The sack that Thranduil could only assume held the books plunked down solidly onto his desk, it was larger than he had expected. Still across the desk from him Ava crossed her arms, looking immensely pleased with herself. More pleased than she really felt, he knew, because the drumming of her fingers and wandering eyes conveyed a deep sense of panic.

A panic hardly nobody else would notice, as she had been both trained and expected to do. The same as his son. The same as all the other children who had chosen and forced themselves to be the ones to excel in any way they needed in order to make the biggest difference, protect the most people, and shoulder the most responsibility.

She was probably hoping that he would not ask about it, then. If she was trying so hard to hide it.

Galion could tell when he was no longer needed, and so after hastily scooping the books and a few papers into his arms, he dashed for the exit. Idly Thranduil pushed a plate of mostly untouched food towards Ava, inwardly pleased when she automatically grabbed a small handful of cheese and fruit, "You're dripping on my carpet."

Avaleina rolled her eyes and scoffed lightly, but pulled off her cloak to hang it up in the corner anyways, right above the small bowl Galion had carved into the floor to keep all the water in one place. The clothes underneath her cloak were hardly any dryer, and neither did her shoes or hair appear to be. The storm must have been as bad as it sounded, if even the trees were unable to offer their aid and assistance in the dryness department.

Thranduil got to his feet and made his way over to the fireplace, handing Ava a piece of buttered bread as he went. The once bright flames had all but died down to a dull glowing orange. Reaching into the basket beside it he selected a few dry logs to throw overtop and then blew on the coals until fire once again danced in the hearth.

As the fire crackled and snapped behind him, Thranduil sat down on the brick ledge that surrounded the hearth and patted the spot next to him expectantly. Grabbing a few more pieces of fruit from the plate, Ava took the seat as silently instructed. A shiver shook her body as the warmth kissed her rain-frozen skin, and Thranduil gently gathered her hair and draped it over her shoulder, so that as much heat could soak into her back as possible. "How did it go?"

"About as well as you predicted. The Chieftain tried to wiggle out of your accusations, but even he must have not had many convictions for his innocence because his will snapped like a dry twig the moment he realized we would take this matter to the council." She frowned deeply, "He didn't even let me say the formal greeting. We practiced for nothing."

"Not for nothing," Thranduil corrected, smiling slightly at her wounded tone. "Had he not neglected his people's own costumes you would have been prepared to appear a respectful and dignified messenger for your King. However, since he did neglect the customs, that will only reflect badly upon himself."

"Well, it still feels like it was for nothing."

"Perhaps, but feelings are often the least trustworthy of our senses. You know that."

Ava sighed dramatically, leaning into Thranduil's side for a moment with the apparent and overdramatic weariness of the world, "Then why did Eru make them so overpowering in all aspects? It's exhausting."

"I imagine because Eru has a sense of humor, even if he is the only one to find it amusing."

"Somebody needs to tell Eru that it's rude and not amusing, then, because I am tired of this."

"I have already tried to tell him, and he was uninterested in my input. Perhaps you will have better luck."

"Perhaps." The fire continued to crackle merrily, and Ava turned to her side more so that more of her body would reach the warmth, but in doing so exposed more of her face to Thranduil, and he examined every line that bespoke of dark and swirling fears within her.

"And Jah'har was helpful?"

She flashed him a guilty look, no doubt about refusing to return home when he had called for through the trees. "Yes. I do not think I would have been successful without him."

"Mhmm." Thranduil hummed in thought, "I find that difficult to believe. You have always been much more capable in all aspects than you give yourself credit for. I would not have sent you from our forest alone had I not fully believed in you to accomplish the task set before you. You and your determination have never failed me yet."

He noticed the blush creep to the tips of her ears at the compliment, "He was suspicious about us wanting the books, even more suspicious when he noticed I had come alone."

"He's a suspicious person." She frowned at him and Thranduil rested a hand on her arm for comfort, "He will always be suspicious of any tribe or people other than his own, he and I have that in common. But just because he is suspicious doesn't mean we have to care about it."

