Disclaimer: For full disclaimer, please see chapter 1.
A/N:
Okay, okay, so it was plus a day. I'm sorry, I really am. Life's real hectic at the moment, with family and everything. I'm sure you understand that, right? *readers give her fake, bright smiles and start looking for chainsaws, pointy and heavy objects, pet wargs/balrogs etc.* You guys are not the most understanding lot, huh? *gulps*
Alright, but the chapter IS here, so everybody calm down. And I agree with you: Geran's made a bigger mistake than he realises by shooting our dear elven prince with his own bow. Legolas is not really happy about that, no... But the poor little elf and his equally poor little ranger friend won't find out about Celylith's not-death for a few more chapters yet, I think it will be in chapter 25, so only two more to go and we can have a merry little reunion. *g*
And for all of you who wondered: This story will be 26 chapters long, or at least I try to make it 26 since 27 is not nearly as nice a number (don't tell me, I'm mad). Those of you who have read my previous story will know that that means that the next few chapters will be longer than usual since I try to put about twice the amount of things into them - which is probably not really something you disapprove of... *smiles*
There is a Sindarin curse in this which took me ages to come up with and construct, but Eva27 wanted to actually hear an Elvish curse (see, you do get rewards if you review! *g*), so here you go. I'm sorry if it doesn't sound very fearsome, but Sindarin isn't a very good language to curse in, even though Quenya is even worse.
Very well, here's the next chapter, whose main part is a long, long H/C scene, something which both Aragorn and Legolas deserve, really. *nods vigorously* They do. Other than that, we also have more of Celylith and his new best friend, Dofur the healer (*snickers*), and King Dáin and the others. *tries to huggle her dwarves but finds that they have run off in annoyance* Here we go again. *sighs* They always do that.
Enjoy and review, please!
Chapter 23
For a while, Legolas merely sat on the jumbled stones, darkness closing in on him on all sides. Night was falling, and in more sense than one; to him it seemed that all the light there was in the world had just disappeared, had been swallowed in an endless, bottomless chasm of despair.
'It cannot be, it cannot be, it cannot be…' he repeated endlessly, the words sounding hollow and false even to himself.
There was no sound, no sign that Aragorn was still alive. His friend had been crushed by the rocks, or died of his injuries, he was dead, he was gone…
A small, stubborn thought flickered through his mind. Who said Aragorn was dead? He hadn't seen his body, and as long as he hadn't made sure of it with his own eyes, the young ranger was still alive, for he had no proof indicating otherwise.
Legolas shook his head and slowly got to his feet, freeing himself of the despair that was threatening to pull him into its dark embrace once again. Aragorn was still alive, and to that thought he would hold until he had seen his body.
He briefly placed his good hand against the stone wall and took a deep breath.
"Hold on, mellonamin," he whispered softly, hoping with all his heart that Aragorn was there somewhere on the other side, waiting for him. "I am going to look for a way to get to you. I will be back, I promise."
The fair haired elf ran his hand through his hair and carefully climbed off the heap of stones. He leaned against a huge rock, trying to force his aching brain to think. He was at the Lonely Mountain, and the Lonely Mountain had belonged to the dwarves for ages. So that meant that the tunnel the men had pushed his friend into had probably been made by dwarves, especially if one considered the fact that its entrance had been barely higher than a grown man.
'What does that tell me?' he asked himself tiredly. The answer came promptly: That dwarves were smaller than men.
He barely held back an erratic giggle. The reasonable part of him was noting calmly that he was beginning to lose it now, but he ignored it and concentrated on the problem at hand. If this had been a dwarf mine once, or a tunnel, or even a cave, then there had to be other, smaller shaft to let in light and fresh air. Presumably even dwarves needed that.
Legolas smiled grimly, beginning to slowly make his way up the path, carefully climbing up the mountainside. If there was something like a ventilation shaft, he would find it, he vowed silently, and if it was too small to allow him access, he would keep looking until he found one he could use. There was no way he would leave his friend in a tunnel far away from the heavens; the least he could do was try and get out his body to bring it to Rivendell, to his family. That thought brought a new wave of pain and grief in its wake, but he refused to let if pull him down again. He would find Aragorn, even if that was the last thing he ever did.
The search was slow, exhausting and rather painful, because every step he took jarred his arm and shoulder, the pain of which causing him to wince and jerk slightly, which in turn aggravated his back, his ribs, his head…
Just when he was sure that he felt like throwing himself onto the ground in a childish fit of rage if he didn't find something soon, he saw something to his right, a dark opening in the rock face, partly concealed by some shrubbery. It wasn't too big, perhaps three feet high or a little more, but it was enough for him to crawl through – or at least he hoped so. Under normal circumstances it would have been more than enough, but he had accepted long ago that these weren't normal circumstances.
