Hello! I am sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. Well, a reviewer said that I should give this story a T rating. I am not sure whether this is warranted. The LOTR fandom is used to very gruel stories that only have a K+ rating, after all. And the last time I gave a story a T rating I was accused of just trying to get more reviews that way. So, I am a bit confused now. What do you think? Does this story warrant a higher rating so far? Let me know, please. Thank you all! Have fun reading!

Chapter 5: Warnings

Legolas was not sure what had woken him, but he felt himself slowly leaving the land of elvish dreams and returning to the waking world. Yawning, he blinked his eyes. It was still dark in the cave, the only light now coming from his own soft glow. After a moment of staring around in the dark, Legolas yawned again, then looked beside him. A small line of worry creased his handsome features.

With worry tightening his stomach, Legolas turned his head and looked down at the sleeping man in his arms. Aragorn's head was resting on his shoulder, dark locks falling across his face. Even in the dark of the cave Legolas could tell that Aragorn was paler than usual and already dark circles had formed under his eyes, proof of little sleep. Sighing deeply, Legolas reached out and gently stroked the stray strands of hair away. Immediately Aragorn shifted closer to him, a frown appearing on his face, but he did not wake. Sighing once more, Legolas placed a kiss on the man's forehead, hoping that the nightmares would not return. They had done enough damage already.

After spending more tears than Legolas had thought such a young human could posses, Aragorn had fallen asleep in his arm, clearly exhausted. There had been no more bad dreams that night, for which Legolas was very grateful. He did not know whether he would have been able to calm Aragorn down once more. The first time had been bad enough. He only hoped that now, after Aragorn had confessed in him, the man would be able to overcome the horrid things he had experienced and the healing would begin. Legolas feared that it would take a very long time until Aragorn was ready to truly face what might have nearly happened to him. And he also knew that, for as long as the elf who had done this to him was not caught, Aragorn would probably never find rest.

Legolas tried to get back to sleep, but after half an hour of fruitless attempts to empty his mind and wander off to elvish sleep, he shook his head in frustration. He listened inside his body for a moment, finding that he was not tired at all. But the cave was still dark, indicating night. So, Legolas shifted into a slightly more comfortable position, closing his eyes this time. There was nothing to see, anyway. Aragorn's deep and rhythmical breaths next to him should have made him at least doze off, but not this time. With every minute that Legolas lay in the cave, trying to find sleep, it evaded him and he felt more awake with every breath he took. Of course, that could have to do with the fact that he was in a dark cave, under the ground, with no light at all. Not that he was afraid of the dark….

Just when he had resigned himself to the fact that he would simply have to stay awake and wait until Aragorn woke as well, two things happened at once. His keen ears detected some distant rumbling, as if something deep down in the earth had growled, and then the ground shook ever so slightly. From one minute to the next, Legolas's heart raced and adrenalin shoot through his veins. But, he lay absolutely still, not moving a muscle, not even daring to breathe. Maybe he had dozed off and was imagining things…

But then it happened again. A rumble in the distance, before the ground shook ever so slightly. A small stone bounced down the side of the cave and landed with a soft 'blub' in the lake. As if the sound had been a trigger, Legolas felt his hands get sweaty and his heart double its pace. Numerous thoughts raced through his mind, one chasing the other. He was in a cave…under the earth…there was no light…something happened outside, maybe a rockslide…he would be caught….trapped…helpless and alone….

Alone….no, he was not alone. Aragorn was with him! Feeling a rush of relief and worry at the same time surge through him, Legolas turned and shook Aragorn, waking him. The man opened his eyes and looked around, clearly confused. His voice was thick with sleep.

"Legolas? What is it?"

"We have to go, now!" Legolas said without preamble, already extricating himself from under the ranger and getting to his feet.

"What? Why?" Aragorn asked, sitting up slowly and rubbing his eyes. He blinked a few times owlishly, before he rubbed his chin. While Legolas hastened around the cave to grab their belongings, using the little light he produced to see by, Aragorn tried to become fully awake. "What is the matter Legolas? Why are you awake in the middle of the night?"

One of their packs in his hand and his eyes searching for the other, Legolas whispered, "Can't you hear it? Or feel it Estel? Something is amiss! We have to leave, now!"

