Disclaimer: I do not own LotR. Sadly.

Another story! Huzzah! ...I hope. n.n;; This story actually took control over what I was originally planning, lol. But I can't argue that since it's been a while since any story has done anything, let alone on its own. xD It took me a while to come up with the title of the story, which is rather unusual. Hadn't taken me so long since the first stories I wrote... -.-

I had this typed up for quite a while but couldn't come up with a title so it just sat. And then WoW... -.- Shame on me.

Anyway, I really hope you all enjoy. Let me know. n.n


Pushing Ahead

Chapter One: Falling

Legolas' horse suddenly reared with a cry, bucking him off. Shocked at the behavior, the blonde elf put up little resistance.

A gasp escaped as his back slammed into something solid.

Estel had immediately drawn his sword as he shouted his friend's name in alarm. He winced when he noticed an arrow protruding from the mare's chest.

Before he could give Legolas or his horse another thought, orcs burst from behind the trees, brandishing their swords. Still, the dark-haired man moved closer to Legolas to protect him, not knowing if he had been hurt, and not wanting to take the chance.

Then the orcs were upon him. A moment later Legolas joined, much to his relief.

The two fought side by side as the orcs came at them one after another.

Legolas' knife cut deeply into his enemy's neck and fell. Quick to be replaced by another.

He swayed slightly while swallowing his nausea.

A sharp hiss of pain escaped as an orc took advantage of his vulnerable moment and scored on his thigh.

He recovered quickly and blocked the next attack aimed for his heart.

The elf followed by thrusting his other knife into the orc's stomach and kicking it down.

Legolas was starting to slow down and he knew it. His vision was starting to get blurry as his headache intensified. He knew the blood loss couldn't be helping.

"Legolas!" Estel shouted in warning, seeing a presumed-dead orc rise from behind the elf. He tried to reach his friend but was blocked by more orcs.

He gritted his teeth and plunged back into the fight.

Legolas turned around, knife raised, but was suddenly thrown to the ground, the orc on top of him slamming his head into the rocky ground.

Stars danced before Legolas' eyes as he lay in a daze.

He blinked his vision clear just in time to see the orc raise his weapon.

Then the orc fell limp.

Estel pulled the orc off Legolas and then kneeled beside him with worry. He inspected the archer and frowned at the deep cut into his thigh. He was grateful, however, that he didn't seem to have anything worse.

The man moved Legolas' slender hands over the bleeding wound.

"Keep pressure on it," he instructed and stood to find their horses.

Legolas merely lay there, his eyes closed as he tried to get the world to stop spinning.

Estel was quick to return, Legolas' horse having been close by. He had found the horse with a second arrow piercing her heart.

Kneeling beside Legolas with the bag of herbs, he mentioned nothing about the horses. They always kept an herb bag tied to each horse. Experience had taught them well.

Legolas lay with his eyes closed as Estel treated his wound, and the man was surprised at his friend's behavior. He had seen him ignore injuries when they were worse than this.

Blood pounded in pointed ears as he clenched his fists. The orc had made his head impossible to ignore.

Estel was relieved when he found no poison from Legolas' wound but frowned deeply at the great pain he seemed to be in.

Before Estel could give it another thought, Legolas tensed and cocked his head to the side.

"More approach," the elf explained as he opened his eyes.

Estel was surprised to see pain behind the blue eyes and... something else that he couldn't quite place. Fear?

He cursed their luck. It was almost completely dark now. They had been looking for shelter for the night when the orcs had ambushed them. He supposed their lack of sleep had gotten the best of them.

The man finished tying the bandage around Legolas' thigh with a sigh.

As the wood-elf stood, he drew his bow.

Estel couldn't help but note how pale he looked.

However, he forced himself to think about the problem at hand: the orcs.

Estel unsheathed his sword and stood by Legolas' side at the ready.

He cast another worried glance in Legolas' direction. He had hoped to avoid another fight so soon.

Legolas inwardly took a deep breath to calm himself as he stood beside Estel on shaky legs.

An orc came into sight and he fitted an arrow, trying to take aim as his vision twisted and blurred.

