A/N: Another chapter down, and...like, 17 billion more to go. Lol jk, I'd say about five..ish. And then a prologue. And then an entirely new story, of which I've already got an idea for. :D Aren't you excited? Cause I am! :DDDD Oh, and yes, I did make Faramir have a bit of a crush on Íverin. But don't worry, that's not gonna screw anything up. Íverin's no whore, she's not gonna cheat on Legolas. :3

On another note, I actually had a dream about this story yesterday night, guys. O_O That probably means that I'm obsessing over this too much, but whatever. Oh! And did any of you see the trailer for "The Hobbit" yet? I saw it on YouTube this morning (it actually made me late to school lol), and it looks so epic! I can't wait until it premiers next year!

Anyway, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, I only own Íverin, her background, and...that's it. Good? Good.

A great flash of lightning is what brought me to my senses. I opened my eyes and lifted my head to find myself lying on a hard, dirty, rocky surface, in a very dark, ominous place. Standing, I saw nothing but rock, and black, jagged mountains in the distance. Black clouds crashed and boomed overhead, and more lightning shot down through the sky, but no rain fell. The entire place reeked of evil.

From behind me, I heard a cry for help. I whipped around, but saw nothing except the edge of a cliff, dropping off to reveal a vast sea of scalding, bubbling lava far below. Then I heard it again, louder, and clearer this time. "Help! Please!"

By now, I heard that voice all too well. I ran to the cliff's edge, looked down, and of course, there was Legolas, dangling precariously over the edge. I gasped. "What in the world are you doing down there?"

He looked up, relieved to see me. "Do not ask! Just help me up!"

I nodded, and was about to reach down, when there came a ferocious roar from behind me. I turned and screamed, for a Fell Beast had landed in front of me, bearing no rider, but still a deadly threat. It charged at me, and I ran to the side, ducking as it swept its great wings over my head. I looked back at the cliff's edge. Right. I had to save Legolas. But it might be easier if there wasn't a huge monster in my way.

On instinct, I reached for my sword, but looked down in shock when I realized that it wasn't there. I was still in my nightclothes. Cursing, I decided to try and take it down the old fashioned way. With speed and agility that only an elf could have, I jumped over the beast's tail and ran up its back, getting all the way up to its neck. Not knowing what else to do, I grabbed onto the large head of the thing and started to repeatedly punch it in the face. It roared in fury and pain, and tried to shake me off. I held on and kept at it.

"Íverin!" Legolas cried. "A little help, here!"

"Hold...on...a second!" I replied. The beast was weakened, I knew, but I also knew that this would not kill it. I'd have to do that another way. Maybe I could push it off the edge...no wait, it has wings. Maybe I could try to strangle it...but that would be stupid, I'd never win that way. Maybe-

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud crack. A huge flash of lightning landed in the ground not two feet in front of me. I screamed and let go of the Fell Beast, falling to the ground on my back. Not suffering too hard of a landing, I got back on my feet, and my enemy flew away. I watched it go, smirking. That takes care of that.

But I had no time to gloat. For a second later, I heard a loud crack, then another, and another. I looked down to see a huge crack working its way through the ground of the cliff that I was standing on, and jumped to the safe side, just as it fell away.

And then I remembered. Legolas was still on that.

"NO!" I screamed. I darted towards the breaking rock in one last desperate attempt to save him, but I was too late. The ground crumbled and fell away, and I could only watch in horror as it fell down into the blistering hot lava, carrying my beloved Legolas with it. His horrified screams rung in my ears. After it disappeared with a faint splash, I stood and wiped my eyes. This was just a dream. He had not died. It was just a dream. Now I just had to figure out how to get out of this horrible nightmare.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see Aragorn walking towards me. I ran up to him and hugged him hard. "Aragorn! Why are you here, too?" I tried to calm my shaking voice.

To my surprise, my cousin smiled. "He didn't make it, Íverin."

I looked up into his eyes, and gasped. They were no longer that hard, but welcoming blue-grey that I had always known them for. Now they were a fiery red, filled with hate and evil. "A-Aragorn? What..."

