While the Pevensies waited for Legolas and Edmund, the Telmarines were waiting for another thing.

Within the fortress of Miraz, guards patrolled the walls, most of the guards on alert for trouble. Most of them were grouped together, chatting in hushed tones. Some preferred to be alone and lounged under the stone archways.

One of them was with two children wearing the uniform of the Telmarines, and yet they had the voices of men. Their faces were hidden, until the moonlight hit one of the 'childrens' faces-they were the faces of men.

"So, Armix, what happened?" he asked.

"We weren't able to find Caspian," Armix said. "He seems to have escaped-"

"Or caught by the Old Narnians, or maybe consumed by the ghosts," the other child said.

The other two predictably flinched. "Merry..."

Armix rose from his seat on a stair and held out a hand for them to stop. "There is someone coming. I'll go see who it is and lead him away so we can talk without being heard."

Merry and Pippin nodded, hid behind one of the gigantic columns and peered by the side to see who it was. "Look, it's Sopespian and Glozelle."

"Those two again?" Pippin asked. "I heard they're trying to overthrow Miraz."

"Good luck to them," Merry said.

Armix returned, a troubled look on his face. "They failed to capture Caspian."

"And what does that mean?" Pippin asked.

Armix shrugged.

Lucy was trying her best to sleep, but somehow, being less tired than the others, she couldn't quite do it. She kept gazing up the dark sky and the Narnian stars, at the Hammer and the Ship and the Leopard. She whispered the name of the Leopard under her breath.

Instead of falling deeper into sleep, she found that she was becoming more and more awake, and she scrambled to her feet. The air held her in a dream-like state and she walked towards the forest, peering around the trees and gazing up at their leafy branches. A nightingale was perched on a branch, singing short spurts of song as if it was warming up for a concert.

"This is lovely," Lucy sighed. Adding to the intoxicating air came scents-cool, fresh and pleasant, as if caressing her skin. She looked forward and saw a lighter part of the forest ahead, and she pressed on to get there. The trees grew sparser and more and more patches of moonlight pooled on the ground, the moonlight dancing and mingling with the shadows. As if this was not enough, the nightingale burst into full song.

When Lucy's eyes finally adjusted to the light, she saw even the smallest details on the trees nearest her, and a wave of nostalgia washed over her. She placed her hand on a birch-she would be a beautiful maiden, with a quiet, lilting voice. And this oak! He would have a beard of leaves and moss, with a warty nose and a wrinkled fingers and hands. Then, gazing up at a beech, she sighed. She would be the most beautiful of all-a proper goddess, with kind eyes and flowing hair laced with flowers.

"Trees, Trees, Trees," Lucy whispered, surprised at her own voice. "Don't you remember me? It's been so long, wake, wake, wake-Hamadrayads, Dryads, come out, come to me!"

Though she didn't notice it, Gimli had followed Lucy, concerned for her safety. Hearing her calling to the trees, he looked up at the beeches and birches, shuddering just as the trees did. "By Erebor, the trees hear her?"

Everything went still and silent, the leaves rustling and shivering as if in response to Lucy's call. Lucy strained to hear them, whatever they wanted to say. It seemed, as if at any moment, the trees would move.

That moment never came.

The rustling died, the nightingale sung again, the wood resumed its ordinary look. Even under the moonlight, everything seemed perfectly normal and ordinary forest, with nothing magical at all. Lucy felt as if she would burst in tears, but she shook her head. Something, she'd missed, or added, or said too soon. At any rate, she suddenly felt tired and went back to the camp-

"Ouch!"

-bumping into Gimli in the process.

Lucy's face turned a healthy crimson as Gimli helped her up. "You-you followed me?"

"I was worried for you," Gimli said. "I'll won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

They returned to camp, where, fortunately, no one was awake yet. Immediately Lucy fell asleep beside her brothers and sister.

Edmund pushed through the trees. "This looks like a good place to stay the night," he told Legolas. "Let's make a fire-"

"We shouldn't," Legolas said. "It might attract attention. Maybe another of those-those Telmarines."

"Good point."

They'd plodded on through the forest, Edmund having no luck retracing their steps whatever he did. He vaguely wondered if they were intentionally being prevented from finding their path or if Fate was playing with them.

Yawning, he said, "We might as well get some rest... at least I will. You aren't tired, are you?"

Legolas nodded.

"Thought so. Can you keep watch? Just... wake me up... when it's my... my shift..."

With this Edmund sank down into sleep as comfortable as he could, Legolas sitting against a tree and looking out into the moonlit forest. Memories of Mirkwood rushed into his mind unbidden, the trees over him creating a canopy where the sun-moon, at this time-shone down. The birds singing and the air blowing against his face, the sound of the Enchanted river rushing...

Rushing! Legolas leapt to his feet and strained his ears to catch even the slightest sound. And there, he realized, he heard water!

He was about to rush off and look for the source of the sound, but then stopped and looked at Edmund, who was fast asleep. At first he swung between waking him up or not, but then erred on the side of letting Edmund catch up on his sleep. Besides, Legolas could easily find his way back to their camping site-and if he did find a river that could give them some sort of direction, he would return to inform Edmund of this.

So he went alone.

Following the sound of rushing water meticulously, Legolas walked through trees and bushes, slowly but surely getting closer and closer to the source until he finally found it.

A river right below them churned and gurgled as it went on its course, two cliffs on either side of it. They were at the left gorge, and gauging the direction Legolas realized that it was flowing North. He remembered Edmund mentioning something about the River Rush...

"Edmund..."

"Five more minutes..."

Legolas shook him harder, and Edmund opened his eye a crack. When he saw the elf's face, he nodded, grumbled and sat up, wiping away the sleep from his eyes.

"I think I've found your river," Legolas said.

"The Rush?" At this Edmund predictably perked up. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then by Jove, let's follow it!"

Legolas led the way through the forest, but all of a sudden paths that seemed so clear before now grew darker and muddier. He slackened his pace, straining to hear the sound of water, which by now came from all around them. The trees shivered.

Edmund frowned as Legolas stopped in his tracks, confused. "What's wrong?"

"I can't hear the river anymore."

"What?!"

Their hearts sank in their chests-they must've strayed too far away from the river, with this muddling, hazy night. Desperately they tried to find their way back at least towards the camp, but both knew that they were being led astray. By magic or by enchantment, they couldn't tell.

Then the moon shone blindingly bright on them.

The trees and bushes were different and they found themselves in a clearing in the middle of the woods, where there were less trees and brighter moonlight which, unlike earlier, wasn't muffled at all. The place held them there, as if it was enchanted, and they found that they walked on, their weary bodies and feet healed by the moon's rays. As Edmund looked up, a star amongst others shone brightly-Alambil, the lady of Peace. It moved as they moved, as if leading them on.

"Look, Legolas. That's Alambil, and she's leading us somewhere."

Instead of retorting, Legolas merely gazed up at the star and nodded in agreement. "It's beautiful."

As they continued on, the star grew brighter and brighter until it was right in front of them, a sparkling, sparking ball of pure light. Even at this proximity, the two didn't feel as if they were burning-it felt more like basking in a warm bath after being out in the snow for hours. A delicious warmth.

Soon they found themselves on the gorge beside the Rush, and both sighed in relief-that is, until they noticed what was happening to the star.

The star shrunk, then changed size and form.

Edmund and Legolas stopped in their tracks.

The star was no longer a star.

TBC...