~ Remembered~

"Aerlaer!" Legolas cried out raggedly, her name ringing in his mind as he tried to hold himself together and failed. His heart no longer pounded; it shook under the weight of his fear. Pushing himself up yet another rocky outcrop, he searched the sparse land and rocks.

A small boulder to his left seemed to be rippling strangely and warily he ran towards it. It wasn't a rock it was material! It was a Lothlórien cloak! Grasping the material, heart in throat, he swept it aside. Barely conscious, Aerlaer blinked up at him. She was alive!

"Thank the Valar!" He choked out, pulling her tightly into his arms, burrowing his head into her hair, breathing her in as his erratic heart, beat by beat, settled.

"What happened? Are you hurt badly?" He asked as he noticed the gash upon her head which bled slightly.

"Tripped and knocked out." She mumbled, eyes blinking as if she tried to focus. "Dizzy head."

"I don't know how to fix that." He murmured dejectedly as Elladan and Elrohir raced up to them, followed by Aragorn.

"You stupid little elf!" Elrohir raged at her. "We thought you were dead!" he knelt beside them along with Elladan, whose face was filled with joy and relief to see her alive.

"What happened?" He asked as Elrohir placed a hand upon her wound."

"Tripped." She replied and he frowned at her and then dropped his gaze down to her feet. Legolas did too, noticing for the first time she had been tangled up by the rope of a coronraph. Elladan withdrew a small blade and began cutting through the rope, freeing her, while Legolas stared at the three dead orcs laying nearby, and gazed back at her in amazement. Aerlaer watched him, seeming focused again and but for some drying blood, there was no trace of her head injury now Elrohir had healed her.

"You killed them?" He asked and she nodded.

"While you were tangled?" Again, she nodded.

"I was hardly going to let them capture me or kill me." She gave him a wry smile.

"How did you injure your head?" Elladan asked.

"The third one I killed managed to throw me back against a rock as I stabbed him, and I hit my head. I only just managed to cover myself with my cloak before I passed out." She explained and Legolas held her a little tighter, placing his lips against her head.

"Why in Arda were the three of you not with the other scouts?" He murmured against her hair and Elrohir let out a mirthless laugh.

"You do not want to know."

"Oh, I think I do." He replied tersely and levelled Elrohir with a steely glare.

"Then ask, Aerlaer." He replied with a huff, it was her reckless idea"

"You didn't have to follow." She snapped at her cousin.

"What? Not follow and let you get yourself killed which nearly happened anyway—again I might add." He growled back. Aerlaer wriggled from Legolas's grip and scrambled to her feet, dusting herself off.

"I was hardly going to leave Sethdir to the enemy."

"He was a lost cause!" Elrohir shouted, and her hair lit up in coppery anger as her eyes flashed at him. "There was no way we could have saved him." He added and Legolas began to piece together what must have happened based on the dead man he found earlier.

Trust Aerlaer to throw herself into danger for the sake of another. He didn't say anything, he would only side with Elrohir and fuel the argument against her and what use would that do.

"No one is a lost cause." She said bitterly. "Your own Adar taught me that. Elrohir scoffed.

"Then Adar is a fool, but no bigger fool than letting you go on this suicide mission given your reputation." He snapped, his words more bitter than hers.

"There was nothing left for me." She growled out. "And why did he let you go? What right do you have to be here over me, cousin?"

"You should have left; you should have sailed with the rest of them." Elrohir seethed.

"Sailed to what? My family? My kin? Have you forgotten they are all dead! There is no one waiting there for me." She shot back, but there was an unmistakable tremble in her voice. Legolas placed a protective arm before her.

"Elrohir enough." He warned and Elrohir turned on him.

"I know this bothers you as much as I, do not think I missed the pain and fear in your eyes. You thought she was lost to you too." He said in a dangerously quiet tone and Aerlaer stiffened as Elrohir's gaze fell squarely onto her again. "Do you not realize the fear, the anguish you put us all through every single time you do something like this?" He added and Legolas could hear the older elf's voice was at breaking point.

