Well, I put Legolas tags on it, so here you are, please VOTE and enjoy...

Legolas Greenleaf sighed heavily. He sat on his windowsill, legs swinging aimlessly over the huge drop below. He was watching the sunrise, staring without really seeing as the ocean blue sky blushed shades of pink, and the clouds were stained a deep orange by the sun's first rays. He had been woken yet again in the middle of the night by his own screams. Every night for the last fortnight, he had rocketed upright, screaming, usually only to fall back down and lie in his bed, panting and waiting for the horror to subside.

In his dreams, it was dark, not just black but completely dark, as if he was floating in an abyss, hovering helplessly in The Void. And then he heard it: the cold, hissing sounds of speech. The grating voice whispered things in his ears, things he never wanted to hear again. Things that haunted not only his dreams, but his waking moments as well. Only when he was alone did he allow the mask of indifference to slip from his face. Did he finally allow himself to think of his troubled sleep. The cold, grating voice spoke both common and the black speech of Mordor. After much research in the forbidden scrolls of his father's library, he knew what it was that the voice was telling him.

You are a coward, Legolas Greenleaf. Here in your father's halls, you are served and treated like the royal you are. But you are not the Prince of Arda. Only Mirkwood. You would do well to remember that, Princeling.

Prove yourself to me. Come to the borders of your realm in three weeks time. Only then can you show your courage. This is your one chance. Prove yourself.

Prove yourself.

And then the hoarse voice drifted away as if carried by a breeze, away from Legolas and into the eternal dark beyond.

That is when Legolas would awaken. Screaming, screaming for the voice to stop. For it to come back and explain. For it to give him a chance to prove himself now. But his yells were met only with the echo of hideous laughter whispering in his ears.

Legolas was brought out of his reverie by a light knock at the door. Scrambling desperately, he managed to leap off the windowsill, barely stifling a shout as he hit his left knee hard on one bedpost, and leapt into bed, pulling the covers over himself and feigning sleep.

Thranduil entered the room. He looked angry and slightly sympathetic, as if the two emotions were battling for control of his mind and anger was winning. But eventually sympathy won out and he crossed to his son's apparently sleeping form lying on the tall bed in the centre of the room.

"Legolas?" He called softly. He was inexperienced fitting into the father role of his life, and unsure what to do. He had heard Legolas scream in the middle of the night, and had hurried to his son's room as fast as he could. Naturally, however, having spent so little time with his son, he had no idea that Legolas was, in fact, awake and listening intently to everything Thranduil was saying. "Is something wrong, ion-nín?" As he spoke, he walked over to the bed and stroked his sons hair back from where it fallen over his face when, unknown to Thranduil, Legolas had flung himself into bed.

Bending down quietly, so as not to disturb his so-called sleeping, although actually awake, son, he kissed Legolas tenderly on his brow, and then left silently.

Inside the darkened room, Legolas stirred and sighed softly to himself, drifting back into a dreamless sleep for the first time in a fortnight.

———

When he awoke, Legolas felt somewhat dizzy and confused. He had slept for the first time in a fortnight without being disturbed by his repetitive dream. Stumbling out of bed, and then immediately sitting down again, Legolas waited for the world to stop spinning. It was as if the voice had nothing left to say to him, and had vanished, leaving only this strange dizziness in its wake. He couldn't fathom why he was being asked to come to the edge of Mirkwood only to somehow prove his courage. What did it all mean? The only thing to be seen from the border of his home was a great expanse if rock, maybe a few scraggly trees if he was lucky. Trees. Thought Legolas dryly. How utterly terrifying. Smiling to himself, he made his way to where he knew Thranduil would be waiting impatiently for him downstairs. Legolas was touched by the tenderness that Thranduil had shown lest night, but he knew that his father would be as strict as ever today, so he was not surprised when Thranduil greeted him with a small nod and gestured nonchalantly at him to sit down, explain to me why you are late, eat your breakfast and then make yourself more presentable and go on patrol.

As he ate, Legolas made up his mind to follow the voice's command and go prove his courage to a few trees and a rocky plain.

———

The next three weeks passed without anymore nightmares or surprise visits from Thranduil. Eventually, Legolas gave up on the small hope that his father would be kinder to him in future and retired to his usual routine as Prince of the Woodland Realm.

At last the day came, Three weeks from Legolas' last dream, and he set out, under cover of hunting alone, to the edges of the forest, making sure to catch a few animals on the way in order to prove the truth of his time spent outside the palace alone. Reaching the edge of the forest, Legolas gazed out calmly into the wind. It was as he had expected: a rocky plateau and a couple of trees. How pointless. Legolas thought, exasperated that he had really come out all this way for a ghostly voice in his dreams. Just as he was turning to leave, something caught his eye.

Right in front of him, as if it had appeared whilst he had been blinking, was the most heart-wrenching sight he had ever seen. The owner of the dark voice, robed all in black, stood as still as a statue. And in its grasp, was a young, silver-eyed ranger.

Prove yourself. Now.

Thanks so much for reading this! Especially dobblewolf for voting on chapter 6! I appreciate it so much thank you! 😊