The next chapter! Congratulations to:

Ladyroo88, Miranda Gryffindor, GeminiCancer, Wise Pallas Athena, and Love of a Nymph; who guessed correctly.

Thank you everyone who has left me a review, each review is apprieciated and inspires me to write more. So thank you again and I look forward to hearing from you all again after this chapter. :P

Key:

"Blah" westron

"Blah" elvish

Blah thoughts

The Immortal Hero

Chapter 10

For the rest of the day and the following night Tegalad slept. The clean up commenced after the women and children were released from the caves and reunited with their husbands, brothers, fathers and sons. A group of riders were scheduled to leave on the following morning to see what became of Isengard. Théoden, Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli and a few guards of the Rohirrim had volunteered to go and would return to Edoras once they were done. The plan was to see the first few villagers off before leaving themselves.

When Tegalad woke it was to see Haldir at his bedside, a parchment and quill set out before him as he wrote silently. He watched the older elf write for several minutes before shifting and trying to sit up. Haldir was at his side instantly, his hands helping him to sit up. The elf had a bandage around his arm but any other injuries he may have had were hidden by the clothes he had on.

"It's about time you woke up," Haldir said with a smile. "I'm sure that I've never seen Aragorn as panicked as he was when you passed out on him."

"How is everyone?" Tegalad asked tiredly. "How many did we lose?"

"I don't think you need to know the number, and we're still figuring it out ourselves, but I do know that it was a lot less than what we had originally anticipated."

"Where's Aragorn? And the others?" Tegalad then asked, his eyes sweeping the room as if he had missed them before.

"More than likely getting ready to leave," Haldir replied. "They won't leave without you, don't worry. They're waiting for you to wake up so they can go to Isengard. Apparently, Aragorn was given an earful by the woman in charge of you in the caves. She said that you looked heart-broken when you woke and realised that you were alone."

"He promised that he wouldn't leave me again," Tegalad confessed sadly.

"It was that promise that convinced the others to let you come," Haldir added as if telling a secret. "Aragorn didn't let go of you all afternoon you should know. He left you in the caves at the last possible moment, and that was after we had arrived. How you didn't wake in the noise that occurred during that I have no idea."

"Shadow died," Tegalad whispered. He dropped his gaze to the floor sadly. "If I hadn't insisted on riding in front of the group then we would have been safe and Shadow wouldn't have been hurt and the others could have focused on themselves instead of me."

"You cannot blame yourself for events that were out of your control," Haldir stated sternly. "And while I can't get you to believe it, I can at least give you some good news in all of this."

Tegalad looked up at him curiously, his head tilted to the side as he waited for the Marchwarden to continued. Haldir smiled and Tegalad could see the bubbling excitement in his eyes and the subtle shifting of his leg as if he was trying to jump up and down but restraining himself.

"Vanya's going to have our child," he said happily. Tegalad gasped with a smile. "She told me just before she sent that letter off and I've been waiting to shout it across the rooftops. Only myself, Lady Galadriel and you now know. The rest of the elves will be told when we return. Vanya didn't want anyone to know incase I didn't return to her. So I have to thank you for that again. It is quite possible she would have miscarried of I had died."

"Congratulations," Tegalad said, ignoring the knowledge that Vanya could have lost the child. "Do you know when she's due?"

"Nine months still," Haldir admitted. "She's only one week pregnant but I've already told her to take it easy and I'm going to make it so that she doesn't have to so much as lift a finger when I return in a few days."

"Your leaving?" Tegalad asked with a smile.

"Tomorrow," Haldir admitted. "Some of our wounded need to recover a little before we make our way back."

"Don't smother Vanya when you return," Tegalad warned. He leant heavily against Haldir and closed his eyes. "She won't like her independence being taken away."

"Maybe," Haldir said seriously, thinking about his words. "But nevertheless, you have to eat. When was the last time you had something substantial to eat?"

"I had some bread and an apple in the caves," Tegalad said sleepily.

"And before that?"

"I stole some bread that morning."

Haldir chuckled and called for some hot food. Tegalad kept his eyes closed as a serving boy brought in a bowl of what smelt like a stew. Haldir maneuvered him into a more suitable position to eat and coaxed him to open his mouth. Tegalad felt silly but couldn't deny that he was hungry so he allowed the soon-to-be father feed him.