As quickly as he could he made his way over to the opening and kneeled down in front of it, peering inside with keen eyes. It was a dark, smooth-floored tunnel that led on into the darkness, disappearing round a rough stone corner after a few yards and therefore preventing him from surveying the rest of it.
Legolas sat back on his haunches, wrinkling his brow. He didn't want to go in there, he didn't even know if it would lead him to his friend! It was dark, far too dark for his liking, and it was so narrow – he didn't even want to think what his back would say to that…
The elven prince forcefully pushed down these dark feelings and fears and took a deep breath. Of course he would go in there, there was the chance that this tunnel might lead him to his human friend, and that alone was reason enough. He slowly began to crawl forward, grinning grimly when he imagined what he must look like, cut, bruised, bloodied and with one arm bound tightly to his chest, the broken stub of the arrow still protruding from his shoulder.
While he was crawling through the narrow space and tried to convince himself that the walls were not closing in on him, he amused himself with imagining what his father would say if he could see him now.
After giving the matter considerable thought, he decided that he would start with giving him his special Wait-till-we-are-alone-my-son-look. Then he would glare at him all the time it took Hithrawyn to tend his wounds, and after that he would lecture him for a few days about his duties and responsibilities and behaviour befitting his status. And if he had made it through that without slipping into a catatonic state, his father and king would put him in charge of a guard that coincidently consisted of extremely old, experienced captains that would watch him like a dragon its hoard, and that equally coincidently was assigned to a remote, absolutely safe part of their realm.
Legolas smiled slightly, moving forward as swiftly as he could and trying to ignore the pain that was spiking yet again. Right now he would be very happy about a chance to endure his father's wrath; he would even be happy if he threw him into the dungeons as he had so often threatened if it meant that he would first be home, in his bed, looking at his father's stern face that yet didn't hide the concern and fear for his well-being.
The thought of his home cheered him up a little, and with renewed resolve he doggedly crawled on. The tunnel, he reasoned, had probably not been an air vent but a second exit in case of emergencies when this mine had been still in use, in case that a part of the mine collapsed or something similar. The elf shook his head unwillingly, noting that the light a few yards in front of him changed slightly. He didn't know much about mining, and even now he didn't regret that in the slightest. Elves were craftsmen and metal smiths, yes, but they didn't delve into the earth in search for metals, gems and stone themselves, and he had no intention whatsoever to ever learn more about these things.
When he had covered a few more metres, he sensed a drop just in front of him and stopped in mid-motion. From his position about three feet above the ground he could see the dim blackness of the main tunnel, and he slowly climbed down from where his tunnel branched off the main one to stand on the surprisingly smooth floor of the tunnel, a mixed feeling of triumph and dread sweeping through him.
Legolas just looked about him, trying to decide whether he should go right or left, when his keen senses detected something that made him freeze in his tracks: A strange, strong smell that filled the air, a wild smell he automatically associated with danger. It took the elf about a second to identify it, and when he did it caused his feelings of dread to multiply tenfold.
"Bear," Legolas muttered horrified, reaching automatically for his daggers and cursing when his hand met only air.
The smell was stronger to the right, up the path that led deeper into the mountain, and Legolas finally understood what Geran had meant when he had said that Aragorn would die no matter what. Elbereth, there was a bear in here with its nest deep up into the mountain to his right, and these men had put his friend in here knowing full well that it would probably be roused from its sleep by the noise of falling stones…
"Nan naith Angband!" Legolas swore angrily and turned to the left, hurrying down the corridor into the direction of the cave entrance. Valar, he ranted inwardly, nearly overcome with fear for his friend, what was wrong with this man, with Geran? How insane and sick had one to be to put someone else into a cave with a bear?
Before he could find an answer to that rather rhetorical question, he entered a large room, roughly circular in shape. It was still far darker than anything he would call comfortable, but his elven eyes allowed him to see the heap of stone that had been the cave entrance a few hours ago. The ground wasn't as smooth as the tunnels', and Legolas mused inwardly that it had probably a natural cave once that had been expanded by the dwarves in their search for precious metals and stones.
While he was still pondering this, his eyes that had been frantically wandering over the stone covered ground came to rest on what looked on first glance like yet another large, furry rock. His eyes were already moving on when he realised that there was something wrong with that statement, and it took him another ten seconds to understand what it was: Rocks were not furry, not even rocks in a dwarven mine.
Only a second later the fair haired elf rushed forward, coming to a stop a few feet from the furry rock that turned out to be a rather big, rather dead brown bear. Legolas stared at the animal, his tired brain trying to work out what had killed it, when his gaze fell on a dark, blood covered piece of wood that protruded from the beast's bulky body. He took another step forward, silver-blue eyes narrowing slightly. Until the bear had stabbed itself in the back, there was only one possible explanation, and that was…
His eyes wandered over the body of the bear, and he felt how a dark, icy hand reached into his chest and crushed his heart in a steely grasp when he saw a pale, bloody hand that was almost entirely covered by the bear's large body.
