To Ruiniel, my wonderful beta: This would not be the same without you. Thank you so much for your precious help and your encouraging comments!

When Gimli and Legolas visit Aglarond, after the War of the Ring is over. Legolas' POV.

Unguessed Beauty

We are back to this depressing stone once more. Dark grey as it is, numb and cold. Memories resurface akin to threatening demons. I cannot control it. Memories of war, death, and my own weakness. I know that I have fought to my fullest extent, I have not disappointed. Together we have given our all, for victory, for life, for friendship. But I cannot breathe as the thoughts take hold. I was surrounded by these very same walls, gasping and struggling with the pain, and I cannot breathe.

I cannot breathe...

My heart hammers hard and desperately within my chest, leaping to my throat. I see panicked faces around me, hovering over me, and hands wanting to offer aid, but breathing comes hard and wearily. There is nothing but the crushing storm of this agony. And I panic. I breathe much too fast with the memory.

The dwarf is beside me, but I avoid looking at him. I have made a promise and under no circumstance will I break it. If I should suffocate within these very caves, surrounded by cold stone, I would still enter. He would never let me live it down if I did not. And yet, I know the real reason is I could never disappoint him so deeply.

He stands beside me and in a haze, I hear his worried voice, "Laddie, are you fine?"

It cannot be, the dwarf should not see! He worries too much for me lately. I can do nothing but retreat away from him, and leap onto the closest wall.

"I am... fine," I lie, without facing him. I hope the broken voice coming from my throat will not betray me.

My gaze climbs down the wall, over the deepening coomb... so many have died here. I hear the sounds of battle, the cries. I see the blood, the corpses littering the ground. And then behind me, I hear sturdy feet, shuffling hurriedly towards the wall I stand on.

The sun warms my face as my wandering gaze drifts over the valley and surrounding hills, where the grass shines lush and green. In the distance, I can see woods and the deepening shades of trees. The wind beats against my face and neck, and I feel the urge to open my tunic and shirt to receive more of the freeing energy. I can feel my hair blow behind me, and I breathe...

I breathe!

The dwarf's voice is gruff as he shouts up to me, "Come down from there, reckless princeling!"

But still, I stand and inhale... I can breathe! I feel my clothes lap freely around me, infused by the same gusts of air now sending my hair astray.

I hear the dwarf's voice gain a shaky urgency as he shouts even harsher, "You want to scare the beard offa' me? Come down!" And then more hesitantly; "Please!"

I relent and turn towards him, hopping from the wall to land lightly before him. He gasps at the suddenness of it, which always amuses me. I look down on him and I smirk, earning a frown from him. I throw back my head and take another filling breath. "I am fine, Gimli. And I am ready."

He tilts his head and skims me over suspiciously. His gaze brushes shortly over the centre of my chest before he abruptly tears it away, looking elsewhere - anywhere else, it seems to me. I know what he remembers, and what he tries to suppress.

"Fasten those flittering clothes, it is damp and fresh in the cave," he mumbles, and I do it for his sake.

I cannot help but smile at our differences.

I hear him release a huff of relief as I finish fastening my tunic.

"Now you are ready." He says, eyeing me seemingly satisfied.

We pass by the fire and each light a torch. And then we walk through the burg towards the mouth of the caves. His steps grow increasingly light for a dwarf. His eyes are wide, filled with expectation. Still, he worriedly observes me several times from the corner of his eye.

I do not look at him again. I concentrate on the path ahead and on breathing levelly. I take in the stone all around us. It is dark and oppressing, only lit by the flickering flame of our torches. He constantly steals slightly worried glances at me. There is deep silence inside the mountain, and the only sound I hear is our own steps on the rock, (more forcefully Gimli's of course) and our breathing. - My breathing... I am again struggling to keep it even, and in the surrounding silence, it comes so harshly and loud, almost threateningly reflecting from the stone around us. It grows exceedingly hard to control. I try to remember the wind on the wall, how it caressed my skin and filled my lungs, and I try to let my mind strive to the shades of green trees and the rays of the sun gleaming on long strands of grass. - But I fail. And my breathing grows louder, deafening.

Gimli grows concerned, I remark. He reaches for my hand and keeps it firmly in his own as we walk. I do not resist, I am glad for his hold. His hand is strong and warm and repeatedly presses mine for comfort. He is so strange this dwarf, sturdy and tender all in one. And in the cold hardness of the encompassing stone, he is steadfast and strong and emanates trust.

I can feel how excited he is for something he wants to show me. Still, I cannot fathom what he expects me to see. If it were for me, I have seen enough. And there is nothing I would welcome more than to turn on my heels and rush out of this darkened recess. But since it is not for me, I force myself on, for him, my friend; this strange, sturdy dwarf. I can feel his nervousness and at the same time his increasingly curious looks at me.

"Take heart, lad, hold on, we are almost there..." His voice is bursting with joyful anticipation, yet guarded by sincere care.

"Look here!" he suddenly bursts out and lets me start. For once it is the other way round. My body is tense as the string of my bow. And the way he looks triumphantly at me is unnerving.

But then I see what he is fondly pointing at. A fine glittering crystal embedded in the ceiling above us, fiercely reflecting the light of our torches. And as we continue on our path, more and more crystals glint sprinkled on the walls. They are beauty in the dark.

