When Legolas awoke the next time, the already familiar pain was still there. In fact, the blond elf had the feeling that nothing had really changed. He still felt weak and quite tired.

His body immediately protested when the prince tried to move even a little. Frustration spread through him. If there was one thing the archer hated, it was his own weakness.

A hand came to rest on his arm and the warrior immediately recognized the warm and calloused hand. "Estel," Legolas breathed softly, finally managing to open his eyes. It was still hard, but the movement did not seem as difficult as the first time.

A smiling Aragorn welcomed him and the prince had to smile as well. "Good morning, mellon-nin. Did you sleep well?"

But it disappeared immediately when he noticed the tired expression in the eyes of his human friend. Worried, the archer frowned. This was not good. An unpleasant thought came to the warrior's mind. "Estel, when was the last time you slept?"

The human just shrugged his shoulders, trying hard to look cheerful and awake, but this could not fool the warrior. The tiredness was clearly visible in his eyes.

"Estel! You need to rest!" The ranger was human. He needed sleep and rest to regain his strength.

Now Aragorn rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about that, Legolas. I'm fine." The elf raised an eyebrow doubtfully. The man was a little pale and his whole posture showed that he was exhausted. Of course, the archer understood the ranger's motives. He had not wanted to leave him alone.

Guilt spread through the prince at the thought. This was all his fault. He had allowed himself to be captured by these men and had not managed to escape from them. Fortunately, nothing had happened to his friend.

At the thought of the humans, a cold shiver ran down the warrior's spine and he could not prevent himself from trembling slightly.

Immediately the ranger's face contorted with worry and Legolas cursed himself for a moment. He wasn't usually so weak after all. So why now?

"What is it, Legolas?" asked Aragorn softly, squeezing the prince's hand lightly. An incredible warmth spread through the elf. This small gesture was enough to make his restlessness less. The archer could not express how grateful he was to the human. That he was there, that he supported him and did not press him to talk.

Cautiously, the warrior returned the man's small gesture, not sure what effect it would have on his already weakened body. A slight pain shot through his injured arm, but nothing else happened.

Estel still looked at him questioningly and worriedly, and Legolas had to take a deep breath before he could speak. "What happened to the humans?"

Immediately the ranger's posture stiffened and fear spread through the elf. Somehow, he was not at all comfortable with the thought that they were still loose in the forest somewhere.

The human wrinkled his face angrily. "I killed half of them, what happened to the rest I don't know. But they had it coming to them. You did nothing to them, and yet they almost killed you."

The prince squeezed the ranger's hand to calm him down when he noticed that the ranger was getting angrier. The warrior didn't mean to, but he felt relieved at the news that a few of the humans were dead. And he was grateful for Aragorn's care.

Now the ranger's face softened again and he returned the pressure. "But it doesn't matter now. You are alive and safe. That's what matters. And you're going to get better. Nothing else matters right now."

At these words, the archer smiled gently. Once again, he wondered what he had done to deserve this kind and caring person. And Legolas hoped that his friend knew how grateful he was to him for everything. "Hannon-le, Estel."

This one also smiled gently. Now something else occurred to the elf, and he grinned mockingly. "But you still need to rest, you stubborn human."

The man just rolled his eyes in reply, making the prince laugh. "Fine by me. But you too."

With these words, the man lay down next to his friend, who immediately snuggled up to Aragorn. The ranger put his arm around the warrior and tightly embraced they fell asleep.