"Aragorn!" he gasped, falling to his knees next to the bear with a sharp, dull thud that made his body scream in pain and started to push the animal aside.
It took him quite some time to move the heavy, bulky body of the bear even a few inches, but the minute movement encouraged him and gave him new strength, and so he finally managed the drag the dead animal to the side, dreading what he would see.
Legolas took a deep, hissing breath when Aragorn's prone body was revealed and winced openly when that movement send a sharp, stabbing pain through his ribcage. His human friend was … a mess, Legolas admitted stunned and reached out with his hand, but let it hover a few inches above his bloody chest, suddenly too afraid to touch him. He didn't want to find out that he was dead, didn't want to receive proof that he had been taken from him as well, but after what seemed an eternity, he slowly reached out and placed his hand lightly on his friend's throat.
For a second, he could feel nothing, but he refused to give up and pressed his hand harder against Aragorn's neck, pleading with Ilúvatar and each and every Vala to spare the young ranger's life. He felt almost faint with relief when his shaking fingers found a heartbeat after a moment, and a rather strong one at that. Legolas pressed his hand against the side of the human's bruised face and gave a short, fervent prayer of thanks, knowing full well that he was grinning from ear to ear and probably looking like a lunatic.
The fair haired prince resisted the urge to sing with joy and moved closer to the ranger, trying to assess his injuries. The man seemed to have trouble drawing breath, and his breathing was so soft and yet laboured that the elf could hardly hear it. Now that the bear was removed, it appeared to become easier for him, but Legolas still placed his hand lightly on the man's chest, waiting for a couple of minutes until he was sure that his friend wouldn't suddenly stop breathing altogether.
He began to move his hand down the human's ribcage, feeling for broken bones and trying to visually ascertain any new injuries, but shook his head in frustration after a few seconds. There was simply too much blood to find out what new wounds Aragorn had sustained, but Legolas hoped that it was the bear's, or at least part of it. The entire body of the young man seemed to be drenched in the rust coloured liquid, but Legolas knew that a human couldn't have lost so much blood and lived, so parts of it had to belong to the bear.
That was a rather sound reasoning, but in his heart the elven prince wasn't very convinced, his mind spinning with worry and fear. He tried to make out the man's features in the near darkness of the cave, and had to forcefully calm himself when he saw his tightly closed eyes.
He would never get used to it, Legolas decided with a small shiver; every time he saw his human friend asleep he had to remind himself that it was not a bad sign that he was sleeping with his eyes closed. In the back of his head he had always known that the younger races slept with closed eyes, but when he had first met Aragorn, he had spent the first few nights shaking the ranger awake when he had seen his closed eyelids. It had been an instinctive reaction on Legolas' part to make sure that the man was alright, but for the three or four days it had taken the elf to get used to a companion who slept with his eyes closed and was not grievously injured or exhausted Aragorn had been a very grumpy, sleepy ranger indeed.
'It doesn't mean anything,' he told himself firmly, forcing himself to push down the overwhelming worry he felt, 'He will be fine, he will be just fine…'
He quickly pondered how he could get Aragorn out of this cave, and finally he resented himself to the fact that he couldn't carry the man through the tunnels in the condition he was in at the moment. Bringing him out of here now was not that good an idea anyway, he decided as an afterthought, night had fallen some time ago and it would be too cold for the ranger, especially considering his injuries.
Legolas slowly stood to his feet, amazed how much better he already felt, knowing that his friend was alive. He looked about him, spying some more splintered wood from the struts that had supported the entrance of the tunnel, and there were some long, dead branches lying on the ground as well, either blown in by strong winds or dragged in by the bear for nesting material.
He carefully moved around the room, collecting all the wood he could get and piling it up some distance away from Aragorn and the body of the bear. He returned to his friend's side and kneeled down again, quickly searching the man's clothes. Even though he was wearing a normal coat and not his leather overcoat – something for which Legolas was rather thankful now, because Aragorn would complain for ages if he had ruined it as he had ruined this coat – there were a lot of pockets on his shirt and breeches, and if he was lucky, his friend had kept some more or less useful things in one of them for once…
"There we are," the elven prince mumbled softly and pulled out a two small flints from one pocket, vowing inwardly never again to tease the young ranger about his habit of keeping at least two sets of everything in his kit. While it could be very funny to see what or how many useless things the young man stowed in his countless pockets, he was very thankful for it now.
The fair haired elf moved over to the wood, musing that Adruran's men had probably been too lazy to thoroughly search all of Aragorn's pockets – or they had given up after the first fifty. Whichever had been the case, he was not complaining, Legolas decided as he stoked the small flame he had kindled to a merrily burning fire.
