A/N: Alright, dream sequence time! What will Valo dream of this time? Past or present? I hope the last chapter cleared up some of your questions and I know that this one will as well. Thanks so much for all of your support! Let me remind you all once again, this story is SLASH. Don't like it, don't read it.

Disclaimer: Nope!

~~~Chapter Eight~~~ Awakening Loss

Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrien, Alas! Like gold fall the leaves in the wind,

Yéni úntimë ve rámar aldaron! long years numberless as the wings of the trees!

yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier The long years have passed like swift draughts

mi oromardi lisse-miruvóreva of the sweet mead in lofty halls beyond the West,

Andúnë pella Vardo tellumar beneath the vaults of Varda wherein the stars

nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni… tremble in the song of her voice…

Dream Sequence…

There was a castle behind me, the sights and sounds of battle filling my every thought. Strange people in robes were shooting lights at one another, some even turning into large howling beasts that attacked their foe without mercy. No one seemed to realize I was standing here, in the middle of all of this bloodshed. No one but a tall, elegant man in a black robe, sitting upon one of the dark steeds that the Nazgul used for travel. He was leveling me with a smirk, his crimson eyes filled with a hunger that I was all too familiar with.

"Master…" My voice echoed throughout the odd dream world though the only person who seemed to hear it was my Master, standing across from me on an outcropping at the center of the battle.

Someone got off a lucky shot and an entire tower of the castle crumbled and collapsed, the terrible sounds of many children falling from the ruined tower to their deaths cried out in the night. Something seized hold of me from the inside. Something wicked and malicious uncoiled within my very soul, stretching inside of me like a languid cat after a long sleep. My Master's smirk widened even though his own forces were falling like flies all around us as if their very life forces were being suddenly drained away. The enemy wearing white and red robes took advantage of this and began putting them in magical bonds. None f this broke through the haze my mind had become. There was something in my mind now, something chuckling in the deep darkness of my brain.

'Go to him. Go to your Master'

I couldn't disobey. I found myself abruptly by his side, his arms wrapped around me from behind and some sort of stick he held pointed at my throat. He was calling to an old man who stood mere meters away with a desperate, terrified look on his wizened face. I could not hear what was being said. It was as if the volume had been muted without warning. All I could make out was the sick glee that spread over my Master's face. He looked around at the ground, whispering something quickly. The people in the red and white robes began to desperately shooting those lights at us, though none made it past my Master's shield. The old man stood with a look of absolute horror on his face as some sort of portal opened beneath our feet. It engulfed us in darkness and I knew no more.

End Dream Sequence

I was sitting in the row boat next to Gimli, toying with the gift Lady Galadriel had given me before our departure. It was a green gemstone, the color of my eyes, inlaid in a silver brooch. The inside of the gem seemed to shift as if there were some sort of smoke inside, keeping me from seeing what was inside. Every so often I would catch a glimpse of something inside it's depths but it was as if there was some magic to prevent it's revealing. It was almost like the elves had caught a cloud inside the stones of earth and set it inside silver. It forever entranced me. I turned back to see Lorien shrinking as we floated further and further down the river Anduin and towards the Falls of Rauros. A grim sadness filled my heart at the loss. I knew I would never see the Lady of the Light again. I turned to my companions one by one. All seemed refreshed though there was a certain wariness in the set of Aragorn and Legolas's shoulders. The Ranger was surveying the shores of the Anduin as if he expected some foe to jump out of the woods at us at any moment. I could understand his caution though. I could feel some great evil approaching on the banks of the eastern shore, though I knew not what it was. Orcs? Somehow these had a different flavor in my mind's eye. I caught beautiful silver eyes staring at me and ducked my head with a blush. Legolas was watching me an awful lot lately. That was okay though. I was watching him an awful lot too. I couldn't believe that I was crushing on someone so…well, someone so Legolas. He was the Prince of bloody Mirkwood, by the Valor! I must be out of my mind.

Aragorn touched my shoulder to get my attention as we approached the enormous statues on each bank of the river. They were made of polished white stone, the very likenesses of the kings of Gondor.

"Valo, the Argonath. Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old. My kin." He whispered in awe and admiration.

I turned my eyes back up to the great statues. These were Aragorn's kin? An unusual jealousy filled my heart like the rising of the tide. I wondered what it must be like…to know your kin. To have a family. It must be like having a part of your heart opened to the light, the fresh spring air sweeping away the dust and webs of years of empty loneliness. Something must have shown on my face because I caught Legolas staring again though this time, he was frowning.

