A/N: I have one comment to make about the second dream sequence that follows. Even though it’s Legolas's dream, and as such, he wouldn’t really be privy to Aragorn’s private thoughts or his actions while he wasn‘t there, I’ve written it as a normal narrative to give it a richer texture from both characters regarding what happens. I hope no one minds that it isn‘t strictly from Legolas's POV.

Chapter Twelve

Legolas stirred slightly, as he slept. Normally, the deep level of exhaustion he had reached would have kept him in a dreamless state. His emotions, though eased by his outpouring as Estel had held him, still ran deep. The intensity of those emotions would not be denied, even in sleep. So, he entered the elven world of dreams and now made the choice to dream about one of the happy times with his mother before she was taken away from him.

A small smile touched his lips as he dreamed of the day his parents had taken him out for his first picnic in the forest away from the palace. He was a young elfling, the equivalent of four in human years. He had felt so grown up, being allowed to roam around the small clearing they had chosen. A blanket laden with food was spread out on the soft green grass. Legolas's siblings, the youngest being almost grown, were not in attendance. He had his parents all to himself.

The three of them were enjoying the wonderful sunny spring day. Legolas, being the curious child that he was, soon became fascinated with a luminescent blue butterfly. He tried to catch the colorful creature, but found that each time he attempted to grab it, it flew just out of his reach. He giggled happily, as he chased it around and around, never quite able to get his hands on the illusive being.

The young elfling never cried or got angry or frustrated. He just kept trying and trying to catch the brilliant blue butterfly. His parents laughed heartily at his antics. His mother’s musical laughter floated all around the clearing, as she watched her young son.

Legolas's golden hair, just reaching his shoulders, flew about his face, as he ran this way and that. Finally, in a move that surprised the elfling, as much as it did his parents, he caught the butterfly in one small hand. He quickly cupped it in both hands, being very careful not to mash it. He ran to his mother and with the love and innocence of a young child, opened his hands and gently lowered it into one of her hands. “For you, Naneth.”

The butterfly did not try to escape but sat on the she-elf’s hand, slowly opening and closing its wings, seemingly secure in the knowledge that it would not be harmed. She held her other hand out to her son and pulled him close to her.

With a smile, she said, “Legolas, this butterfly is a wonderful gift, and I know you gave it to me out of love. But, you know it is a living thing. It belongs in the forest with its own kind, just as you belong with us. You would not want to take it away from its family, would you?”

The elfling looked at his mother and then at the butterfly. His mother knew he understood, when he said, “If we take it away, it will not be able to see its naneth or ada any more, will it?”

“No, Legolas. It will not. So, you know we have to set it free.”

When Legolas hesitated, his father said, “We can bring you back here, so you can see the butterfly again.”

“I can?” the boy said in wonder. He had believed that to set it free meant it would be gone, and he would never see it again.

His mother smiled and nodded, and his father said, “Aye, Little One, you can.”

With delight rather than sadness, the elfling carefully took the butterfly from his mother’s hand and carried it over to a small bush. He set the blue creature down and stood back. Its wings waved several times, and then, it flew away.

Legolas returned to his mother, who hugged him very tight and kissed him on the cheek. When she let him go, he looked up into her sparkling blue-gray eyes. She was so beautiful, and he loved her with all his heart, just as he knew she loved him.

“Naneth,” Legolas called out softly in his sleep.

Then, unbidden, the dream shifted. He was now an adult, sitting on his horse atop a ridge and looking down into a broad valley that contained a lush forest, spreading across the valley floor to the base of high cliffs on both sides. His best friend, Estel, was by his side. The two were alone.

A feeling of foreboding grabbed at the elf’s mind, as he stared down at the forest. The thick canopy of trees was broken in a few places, revealing a trail on the right side and another on the left near the tree line. The left trail appeared to head straight toward the open pass at the end of the valley, which was also on the left side. It looked to be an easy trip to traverse down the left side of the forest and out of the valley. So, what was there about this forest that made him so uneasy?

