Summary: During a storm one of the foursome has an incident that turns humorous. Rated K+ by Savannah (Eowyn & Aragorn)
Year 3014
Thunder boomed right over their heads, splitting the air with ear shattering noise. Tree branches snapped, the trunks twisting painfully in the whip of the wind. "We have to stop!" Aragorn yelled over the noise of the storm, he thought for a second that he was alone in the darkness that somehow he had lost the group but then a voice called over the wind and the rain.
"We can't," Legolas said calmly moving his horse until he was right beside Aragorn. "At the next flash of lighting look off the road into the forest."
Aragorn waited, his horse moving on steadily, then at the next flash of light his blue eyes found what Legolas had meant. Scattered through the trees were the pale faces of Orcs. Aragorn's brow knit together. "What are Orcs doing this far west and why are they just waiting there? Are they going to attack?" he said turning back to Legolas.
Legolas' face was full of suspicion. "I don't know," he said. "But stay quiet." Legolas turned around to see the outline of the women riding behind him.
Aragorn nodded. "We should to keep going," Aragorn said. "Through the storm and the night until we find a place to rest in safety."
Legolas nodded, still watching the women. He stared into the darkness of the forest, sensing movement. Suddenly an Orc flew out of the bushes with a cry crashing into Arwen and knocking her from the horse.
"Arwen!" Eowyn screamed she pulled her sword from its sheath and slipped off the horse. And with that the attack begun.
Orcs poured from the trees, Aragorn felt confusion and panic close in around him as he tried to fight off the attackers in the dark, the flashes of lighting the only light by which to see. Aragorn's horse turned back and forth underneath him nervously it stamped its foot and snorted. He heard the hiss of arrows and prayed they were the Elves. Orcs continued to pour through the line of trees onto the path, their screeches filling the night air; one ran toward Aragorn, he raised his sword ready for the attacker but the Orc ran under the head of his horse.
In the blackness Aragorn heard the sickening sound of a knife cutting into flesh and his horse's shrill whinny. The horses front legs flew into the air and Aragorn fell from its back with a thud. He groaned his hand moving to his ribcage. The horse towered above him, a darker shadow on the dark sky. With a gurgling noise the horse fell, warm thick blood gushing from the slit in its neck. Aragorn scrabbled backwards as the animal crashed toward the ground, the dead horse landed on Aragorn's leg. Pain shot up to his hips and he cried falling onto his back in the dirt. The corners of his vision grew dark but he blinked furiously forcing his breathing to become even.
..::..
In the dark Eowyn heard Aragorn's scream, she felt fear close off her airway. Around her the two Elves continued to fight off the attackers but Eowyn could only stand paralyzed by fear, not knowing where to turn in the blackness. As she stood she saw in a flash of lightning Aragorn on his back, his great black charger's body laying over him and blood, so much blood covering him splattered over his face and soaking into his clothing. Eowyn ran half falling over dead Orcs and tree roots to where she had seen him. "Aragorn!" she screamed into the dark. There was another flash of light and she saw him again this time his eyes where open, two grey discs reflecting the light. Eowyn ran the last little way to him falling down beside him.
"Eowyn," he said feeling for her hand, in the dark he could hear her start to cry softly. "Eowyn, it's alright, I'm okay, it's not my blood."
All of a sudden her mouth was on his in a wet kiss full of tears. She pulled away from him running the back of her hand over his face. "You've already almost died once you can't do it again."
Aragorn couldn't help but laugh but the movement sent a flash of pain through his broken ribs.
..::..
Out of the dark an Orc threw itself at Eowyn knocking her to the ground. Her hand groped for her sword and thrust it into the Orc's shoulder and it fell away with a scream. Eowyn jumped to her feet, a new wave of energy flowing through her veins.
Arwen ran up to her, an arrow strung to her bow, poised and ready to shoot. "Is he alright?" she asked in a flash of lightning, her blue eyes scanning the ground for Aragorn.
"He's not dead if that's what you mean," Eowyn said.
Arwen smiled and let the arrow fly into the night.
..::..
Legolas killed the Orc in front of him in a swift move with his twin blades. He looked around in the dark, his Elven eyes seeing the outline of their attackers. "Arwen! Eowyn!" he yelled running to where he had seen Arwen fighting. There was no answer and Legolas ran faster. "Aragorn!" he shouted. In his desperation he didn't see the horse lying in his path. His feet caught on the saddle and he fell trying to catch himself, his Elven grace abandoning him. He landed on something hard and warm and heard a groan under him.
"What are you trying to do?" a voice hissed painfully.
Legolas jumped. "Aragorn?" he asked blinking, trying to make out the face in the dark.
"Yes it's me," Aragorn said shoving him off. "I think you broke another one of my ribs throwing yourself at me like that." He groaned.
"I thought you were an Orc," Legolas said.
"Is that why you were trying to kill me?" Aragorn asked.
"I wasn't trying to kill you," Legolas protested. "I tripped over your horse."
"An Elf tripping," a female voice said mockingly.
Legolas looked up at Eowyn standing above him in the dark, he could only imagine the smirk on her face. Legolas rolled his eyes. "Like you never fall, Eowyn," he said.
