Chapter 2 – Nightmares

Okay, just… you guys are freaking incredible! I got more reviews in a few days than I would have gotten in months for my other fanfics… I love this fandom! Thank you all so much! Thank you especially to those who have added my story to favorites, followed, etc… it means a lot to me!

Here is chapter two! Please enjoy! :)

"Nana?" a soft, trembling voice cut through the heavy gloom. "Nana, are you here?"

Legolas stood in a deep, pitch-black space, seemingly devoid of anything but the suffocating darkness and the far-away, unidentifiable noises echoing within it. Legolas could see nothing, yet he knew exactly where he was. He had been there every night for the past month, ever since his mother's death. Ever since he had actually, physically spent six horrid days in the wretched place.

"Nana," he said again, his voice more of a whimper than anything. He looked around, expecting to see hands reaching for him in the blackness or his mother's ghastly face, but tonight, he saw nothing. Until his wide blue eyes caught sight of a single spot of something in the distance; a tiny dot of light. Without hesitation, he began to run towards it, out of that awful place and the awful darkness that swallowed his voice and stole his breath and smothered his very existence. He ran forever, for months and years and centuries, until finally he burst out into the bright sunlight. Around him he expected to see the forest as it was: enormous trees and dense foliage and the sound of the wind in the branches. But instead, there was what he instantly recognized to be a graveyard. There were no trees or animals or living things, only cold, worn stone and wilting flowers. The sky was grey and the ground was a similar color, as were the gravestones and the dying plants; it seemed the world was washed-out and melancholy.

Legolas stood in the middle of this, quite confused; when he turned around, the cave that he had come out of was gone, replaced by the same scene of graves all around him.

"Legolas…" a voice, painfully familiar, echoed out from the graves.

"Nana?" Legolas whirled around in search of the source of the sound, but the graveyard was still empty.

"Legolas, ion nin… come to me…"

Legolas felt tears stinging his eyes. "Nana, where are you?"

It was then that a hand, pale and streaked with mud and blood, wormed its way out of the ground at his feet. Legolas jumped away with a shriek as the hand was joined by another, both clawing at the dirt, searching for a way out of their tomb.

"Legolas… Legolas… why did you kill me, Legolas?"

A sob escaped Legolas' lips as he realized that his mother's voice came from underground.

"Why did you leave me, Legolas?"

Legolas felt his legs growing weak with fear and sorrow, buckling under the weight of his grief. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "Nana… I-I'm sorry…"

His mother's face became visible as her hands clawed away the ground. She turned her head to look at him, and he whimpered at the sight. Her mouth was gaping, her features twisted in an expression of anguish, and where her eyes should have been, there was nothing but two round holes. Her body continued to rise out of the ground, and Legolas saw that she wore the long white dress she had been buried in, but now it was torn and stained with dirt and blood. Her skin was rotting away in some places, and chunks of her flesh peeled away from her bones as she struggled from the earth.

"Do you see what you have done to me? Do you see what I have become?" Her mouth did not move, her words seeming to come from everywhere at once. She turned and began to crawl towards Legolas, her movements jerky. Legolas wanted to scramble away, but he was frozen, rooted to the spot, unable to move or speak.

"It is your fault I am dead. It is your fault. This is what you have done to your mother. Why did you not help me? Help me, Legolas, help me. Legolas, Legolas…" She continued to advance, reaching towards her with a pale, vein-streaked hand.

"Legolas, Legolas, Legolas…"

"No," Legolas managed to choke out. "Nana, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."

"Legolas, Legolas…"

"Nana, stop! No! Nana!"

"Legolas, Legolas, Legolas…"

"Legolas! Legolas!"

Elladen shook the writhing Prince, trying to release him from the grips of his nightmare. "Legolas, wake up!"

"Nana-!" Legolas' startling blue eyes snapped open as he cried out. His face was pale with fear, and beads of sweat were sprinkled across his cheekbones and forehead. He looked franticly around, and then scrambled to the corner of the bed, clutching the covers around him and trying to put as much space between himself and Elladen as possible.

"Legolas?" Elladen looked at the younger Elf with concern and a bit of nervousness. Seeing his friend like this unnerved him, and he wished for the comforting presence of Elrond, or at least his brother.

After a moment, he said to the trembling Elf before him, "Legolas, it's me. It's alright."

Legolas stared back at him with suspicion and fear in his bright eyes. He remained pressed back against the wall and didn't speak.

Elladen didn't know what to do; he'd comforted Elrohir after nightmares before, but never had he or his brother experienced anything like this. Legolas seemed to be almost in a delusion, unaware of what was happening, who he was, or whom he was with. Elladen tried again: "Legolas, it's Elladen. You're alright now; it was just a dream."

At this, Legolas seemed to calm a bit. His eyes lost their wild look and the tenseness in his muscles fell away a bit. "Nana…?" he questioned hesitantly.

Elladen replied quickly, hoping to bring him completely out of the haze of the dream. "Your naneth isn't here."

Legolas looked, strangely enough, relieved; he let out a barely audible sigh and his entire body visibly relaxed. After a moment, he said shakily, "I'm sorry…"

Elladen smiled in what he hoped was a very reassuring manner. "There is nothing to be sorry for. It was just a dream."

Legolas nodded slowly. "Just a dream."

xOxOxOx

"How did you sleep last night?" Elrond asked, looking at the blonde Elfling as he sat down at the table for breakfast.

"Fine," replied Legolas smoothly.

Elrond glanced over at Elladen, who was looking down at the table, picking quietly at the fruit on his plate. He then returned his gaze to the blonde Prince, who was had begun to do the same. After a moment, he decided it would be best not to push it, and he returned to his own breakfast.

Elrohir, being unable to take too much silence, piped up. "So, what do you want to do today?" He looked from Elladen to Legolas with eager eyes.

Neither replied.

"…Well, we could go pick berries so Cook can make a pie," Elrohir answered himself. "Strawberries or blueberries or blackberries."

Elrond decided to help out his son in his pitiful attempt at making conversation. "The blueberries and blackberries won't be ripe for a few months."

"Strawberries, then," Elrohir decided. "There's a really nice river near the strawberry patch. You like water, don't you, Legolas? 'Cause you're a Wood-elf." Elrohir appeared proud of his knowledge of the Elven races.

Legolas looked up from his plate and awarded Elrohir's efforts with a soft, sweet smile. "Yes. Many of the rivers in Mirkwood have become poisoned, though. It will be nice to see some clean water."

Elrohir looked nothing short of delighted. "Great! We'll go after breakfast."

Legolas and Elladen started to agree, but they were interrupted by Elrond. "Legolas needs to rest a while before you go. He'd still hurt, remember?" He looked pointedly at the twins, and then gave Legolas a gentle, almost apologetic smile.

"Yes, Ada," said the twins with a sigh. Legolas simply nodded, eyes cast downward, knowing that he was in for another examination.

Translations:

Naneth: mother

Nana: mommy; mum

Ion nin: my son

Sorry if that was a weird place to end; I didn't want to make it too long (aka I didn't feel like writing any more -.-'') I wasn't planning to put up this chapter until Wednesday, so it wasn't too well planned, but I felt inclined to put up something for you lovely people, as a thank-you for all those reviews!

Finally, I end my babbling with a warning: expect chapters to be about this long from now on; that first chapter, with its nearly 4,000 words, was quite a feat for me! Plus, I wrote it over holiday break, so I had more free time to write it.

Okay, I'm done now!

Thanks for reading… I hope you liked it! Please review! You know by now that I adore reviews! :)

With love,

Onee