Once they were done Haldir asked if Tegalad wanted to say anything to Vanya to put into a letter. Tegalad murmured something along the lines of not letting Haldir control her independence during her pregnancy and to keep him informed of all developments. As soon as the war was over he'd return to Lothlorien to see her again. Haldir chuckled as he wrote everything down and called for Hedwig out the window.

The owl flew in gracefully and sat on Tegalad's knee. Her large eyes stared at him in concern and hooted when she was satisfied he was getting the right care. Haldir tied the letter to her foot and with a grateful pat let her know where the letter was going.

"You look after Vanya for me alright girl?" Tegalad whispered. "Don't let Haldir overwhelm her."

Hedwig hooted self-importantly and lifted into the air. She circled him once before disappearing out of the window. Haldir stood as well and stretched. He announced that he was getting Aragorn, who he was surprised hadn't come to check on him when he woke. Tegalad had looked at him in confusion and learnt that the ranger had come in to check on his once every half hour, if he could, and had slept in the room with him all night.

It was as he was moving to the door that it opened again and Aragorn barged in.

"Any change?" the ranger asked as he spotted Haldir.

"Yes in fact," Haldir begun as he stepped aside. "I was just about to find you. He woke up about twenty minutes ago."

Aragorn looked to the bed and grinned broadly at seeing the small elfling look back at him. He rushed over and pulled Tegalad into a hug, almost lifting him off the bed as he did so. Tegalad hugged him back just as enthusiastically, content to sit there for the rest of the day. Aragorn informed him of what was going on, the clean up effort and the preparations to escort villagers back to their homes. A couple of riders from the Rohirrim would go with each group as protection and once everyone was home they'd go to Edoras or back to the fortress to help with the next group needing protection.

"Now that you're awake, we can go to Isengard," Aragorn continued. "Will you be alright to leave now? You can sleep a bit more as we ride. It's still three days journey and Gandalf is getting impatient to leave."

"I come," Tegalad said insistently. "Sleep as we go."

Aragorn grinned and lifted him off the bed.

"Let's get you changed then, and we'll go," he said. "I've already packed your stuff, we're just waiting for you."

Tegalad nodded and allowed the man to change him, ignoring the concerned looks at how thin he was. He was naturally thin, mostly from his life at the Dursleys as their influence had given him a small stomach, and then his adventures at school and the month under torture had lowered his need for food.

Once Aragorn was done he lifted Tegalad onto his hip and they left the room to let the others know that they were ready to leave.

Three days later Tegalad was staring at Isengard. The group had moved out of the tree cover suddenly to an area devoid of any tree life. All that remained were tree stumps and fallen branches. The land dipped down towards Isengard to make the landscape look like a bomb had gone off, destroying all life up to the new tree line. His gasp must have been fairly audible because Aragorn tightened his grip around his waist and Legolas mumbled about the cruelty of Saruman.

The group continued down the path and Tegalad focused on the tall building in the centre of what looked like a lake. A wall of stone surrounded the water, keeping it confined, a broken stone structures pushed out of the water forming little islands. Trees were dotted around the lake, some in the water and others just on the boundaries. Tegalad thought they were trees, but the kept moving around and he wasn't sure if they were another species in Middle Earth or what they appeared to be.

At the bottom of the hill the group came across the wall. It was a lot taller than Tegalad had first thought but that wasn't what caused him to grin in delight. Sitting a top the wall, smoking and eating, were Merry and Pippin. Pippin cried out in delight as Merry spread his arms out wide dramatically upon seeing them.

"Welcome!" he began. "My Lords! To Isengard!" Gandalf was shaking his head muttering something along the lines of "hobbits" while Gimli was reprimanding the two hobbits for sitting back in comfort while they had searched for them.

Merry gestured with his arms again.

"We're under orders, from Treebeard," he explained. "Whose taken over management of Isengard."

Tegalad smiled happily. He had missed the two energetic hobbits more than he had thought he would and he was overjoyed to see them again. Pippin noticed him first.

"Tegalad!" the hobbit said in joy. "We thought you'd still be in Lothlorien."

Tegalad shook his head with a smile but didn't reply. Merry noticed Boromir and he dropped his smoking pipe in shock.

