The Elf did not approach until dusk. Then he came and stood before them, demanding to speak to their leader. Aragorn stepped forwards.
"Hail, Haldir, and well met!" He cried. "I am glad to see a friend after such a day as we have had."
"Hail, Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Haldir said. "I wish I could offer you such tidings…why do you bring evil here?"
"That is a matter for the Lady." Aragorn said quietly. "If you will allow us to pass."
"I cannot." Haldir said. "You have great brashness to expect me to allow this." He looked put out. "Not only is there a Dwarf with you, but the seven Sons of Fëanor!" Curufin rolled his eyes as the words, and Maedhros elbowed him.
"Not now." He hissed in Quenya, and Curufin sighed but relented.
"I know." Aragorn said. "The Dwarf is a good friend and the Fëanorions are my kin, the fathers and uncles of Elrond. I will vouch for them."
"You cannot carry their sins." Haldir said crossly. "Even one would be far too many. Kin or no, the Sons of will set no foot further into our land without Celeborn and Galadriel's explicit word."
"Then you must carry a message to Celeborn and Galadriel." Aragorn said. "They know our errand and the haste we need."
"I will have a message sent." Haldir agreed. "But you will go no further with the Sons of Fëanor."
"Please, Haldir." Aragorn's voice dropped, but it did not get quiet enough for Maedhros to be unable to hear it. "We are pursued by many Orcs. We cannot fall into their hands."
"You may sleep in the trees while we keep watch." Haldir said. "But you come no further into the Golden Wood."
"That is acceptable." Aragorn said. They climbed into the platforms and settled there. The Hobbits looked around nervously, and Gimli muttered something about the instability of trees. Maedhros looked over the edge to the ground far below.
"Impressive." He murmured. "Elves living in trees. Who would've thought?" The Galadhrim gave him dark looks. Celegorm smirked.
"And you said that it was impossible." He scoffed. "I could totally have built a house up in one of the trees near Formenos."
"No." Maedhros said flatly. "Káno is near enough to panic as it is."
"Would you please get back from the edge, Nelyo?" Maglor hissed. Maedhros took pity on his brother and scooted back slightly.
"I'm not gonna fall out." Maedhros said. Maglor's jaw tightened.
"If you fall asleep you will." He murmured, in quiet enough Quenya so that the Galadhrim wouldn't hear even if they spoke the language. Maedhros dipped his head in a nod. Maglor wasn't wrong. Maedhros' nightmares led him to move far more than was normal of a sleeping Elf. He could easily fall out of the tree.
"I'm not gonna sleep, Káno. I don't need to." Maedhros said. Maglor let out a short breath.
"Still."
"Why aren't you gonna sleep?" Peregrin asked.
"Elves don't need as much sleep as other beings do." Celegorm answered.
"Why?" Peregrin asked. Celegorm blinked.
"I…don't know." He said slowly. "Um…that is a question for Elrond, when you get back to Imladris." Peregrin did not look very satisfied with that answer, but he nodded. Maedhros turned back towards the edge of the platform. As he looked, he caught Boromir's eye. The man was watching him, a slight frown on his face.
"Will you be well?" Boromir murmured as Celegorm shooed the Hobbits off to bed. Maedhros tensed. He'd never spoken of the nightmares to the Fellowship. He'd stayed far enough away so that they wouldn't hear him if he made noise.
"Yes." Maedhros said. "Why?" Boromir grimaced.
"I may not have lived thousands of years, but I've lived long enough to know what it looks like when someone has been scarred by war." He said. "You are not the only one with nightmares." Maedhros tensed. The Ring whispered of weakness—they will exploit this; they will hurt you—and Maedhros exhaled forcefully. Estë and Lórien, grant me peace.
"I do not wish to burden the Company." Maedhros said carefully. "The Hobbits should not hear anything of what I see in my dreams." Boromir regarded him for a long moment.
"No." He said finally. "I believe they should not. They are young. Pippin is still a child by their standards. But you do not need to suffer alone."
"I could not if I tried." Maedhros gave a weary smile. "But thank you, Boromir. You are a good man."
"My brother has nightmares often." Boromir said quietly. "He does not like to sleep either. Just…do not stay awake too long. I do not know how much sleep Elves need, but I would not have you hurting yourself for us." Maedhros regarded him for a long moment, wondering if he'd say the same thing knowing what Maedhros had done.
"Thank you." Maedhros said finally, looking away.