Now Gimli is flittery with excitement. I have never seen him this way. His steps increase in length and speed, still holding my hand he pulls at me.

"Come Legolas!" He whispers to me, eagerly, running off.

At the mouth of the tunnel we are in, he suddenly stands still. I am not myself, lost in my constricting feelings about the narrow walls, so I stumble into him.

I am about to utter something about elves not being supposed to stumble over clumsy dwarves who suddenly grow roots in their way, and that it is one of the reasons why it would be better to avoid them in the first place.

But before I can even begin he spreads his arms, solemnly welcoming a great hall. The sight that greets us makes me throw over any sort of muttering or reproach. It is beyond anything I would have expected, and much more. In fact, there is a long silence as I try to get to terms with what I see.

Gimli's eyes beam up at me, glittering with expectancy.

"What do you say now, lad? Does this come up with the promise I made?"

I answer not. I just stand, rooted to the spot. I cannot speak.

"This is more than any promise." I finally manage to say, "This is the sky!"

"Whatever it is to you, I am delighted you find it beautiful. - Remember this, elf, the dwarf makes not empty promises!"

I have to admit that this point is his. Yet if he allowed me just one for killing the mûmakil, I also will credit him just one for this. Although the sparkling crystals are countless upon the high firmament of this wondrous place.

My heart leaps and I run to the middle of the hall, where I am surrounded by bright, twinkling stars, shining straight into my heart. I spread my arms and I turn, glancing upwards and all around me, and I turn and I turn... I feel so free!

I exclaim joyfully, "This is the sky, Gimli!" And as I spin and run and dance, I repeat the same words again, because I am unable to find others in my enthusiasm, "I cannot believe you brought the sky to me down here!"

As I dance and dance he approaches slowly. His face is a bright beam, and his laughter resounds deep and heartily, enveloping me. My heart lightens all the more.

He watches calmly for some time, I can see he is happy.

And then he calls out to me, with laughter in his voice.

"Stop spinning like this, you will make us get dizzy and fall. Come with me, there is more, much more for you to see."

What again might be waiting for us in these unbelievable caves?

"Follow me!" He speaks calmly and confidently. And so I follow obediently.

We leave behind the glistening sky, and as we wind down an unsettling narrow passage, my breath catches in my throat again, and Gimli instantly reaches for my hand. "Do not worry lad, we are right there!" He soothes me. I am even slowly becoming accustomed to it.

And then there we are. My eyes grow wide and I stare. Gimli cannot abstain from pointing out: "Legolas, you are staring! Though I must say, this time not in a very elvish manner."

I must admit he is right. My eyes are wide with unbound amazement, and I barely remember to close my mouth. I am struck dumbfounded as I drink in the sight.

Through cracks above, crisp sunlight filters in sharp beams, striking stems of gold and green, rising from the floor and hanging from the roof. Gemstones in all the colours of the rainbow form wondrous shapes, all around, great and small. They remind me of flowers gleaming with overwhelming splendour. The light breaks on thousands over thousands of crystals running their luminous tracks across the ceiling. It is as when the sky flickers ablaze with Mithrandir's magical flames. The high walls are overgrown with miraculous plants of green stone entwined with sparkling, static waterfalls.

I am trembling with a feeling overwhelming my senses. I walk into this magnificent glade, leaving Gimli behind. I touch the various sharp and smooth shapes, I do not really know why. It is as if I am hungry to discover their secret, how they can evoke such a spectacle of light.

In the middle of the cavern I reach a pool glistening like clear glass, the silvery water mirrors the whole wonder, doubling it.

I turn back to Gimli, who walks beside me. My joyous gaze meets his brightly smiling face. "You truly are a dwarf of surprises!" I exclaim spiritedly. My voice resounds softly from the walls surrounding us. "This is like a forest glade bathing in sunlight!"

I lean my head back as my spirits soar. And as my eyes climb up the walls they catch sight of a lovely spot. There is a perfect outcropping rock, overgrown with smooth gems like shining moss. It is deliberately calling to me. And instantly I am off. Just a few light leaps, and I am sitting on it, my legs dangling freely.

He tilts his head slightly, looking up at me. And then he laughs heartily.

He comes to stand right under the rock I am perched on, and then he stands still. As still as I have never seen him before. His eyes close solemnly. I think he must feel some kind of presence, an energy drawing from the stone beneath, radiating from above and all around. I can almost feel it myself but I cannot comprehend it. I feel it through him. It is like a melody, a deep, even humming. I feel he is happy, deeply, truly happy. The joy thrums through him. - What a dwarf!

Everything around seems frozen in time, a glade of bright stone forever alight, endlessly amazing.

The sun rays streaming into the cave flicker across my face; a dash of warmth gently tickling my cheeks. And I gleam! I surely must gleam all over by the gentle caress. At least that is how I feel.

He stands naturally firm, steadfast and strong, and emanates confidence and peace. He is every inch the Lord of these halls.

Oh, Gimli!... my precious friend... He always succeeds to gift me with respite, from the aching longing that ever and anon floats into me from across the sea.

I ponder on how this place is so much like my dwarf. Rough from the outside, while shimmering with unguessed beauty hiding within.