"Boromir! You're alive!"

"Of course I'm alive," Boromir said with a grin. "It'll take more than an Uruk-hai to be the death of me. Besides, Tegalad here wouldn't let anything too bad happen to us. He has this need to save everyone."

Tegalad glared back at the man and said simply.

"I not hear you complain when I save you."

"Hey! Tegalad, I didn't know you could talk!" Pippin said excitedly.

"Aragorn teach me Westron," Tegalad explained. "I still learning. He much better teacher than you and others."

Merry hit Pippin over the back of the head with a shake of his own. He ignored Pippin's protests and told the younger hobbit to work it out on his own. Boromir rode forward and pulled Merry off the rock to sit on the back of his horse.

"Come little hobbit, we still have much to do today," the man explained. Aragorn copied his friend with Pippin and the younger hobbit leant around the man instantly to look at Tegalad.

"You look tired," the hobbit said. Tegalad smiled with a nod but didn't speak. Pippin continued. "How have you been? Where's Shadow? I thought he would always be by your side. Is he in Lothlorien still? How about Hedwig?"

Boromir rode up next to Aragorn and gently put his hand across Pippin's mouth with a shake of his head. Pippin looked around and saw several sad faces before he looked at Tegalad and noticed the stiffness of the elfling's shoulders.

"What did I say?" he asked. Aragorn tilted his head to whisper in Tegalad's ear. The child lifted his own hands and blocked his ears to ignore the conversations going on around him.

"Shadow was killed a week ago," Boromir explained quietly. "Tegalad hasn't coped very well with his death. He didn't eat for several days and his sleep has been less than restful. We're getting him to eat but there are times where he closes off and doesn't speak for a long stretch of time."

"It's best not to mention Shadow at the moment," Aragorn added. "Maybe in a few days, but right now he's still recovering."

The two hobbits nodded their understanding and Aragorn pulled Tegalad's hands from his ears. The rest of their trip was silent until they ended up at the base of the tower. A giant tree was waiting for them and Tegalad tilted his head back so he could look up at its face. Pippin whispered that the tree in front of them was Treebeard and he was an Ent.

Gandalf spoke to Treebeard and Tegalad gathered that Saruman was being kept in his tower, completely stripped of all his magic. The elfling thought it would be a wonderful thing that everyone practiced. Voldemort wouldn't have lasted half as long as he had if his power had been stripped for acting for his own benefit, not the benefit of the population.

As he was watching Treebeard, Pippin slid off the back of Aragorn's horse into the water. Tegalad shivered as the cold water splashed up to hit him but then he shivered for a completely different reason when Pippin stopped above a glowing section of water. Not even thinking about the consequences of his actions he jumped off the front of the horse and went under the water. He surfaced quickly and grabbed Pippin's arm.

"No!" he cried desperately. Pippin had been about to lean down to grab whatever was glowing underneath the water but stopped when Tegalad grabbed onto him. Tegalad floated around and touched the glowing thing in the water with his foot. Paralyzing cold rushed up his leg but Tegalad ignored it. He ducked under the water and picked up the perfectly round glowing stone, quickly passing it to Gandalf before collapsing backwards in the water. Pippin cried out and kept his head above the water.

Tegalad's lips were blue and he shivered violently against the hobbit. Aragorn rushed forward and gently lifted the elfling into the air before immediately wrapping him in his cloak. Tegalad burrowed into the warmth, shivering from the water and the cold feeling the stone had created in him. His arms had pins and needles in them and he couldn't move his fingers very well. Gandalf rode over in concern as Eomer pulled Pippin up behind him.

"Let Aragorn concentrate on Tegalad for a while," Eomer explained. "He'll deny it, but he's actually quite attached to the child."

Pippin watched as everyone crowded around Tegalad and agreed with the King's nephew. It was also obvious that it wasn't just Aragorn attached to Tegalad, everyone was concerned about him.

It was shortly after that that they all left at full speed to get back to Edoras as quickly as possible.

Tegalad started to feel better the next day but was still quite cold. He knew that with his control of the fire element he wouldn't be able to deal with large quantities of water very well, and his inability to swim didn't help with that either. He hadn't regained any colour in his cheeks but he had lost the blue-tinged lips to the relief of everyone present. He had remained curled up against Aragorn's side and buried under their spare blankets.