"He reminded me of Thenid!" She burst out, and wrenching herself from Legolas's grip, stormed off back towards the regrouping army. Legolas made to follow, but Aragorn held him back and shook his head.

"Give her a few moments first." He said softly as Elladan rounded on Elrohir.

"Nice work." He growled out at his twin furiously.

"Someone had to say it." He said back but his voice was hollow. "I didn't mean to upset her so."

"Then why did you say it at all?" Legolas asked him directly, and sad grey eyes met his.

"Because I thought this time, we really had lost her." He whispered, unshed tears in his eyes before he too turned and strode away. Elladan looked sadly to Legolas.

"He's never been one to easily express that he cares, but he does, and she scared him. He blames himself." Elladen said before running off towards his retreating brother. Legolas sighed and looked to Aragorn.

"I don't know what to think, why must she be so reckless? It is as if every time she leaves my side, something happens!" He ran a hand over his face, forcing back the sting behind his eyes.

"Talk to her, perhaps not how Elrohir just did, unless you would like to wind up like these three orcs." Aragorn said.

"How she even managed to kill them—"

"Is one of the many mysteries of how Aerlaer works, but thank Eru she did." Aragorn finished.

"I've never even asked her how she is dealing with the loss of her family."

"Neither have I—I left it up to Arwen to console her, and yet that pain has been there this whole time. She has hidden it away."

Legolas gazed ruefully across the distance separating them to where Aerlaer knelt beside a dark bay horse, healing his leg. He sighed. He had much to make up for.

…

"I will not cry over this." Elrohir muttered quietly to himself as he reached his mare and mutely went about checking over her saddle and body for injuries.

"Elrohir, are you well?" Taurorn rode up to him with a wary expression and he nodded, not meeting the young ranger's eyes.

"You are not, what is wrong?" He asked and Elrohir heard his boots hit the ground as he dismounted from his gelding.

"Aerlaer is what is wrong. Why could she have not just stayed in Imladris or Lórien? Why did she not simply sail like Arwen did?" He said, still bitter. A hand came to rest on his shoulder.

"What did our Tithinriel do this time?" Elrohir finally turned to him.

"The usual, tried to get herself killed and yet somehow escaped such a fate by a horse's whisker." He elaborated dryly and Taurorn chuckled.

"And would her sailing have changed any of that?" He asked and Elrohir thought about it.

"Probably not, the stupid elf would have managed to get into some strife on her way to the Havens or whilst on the ship." He muttered.

"Exactly. You cannot always be there to protect her from the dangers of the world, as neither can Legolas, myself or Elladan. I learned that when I lost my sister." He added quietly and Elrohir looked at him with surprise.

Taurorn never spoke of his dead twin. "She was reckless like Aerlaer, and I was forever dragging her out of trouble." He chuckled, but it was sad, wistful. "I blamed myself for years but what could I have done different to stop her attacking those orcs? Nothing for she would not be stopped. Aerlaer is the same." He said softly. Elrohir nodded, beginning to understand Taurorn's point.

"Aerlaer has been our little princess for so long it is hard, especially now Arwen has left for the Havens." Elrohir admitted.

"She has, and it is." A voice said from behind him and he turned to see Elladan regarding him. "And she always will be, but Taurorn is right—we cannot protect her from everything."

"I know; I realised that when she arrived in Imladris when the herd had been slain." Elrohir sighed. So many friends they had lost from the herd, and yet what he had said to Aerlaer, he had pushed her to breaking point. Not once had he ever asked how she coped with the loss of her entire kin, for she seemed happy enough... She was right, Sethdir was just like Thenid; he saw it now and felt a fool for not realizing it before.

Thenid had been her closest friend in the herd; he'd loved her secretly for centuries while she'd cherished their friendship. Sethdir's death would have been a slap in the face to her. "I must speak with her and make this right." He said but Elladan stopped him.

