Do you know how it feels when your whole world is shattered into pieces in one single moment and you feel like you have just lost everything that ever had a meaning in your life?

I do.

I have felt it.

The moment our battle with the wargs was over, I instinctively raised my head and looked around to find Aragorn. My heart skipped a bit when I realized that he was nowhere to be seen.

Afraid for the worst, I started calling his name and it was not long before I heard the dwarf do the same.

Why was he not answering? What had happened to him?

I looked over at the place where I had seen him fight for the last time. There were no signs of him, yet I drew closer. Amidst my panic, I barely heard Gimli questioning a dying orc who laid a few feet away from me. But, I forced myself to listen and soon I realized that this filthy being claimed that Aragorn was dead.

How did he dare say such a thing? Aragorn could not be dead. Not my Aragorn…

I lunged at him and called him a liar, but… then I saw it. My knees went weak at the sight of the Evenstar at the hands of that disgusting orc. So, he had been telling the truth…

My limbs went numb and for the next few moments I could not move, nor think, as the pain in my chest overwhelmed me. It was like someone was tearing my heart in two and I had absolute no strength to resist…

With pain and struggle I finally managed to move over at the cliff, where Gimli and the King were already standing. I looked down, almost expecting for a miracle…Yet, I was answered by the hard reality. The craggy rocks and the stream below left very little hope for anyone to survive.

“Leave the dead behind.”

The King’s words were another stab in my heart. I turned and looked at him with devastation, yet in my heart I knew that we had no other choice. We had to go on if we wanted to help the Rohirrin.

He must have seen the pain and despair in my eyes, for his look softened when he turned to face me. “Come on,” he said softly and gave me a little nudge, which, I think, he might have called encouraging.

Yet, he could not really understand. For all those people there, I had only lost a companion and a very dear friend.

No one knew that I had lost my whole world…

~~~~~~~~~~

The hours until we at last reached Helm’s Deep passed unnoticed for me. My thoughts were all exclusively devoted to my fallen king. Some times, I thought I heard Gimli trying to speak to me, but I gave him no further notice.

My sorrow was too great. Aragorn had gone from me in the most inappropriate moment, and now he would never know the secret that I had so much wished to share with him. He would never share my joy.

Yet, amidst my desperation and my pain, there was still an absurd little voice in me that spoke to me of a miracle. A voice that said that Aragorn was a very strong man, a man that would not go down so easily and that there might still be a way for him to come back.

It seemed like madness, but it was the way I always looked at things, even since I was a little boy. I remember my father telling me that I should always, even in the darkest hour, keep the sparkle of hope alive in me, and that would make me win.

Up to now, I had always followed his advice. If it hadn’t been for that, I would have given up on Aragorn a long time ago, when I first heard he was betrothed to Arwen.

But, I did not. Instead, I kept my head high, and I always believed that there could be a way for Aragorn and me to be together.

To my utter joy and relief, my hopes turned out true. Arwen had at last followed her father’s advice and had decided to leave for Valinor and Aragorn had let her go, for he did not want to deprive her from her immortality.

When I approached him at first, he rejected me, saying that he did not wish to lead another one from the fair folk into the same destiny, but in the end I managed to convince him that I was determined to stay in Middle Earth until the end of his life, whether he chose to love me or not.

I had loved Aragorn for years and years, since I first met him in Imladris and he was nothing but a young boy, and I was willing to do every sacrifice that it took in order to be in his arms.

And now that I had just managed that, that happiness had been deprived from me so brutally!

Nay, I refused to believe that my love had abandoned me like that! He was so needed in this world that I knew the Gods would not let his life end like that.

Aragorn was alive and he was going to return to me very soon. I knew that.

~~~~~~~~~~

As I stood at the top of the staircase in front of the gates, which lead to the King’s hall, my thoughts unwillingly kept drifting to the beautiful shield-maiden who had fallen under Aragorn’s spell. I knew of the lady Eowyn’s feelings for my king, before she even realized it herself.

