Disclaimer: I do not own LotR, or any of the characters.
I thought I would start off the new year with a story on the thirteenth--my favorite number. n.n I'm hoping this will be the start of a year with more stories to come, the last few years have been very sad indeed.
This story is actually an extention from a scene in my story Without You. I very much hope you all enjoy it. Let me know what ya think. n.n
A Chilling Promise
Chapter One: Trapped
"Estel, something approaches!" a blonde elf shouted above the roaring wind.
"What is it?" the man asked in return, his dark hair whipping across his face.
Legolas paused, listening and watching, but his stallion was restless. Snow swirled around them and he brought up a hand to block it. "Wargs," he finally whispered.
Estel swore under his breath.
They were on their way back from Mirkwood, having 'rescued' Legolas. They were close to Imladris and now they were having problems. First snow and heavy winds and now wargs.
"How many?" he asked, trying to see what the elf saw.
"I know not," Legolas replied, concern seeping through his voice. "We need to hide."
It would be too risky to fight in this weather, especially for Estel. The man was freezing, his hands cramping and it was getting harder to move.
"I saw a place not too far back..." Estel started as he patted his stallion reassuringly.
"We cannot go back. We shall have to go forward, and quickly," the archer cut him off.
Moving again, he picked up the pace.
They moved as fast as possible, eyes scanning for a place to hide.
All of a sudden, Legolas jumped off his horse and sent it running. He didn't want to send him off, but didn't want him to get hurt either. He then pulled out his twin knives, holding them out defensively.
Estel was confused, but trusted Legolas and quickly followed suit.
A growl carried on the wind.
A warg slowly started to circle them, saliva dripped off its teeth.
"There's another to our left," Legolas whispered to the man beside him in warning. "And a third to the right," he amended.
Estel cursed under his breath.
And it was too late.
Two wargs jumped at Estel, and he sprang out of the way.
Legolas immediately went to aid his friend but was cut off by the last warg.
He glanced over at Estel and then back at the warg in front of him.
Sighing in frustration, the elf charged.
He would have to finish this one off quickly.
A warg roared in pain as Estel's blade cut open its eye and the second leaped at him in fury.
Estel tried to roll out of the way but his limbs were numb and slow, and the creature bit into his shoulder.
The man cried out in surprise and pain.
He clenched his teeth in frustration.
Legolas felled his warg just in time to look over at Estel's angered shout as he thrust his sword into the throat of the one that was attached to him.
Legolas gasped in horror and immediately ran over to the remaining warg.
Before the warg had time to react to the sudden assault, the wood-elf took it down.
"Estel!" he shouted and ran over to his friend. The man was trying to push the warg off, a grimace marring his handsome features.
Legolas helped get it off and then pushed Estel back down as he tried to sit up.
"Let me see it," the elf said firmly.
"We need to move," Estel demanded in return, trying to get up again.
And he was right.
They needed to get out of there. There could be more on the way.
"Where are the healing supplies?" Legolas commanded. He stood up and looked around.
"Most were on the horses but I have a few," the man said through gritted teeth. The pain was intensifying. Heat inveloped his shoulder. However, he was determined to get out of there.
He stood and swayed slightly.
Legolas cursed silently and grabbed onto his stubborn friend. "We shall find shelter for the night," he said with no room for argument.
Estel's teeth chattered as he nodded. He held his shoulder while Legolas led him along.
The snowstorm was getting worse as the dark slowly crept in. There was no way they would make it back to Imadris before nightfall.
He inwardly sighed. This would be a long night.
By the time they finally found a suitable shelter, Estel was thoroughly miserable and leaned heavily on Legolas.
Legolas glanced at Estel's head on his shoulder in concern. The man was stumbling a lot and breathing hard.
They had found a cave for the night. Not the most welcome of shelters but it would be one of the best in the snowstorm.
After checking for any dangers, Legolas had helped Estel sit down and then slowly leaned him back against the cave's wall.
He hadn't wanted to risk a fire but they were far enough back into the cave that none of the remaining light touched them. Besides, nightfall would be too soon and they needed their sight.
"Stay here and awake, Estel," the archer demanded, worried for his friend. It tore at him to leave him alone in his current state. He would not go far, though it would be hard to find branches with the heavy snowfall. He only hoped it wouldn't take too long.
Before leaving, Legolas quickly wrapped a bandage around the wound and told Estel to put pressure on it again. They had to at least stop bleeding.
With a last concered look at his friend, Legolas fled the cave and quickly started searching.
Unfortunately, it took a lot longer than Legolas had hoped and he was extremely anxious to return. He wondered at the state Estel would be in.