"Amiss?" Yawning, Aragorn looked around in the dark. "I see nuuuuuuuuuthing." He yawned again and swiped a hand through his hair that made it look as if something had nested in there.

"You cannot see it, Estel, but believe me, we have to leave right now." There was a nervous tinge in Legolas's voice. Scampering around the cave, he collected their things and stuffed them haphazardly into the packs, before he threw one of them at Aragorn.

Catching the pack with a definitive 'oef' sound, Aragorn opened his mouth to protest, when a deep rumbling filled the cave. A moment later, the ground shook slightly, making the water in the lake lap lazily at the rocky shore.

Eyes wide in the dark, Aragorn stared at Legolas, "Please tell me that was your stomach."

"Get up, Estel. Come one, let us leave." Panic had replaced the worry in the elf's voice, and before Aragorn knew what happened, Legolas grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet. He quickly rolled up the sleeping mats and stuffed them in his pack, before he hastened to the opening of the cave. "Come on!"

"Legolas, wait!" Aragorn called after his friend. Although he was wide awake now, he had problems orientating. It was dark in the cave, and his human eyesight did not allow him to see as good as Legolas obviously could. "I need a torch."

With but a few steps Aragorn made it to the cave wall and then alongside it towards the place where they had wedged the burned out torches into the wall and stacked the other ones. Flint and stone were harder to find in the dark, and Aragorn cursed softly under his breath when the torch would not light immediately. Beside him, Legolas shifted from one foot to the other, clearly wanting to leave. When the torch would not catch fire after the fifth try, Legolas snapped, "It is not that difficult Estel. Let me." And with nimble fingers he took the flint and stone away, clicked them together, ignited a spark and lit the torch at the second try. Without ceremony Legolas pushed the burning torch into Aragorn's hands, before he turned on the heel and stormed out of the cave.

Just in that moment another deep growl echoed through the cave, and instead of reprimanding Legolas for his rudeness, Aragorn shut his mouth, shouldered his pack and hastened after his friend.

Legolas could feel his heart beating sharply against his ribs and his blood rushed in his ears, while his stomach felt as if he had not eaten for many days. There had been few situations in which he had felt panicky, but with every rumble that echoed through the cave system, he felt himself slipping nearer to a full blown panic. While he hastened through the corridors, he barely looked at the scrapes of white chalk that he and Aragorn had left on the walls the day before to find their way back. The only thought that was on his mind was to get out.

Most prominent on his mind was the thought that something had happened to make the cave instable. Everywhere he meant to hear rolling stones and grinding rocks. The closeness of the cave walls made him feel claustrophobic and before he knew it, he was running full out, his long legs carrying him down the corridors towards the exit.

"Legolas! Wait!"

Aragorn, being human and therefore naturally slower than Legolas and impeded by his eyesight, had trouble to follow the nimble and panic driven elf. When he saw that Legolas was running pell-mell down the corridor, his heart lurched in his chest. He, too, heard and felt the rumbling, and although he did not know what it meant, he knew that it could be nothing good. The thought of being alone here in the caves, with Legolas gone, made fear well up inside of him.

Panting, he held the torch higher but Legolas was nowhere to be seen. "Legolas! Wait for me!" He called, but there was no answer. With a soft curse to chase away his fear, Aragorn ran down the corridor, hoping to find his friend waiting behind the next bend. Aragorn knew that the elf always felt uncomfortable in caves, as did most elves. He had feared that going on this bat hunt might trouble Legolas, but seeing that everything had seemed fine so far, he had not thought about it anymore. Until now, that was.

He rounded the next bent and just saw Legolas's golden head disappear around another curve in the corridor. Doubling his efforts, he chased after him. "Legooolaaas! For Varda's sake, wait!"

But Legolas did not wait. Panic was running through his veins like liquid fire, and he never even heard Aragorn call his name. Instincts were sometimes stronger than friendship and even love, causing Legolas to abandon the one person his heart probably cared more about than his own life. …………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Elladan!" Elrohir called his brother's name while he shoved his way through the many elves that bustled around in the yard in front of the stables. Somewhere to his right a horse neighed nervously, prancing on the spot.

