Author smiled evilly indeed, Nili, after she finished laughing with pleasure. I haven't forgotten about the orcs, they'll come back sooner or later.

And Lina Skye, don't worry TOO much about your baby- he's mine too! ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own them, just wish that I did… sigh. They belong to the wonderful professor named J.R.R Tolkien…

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Chapter 4

In the meantime, Legolas had carried Aragorn to his room and gently laid him on his bed. He looked behind him and noticed with worry the trail of blood. He turned back to his friend and stroked some sweaty locks from his forehead, still murmuring soothing words to his friend.

The ranger's lips were moving and a frown appeared on his pale face. He twitched slightly and he started coughing. Legolas gently held him up, wanting to rub soothing circles on his back but not being able to because of the injuries. Instead, he held him close and continued whispering to him.

When the coughing subsided, Legolas laid his friend back down again, making sure some pillows were in his back, raising his upper body and easing his breathing. Where were his father and Lord Elrond? Estel's wouldn't live much longer without their care!

Handil arrived just then. "Is there anything I can do?" He asked.

"Yes, fetch a bowl with cold water and a cloth. His temperature needs to be brought down."

Handil nodded and left to get the required items.

Legolas sighed as he prepared to take off Aragorn's clothing. It would have to be cut off; Estel could not handle the jostling it would bring.

Legolas took one of his elven knives and started to carefully cut away Aragorn's trousers. The man started breathing quicker and moved restless. All of a sudden, his eyes opened and fixed on the blonde elf.

Legolas didn't dare to move. Aragorn had flinched away from him earlier and he didn't want to scare his young friend.

Aragorn squinted his eyes, trying to get his blurry vision focused. Someone was in front of him, he could tell it was not an orc, but he could not tell whether it was man or elf or perhaps even dwarf. Where was he? He didn't remember anything after the orcs… He only knew pain from then on.

Legolas softly spoke to his friend, hoping to get through to what he realized must be a befuddled brain. "It's all right, Estel. It is I, Legolas. You are at my place. You are safe now."

Aragorn tried to focus on the figure's voice. It seemed familiar. Wait, Legolas? He felt relieved that his friend was there. He tried to speak, but as soon as Legolas saw what he tried to do, he put his fingers against the man's lips, silencing him.

"Shh, save your strength. Yes Strider, it is I…" Legolas was about to say more when two elves entered his room. He almost sighed in relief. It was his father and the Lord Elrond.

The arrival of the two new figures seemed to upset Aragorn, who was still not in his clear mind and he tried to get away from them. The fever made him see things, distorted figures that reminded him of the orcs. He searched for his sword, but found his movement limited. His arms were bound! But Legolas had said he was safe? Perhaps he had dreamt Legolas was there and he was still with the orcs. Panicking, he struggled with all his might, trying to get loose. Stars appeared in his vision, taking away what little he had. Suddenly, someone held him, preventing him from moving at all. A voice was in his ear.

"Hush, Estel. It is all right. There is no one here that will harm you. Tis your father and mine- come to help you. You really are safe, my friend."

Legolas' voice. He had to know if he was real. "L-leg…" Was all that came out and he tried to move his hand towards where he suspected his friend to be.

As soon as Legolas saw the minute movement, he took the hand in his, gently squeezing to let his friend know that he was there.

The two elven lords looked worried. They had noticed the trail of blood leading to the room. The young ranger was in a dire condition. Thranduil turned around when he heard a noise. Handil had entered the room, bearing a bowl of water with ice in it and a rag.

Aragorn started breathing heavily; every time he thought he was safe, someone new would enter. He felt a hand gently squeeze his in reassurance. "It's just Handil, Strider."

Aragorn seemed to calm down and his own father came closer. Thranduil was preparing poultices and medicine at Legolas' bureau.

"My dear son…" Elrond whispered, slowly sitting down on the bed, letting Aragorn getting used to his presence. Of all the injuries his son had, he was horrified to see the large burns on Aragorn's face. But when he looked down at the drenched bandages around his ankles and identified them as the source of the blood trail, he instantly became worried that his son had maybe lost too much blood. Desperately he wished he could take away all the pain the young human must surely feel.

Aragorn couldn't believe his ears. "Ada?" He croaked out, turning his head in the direction of the voice.

Elrond stroked his son's hair, soothing him with the special healing power he possessed. Inside, he was raging. What had happened to him? "Yes, Estel. You just rest now and let us do all the work." He continued stroking Aragorn's hair and with a gentle nudge of his mind, he forced Aragorn into a deep sleep so they could work.

As soon as his friend slipped into unconsciousness, Legolas finished cutting his trousers off of him and moved away so the older elves could tend to him, explaining as much as he knew while they worked.

"Handil found him in a clearing near the southern borders. It must have been orcs. He was forced into two traps with his legs and I fear there was poison on them. The bleeding hasn't stopped since we released him from the traps." Legolas' head fell to his chest. "You can see for yourselves that he has been beaten and whipped… and burned." The last came out in a whisper. "He has a lot of broken ribs and I fear he has developed pneumonia. He was naked from the waist up when we found him and he seemed to have been lying there at least the entire night. The orcs must have left him there- sure that he would die soon."

"It is fortunate that you came by when you did, or else Estel would surely be dead by now." Elrond said.

The elves continued their ministrations till a new dawn had arrived. Handil and Elrond had transferred some of their energy to Aragorn and Elrond had been able to rid his body of the poison. All were exhausted, but that was a small price to pay for the life of the ranger.

But he was still not out of the woods. Though Thranduil had administered poultices and made him swallow medicine, a fever still raged. He was very weak because of the blood loss and his numerous injuries. His broken ribs and dislocated shoulders would need time to heal and it was indeed pneumonia that had developed, so Aragorn was going to be bedridden for several days at the very least.

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TBC