A/N: Here we go again...
Chapter 7: Safe?
'Poisonous?' Aragorn thought, shocked? He must have looked shocked, for Legolas supplied helpfully, „They might taste sweet, but they are indeed dangerous. As far as I know they cannot kill, but they can make you very miserable."
Aragorn said nothing. He 'could' say nothing. His mouth seemed to have forgotten how to speak, and when Legolas turned around and vanished between the trees, Aragorn simply followed him. How stupid had he been? How could he have eaten berries he did not know? Had his father not told him time and time again that one must not eat something that one knew not? That dangers lurked in the most beautiful places? Legolas had said that the berries did not kill, but…maybe that was only true for elves. What about humans? As if he could feel the poisonous berries rumble in his stomach, Aragorn pressed his hand on his belly. He needed to tell Legolas. His friend needed to know! But…Aragorn said nothing. He could not.
Legolas and Aragorn travelled southeast, hoping to evade the orcs and reach the end of the forest at the same time. Having been east of the Misty Mountains before, Legolas knew that the forest was not 'that' big, and that they should reach its boundaries late at night or in the early hours of morning, depending on how fast they walked…and if they met orcs on their way.
Of course, the injury Legolas had sustained slowed his pace, and Aragorn's legs hurt more than he dared to admit, and so they were not surprised when night fell and they had not spotted the end of the forest yet. During their long march, Aragorn had felt
Increasingly strange. He was not sick, or dizzy or feverish, but simply….strange. He could not say what it was and he could not pinpoint his feeling unwell, but he knew that Legolas was right and that the berries were poisonous. He just hoped that 'it', whatever it was, would pass without causing any major problems.
They settled down for the night in the shadow of a gnarled tree, which's trunk was covered in moss and leeches. While Legolas leaned his head against the tree and drew comfort from it, Aragorn huddled closer to the trunk to shield him from the cold wind that blew. Even in the gloaming he could tell that the tips of his fingers were still blue, and judging by the numb feeling in his feet, his toes must have turned blue from the cold, too. Aragorn felt incredibly weak and tired. He had slept little the previous night and the anxiety during the day only fuelled his exhaustion. And so it was no surprise that his eyelids drooped as soon as his body hit the hard forest ground.
"Estel?" Legolas shook his shoulder, whispering into his ear. Unusual for Aragorn, the young man needed a few moments to fully waken. He blinked at the elf owlishly and mumbled, "What?"
"You fell asleep, Estel." It was difficult for Aragorn to see something in the darkness of the forest, and Legolas's face was nothing more than a brighter speck in the darkness.
"Oh." Aragorn said, sitting up straighter and leaning more heavily against the tree trunk. When had his arms begun to feel that heavy? "That was not my intention."
Legolas shifted closer to him, "This forest is dangerous, Estel. I can almost feel the eyes of the orcs on us. We must stay alert."
Aragorn nodded his head, but he could feel his eyelids droop on their own accord. Valar, he was so tired. Before he knew it, his head bumped gently against the tree and he fell asleep once more. Again, Legolas shook him awake, more forcefully this time. Once he had Aragorn's attention, the elf hissed, "Estel! Stay awake! You know as well as I do that orcs prowl at night. We must not get caught, we must stay focused."
"I am so tired, Legolas." Aragorn said softly, feeling weak to the bone. In that very moment, he doubted that he would be able to get up at all.
Worry and sympathy seeped into Legolas's voice, and he placed his good arm across Aragorn's shoulder. "I know, my friend. You stayed up while I could not watch over us, and I wished I could let you sleep now, but I fear that we both need our wits tonight if we are to survive."