"What if the pieces fit together and he figures out what we're trying to do?"

"Then I imagine he will not be particularly happy about it considering his Grandmother was the last to perform the ritual, and she was also the one to strike it from all the Tribes records.."

"What will you do if that happens?"

"I am King Thranduil of the Eryn Galen, last ElvenKing east of the sea and commander of the greatest archers Arda has ever seen. I am the protector and guardian of this great forest and everything within it. I will do whatever I like in my own kingdom and if Jah'har turns out to be that big of a problem I am sure his father and I can come to an agreement to deal with it."

"You don't think he'll send a message to Legolas about it directly, do you?"

Even under these circumstances, Thranduil couldn't suppress his snort of laughter, "They have never been overly fond of one another, or have you forgotten about their 'practice' sparing that might as well have been an all-out brawl? No, I don't think he will send a message to Legolas. Especially after your incredibly direct and loud refusal of his courtship offer."

The blush returned with renewed vigor, creeping up her neck to her cheeks this time and this time Thranduil laughed outright. She sounded mortified, "It wasn't that bad was it?"

He struggled to compose himself and took both of her cold hands between his own much warmer and larger ones, "Oh Avaleina, sweet child of flowers and sunshine, it was absolutely ruthless. Any nearby wolves or wildcats were taking careful note for later use upon prey. The scar on his head was not from an ax, but from the words that came spilling out of your mouth-"

Ava pulled her hands out of his and covered Thranduil's mouth with them with a laugh, "Alright, alright. I get it. You can stop."

Even while she laughed, the worries still didn't seem to have lessened.

Thranduil waited for her to readjust herself again so that her hair fell over her back once more so that it could begin to dry. "Now tell me, what is bothering you so much today that wasn't yesterday?"

She groaned and looked as if she might want and attempt to run for the door and so he added, "Please talk to me about this. Perhaps I can help."

And then before he could even blink she was biting her lip to keep from crying, her chin nearly as scrunched as her forehead with the effort. Politely ignoring all the effort, a few tears leaked from her eyes anyways. She wiped at them angrily. "What if this doesn't work? What if this whole plan is just me being desperate and insane? What if, after centuries and centuries of somehow managing to protect him and drag him to the end of that horrible cursed war I can't help him once it's over? What if we get this far and it doesn't even matter? What if-"

Her words had grown slightly closer to hysterical the longer she talked, and the effort to keep from crying seemed to have all but evaporated. "Ava stop, stop. Stop thinking like that, because there were always thousands of worries and ways things can go wrong. It will do no good, for either of you. If this doesn't work, then we will try something else."

That at least seemed to calm her a bit, and her breaths were a bit more even. She wiped her face again and this time there were not immediate replacements. "I would do anything for him."

"I know you would."

"The only problem is I can't think of anything else to do."

"We survived for centuries entirely because of our relentless determination. We'll think of a way to help. We always do."

Ava sighed and rested a weary head on Thranduil's shoulder and linked her arm through his. With a sad smile, Thranduil kissed her head and rested his cheek on it. "All we can do right now is be there for him and make sure he knows that he's loved. And that we're listening"

.0.0.0.

Galion saw a glimpse of blonde hair leap from an open walkway and onto a set of vines and scramble upwards, leaving Gimli standing helpless at the bottom. Not wasting a moment, he dumped his armful of messages and paperwork to the nearest guard, '"Take this to the King. Tell him I will be there when I can be."

Not waiting for a response Galin sprinted to where the same vines Legolas had just climbed dangled down to his level, probably to think for any but an elf to grab ahold of safely. But the vines held him without a problem, and he climbed as fast as he could after his Prince. Sending a silent message to Thranduil through the plants in their home that he would not have to worry about his son's distress, knowing the trees would have already told him about it.

Thranduil could focus on Avaleina, and the whispers of concern the forest had been muttering since she had re-entered the forest.

Legolas was a warrior Prince, he had been trained until he was one of the strongest elves Galion had ever met both physically and mentally, and you knew he would have no hope of catching up after he had such a head start.