Aragorn was unaware of the great power and magnetism he had over other, but it was more than clear to me. I had been caught in his web the same way many years ago and knew how it felt like. Therefore, I could do nothing but pity that beautiful lady.

She seemed so confused. She was trapped in the middle of this war in which she badly wanted to fight, yet she wasn’t allowed, her brother was banished from the land and that strong Man she had just met and had finally given her some hope in her life, was now thought to be dead.

She was strong, yet not strong enough to come up with all that. I wondered how she would react when Aragorn would return. For, in the meanwhile, I had managed to convince myself that my beloved was coming back even at that minute I was standing there.

So, I was not surprised when I heard the joyous voices at the gate. I only sighed heavily with relief, because I knew that my love was now safely back and it was only a matter of minutes until he would be with me again.

He did not see me at the start, as he climbed up the stairs. He looked exhausted and injured, yet he was still the most breathtaking sight I had ever laid eyes on.

When he finally recognized me and stopped only within an inch of my grasp, I had to try very, very hard not to simply open my arms and embrace him. I knew it would not be the wisest thing to do among so many people.

I knew he recognized the relief and the longing in my eyes and in my voice as I told him that he was late. I could see the same emotions mirrored in his own eyes as he gazed at me.

“You look terrible,” I added with a smile and I almost wept with joy when he laughed as well. “Yet, you still manage to take my breath away,” I added in a lower voice, which I knew that would be audible only by his ears.

“I dreamed of you,” he whispered quietly, “You came and rescued me. You helped me survive.”

His voice was filled with adoration as he spoke to me and my heart leaped in my chest. Somehow, I knew that something between us had changed from that moment. We had moved on from being just lovers, to something else, more powerful, that I could not describe.

Suddenly, I remembered the pendant in my pocket. I reached for it and handed it to Aragorn. The simple touch of our hands was enough to cause shivers down my spine, but his words made my heart beat even more frantically.

“I do not need to put it on now. I will just keep it in my pocket.”

I knew what meaning his simple words had; I knew that he was opening a new door for me. I gripped him in joy, even as I felt his hands reaching for my shoulders, the touch so intense, so needy…

