Title: Friend and Foe
Chapter 9: The Cure
Previously: Legolas receives a letter from his father informing him of his son's death, and imploring him to return home, the pallor returns to Haldir's cheeks indicating that his time is nearly up, Aragorn reminds Legolas of his duty to return home, Legolas refuses to return home breaks down, Legolas asks how Aragorn and Haldir first met, he stabs himself in the thigh.
…
Aragorn froze in shock. As Legolas twisted the blade into his flesh he shouted, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"
Legolas pulled the dagger out slowly and deliberately, wincing at the pain it caused. He stared at Aragorn for a moment and then answered by pointing the bloody dagger towards Haldir. Aragorn looked intently and saw that Haldir was beginning to glow again.
Almost a year ago, when the disease took him, the light around Haldir had gone out. That was the real reason why Aragorn had thought him dead. But now the light had come back. It was shining very slightly again. True, he had to glow much brighter to come anywhere close to the normal amount of light given off by an Elf, but he had stopped looking like the dead and started looking like the dying.
Aragorn turned and stared at Legolas, searching his eyes for an answer.
"That's how it's cured," Legolas gasped as he drove the dagger into his other leg and slashed at it, "Only when the person who caused the disease voluntarily inflicts pain on himself as a way of begging forgiveness of the person hurt, does the victim of the disease stand any chance of recovery. And you won't find that in any of Lord Elrond's books either. He doesn't know." He drove the dagger into his arm. His blood had already pooled on the ground. Aragorn glanced in Haldir's direction and saw that he was glowing brighter still! His mind reeled as he realized the truth, that Legolas was the one who had hurt Haldir. He turned upon Legolas and glared at him.
"Stop that now!" he exclaimed, "And for Valar's sake, explain yourself."
"I was the one who hurt him," Legolas said through gritted teeth, "I just didn't realize it until I found out you had mentioned me to him at Bree. Ten years ago, I said some very hateful things to him. I hurt him. But I hadn't seen him in ten years! I thought, how could I possibly have been the one to hurt him? But you unwittingly reminded him of the incident, and he..." He could not bring himself to complete the sentence. He bit hard on his lip as he drove the dagger into his other arm and twisted it. Aragorn glanced at Haldir again and saw that the light around him was brighter still.
"So you knew all along," he said slowly, "You knew how to cure the disease if we found the one who hurt him. Why did you tell me you didn't know?"
"I'm sorry. It wasn't my secret I was protecting. It was someone else's. I had to lie," Legolas shot Aragorn a helpless look.
Aragorn shut his eyes briefly wondering what he was to do now. Another hiss from Legolas made him open his eyes and look at the Elf. When he saw the Elf, lying in the pool of his own blood, driving a dagger into himself repeatedly to save the life of a friend, he suddenly remembered Lord Elrond's words of nearly five years ago.
He's a good person, very much like you… except that he is more cautious in making friends- but when he does, it's for life.
He groaned as he realized that he couldn't allow Legolas to end his life like this. He couldn't make a choice between two friends…although Legolas was not a friend. But nor was he a foe, not anymore.
He lunged for the Elf and tried to take the dagger from his hands. "Stop," he gasped as he struggled. "Stop. You can't force me to make a choice between two people I know. Please stop."
Legolas remembered himself saying the same words, ten years ago.
Stop. You can't force me to choose between two friends. Stop, damn it!
Now that he was in the position himself, he understood how it felt. He fought Aragorn as hard as he could, despite his wounds.
"Stop, Legolas! Damn it!" Aragorn shouted.
"Never," Legolas whispered, still fighting. It was all he could muster the energy to say.
The knife accidentally caught Aragorn's shoulder, and he fell back with a yelp. Legolas knew what he had to do. Before Aragorn had the time to react, he stuck the knife into his hip, twisted it, and pulled it out again. Blackness ate the corners of his vision. The world spun as waves of pain ravaged his body. He looked through dimming eyes at Haldir, who was now glowing as brightly as a normal Elf did. But his eyes were still closed.
Is this how much I hurt you, my friend? He wondered sadly, so much that only my death will open your eyes again?
He lifted the dagger and with his waning strength plunged it towards his heart. But before it could reach there, Aragorn threw himself at Legolas. The weight of his body changed the direction of the dagger; instead of Legolas's heart, it made a wide gash in his stomach.
