Sickness
By: Alilacia
Rating: PG-13
Feedback:
Spoilers: None that I can think of.
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Lord of the Rings, or anything to do with the film or books. That honour goes to Peter Jackson (et all) and J.R.R Tolkien. I have no permission what so ever to use these characters, will not receive any money for this, and am doing this for my own enjoyment. And to get away from doing my college assignments
Series:
Mortality
Lessons
Wandering
Learning Curve
Sickness
Summary:
News of a disease spreading from village to village reaches Imladris. Estel, his brothers and Legolas decide to help. But can a human with Númenorian blood survive when all other humans are fading?
Mae govannen!
This is the fifth instalment in The Lennath Series. According to the site I found on the internet 'Lennath' is apparently journey's in Sindarin. I apologise if it isn't, my elvish skills are not the best in the world.
So in English it is basically 'The Journey's Series'. I decided to call it The Journey's Series, because that is basically what all the stories are about: Legolas' and Aragorn's journey's though life, and the paths it takes them on.
This is the fourth chapter of Sickness, and I hope you all enjoy it.
First I am going to make it clear that this is a NON-SLASH, so you won't be finding any relationship between Legolas and Aragorn that is any closer than brothers. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but I'm not going to make it any different.
I've decided to take a leaf out of Cassia and Siobhan's book and put all the answers to the reviews before the story rather than after it as I have done in previous chapters. If anyone does not want to read them simply bypass all the bold print. And unless you want to read them, they are quite long. The story will start though when you skip past all the bold print :sweatdrops:
:sees Lina throttling Lord Elrond in a bid to save Estel:
Erm…… I do hope you're not expecting me to go in there :glances at Legolas, Elladan, Elrohir and Estel: you go in there::grabs Estel and tries to push him towards Elrond: He's your ada, and it's you she's trying to save!
Elladan: She's got a point there Estel
Legolas and Elrohir::nods:
Estel::glares and easily shakes me off:
Lol! Lina, don't kill Elrond, or shake him up too badly, I'm gonna need him for later on
I called the town Ettenmóras because well, I was having a little trouble thinking of one and decided to call it Ettenmoors in Elvish.
Etten couldn't find anything in elvish for that.
Moors Móras
So, I wound up with Ettenmóras ;
I have not read the Silmarillion, or any of the other history/information books published regarding the Lord of the Rings. So I apologise if there are any mistakes in these stories. Feel free to let me know if there are. I am learning new things each day, and I owe quite a few people major thanks for some of that information.
This story isn't actually beta'd (in fact none of them have been so far) so there are probably quite a few mistakes in them.
Namárië nin mellyn
Alilacia
Sickness
Last time……
"I did manage to find the location of the town before he fell asleep last night. I fear that the people there will be in a similar state, and many of them could be dead already. From what I can gather, after the onset of the symptoms, the patient doesn't have long. That is not the only problem though." Lord Elrond sighed and shifted in his seat. "There is no way of telling how easily this disease is spread. There is every chance that the disease could spread from village to village, systematicallyeliminating the race of men."
Everyone, especially Estel, looked very grave at this announcement, and none knew what to say. What does one say to an announcement like that?
Estel sat in silence, his mind running over all that they had just been told. Disease... no clear cure... spreading from village to village... death...
Estel raised his head and glanced at lord Elrond. He knew what he wanted to do, but was hesitant to broach the subject. Because he knew what they would say. And he knew what might happen if he set out. But Estel was still young enough to be impulsive, and that alone made the answer to the decision clear.
"Ada..."
All the elves looked over to where Estel was sitting. Estel's forehead was creased, and he had dropped his eyes to where his hands lay loosely intertwined between his knees.
"I want to help ada."
No sooner did those words pass his lips did all the elves know what Estel wanted. The twins both turned to Estel and tried reasoning with him, Lord Elrond shook his head and didn't say a word, and Legolas frowned.
None of them wanted Estel to do what he was planning.
"I do not know what help I can give." Aragorn raised his voice to speak over that of Elladan and Elrohir and they both stopped talking. "But these are people, human beings, and I will not leave them to die. Not while there is a chance I can be of some help."
"But Estel, you could become ill yourself." Elrond cautioned, even though he knew what Estel's answer would be.
"I have Númenorian blood running through my veins, that alone should be enough to help me fight off anything I might catch." Despite his words, Aragorn knew the risks. Even with his westernesse blood, he still had gotten ill before, and it left him no chance if this disease got into his system.
"But Estel..."
"I know that you want me to stay here, out of harms way, but what kind of a healer would I be if I didn't help them now." Aragorn's softly spoken words cut Elrohir off, and the human looked each elf squarely in the eyes. "What kind of a person would I be?"
"Since you are being stubborn as always, and with a total disregard for your health, we will be coming with you." said Elladan.
Elrohir nodded. "It has been a while since we took a trip together out of Imladris. It should be interesting."
"I am coming too." Everyone looked over to Legolas who had a similar look in his eyes to Estel. "I know that I have not been your friend for long Estel, but I am not going to stay here and wait to find out what happens."