"Not yet brother, she is healing the horses that fell and we should attend first to any soldiers who have been injured as Legolas is doing." Elladan indicated to where the silvery-blonde elf knelt beside an older soldier, a hand upon his arm.

"Yes." Elrohir replied and with that, followed his brother towards the small group of injured men, needing to do something helpful, something to make up for not being able to save the young Ithilien ranger who was so much like Thenid.

…

She let her cousin's attend the lightly wounded soldiers while she tackled the horses. The horses had suffered for the ropes which had brought them down and already she had healed two broken fetlock joints and a cracked cannon.

The bright chestnut she currently healed had sustained a sword injury to the muscles in his chest and lay still, breathing heavily as she carefully reattached the fibers of muscle tissue. Healing horses wore her down as it was imperative to do the job correctly the first time and she used more of her lifeforce in ensuring they were pain free. The twins could not heal horses, and even if they could, she would not ask Elrohir for his help, she was not interested in speaking with her cousin. His words had cut her to her core and her heart ached for it.

She finished healing the opened skin of the chestnut's chest, sending reassuring thoughts to him, brushing his copper mane smooth. Leaving him to rise when he was ready, Aerlaer scanned about the bloodied field for her next patient. A horse groaning in pain caught her attention, and she raced towards the black form of a mare whose hind leg was at an unnatural angle.

"Easy friend. I will fix this, and you will run again." She thought to the distressed mare, placing her hands on the shattered and displaced hock. Aerlaer focused on numbing the mare's pain before figuring out how to tackle her damaged leg.

…

Legolas bided his time, hanging close to Gimli as they watched Aerlaer work on another three horses after she had healed the black mare's leg. He, Elladan and Elrohir had healed the soldiers and then Elrohir had healed Elladan's face. Legolas had guiltily healed the sprain of Gimli's left hand under Elrohir's very quiet direction. Gimli had injured it when Legolas had pushed him off Arod in his rush to find Aerlaer.

It seemed Elrohir was sorry for how he had spoken to Aerlaer, and after he had healed Gimli, the elf had not spoken. Aerlaer finished healing a fourth horse and stood as the grey gelding wobbled to his feet, and she rested against his shoulder a moment before one of the Rohirrim ran up to them, overjoyed to see his steed well. As he led his horse away, she scanned about, and her eyes caught Legolas's. He gave her an encouraging smile but then her gaze slid to Elrohir and hurt flashed across her pale features. She turned away, and Legolas heard the whisper of Elrohir's dejected sigh. Legolas desperately wanted to go to her, to comfort her but instead he turned to Elrohir.

"Make it right." He said quietly and with a sharp, determined nod, Elrohir leapt away towards her.

…

"Tithinriel?" She stiffened as Elrohir came to walk beside her.

"What do you want; to give me a map to the Havens?" She said tiredly, and he suddenly grabbed her, spinning her into a tight embrace.

"I am sorry, I am so, so sorry—you have every right to be here." He rushed out and she let herself sink into his familiar hug as tears pricked her eyes. "I should not have said any of that, it was wrong of me, I did not mean to hurt you." He went on. "I was thoughtless, I've been so thoughtless to how you must feel, how you must hurt."

"I just try not to think of it, of them." She mumbled, fighting back tears. "He really did remind me of Thenid." She relented and he sighed sadly.

"I know."

"I miss him, I them, I miss Aerthor." She whispered and he pulled her tighter.

"Me too." He murmured. "I do not know how you endure it, if I lost Elladan…"

"I know I am doing what Aerthor would have wanted, although I do it for myself as much as for him and for the herd."

"And he would be so proud of you and he must not want you to join him for Eru knows how many times you have given Mandos the opportunity to add you to his halls." Elrohir teased lightly and she sighed.

"I am sorry, I don't mean to get myself into trouble and worry you." Her shoulders drooped. "And everyone else."