Sighing, Aragorn nodded his head. This small movement seemed to cost so much energy, that he had problems to lift his head again. The cold of the night crept into his bones, numbing his legs and arms, and while his chest still hurt, the rest of his body seemed to shut down. All the sounds grew softer and the night darker, and while Aragorn tried to keep his eyes open, the world around him seemed to move away. For a short, tiny moment Aragorn wondered whether the berries had something to do with this, but then his eyelids drooped again. He knew that Legolas was probably right with what he had said about the prowling orcs, and although he knew that Legolas, being wounded, could not adequately defend himself, but his whole body was so exhausted, that even this knowledge could not prevent him from dozing off again almost immediately. His head fell against Legolas's shoulder, and his body sagged to the ground.
"Estel! Stay awake." Legolas shook him, but the young human did not wake. "Estel?" Legolas shook the man again, harder this time, and after a few long moment, Aragorn managed to open his eyes just a bit.
"Estel, I know that you are tired, but you must stay awake." Legolas peered into Aragorn's eyes, then shook his head, "You are a ranger, Estel. I have seen you go without sleep for days. What is it with you tonight?" There was worry in Legolas's voice.
"Nothing, just tired." Aragorn mumbled; his eyes were already closed again.
Legolas was silent for a moment, then sighed and pulled Aragorn closer. As if on its own accord, Aragorn's head came to rest on Legolas's shoulder. "Then rest, Estel, I will keep watch for both of us." Aragorn sighed and was asleep within seconds. Legolas shook his head and wrapped his good arm around Aragorn's waist. His blue eyes looked worriedly down on his sleeping friend, while his other hand stroked some stray locks out of Aragorn's face. The elf could not tell what it was, but something was not feeling right about the human, as if the man was hiding something. Legolas had travelled with Aragorn before, and he knew that the ranger could go days with little sleep or nourishment. For Aragorn to be that tired after what they had been through was strange indeed. No, something was definitely not as it should be.
Knowing that he would find no answers to his questions, Legolas placed a tender kiss of Aragorn's unruly locks, before he peered into the surrounding darkness. He had to be strong for the both of them tonight, just like Aragorn had been the night before. He would make sure that nothing happened to them, not on his watch.
But things did not go as planned, and it was in the early hours of morning that Legolas's fine elvish hearing warned him of danger. Immediately, Legolas tried to find the source of the sounds he was hearing, and it did not take him long to make out the sounds. Feet. He could hear many heavy feet trotting over the ground, and a moment later the wind carried the foul voices of orcs to his ears.
Fear and urgency shot through Legolas, and he shook Aragorn to wake him. But instead of waking, Aragorn's head fell from Legolas's shoulder. Had it not been for the elf's quick reflexes, Aragorn would have slumped senselessly to the ground. Slightly panicked, Legolas gripped Aragorn roughly by the shoulders and shook him. "Estel! Awaken! Estel!"
Aragorn moaned softly, but finally, after what seemed like minutes, he opened his eyes and sat up very slowly. "Le-olas?" He mumbled.
"Aye, it's me. Wake up, Estel, wake up! We need to move!" Legolas glanced over his shoulder, afraid that the orcs might see or hear them. He could tell that the evil beasts were near.
"Leave?" Sleepily, Aragorn focused his gaze on Legolas's face. "Why?"
"Why?" Legolas hissed, flabbergasted at his friend's reaction. "Because orcs are near, can you not hear them?"
Aragorn shook his head and blinked his eyes again; it was clear that he was only slowly waking. Even in the dim moonlight that here and there reached the forest ground, his face was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. While Aragorn tried to shake the last vestiges of sleep from his mind, Legolas already got to his feet. The elf leaned against the tree and peered into the darkness. Morning was not far away now; the horizon was already turning grey.
Unseen by Legolas, who was watching their surroundings for the first signs of the orcs, Aragorn tried to get to his feet. The undertone of fear and tension in Legolas voice had reached his mind and put him on alert. His brain seemed to be slow and still halfway asleep, but even so Aragorn knew that they were in extreme danger. But, to his surprise, his legs would not support his weight and he flopped down on all fours with a surprised intake of breath.
