A/N: So...this is my first ever LOTR fanfic!! *cheers and whistles sound* I'm a bit nervous about this fic...I had written this chapter several months ago and only just now decided to publish it in the hopes that it would make me actually write another chapter. lol Anyway...here you go!

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me...yadda yadda...Any elvish words are only what I learned from reading fanfiction. :P

oOo

Musical laughter filled the air.

"Legolas! It's not that funny!" an annoyed human's voice rang out.

His irritated tone only made the elf laugh harder. "Oh yes it is, Estel! Just wait until I tell the twins…won't they be surprised to hear of their brother's latest clumsy moment!"

Aragorn scowled at his friend. "Don't you dare…or I will tell them of the time when you fell out of the tree and—"

"On the other hand," Legolas broke in quickly, "such mishaps of yours are fairly common and I'm sure Elladan and Elrohir won't be surprised after all, so there is really no point in me telling them anyway."

Aragorn rolled his eyes at the woodland prince before breaking out into laughter himself. "I see that our friendship is simply full of blackmail," he joked.

Legolas grinned. "Whatever it takes to keep the twins from finding out. We'd never—" he broke off suddenly.

Aragorn sobered instantly and frowned. "Legolas, what is it?"

The elf silenced him with his hand and listened intently with his sharp hearing. "Yrch," he said tersely. "I think it's only a small party…They'll be here any minute." He pulled out his bow and an arrow, unconsciously fingering the smooth feathers. Aragorn drew his sword softly. His human ears could now hear the sound of careless orc feet crashing through the forest.

"They have caught our scent," Legolas whispered.

Within seconds, twenty orcs burst into their vision, growling and snarling. Legolas rapidly dispatched several of his arrows and killed several of the evil creatures before he had to abandon his bow for his long knives.

Aragorn slashed and parried against several orcs who were attacking him. He and Legolas tried to fight back to back but the orc numbers were too great and slowly began to force them apart.

"Aragorn! Down!" Legolas shouted. Aragorn dropped to the ground just before an orc swung from behind him, beheading instead the orc in front of the ranger. Aragorn allowed himself a small grin as he stabbed his would-be attacker and continued fighting.

Legolas, meanwhile, was battling ferociously in a deadly dance. His knives flashed and twirled, killing whatever was in their path. He grit his teeth in pain as one particularly large orc brought his sword down hard on one of Legolas' knives. The elf bunched his muscles and threw the orc off of him before stabbing him with his other knife.

"Legolas! Look out!"

Distracted by the orc in front of him, Legolas had failed to notice another orc come up behind him. Aragorn watched horrified as the orc prepared to run the elf through.

Hearing Aragorn's worried shout, Legolas turned quickly to see the orc behind him. Desperately, he managed to block the killing blow, but was thrown off balance in the process. He stumbled as the orc came at him with an evil sneer. The sneer suddenly froze forever as Legolas' knife found its mark in the orc's throat.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Aragorn faced his foes with a renewed vigor. There were only a few orcs left…

Suddenly, an agonized scream shattered the forest.

Aragorn whipped his head around to see his friend's twisted face…and a sword protruding from his stomach. Legolas simply stared at the sword in disbelief. He cried out again as the orc twisted and removed the accursed blade. With his fading strength, Legolas brought his arm up and stabbed the evil creature in the chest.

His attacker dead, Legolas collapsed.

"Nooo!" Aragorn cried out. He slaughtered the last two orcs and rushed toward his friend. "Legolas!" Aragorn gently turned the elf on his back and choked back tears when he saw the damage. The elf had gaping wounds on both his stomach and back; the edges of the wounds were jagged—a result of the blade being twisted.

Quickly, Aragorn tore the bottom of his cloak and pressed it to the terrible wounds. Legolas cried out in pain and tried to move away. "Sidh, mellon nin. It is I, Aragorn." Legolas's eyes fluttered open. "A-Aragorn?"

"Yes, my friend?"

"Estel…I…" Legolas coughed, his strength spent.

"Hush, Legolas. Save your strength." He frowned at the makeshift bandages that were already soaked through. He had to get that bleeding stopped! Working rapidly, Aragorn tied more of his cloak around the elf's waist and murmured an apology in Elvish to his friend for what he was about to do.

As gently as he could, the ranger lifted his friend in his arms, but any movement was agony to Legolas. The elf's cries tore at the ranger's heart and he breathed a silent prayer of thanks to the Valar when the elf passed out.