"We know." Elrohir chuckled before sobering. "You really scared us today, Tithinriel." He said quietly and she nodded. "But you did a wicked job on those three orcs!" He added. "Legolas is very impressed although you need to stop giving that poor elf nervous breakdowns every time you leave his side, and something happens." He loosened his embrace to look at her pointedly and she gazed back at him helplessly. "I work off instinct it's hard to just stop." She admitted and he grinned at her.

"You horses' always were a complex bunch." She grinned back at him.

"I didn't get caught."

"No, I suppose you didn't." he relented. "It seems the army is ready to move on." He commented and she turned to see they were indeed beginning to move. "You need to rest now; do not think I didn't notice how many horses you healed." He poked a finger at her with playfully narrowed eyes.

"Already taken care of." Legolas's voice called across to them as he rode towards them on Arod followed by Elladan, who bore Gimli behind him, and Elrohir's mare who followed freely.

"Are we okay?" Elrohir whispered.

"Always." She replied and nudged him in the side before walking up to Arod. The grey greeted her and then Legolas had leant over and swung her up to sit before him. Aerlaer relaxed back against him as Elrohir leapt up onto his mare and they made their way to join the rest of the Fellowship.

"I figured up here you cannot possibly get into any more mischief." Legolas whispered teasingly against her ear.

"I am sorry; I did not mean to worry you so." She said and he laughed albeit it was faint.

"Aerlaer, I am always going to worry, nothing you can do or not do will change that." He said softly. "I don't want you to do anything to change that, no matter how much I want to shake you for how much you scared me before." He added before placing a kiss upon her cheek. "Rest now." He brought his arm to hold her securely against him and she settled and drifted off to the steady beat of Arod's trot, and Legolas's heartbeat. For all she had lost, she had found him and that meant everything.

…

The Army of the West pressed on through the afternoon at a steady pace and the scout party, now consisting of one hundred, did not sound any more alarms of danger from the enemy. Aerlaer seemed content to remain resting in his arms and Legolas took comfort from her presence as the sky darkened as the day wore to an end.

High up in the skies, the Nazgul now flew upon their fell beasts. Neither attacking nor making a single noise. The wraiths simply following them, observing. Their presence unsettled the men, especially when one or two of the dark foes would drop lower in the sky to hover closely, and the desolation and fear of the Black Breath descended also upon the breeze, swathing the army in despair.

Whenever they did drop lower in the grey sky, Legolas could discern the chilling features of the cloaked figures upon their beasts and hear their beating, bat-like wings in the near still air above. Aragorn watched them warily as did most of the large company.

He glanced across to Gimli who looked uncomfortable by their presence as did the hobbits, their faces pale and drawn. Aerlaer seemed unsettled in her restful state by their presence and shifted agitatedly in his arms each time they dropped lower. Unsure how to calm her he began softly singing in their own tongue. It seemed to work so he continued, singing whatever came to mind.

"Sing louder, we could all do with some cheer." Elrohir said quietly and he did just that, singing a cheery, common song among the elves. Soon, Elladan joined in with him and he noticed the moods of those around them rose ever so slightly. The Nazgul seemed to now keep higher to the sky as the sun sank lower. Clearly their tune was much too cheerful for their morbid ears.

They set up camp and an evening watch as the sun set and to Legolas's delight, Elrohir pulled Lembas from his saddle bag and tossed some to him. Breaking the still moist bread in half, he handed the other half to Aerlaer, after Gimli declined, declaring it was stew which kept him going, before heading to where one of many campfires had been lit.

The entire camp was somber and those soldiers who had not turned to their bed rolls early, huddled closely around their small campfires; all too aware the Nazgul still circled silently above.

Leaving Aerlaer safely with Aragorn and Gimli beside their campfire, Legolas had gone in search of water from one of the slow-moving carts of the Gondor soldiers, when a bone-chilling voice resonated in his mind. He stopped, nearly dropping the empty water skins in his grip.

"You escaped once, but this time the Dark Lord, unlike whom which he once served, will bear you no such escape."