Scared, Aragorn found that his fingers were numb and stiff, he could barely move them. The leg that he had injured during his fall from his horse shot stabs of pain up his thigh and side, and all his limbs seemed to be too heavy to move. It was as if he was under water, struggling to run. Aragorn tried to climb to his feet once more, bracing his arms on his legs and using a brush as support. Painstakingly slow he finally made it to his feet, but his legs felt all wobbly and weak. The forest swam before his eyes for a moment, before it became stationary once more. The young man knew that it was probably the poison of the berries that was affecting him, combined with his exhaustion and injuries.
And, Aragorn knew that he would not be able to walk far or even fight. He needed to tell Legolas, his friend needed to know. Aragorn drew in a breath and was just to tell the elf, when Legolas suddenly spun around, eyes wide with horror.
"They are coming our way! We need to get away, now!" Legolas looked around for some place to hide, somewhere to run to, but there was nothing. This part of the forest was sparse with undergrowth, the trees the only protection they had. They both knew that the orcs would easily spot them if they ran away. When this thought entered Legolas's mind, his head shot up and he gazed at the trees around them. "We need to get into the treetops. Maybe the orcs will simply pass under us and walk on."
Aragorn swallowed and looked up at the trees. He had never been a good tree-climber, and while the trees around them had thick branches, there were few leaves left this late in the season. Would he be able to blend into the foliage well enough for the orcs not to spot them? And more importantly, would he make it up the tree with his numb fingers and wobbly legs?
Before he had time to think above these things, however, Legolas gave him a little shove towards the tree in which's shadow they had been resting. "Up, Estel, get up, quickly now!" Reaching for a branch, Legolas began to swiftly climb the tree. In his haste, he was only little hampered by his injured shoulder, for his adrenalin was dulling the pain he was in. He was already halfway up the tree when Aragorn moved at all.
Hearing the approach of the orcs, Aragorn reached up and wrapped his stiff fingers around a low hanging branch. Slowly, he pulled himself up, but his feet seemed to weigh as much as large boulders. He barely managed to make it up on the first thick branch, and he had to rest there and catch his breath. Sweating, Aragorn shook his head at his body's stiffness and numbness. Then, suddenly, the screech of an orc shattered the stillness of the night, and Aragorn shivered. They were near.
From, above him, Legolas whispered in a rapid stream of elvish, urging him to climb higher. Looking up, Aragorn could barely make out Legolas's light hair, the only part of Legolas he could make out in the darkness. Fuelled by determination, Aragorn took a deep breath and reached for the next branch. His legs wobbled under him and he could barely feel the wood under his fingers, but he made it up the next branch all the same. He was halfway up the next, when unexpectedly strong hands grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him up. Legolas had come to help him. Within moments, Aragorn stood on a branch next to the elf, sweaty and shaking. He wrapped his arms around the trunk to steady himself, before he nodded his thanks to Legolas. The elf frowned at him and opened his mouth to say something, but in just that moment the first orcs broke through the bushes underneath.
The orcs screeched and talked in their foul language; they carried vicious clubs and scimitars, and seemed to be agitated. Of course, neither Aragorn nor Legolas could tell for sure, for neither spoke the foul language of Mordor. One by one, the orcs passed by their position.
Beside Legolas, Aragorn tried not to move at all. He knew that even the slightest movement could cause some dry leaves to fall to the ground, or a twig to break and reveal their position. And if the orcs caught them, they would be tortured and killed. His heart beating wildly in his chest, Aragorn gazed at Legolas. The elf stood still and silent, his eyes fixed at the foul beasts beneath them. The young man could tell that there was anger in Legolas's eyes as well as fear and tension. All elves hated the orcs, and although they did not engage them in battle when they knew they could not win, every living orc was a reminder of Sauron to the elves. Of Sauron and his former, even crueler master Morgoth.
