Stars (A Legolas Love Story and Lord of the Rings Fanfiction)

"The beacons are lit!"

Katherine's Point of View

I woke up when I felt Legolas' arms tighten around my waist. I carefully turned to look at him.

Legolas was tossing his head back and forth and muttering softly.
A sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead as his arms constricted even tighter around me.

I couldn't breath and I knew I had to wake him up, but I didn't want to get hurt in the process.
I gently put my hand on his cheek and brushed my lips against his.
To my relief, he gradually woke up.
Slowly, his arms released me from their tight grip.

"Wh-what happened?" He whispered as he looked down at me.

"Nightmare." I replied.

"Oh." He said, falling back on his pillow and wiping his brow.

I took a deep breath, hoping that my own fever would hold back enough so I could take care of his.

"Want to talk about it?" I asked, merely curious and unable to fall asleep again.

Legolas' hand covered his eyes as he spoke.
"I don't think you'd be interested."

My hand was on his chest and I could feel his heart pounding under my palm. He needed to talk if he was to calm down.

I pushed back his hair from his face lovingly as I answered him.
"I think I would be interested. I promised I'd take care of you. You can tell me anything."

He propped his body up with one elbow as he turned to face me.
"We haven't been keeping our promise very well, have we."

I shook my head.

"Alright. I saw my mother die." He started off by stating the facts.

I didn't say anything. I'd learned over time that it's just best to let it out without interruptions.

Legolas grabbed a lock of my hair and twiddled it between his fingers as he continued.
"When I was hardly your age, my mother was killed in a battle against the Orcs of Gundabad.
My father lost all of his laughter and smiles. He confined himself to Mirkwood, only venturing out when situations were dire. He didn't want me to have the same fate as my mother, so he trained me and I became Head of the Guard.
I didn't see how my mother died, but I saw her body at the funeral.
Whenever I slept, I always had nightmares, so I usually don't sleep. But at least you're here this time." He finished and pulled me into a tight embrace.

I rested my forehead on his shoulder and nestled into his chest, not knowing exactly how to comfort him.

"Thank you." He whispered. "You don't even have to say anything. I feel better already."

I just smiled into the fabric of his shirt.
This was what I had wanted for us.
To be able to freely share our fears and doubts with each other.
To seek comfort in each other when we were feeling sad or confused.

We both gradually fell asleep again in each other's arms and neither of us had any more nightmares.

The next morning....

I woke up to the sun shining in my face. I tried to move but a heavy weight was on my belly. Legolas' head was resting on my middle and as I breathed, his head moved up and down.

He was facing me with his eyes closed, so I carefully and gently moved his white-blond hair out of his face and just observed him.
His flawless face seemed so young and happy, so different from what he looked like when he was awake. His long dark eyelashes fluttered as he dreamed.

"Kat...." I heard him mumble in his sleep.

My heart leaped in my chest at the thought of him dreaming about me.
Maybe he loved me back.
Before I could process it, he woke up.