"Here Dan! I'm over here!" Elladan stretched one of his long arms high into the air and waved it around until his brother had located him. Elrohir made his way over to his brother's side, and together they moved a few yards back into the shadow of the stables, looking around worriedly.

"Do you think we will be able to gather all the animals before the storm brakes?" Elrohir asked, tucking a strand of dark hair behind his ear that had come loose by the strong wind that blew across the yard.

Elladan shrugged and eyed the scene in front of him with a small frown. Since dawn half of the valley was busy in herding the sheep and pigs, the goats and cows into the stables and barns. Who was not busy with the farm animals was either collecting the horses to bring them into the stables or to secure roofs and houses; the whole valley was preparing for the mighty storm that was brewing.

A very strong wind blew across the valley, getting stronger by the hour. Already some older and weak trees had fallen, flower pots had been destroyed and a roof had been lifted off by the wind. Dark, ominous clouds spread across the sky, and a deep rumble to the East indicated the advance of lightning and thunder. Already the storm was bad, but they all knew that what they were experiencing now was merely the beginning. It would get much worse ere the day was over.

"We will do what we can as long as we have enough light." Elladan finally answered, gazing at the sky. "I doubt that even the thickest torch will burn in this storm."

Another gust of wind rushed across the yard, frightening the animals and bowling over some empty barrels. In the distance, a deep rumbling echoed off the cliffs. A streak of lightning illuminated the dark clouds for just a moment, turning them an eerie yellow.

"Do you think Estel and Legolas are alright?" It was Elrohir who asked, his voice betraying his worry.

A deep sigh left Elladan's lips, "I hope so. This storm is a monster. But I guess, if they stay near the caves, nothing will happen. The caves are deep and the rocks thick. Nothing will happen if they stay close to them and venture not too far away or too deep into them."

Another growl of thunder echoed across the yard, making a horse neigh and rear. In the next moment, Elladan and Elrohir were rushing to help the elves to calm the horse, all thoughts of Estel and Legolas forgotten for the moment.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was many hours later that Legolas stumbled around a corner, finally seeing light at the end of the corridor. His heart leapt in relief and with a burst of new energy, he rushed forwards and out into the forest. He ran for a few more yards until he stopped, hands resting on his knees, panting. On his flight out of the caves he had barely stopped, too scared that he would be trapped inside; only a few times he had taken the time to frantically search for the white chalk marks that lead the way.

After a few minutes in which he simply stood there, panting and resting, he lifted his head, straightened and looked around. The first thing he noticed was the strong wind that whipped his long hair around his head and tore at his clothing. A gust rushed against him, making him almost stagger backwards. Confused, Legolas took a good look around.

At first he thought that it was still night, so dark was it in the forest. But when his gaze travelled towards the sky, he saw that it was not so. Heavy, dark clouds completely covered the sky, turning it onto a deep gray mass that blocked out the sun. Small branches, twigs and needles flew through the air, and when Legolas searched for the remnants of their camp fire, he was surprised that merely the stones remained; all ashes and burned branches had been blown away.

While he stood there, confused and slightly disorientated, a deep but surprisingly loud thunder rolled across the sky, making the very air tremble. It was as if someone had lit a candle inside Legolas's head; form one moment to the next, everything made sense.

He had not woken in the middle of the night in the cave! There had been no light because the summer sun had been blocked by the clouds. That was why he had not felt tired at all. And the rumbling, that had been neither a cave in nor some unholy beast of Morgoth that lived in the deep, but the thunder that had echoed around the vast cave system.

Before he knew it, a small giggle left Legolas's lips. Nothing bad had happened! They had not been in danger of being trapped in the cave. They were save and whole and would have been had they stayed in the cave. Relief the seize of a mountain seemed to fall onto the elf's shoulders, and with a slightly crazy smile he turned around, saying, "Estel! There was no…."

But he stopped in mid sentence when he turned around and Estel was not there. Again, it took only the fraction of a second for his mind to realize what had happened. In his panic he had not paid attention to the ranger, and he knew that he had run way too fast for the man to follow him. Worry seized him anew, and with a shout he sprinted back to the opening of the cave.

"ESTEL!"

To be continued.