Maedhros stayed awake through the night, watching the stars through the mallorn leaves. Orcs passed underneath once, in the dead of night, and a company of the Galadhrim followed them. Maedhros stayed still as Frodo and Haldir spoke, not letting them know he was awake. Finally, the sun rose. With it, an ache grew in Maedhros' forehead, spreading to his temples. He rubbed his face.
"Headache?" Maglor asked quietly, stepping behind Maedhros and rubbing his shoulders.
"Yeah." Maedhros admitted. Maglor hummed and continued.
A message came later in the morning. Galadriel and Celeborn had, despite their misgivings, allowed the Fellowship to proceed. They wanted Maedhros and his brothers blindfolded, but the others were considered trustworthy enough without it. The Galadhrim tied the blindfold securely, though not tightly, and Maedhros grabbed for something to steady himself, headache throwing off his balance. Maglor caught his arm.
"You okay?" He asked. Maedhros nodded.
"We will lead you safely." Haldir said. "You will have no cause to complain of our treatment."
"Of course." Maedhros said, politely accepting the lie. "I am sure you will be much more hospitable than the other places I have been blindfolded in." Haldir paused, probably trying to decipher Maedhros' words, and Maedhros smiled sharply. "Lead on, if you will, captain." Haldir evidently could not decide if Maedhros was mocking him or not, so he took Maedhros' arm—his left—and led him forward. The others followed with their own guides. They journeyed that way for many hours before Haldir stopped again at the foot of a hill.
"Caras Galadhon." He said. "The heart of Elvendom on earth. You may look now, Sons of Fëanor, on what we have built." Maedhros reached up and pushed the blindfold up. The hill was wreathed with golden trees and tall, silver buildings that arched upwards with the mallyrn. It was beautiful, in an odd mix of nature and Sindarin architecture. Coming down the hill were two elves, a man and a woman. The man was tall, with silver hair and a stern face while the woman was golden-haired and had an aura of power not unlike Fëanor's.
"Welcome, cousins." She said.
"Galadriel." Maedhros said, dipping his head. "We bring greetings from Elrond." Galadriel surveyed them.
"That is not all you bring." She said softly.
"One more set out with you from Rivendell." Celeborn—Maedhros assumed—said, frowning. "Tell me, where is Gandalf?"
"He fell." Legolas said. "Taken by both shadow and flame."
"A balrog." Maedhros said, voice dipping into a growl. Fire flickered in his mind, the acrid scent of sulfur and blood coming back in a rush. The golden leaves blurred into ribbon, stained red and black.
"That is ill news indeed." Celeborn said.
"There is still hope." Galadriel said. "Small hope, but there ever was only small hope."
"Gandalf's death is a loss." Maedhros said. "But we will get the Ring to Mordor. It will be destroyed." Galadriel's gaze lingered on him.
"It's been a long time since I've seen your gaze clear." She said, a soft smile on her face. "Welcome, Maedhros, and welcome, my cousins. We have nothing to fear from you."
"You have not." Maedhros agreed. "Thank you for your understanding." He dipped his head slightly, in a careful gesture of thanks. Galadriel shook her head.
"All are bound to this quest." She said. "And I will support it as I can." She turned to the others then, and Maedhros closed his eyes against the pounding in his head, trying to drown out the frenzied whispers coming from the Ring.
They settled in a small corner of Lothlórien, on the ground where blankets had been prepared for them. Boromir was visibly anxious—Gondor had, he'd said, told many tales about Lothlórien, and not all were kind.
"She spoke inside my head." He said, breathless, and the others agreed.
"She offered me the choice to go home." Gimli said. "And it seemed to me that my choice would remain secret."
"She was testing us." Curufin spat.
"She didn't…she didn't do that to me." Maedhros said. Maglor nudged him.
"You sure you weren't just automatically blocking her?" Maedhros wrinkled his nose.
"I'm sure." He said.
"Maybe." Celegorm said slowly. "Our dear cousin has finally learned tact." He didn't look like be believed his own statement.
"Doubtful." Curufin said. "But she's smart enough to not try to poke around in Nelyo's mind after he's been blindfolded and brought into an unfamiliar place."
"That makes more sense." Celegorm agreed. "I mean…I'm not sure why she'd want to poke around in your mind. Maybe you scared her away." Curufin shoved his brother. Maedhros pulled him away.
"Curvo, please." He said. "Tyelko, you are not helping my headache."
"Sorry." They chorused, looking guilty.