Finally, he let loose the arrow.

It was followed by a sharp gasp from beside him.

Estel whipped his head in Legolas' direction.

The arrow had gone wide. He couldn't remember ever seeing such a sight from the Prince of Mirkwood.

"We must flee," Legolas said, his voice trembling, bringing Estel out of his shocked state.

The elf bowed his head in defeat but quickly took off.

Estel stayed close to Legolas' side, unsure of what had happend. He could tell his friend was unsteady on his feet, and he was more than a little worried at the missed target.

They prayed that they would be able to escape without a fight.

However, all the running only aggravated Legolas' injury, making him feel very nauseous and lightheaded.

Suddenly, the elf dashed off to the side, away from Estel and leaned heavily against a tree. A hand came up to cover his mouth while the other pressed against the tree. He trembled violently as he tried to hold down the contents of his stomach.

"Legolas?" Estel asked, concern drenching the one word.

The man went to place a hand on Legolas' shoulder when he threw himself on his hands and knees, losing the fight with his stomach.

"Legolas!" he cried, falling beside his friend.

He pulled the blonde strands away from Legolas' face as he watched helplessly.

And he wondered what had caused this sickness. Had he missed the poison after all?

Then he remembered what had caused all this and that Legolas had been thrown from his horse. He realized he must have hit his head.

"Forgive me, mellon-nin," he said contritely.

Once Legolas finished, he slowly sat up with one hand on his knee and the other on his head, trying to still the pounding. He hadn't even heard his friend's words through the pain.

Estel abruptly turned to the side in silence. His hand rested on Legolas' back and the fact that the elf made no reaction to the sound that he had heard did not go unnoticed.

The orcs were getting closer.

"We must move," Estel stately firmly, his eyes wide. He needed to get Legolas to safety. He knew Legolas had a concussion, he just didn't know how bad it was, but the fact that it was affecting him so was not a good sign...

Estel felt terrible as he pulled his friend up to stand on trembling legs.

Legolas let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes at the sudden dizziness. He gripped Estel's arm tightly for support. Although his body protested the movement, he kept quiet, knowing they would be in a lot more trouble if they didn't run.

They stood for another moment while Estel let Legolas get his bearings. It would do neither of them any good if the wood-elf were to fall.

Legolas gave a slight nod.

Estel recognized the sign and started forward, supporting the young elf.

The two moved as quickly as Legolas could, Estel keeping an eye out for a place to hide. He knew they weren't going to be able to outrun the orcs.

Legolas was miserable as he tried to keep up with the pace the man was setting. He had to fight with his growing nausea as his sight continued to blur. He was surprised at how greatly his head injury seemed to suddenly affect him.

Estel knew that Legolas was vaguely aware of their surroundings as he was pulled along and all he wanted to do was stop and comfort his friend.

The man soon realized that they weren't going to be able to find a place in time. He looked up at the trees with a last-ditch idea.

"Can you climb?" he nervously asked the elf, stopping briefly. Under normal circumstances it would have been a foolish question but he could feel shivers run through Legolas' body from the injury and exhaustion.

And Legolas opened his mouth to say exactly that.

However, when he looked up at the tree, he grew suddenly pale and closed his eyes tightly.

"Legolas?" Estel asked with concern, already flicking his eyes around the area in a desperate search.

"With help," Legolas finally answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Estel was shocked by the admission and his worry grew. However, he didn't give it another thought as he climbed the tree, the orcs' pursuit had not been forgotten.

When he reached a steady branch high enough to hide them but still low enough to reach Legolas, he lowered a hand for the waiting elf.

Legolas didn't notice at first and Estel had to get his attention by calling his name.

The pained elf reached for the oustretched hand but it only made it known just how much his injury was affecting his vision.

After he had grabbed Estel's hand, he was able to quickly join his friend.

Estel cast another worried glance in Legolas' direction as he watched the elf lean against the tree trunk and close his eyes wearily.

He kept silent, hearing the orcs near, their foul language easily heard above the forest's sounds.

He hardly breathed, praying they would pass.