And so when he reached the top he called out with both his voice and his Fae, "Little Prince!"

Then continued rushing forwards.

Legolas met him halfway to where he must have been standing.

The poor things breath came in rapid and ineffectual breaths, and he seemed nearly completely unaware of where he was. He had seen that same look on Thranduil's face enough over the time they had been together to know exactly what was happening.

He had also watched Legolas suffer these same attacks after the loss of his mother, and he refused to treat them any differently than he had then.

Galion didn't even slow his pace until Legolas nearly collided into him, and he could hold him close and safely in his arms. He somehow managed to continue to hold him tightly while rubbing both hands up, one across his back the other down his side. "Shhhhhh, Little Prince."

Legolas continued to nearly tremble in his arms, teeth chattering as if he was cold. "You're okay, you're home. You're safe. You are not where you think you are. Your father is just a few floors down, and nothing can hurt you here."

"You're wrong." Legolas managed to say around his hyperventilation.

"How am I wrong?"

"Something can hurt me here."

"What can?"

"Me."

Galion closed his eyes against his own tears, fully knowing the hopelessness that came with being trapped within one's own mind. "We won't let you."

Finally, Legolas' arms circled around his chest and held Galion back just at tightly, "All I can hear is the ocean. All I can hear is the gulls. I cannot even find my own thoughts."

Panicked and at a loss for what to do, Galion began to sing. He began to sing the lullaby his mother had written for him, the one Legolas had demanded his father sing to him every night for months after her death. The one Thranduil whispered to nobody in particular late at night at his son's bedside when he was gravely ill. The one Legolas hummed to himself whenever he was trying to ignore the sizzling pain of spider venom.

He sang. Not caring how loud it was. Not caring who looked.

Slowly a few voices drifted to join his own, and the instruments being played around their mountain switched to the melody. More voices joined the song and it echoed even higher and greater.

If there was anything the Silvan elves understood as a whole, it was the need to be reminded of the light and the good that colored the world. Any and all would gladly remind anyone or anyone who needed reminding in any way they could.

Galion didn't dare loosen his grip until Legolas' breaths were nearly level. "Come, Little Prince. Let us get you to your room."

.00

Legolas still hadn't managed to stop being a shivering mound when somebody pushed his bedroom door open without knocking. He tried to stop the shivers and once again gain control of his body, but just at was in the kitchen, his efforts were futile. Thunder continued to roll outside and he continued to struggle against the flood of painful memories that seemed destined to drown him.

There was no other noise in the room following the door opening thanks to the plush carpet, but Ava cleared her throat and then asked once she reached the edge of his bed, "May I come in?"

"Always." Legolas' voice seemed nearly painfully small, even to his own ears. But even if he had tried again, he knew he would not be able to convince it to be any louder than. He had to clamp his mouth shut to keep them from chattering.

But Ava didn't say anything about how he sounded or his teeth as she carefully lifted the small pile of covers at one corner and slide herself across, waiting a moment for him to un-ball himself form the near fetal position so that she could rest on her back over one of his arms. Automatically, the rest of him came to curl around her and she tugged on his remaining arm until his chest was halfway covering hers and she could trap both his legs with her own.

For the first time since the kitchen, he felt a sense of warmth touch his body.

One of her arms rested across his upper back and held him close, while the other began to rub soothing circles on his back. Every touch sent a cascade of sparks through his body, and his fingers began to regain some feeling.

"Is there anything else I can do for you right now to help?"

"No." Another strike of lightning flashed and he waited for the thunder to pass. "Just please don't leave me."

He sounded weak and pathetic. Like a small child that was scared of a storm. Which, technically, he was. But more scared of every memory and pain attached to the storm.

But he didn't care how he sounded, because this was Avaleina.

He didn't have to want to be or expect himself to be anything but what he was in that moment around her. And in this moment, he was tired, scared, cold, and didn't want one of the only places he felt safe and loved to leave him.

She kissed his head, "Of course not, my love. Of course not."