Sighing softly and suppressing a tired groan of pain as his body protested against the constant movements, he walked back to Aragorn and carefully bent down, using all his remaining strength to lift the unconscious human. The few feet over to the fire proved to be almost too much for him, and he all but collapsed next to the dancing flames.
The elven prince sat back tiredly, gasping for breath. Either Aragorn had got a few stones heavier since he had last lifted him – which he doubted, since that had been merely ten days ago – or he himself had grown weaker than he had been in a few hundred years. Legolas shook his head, enjoying the proximity to the flames. While he hadn't exactly felt cold, even though he had not even had his cloak to warm him, it was very nice to sit next to the fire and let its warmth wash over him.
The light the fire provided also helped him to examine his human friend, and Legolas winced openly when he pulled the slashed, bloodstained shirt to the side that covered Aragorn's torso. Apart from the cuts Hanar had placed there and the blossoming bruises, there were also the reopened burns, contrasting sharply against the rest of the skin in their angrily red colour. There were no signs of infection though, probably because of the salt. The elf clenched his teeth slightly, once again grinning inwardly at the attractive images that flittered through his mind, images of a dead or painfully dying Hanar. They were very attractive indeed, and he resolved to put some of them into action. Or all of them, that would be interesting…
The frown on the elf's face deepened when he saw the new slashes that the bear had torn, and Legolas realised that his friend had paid a heavy price for killing the animal. There were slashes all over his chest and arms, and probably on his back as well, and he could even see some on his face. The prince sighed. He didn't even have water to clean the wounds, not to mention athelas or any other healing herbs that Aragorn – and, if he was perfectly honest with himself, he too – needed.
The cuts had stopped bleeding, and only a few had reopened when he had moved the man, and so Legolas decided to try and rouse him. He had to see himself that Aragorn was alright, one could simply never tell with humans. He might merely be sleeping, but then again, he might not, and with the amount of blood that could be seen all over his friend's body, Legolas was not prepared to take the risk.
Clutching his aching arm to his chest once more, the elven prince tried to coax the young ranger back to consciousness.
Aragorn groaned inwardly when he heard it again, a sound that seemed to become louder by the second.
Something was disturbing his rest and pulling him back to awareness, a fact that greatly annoyed him. He wasn't quite sure why he was certain that he definitely did not want to return to consciousness, but he was certain, and if he had learned one thing in the past few years, it was that he could rely on such feelings. They were usually right, and he had yet to experience a situation he had enjoyed waking up to when he had felt like this, namely as if he had tried to play catch with a pack of wargs.
After a while his memories returned to him, and he winced inwardly when he remembered the last thing he had seen before he had lost consciousness: The dark ceiling and the dark walls of this cave or mine or whatever it was that seemed to come closer and closer, threatening to suffocate him. The young ranger shuddered. No, he did not want to wake up to that!
Besides, there was still the matter of the bear, an annoyingly calm part of his mind piped up, what if there was more than one? What if this had been a she-bear and if there were cubs somewhere in this cave? He knew that young bears often stayed with their mothers for a long time, sometimes until they were several years old, so there might be other bears in here.
Aragorn gave an inward shrug. If there were more bears here, there was nothing he could do about it; in the state he was in at the moment he doubted he would be able to defend himself against even a cub. The noise grew louder again, and the young ranger began to wonder what it could be. Perhaps more bears that were coming closer?
'Well,' a sarcastic voice inside his head noted, 'If that is so, then they speak remarkably good Elvish.'
Aragorn raised a mental eyebrow at that, but the voice was right: There was someone or something talking to him in the grey tongue, and that someone sounded more annoyed and frightened the longer he talked.
"Estel … ú-garo sen …"
'Do?' he asked himself fuzzily, beginning to pay attention to that voice, 'Do what? I'm not doing anything!"
The voice continued, sounding more distressed by the second, but Aragorn needed quite a long time to understand more of what was being spoken.
"Maetho vôr hen, Aragorn …Echuio! Si nâ farn!"
The young man wanted to reply that that was exactly what he was trying to do and that he agreed wholeheartedly, but said darkness was still stubbornly refusing to let go of him, like a predator reluctant to part with its prey.
"Estel," the voice started pleading again, "A Belain, boe telich dan enni, adan benidhren…"
The fear in the voice was enough for Aragorn to make him double his efforts to return to consciousness, even though he strongly suspected that he would regret it once he had woken up properly, and he decided that whoever was calling him, it were probably not bears. After a while he finally managed to open his eyes, blinking tiredly at the ceiling … or at least the ceiling should be there, only that it wasn't. He looked at something that looked like a bruised, bloody face that grinned so widely that the dark haired ranger expected it to split in two any second now.
"Estel!" the face exclaimed, the grin impossibly even widening. "Thank the Valar!"
Aragorn simply blinked at the face above him, trying to figure out who or what it was, when the missing piece of information found its place in his mind.