It had taken several hours for the pins and needles in his arms to disappear but it wasn't until the following morning when he could move his arms without any stiffness. All throughout the night he sat on Aragorn's lap wrapped in as many blankets as possible but it was still the warmth of another person that helped him to recover. He didn't ask what the stone had been and Gandalf made sure to keep it away from the elfling with great care. As he didn't trust anyone else not to touch the stone, the Istari tended to avoid Tegalad as they travelled back to Edoras.

The day after they left Isengard Merry and Pippin joined in the group belonging to the Fellowship and all of them spent time trading stories and adventures. Tegalad had noticed that the two hobbits, in particular Pippin, were great exaggerators. They overplayed their capture and their daring escape, yet Tegalad noticed that they didn't talk about any injuries they received. He had noticed Merry rubbing his head, a pained expression on his face, when he thought no one was looking, and he had spotted Pippin stretching his shoulders subtly.

It was quite obvious that the two hobbits, while having healed on their own, still felt the lingering pain from their injuries in their memories. Tegalad wasn't sure if anyone else had noticed the hidden actions of the hobbits, but after noticing Eomer's concerned expression directed at the hobbits, knew that there were others with similar experiences prepared to offer help when it was needed.

On the second day Tegalad was able to sit on his own without the need to curl up against the nearest heat source. It was dinner time and Tegalad was a close to the fire as he could get without worrying the others. His pack was sitting near him and after noticing how Pippin would sadly pull on his elvish cloak, remembered the jeweled leaf he had kept. Pippin was overjoyed to see the jewel again and instantly clipped it back on the cloak. He didn't stop smiling for the rest of the journey.

The day they expected to be back in Edoras was a cloudless day. Tegalad had almost started to feel like his normal self but still felt tired and was prone to cold shivers. Théoden announced that there would be a party that night to celebrate their victory at Helms Deep and to pay their respects to those who had lost their lives. Tegalad asked if he could skip the party and go to sleep instead. The others agreed that it would be acceptable and would join him after the party was over.

When they arrived in Edoras there were people lined in the streets, cheering as they recognised who had returned to them. Eomer dropped Pippin off at the steps to the Golden Hall before taking his horse to the stables and checking on the riders of the Rohirrim that were stationed in Edoras. Merry joined Pippin on the steps and they instantly went off to explore and cause as much mischief as possible.

Legolas and Gimli headed off after them to prevent as much trouble as they could while Théoden went to talk to his niece. Tegalad saw the affection on the King's face as he spoke with Éowyn and felt the familiar longing he felt every time he saw Molly Weasley hug one of her children or scold them to mind their manners, or even when Arthur Weasley asked his kids how their day had been and to listen attentively to what they had to say. He'd never had that growing up, and only Sirius had expressed any interest in learning about him. But Sirius had died before their relationship could go anywhere.

Aragorn noticed his forlorn expression and did his best to convey that the elfling was not as alone as he thought he was. He carried him through the Golden Hall to where the bedrooms were, informing him that Legolas had made plans for the next day and not to run off after breakfast. Tegalad had nodded sleepily and closed his eyes.

Once they were in their assigned room Aragorn lowered Tegalad onto a small bed under the window. He lifted the covers so that the elfling was completely covered, his green eyes and black hair the only thing visible. Aragorn sat near his head and gently moved his hand through Tegalad's soft hair, having noticed in the past that it was a successful way to get him to sleep.

"I'll be at the party for the rest of the night if you need me alright?" he whispered in elvish. Tegalad smiled sleepily, his eyes closing again.

"Goodnight dad," he murmured before dropping off to sleep completely. Aragorn's hand froze in its movements. The man stared at the child in amazement before leaning down to kiss Tegalad's forehead.

"Goodnight Little One," he whispered. "Safe dreams."

The man stood up slowly and walked out of the room. He had no idea of the smile that stretched across his face and was able to enjoy himself throughout the party without worrying about what the future would hold.

Tegalad woke up feeling cold.

He looked around the room noticing that it was full of sleeping people. Gandalf was sleeping opposite him with his eyes opened and cradling a chamber pot protectively. The open eyes were eerie to watch but the elfling knew that the Istari had taught himself to sleep with his eyes open years ago. Legolas could do it to but Tegalad had no interest in teaching himself to sleep open-eyed, maybe when he was older but certainly not at the present time.

