Disclaimer: I do not, nor ever will, own Legolas, Aragorn, or any character or idea that is familiar. I wanted to ask someone if I could buy at least Legolas and Aragorn ::sighs:: but I did not know who. So I guess they still belong to J.R.R. Tolkein. The lyrics to the song "May It Be" are not mine, either, they belong to Enya.

Note: Chapter 4 is here—edited slightly and re-posted. I hope you enjoy it!

Rating: T/M

Summary:

'Sindarin (Elvish)'

/Personal Thoughts/

"Westron/Common Speech"

.:These Bonds We've Forged:.

By Sentimental Star

Chapter Four: Midnight and Morning

(Five Hours Later)

'Legolas!'

The Silvan Elf shot awake, nearly toppling out of his bed in surprise. Someone, somewhere, had shouted his name.

Rubbing impatiently at the weariness behind his midnight eyes, the Prince of Mirkwood listened hard.

'Legolas!'

There. Faint, but unmistakable. Fear, desperation, those colored the call. And by Valar, it was familiar!

It came again. 'Legolas!'

The Silvan Elf nearly choked as his heart leapt into his throat. It was not just any person who had cried out for him it was…'Estel!' he exclaimed, throwing his covers off and stumbling to his feet in the softly lit chamber. Without waiting to so much as grab a light, the Elven prince launched himself through the door and pelted down the corridor towards Aragorn's room. Legolas paid absolutely no mind to the darkness pressing in around him, nor did it hinder him. He knew the halls of Rivendell almost as well as he did those of his own home in Mirkwood, especially this path between the human's quarters and his own.

Within minutes the prince had reached the Ranger's door. He paused momentarily with his hand on the doorknob, feeling a sickening sense of déjavù. Had he not been here before? In this same exact situation?

'Legolas!' came the cry once more, this time somehow strangled.

Fumbling with the white and golden knob in his haste, Legolas shoved the door open and quite nearly toppled into the chamber. Blinking in the dim light, his piercing eyes darted around the room before at last coming to rest on the large bed. Its human occupant thrashed wildly, moaning. Aragorn…was having a nightmare.

Legolas slumped against the door which he still held onto, making a mental note to kill his friend for scaring him so much once the Dúnadan awoke the next morning, but his anxiety did not lift.

Long ago Lord Elrond had told him of these "nightmares," repressed memories from the slaughter of his home, of the deaths of his parents. Other times they were of memories later on in his life, cruel memories which no one should have to relive at night.

'Legolas.' His name was alien, so broken was the voice that breathed it.

His heart wrenching painfully, Legolas swiftly made his way to the distraught human's side. As soon as Legolas's cool hand cupped Aragorn's cheek, the Human's thrashing abated somewhat. Moving the slim appendage to rest on his friend's forehead, the Silvan Elf found himself torn between desperately wishing he had Lord Elrond's gift to put to sleep even the most stubborn of creatures and wondering if the fact that it was an Elven hand, at the very least, could help banish the nightmares, even if only temporarily.

Carefully lifting the Dúnadan's upper torso and supporting the man, Legolas sat on the edge of the great bed and moved slowly to sit behind his friend. The bed was long and wide, longer and wider than either he or Aragorn, and it made it that much easier to do as he wished. The Elf eased the man down until he could cradle Aragorn's head in his lap. Smoothing the dark hair, he leaned close and murmured, his words Sindarin, 'It is all right, Estel. I am here. It is I—Legolas. You must wake up, mellon-nin. You are having a nightmare.'

The Ranger tossed his head, whimpering.

Legolas's voice cracked. 'Please, Estel!'

Aragorn tossed his head again, obviously too caught up in the dreams to surface from unconsciousness.

The prince pressed his forehead to his best friend's, tears unbidden rushing to his eyes. He furiously blinked them back. He would not cry again! Unfortunately, that only served to cause his voice to waver even more as he whispered brokenly, 'I cannot stand this.'

Unable to think of anything else to do, Legolas began to sing, voice choked and hushed:

'May it be an evening star

Shines down upon you

May it be when darkness falls

Your heart will be true

You walk a lonely road

Oh! How far you are from home

'Mornie utúlië

Believe and you will find your way

Mornie alantië

A promise lives within you now

'May it be shadows call

Will fly away

May it be your journey on

To light the day

When the night is overcome

You may rise to find the sun

'Mornie utúlië

Believe and you will find your way

Mornie alantië

A promise lives within you now

'A promise lives within you now'

To Legolas's great relief, the Dúnadan's tremors slowed and finally stopped altogether as the Sindarin words entered his tormented psyche and registered. No longer did he whimper or cry out, nor did the tears flow or his friend toss and turn any longer. 'Estel?' the Silvan Elf at last ventured to breathe, pulling back and cradling Aragorn's head as the human gradually relaxed.