"Legolas!" he croaked, shooting into a sitting position. "You came back! Elbereth, are you alright!?"
A second later his whole body exploded in pain, causing him to double over, both of his arms wrapped around his middle in an attempt to ease the pain that every breath he took brought, but Aragorn ignored it, staring with wide eyes at the elf who simply pressed him back down.
"Hush, Aragorn," the fair haired prince retorted, still grinning widely in relief, "Of course I came back, do you honestly think I would risk returning to your father admitting that I had left you in a cave of all places? Calm yourself, you need to rest; you have lost far too much blood."
A part of the ranger's mind nodded vigorously at that, urging him to listen to his friend's advice, but Aragorn was too confused and worried for the elf to pay it any heed.
"No," he shook his head and struggled upright again, ignoring the pain that shot through every fibre of his being and noting with concern that it was far too easy to shake Legolas' hand off, "Are you alright? What did Geran want with you? Are you injured, did they hurt you?"
Legolas shook his head unwillingly when he saw the stubborn glint in the ranger's eyes, noting with detached interest that the dark cave started to spin softly at that movement. Mentally debating if that was normal, he turned to the young human again who had turned several shades paler and was beginning to sway slightly back and forth.
"No, Estel," he tried to assure the man and smiled at him, "They didn't hurt me." A small, cynical voice in his head began to roar with laughter at that, but Legolas ignored it. He was getting quite good at that, he decided. "They think we are both dead, so they should leave us alone for a while." He saw his friend open his mouth to ask further questions, and Legolas decided that the young ranger had to be in a rather bad shape if he hadn't noticed his arm that he had bound clumsily to his chest. Trying to divert Aragorn's attention, he added, "Tell me again how you do it."
Aragorn frowned in confusion, looking about him and taking in the bear to the side and the crackling fire next to him.
"Do what?" he asked, his hand sneaking up to his face to finger the stinging cuts there.
Legolas grinned wryly, his cut lip finally splitting open again. He awkwardly reached for the strips of cloth that had once been his cloak, the only things he could use to help his friend.
"This," he gestured at their surroundings, pressing the man back down once more, and, this time, Aragorn didn't resist. "How do you do it? How do you get us into these situations?"
The young ranger closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head.
"Elentári," he murmured, pain beginning to sneak into his voice, "I don't know, I truly don't. I am beginning to suspect that we are cursed."
"You might be correct there," Legolas nodded, carefully helping his friend to remove his shirt. "Where are you hurt, Estel? You have to tell me or I can't help you."
Estel opened his eyes and looked the elf over, for the first time noticing the fact that Legolas' cloak was gone and his arm and shoulder bandaged and tied to his chest. He ignored the elf's question and gave him a dark, questioning look.
"The question should rather be, mellonamin," he began seriously, "where you are hurt? What happened, and don't tell me 'Nothing' or I will hurt you."
Legolas blinked tiredly, much too exhausted and in too much pain to come up with a witty reply. His ribs ached, his shoulder throbbed and his arm was awash in pain where the bone had penetrated the skin. And there was his back as well, of course…
"I jumped off a cliff," he stated gruffly as he carefully began to clean the cuts and tears on his human friend's body. He had only managed to find some puddles with relatively clean water near the blocked entrance where snow had melted, but that was little more than enough to wet the ragged piece of cloth.
Aragorn stared at the elf as if he had just announced that he had decided to adopt a pair of orcs.
"You did what? Are you mad? Why? And when? Let me have a look at you, now!"
Legolas shook his head carefully, not intending to cause it to swim even more.
"If you lie down, I will tell you, human. But only if you lie still and let me tend you first; you are a far better healer than me and I need you as strong and pain-free as possible."
Aragorn nodded reluctantly, secretly rather frightened by the elf's statement. If Legolas admitted to need help for anything, it was usually not a good sign and meant that he was in a lot of pain or generally in a rather bad shape. Studying his friend's battered body with the eyes of a hawk while the elf told his story, he tried to hold as still as possible while the elf cleaned and bound the deep cuts he owed to the bear and Hanar's dagger, only groaning in pain when his friend touched his ribs.
"Are they broken?" Legolas asked concern when the ranger moaned again, drawing back his hand slightly.
"No," Aragorn shook his head through clenched teeth, "I don't think so. Only very badly bruised, and a few might be cracked, I think." He grimaced. "That bear was rather heavy."
The elf nodded solemnly and continued his ministrations, carefully bandaging the reopened burns. He turned his attention to his friend's face where the bear's claws had left two deep slashes that ran parallel from cheekbone to chin.
"Not good," he mumbled under his breath as he examined them, but the ranger's sharp ears caught the muttered words and he turned his head slightly in his elven friend's grasp to look him in the eye.
"What is 'not good', elf?" he asked suspiciously.