Legolas yelled in pain, and at the same time Haldir stirred.
"What's going on? Where am I?" he said weakly, trying to sit up. "Estel? Is that you?"
He stumbled to his feet, but his body was weak and unfed, and he collapsed before he walked even a few steps.
Aragorn buried his face in his hands. A terrible choice before him: should he tend Legolas first or Haldir? He groaned as he weighed possibilities in his mind.
"Estel," Legolas's voice was dry and thick with pain and emotion, "My eyes grow dim. I'm leaving this world now."
"No, no, you can't be! You'll be fine- trust me, I-" Aragorn continued to babble incoherently, trying to convince himself as well as Legolas by doing so. He put a hand to the dagger and prepared to remove it, but Legolas stopped him with his hand.
"There's no point," he whispered, striving to speak, "You can't save me, Estel. Go and tend to Haldir, you don't have to feel guilty." His eyes drifted close, and his body went limp.
"NOOOOO!" Aragorn screamed, voice rent with anguish. His body shook with sobs as he cradled Legolas in his arms.
"This can't be happening," he whispered, tears streaming down his face. "This can't possibly be-"
Be at peace.
Aragorn looked up through his tears, startled to hear such a melodious, calming voice. "Is anyone there?" he called.
Peace, Estel, the voice said again. He instantly felt calmer. He looked around and then realized that the voice was in his head.
"Who are you?" he asked.
That doesn't matter. You do not have to make a choice between them, Estel.
"Then what?" Aragorn asked, not daring to hope.
You can save both of them. Someone will aid Haldir; Lorien healers have skill enough for that. Devote yourself to Mirkwood's prince, for you alone can save him now
"How? How do I save him?"
The simplest form of healing is one's own self, Estel. The fundamental and unbreakable law of Elven healing healing.
"But I can't- it's against regulations!"
Those regulations were set down for Elven healers. They do not apply to you. It is a question of courage for you, not regulations. Do you have the courage to save him in that way?
Aragorn knew exactly what the voice was telling him to do. At the start of his training, Elrond had told him that healing was essentially taking bad energy and converting it to good energy. The one thing every healer was taught never to do was to take bad energy in its raw form without converting it to good energy. It was not an effective way of healing. The person healed in that way was made weaker for at least a year. It also aged the healer. Elrond had told him again and again that it was something he must never do because he wasn't an elf. He would get old and die if he tried to practice it on anyone. But he was faced now with a situation where he had to do it.
He heard flying footsteps in the distance and knew that someone was coming to help Haldir. He raised his hands and placed them on Legolas's chest and began to chant.
He could feel himself growing older as he healed Legolas. Wrinkles etched themselves into his face; his hair grayed, grew white, and then fell off completely. His eyesight grew worse with every passing moment. He couldn't even sit straight after a point. After what seemed like ages, the torturous process was over and he fell back exhausted on the ground. He heard voices around him, but had not the strength to answer them. He turned his head and saw that Legolas's wounds had disappeared and he appeared to be sleeping. A smile touched the corners of his mouth.
He knew that he hadn't got long left, five minutes and he'd be dead. Legolas's numerous wounds had spent all of his long years. His eyes closed as the desire to sleep overtook him.
He heard the same melodious voice again, this time not in his head but from somewhere near him. He felt a cool breath on his wrinkled cheek as it said, "You have done well. I held back to see if you would do what was necessary, otherwise I would have come to your aid days ago. It is my turn, now, to heal you, return to you your youth. Galadriel's magic is not a small force. I will do what must be done, never fear."
He opened his eyes and saw bending over him the fairest, most beautiful face he had ever seen. It was surrounded by a halo of golden hair.
"Be at peace," she said softly, soothingly, "Forget your woes."
He continued to stare at her, marveling at her beauty.
"Sleep and be healed," she said, and his eyes closed of their own accord.
…
When Aragorn awoke he found himself on a pallet in the same clearing that he had been in when he passed out. He lay still for a minute, while the memories of what had happened slowly came back to him. Then as he remembered everything, he put his hand to his face and was relieved to find that the wrinkles had all disappeared. He put his hands to his head and found hair growing on it, as thickly as it had before.