The Ranger mumbled something incoherent as Legolas lightly soothed his forehead, turning to dig his face into the Elf's chest. Shortly thereafter, Aragorn fell into a blissfully deep and dreamless sleep. In turn, Legolas relaxed, releasing a heavy sigh and resting his head against the headrest behind him.

Soon, his eyes went unfocused and his lids fell to half-mast as he at last gave into sleep.

IOIOIOIOIOI

It was Lord Elrond's soft laughter which woke Aragorn the next morning.

Peering sleepily over his covers at his Elven father, reluctant to move from where he lay, he growled thickly, 'Aye, Ada? What is so funny?'

Laughter in his voice, Elrond asked in amusement, moving from where he had been standing in the doorway to his foster son's side, 'My dear Estel, what in Middle-Earth am I to do with you two?'

'Two?' Aragorn responded, still not quite awake yet, brow furrowed in confusion. He was aware of someone's hands cradling his head and his pillow felt naught like a pillow at all. He tried to remember what had happened. He thought he had had a nightmare, but he could not be sure. Someone had sung to him and…

Elrond was still chuckling. 'Mayhap I should have a cot placed in your room for Legolas. But you know,' and his silver eyes glittered with mirth, 'that bed is more than wide enough for the two of you. I imagine sleeping upright must be very uncomfortable.'

'It is,' a sleep-thick voice replied.

Aragorn started. Where had Legolas come from?

The Elven Prince's hands dropped from the human's head and moved to rub the sleep out of midnight eyes—to no avail.

As Aragorn lifted his head out of Legolas's lap and sat up on his elbows, tilting his head back to stare up incredulously at his best friend, Elrond wanted to know, amusement still evident in his voice, 'And might I inquire why you are here this time?' His grin had not wavered.

Aragorn wanted very much to know the same thing.

'Forgive me, hîr-nin, but the reason currently escapes me,' Legolas muttered, trying to force his mind to remember what had transpired the previous evening. He had fallen asleep in his own quarters, of that he was absolutely certain. Then…then…the Silvan Elf shook his head in frustration, once more rubbing at his eyes.

'Mornie utúlië/Believe and you will find your way/Mornie alantië/A promise lives within you now,' Aragorn sang softly, dredging up the words from…somewhere, as the refrain and melody drifted through his mind. The Ranger shook his head, confusion flitting across his rustic features. /What in Arda…?/ he wondered, bewildered, shaking his head again.

Legolas stilled.

Elrond looked sharply at his youngest, his surprise clear. 'Estel, how is it you remember that lullaby?'

'I know not, Ada. Why?' the Ranger responded, looking to his foster father as his confusion tripled.

Elrond's hand strayed to his human son's head and his voice quieted as he smoothed the unruly dark strands, lost in memories of years past, 'When you were very young, no more than a toddler really, I used to sing that to you to keep the nightmares at bay. It always seemed to calm you—I believe your mother used to sing it to you when you were a babe.' Pain evident on his features, the Half-Elven Lord pressed, 'Estel, did you have a nightmare again last night?' It worried and distressed him that he had not heard his son's cries.

Before Aragorn could reply, Legolas spoke up, 'He did. He called out for me in his sleep.'

Elrond was silent. At any rate, he now knew why Legolas had been in Aragorn's room. Looking closer, he noted the red tint to the prince's midnight eyes.

Aragorn abruptly sat up straight, gazing wide-eyed at Legolas. ''Twas you,' he whispered, 'you sang to me.'

Legolas offered a small smile. 'I knew not what else to do.'

'You did the right thing, Legolas,' Elrond assured him, smiling warmly at the young prince. His eyes suddenly twinkled. 'Although I must say, I was rather hoping you would remain in your own quarters for at least one night.'

'With Estel here?' Legolas shook his head and grinned at Elrond. 'Not likely!'

Elrond chuckled at the prince's words and at the glare Aragorn threw his fair friend. Well, they were back to normal at least—although "normal" for the Dúnadan and the Silvan Elf was a relative term. He kept laughing as the two bantered back and forth.

'What is that supposed to mean!'

'You heard what I said. With you around I can never seem to get a good night's sleep!'