Aragorn hurried through the trees with his precious burden. He knew he had to get Legolas to Elrond as quickly as possible but Rivendell was too far away in Legolas's condition. They had been hunting further away than usual when the orcs had come. If only the horses hadn't been scared away in the attack!

Aragorn growled in frustration. He and Legolas had to get away from this place. The ranger knew that if any more orcs showed up, he would not be able to save his friend. He needed to find a place where he could properly tend Legolas' wound. Suddenly, Aragorn remembered a cave halfway to the elven haven…if he could make it there and Legolas survived the night…

"Hold on, mellon nin," Aragorn whispered. Gritting his teeth in determination, Aragorn cradled the unconscious elf protectively against his chest and started running in the direction of the cave. Several times he stopped to make sure the elf was still breathing. Aragorn's own heart stopped every time he checked the elf's pulse, fearing the worst.

oOo

Never had a damp, dark cave ever been so welcome a sight. Aragorn staggered into the mouth of the cave, utterly exhausted. He had been traveling for several hours and the skirmish earlier that afternoon had depleted much of his strength. However, he pushed aside his weariness in concern for his friend.

Legolas had not stirred at all during the rough journey and his bleeding, although reduced, had not stopped completely. Aragorn laid his friend down gently and looked at him concern. Legolas's face was extremely pale and his skin was cool to the touch. The blood loss was taking a considerable toll on him.

Pulling off his pack, Aragorn dumped out his contents. His supply of atheleas was woefully small—not nearly enough for so severe an injury. The ranger carefully lifted the bandages. The wound still bled sluggishly. He would have to cauterize it if Legolas was to have a hope of surviving the night.

Aragorn's heart twisted as he thought about the pain he was about to inflict on his friend. With a heavy heart, Aragorn built a small fire and laid his knife in the hot embers. Time seemed to drag slowly before the blade glowed red-hot.

Gently, Aragorn lifted the bandages again and made sure the wounds were as clean as possible. He turned Legolas on his side and took a deep breath.

Grasping the knife handle firmly, Aragorn held it against the jagged wound on the elf's stomach. The sudden shock of a burning blade held against his tender injury reached Legolas even in unconsciousness and he let out a scream. The ranger held back tears as he prepared to do the painful procedure yet again.

Legolas moaned and writhed beneath his friend's firm grip. "Es-Estel…saes…please…" The elf's pleading voice tore at Aragorn's heart.

"Forgive me, mellon nin, I must." Aragorn begged his friend to somehow understand. He quickly reheated the blade and held it against the wound on the elf's back. For a third time, Aragorn was forced to hear his friend's screams.

Tears streamed down the ranger's face as he carefully wrapped fresh cloth around Legolas's torso. He gently wiped away the tears that had leaked out from the corner of the elf's tightly closed eyes. Legolas's ragged breathing slowly evened out somewhat as he lapsed back into the blissful, pain-free state of unconsciousness.

"Rest well, mellon nin," Aragorn whispered. He sighed as he sat back, preparing himself for the long night.

oOo

Legolas tossed and turned, unable to rest. His whole body was in agony. Through his fevered consciousness, he could dimly hear soothing words spoken in the comforting language of his native tongue. His brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

All around him there seemed to be a murky haze of pain that weighted his senses. He struggled to open up his leaden lids. Why were they closed in the first place? Why did his body hurt so much?

"Legolas? Can you hear me, mellon nin?" The elf heard a voice as anxiously.

"E-Estel?"

"Sidh, Legolas…I am here," Aragorn's voice soothed him.

Legolas forced open his eyes to see his friend's worried face peering down at him. "Wh-what happened, Aragorn?" he croaked.

Aragorn's face was solemn. "You were grievously injured during the fight with the orcs," he answered. "I have sealed your wounds, and we shall continue to Rivendell in the morning." Gently, he lifted the elf's head slightly so he could drink some water. "How do your wounds feel?"

Legolas cracked a weak grin. "I am fine."

Aragorn rolled his eyes in response. "Of course you are. How silly of me to ask." He shared a grin with his friend. Legolas laughed, causing him to grimace in pain. He waved away his friend's concern. "You would say the same thing, Aragorn. I recall the time when you were shot in the shoulder with an arrow and insisted that it was only a scratch! All the while you were leaking blood everywhere and it was only after you collapsed from blood loss that we were able to tend to your injury!"