"You know of what I speak." He pointed behind me, and I turned to see the broken cliff side. "Your beloved elf-friend. He fell."

I tensed, and tears filled my eyes. "Stop it. None of this is real. You know it!" My voice broke, and images of the horrified look that must've been on Legolas's face as he fell filled my mind.

"You failed him, Íverin," Aragorn hissed in my ear. "You failed to protect him...in order to protect your own life."

I closed my eyes, and tried to block out his twisted words, but could not. I knew it was true. If I had focused on him...if I hadn't been so selfish and focused on protecting myself...I could've saved him. It was my fault. I failed. I failed. One of my worst fears, finally coming true. I failed.

I opened my eyes and lifted my head to see Aragorn still standing there, glaring at me. Tears streamed down my face. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry will not bring him back." Aragorn walked behind me, and I turned again. What I saw scared me yet again. Every single original member of the Fellowship was standing there before me, all with the same evil red eyes. Even Boromir.

I looked from face to face, shocked. "I...I...I didn't mean to! No! It was...it was my mistake! I-"

They all began to slowly walk towards me, and I stepped back in response. Then Frodo spoke. "Why did you do that, Íverin? Can you not ever think of anyone but yourself?"

"No!" I cried. "No! I didn't...I wouldn't..."

"There is no excuse that you can make that is worth his life," Gandalf said lowly. "You must pay for your actions."

I winced. That is exactly the kind of thing that he would say. "I'm so sorry..."

The Fellowship got even closer. They had me now, just a few steps away from the edge of the cliff, completely surrounding me. I knew there was no way out.

Even the pure, innocent voice of Sam was now cruelly twisted. "Come on now, miss. You can't let Mr. Legolas die like that without pay."

I hung my head. "Fine, then. What is it that you wish?"

Aragorn stepped closer again. "This." Without another word, he shoved my off the edge of the cliff.

I screamed as I plummeted to my doom. The last thing I saw was the glint of everyone's red eyes, and then I knew no more.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Whoever was shaking me was shaking me hard. "Íverin! Íverin, wake up! Íverin!"

I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was Aragorn looming over me, with his hands on my shoulders. My eyes widened in fear. "No!" I screamed, thrashing underneath my sheets. "Get away! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I didn't-"

"Calm down, child!" Now Gandalf was in my face. I closed my eyes, trembling in fear. "What in the world just happened?"

Tears flowed down my already wet cheeks. "I'm sorry, so sorry...I didn't mean to kill him...I swear..."

"Kill who?" Aragorn asked.

"L...Legolas," I whispered, preparing for the worst.

"What in Middle-Earth are you talking about? I am right here!"

I opened my eyes again to see Legolas standing right next to my bed, concern written all over his face.

I reached out and touched his arm. "You...you're alive!"

"Of course I am!" the confused elf said. "Why would I be dead?"

"But you...you fell...the beast...and the cliff...and..."

Aragorn knelt down and took my hands. "Íverin, it was just a nightmare. He is fine."

I finally looked into his eyes, and relief flooded through me. They were the normal blue-grey again. I looked over at Gandalf. His eyes were normal looking, too. I also noticed that Faramir, Gimli, and two other soldiers of Gondor were all standing around my bed. No red eyes anywhere. I exhaled shakily.

Gandalf looked at the men behind us. "There is no need to worry anymore. Faramir, thank you for alerting us. If you would give us a moment..."

"Of course." Faramir cast one last worried glance at me, and he and his soldiers left the room. Now it was just Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, and me.

The kind old wizard looked back at me. "Now tell us, Íverin. What happened?"

I swallowed nervously, not eager to relive that nightmare at all, but described every detail for them. By the time I was done with my tale, they all looked quite disturbed and worried, especially Legolas. Not that I could blame them, anyway. "What did you all see? I mean, how did you know about my nightmare?"

"Well," Gandalf said, "I assume that Faramir had heard you, because he came running into my room and said that you were in distress. Of course, you woke up several others, and when we got here, you were lying in bed, screaming every now and again and mumbling something. You were crying, too. And now we know why." He glanced out the window. "Have you had any nightmares like this before?"

"Yes," I answered, "but never to this extreme."