He heaved a sigh of relief as he realized he was no longer an old man, but his young self again. The last thing he remembered was Galadriel's beautiful face leaning over his. She must have healed him, he decided.
He suddenly leapt to his feet remembering the state Haldir and Legolas were in when he had left them. He had to ascertain that they were both all right.
He wandered through the beautiful woods and the golden flowers dotting the thick turf on the ground. His shoulders began to relax as he wandered through the woods barefoot, gazing about him in wonder. Then, as he came towards a clearing, he heard the sounds of someone crying. Curious, he moved closer. Concealing himself behind a large tree, he peered into the clearing.
His eyes widened in shock and his fists clenched at what he saw. Legolas was sitting on his pallet, and beside him was sitting a weeping Arwen Undomiel.
"It's all my fault," she was saying between sobs, "Me with my over-sensitivity and my capacity to get hurt so easily. If it hadn't been for-" Here she dissolved into tears again, holding her head in her hands.
"Hush, Arwen," Legolas said, more tenderly than Aragorn could have thought possible, "Don't cry. It isn't your fault, it's mine. Don't you ever let me hear you blame yourself again, okay? Silly Elf!"
Arwen sobs grew louder as she clung on to Legolas's shirt and buried her face in his shoulder. He hugged her, comforted her with more assurances that she was not the one at fault, and then after half an hour or so, sent her away to wash her face.
Aragorn's mind was whirling with a million odd questions. What was she doing here? And what was she blaming herself for? He tried to push back the realization that Arwen and Legolas did love each other, but he couldn't. He would have been a fool not to realize it…but he was not quite ready to accept it just then.
Before he knew what he was doing, he had stepped out into the open and gone up to Legolas.
Legolas greeted him with a look of extreme gratitude, but it was lost on the hotheaded adan.
"Aragorn! I can't tell you how thankful I am. You gave up your youth for me and if it wasn't for Galadriel you would have been prepared to die. I can't say anything but…thank you."
Aragorn favored him with a glare, "Kindly explain yourself."
"What do you mean? I was just thanking you- what are you talking about?" Legolas's smile faded slightly.
"You love her, don't you?"
"Who? Aragorn, what?"
"The one who was just here. I saw everything, Legolas. You love her don't you?"
"No Aragorn, I don't love her, at least not in the way you think. Did you hear everything?"
"Yes, and you can't lie to me. It's time to be honest, Legolas. You both love each other don't you?"
"No we don't, Aragorn!" Legolas said again, sounding slightly tired.
"If you don't, who does then Legolas?" Aragorn raised his voice, his anger and frustration overwhelming him, "There's something going on here, and I intend to find out what it is!" He paused, breathing hard.
Legolas closed his eyes briefly and then answered the question, "You're right Aragorn. It is time to be honest. I never loved Arwen except as a friend."
Aragorn snorted in disbelief.
"I never loved her, Aragorn," Legolas raised his voice slightly, " I'm prepared to swear it," he paused, and then lowered his voice. "If anyone ever loved Arwen," he said, "It was Haldir."
…
TBC
I have been WAITING to write that cliffhanger since I was inspired with this story! You like? Anyway, I'm sorry I updated so late. I'm yours for a while now though!
Things you need to know about this story:
Last chapter, the significance of the date was that it was nearly March again, and thus Haldir's one year was almost up.
This chapter, Legolas was the one who hurt Haldir which is why he hurtneeded to hurt himself to cure Haldir.Also, Arwen has come to stay atLorien again since she always manages to cause trouble in fanfics. The healing law is my invention, not Tolkein's, in case you're wondering. Sorry if it seemed a tad weird.
Next chapter: the one you've all been waiting for, all the explanations are made and the secrets revealed and the relationships explained.
My prelims are over, but my boards start on March first, so I'm still studying hard. Luckily, the prelims went okay. Anyway, I already have the ideas for the sequels of this story, I will enlighten you next chapter, as it's the concluding one.
THANK YOU to lindahoyland (yes I did mean Haldir last chapter, I've corrected it, thanks), Haldir's Heart and Soul (next chapter- some Haldir for you!" and someone (sorry to drive you insane) for reviewing.
Keep reviewing, and see you all!