Aragorn made a face at Legolas. "You and I have different accounts of that story, my friend. It was only a scratch!" He checked Legolas's wounds again and frowned.

"Are they infected, Aragorn?" Legolas asked wearily.

Aragorn sighed. "I will not lie; I was hoping that they would be looking better since it's been several hours since I cauterized them. With your elven healing, they should at least not be so inflamed." He looked at his friend worriedly. "Tell me truthfully, Legolas, how do you feel exactly?"

"You suspect poison?" Legolas grimaced. "I admit that I feel some pain, but nothing out of the ordinary." Aragorn snorted at this. Ignoring him, Legolas continued. "Truly, Estel. I do not feel any poison."

The ranger was silent for a moment. "Very well, mellon nin. Perhaps I am expecting too much out of your elven abilities. It was a grievous injury. Rest now, Legolas. We have a long journey tomorrow."

Legolas eyes were already obeying Aragorn's command. Although he had made light of his wounds, the elf was in considerable pain and would have even accepted a sleeping herb or something to dull the pain had they had any supplies that had survived the orc attack.

Despite his hurts, Legolas was soon asleep, though his eyes remained closed instead of open in the usual manner of elven dreams.

Aragorn watched as his friend slept. Even in sleep, Legolas's brow was furrowed in pain and his body seemed restless. In spite of Legolas's assurances, Aragorn could not shake the fact that something was seriously wrong. Even a terrible wound like the elf's should have at least shown signs of improving. Instead, the wounds remained as angry and red as ever.

He checked the injury again. There were no black tendrils indicative of orc poison spreading out from the entry points. Legolas himself had sensed no poison. Stop being so paranoid, Aragorn told himself. Be happy that Legolas is feeling better. With this thought in mind, the ranger allowed himself to partially relax, while still keeping his senses tuned for danger.

Sometime in the middle of the night, he was awakened by cries. Starting violently, Aragorn strongly chastised himself for falling asleep. He quickly look at Legolas, only to see that he wasn't beside him anymore.

"Legolas!" The elf was huddled against a far cave wall, rocking himself back and forth. Aragorn hurried over to his friend and winced when he saw the blood staining the bandages. Legolas must have torn his injuries open again.

Gently, the ranger reached out his hand to calm his friend down.

"Do not touch me!" the elf cried out. Aragorn withdrew his hand, slightly shocked.

"Legolas, it is I, Estel. Hear my voice."

Legolas whimpered. "Do not touch me," he pleaded.

Aragorn's heart broke at the sight of his friend begging. Slowly, he put his arm around his friend's shaking shoulders and drew him into an embrace. Too weak to resist, the elf slowly allowed himself to lean into the ranger.

"Estel, do not leave me," Legolas whispered.

"Never, my friend, never." Legolas smiled faintly and closed his eyes, his body going completely limp. Aragorn caught his friend and frowned at the heat that he felt emanating from the elf's body. Something was definitely wrong.

Hurriedly, he lay the elf back down and examined his wounds thoroughly. Still nothing seemed particularly out the ordinary. Is this some new orc poison? Aragorn wondered. He was extremely frustrated at their lack of supplies. If only he had more atheleas! He needed to get Legolas to Elrond. It would be dawn in a few hours; he would be able to travel then and hopefully make it to Rivendell by mid-afternoon, if he hurried.

Aragorn looked at his friend sadly. Had he the strength, Legolas would have been tossing and turning. As it was, he was mumbling elvish incoherently. Aragorn checked the elf's pulse again, dismayed to find it weaker than before. Dawn seemed so far away!

An hour later found Legolas's condition even worse. His breathing had become extremely shallow, and his skin was drenched in sweat. Aragorn found himself constantly clutching the elf's wrist; the weak but steady pulse gave him some comfort.

A noise grabbed his attention suddenly. His senses immediately alert, Aragorn stared intently into the darkness. He heard the strange noise a second time. Orcs? Trolls? Spiders? Despite his acute ranger senses, Aragorn was unable to place the sound. There! Something was moving toward them. Holding his breath, Aragorn drew his sword.

A/N: Please review! Just so you know, the end might sound a bit like White Wolf1's story "It", but I PROMISE this has nothing to do with her story. Do go check out her work! She writes amazing LOTR fanfics. :D