~o~

We had just touched down on the banks of the river, everyone scattering to find firewood and rest. Gimli had plopped himself down heavily on a rock and Legolas appeared as if he would approach me and say something but he didn't. Aragorn helped the hobbits out of the boats with Boromir. The man of Gondor looked perturbed and distressed over something. Perhaps it was the growing darkness that I felt even now tickling along my skin. Something was approaching. Aragorn's boots plodded closer against the rocky, muddy shore.

"We cross the lake at nightfall. Hide the boats and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the north." He said simply.

A sharp thrill coursed down my spine. Mordor…My home. Was my being on this quest for the best? What was the sense in me going to the one place where my Master wanted me, with the Ring in my vicinity? It was just what he wanted. That voice in my head screeched against this thought. I should be doing my best to get back to my Master at all costs. I should be trying to deliver him a victory! It was so close…Legolas touched my shoulder softly and I shivered though this time it was not from darkness. My cheeks flared as he looked to me to assess my wellbeing. It warmed me inside that he was always checking up on me. Almost liked he cared. Gimli spoke up in that rough voice of his, vocalizing his displeasure at the road we had set before us.

"Oh, yes?! It's just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil? An impassable labyrinth of razor sharp rocks! And after that, it gets even better! Festering, stinking marshlands, far as the eye can see!"

Poor Pippin looked quite alarmed. I gave him an uplifting smile to ease his spirits. Aragorn stepped over to the elf and I, his face set upon Legolas's frown.

"We should leave now." Legolas whispered, eyeing the woods around us nervously.

Unconciously, I reached over to touch his shoulder, giving him the same comfort he had just bestowed on me. My keeper glanced down at the point of contact between us but said nothing on it. There was a curiousness in his face though.

"No. Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for cover of darkness."

"It is not the eastern shore that worries me. A shadow and a threat has been growing in my mind. Something draws near...I can feel it!" The Mirkwood Prince insisted.

I nodded up at the Ranger.

"I have felt it as well, Aragorn. Just like with the Balrog. I can feel something coming. We are being tracked." I told him, looking over to the rest of the Fellowship by the bank.

He gave me a sharp nod and a pat on the shoulder. It was enough to tell me that he would keep a sharp eye on our surroundings. Legolas tugged me over to the side with purpose in his eyes. For once snce our journey began, we were alone. The potential between us made the air thick and charged it seemed. Or maybe I was just being…silly. Who would want me, after all? Except for my Master. Silver eyes pierced through me to my very soul it seemed. He decided to be the first to speak.

"What is this, Valo?" He asked at last.

My heart was clenching tightly, my stomach fluttering. I don't know why he asked me but I had been wondering much the same.

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, running his hand through his flawless locks. He was frustrated with me, I knew but it couldn't be helped. I wonder…was he as affected by me as I was by him? Surely not. I was probably just some stupid reckless child to him.

"This…thing between us. Every time you're near, my eyes are always glued to you. Whenever you sleep, I find myself jealous of my friend for being the one to lie next to you. Tell me what this is so that I may find some relief at last." Legolas begged, his hands seeming to search for something to fidget with but finding nothing since I was no enemy.

Was he angry? My stomach dropped at the thought.

"I…I don't know what to say, Legolas. I've never felt like this with anyone. It is strange and new to me. I'm sorry…"

I wasn't sure why I was apologizing. Perhaps for causing him unneeded pain. What was a person supposed to do in these situations? I was far lacking anything that could remotely pass for normal social skills. He approached me softly, his gentle hand coming up to caress my cheek. It was a touch that I reveled in. I had never been touched this way before. Never with such tenderness and admiration. When his head dipped down to my level, his lips hovering so close I could almost taste them, I felt my eyes flutter closed. Was this really happening?

"May I kiss you, Valokiloren?" He whispered faintly, running his thumb over my jaw.

My body seemed to be trembling with the desire for him to do just that. My throat was so choked up that I could barely get out a barely audible 'yes'. His lips met my own with a spark of electricity that had us both seeking more. My hands tangled in his hair and his own slipped around my waist to pull me closer. I didn't know where this was going to lead to in the end or if it would lead to anything. What did this make us now? Would anything change at all? I wasn't sure, only that I wished I could kiss Legolas forever. His lips tasted of rain and growing things. Of life. Neither of us noticed the dark eyes watching us sadly from the trees. I never noticed the deadly calm silence of the voice in my head. The calm before the storm.

R&R!