Aragorn had long ago drifted into the outstretched arms of rest. They had lain open and, having softly called him to their embrace, the King of Gondor had succumb to their seduction and indulged himself in the blissfulness of sleep. No more did the words of Thranduil trouble his mind, nor the predicament in which he had once again found himself in. However, no matter how much his tired mind wished to forget, it continued to work and to formulate a plan to help his friend. Legolas may have been under the control of Saruman, and very well may still be, but Aragorn was determined not to give up without a fight and not to let his friend give up either.

      That evening, the thick forest canopy of Mirkwood was penetrated by large droplets of heavy rain. A downpour ensued throughout the entire realm. The Elves however, slept through the storm peacefully and little was heard during the night.

      Before the morning sun lit up the sky, Legolas' young sister, Legolia, became unsettled by the strange rain and had found her way into her elder brother's chambers. It was all in vein however, for the Elven prince was nowhere to be found. Realizing that her father would be agitated at being disturbed so early in the morning, Legolia quickly went to the one person she had spoken to through the past few days who had vowed to help her... Aragorn.

      The events of the last couple days was odd to the young Elven princess. She had visited her brother upon occasion, hoping to help in his speedy recovery to health, but each time he had turned her away. There had been a strange light in his eyes and he held an aura which created fear and doubt in the young girl's heart. Even when she had ventured to his room, Legolia had felt the aura still present within the chambers and this thought caused her feet to fly even faster over the stone floor.

      The King of Gondor lay sleeping quietly, his dreams filled with childhood memories of Imladris. He could see as plain as day, himself and Legolas laughing and talking, along with his twin brothers, Elladan and Elrohir. Sometimes, even Arwen would join in on the fun, though it were normally more of a male bonding sort of gathering. It would include long hunting trips, camp outs, and the occasional all-in-good-fun prank. Now however, a dark shadow passed over those happy memories, blotting them out as easily as snapping one's fingers. It sent a chill to the man's very bones and he stirred, though not enough to wake him from his troubled sleep.

      Legolia crept quietly into the man's room, fearing to startle him but also wishing to have a moment of quiet speech. The room was dark, save for a lightning strike every now and again. The balcony doors were open, but the overhang prevented any water from spilling over onto the hard stone floors. A silence hung heavy in the air as the balcony's curtains swayed in the storm's breeze. The young Elven girl found it all very unnerving. However, she lifted her chin and walked on, knowing her elder brother would make great fun of her if he knew she were afraid of such trivial things as a rain storm or the silence of the dark.

      Something suddenly caught the young Elf's eyes and she quickly darted out of sight. A figure crept in through the balcony window, making even less noise than most. At this, Legolia realized that it was an Elf who entered, but it was so terribly dark that it was impossible to tell who. She held her breath, fearing any noise whatsoever might give away her position. Quietly, the figure entered into Aragorn's room and cross the floor to stand mere inches from the bedside.

      It was in that moment that a flash of lightning struck and Legolia could clearly see the face of the intruder...

      It was Legolas.

      'What is he doing in here?' the young Elf's mind questioned.

      She feared speaking out, afraid that the dark aura would return and attempt to suffocate her senses once more. Try as Legolia might however, she could not figure out why her brother would need a reason to sneak into his own friend's room. Sitting even quieter, Legolia watched as the sleeping man made no outward recognition which might suggest he knew either Elf were present.

      'Humans,' the girl thought, 'They can apparently sleep through anything.'

      This however, turned into a deadly example of how true that statement really was.

      A flash of lightning was more than enough to capture the scene in one swift moment. Upon the bed, lay the sleeping figure of Aragorn and, poised just over his chest, ready to strike, was Legolas with one of his Elven daggers clenched tightly in his slender hand. Upon the floor, near the foot of the bed, knelt the quiet form of Legolia, her face frozen in shock and horror.

      In the next few moments, utter chaos ensued...

      A scream from the young Elvish child was enough to wake Aragorn and put him in a state of instant alert. Seeing the dagger once more aimed at running him through, the man rolled off his bed, landing on the other side with a thud. Before he was even on his feet however, Legolas had sprung up on top of the bed, his eyes clearly showing a lust for murder.

      Once more, the King of Gondor realized that this was not his dearest companion, but the soul of a wizard too stubborn and relentless to known when he had been beaten. Though, in the man's mind, he wondered if the Istari had truly ever been defeated. There had been no word on the wizard's whereabouts, and all believed him to be wandering the plains of Middle-earth. If only Aragorn had known that Saruman indeed met his end in the Shire, maybe things would have turned out differently. However, the king had to work with what little information he possessed and right now he was more intent on saving his own life than worrying about the reasons for Saruman's return.

      Rolling to his feet, Aragorn barely managed to escape a deadly down slash from Legolas' dagger. The Elf was nimble and jumped off the bed to land directly before the man. Standing in a defensive crouch, Aragorn noticed a third figure within the room.

      Springing to her feet and running faster than most thought possible, the small Elven girl positioned herself directly between her elder brother and the Gondorian king.

      "Daro, Legolas! Le dago hon! Le dago leath daerathon mellon!" the Elven girl cried, salty tears streaming down her cheeks. ~[Stop, Legolas! You will kill him! You will kill your greatest friend!]~
      "Edned i te, Legolia!" Aragorn shouted. ~[Out of the way, Legolia!]~
      "U!" ~[NO!]~

      The Mirkwood prince stood there for a moment, watching the younger Elf with eyes of fascination. Aragorn knew that surely Saruman would not wish an opportunity such as this to be wasted, and would pounce upon the small Elf without a moments hesitation. However, the wizard may have forgotten that he now possessed the mind of a very stubborn Elf.

      Legolas' face twisted into an expression of utter confusion and shock, the same look which Aragorn had witnessed just days earlier. The King of Gondor smiled, maybe there was a chance after all...

      Taking this moment of distraction to his advantage, Aragorn pushed Legolia out of the way and grasped Legolas' forearm before he even had time to blink. The Elf's eyes slowly came to rest upon Aragorn's face and the strange light disappeared from his eyes altogether. It was replaced by an expression of searching mixed with fear and uncertainty.

      "Legolas?" Aragorn asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

      The Elf looked at him for a moment, and the man feared that Saruman's hold might once more come into place.

      Suddenly, the dagger fell from Legolas' hand and clattered to the ground. His eyes shone brighter than Aragorn had seen them in many long days. Like the sun shining through into a place which had known only darkness before, his friend returned to the world.