"Were they any different than this one?" I nodded. The wizard frowned a bit. "How?"

I closed my eyes, remembering the horrible dreams I'd had in the past. "Well...one of them was about Minas Tirith, and some old forest...both burning, and I had to choose which one to save. The next one was about those I love dying, and so was the third, and now there's this one."

Gandalf closed his eyes momentarily and placed a hand on my forehead. "How long have these been going on?"

"Ever since Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and I were tracking the Uruk-Hai in Rohan."

Gandalf whispered some sort of spell, and I got an odd sensation of being...searched. Like the old man was probing through my mind, looking for something. Finally, he removed his hand, and looked at me. "Íverin, I...I honestly don't know what's going on. I believe that Sauron...he may be watching you. Has he ever been in your dreams?"

I nodded again. "Yes! Quite often, actually. This was the only one so far that he hasn't been in."

"Then that is, most likely, what is happening. He must have infiltrated your mind in some way. He cannot harm you, in fact, I think he is merely watching you. For whatever reason, I do not know. But you must be very careful what you say to him in your dreams or let him know. I regret to tell you that I cannot do much to help you at the moment, not until I have some time to sit down and figure this out, which I do not have at the moment. But...just be careful, alright?"

I smiled a bit. "I'll be careful, Gandalf. I promise."

He smiled back. "You should be fine, my dear. Now get some rest, all of you." He stood and motioned for the others to leave me be. One by one, they exited my room, with Legolas being the last to leave.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" he asked, his blue eyes full of concern.

I laughed softly and kissed his cheek. "You needn't worry about me, love. I've told you that more times than I can count."

He smiled. "As long as you are sure." With that, he left the room as well, leaving me alone.

I sighed and turned back to face the window, the red glow of Mordor on the horizon greeting me. What use was I to Sauron? Why would he choose to infiltrate my mind as opposed to someone else's? Yawning, I closed my eyes and snuggled deeper underneath my blankets. That was another mystery for another day.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The next day was rather uneventful, just another day of running around Minas Tirith, exploring every nook and cranny accessible, but this time with Legolas at my side. Once again, I found myself falling in love with the amazing city, interested in the smallest things, intrigued by the tiniest details. But I could not help but feel...slightly disconnected from Legolas the whole day. It seemed like something was bothering him, and I tried to figure out what it was, but to my frustration, I never got anything out of him.

Finally, as day turned to dusk, Legolas and I arrived back at the top level of the White City, ready to return to our temporary home for the night.

"So, did you have as much fun as I did?" I asked, smiling.

"Of course, love," he replied, but he still sounded off.

"And...you don't have anything that you'd like to tell me?"

He looked at me oddly, but I knew it was an act by now. "Why do you ask?"

I sighed and stopped walking. "Legolas, stop it! Why won't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"What in the world are you talking about?" Legolas responded, but I wasn't giving up now.

"Legolas, you do not have to hide anything from me. I know something's been on your mind all day. I can see it in your eyes."

For a moment, he didn't say anything, and I thought maybe I had offended him. But then Legolas sighed. "I am sorry. I did not want to tell you, but...I...I was afraid that you would not want to leave Gondor, now that you have returned and have been welcomed here."

"Why would you worry about that, my love?" I asked.

"Because I worried that you would want to stay here forever, and...and I would never see you again." Legolas blushed the tiniest bit and looked at his feet.

My heart melted, and I took his hands in mine. "Legolas..." He looked up, and I kissed him. "If you know me at all, you should know that I would never part with you forever. No matter what."

"You really mean that?" he said quietly.

"Of course I do." I linked his arm in mine, and together we walked into the palace once again. Not a moment after we had set foot in, we were met with a stern-faced Aragorn. "There you are, Legolas!" He relaxed a bit and smiled. "You're almost as bad as Íverin here. I keep losing you!"

Legolas laughed. "Forgive me, Aragorn. I did not know you wanted to see me."

"It is fine, my friend. I need to speak with you privately, so...if you don't mind, Íverin..."

I unlocked our arms. "Not at all." I watched as the two old friends walked away together, thinking about what I had said to Legolas. Could I really keep the promise I had just made?