Legolas shook his head. “I do not like this.”

“I know this valley,” the ranger said reassuringly. “The forest is thick and rather dark, but we can travel through it in a day. We can camp tonight and easily be out by this time tomorrow afternoon.

“Once we leave the valley,” Aragorn continued, “it’s only eight more days travel to your father’s palace. As you already saw, when we approached, those cliffs are so wide that to go around them on either side would add at least three days to our trip. Your father’s expecting you for that council meeting in ten days with those ambassadors he‘s expecting. He wouldn’t react kindly, if you missed it. He‘d blame me---as usual.”

Aragorn looked at his elven friend, expecting some humorous comment, but none was forthcoming. The expression on the elf’s face hadn’t changed from the look of concern the ranger had seen there, since they had first reached the top of the ridge.

After what seemed like many moments of silence, Aragorn said, “Legolas?”

Hearing his name seemed to bring the blond-haired elf back to himself. “What?”

“You were lost for a minute. What do you sense?”

“Nothing I can put my finger upon.” He smiled and shook his head, seeming to banish the dark thoughts that filled his mind. “Let us go. Whatever we encounter, I am sure we can handle it.” With a laugh, he added, “I have a ranger with me, after all.”

“You most certainly do,” Aragorn agreed, adding his own laugh to that of his friend. He wasted no time in urging his horse forward. The man felt confident in what he had just said about getting quickly and easily through the forest. Yet, he also trusted his elven friend’s instincts, so he decided to keep a sharp eye out for any trouble that might find them, which seemed to be the normal way with them.

All traces of humor faded from Legolas's countenance, as he followed his friend down from the ridge and into the forest. His feeling of foreboding did not lessen, as the leaf-laden branches closed in over his head. He had been right when he told Aragorn he couldn’t put his finger on what was causing his concern. It was like an itch he couldn’t scratch. He felt sure, though, that it wasn’t the possibility of orcs or wargs or other such fell creatures that was making him uncomfortable. This uneasiness had a different feel to it.

They hadn’t gone a hundred yards into the forest, when Legolas stopped his horse and focused his hearing, listening intently but detecting no unusual sounds. Neither did his keen eyes pick up any unnatural movement. Yet, the uneasy feeling remained. Even the trees were strangely quiet, seemingly whispering to themselves but saying nothing to him. That was a little unsettling for a wood elf, though it did not necessarily mean there was anything wrong. Trees did not always chatter to him everywhere he went.

“Do you hear or see anything amiss?” Aragorn asked. He had watched Legolas lift his legs up and then pull himself up onto his knees, easily balancing on the stallion’s back. From this added height, the elf surveyed the surrounding trees. Seeing his friend sit back down and shake his head did nothing to ease Estel’s mind. He clearly saw that the elf’s tense muscles hadn’t relaxed any.

“No,” the elf finally had to admit, obviously unhappy that he couldn‘t solve the puzzle. “All seems as it should be. Even the sounds of the birds and small animals appear normal.” Those animals didn’t seem to be the least bit wary of the forest, so Legolas dismissed any significance to the trees’ lack of communication with him.

Aragorn nodded and again started forward.

Legolas's horse snorted loudly, flaring his nostrils and flattening his ears against his head, all signs that the animal was fearful. That only confirmed Legolas's concerns. If possible, the elf’s senses heightened even more. Yet, try as he might, he could not detect anything that seemed in the slightest outside the norm. He calmed his mount with a few elvish words spoken softly and accompanied by an elven hand stroking the arched neck. It appeared to work, as the stallion moved smoothly forward, though his muscles, too, were tense.

After several silent moments, the two friends came to a fork in the road. Legolas automatically started down the path to the left while Aragorn didn’t hesitate in heading to the right.