Aragorn did not look down, for the climb up the tree had made him dizzy. It was not so bad as to give him any trouble, but he feared that if he moved, it would get worse. His legs still felt unsteady and his injured leg hurt quite a bit. No, Aragorn did not want to endanger them even more by looking down. Instead, he closed his eyes, leaned his forehead against the trunk of the tree he still hugged, and hoped that the orcs would simply move on. And it seemed that his hopes would come true, for one by one the orcs walked past their hiding place. When the last of the foul beasts vanished into the shadows, Legolas and Aragorn allowed themselves to exhale slowly.
That was, until one of the foul beasts suddenly returned. It looked around as if it was searching for something, then inhaled deeply. It called something in its black tongue, and a moment later more orcs appeared at its side. They were all looking around, their yellow eyes flickering here and there. And then, they seemed to sniff the air like dogs.
Aragorn blanched visibly when he heard the sniffing noises, and completely forgetting his dizziness, he glanced down at the orcs. His heart trembled in his chest like a young bird would before a cat, and his eyes widened. His brothers had told him all they knew about orcs, and one of the things they had told him had been, that orcs had very fine noses, and could smell their prey as wolves could. Knowing that his brothers had killed more orcs than any, Aragorn had asked them how that could have been possible, when orcs could smell so well. They had told him that orcs could not smell elves very well, but other creatures….like humans. Aragorn felt his hands become clammy. The orcs had smelled him. Slowly, he lifted his head and locked his eyes with Legolas's. He had unintentionally endangered his best friend and lover.
For a moment, neither Aragorn not Legolas did anything, while the orcs grew in number, all of them sniffing the air, searching for the human they could smell but not see. When the first orcs looked up a tree opposite of the one Aragorn and Legolas were in, Legolas sprang into action.
The elf leaned forwards until his ear was close to the human's, and he spoke so softly that even Aragorn could barely hear him, "We need to leave, now. We have to move from tree to tree, always towards the one they have already searched." Legolas voice cracked his adrenalin and emotion, and Aragorn could tell that the elf was afraid. There were more than twenty orcs down there; one misstep and they were dead.
The young ranger could only nod at his friend's words, but cold sweat broke out on his body immediately. He had never been a good tree-climber, and he had never truly managed the art of 'walking' in the trees as the elves could. He could do it fairly well under controlled conditions, but now it was not only dark and cold, but there was also a great number of orcs out for their blood, he was injured and poisoned. His fear must have been written on his face, for Legolas smiled at him reassuringly, "You can do this, Estel, believe me." Aragorn nodded weakly and flinched when one of the orcs howled loudly. Seeing the insecurity and fear in the young man's eyes, Legolas leaned closer and hugged the man as good as he could, standing on a tree and with one injured arm. He looked Aragorn deep into the eyes, trying to convey his love and affection for the young mortal. "I love you, Estel." Legolas whispered, before he kissed Aragorn soundly on the mouth. "And I trust in your strength, meleth nin."
Aragorn inhaled deeply. He tried not to look down and to trust in Legolas's words, but he could feel his legs wobble under him and his hands grip the tree trunk weakly. The orcs seemed to split into groups and to begin to search the forest; they could hear the foul beasts sniff the air. Shivering from the cold and fear, Aragorn gazed at Legolas. The elf had turned and was gauging the distance to the next tree, ready to jump. Aragorn felt his heart beat painfully in his chest. He knew that it was his fault that the orcs had found them. Had it not been for him, his human smell, the orcs would probably have walked by their hiding place without stopping. And now, because he was with Legolas, the orcs would probably find them. Aragorn shuddered when he thought about the stories he had heard about what orcs did to elves. He could not even imagine what horrors Legolas would went through if the orcs would catch him.