Glancing at Legolas, he could tell he listened as well, his body tense.

Then the orcs paused.

And Estel wondered if he would be able to fight alone.

He could see one halt and look towards the horizon slightly showing through a break in the trees.

The sun rises, he thought, nearly falling with relief.

Neither dared move until they could no longer hear or see the fell creatures.

Carefully, he moved closer to Legolas, grateful that he would be able to treat his friend properly.

"I need to have a look at your wound, mellon-nin," he said gently when Legolas didn't move.

Alarm filled him when the elf gave no response.

"Legolas!" the man practically shouted. He tapped the side of the pale face.

Estel let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding when blue eyes flickered.

"Open your eyes, Legolas. You cannot sleep," he calmly said, his heart pounding in his chest.

Reluctantly, the prince did as told and forced his eyes to stay open despite seeing double.

"Aye, that's it, Legolas," Estel encouraged, keeping his voice strong.

He looked down at the surrounding area, watching and listening for any remaining orcs.

Satisified, he leaned back toward Legolas. They needed to get back down.

"The orcs have passed. Ready to get down, mellon-nin?" he explained slowly, seeing the elf's confused look.

Estel waited for the words to register and the following nod, before he descended. He stood at the base for Legolas, ready to help or catch him should he fall.

Much to his relief, the elf made it down easily with the help of the tree.

Knowing his friend's intent, Legolas sat crosslegged once he reached the ground, and was grateful to be still once more.

Estel smiled and squeezed Legolas' shoulder.

He kneeled beside the archer as he gently felt the back of the blonde head.

Legolas let out a hiss of pain and tightly shut his eyes, bending forward.

Estel immediately withdrew his prying fingers and moved in front of Legolas. He looked into Legolas' eyes and saw the slight dilation. Fortunately, it wasn't too serious.

The man then pulled out the bag of herbs. He was extremely grateful that it hadn't been poison.

Legolas frowned deeply.

"The horses!" he shouted, incredulously. It had taken him so long to think about his faithful mare!

At Estel's silence he shifted to look at the man.

"Estel?" he questioned softly, his voice wavering.

Estel closed his eyes and slumped his shoulders. He had known the elf would ask about his horse and really hadn't been looking forward to being the bearer of horrible news.

He shook his head. "Elen fell from the attack. I am very sorry, mellon-nin," the man said quietly, placing both hands on Legolas' shoulders for support.

Legolas' head reeled, but this time it was not due to the injury. He had raised her from the day she had been born and loved her like his child.

He bowed his head, golden strands falling in front of his face.

"What of Alkar?" he whispered, referring to Estel's horse.

The man shook his head. "I know not," he answered sadly.

Silence fell between them as Estel continued to rummage through their herbs.

Then, Estel's calloused hand was in front of Legolas' face and he blinked at it.

"Chew these," Estel gently commanded.

Unfortunately, there was nothing Estel could do about the injury but give Legolas some herbs to dull the pain.

"We need to find better shelter," the man suggested. With Legolas' condition he didn't want to sleep in the trees - no matter how much they tried to take care of him.

Although the sun was now rising, they needed at least a couple hours of rest before heading back to the House of Elrond.

Legolas sighed but prepared himself to move.

Estel's heart clenched at the pain seen in Legolas' eyes.

He stood before Legolas and extended his hand with a small smile. He knew the elf didn't necessarily need the help up but was trying to ease the tension.

The prince looked up at him, returning the smile, though it was strained. He knew what his friend was up to but, frankly, he was too exhausted to even mind. He knew why they needed to find different shelter, although he loathed the idea, wanting nothing more than to relax against the trees' embraces.

Legolas slowly reached out for the helping hand, concentrating solely on it so he wouldn't latch onto air once again.

Estel waited patiently, understanding his friend's need.

Once Legolas was up he let go of his slender hand but stayed close, should he falter.

"Forgive me, mellon-nin," he said after a few moments of silence. He knew how much the elf wished to sleep.

Legolas looked over, locking his eyes with silver ones.

Estel knew that his friend didn't blame him and understood.

No words were needed.