Broken (sequel to Caught)

Sight

"...Legolas..." a voice said, mumbling from the back of his mind. Legolas scrunched his nose up slightly in annoyance. Who was that? Why wouldn't they leave him alone? Dreaming was the only time he had the ability to see.

"Legolas, mellon-nin, wake up!" Legolas forced his eyes open, groaning at the effort. The blurry shapes of Elladan and Elrohir were above him.

A grin grew slowly on his face, and he threw himself at the twins, hugging them tightly.

"I can see, I can see!" he said, and the twins gave a little cheer, hugging him back.

They came apart, and Legolas watched, looking like seeing was his water and he had been stranded in the desert for weeks. His eyes followed Elrohir as he undid the bandages and looked approvingly at the way the wound was healing. It was nearly closed. Elrohir put a few herbs on it and put on new bandages before allowing Legolas to stand up, stretching his limbs for the first time in days. He looked around the room, taking in every detail, every movement. The twins laughed at his awe at the simplicity of the world.

Standing up, Legolas realized he was only in his leggings. He sent a pointed look to the twins, and Elladan took the tunic and undershirt from the table on the side of the room, handing them to his friend. Legolas smiled gratefully when he realized the twins had gotten his clothes cleaned for him.

He dressed and pulled on his boots quickly before strapping his weapons on his back and quickly combing and starting to re-braid his hair. He stopped. He was no longer a warrior of Eryn Lasgalen, or royalty. He left his hair to fall naturally over his shoulders. Elladan raised an eyebrow but Legolas avoided his gaze. The twins shared a worried glance as they left the room.

Legolas greeted everyone he saw with a warm smile, and he gave the innkeeper the key, laughing at something the man said and exiting the inn, the twins right behind him.

They stopped by the stable and purchased a horse for Legolas, who told the man who the horse belonged to to keep the change and the tack, and he rode bareback out of the stables, the men inside staring at him in awe.

"Come on, slowpokes!" Legolas called to the twins, and they ran with the grace of the elves to catch up to him.

"You have a horse! How do you expect us to keep up?" Elladan panted, and Legolas laughed, drawing up besides the small building outside the inn where their horses were staying. The twins went in and came out with their horses, and the three galloped at top speed out of the town, leaving many admiring humans in the wake.

A few hours later, the three elves finally met up with the group of humans. The flag of Gondor flew above them, and Aragorn rode in front, his crown on his head and his being very kingly.

"Estel!" Legolas cried, and the guards surrounding Aragorn immediately went on the alert until they saw the growing smile on their king's face.

"Legolas! Mae govannen, mellon-nin," Aragorn said, jumping off his horse and running to meet the elf, who had done the same. They grasped each other's forearms in the normal warrior greeting and smiled warmly. Elladan and Elrohir came up behind them, hugging them and making an Aragorn-Legolas sandwich, lifting the two protesting friends off the ground.

When they were finally put down Elladan and Elrohir immediately began to talk to Aragorn, and Legolas looked on with a smile.

And then the pain hit him again. When he left, he would never be able to see anything like this again; he would never see Aragorn again, or Gimli, or the hobbits. They would all live out their lives and die and he would never be there to see it. Hadn't he promised Estel that he would remain on Middle Earth until his ultimate demise?

"Legolas? What's wrong?" Aragorn said, alarmed at the sight of Legolas, bent over and gasping for air. The elf did not respond. "Legolas, speak to me!"

"I'm sorry!" Legolas yelled, and a confused look passed over the man's face. "I'm sorry I won't be there, I cannot do it anymore; I cannot—"

"Legolas, what on Arda are you talking about?" Aragorn asked. "You have nothing to be sorry for, mellon-nin."

"Please don't hate me for it, please, I don't want to! I have to!" Legolas said, his eyes boring into Aragorn, their desperation unnerving.

Aragorn took a deep breath, hating himself for what he was about to do, he gave Legolas a quick, sharp slap on the cheek.

The elf immediately took a small breath, his hand flying to his cheek. The wild look in his eyes slowly diminished until he was calm once more.

"I'm sorry," Legolas said quietly, brushing the unbraided hair that had fallen in front of his face to behind a pointed ear. "I do not know what came over me."

'Do not tell him, do not tell him, you will break his heart...'

Aragorn still looked very worried, but he nodded and allowed Legolas to walk over to his horse. He shared a concerned glance with the twins, who shrugged slightly, as if saying "we don't know either".

"Well, let us be going," Aragorn said, mounting again and trying to ignore his swirling thoughts. The twins also got onto their horses beside the now silent Legolas, and the group rode on.

A few days later, Rivendell was in sight. The mere sight of the valley sent another pang through Legolas's heart, thinking about how, if he left, he would never see it again.

The group rode in, the clattering of hooves drawing the attention of the guards, who spotted Elladan and Elrohir and let them all ride by.

"Ada! We are home!" Elladan and Elrohir called at the same time, and moments later Elrond was coming down the steps, graceful as ever.

"Estel!" he said, and Aragorn slid off the horse, immediately embracing his foster father. When the two came apart, Elrond nodded to the guards that had come with Aragorn and smiled warmly to Legolas.

"Legolas! I did not expect to see you here. How does Eryn Lasgalen fare?" he asked, putting his hand over his heart and bowing his head in traditional elven greeting. Legolas did the same before replying.

"Wonderful. There has been nothing major. Well, one incident," he said, referring to the spiders getting into the castle. "But other than that it's been great."

"Very good. You'll have to tell me about this one incident. But first, let us get you all something to eat."