Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N: Thanks for the reviews: Grey Pigeon, Lathspel, and invisgoth3. I really appreciate them. Thank to everyone else reading the story. Here's the next chapter.

Elladan and Elrohir walked slowly down the hall, their shoulders slumped in despondency no doubt because of their fruitless search for their missing friend. The light of hope seemed to extinguish little by little from their eyes as the probability of finding Legolas alive dwindled with each passing second…minute…hour. Their hearts clenched at the thought of informing their father that their searches were once again wasted. The only consolation lay in the prospect that perhaps Elrond had awakened Aragorn as planned and that the human was coherent, and remembered enough to inform them of the most likely location of Legolas.

They were both pulled out of their hopeless thoughts by the sound of sobbing coming from Aragorn's room. With quick reflexes, they sprinted for the open door. Breathing hard in fear, the twins peered into the room, eyes fixated on the scene of Elrond holding a heartbroken Aragorn in his arms. Thinking the worst, they walked into the room, tears glistening in their own eyes. They truly thought that Legolas was lost in that very moment.

"A-Ada?" Elrohir asked as his voice cracked slightly. He feared the response that would follow.

"He remembers...everything," Elrond whispered over his crying son's head as he held the man against his chest. The twin's eyes lit up as new hope was ignited in their depths. Maybe all was not lost after all. Elrond softly pushed Aragorn upright, away from his chest, as he held the man by both arms. He then began speaking quietly and comfortingly to the distraught man.

"Estel, shhh, ion nin. Everything will be fine now. Elladan and Elrohir are here now. They are going to find Legolas and bring him home. Have hope, Estel."

The words seemed to break Aragorn from his sudden overwhelming feelings of depression induced by his tragic nightmares. He began to quickly wipe his face clear of any residue that would indicate that he had been crying. Despite the pain in his heart for his best friend, he felt that his reaction was childish to say the least. He had not broken down in his father's arms since he was a child. His cheeks reddened slightly in embarrassment. Aragorn hung his head and began to apologize for his outburst; he felt ashamed for giving up hope so easily. Elrond hushed him before he could say anymore.

"Do not apologize. Crying is just the body's way of relieving stress and pain."

"No, ada. I am sorry for losing hope. I know I am stronger than this and I know Legolas is as well. I will not give up on my best friend," he stated definitively.

He wanted so much to believe those words. After everything they had been through together, how could he question his friend's strength? Legolas would never lose hope? Would he? After the dreams he had been having, he was not so sure anymore, but he pushed those dark thoughts to the back of his mind as he tried to force himself to believe that everything would be fine again just as his father had said. Legolas would survive. It couldn't be too late! Maybe his dreams were wrong. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he never heard his brothers asking him questions about his previous camping location. He didn't realize it until he was looking into the concerned eyes of three worried elves.

"Estel?" Elrond asked fearfully, thinking Aragorn had relapsed into a world of despair.

"I'm sorry, ada. I was lost in thought. Did you say something?" His clear and focused eyes put the present elves at ease.

"Estel," Elrohir began, "We need to know where you were that night and what happened." Aragorn hesitated a moment, not wanting to retell every painful detail to his brothers. Instead, he related the main parts of his memories, but refused to tell them where Legolas was being held.

"Estel, you have to tell us where you were camping!" Elladan exclaimed disbelief written on his face. "We need to find him, now!"

"No, I will not tell you," Aragorn said stubbornly. "I will show you."

That simple phrase sent the room into an uproar. Elrond held up a hand to quiet the two frustrated twins as a look of absolute seriousness settled on Aragorn.

"Estel, you cannot leave this room. You are still recovering from a serious illness. You could relapse and perhaps even die. Stop being so stubborn, ion nin!" Elrond shouted exasperated. But then he remembered that upon first awakening, Aragorn had said that they were residing in a cave not a day's journey from there. His face fell and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again a mysterious smile lit up his face. Aragorn stared puzzled at his father's sudden change in demeanor. Before he could say anything further, Elrond turned to the twins and revealed the camp site's location.