"I do not fear your words for they make little sense to me." Legolas tipped his head to gaze towards the sky and thought back clearly to the Nazgul who circled over him.

"Your own soul you do not know, but we will have it. He will have it." The voice hissed like an icy wind through him, and he involuntarily shivered.

"None can take it, Sauron himself may cut me down in battle but he shall never have my soul for it will go to Valinor where he may not follow!" Legolas thought back defiantly and there was a cruel response of laughter which echoed fear. His own fear he realised.

"The Dark Lord will keep you. He will keep you both so your souls may never return to the Valar."

Suddenly the dark presence lifted, and he heard the receding sound of the beat of wings on the night air. The words replayed in his mind, 'The Dark Lord will keep you.' He wanted him alive and to be kept alive by the hand of one so dark, so unforgiving; it was a fate worse than death. He shuddered, but continued towards the carts as he realised the entity of the Nazgul's words. They were not just meant for him but another as well and dread clenched at his heart for it knew of who the Wraith spoke of.

A hand suddenly rested against his shoulder and he whirled around in fear and surprise. "Mithrandir!" He gasped and the wizard's eyes pierced his.

"The Wraith's they have spoken to you; I see it in your eyes." He said swiftly, warily. "Speak, what did they tell you?" He demanded, and Legolas blurted out the strange conversation. Gandalf's grey brows furrowed in severe worry.

"That is all, they did not ask of anything else?" He pressed and Legolas shook his head, bewildered.

"No, that was all. I do not understand. What would Sauron want with me?" He paused and took in a shaky breath. "With Aerlaer?" He added as he looked questioningly into the wizard's still worried eyes.

"I am afraid I do not know Legolas." He said with a shake of his head. "You must not let him capture either of you." He added. If he or his servants of evil do, if it comes to that, you must take your own life, and hers, for whatever Sauron intends it will not bode well for either of you." Legolas watched, open mouthed, as he drew an arm into his white cloak and rummaged around before withdrawing a very small, stoppered vial of an inky blue substance.

"Legringûr." Legolas whispered as he beheld the vial.

"To the drinker, death will come swiftly." Gandalf said in a low voice as he took Legolas's empty hand and pressed the vial into it.

"Where did you get this?" He demanded, for it was elven made and very few knew the properties in which to brew its potency.

"The Lady Galadriel bade me gift it to you." Legolas's blood ran cold. What has she foreseen? Gandalf knew his thoughts for he quickly added, "It is just in case Legolas. It does not mean their words will come to pass; it does not mean you will need use of this."

"Did she hint at anything—did she see anything?" He pressed the wizard, but he only shook his head.

"Only that Sauron wishes to claim you both and that must never happen." He replied solemnly. Legolas stared at the vial in his hand trying to comprehend all of it. In a single moment, all had been turned upside down.

"She will not agree to this. You know she will not. Galadriel would know this." He shook his head, frustrated.

"No, she will not. Galadriel knows this. It is why you must not tell her. If it should come to needing this, the Lady bids you slip it to Aerlaer unawares."

"Take her life, I cannot-" The way his heart was constricting, he couldn't breathe, this couldn't be happening. Gandalf was wrong, he had to be wrong. "I can't" He repeated.

"You will Thranduilion, you will." Gandalf cut over him in a low voice. "This is not akin to being captured, tortured a little and then killed by the orcs of Dol Guldur." He spread his arms. "To be kept alive, to be kept by Sauron himself for whatever his intention; you know it is a fate worse than any."

"I understand." Legolas hung his head, staring down at the vial. He let out a weary breath, his limbs heavy, weak, threatening to crumble to the dusty earth. Instead he pocketed the deadly potion and looked back to Gandalf.

"In case."

"In case." Gandalf murmured with pale, sorrowful eyes, before turning and leaving Legolas alone under the dark sky where the Nazgul circled high, high above.

...

