How had everything suddenly turned upside down and gone from bad to worse? What triggered such a landslide of misfortune and chaos? Why was life seeming to fall apart before his very eyes?

      It was dark, the day having passed and the moon risen. Once more the sun shone bright, only to hide itself from the portrait of utter madness which settled upon the Elven kingdom. Two days it had been since Aragorn visited Legolas... and two days now had passed while the King of Gondor sat confined to his own chambers.

      As was to be expected, Thranduil had believed his son.

      "Your highness, you must let this be told fully before making any sort of judgement."
      The King of Mirkwood's glare rested upon Aragorn, "All I see is my OWN guards confining my son within their circle. Before this discussion is to proceed any further." The angry king's eyes turned to his guards, "You shall release Legolas and we will speak in a more civil matter."

      The guards, knowing their place was not to argue, quickly released their holds upon the prince and exited the room. About this same time, Gimli made his presence known by stepping up next to the King of Gondor.
      Not a word was spoken within the chamber as Thranduil allowed his gaze to sweep over the three others present in the room. At length he spoke, yet with words Aragorn did not wish to hear.

      "You had no right to attack my son, Aragorn. King or not you still possessed no right."
      The man was a bit stunned, "Your highness, I did no such thing. I was merely..."
      "Merely what?" came Legolas' soft voice, "I had trusted you with my life, Aragorn. Is this how you repay me?" he swept an outstretched arm across the room. The room lay in complete disarray from the earlier battle and everything was overturned and in shambles.
      "My son is right. I demand an explanation of all the events which have transpired here." Thranduil replied, his eyes fixed on Aragorn.
      The king sighed, "I came to check on Legolas and he attacked me. His dagger in hand," the man pointed at the weapon, "I defended myself as best I could. Gimli too came to my aid, yet we still could not get the weapon from Legolas' hand. If your guards had not stopped him, your son would have killed me, Lord Thranduil."
      "Impossible..."
      "Not impossible." Gimli huffed, "That confounded wizard has put a spell upon your son and enslaved his mind."
      Thranduil glared at the Dwarf, "Choose your words carefully, Master Dwarf, ere you find yourself in too deep." but his gaze turned to his son, ignoring the now red with anger Dwarf, "Legolas, is this true?"
      The Elven prince laughed, his blue eyes shining, "True? It is no more true than if I said I had grown wings and could fly to the treetops, ada." Legolas looked to Aragorn, the same light from before flashing for a brief moment, "If you wanted me dead, Aragorn, you could have taken my life at any time. Why would you choose now?"
      "Nay Legolas, I do not...." the man caught the glint this time and his jaw clenched, "I do not wish to take the life of my dearest and closest friend. But an imposter of my companion... That I do not have any reservation to kill."
      The two watched one another for some time, a battle raging between their wills and minds. Thranduil, his eyes narrowed, glanced from Elf to man and back.
      "Very well then..." Legolas' melodious voice sounded harsh after such a long silence, "Prove to my father that I am NOT who I claim to be and this entire mess shall be cleared up in no time."
      Aragorn nodded, "Lord Thranduil, look into his eyes and tell me, truthfully, that this is your son."

      The Elven King hesitated for a moment then turned to the Elf standing at his side. He put a hand on Legolas' shoulder and starred deeply into his son's eyes.
      Watching, the King of Gondor noticed something odd within the prince's gaze. It was not the same flicker of evil light which he had noticed earlier, but something which could be much more deadly.

      In a flash, the man was between father and son, "Now I understand..." Aragorn whispered, keeping himself positioned between the two.
      "I demand an explanation, Lord Aragorn." Thranduil roared, "First you wish to prove to me that this truly is my son and now you are keeping me from doing just that."
      The man turned, "It is his eyes, my Lord. I see now that they are just the tools which Saruman is attempting to use. He wishes, I believe, to see into your mind for the passwords we spoke of earlier."
      "That is ridiculous!" The king replied, grabbing Aragorn by the shoulder and turning the man to face him, "If what you say is true, than why does Saruman not simply find the words within my son's own mind?"
      Aragorn blinked, he had thought of this, yes, but had yet to come up with an explanation, "I know not, my Lord."
      "I know." Legolas spoke up once more, turning an eye to the man, "Because you have lost all sense of reason, Aragorn." He looked to his father, "He really has gone quite mad, I am afraid."
      "Mad?! I'll show you mad!" Gimli replied, rushing into the fray, "Aragorn has done nothing but save your life, Legolas and now you go off and get yourself into even deeper trouble! I thought your will possessed more strength than this, my friend. Now I see however, that the wizard has beaten you, and probably us all, without much effort on his part!"

      Suddenly, an expression of confusion and sadness appeared on the Elf's face once more. Aragorn looked into his friend's eyes, seeing the pain and fear which were quickly being concealed behind an emotional mask.

      "Legolas!"
      Thranduil shook his head and turned from the group, "I have heard enough!"
      The moment was gone and Legolas' eyes once more sparkled with the same unnatural intensity as before. Shaking his head, the King of Gondor turned.
      "Lord Thranduil, let us at least wait for my father to arrive. Lord Elrond may be able to help Legolas more than we can."
      The prince laughed, "I am not sick, Aragorn." he nodded to the wound on the man's shoulder, "But it appears you could use a healer. I hope I did not cut you... too deep."
      Something in the Elf's voice sent a shudder through Aragorn's body. The voice had been so cold, so uncaring, and yet had retained it's humorous tone just enough to fool everyone else in the room.
      "We will wait." Thranduil replied before exiting the room, "But you, Lord Aragorn, shall wait in your chambers. I am placing you and Gimli under arrest and you are not to leave your rooms under ANY circumstances."
      The Dwarf was about to voice his own reply when Aragorn's hand appeared before him. "Very well." the man said, shooting Gimli a glance to keep him quiet.

      So here Aragorn sat, or lay rather. He was attempting to get some sleep, seeing as how the sun had gone down hours ago and his father was expected to arrive within the next day. But the King of Gondor's mind kept returning to his friend. Legolas could not be truly dead, he knew it. The Elf's body would not continue to function if his rightful soul had been taken from it, even if it had been replaced by a cheap imitation

      The body cannot live without the soul, of that Aragorn was sure.

      This thought sparked a light of hope within the man as he fell into a fitful sleep. It was a sleep filled with things that should have happened, replacing those things which had gone so horribly wrong.

      However, in the silence of the night, Aragorn was about to receive an unexpected visitor...