Slowly the sparks of her touch lit fires to his veins and warmth finally returned to him, her hand did not once still on his back and her hold on him did not lessen. It felt safe. Finally.

"I think I left everyone in the kitchen." He felt her laugh and finally, he adjusted positions, flopping onto his back to stretch out an arm he hadn't yet realized was slowing going numb. The covers were dislodged from their faces for the first time in perhaps two hours, and the cold fresh air nearly made him shiver.

But even as he moved, so did she. Closer to him again, this time resting her head across his shoulder and throwing an arm across his chest. It was then he noticed her hair was still damp. "You did, but I ran into Gimli in the hallway, and I'm certain Galion made sure they all made it to their beds."

He felt bad for leaving them all. Again.

But at the time that hadn't mattered. The only thing that mattered was getting somewhere where he could breathe.

"What happened?" She must have felt his heart rate increase because she kissed his cheek and hugged him closer, pulling the covers around him tighter than they were before. "You don't have to tell talk about it if you don't want to."

But here, laying in his bed with the one he loved it seemed okay to talk about. For the first time since they began happening. The room was dark and there was nobody to judge him or anything he said.

It was only the two of them.

This time is was him that drew patterns on her back, in the exact pattern he knew a labyrinth of vicious bite marks littered her skin. "It's almost like I get stuck in the past. I get stuck in moments and experiences I hate. Sometimes its a loop of the same moment, sometimes it's endless ones in a row. Every Time its one's I really wish I could forget."

They were both silent for a few minutes, the thunder continued to rattle its way through the forest. Legolas pulled Avaliena closer until she was practically laying atop him.

"I know what you mean." There was a dull haunting note in her voice that made him certain that she did. She witnessed as many horrors as him. She caused and saw as much heartbreak and cruelty as him.

They had suffered together for most of it.

This time it was he who tried to hold her closer, painfully aware of all the horrible things she could have experienced or seen since they had parted. While they might have heard endless details about the struggles in Gondor and Rohan, even his own people had been incredibly reluctant to explain in any sort of detail what he had missed.

He had enough experience to guess without a problem exactly the nature of things that occurred.

Ava moved her head to prop it onto her arm so that she could see his face, "But that isn't all of it. What else?"

Legolas sighed and she nestled closer.

His best friend. His love. His everything.

If he was to get through this, it would be together. As they had done everything else.

"I don't know how to explain it.."

"Then talk until you think you make sense. I'm good at reading between the lines."

Valar he had missed her.

.

Radagast stood over the open books and studied them carefully, ignoring or unaware of the acute interest from both Thranduil and Galion. His nose twitched several times in thought, so alike to a rabbits that the two Elves exchanged slightly alarmed expressions.

The maiar continued muttering to himself.

A few more paged were carefully flipped, a few more scribbles on spare parchment made. A few more nose twitches.

And then there was both silence and stillness.

"Well?" Galion asked, when Thranduil seemed both hesitant and unable to.

"Yes. Yes. This was written in a tongue from Aman, one form long, long ago. Before Meleian came to rest with Elwe. Long, long before that. Few used it."

The wizard turned a few more pages.

"Will you help us?" Thranduil managed to ask, and Galion noticed the way he leaned heavily on the table as if it was the only thing only thing holding him upright with near desperation.

A few more paged were turned, a few more twitches. Another note.

"I will do what I can, King Thranduil. All I can. But it will take me time, there is much I have forgotten of those times that I must now recall in intimate detail." He knocked himself on the head, careful to avoid the bird nest that all knew resided under his hat, "But I will do it. And I will lend you my power when the time comes to perform it. But I cannot promise you it will work. My Lady is gentle and kind, but even she is not above their laws."

Thranduil nodded gratefully, "But it can't hurt to try it."

Closing the book carefully, Radagst collected his papers. "I fear you are incorrect, it could indeed harm you immeasurably. But you already knew that when you called me here. But I also know no words will sway you from this course."

Even in light of the circumstances, Thranduil managed a laugh, "This time, I do not think it is me that you need to worry about swaying."

0.0.0..0.0.

Can't wait to hear all of your thoughts!