The earlier skirmish and the fear of losing both Elrohir and Elladan who were brothers to him, and then the near certainty they had lost Aerlaer had left Aragorn bone weary. His mood was cast in shadows by presence of the Nazgul. The spirits of the men, his men, were down. He would wait until Legolas returned, for he had quietly asked that he watched Aerlaer until he returned, then he would try and restore their hope, before it was diminished completely.

"What elf takes over half of an hour to fill two water skins?" Aerlaer grumped from where she sat beside Gimli. The dwarf barked out a laugh, only to choke on the strip of dried meat he'd been chewing on.

"Maybe he is having a wash." Gimli said, and after a moment, Aragorn realised what he spoke of. Aerlaer eyed Gimli, completely baffled causing Aragorn to chuckle.

"What exactly am I missing?"

"Oh, nothing lass; it amuses me you elves are so adamant it should take less than half an hour to fill two water skins."

"Us elves?" Her brow raised expectantly.

"Well you and the lad." Gimli offered and Aragorn watched as she cocked her head curiously.

"And since when has Legolas said such a thing?"

"Err—Fangorn." Gimli replied, realizing the discussion was no longer in his favor.

"I seem to recall telling you exactly what I was doing after filling water skins on that occasion." Aragorn held in a laugh as she now fixed Gimli with a piercing gaze. "Yet Legolas was very surprised and had no idea I was also swimming which I am sure I informed you, Gimli, before I left with the water skins to let the others know."

"I err forgot?" Gimli offered but even in the dim light of the fire, Aragorn could see his cheeks had darkened a shade. Aerlaer's smirk grew.

"I thought dwarves had good memories too." She mused. "It must be hobbits with good memories and dwarves who lack.

"We do have excellent memories! Aerlaer smirked victoriously at him, and Aragorn laughed along with Taurorn, who had come to sit beside him as Gimli's cheeks went impossibly redder.

"Lucky, Legolas has nice manners and I did not have to shoot him down."

"What?" Legolas steped into the firelight, and upon hearing Aerlaer's threat, gasped. Aragorn looked up to see a wariness in his friend's eyes which had not been there when he had left. It was Taurorn who spoke, still laughing at Gimli.

"Aerlaer has just ousted Gimli in failing to inform you what Aerlaer was really up to in Fangorn." Aragorn watched as the elf turned and glared pointedly at Gimli.

"He didn't. I could have died. Aerlaer nearly did shoot me." He said solemnly and Gimli gasped.

"I did not know, had I known..." Gimli trailed off in thought and then looked balefully at Legolas. "No! You ran off and didn't even let me finish explaining, and that is cow's turd about nearly dying and you know it!" Aragorn was glad to see a smirk flash across his Legolas's face as he gazed at Gimli thoughtfully.

"Still you could have called out to me, I have excellent hearing you know."

"Fine, fine you've got me." Gimli grumbled. "Although I warrant you still would have gone." He added.

"Perhaps." The elf said nonchalantly, shooting Aerlaer a wry smile but Aragorn was sure it was strained. Something bothers him.

Legolas placed the water skins he had filled down and then sat down between he and Aerlaer. Aragorn shook his head fondly as both elves gravitated towards each other until Aerlaer's head rested upon Legolas's shoulder and his arm was wrapped securely around hers.

"The Nazgul, still they circle high above." Aerlaer commented and the other elf stiffened.

"Yes, they do." He replied but Aragorn sensed a wariness, almost a tremble in his voice. Aerlaer must have noticed too, staring at him with deep, questioning eyes.

"Are they bothering you?"

"They bother us all." Was all Legolas replied and Aerlaer nodded and rested back against him, but Aragorn was certain something was amiss with the amiss. Presently he stood.

"You are right, but I think if we give the men hope going into the night hours, they will be a little lighter of heart. Legolas will you walk with me? They have respect for you, and your singing cheered them a little today." Aragorn beckoned to him and although his words were friendly, he made sure they were also an order of sorts.

Legolas looked up at him, clearly torn. Since Aerlaer had been lost in the last skirmish, Legolas had barely left her side.

