leaving word? Maybe he should have interrogated the healer more before he scared him off. Legolas found the whole thing odd. He made his way to the kitchen first, finding his legs wobbling bellow him, he grabbed onto the walls to help guide him. Maybe last night's vision had taken more out of him than he first thought? He questioned himself. Shaking his head he push the worries aside. Some honey with lembas and water would revive him. Now just to get to the kitchen.

The prince hungrily ate, quickly finishing his meal and drinking two full glasses.

Overhearing from a couple of servants that the King was in the throne room interrogating a captured party of trespassers. Legolas pulled himself up onto his aching legs. He shuffled up to the throne room ready to join his father in the integration however as he walked in he found that the throne room was empty other than his father and the retreating form of two guards presumably escorting the group of trespassers by the sound of the shuffling of boots and muttered insults.

"I'm patient, I can wait" Thranduil's words echoed round the room.

He had just missed the trespassers, Legolas couldn't explain why but this fact instantly darkened his mood.

Upon seeing his son the stone-faced monarch smiled, stepping down from his throne to meet Legolas halfway.

"How are you today? Are you sure you should be out of bed?" Thranduil fussed not at all surprised that he had managed to give the healer the slip.

Legolas tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace. Unconvinced Thranduil regarded Legolas with a raised eyebrow.

"You are fooling no one, take today off and concentrate on getting better" He smiled sadly as his son tried to persuade him.

"Legolas do not make me order you, Please for me"

The prince's shoulders sagged in defeat at this

"Fine, As you wish, I won't attend court today" Legolas couldn't help the hollowness from reaching his voice. It felt like he was losing control of his life thanks to these cursed visions. At first they were just a nuisance, a flash of an event that would keep him up at night but now he was no longer able to carry out his duties as a warrior because of them and it would seem that his role as a prince was soon to follow.

"Legolas I can see somethings going on in that brain of yours" His father warmly coaxed him.

"I only have a couple scheduled meetings today that won't take long. How about I handle them and then we can meet up for some time in the gardens?" Thranduil knew that ever since his son was small he had seeked out nature as a form of comfort. With his current instability the forest was out of the question so the gardens would have to do. This had the desired effect that Legolas grimaced begrudgingly.

"That sounds perfect" His son's diplomatic answer had him smiling two.

Legolas made a small, stiff bow before starting to walk away.

"Legolas maybe I should walk with you just until you reach your room" Thranduil spoke after seeing how uneasy his son was on his feet.

"That won't be necessary" Legolas shot back and ducked out of the room before the king could make another comment.

Curse his stubbornness Thranduil scowled. He had taken his son to the healers more times than he cared to admit. All about the visions and their affect on him and every time he was met with bafflement. What more could they do?

Legolas had intended to make his way back to the royal chambers just like his father had suggested. Drained from the night before he wanted nothing more than to hide away there until he felt more himself. However a passing guard caught his attention. In his outstretched hands piled high were a number of items. Dwarfish blades made up the bulk of the weight but all manner of personal items were tucked in his grasp. The guard hurried along down the hall no doubt on his way to the dungeons to lock the possessions away now that they had been checked over. As the guard whipped round the corner a single small item dropped unnoticed from his hold.

Legolas slowly walked over to the silver trinket, still wobbly on his feet he carefully crouched down, grunting in pain he picked it up. He took in the item he was holding, made out of smooth silver it glistened in the lamplight. But then he would expect nothing less from dwarven craftsmen. Opening the clasp on the side he was greeted by two portraits the first of a dwarven maid and the second of a child. It was the boy's pictured that caught the prince eye. Taking in his features, he couldn't shake the feeling of having met the lad before. But surely his mind reasoned, meeting a dwarven child would be something that he would remember? Especially one so young however he had no such recollection.

Still he regarded the child's likeness questionably when a voice so clear that he looked up for its owner dragged him into a vision surrounded by the familiar faces that plagued his dreams. By now these phantom figures felt more like childhood friends, forgotten by the passing of time but not by the heart. And these feelings were strongest when regarding a certain red headed dwarf within their group. A feeling of deep friendship and kinship radiated from him. And it was his voice that he had heard moments before. Unlike most of his visions that were marked by the darkness of war this one seemed to be a more peaceful occasion. The group were sat around a campfire sharing stories and watching as the smallest of the hobbits practised their sword skills. After a couple of hits the hobbits rejoined the group quickly rooting out what little food they had. They plonked themselves down and turned to look up at the dwarf that sat beside Legolas.

"Gimli won't you tell us a story about your home?" One of them asked.

"Yeah," The other added eagerly.

"Alright" He took a deep breath in for dramatic effect.

"I'll tell you the story of Thorin Oakensheild and his brave quest to regain our homeland with just a handful of dwarfs to take on a dragon" Gimli puffed out his chest proudly.

"And I should know as one of those fine dwarfs was my Da"

As the story went on the flashes of previous visions started to make sense. Out of order they were a scramble of nonsense but with Gimli's, slightly fanciful narration the pieces of the puzzle started to come together. He listened as intently as the hobbits who sat at his feet. Entranced by Gimli's worlds he attempted to commit every word to memory before he was ripped away from the vision. Suddenly his mind became aware of the world around him once more he was back, clutching his chest he breathed deeply until he regained control of himself. Once the pain had subsided he looked down at the picture in his hands.

"Hello Gimli son of Gloin" Legolas smiled at the drawing. No mater the pain it felt good to finally start to make sense of some of what he has seen. Hope bubbled in him, maybe just maybe sense could be found in the visions after all. Maybe there is a reason for the visions? That just maybe they were a blessing and not a curse as he had thought.

Let me know what you think of the story so far.