Broken (sequel to Caught)

Thank The Valar

Legolas abruptly dropped his weapons, and the fine metal crashed to the floor. He hesitantly stepped forward, reaching out, and his fingers brushed against Elrohir's long hair.

"Dan, Ro..." Legolas said, and he felt Elrohir pull him into a hug. His body was rigid for a few moments, but he soon relaxed into the warmth of the younger twin. Elladan joined the hug as well, coming from behind Legolas.

"Oh, Legolas," Elrohir murmured into the golden hair, which lacked its usual shine.

The twins pulled back at the same time, and Legolas was left disoriented and unbalanced, and he fell to his knees.

"Legolas!" the twins cried at the same time, and they came up beside him, and he batted their fretting hands away.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said, running a hand through his hair and closing his eyes briefly. "I'm just really tired."

Noting in concern that Legolas was not getting back up, Elladan made a decision, fearing he would just fall asleep on the floor. He went over to Legolas and placed his hands strategically under his knees and back, lifting him bridal style.

"Ack!" Legolas cried, reaching out blindly and barely missing Elladan's face with his flailing arms. Gasping in pain as the movement tugged at his still slowly healing wound, his face scrunched up in agony. Elladan frowned but didn't say anything more, placing Legolas gently on the bed in the middle of the room.

After taking off his friend's boots, Elladan pulled the covers over him, swathing him in the white sheets. Legolas fell asleep almost immediately, his eyes glazing over and dreams engulfing him.

Elrohir had started a blaze in the fireplace, and the two of them sat near it, their backs to Legolas and the light of the flames dancing on their faces.

"Something is wrong," Elrohir whispered, his eyes swimming with distress. "He didn't even recognize us!"

"And he is injured," Elladan said, thinking about the pained look on Legolas face as he carried him to the bed. The two sat in silence for a little while, mulling over their individual thoughts as Legolas slept silently on the bed, unmoving. A few hours passed, and the sun set slowly, leaving the room completely devoid of light besides the fire.

A moan from Legolas snapped the two of them out of their deep thoughts, and their identical faces whipped around to stare at him. His skin had grown pallid, and his breathing was harsh and uneven. Sweat was rolling in beads down his face.

The two of them quickly got up and went to his side, seeing that his eyes were searching frantically, though they remained glazed in sleep.

"Ada..." he moaned, clenching the sheets on top of him with white knuckles. "Ada, I'm sorry...I know, I know...I am a failure, Ada...I'm so sorry..."

Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other, alarm showing clearly on their faces.

"Legolas," Elrohir said, shaking the blonde's shoulder gently. "Legolas, wake up."

Legolas jolted up immediately, his eyes snapping to alertness and his hand clutching at his head, tangling themselves in the golden locks. His immediate reaction was to untangle himself from the sheets around him, and he struggled against them. Elladan carefully took them off, dumping them at the bottom of the bed and going over to Legolas, touching him lightly on the shoulder.

Legolas jerked away, his eyes looking frantically around.

"Who are you?" he yelled, curling in on himself.

"It's me, Elladan, Legolas," Elladan said, and Legolas visibly relaxed. His eyes looked directly into the fire, and he did not bother to move them.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, and Elrohir suddenly felt an overwhelming need to cheer him up. He pulled his brother next to him, and they stood in front of Legolas.

"Which is which?" they said in unison, playing a game they had played with Legolas many times. They had no idea how, but somehow Legolas always inexplicably knew which of them Elladan was and which Elrohir was.

"I...I don't want to play this game with you right now," Legolas said, looking around almost frantically.

"Come on, Legolas! Just tell us which is which and we'll leave you alone," Elladan said.

"I...Elrohir, and...Elladan?" Legolas said, pointing in the directions of their voices, having no idea which was which.

"Wrong," Elladan said, brushing a strand of hair behind Legolas's ear. As Legolas tried to look away, he took his friend's face in his hands, noticing that he still wasn't looking at his face.

"What has happened to you, Legolas?" Elladan said, and Elrohir came up beside him, having come to a realization, his eyes wide as he looked at Legolas, whose glassy eyes suddenly giving him away.

"Legolas, are you...blind?" Elrohir asked, and Legolas's eyes beginning to fill with tears was all the answer he needed. He came behind his long-time friend and embraced him as he started to sob.

Elladan looked on in shock as Legolas practically admitted his blindness. His heart began to beat wildly in his chest. The thought of never seeing Legolas take in the beauty of Rivendell's gardens, gaining teasing from him and Elrohir, made tears come to his eyes.

Though he loathed being beaten by Legolas on the training grounds, the thought that someday he might not be able to had never crossed his mind. Legolas was strong. Legolas was beautiful. There was no way Legolas could be reduced to this empty shell of a being.

Legolas stubbornly wiped away his tears, leaning against Elrohir's toned chest, listing to it beat beneath his ear. He tried to relax in the comfort of his friend, but it was hard to give trust to anyone who you could not see. His muscles refused to get rid of their tenseness.

"How long?" Elrohir murmured into Legolas's hair. "How long has it been like this?"

"Six weeks," Legolas said. "I should be back to normal any day now."

Elrohir gave him a questioning glance but, realizing he couldn't see it, voiced his question aloud.

"What do you mean?"

"It is only temporary," Legolas said, his face showing he was surprised that the twins didn't know that. "It is from spider poison. It lasts a month, and then I will see again."

Elladan's emotions fled him and he felt a wave of relief. Legolas would see again. It was only temporary. Things would be normal again.

"Thank the Valar," he breathed, and he too came to hug Legolas. "Thank the Valar."