"Go with Aragorn. Taurorn and I will walk amongst the horses for they too are restless under the shadows of the fell beasts." Aerlaer made the decision for him, leaping to her feet, Taurorn following suit. "We will meet you back here soon." Aerlaer said before she and Taurorn turned and were soon engulfed in darkness as they walked away.

Legolas stared desolately after her, and Aragorn placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come." He made to walk away, and the elf followed him, although reluctantly.

Together they passed amongst the groups of soldiers from Rohan, from Gondor, and those rangers from Ithilien. Aragorn stopped and talked to the men and Legolas made a light joke here and there and although it seemed to cheer the men, for many of them liked Legolas and his easy manner and good nature, Aragorn felt the elf's heart was not in it.

Once they had been to each group of men who were still awake and were well enough away from the other members of the fellowship, Aragorn turned to Legolas.

"Tell me Legolas, what bothers you so?"

"It is nothing." He replied, looking away from Aragorn, and to the starless sky.

"Mellon nin am man furana nin?" He said softly and suddenly Legolas crumpled before him, pain written plainly upon his face. "Legolas what is wrong?" He asked in surprise and watched as the elf pushed a hand into the inner pockets of his cloak and then held out a small vial of inky blue liquid. Aragorn squinted at it in the half light. "Why do you have this?" He asked warily.

"The Nazgul, one of them spoke to me. Sauron, I do not know why, to what en,d but he wants Aerlaer and he wants me." The elf whispered.

"And the Swift Death?" Aragorn asked, his mind reeling.

"Galadriel gave it to Mithrandir to give to me." He uttered and Aragorn raised an eyebrow.

"She has foreseen something?"

"I do not know; Gandalf did not say so. He only said the Lady knew that Sauron wanted to claim us, and it must not happen. If it should come to that—" Legolas took a shuddering breath. "He does not intend on killing us and so, and so..." The elf's words trailed off as he took another shuddering breath and Aragorn placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"And so, you must take your own." He said what Legolas could not. "I understand—"

"No! I mean yes, but that is nothing. It is hers I must take also." Aragorn drew in a breath as he beheld the sight of his tormented friend.

"Have you spoken to Aerlaer; does she know?"

"No, I am not meant to for if she knew she would refuse and if Sauron captures her, which he will not for I will make sure of it." He added vehemently. "But if he did..."

"Legolas..." Aragorn started but trailed off himself, for he could find no words to comfort his friend. They marched to the Black Gate to distract the enemy, to hopefully give Frodo more time. He doubted himself any of them would live to return, yet Legolas's words chilled him.

The Nazgul had whispered to Aragorn too of the death and destruction they would wreak upon the men and then the world when the army fell but until now, until Legolas had spoken, he did not consider Sauron would keep any alive.

"None can know how this will turn out. Hopefully it will not come to that." He looked his friend steadily in the eyes and slowly the elf nodded. False hope. It would be enough for now. Aragorn knew Legolas knew, as he did, it was to their deaths they truly rode. "Come, let us return to the others." He added and with another nod and hastily pocketing the lethal vial, Legolas followed beside him.

Aragorn watched as Aerlaer turned from where she stood beside Gimli and Taurorn, the twins and the two hobbits and her face lit up upon seeing Legolas beside him. There was life, mischief, love and trust in her bright eyes, and Aragorn's felt his own heart twisted as she skipped around the fire to embrace the blonde elf. Legolas held her close, and in the flickering firelight, Aragorn saw sorrow flicker in those warm, kind brown eyes for just a moment before Aerlaer moved to gaze up at him impishly.

"Taurorn said you and he placed a bet back in Minas Tirith over who could eat more, Elrohir or Pip! They have agreed once we return to Gondor to prove who has the bigger appetite, a pig-elf or a hobbit!" She grinned at him and Aragorn watched as his Legolas fought to remain composed. Aerlaer's smile faltered.

"Legolas, are you well?"