"Nothing," Legolas replied a little too quickly, but relented with a sigh when Aragorn raised an eyebrow and gave him the look. "I think these slashes are infected, as are those the bear left on your chest and back. We need athelas or some other herbs to stem the infection."
"Well, please correct me if I'm wrong," the other commented dryly, "But we don't have either or the chance to get some in the near future, right?"
"Right," the elven prince nodded and grabbed the human's chin firmly once more, "That is the reason why I am going to clean them as best as I can and you will hold still, understood?"
Aragorn merely grumbled something under his breath that sounded rather like an insult, but let the elf tip his head to the side once more.
"So they think you're dead," he summed up quietly while Legolas was washing the cuts on his face, "Why did they just leave you there? They couldn't be certain that you were really dead, could they?"
Legolas shifted slightly where he was sitting next to the man, wiping away the last blood that had caked Aragorn's dark hair to the side of his head all around the old cut he had sustained when Adruran's men had captured him in Lake-town. Valar, it felt as if that had been years and years ago.
"Well," he started slowly, inspecting his friend for any more wounds. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stay upright for much longer, but he thought he had tended to most of the man's injuries. The cuts and tears all over his upper body and face had been cleaned as best as possible, and the more serious ones bound, as had the angry red burns. He could do nothing for the massive bruising on his friend's torso, or for his ribs.
Legolas eyed his human friend suspiciously. He was rather sure that infection had already set in, and in his eyes the man was looking a bit too bright-eyed and flushed, even though he seemed to shiver with cold as well, even despite his proximity to the fire. The elven prince sighed inwardly. There was nothing he could do to prevent it anyway, but the thought of watching this infection spread in his friend's already weakened body made his head reel with helplessness and anger.
"Well what, elf?" Aragorn asked, squirming slightly when the elf reached out and placed an ice-cold hand on his forehead. How had Legolas' hands become so cold?
"Well," Legolas repeated, concentrating hard on staying upright now, "They didn't really just leave me there." He giggled irrationally. Aragorn did a double-take, carefully grabbed the hand that still lay on his forehead and moved it away, seizing this chance to inconspicuously feel his friend's pulse. Much too fast and weak, he decided with a frown of concern. He looked at Legolas again who had his eyes closed tightly now. Had Legolas Thranduilion, Prince of Mirkwood, proud and fearsome elven warrior, just giggled?
Legolas smiled broadly, finding the entire thing impossibly amusing now.
"They shot me," he told Aragorn with a disapproving sigh. "With one of my own arrows, can you believe that?"
That statement, in connection with the elf's bright eyes and his irrational tone of voice, served to double Aragorn's worry tenfold, and he quickly sat up, ignoring the pain that shot through him at that abrupt motion.
"Shot you??" he exclaimed, unbelievingly. "Alright," he told his friend, unconsciously slipping into what Legolas had called his Mighty-healer-tone of voice, the one that sounded as if he was talking to mentally retarded trolls – or so the elven prince claimed. "Lie down and let me have a look at you, and no arguing."
The fair haired elf was frighteningly compliant when Aragorn gently helped him lie down on his right side, something that made him feel even more anxious. The ranger carefully unfastened the simple bandage that covered the wound and bound his arm to his chest, and sucked in a deep breath when he saw the wooden shaft protrude from the shoulder. He reached out carefully and ran his fingers over the shoulder blade, feeling for the arrowhead and, not surprisingly, finding none. Legolas would have removed the arrow had there been any way for him to do so, he reasoned, resolutely pushing back his hatred for the men who had done this. Such feelings had no place in your heart or mind when you were attempting to heal someone.
Letting one hand linger reassuringly on his friend's good shoulder, he shifted slightly to have a look at his back, and promptly closed his eyes to regain his composure when he surveyed the damage done by Geran's "toy" that was lit by the eerily flickering light of the fire. Seldom had he seen such deep lashes on anyone's back, and he had some first-hand experience in these matters after all. He was hard-pressed to spy a patch of undamaged skin between the elf's neck and waist; every square inch seemed to be ripped open, sometimes so deeply that one could see or nearly see the white bone of a rib, especially at the elf's sides. The few intact bits of skin were bruised a deep purple colour, as was the ribcage. Had Legolas been of any other race than the elven, he would definitely not have survived this.
Aragorn took a deep breath and lightly ran his fingers over his friend's ribs, wincing in sympathy when the elf moaned softly in pain.
"You have at least four broken ribs, my friend," he told him softly, instantly berating himself for that comment. What a stupid thing had that been to say?
"Yes," Legolas nodded sleepily, his former good humour replaced by a bone-deep, overpowering sense of exhaustion and pain. "Yes, I had gathered as much."
He hissed in pain when Aragorn took up his left arm and began to unwrap the bandage.
"What happened here?" the young man asked, trying to be as gentle as possible.