Another screech filled the air and it made the tiny hairs on Aragorn's arms stand on end. He had endangered Legolas, he had made it possible that the orcs caught them after all, he had…not even told Legolas that he was injured himself and that he had eaten the poisonous berries. Legolas did not know that he was feeling unwell, that he was a danger in itself. Legolas was thinking that he was well, that he could follow him through the trees, that he would not slow him down, that he would not give them away, that he could trust him. And all that was a lie. Aragorn felt his eyes burn with shame. Had they not promised each other to never lie again? Aye, they had. And here he was, and he had not told Legolas that he was poisoned. Legolas needed to know…
Reaching out, Aragorn grabbed the sleeve of Legolas's tunic, directing the elf's attention away from the orcs. Legolas's head snapped around; Aragorn could read the tension in the blue orbs that reminded him so much of a clear blue sky on a warm summer's day. Legolas gazed at him questioningly, asking why the man had broken his concentration while he had so intently been watching the enemy. And Aragorn opened his mouth to answer, to tell him what had happened, but he could not. He dared not. What would Legolas say? And Aragorn closed his mouth again, feeling ashamed and cowardly like he had never felt before in his young life.
Legolas frowned and arched an eyebrow. Beneath them, the orcs came steadily closer to the tree they were hiding in. Aragorn knew that in but a few moments they would have to leave the tree they were in and would have to climb into the boughs of the next one. He knew not whether he could make it, and he knew that it was his fault if they were caught. But he could not live with the thought that he was responsible for Legolas's death. This elf meant the world to him, and the thought alone of Legolas never leaving this woods was more than he could bear.
Swallowing and ignoring the feeling of lightheadedness that swept over him, Aragorn leaned closer to Legolas and whispered, "Legolas, I want you to promise me something." The Prince frowned even deeper, but said nothing. "If I don't make it, I want you to leave here." Aragorn paused as he felt Legolas stiffen. He went on regardless, "Without me."
Immediately Legolas shook his head, his eyes wide. There was concern and fear in the ageless eyes, and so much protectiveness and love that Aragorn meant his heart would break. Before Legolas could voice his protest, though, Aragorn kissed him, tears in his eyes. "Promise me, melethron. Please."
Legolas bit his bottom lip in clear indecision. He did not want to leave his friend behind, come what may, but he knew that if he made this promise, Aragorn would feel better. While the thought to leave Legolas back was choking Aragorn, the thought of leaving Aragorn behind was more than Legolas could bear. But the elf also knew that they needed to be ready to move on in but a few moments, and he knew that his young lover needed this reassurance. So, Legolas nodded his head gravely, "I promise if you promise the same."
The same look of protest that had stolen over Legolas's features entered Aragorn's eyes, but the young man simply nodded his head, "I promise." His voice was almost inaudible.
"Then so do I." Legolas said, feeling a dark wave of foreboding steal over him. But before he could react to his senses warning, the orcs reached the tree next to the one they were standing in, and his mind focused on this immediate threat. Aragorn and Legolas watched with their breaths held as the orcs looked up into the branches of the tree, one of them throwing a stone into the foliage. The orcs had no bows, but Legolas doubted that the foul beasts would have shot arrows into the trees anyway; orcs were not known to be good archers and they would surely not waste arrows on innocent leaves.
They waited until the orcs grunted in disappointment and moved to the tree they were hiding in. Quickly, Legolas grabbed Aragorn by the hand and pulled him over the thick branch they were standing on. The minimal foliage gave them enough cover to reach the end of the branch unseen. Without any hesitation, Legolas bent him knees and jumped into the tree the orcs had just searched. Behind him, Aragorn grabbed a branch above him to steady himself. His head was fuzzy and the world swam before his eyes. As soon as Legolas had made it into the next tree, Aragorn took a deep breath. Only a few feet away, Legolas beckoned him to jump. Feeling sweaty, shaky and weak, Aragorn closed his eyes for a moment. Beneath him, the orcs had reached the tree.
Aragorn let go of the branch and jumped.
To be continued.
Was that an evil cliffhanger or what? Mwuhaha.
