Disclaimer: I make no profit from this, I do not own Tolkien's magnificent world.
Aragorn wearily surveyed the battlefield. The skirmish had ended some time ago and all that lingered were the corpses of the orcs. Once the wounded had been cared for the orc bodies will be disposed of, he thought idly. He felt ill, no physical ailment was affecting him; the harsh reality of what had happened the repercussions were what were making the seemingly invincible man crumble. It's my fault…
A soft thump broke him from his thoughts. A sad smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Only one being in all of Middle-Earth would be so stubborn as to walk all this way with such a terrible wound to his leg.
Legolas…
He turned to see the golden haired elf determinedly limping towards him, leaning heavily on his makeshift walking stick. The previously white bandages wrapped around a good portion of his left leg were stained red. The smile faded.
"You should not be up and walking about yet, your wound is severe. You need to let it heal so you can make the journey back on the morrow." Legolas frowned.
"And you should not be out here brooding on what is done," he retorted. "Leave the past where it is and do not dwell on what could have been."
"I didn't know you were so wise my friend."
"I had wonderful tutors in my youth. Stop changing the subject. A shadow hangs about you; the light that surrounds you is all but gone. What troubles you?" Silence answered his question. Legolas was beginning to wonder if his friend would refuse to talk when the man stirred.
"Have you ever felt that you are the cause for each of your soldiers' death even though you did not raise the sword or spear against them nor cut them down with arrow or pike?" Legolas nodded, recalling his years of battle. "I have brought pain and suffering to all that I know and love, if I had not been born or died long ago in battle then none would have suffered so."
"How can you speak this way?" Legolas cried. "A nation's future rests on your shoulders, the very fate of the Evenstar rests with every choice you make. If you die now many will suffer far more than do any now."
"How do you know that Legolas? The path that has been laid out for me since birth is cloaked in shadow, I cannot see it. I fall deeper and deeper into the shadow of despair; I fear it will swallow me before long."
"You are estel, hope, to fall into that despair is to deny your very being."
"How can I be? I lead my kin and friends to death, if you and your company hadn't found us we would've all been lost, I shall cause the splintering of Lord Elrond's family, Arwen will become mortal and one day die alone, never to rejoin her family across the sea. Someday I may lead you to your death my friend, how can I be called hope?"
"By holding onto yourself my friend."
"I have lost myself," he whispered brokenly. "I need something to hold onto in these dark times."
For some time Legolas stood studying his friend, if he was lost in thought or lost for words none can say. He took in his friend's appearance, dark clothing travel and battle stained, dark hair hanging in messy curls about his face, his youthful face deeply lined, his world weary gray eyes begging him to give him anything, anything, to cling to.
Slowly, deliberately, Legolas placed his left hand on Aragorn's right shoulder, dropping his staff in the process. His right he placed over the man's heart. "This I promise you, you will never be alone in this world, you will always have a brother in me, no matter where you are. You carry a heavy burden; you need not carry it alone. Arwen and I will always be with you, if not in body but in spirit, here in your heart. Pain and sorrow may follow you, your loved ones may suffer for your sake, but I tell you that we bear it and will bear it with pride because we love you. If you are ever in darkness hold onto us, to this promise for it will never fade."
Aragorn suddenly crumbled, falling gratefully into his dear friend's, brother's, embrace. Slowly they sank to the ground, Aragorn weeping openly into Legolas' shoulder. It didn't matter that he was hunted for being the heir of Isildur; it was suddenly alright that Arwen loved him and would forsake her immortality to be with him.
He had found something to hold onto and everything was alright in his world.