Tegalad grinned at Gandalf, knowing that man couldn't see him, and looked around the rest of the room. He couldn't see Aragorn and Legolas, guessing that they'd be on the balcony or still enjoying the merriment of the ending party. Gimli was snoring loudly on his back and Boromir was lying flat on his stomach, dead to the world.

He turned to look for Merry and Pippin, expecting both of them to be sleeping soundly nearby. What he saw though, was the complete opposite. Merry was whispering to Pippin desperately, seemingly pleading with him, while Pippin was staring fixatedly at what was on the ground before him. Tegalad came to his conclusion quickly, looking at the chamber pot in Gandalf's grasp and then at Pippin's fixation, he gathered that the Cold Stone was what held Pippin's interest.

Without even thinking about it, he quickly untangled himself and rushed towards Pippin, just in time to see him pick the stone off the ground. The hobbit's expression went from eager and curious to horrified and agonized. Tegalad watched as the hobbit writhed on the ground, silently screaming. The expression was similar to what Tegalad knew victims suffered under the Cruciatus Curse and quickly pulled the stone from Pippin's grasp.

He had just enough time to see Pippin lie still and the door burst open before his arms went cold and every nerve ending seemed to scream at him at the same time. He dropped soundlessly to the ground and curled around himself, biting his lip to stop any screams from escaping him. An eerie voice spoke to him in a language he didn't recognise and he could see a burning red eye glaring at him. He pushed his power into the stone to make the pain stop and the combination of fire and air fractured the stone down the middle, ending the connection. The stone rolled away from his still body and warm arms wrapped around him.

Sound stopped and silenced reined. Tegalad knew he was shivering and that his lip was bleeding where he had bitten it, but he couldn't feel it. There were hands on his arms to warm them up, but he didn't think that they made any difference. His eyes were wide open, unseeing of anything save the Burning Eye.

After a time he noticed warmth returning to his arms and he curled his fingers weakly. As his nerves settled down his eyes cleared and he focused on Boromir who was sitting opposite him. He noticed that someone was holding him from behind, his back was pressed against their chest. Boromir was rubbing one of his arms while Legolas was rubbing the other arm. Behind the two were Gandalf and Gimli. Gandalf had his hand on Pippin's shoulder and the hobbit was staring at him in concern. Gimli was talking with Gandalf while keeping a firm hand on Merry's shoulder. The older hobbit was torn between checking on Pippin and rushing forward to check on Tegalad.

Tegalad blinked slowly as he started to pick up sounds. There was a murmur of voices, not all recognizable, but the tone in them was one of worry. Tegalad curled his fingers around the hands on his arms weakly and closed his eyes. The sensation of pins and needles spread from his fingers and up his arms, causing him to whimper softly. His body was moved so that he was facing the roof and a hand was pressed against his cheek. He forced his eyes open to see Aragorn staring down at him in concern. His lips were moving and Tegalad could hear the sounds but he couldn't understand them.

He lifted one of his freed hands and slowly moved it so that he could cover Aragorn's. He couldn't keep it there for long as his strength deserted him but he was sure the effort was appreciated. Aragorn continued talking to him and shook him slightly to keep him awake. Tegalad groaned in protest and tried to moisten his mouth the answer.

"Ar'gon?" he slurred. "M' arms hurt."

"Tegalad," Aragorn whispered in relief. "Thank the Valar you're alright. I thought we'd lost you."

Tegalad felt his body shift again as Aragorn pulled him to his chest. He closed his eyes and shivered. His arms were sore but he knew that warmth would make them feel better. Someone wrapped a blanket around him and made sure that his arms were bundled up. Tegalad was still shivering but the blanket helped a great deal. He hoped that he wouldn't feel as weak as he had the last time he had touched the stone.

"Go to sleep Tegalad," Aragorn ordered. "I won't put you down."

Tegalad nodded weakly and went limp on Aragorn's shoulder. His dreams were filled with the Burning Eye and the laughter of a sadistic old man.

Ta da! The next chapter is still being written and I expect it'll be done within the week, two weeks maximum as I've got some uni essays I've been procrastinating with due in soon. Oh well. Till next time!