Hey there, you can finally stop biting your nails. ) Due to my holiday break, it has taken longer than usual to post this chapter. I´ve been in Denmark, and if I say Roskilde, some of you might be able to guess just whom I have met there... (the reason why I can hardly stop grinning these days)...

Enjoy!

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Chapter 7: Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

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Legolas was not praying.

He had given up on that hours ago, because it left him feeling too powerless. He was holding Aragorn´s hand and, taking a deep breath, had bent low over his friend, willing himself to concentrate despite his despair.

If Radagast could not prevent the Ranger from fading, Legolas would have to try. And thus he tried, his determination pushing him beyond his limits.

Closing his eyes, he focused on the weakening light of Aragorn´s presence, the feeble wings of his soul until they were as close as possible. Legolas clung to this frail connection, then drew back to the inside of his mind until he felt calm, thus creating a vantage point, a small spot of new strength which would glow like a beacon and guide him through the darkness he was now facing.

He had never done something like this before and felt a little lightheaded due to this newfound, slightly frightening power, but he knew he had to, without thinking. Aragorn was somewhere out there in the dark, and he was departing.

Tentatively, the elf reached out in the dark, expanding mental fingers which explored his surroundings; it felt like being under water. He was unable to speak, all he could do was to widen his mind and search for the one he had come for, the only other mind in this unspeakable place.

It was costing him more strength than he had expected; his beacon was flickering in the distance as he moved on. It had become not more than a tiny spark, inconsolably far away, when he felt a response; he had touched something. He tried to feel it, sparking new hope, but reaching out was becoming increasingly difficult. His strength was waning.

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Radagast looked up when a barely audible groan escaped Legolas´ lips. Only now did the wizard realize that the elf´s posture was unusual rigid, and that his tears were actually drops of sweat.

It took him only a few seconds to realize what the elf was doing.

Cursing under his breath, he quickly got to his feet and surrounded the bed to support Legolas, who had started to sway. His glow had diminished rapidly and was nearly gone.

"Fool", Radagast muttered, though only half-heartedly. He rather berated himself for not paying attention. The elf could not know how dangerous a path he had entered; if his strength would abandon him, he would be lost in the darkness likewise, and very possibly beyond reach for anyone.

The wizard shook his head, then he tightened his grip on the elf and concentrated as well.

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Legolas suddenly felt hot panic engulf him; his beacon was barely visible anymore, and he felt very tired. He tried to reach out again, locate the response which had been there, but to no avail. He desperately fought to try once more, when he felt a sudden surge of energy, like a glow in the dark. And as if to respond, his beacon lit up in the distance.

He did not hesitate but reached out again at once; soon he had found it again, and now he could make it out: a faint shimmer, frail and beautiful, that was Aragorn.

Radagast felt Legolas move, felt his muscles tense and his body tremble. He seemed to be fighting, and it drained all the energy out of the old wizard. He held on to the elf nevertheless, offering what strength he had, until he knew no more.

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When Legolas came to, the first thing he was aware of was his aching body. He had fallen onto his side in a half-sitting position, and for some reason Radagast was sitting next to him, leaning heavily against him. The air was cold, as the fire had gone out, and it was light outside.

Confused and feeling overwhelmingly tired, Legolas managed to sit up. Only then did he remember what had happened. But he could not recall how it had ended. Slowly, with an awful feeling of dread, he turned towards Aragorn.

The Ranger was lying as before and still looked utterly pale, as if life had left him. But alas! His chest was moving, and now the elf could feel his presence, stronger than it had been before. Gasping, Legolas drew nearer, touched Aragorn´s face, stroked him while tears welled up in his eyes.

He lived! He lived, and the fever seemed to have broken. Sobbing with relief, Legolas sank down next to his best friend, laid his hand on Aragorn´s hand and finally allowed sleep to claim him.

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Aragorn slowly opened his eyes. He had no idea why he had been sleeping or where he was, but it seemed good to have woken up; he felt like he had been under water for a long time.

His vision was blurry at first, but he could see a shape moving in and out of his focus, until it finally stopped in front of him. When his eyes had adjusted, he recognized an old man with a grey beard not unlike Gandalf´s, who looked at him with such a relief that the Ranger wondered if he should know him.

He wanted to ask him who he was and how he had come here, but his voice did not work at all. He merely managed to croak something unintelligible and only now noticed how hoarse his throat felt.

The old man lifted his head and helped him to drink some water. Aragorn would not normally allow a stranger to do this, but realized that he could not even lift his head on his own.

The old man smiled benignly: "Welcome back, or rather, welcome at all. My name is Radagast, and I believe Legolas will be thoroughly relieved to see you awake."

The mention of his friend´s name sparked Aragorn´s memory. He recalled snow and cold, and a threat...

"How did we get here?" he asked, his voice still raspy.

"Legolas carried you after you had escaped the Orcs", Radagast said. Aragorn looked confused, so the wizard told him what he knew.

"I...do not remember most of it", Aragorn murmured after the old man had ended.

Radagast shook his head in sympathy: "You have been near death when you arrived here", he said.

Aragorn felt exhausted, all of this seemed a lot to comprehend in his weakened state. He slowly turned his head and looked at Legolas, who was fast asleep and had curled in on himself next to the man, his head resting against Aragorn´s shoulder.

"He is a good friend", Radagast said quietly.

Aragorn felt himself smile: that was certainly true. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, something that had to do with the elf, but he could not put his finger on it.

Radagast had meanwhile reheated the soup and now insisted that the Ranger ate some of it: "It will help you recover your strength", he said.

Aragorn complied, though he was too weak to hold the spoon and did not like being fed like a child. The old man helped him to sit up and sat down next to him.

"Radagast", Aragorn said when he had finally finished. "May I ask if you are you a friend of Gandalf? Your name sounds familiar."

The wizard, who was helping him to lay back down, smiled: "Aye, I am."

"Good...", Aragorn closed his eyes. "Good..." A few minutes later, he was asleep. Without waking, Legolas subconsciously drew closer to him again.

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Radagast watched the two sleeping friends for a while; he had never witnessed a friendship such as this, especially not between a man and an elf.

Whatever Gandalf had been referring to when he had talked about Estel, for some reason it felt good to know that he would have someone to rely on.

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TBC

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