Estel nodded, and gripped Legolas' arm with a smile. Legolas returned the smile, and gripped the arm tightly back.
"I cannot stop any of you from leaving." Elrond sighed and stared at his youngest son. "Since you insist on going to this town, all I ask is that you come back as soon as everything is settled there."
"I know that I cannot sway your decision Estel, but all I ask is that you be careful."
Estel nodded solemnly, and gripped his fathers arm tightly. Aragorn pulled the half-elven lord into a hug and whispered into his ear. "I will ada, I promise." Aragorn pulled back with a small smile, and watched as his ada turned to address everyone.
"The town is called Ettenmóras and is just down from the Ettenmoors. Be careful, for the ground is not easy to travel upon because of all the rain and disease seems to spread easier in wetter weather." Everyone nodded, and spurred their horses to leave.
As the four travellers made their way out of Imladris, the half elven lord sighed. A dark feeling of foreboding settled over his heart, and he prayed to Iluvitar to keep them safe.
"Must we talk about this again Legolas?"
Elladan and Elrohir shared a grin at the disgruntled tone in Aragorn's voice. The twins had been pleased to find out about the mishaps that Estel had gotten into during his trip to Mirkwood, and although they were not to happy that they had stopped at Weathertop, they could not help teasing their little brother about the fact that he had gotten caught in another rainstorm.
"Oh come now Aragorn, you have to admit, it was funny. The day had been bright and sunny until we got out onto the plains."
"You are just saying that because you are an elf, and elves don't mind things like rains."
"And elves don't get sick either." Elrohir put in helpfully from where he was riding. He grinned as Aragorn turned to glare at him. Aragorn sighed and accepted the fact that the rest of the journey was probably going to be like this.
"Oh you should have seen it. By the time we reached Weathertop, Aragorn had gotten so soaked you could not even see the dirt on his face any more." Legolas smiled as Aragorn tried to cuff him around the head.
As they passed many trees, the elves were joking at the rangers expense, and Aragorn was taking it with very good humour. This was not new to him, for his brothers used to tease him about anything and everything when he was younger. Then it would have made him embarrassed, and lash back, but now he returned with kind. It helped that Estel had some things about his brothers he was sure Legolas didn't know about. Yet.
The bantering between the four friends was cut off, and Aragorn groaned, as drops of water started falling onto their heads. It was too much to hope for that there would be no more rains this day.
The twins exchanged a glance, and pointed in a north-westerly direction. Aragorn and Legolas had no choice but to follow the pair, and started to walk through the gaps in the trees. Although Aragorn had lived not far from these woods, and Legolas had walked briefly through them, neither knew the best places to seek cover and left that up to the twins. Both of which had hunted extensively in these woods when no game could be found in Imladris.
The twins lead them to a closely packed grove of trees. Here the close pattern of leaves prevented much rain from falling onto the ground. Aragorn felt his heart sink as Elladan pointed up into the branches, and Elrohir started climbing. Legolas soon followed him, and then Elladan. Soon it was only Aragorn left at the bottom.
Legolas stopped three branches up as Elladan passed him, and looked back down at Aragorn. "Are you alright Aragorn?"
Aragorn sighed and glanced up at the nearest branch. It didn't look that far away, he should be able to make it.
Legolas watched Aragorn closely and started to move back down the branches as Aragorn bent his legs. The branch was quite high up, and Legolas didn't want his friend to fall to the ground. As Legolas reached the branch that Aragorn was aiming for, the ranger jumped. His hands easily found purchase on the round branch, and he started to hoist himself up.
Aragorn's eyes widened as he felt his hands slip. Although most of the water was stopped by the leaves, enough fell to make the branches slippery. Aragorn braced himself for hitting the ground when strong hands wrapped themselves around his wrist. He looked up to see Legolas looking back down at him, his muscles tensed with the effort it took to support the rangers weight. Legolas groaned slightly as he started to pull the ranger up. Memories of when he had carried Aragorn through Mirkwood came back to him, and he reflected that Aragorn had not gotten any lighter since the last time he had been forced to carry all his weight.
Legolas' eyes widened as a snapping creak reverberated under his feet, and he glanced back to see the wood splintering where it met the tree. By this time Elladan and Elrohir had noticed that they had headed up alone, and where making their way back down the branches. But with the rate at which the branch was splintering, they would not make it in time.
Working faster, the elf tensed his legs. As soon as the branch was within reach, Aragorn hooked his arm around it, and started to pull himself up. Legolas let go of Aragorn's wrist with one hand, and gripped the ranger around the arm. As Aragorn got his first foot onto the branch, it jerked and started to sag under their weight. Legolas quickly pulled Aragorn onto the branch, and pointed to the next branch up. Aragorn nodded with wide eyes as he felt the branch jerk again, and crack further under the strain. Using Legolas' intertwined hands as a boost, the ranger reached for the next branch. Aragorn groaned in frustration as he couldn't get high enough. Legolas noticed this, and lifted the ranger higher. As Aragorn reached for the branch, his hands were gripped tightly, and he looked to see Elladan kneeling on the branch. Elladan quickly pulled the ranger up, and then reached down to help his brother pull Legolas away from the branch.