"You're having an effect on him," Arwen said coming up behind Eowyn. "His Elvish grace is lessened by your overpowering mortality." Eowyn slapped Arwen playfully.
"As cute as all this banter is," Aragorn said from the ground. "There is a giant horse crushing me, it would be great if you could get it off of me, at your convenience of course."
Eowyn came and knelt by him, laying his head on her lap and brushing away the hair from his face. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Are you in pain?"
Aragorn shook his head. "As long as I don't move I can't feel anything. I think my body's going into shock. I know my leg is broken and I think I broke a few of my ribs as well."
Eowyn nodded, the adrenaline wearing off and worry taking its place.
"We need to get the horse off of you and blood flowing to your legs," Legolas said. "Arwen, Eowyn, help me," Legolas called. Eowyn leaned down and kissed Aragorn's forehead then moved away from him. "On three," Legolas said before counting. They all lifted, their muscles strained with the effort but the corpse barely moved.
"We have to push it off," Arwen said. Eowyn looked down trying to see Aragorn's face.
"Again," Legolas said and counted.
The weight of the horse shifted, Aragorn's scream filled the night, it was deep and husky and full of pain. The three didn't stop, the horse pulled on Aragorn's legs, stretching them past the breaking point. He felt the bone pulling away from its place. Pain overwhelmed his mind and the black of the night grew darker. The next thing Aragorn saw was Eowyn, her face hovered over him, her hands on his face and his name on her lips. The pain came back like a wave crashing onto the shore and Aragorn's eyes clenched shut, he groaned. Eowyn brushed her fingers over his cheek as a single tear fell from between his lashes and rolled down over his temple.
"We need to get to some kind of shelter," Arwen said.
Legolas nodded. "We can back track to the cave we slept in last night."
Eowyn looked up. "We need the horses," she said, she whistled. A few minutes later Eowyn's horse came through the trees, Arwen's and Legolas' following close behind it.
"You have that thing trained like a dog," Legolas said.
Eowyn smiled. "Watch this," she said then spoke to the horse. It moved towards and then dropped to its knees and laid down beside Aragorn and Eowyn.
"How did you do that?" Arwen asked in disbelief. "How long have you even had that horse and it's trained to follow voice commands."
Eowyn grinned. "It's in my blood I guess."
Aragorn moaned his eyes flickering open. "I'm not in shock anymore," he said weakly.
"Can you get onto the horse?" Eowyn asked.
Aragorn looked over and tried to sit up, he felt Legolas' arm around his back helping him onto the horse's back. "Thanks," Aragorn breathed as the horse stood back up.
"Don't fall off," Arwen said jumping onto her own horse's back.
Legolas climbed onto his horse and pulled Eowyn up behind him. Arwen took the reins of Aragorn's horse and started down the path they had been following just an hour ago. "Are you alright?" Legolas asked touching Eowyn's hands where they held onto his waist.
She nodded, her face resting on his back. "As long as Aragorn is than I am."
Legolas smiled a little. "He will be, we always are."
..::..
The cave they had slept in was less of a cave and more of a pile of boulders. A fire was built on the blackened piece of stone in the same place it had been the night before. Aragorn lay beside it, bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and a splint strapped to his leg. "Sleep," Eowyn said playing with a strand of his hair, her fingers trailing over his skin gently.
The herbs he had taken for the pain made her face fuzzy, the warm light of the fire only adding to the effect. Aragorn felt like he was already dreaming, his eyes slowly closing. He could hear voices around him, Eowyn and Arwen's, they seemed so far away, the feeling of Eowyn's body next to his and the warmth of the fire pulled him down into sleep.
"We need another horse," Arwen said. "We could go back to the town tomorrow and be back in three days." Eowyn nodded.
"Aragorn will be bed bound for weeks, he needs to stay still so it can heal straight," Legolas said. "We'll be stuck here for a while."
"Leave me the rest of the food and water and take your time in the town. We killed a dozen Orcs, I'll be fine until you get back."
Legolas nodded. "We won't say long, an extra night maybe." He looked at Arwen, she shrugged. "We have to go anyway."
"It's decided then," Eowyn said.
..::..
The sun rose on the damp morning, the pain killers were gone and so was the warm glow of the night before. Aragorn felt damp, covered in a mixture of dew and cold sweat.
Legolas and Arwen were gone and Eowyn stood leaning on the rocks watching them go. She turned around and smiled at him. "How do you feel?" she asked walking to the fire.
"Like a horse fell on me, crushing every bone in my body. Oh wait, it did."
Eowyn rolled her eyes. "Not every bone," she said taking a bit of cloth from a pot over the fire.
"You're a cruel unsympathetic woman," he said as she knelt in front of him.
Eowyn slowly buttoned his shirt and pulled it off of him, she ran the warm cloth down his neck, cleaning the dried blood from his skin. Aragorn watched as she rinsed the cloth and wrung it out, touching his skin again. He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. Eowyn smiled down at him. "It's just us," she said.
Aragorn nodded, his hand lingering on her face. "I love you, Eowyn," he said staring into her eyes.
Eowyn leaned down and kissed him gently. "Do you want something for the pain?" Eowyn asked, breaking their kiss. Aragorn shook his head and pulled her down to him again.