My Aragorn was close to me again, and so unexpectedly closer…

~~~~~~~~~~

I did not understand which dark force had caused me to say those words to Aragorn, but I had certainly regretted them.

I knew I could see things much calmer than those Men who prepared for battle, but I had no excuse to attack Aragorn’s hopes like that, even if I was right.

I had to acknowledge that my king was in despair, for he himself knew how small our hopes were, but had to find the courage to go on. It would not help us falter or diminish any hope these Men had. I was at fault, but I saw it too late.

“You think he is still angry with me?” I asked the dwarf, as we prepared for battle. It was fun seeing him tried to put the much larger armor on, but my mind was constantly fixed on Aragorn.

“Nay,” Gimli replied, while he desperately battled with the armor, “He could not be mad at you, master elf, even if he tried. He is just having a hard time, that’s why he reacted that way.”

I nodded in agreement. Still, I needed to find him and clear things out before the battle began.

I turned around, wanting to exit the room, but the dizziness got ahead of me. Why did that have to happen in the most inappropriate time? I grabbed the wall with one hand, while I held my head with the other. The whole room was spinning and I felt sicker than ever.

“Master elf, what is wrong with you?” I heard Gimli’s concerned voice asking me, as he approached me swiftly.

I had no time to explain him. I thought that I was about to faint any minute now. “Fetch Aragorn for me, Gimli, please!” I pleaded in agony.

“He does not need to fetch me.”

I sighed with relief as I heard my king’s voice and within moments, I was safely tugged in his strong arms. Everything seemed better in his embrace and I managed to calm down. I gratefully gave him soft kiss on the neck as he sat me on the floor and embraced me tightly.

“What is wrong, Legolas? Are you ill?” I could hear the agitation in his voice and managed a soft smile to reassure him.

“No, I am not ill, Aragorn, but there is something I must tell you,” I said, knowing that it would be now or never. My whole world could turn upside-down in minutes, but this was a risk I simply had to take. “In the last few weeks, I have noticed that… Well, how to say it? I believe, in fact, I am almost certain that… I am with child.”

There! I had said it. And it had been even more difficult than I had expected it to be. Now, Aragorn watched me dumb stricken, just like I had imagined him to be. I just wished he would say something.

“If you don’t want to have anything with me from now on. You just must now that…” I could not finish my sentence, as Aragorn cut me off.

“Legolas, what are you saying? Are you sure about this?” I could not detect anything in his voice, aside from utter surprise.

“I cannot be completely sure, but I have all the symptoms,” I answered, “Besides, it has been a month since we first…”

I did not have to complete my sentence. He knew what I was talking about. I feared that he would start yelling at me then, but instead, he tightened his grip around my waist and rested his forehead against mine.

“You cannot go into battle like this,” he whispered, “I cannot let you risk it.”

He was calm. He was loving. I could not believe my luck. I had had many doubts about telling him, because I did not want him to think that I would be trying to take advantage of him by using my pregnancy. It was such a relief that he was taking it so well.

“I will participate in the battle,” I stated with a certainty, which left no room for disagreements, “I am needed there and I refuse to hide in the dungeons with the women.”

Aragorn knew me too well to disagree with me when I was so determined. I let him pull me up from the ground gently and he folded me in his arms again.

“All right,” he said, “You will go, but you have to promise me that you will be more careful than you ever were. I know that you are a strong and capable warrior and I trust you, but only if you promise me.”

“I promise.” And I sealed my promise with a much-needed kiss.

It was the grumbling of the dwarf that caused us to break apart. “Is anyone going to explain me what is going on here?” he asked with exasperation, but the sound of the strange horn did not allow us to answer him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Even at the end, I could not believe that we had won. We had stood with so little hope against the raging Uruk-Hai, yet at the end, with Mithrandir’s aid, we managed to defend Helm’s Deep and emerge victorious from the battle.

Still, I could not ignore the pain as I saw so many of my kin dying. Haldir had been one of my most trusted companions, as had been many others of the fallen elven-soldiers. I blessed the gods that I was not one of them, as I mourned the Lorien-guardian over his body.

I felt exhausted, which was not normal for me, yet expected, regarding my condition. I had come close to death many times during the battle, but remembering my promise to my king, I managed to escape death.

Still, the wariness and the anxiety the battle had caused me, had wearied me so much that my body soon gave up on me and without knowing it, I passed out.

As Gimli told me later, Aragorn had found me over Haldir’s body, and for one moment, he had feared me dead too. However, when he saw that I was still alive he brought me back in the King’s hall and called Mithrandir to examine me.

What the wizard said, I found out from Aragorn as I woke up.

I found him sitting beside me, on the table where I lay. No right bed could be provided at that time.

He smiled when I looked up at him and he softly caressed my face. “What happened?” I asked, as I sat up.

“I have the most joyous of news,” he announced, still smiling.

“About the battle?” I asked, unaware of what could have brought such happiness to my lover.

“No,” he replied quietly, “About us. You are indeed going to give us a child.”

I gaped at him, unable to believe what he had just said. I had suspected it for a while, but it felt quite different to know it was the truth. I was going to give birth to Aragorn’s child. It felt like a dream. And… “If it is a boy…”

“He will be Gondor’s heir,” he completed my sentence.

Sensing my utter confusion and shock, Aragorn took me in his arms and brought me close for a reassuring kiss. “And even if it isn’t a boy,” he whispered in my ear, “The next one will surely be.”

“You really want to stay with me.” It was not a question, but a shocked statement. Everything I had ever dreamed of was turning into reality. “So, you love me?”

“Have I never told you that? I do, my Legolas. I love you more than I could imagine and I shall love you for as long as I walk on this earth. This is my promise to you.”

The End.

A/N: Did it turn out too corny in the end? I'm sorry if it id, but I was in a hurry. And very pissed, because I just violated the promise I had made to myself never to write MPREG!! Its all Legolas' fault, I swear!