'That's not true!'

'Oh? Name one time, one time, where we slept straight through the night without any complications.'

'The hunting trip we went on when I was twenty-three.'

'If I remember correctly, Estel, you were unconscious. That night I did not sleep at all.'

Elrond laughed, 'Valar take both of you! You deserve each other!'

'Hey!' came the chimed response, setting the Elven Lord to laughing again.

At which point, the mirth and banter was interrupted by a knock on the wall. 'My Lord Elrond?' a soft voice inquired.

Smiling, his heart once more lightened by the two princes' teasing, the half-Elven lord turned and acknowledged the servant with a warm nod. 'Yes?'

'My Lord,' the elleth advised him, 'the young Hobbit has awoken.'

Relief flashed in Elrond's dark eyes, 'I am glad to hear it. Please inform Mithrandir I shall be there shortly.'

The elleth gave a slight curtsy and left.

Elrond turned back to Legolas and Aragorn—who were watching him intently—with a slight smile. 'If you are quite through, I suggest you both wash up and change. You may join me if you wish. I am sure you are very familiar with where I am headed.'

'Ada!' Aragorn protested as Legolas broke into a soft peal of musical laughter.

Elrond's smile broadened. 'Yes, Estel? Is there something you wish to say?' he asked with barely concealed mirth as his human son floundered for a response. When none was forthcoming, he inclined his head. 'I thought not.' He walked out of the chamber.

In Aragorn's room, Legolas had finally calmed down completely from last night, sweeping the residual worry to the back of his mind as he laughed at his best friend's rather rosy countenance.

'And what are you laughing at, Elf?' Aragorn grumbled playfully, if somewhat sheepishly. 'You have been in the infirmary at least as much as I!'

'Yes.' Legolas's reply was mirthful. 'But only because I was trying to prevent you from ending up there. I wonder, are all Men so clumsy or is it just you?'

'I am sure Lord Boromir will be more than glad to tell you,' Aragorn retorted. Only when the words had left his mouth did he realize just how poisonous they were.

Legolas's entire demeanor altered. 'Yes, I am sure he would,' the Silvan Elf growled darkly, abruptly turning away. Neither had moved from where they sat on the Ranger's bed.

Aragorn knew that something had gone very wrong between the two, remembering the tension in his friend much earlier yesterday evening as he held him, and from what he had seen of the Man, he was not surprised. It angered him, to say the very least. But anger would not help Legolas. Reaching out, he grasped the Elf's arm gently. As Legolas turned hurt eyes to him, Aragorn murmured simply, 'I am sorry, mellon nin. I should have realized how you would react.'

Legolas nodded, accepting the apology. 'He is not like you,' the prince admitted softly.

Aragorn nodded. 'Do you wish to speak of it?'

'If I did, not even Lord Elrond would be able to prevent you from harming him,' Legolas replied quietly. 'He does not like Elves, Estel.'

'So I noticed,' the Dúnadan muttered, rubbing his face.

Legolas offered him a tiny smile. 'Worry yourself not, mellon nin. It has passed. And I do believe we shall have a very impatient Mithrandir on our hands if we do not go soon.'

'Then leave so I can get changed!' he laughed, giving the Elf a gentle shove.

The Elf's tone turned teasing again as he stood. 'Mithrandir is not the only impatient one around here.'

'Oh go away,' Aragorn quipped good-naturedly, playfully swatting at the prince.

Once again Legolas's musical laughter rang out in the room as he danced out of the Human's reach.

Aragorn's eyes twinkled as he listened to Legolas's wonderful laughter. He doubted he would ever tire of hearing it and it did the Silvan Elf good to laugh. This was why he so often engaged the prince in warm banter—it made any troubled situation that much easier to bear.

The Dúnadan smiled and shook his head slightly. It was during moments such as this that he knew everything would turn out all right in the end—in one way or another. 'Hannon lle, mellon nin,' Aragorn whispered, raising fond eyes to his friend's once again cheerful countenance.

Legolas was caught off guard and his laughter subsided as he gazed curiously at the Human. 'Whatever for?'

'For last night and for all the nights you have watched over me. For being my friend,' he elaborated, voice tender.

The smile returned was priceless. 'You are welcome, mellon nin. More than welcome.'

Tbc.

Sindarin Translations:

Elleth: She-Elf

Hannon lle, mellon nin: Thank you, my friend.

Hîr-nin: My lord

Mornie utúlië: Darkness has come.

Mornie alantië: Darkness has fallen.