"I had a rather abrupt encounter with a stone covered cliff base," the elf answered softly, beginning to grin again. A part of him knew that the pain was finally getting the best of him, but he didn't care. Grinning like a maniac was a lot better than to concentrate on the agony in his body anyway. "It had the better arguments and wasn't exactly inclined to a reasonable discussion."
The ranger blinked slowly, deciding not to question his friend's statement – or his sanity, while he was at it. When the piece of cloth came off, he swallowed quickly, wishing for nothing more than for one of his father's sleeping draughts he could give his elven friend – or better yet, for his father himself, who would probably know what to do. Elrond always did.
'Elbereth Gilthoniel,' he sighed inwardly as he took a closer look at the bone that protruded from the pale skin of Legolas' left forearm. This looked bad, very bad, and he needn't be told what the loss or partial loss of one of his arms would mean to his friend.
"Great Manwë, how did you do that?" he asked the elf that had his eyes closed tightly to deal with the pain that even his friend's light touch brought. He continued, reproach in his voice. "You must have bent it backwards at an angle of at least forty-five degrees to produce this impressive result!"
Legolas didn't answer, too concentrated on thinking of something, of anything else that would help him to take his thoughts off the pain in his body. Here it came, he thought tiredly, Aragorn's What-were-you-thinking-stubborn-elf-speech. Sometimes it became apparent that he spent far too much time with Glorfindel and his father.
True enough, Aragorn glowered at the prince while he lightly ran his fingers over the rest of Legolas' arm, trying to determine if anything else had been broken.
"What were you thinking?" he asked the elf, causing the other to snicker silently. "You really jumped off that cliff? See what happened, stubborn elf! How many times do we have to discuss that…"
"This is hardly a discussion," Legolas grumbled, already on his way into unconsciousness. There was only so much a body could take, elven or not, and his limits had been reached some time ago. "This is … a lecture."
"…that you may be immortal, but that you are not indestructible? You could easily have snapped your neck instead, Legolas!"
Aragorn continued for some time, examining the rest of his friend's body, and Legolas found that the man's scolding voice was strangely comforting. He sounded very much like one of their fathers now, he decided with a small smile, allowing himself to drift off slightly; he sounded just like them when they dragged themselves back to their respective homes half-dead once more…
"…alright? Legolas? Legolas, are you listening to me?"
The young man's voice ripped through the peace the prince had allowed to envelop him, and he opened his eyes he hadn't even realised he had closed.
"Of course I am listening to you," the fair haired elf mumbled, obviously having no idea what the other was talking about.
Aragorn sighed in mock exasperation as he steeled himself for what was to come. He pushed all his fear, concern and anxiety to the back of his mind and stated in a calm, level voice,
"I will have to set your arm." He looked at his friend, bright eyes huge and dark in his face. "It will hurt, Legolas. A lot. It is a very bad break, I will not lie to you, but if I do it now and lose no more time, it will most likely heal."
The elf only nodded, closing his eyes once more. He was already in so much pain that he thought it highly unlikely to become much worse.
"Do as you must. I trust you, Estel, just as I have trusted your father so many times."
Estel smiled at him, but a tiny, quickly disguised shadow of fear flickered across his face, almost lost in the dancing, wild shadows the flames cast on his features. Ilúvatar, he wasn't his father, and he hadn't half the skill the wise elf did in the healing arts. What if he did it wrong, what if Legolas' arm didn't knit properly because of him? He would never be able to look him in the eye again, never, knowing that he had taken from him the ability to exercise the one great skill the One had gifted him with…
He shook his head quickly and banished these thoughts from his mind, placing one of his hands on the elf's elbow and one on his wrist.
"Ready?"
Legolas opened one eye and gave him a wry, dark look, looking remarkably like his father at this moment.
"Just do it, human. It can hardly hurt any worse than it does now."
Aragorn only gave him a small, sad smile and braced his body against his friend's side, prepared to stop him from hurting himself further or interrupting him at a crucial point. Without any further ado he tightened his hold on the elf's arm and began to pull and stretch it, trying to force the bone back under the skin.
All of Legolas' resolve not to scream or to show how much it hurt dissolved like snow in the sun when hot, burning agony stabbed through his arm. Elbereth, Aragorn wasn't trying to set the bone, he was trying to wrench it out completely!
He instinctively tried to escape the pain, not thinking anymore, not caring if he would never be able to use the arm again, but Aragorn's hands held him down, still stretching the bone. Legolas could actually feel the splintered pieces of the bone slide back beneath the skin, and that was the moment when his brain decided that this was definitely enough now.
The darkness he had been fighting off for the past few hours grew until it swallowed him whole, and the last thing he perceived before he lost himself in it was a strange, pain-filled scream that echoed through the cavern, closely followed by the stunned realisation that it must have been his.
