"Come on Estel!" called the limber elf perched on a tree branch. His blue eyes sparkled as he held out a hand. "I know humans are slow, but certainly you can climb faster than that."

Aragorn took the hand gratefully, hoisting himself up to the branch where the elf also stood. "What's the big rush Legolas?" He reached up to brush some leaves from his hair.

"If we don't hurry, we'll miss them!"

"Miss who?"

But Aragorn spoke to empty air. Legolas had already shot farther up the tree.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Aragorn called up, getting a foothold on the trunk of the large oak. Although he had become an impressive tree-climber in his many years as a ranger, his skill would never match that of the wood elf. It took him a few minutes to reach the uppermost limb, where Legolas stood, parting the green leaves with both hands. He stared into the cloudless sky, seeming mesmerized.

Aragorn placed a hand on Legolas's shoulder-partly to support himself on the narrow branch-and tried to figure out what his friend was looking at. "What do you see?" he asked, squinting.

"Just wait a moment" Legolas replied, still gazing into the distance.

Aragorn sighed patiently, smiling. Legolas had been excited to show him "something wonderful". He wondered what he was supposed to be seeing.

As he strained his eyes, something thin and soft hit him in the cheek. Flinching in surprise, he saw a huge monarch butterfly flutter by his face. Watching it fly away, he spotted another butterfly. Then another.

Suddenly, the air was completely filled with black and orange butterflies. Aragorn had never seen so many in one place. Eyes wide in amazement, he turned to Legolas, who gave him a joyful smile.

For a few moments, the sky was golden with the hundreds of gracefully flapping wings. Then, the flock dissipated, flying off into the horizon.

Aragorn and Legolas stood in stunned silence, unconsciously grasping hands. Then, bursting into laughter, Legolas sank down to sit on the tree branch.

Aragorn ducked under the veil of leaves, taking a seat beside him.

"Thank you for showing me that, Legolas. When did you notice them?"

"They've been flying in this spot for the past few days" Legolas replied, eyes shining with tears of joy. "I think they've finally realized that it's safe to come back."

A flock of butterflies had not been spotted in Mirkwood since some time before the War of the Ring. When shadow had fallen upon the woodland realm, almost all of them had migrated or fallen prey to the hoards of spiders. Aragorn knew how Legolas loved butterflies. The elf had only seen the occasional one in the past. A huge flock such as this was definitely a good sign.

"Isn't it something?" Legolas remarked, still breathless from the beautiful sight.

"Yes" Aragorn agreed, settling back against the branches with a sigh.

"Life is sweet, Estel."

"It is indeed, Mellon-nin."