"Ada! I have to go! I have to save my friend. It would be quicker if I led them. I know exactly where we were; you only have a general idea. Please!" Aragorn pleaded desperately.

"No," Elrond replied loudly so that his son would understand there was no room for argument. Turning to Elladan and Elrohir he ordering them to leave seeing that they made no motion to move.

"Ada…I think Estel is right. It would be the quickest way to find him. At least we would know the exact location. We would know we were looking in the right place," Elrohir stated trying to be brave. Standing up to his father and facing his wrath especially when it came to endangering Aragorn's health, was not something he was terribly fond of doing. Luckily Elladan stepped in.

"I agree. We've looked long enough with no results. If we leave home again, we will not return until we've found him. Enough time has passed us by, time we could not afford to lose. Every day, every second he is with those vile creatures, is another day in hell for him…and us."

Elrond seemed to break under those words knowing full well what could be happening to Legolas at the hands of the orcs. He wished with all his might that the damage done could be healed, but as he learned with his own wife, such wishes did not always come true. In his heart he knew that his children were thinking logically and that if he didn't allow Aragorn to go, then he would just sneak out anyway and would probably just injure himself in the process. Sighing sadly, he nodded his head in agreement.

"You are right, my sons. We cannot spare any more time. Estel will accompany you, and so will I. Legolas will be in a precarious state when we find him. It is better I come to oversee the situation. We will leave in an hour's time. Prepare the others. I will help Estel." Elladan and Elrohir softly thanked their father and gave their agreement. They quickly left the room to prepare the rest of the group for the journey to save Legolas if it wasn't already too late.

Legolas did not know how long he lay there under the shade of a rather large, sickly-looking tree. His eyes roamed over each branch, each leaf, studying it as though it were one of the most beautiful sights in all of Arda. The trunk was slightly twisted and it hunched forwards as though the top branches were too much weight for the lower bark to support. The leaves were hardly the bright, healthy green of the average tree, but instead they were a mix of a yellow and brown with just the slightest bit of olive beneath the ailing colors. 'What has this world done to such a beautiful child of nature,' Legolas thought sadly to himself.

It was strange to him that everything that had happened in the last few days- though he was not sure it had been days for it felt like a lifetime had passed- seemed to drift from his mind completely. Though savagely beaten, he no longer felt the pain of his wounds, no doubt from the shock that had seized his body at last. His mind had dwelled on pain and death for what seemed like his whole life, but now, it no longer mattered. He was alone, beneath a tree that his suffering mind chose to utilize as a sense of reality…of his reality. The world had thrown everything at that once strong plant, only to have it finally break against the overwhelming force of a terrible storm, unrelenting and reckless. Legolas almost smiled as he looked above in awe. For a moment he thought he was crazy, and perhaps he really was, but then he understood that he accepted his fate. He accepted the fact that no one was going to save him this time. Maybe he too would slowly whither, every sense of self falling to the ground like so many dead leaves.

He rolled over, not being able to contain a grimace as his injuries flared a bit, and he stared at the small group of orcs standing watch around the camp as the others scouted new territory. They had done everything to him. His fate was in their hands from the moment he sent Aragorn away. What irony that he would lay beneath the shade of his own dismal future.

The orcs grunted and snarled as they vehemently cut through the forest, chopping down any branch, grass, or bush that lay in their path. Finding food, territory, and new victims took patience, but orcs were severely lacking in that virtue, or vice as they would no doubt consider it. The elf was fun, but they knew that he would not last much longer. After all, nothing ever did when they crossed paths. The lead orc halted, put his hand up to stop the others behind him, and sniffed the air suspiciously, sensing the approach of unwanted guests. By the stench, there was a group of elves headed in their direction, all on horseback. If one was ever able to see anything beyond the twisted hate behind the eyes of an orc, he would notice that fear and panic filled the cold, black depths now.

Frantic horse calls grew louder and elvish speech filled the air. Before the orcs could even turn and run, the army crashed through the trees, slashing the vile creatures and killing them in minutes. The last things they saw on Middle Earth were the faces of many vengeful elves and one furious human.

A/N : Please review; ) I love them.