Chapter 35

Frodo was sitting in the dark, waiting like the rest for Legolas to return. He was terrified. In what condition would the elf return to them? Did they seriously hurt him? The thought increased the fear in the little hobbit. Please, they hadn't done anything to him! Aragorn hadn't been able to sit still for a long time, which is why he walked up and down the room all the time and also made the ring bearer nervous. Frodo knew the ranger was at least as scared as he was.

At the next moment, the door flew open again and the hobbit jumped up. But when he saw what had happened, everything contracted in him. Legolas was limp in the orc's hand and his tunic was covered in blood on his back. The ring bearer clenched his fists. What had they done to him? The shock was clearly visible on the faces of the others. With a disgusting grin, the orc threw the handsome warrior into the cell and Aragorn barely managed to catch his friend. In response, the elf gave a slight groan and Frodo was a little bit glad to know that the prince was at least half-conscious. The ranger immediately knelt with the elf in his arms and began to slowly remove the tunic from the beautiful creature's back. His face was worried as Legolas moved slightly on his lap.

"I need something to stop the bleeding. Some pieces of cloth." Without thinking much about it, Frodo grabbed his own cloak and tore off a large chunk of it. The archer had done so much for him, now he had to give something back. When the hobbit came closer to the ranger and the elf, he had to swallow. The smooth and shiny skin on the handsome prince's back was torn open and blood flowed from countless cuts. For a moment the ring bearer was frozen. Who did this? A slight moan from Legolas wrenched the hobbit from his mind before handing the piece of cloth to Aragorn and pulling back. Why did one do such a terrible thing to such a pure and good being?

Aragorn tried to calm down for his friend, but inside he trembled and screamed. He tried to wipe the blood as gently as possible. How much the ranger would like to have medicinal herbs here, but at the moment he couldn't do more than remove the blood. Another painful moan came from the elf on his legs. The ranger's heart contracted at this heartbreaking sound. He knew how painful such wounds were, not to mention the scars they would leave as memories, whether psychologically or physically. It would probably only be mental with elves since they couldn't get scars, but Legolas already had so much to fight with. Aragorn suppressed the thought and instead brushed his fair friend's blond hair aside.

"All right, my friend. I'm here," he whispered in Elvish to calm the prince a little.

"Estel ...", it came weakly over his lips and with concern the man noticed that the archer's eyes were closed.

"Yes, I'm here. You are not alone." The ranger noticed only a slight movement, but it was enough to know what the blonde elf wanted. He carefully reached for Legolas' hand and squeezed it lightly. To his surprise and relief, the prince relaxed a little. Aragorn ran his thumb gently over the back of his friend's hand, trying to calm him down. Slowly the Mirkwood elf's breath slowed and the archer seemed to have fallen asleep to the ranger's relief. The wounds did not bleed so much anymore, so the man put the piece of cloth aside and Boromir immediately put a cloak over the beautiful warrior to protect him a little. The man leaned down and gave his friend a gentle kiss on the head. Hopefully, he would be well soon.