Aragorn:

I held him close as his body trembled, his sky blue eyes filling with silvery tears as he looked pleadingly at me. What could I say? How could I ease his pain? Softly I whisper to him -- not to tell him that everything would be alright, because it wouldn't -- but to attempt to calm him that he would not make himself sick from the power of his grief.

For what seemed like an eternity he shook, sobs wracking his frame as he brokenly denounced the Valar for their cruelty unto him. Finally, his body stilled and he sank into an uneasy slumber -- more akin to unconsciousness than true sleep, something to hide himself from the full power of reality for a time.

He looked so young, so fragile, as I carried him to his chambers and lay him upon his large bed. I sighed as I brushed the wet and matted blond hair from his pale face, watching the tear-stained cheeks glitter in the dull light of the room. I myself had lost both my parents, but then I'd not known either of them, but Legolas… Legolas had been raised by his mother until her brutal death a millennia ago, and then by his father who loved him as only a suffering man can, a love akin to worship. His life was full of love…

I leant back against the foot of the bed, the solid post not budging even under my added weight. Closing my eyes against the sickly pallor of my shaken and begrieved Prince's face, it comes back to me.

~~~~~~~~~~

Flashback

Tangled and bloodied flaxen hair stuck to his face. Lack-luster pale blue eyes gazed blankly at the gathered Elves, sunken into the once regal face of their King.

Burns and abrasions marred the normally flawless skin, standing out starkly against the waxy grey of death it now held.

I gathered the frantic Elf-Prince to me, turning the sight out of his view, but Legolas is strong, even more-so in a panic. What he saw brought him to his knees as it had threatened to do to me. His wail rang through the forest, a pained cry that shook me to my core even more thoroughly than the sight of the disemboweled King.

End Flashback

~~~~~~~~~~

I catch myself as a pained moan erupts from the Elven archer's throat, his body violently bolting into a sitting position. His eyes frantic as they scan the room, landing on me before he launches himself into my arms, sobbing and begging me 'not to leave him too.'

Quietly I stroke his hair, hoping the action placates him and will ease him back to sleep. His shoulders are tense and I feel the sinews in them vibrate from the tautness. 'Shh,' I breathe, rubbing his back soothingly. 'I am here, I will not leave you.'

Where is the strong prince that fought with me at Helm's Deep? Where is he who stood beside me as all of Mordor rained down on the gathered peoples at Gondor? How could this sobbing and broken elf be he?

'Hush, meleth,' I whisper, holding him tight against me as he sobs again. Gently I rock, murmuring soothing words. 'I can offer you no comfort save for that of my arms, and I will always be there whenever you need me. This is promise.'

He nods brokenly, gulping as even his breath catches in his grief swollen throat.

I hug him again, wishing to lend him what little strength I can. 'I know this will be hard, but I'll be here. Just call for me and I'll drop whatever I am doing to run to your side.'

I wish I could do more than that, but it is all I know to offer him. Tis pathetic indeed that all I can give him in his grief is a simple touch and a staid companion.

'Esta, meleth-nîn,' I breathe into his hair, combing the silken strands back with my sword-worn fingers. 'Esta.'

And as I pull him down to lay upon the coverlets and we drift off into sleep, I see the pain in his eyes ease just a pinch, but to me that is enough. I hope to one day see that pain linger only as a memory, faded and dimmed. For now though, I'll remain at his side and give him what little comfort I can. I just hope it will be enough.

~Chapter Two~

Legolas:

My nose is all runny and sore and my head feels like a million Gimlis have been running around inside it banging their axes against my brain trying to get out. I sniffle, very unprincely of me, and cling tighter to Aragorn's tunic as a wave of pain crashes over me, blacking my vision.

I'm a mess. A sorry wreck of an Elf. And what's the hardest part of all of it? It wasn't seeing my father's mutilated and defiled form. It wasn't that he, strongest Elf in Mirkwood, had been captured and killed by Orcs. It was none of that…

It was the fact that he was really gone, that he wasn't coming back.

I clung all night to Aragorn's chest, beating the soft flesh so hard I'm sure it is badly bruised.

~~~~~~~~~~

Flashback

His eyes were glassy, like aquamarine gemstones that have lost their light. His skin, once a glowing white gold was now the color I had only seen on the living cadavers of the city of Edoras, people so close to death they might as well have been dead.

Aragorn tried to put himself between I and the terrible sight that was my father, but I struggle like a mad man -- perhaps I was -- and break his grip, stumbling as I see the full extent of the damage. I feel my knees give out and a keening wail rips itself from my throat.

"No! Father!"

His guts lay spread about him, cruelly drawn from his body like snakes from a hole. I feel my stomach clinch as bile rises in my throat and choking I empty the contents of my stomach.

Instantly Aragorn is at my side, whispering soft words, rubbing my back, holding my long hair back and out of the way. When I am finished, I begin to sob, flinging myself into his embrace, my fingers curling and pulling at the leather of his vest.

"It's not fair, no, this has to be some cruel joke," I bleat brokenly, hyperventilation taking me. "This can't be real… he… he can't be gone!"

He holds me as I cry myself to sleep for only the second time in my long life.

End Flashback

~~~~~~~~~~

It's his warmth that brought me out of my dream-sleep, my memories. He's not let me go since I first collapsed against him, sobbing desperately for someone to make everything the way it was.

He offered no words of comfort, nothing so fragile. Instead he offered me a warm shoulder, strong arms, and a protective and loving embrace…

Maybe, just maybe, I'll make it through this. I know it'll be hard, accepting the truth, but Aragorn will be with me, he'll be my shoulder when I need the support. He'll be the strong embrace when my spirits are down. He'll be my Hope when I think I've lost it all. And knowing that, I know that even though things will never be the same, I can make it through…

THE END