The ranger stopped when he realized that Legolas was no longer beside him. He looked around and saw the elf moving down the left pathway. “It’s this way,” the ranger informed his friend,

“That is the wrong path,” Legolas contradicted. “The pass that leads out of the other end of the valley is to the left, right where this path leads.” Growing up in a forest and learning to find his way there had given the elf a sense of direction even more acute than the normal one elves possessed, so he was certain about what he said.

“Have you ever been in this forest before?”

“No, I have not.”

“Well, I have. The path we take is this way.” He pointed to the right. “The left path may seem shorter and straighter, but it actually winds around so much, it’ll take hours more to get where we want to go.” He looked at Legolas. “Trust me.”

Legolas did trust the ranger. So, he nodded and turned his horse to the right. With a great show, he swept his arm forward, indicating that his friend should lead the way. He waited until Aragorn had tuned his attention away before looking back down the left path. He still believed that was the way they should be going. But, his friend thought otherwise, and since the man had been there before, the elf said no more.

Once they began moving again, Legolas forced his concerns to the side, though his senses remained on full alert. He moved up beside the ranger, and the two continued in silence.

Legolas noted that the path they were on was indeed relatively straight, angling ever so subtly to the left. “You were right, Estel. This path seems to be heading straight for the pass.”

Aragorn coughed rather loudly. “What was that you said?” He emphasized his words by putting a finger in his left ear and jerking it up and down. “Say again? I don‘t think I heard correctly.” He had to work hard to keep from laughing.

The elf adopted a look of exasperation. “Yes, Estel. You heard correctly. I said you were right about the path.”

“I think I should take note of today’s date. Wait while I write it down.”

“Exaggerating a bit, are we not?” the elf asked.

“Are you kidding? You never admit you’re wrong.”

“Not true,” Legolas said defensively. “Not true at all.”

“Are you going to sit there and deny that you possess a stubborn streak as wide as the Anduin, not to mention pride beyond belief?”

“Me?” Legolas, raising both eyebrows, replied in his most innocent tone of voice.

“Yes, you. You’re the subject under discussion at the moment.”

Legolas said haughtily, “I think I am rather level-headed and quite practical.”

“You talk to trees!”

Legolas looked indignant. “All Wood elves talk to trees. That does not mean that I am not practical,” he declared firmly.

It was Aragorn’s turn to raise his eyebrows. He added a hearty laugh. “All right, let’s go back into history a bit, shall we? Two years ago, summer time. We were in southern Mirkwood. Elladan and Elrohir were with us. We had just setup camp, when we were attacked by orcs. Remember that?”

Legolas reluctantly nodded. He was sure he knew where this was going, and he knew it wasn’t going to win him any arguments.

Aragorn took great amusement from the look of dread on the archer’s face. He continued undaunted. “After a fierce battle, we were all four banged up to varying degrees. I seem to recall that you had a deep sword wound in your side and a bone-revealing gash on your thigh. Before realizing just how bad your wounds really were, I asked how you were doing. Do you remember what you told me?”

Legolas knew to the word what he had said to the ranger. But now, he just stared at his friend, looking for all the world like someone who hadn’t the vaguest idea what the man could be talking about. It didn’t fool the man in the slightest.

“You stood right in front of me and said, ‘I am fine, Estel. You do not need to worry about me.’ Then, ten seconds later you collapsed and almost bled to death before Elladan, Elrohir and I could patch you up. Now, tell me your declaration of well-being was not stubborn pride. And, that’s hardly the only time something like that has happened, and you know it.”

The elf stared a moment longer, and then with a huff urged his horse into a gallop. “This human must be crazy,” Legolas muttered, as he rode away. It didn’t matter that this human was also completely accurate in his retelling of the tale.

The ranger watched as his friend left rather than remaining to argue further. “That means I’m right, doesn’t it?” Aragorn called out to the elf‘s quickly disappearing back. As expected, he received no answer, so he just sighed, shook his head and moved to catch up with the Mirkwood prince

TBC