It was almost completely dark out now and the elf listened intently to the sounds around him, listening for any dangers. Luckily, it seemed there were no more wargs.
Legolas ran back to the cave, back to his friend, still careful not to drop any of the precious branches.
He slid onto his knees near the man, dropping his load and built his fire.
To his utter fear, Estel's eyes were closed tightly, his breath came in quick pants and sweat matted dark strands to his face. His hand no longer pressed against the wound.
"Estel, mellon-nin, open your eyes," Legolas pleaded, a hand gripping the man's good shoulder.
Estel's eyes merely flickered. Legolas' heart skipped a beat. He had already grown so weak!
He forced himself to snap out of it and pulled the man as carefully as he could next to the fire.
Estel let out a gasp of pain at the sudden movement and tried to resist.
"Nay, Estel, do not move," the blonde said softly, laying the man down slowly, prepared for more resistance.
He sighed in relief when Estel stayed still. However, he shivered from the cold and pain that wracked his body.
Legolas pulled off the man's overcoat, tunic and undershirt quickly, whispering apologetic words at the pain he unintentionally caused. However, he put the clothing over the man's chest and the uninjured arm to keep him warmer.
Legolas gasped at the sight of the wound.
The warg had bitten deeply and the skin was raw around the edges.
He swore under his breath again. Estel had undoubtedly lost more blood than he had thought. At least it had stopped bleeding before Estel had let go. He knew he should have treated the man before they looked for shelter!
He wished even more than before that they had all their supplies and that their horses were with them.
He made a quick prayer for their horses before digging into the little bag of herbs and bandages they had left. He could at least be thankful that they had any.
He ran to the cave's mouth with a pot and threw some snow into it. Kneeling next to the fire and Estel again, he held the pot above the fire and soon added the herbs.
Estel had insisted that they carry a pot and two cups with them since their journey had gone too well. Legolas just wished he had also been so persistant about the extra pack of herbs. It amazed him how they had skipped something so important.
However, he had what he needed. He hoped.
He fished out a cup and poured the mixture in it. He added a little more snow to cool it down and then leaned over Estel.
He tapped the side of Estel's face, saying, "Drink this for me, mellon-nin."
It took a couple tries, but he was relieved to get Estel to drink all of it on his own.
Legolas gently lowered him. "Hannon le. Stay with me, Estel," he whispered. He kept talking, repeating words of encouragement, afraid that the man would fall asleep. He wanted to keep him awake. With the cold and the blood loss, he was deeply concerned and frightened for his friend's life.
Legolas continued to speak while treating the wound, and once in a while he was rewarded with a response. He cleaned it thoroughly and put a salve on it, hoping to prevent infection and then rewrapped it. He felt better after it was all done. However, Estel was no longer aware of what was going on and no longer responded to questions.
The elf pulled Estel's clothing more on top of him. He took out their blankets and tucked them under the cold form.
The wood-elf let the fire burn down for a while and then laid next to his friend, giving him more warmth.
"Everything is going to be well, Estel. You are going to be well," he reassured, telling himself more than the man. It hurt to see Estel so helpless. He was always so full of life; he hated to see him like this, hated to see the caring eyes closed, his helping hands frozen, his laughter choked.
Legolas snapped himself out of his despair and focused on his surroundings, listening for any abnormal sounds. He was unsure of how long the cave would remain unoccupied. They couldn't afford to have anything sneak up on them.
Every once in a while Legolas would check on the wound, checking its progress and for any signs of infection.
He knew the temperature was dropping. At first he put more of the branches he had gathered on the fire. However, when Estel's chills increased as the temperature fell even lower, Legolas took off his tunic and undershirt and pushed aside the layers on the man. He laid back down, pilling all the layers around them.
He didn't know what else to do.
Another hour later, Legolas was startled when Estel suddenly shifted and groaned. The man hadn't moved since he had treated his shoulder.
He looked at Estel's face and almost shot up in shock at his flushed expression. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He needed to think.
Legolas slowly sat up, careful to disturb the clothing as least as possible. After he sat up, he rearranged the cltohing again and pulled off the dressing on the wound.
Legolas sucked in his breath. The area around the bite was puckered and red. Despite his attention, it had obviously becoming infected.
He gritted his teeth.
Estel groaned again and turned his head to the side weakly.
"Shh, you are all right," he tried to assure the man.
But it wasn't all right.
Estel wasn't all right.
He was chilled, injured and now had a fever from an infection. They had limited amount of supplies and there was a snowstorm outside. They had no horses. They had to wait to return to Imladris when they were so close, when Estel needed treatment, needed his warm bed.
No.
Estel was not all right.