A/N:
I'm going on a holiday for two weeks, but I wanted to post one last chapter before going so here it is. Reviewers will be thanked in the next chapter.
Chapter Ten
An unwelcome guest …
Aragorn woke up because of an extremely heavy thunder blast. He blinked a few times when he saw the large piles of wood stocked around him in the flickering light of the slowly dying fire. He turned his head to his sides to look for Legolas, but he couldn't see him. "Legolas, where are you?" he tried to say, but because of his dry throat, all that came out was a soft whisper that could not even be heard by an Elf above he noise of the rain.
He tried to reach for some branches, but before he could reach them he felt his stomach wound again. And since he didn't want it to open again, he then tried to push himself towards the branches, but he wasn't strong enough for that. He only managed to turn around slightly, but even that had exhausted him. He hadn't eaten since the attack two days ago and the large amounts of rain hadn't done him any good either.
Though his body was covered underneath two cloaks; his own and Legolas', which the Elf probably had laid on him while he was vast asleep; and he was near the fire, he still shivered. But though he felt very cold, his body was covered with a layer of sweat and his hair, which had dried because of the fire, now once again clung to his sweaty forehead.
A flash of lightening lit his surroundings, followed by the sound of an enormous crack nearby, that sounded even louder than the thunder that followed the lightening. He heard a large thud and he turned himself a little bit more aside so he would be facing the cave-entrance, in the hope he could find out what it was he had heard.
Another flash came and suddenly Aragorn saw the silhouette of an Elf standing in the entrance, almost outside. Just like Aragorn Legolas wore naught more than a pair of trousers and his perfectly shaped upper body glowed lightly in the dark with the light that is so typical for the Elves. His blonde hair was blown backwards every time the wind blew past the entrance and the thunderbolts' light gave it an unearthly silver glow.
Aragorn almost sighed with relief when he saw his companion hadn't left him during the time he slept. But then he started to wonder why this Silvan Elf would bother about his safety, he, a human; for he had heard rumors saying the King of Mirkwood wasn't to fond of the human race, especially when they entered his realm without permission. Elrond had asked permission for his youngest son Estel to enter the forest realm, but he "forgot" to mention the small detail about his son not being an Elf. Ada has warned me about the attitude of the Mirkwood Elves towards humans, but the first one I meet saves my life and takes care of me. So maybe Ada was wrong and it were only rumors after all, Aragorn thought, but he dismissed the last part almost immediately, for his foster-father was a wise Elf with great knowledge of all Elvenraces. Maybe Legolas is just pretending to be kind and wants to keep me alive to bring to his King, so they can have fun with me and can cool their hatred upon me. He shook his head, a bit scared of the direction his thoughts were heading to. Nay, I'll just have to ask Legolas about his reasons and about the truth of the rumors. I'm sure he will say they're not true, won't he? Another shiver surged through his body, not only from cold this time, but also because of his previous thoughts. The doubled intensity of the shiver made his teeth chatter. At the same time the fire cracked loudly and the excellent hearing of Legolas picked up both sounds. He turned his head around and looked over his shoulder, only to be greeted with an insecure look out of Aragorn's eyes. The Elf walked back to the fire and threw some branches on it, when another flash lit the cave. Lit by a fell light from behind and a flickering one in front, the Elf's features were some what distorted and gave him an evil look. Though Aragorn knew the light was playing tricks with him, he unconsciously cringed when Legolas turned towards him. The Elf did not seem to notice the human's discomfort about his presence and he smiled lightheartedly at him. "Are you finally awake, sleeping beauty?" Legolas asked teasingly; "You missed all the fun!"
The Elf's eyes shone with excitement and the tone of his voice gave way to this enthusiasm.
"What fun?" Aragorn asked, slightly confused. He couldn't think of anything amusing about their situation.
Legolas' enthusiasm made him witch to his native tongue and he continued: "The Storm, off course. You should have seen it raging. It splinted a tree in two and sent one part flying through the air, landing right in front of our cave. This is the most powerful storm I have seen for ages. Don't you like it? You can see it raging, but you're sheltered, nothing can harm you and you can simply enjoy it."
Aragorn shrugged, he didn't care that much about the storm, but he would deny the Elf his fun, so he let him talking for a while…
That's it for now, not as long as I wished but I couldn't find more time before leaving. Please review and I'll see you after my vacation.