Legolas bent his knees, and jumped just as it sagged for the last time under his weight and fell to the ground. Elrohir and Elladan wrapped their hands around his wrists, and helped pull the elf to safety. The branch they were standing on was thicker than the ones below, and would have no problem holding their combined weights.
"See what I mean brother. Estel gets in trouble, Legolas tries to save him, and we end up rescuing Legolas." said Elladan as he checked to make sure Estel was secure on the branch.
The human in question was trying to get his breath back, and glared at his brothers. "Come on," said Elladan, ignoring the look on his youngest brothers' face, "we should go higher." Legolas watched as the twins started heading back up the tree.
"Are you alright my friend?" Legolas asked, turning to look at Estel.
Aragorn nodded, and gripped Legolas forearm. "Thank you for rescuing me, my friend. Again." Both chuckled at this, and Legolas easily jumped up to the next branch. As soon as he was settled, he waited for Aragorn to join him, watching his friend closely in case he might need any more help.
It took a matter of minutes for the pair to make their way up the tree, and just as Legolas had thought, Estel had tripped a few times. The elven prince stayed by the humans side until they reached the place where Elladan and Elrohir had chosen to stop.
Aragorn sat with his legs dangling over the side of one of the thicker branches. With only a few minutes having passed since the ranger nearly fell from the tree, he was not fully happy with the fact that they had moved this high up.
"With the rate at which the rains have started, it would be best to wait here until they have stopped." Aragorn looked over to his eldest brother, and nodded. The ranger hated any delay, but to travel through this weather would only hinder their journey.
Legolas and Aragorn started talking softly as the twins easily made their way up the branches of the trees. Both wanted to find out which direction the storm was coming from, and how long it would take to clear.
"The storm arrives from the west," said Elladan and he stepped down from the next branch up. "A line of light can only just be seen on the horizon, so it will be many hours before this storm clears."
"I think it will last all night," added Elrohir as the elf walked to sit next to Legolas. "We should get some rest, and wait here until the sky lightens again."
"Elrohir and I will take the first watch, and Legolas will take the second. If there is any time left before the storm clears, Estel, you will take that watch." Said Elladan. Legolas and Aragorn nodded, and looked back out through the leaves.
Aragorn glanced back down at the ground as the elves sat down with their backs to the trunk. He had not been good at sleeping in trees as a child, and it was not a skill he had been improving at since then. Apparently, Elladan and Elrohir had forgotten this little fact, and were both sitting a couple of branches up.
Deciding that he was not going to embarrass himself by letting his brothers or Legolas know that he was having trouble, the ranger laid down on one of the thicker branches and closed his eyes. This proved to be in vain, for every time the human started to drift off to sleep his mind cruelly reminded him that he was several feet off the ground, and his eyes jerked open. Aragorn sighed and closed his eyes again. Hoping that it would not take long for him to fall to sleep.
Legolas glanced back over to the ranger as Aragorn tensed and shifted. The elf had been watching the human try and get to sleep for about 40 minutes now, and each time Legolas thought the human was going to drift off to sleep, something brought him back.
The elven prince looked over to the branch where Elladan and Elrohir were sitting, and saw that they had their back to them. Seeing as they had not noticed their brothers trouble, Legolas easily rose from his spot and gently tapped the ranger on the shoulder. Aragorn jerked and turned around to see Legolas leaning over him.
"Are you alright Legolas? Is it my watch already?"
Legolas shook his head, and laid his hand on the rangers arm. "Come on Aragorn, get up." Legolas whispered, and started to pull the ranger into a sitting position. Aragorn frowned as he was set on his feet, and looked around, trying to see what could be wrong.
"Are you sure that nothing is wrong Legolas?"
"Positive Strider, the only thing that is wrong is the fact that you keep jerking every other minute." Aragorn flushed slightly as Legolas sat back down with his back to the trunk. Aragorn frowned as the elf made him sit down, and pulled him back into his strong grip. "Now, I don't know about you my friend, but I don't think your brothers will want to listen to you tossing and jerking all night. I know I do not." Legolas muttered lightly as he pulled Aragorn's head back to rest on his shoulders. "Now settle down Aragorn, and let sleep come to you." Legolas whispered into the humans' ear, and wrapped his arms around the humans body as Aragorn's eyes closed slowly. Although Aragorn had not been held until he fell asleep for a long time, much less by his best friend, he had to admit that he was feeling tired, and soon darkness tugged at him; and the ranger drifted gently to sleep.
Legolas smiled fondly as Aragorn's breathing evened out, and he brushed a stray strand of hair out of Aragorn's eyes. Legolas had not observed a human sleeping this closely in a very long time, and it hit home just how innocent Aragorn looked to him at that moment. With a tiny shake of his head, the elven prince readjusted Aragorn slightly in his grip and let himself relax. His eyes shutting briefly, before opening and staring blankly at nothing.
TBC…