"Yes, the men, their spirits were low, but it gladdens me yours is as bright as ever." He smiled, and this time it was genuine. Slowly, a smile as warm as the sun, spread across Aerlaer's features, then and it was real and after a moment she smiled back at him and strands of her hair glowed softly, a pale gold not unlike sunlight.

In this land, in this darkness, Aerlaer was a welcome sight. Aragorn recalled how some of the men, including Imrahil and Éomer, called the two elves their light, for the lightness of their pure and youthful hearts, and for the way Aerlaer's hair glowed that pale gold in the presence of the other elf while his looked like moonlight they said. Could that be why Sauron wanted them both? Because they were the opposite to his evil, his darkness? He moved away from Legolas's side to find his bedroll. He would prepare to sleep but perhaps before he did, he would find Gandalf. There was now much more on his mind.

...

Aerlaer had already set out their sleep rolls nearby the fire and now she sat cross legged on hers, chewing her bottom lip, regarding Legolas who laid stretched out. He had been upon his back, facing the sky but then a shadow, darker than the night passed over and he shuddered ever so slightly and turned away to face her. She had not missed it.

"I am uncomfortable with their presence too." She admitted. He said nothing in return, dark eyes lit by the glow of firelight, watching her. She cocked her head at him. "Legolas... you've seemed off since you returned from the wagons. Did something happen?" He sighed, lifting a hand to run it gently through her hair which cascaded over her right shoulder.

"The presence of the Nazgul have darkened my thoughts." He said at length, seeming to choose his words. "It has made me wonder at what we shall face in so fewer days, what our end will be, what Sauron will do if any still survive the defeat if he should win." Aerlaer sat still, shocked by the darkness of his words, the near desolation of them. Curse the wraiths for their Black Breath which drifts in eddies on the wind and even disheartens the purest of hearts.

"Do not fear so, for old Sauron has no body. He is just one will, one twisted and dark spirit—no—less even than that. The one thing he needs to truly destroy any of us he does not have, and he will not get." She reassured the other elf brightly, hoping to ease his worry.

"But his army, his wraiths can." Legolas whispered.

"The can." She gently touched his cheek. "But we'll destroy them first." She added with confidence, and a smile flickered upon his face. "There may only be six-thousand of us, but we still have what Sauron does not, hope, and for that we have the upper hand." Aerlaer stretched out beside him on the sleep rolls. "You must not fear where we march to, you must not worry and let these dark thoughts linger for then you are already letting him win." She traced the line of his nose and tapped the end lightly, playfully, to make her point and he smiled, and this time he seemed to accept her reassurances, the tense line of his shoulder relaxing.

"You are right, I would rather spend this time cheerfully." He pulled her in closer. "Cheerfully with you." He added and she could not help but smile, relieved his dark thoughts had passed. His smile morphed into a wicked grin. "You know, as you demonstrated today, these Lórien cloaks do well hiding their wearers from others." His eyes darted to her cloak which rested, nestled between them and he looked back to her with a quirked brow and a boyish grin. A flock of birds seemed to take flight within her stomach, but she couldn't stop her own grin at what he was suggesting. Grasping the cloak and giving it a sharp flick upwards, Aerlaer set it to float back down but lips had already claimed hers before the cloak had even settled over them, obscuring them from the Nazgul who flew silently above the camp on their fell beasts high, high above in the dark night.

Thank you to those who have reviewed, and hey to all you new followers!

ArwenUndmiel - Hey! You can rest your freaking out heart now. Okay, after this ominous chapter, perhaps not! Also, thanks! I love writing drama fairy Legolas! :D Aida will certainly find her way back into the story. Bregon can go jump, but I dare say we haven't seen the end of him either.

blasttyrant - Haha, its like a wicked game of hide and seek!

Katara Melody Cullen - Thanks! :)

Princess of Mirkwood2 - :)

zikashigaku - Hehehe, its like you forseen this chapter re the scolding!

mystarlight - Thank you, and you are most welcome. Hope you have a wonderful 2020! :)