In the early hours of the night Dáin entered the small cave the elf was residing in at the moment, and when his eyes fixed on the scene that greeted him, he felt very glad indeed that he was already wearing his armour. Behind him he could almost see the amused grins his two companions, Ori and Nori, hid as soon as they had spread on their faces.
The dwarven king suppressed a tired sigh. He hadn't expected reasonable behaviour from an elf, but he had thought that Dofur had a bit more sense. Right now, however, it appeared that both, the elf and his master healer, had completely lost their minds, at least judging by the sight in front of him.
The elf was standing in front of his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of breeches, the enormous bandage that wound round his torso and the darkest expression Dáin had ever seen on anyone's face, elf or not. "Standing", the dwarven king corrected himself thoughtfully, was stretching it a bit though, for he was swaying slightly back and forth, reminding him of the flickering flame of a lantern deep under the mountain.
The tall being was obviously trying to get to the rest of his things that, including his weapons, had been piled up on a small table some feet away from the bed, but there was a small but obviously fiercely determined obstacle in his way: Dofur, who glared at his much taller patient so grimly that it would even have impressed a dragon.
Obviously it did not impress the elf, Dáin admitted tiredly.
The silver haired being's already dark look darkened even further, and he gripped a bedpost with his right hand, trembling slightly.
"I do not see your point, Master Dwarf," he announced in a voice that could only be described as icy. "I am standing, am I not?"
Dofur folded his arms across his chest and gave a low, annoyed growl.
"Standing does not equal fit to ride, Master Elf," he countered, showing no sign that he intended to back down in face of the elf's wrath. "Look at yourself! You are not strong enough to stand unaided!"
"That does not matter," Celylith stated haughtily, taking a careful step forwards. "Standing was not part of our agreement. To declare me fit to stay on a horse, and please note 'stay on a horse', not 'ride a horse', will suffice completely."
"And why," the healer asked, eyes glinting dangerously, "do you think that I will do that?"
Celylith gave the being that stood hardly taller than his waist a bright, charming smile.
"Because I will leave this cave anyway, whether you give me the permission or not, Master Dofur."
He took a quick, whereas slightly wobbly step forward, narrowly avoided falling flat on his face and managed to get close enough to the pile to grab his shirt, which had been cleaned but not mended so that there still was a ragged hole in the back where the arrow had hit him.
The dwarven healer sidestepped quickly, putting himself between the rest of the elf's kit and the elf himself.
"We will see about that, Lord Celylith. You are my patient and therefore my responsibility at the moment, and I will not allow you to get yourself killed on a fool's errand!"
The silver haired elf who had just slowly and painstakingly pulled his shirt over his head seemed to freeze for a few moments, and slowly turned around to look the small dwarf in the eye. He sat down heavily onto the bed, raw emotion flickering over his face. Dáin who had just wanted to make his presence known to the two of them closed his mouth again, suddenly wanting to know what the elf would say.
Celylith looked solemnly at the smaller being, all haughtiness and bravado stripped away.
"It is not a fool's errand, Master Dwarf," he began slowly, eyes dark and close to despair. "It mustn't be. They are my friends, both of them, and Legolas is my prince." He raised his head and looked Dofur straight in the eye. "I do not expect you to understand me or my kind, but I know that you understand this. Prince Legolas is my liege's son, my responsibility as long as he travels in my company, as much as he sometimes likes to ignore that. I swore King Thranduil that I would protect him and the ranger, and I have failed! I could not protect him, I was not there when he needed me. I have broken my oath. And no-one, and I mean no-one, not you, your healers or your king, will stop me from coming to his aid. And," he stopped shortly and lowered his eyes again, "and if I have truly failed and he and Strider are dead, then I will go and bring their bodies back to Mirkwood so their families can mourn them according to our customs."
He fell silent and ran a slightly shaking hand through his silver hair.
"And I have some things to discuss with the men who did this," he added after a moment. "I will not let them get away with this just like that; they will pay for whatever they have done to the ranger and my prince."
He looked up and gave the dwarf another long look.
"Surely you do understand that."
Dofur studied the elven warrior in front of him for a long while, before he finally gave a sharp jerk of his head.
"Alright, Master Elf," he nodded. "Alright. I hereby declare you fit to stay on a horse, but please note that I said 'stay on a horse', not 'accompany our warriors'. I understand your motives and your need for revenge, but you are not strong enough to fight yet."
Celylith looked up somewhat surprised and got to his feet, slowly making his way over to the small pile on the table.
"Elves heal quickly, Master Dofur. You would be surprised."
"I very much doubt that, elf," Dofur grumbled under his breath, and Dáin decided to intervene before the two of them could start insulting each other again.
"Greetings, Lord Celylith, Dofur," he announced loudly and took a step forward, followed by Nori and Ori.
Dofur gave a small bow while the elf nodded his head, not stopping to awkwardly clothe and rearm himself.
"Lord Dáin," Celylith said, deciding against securing his quiver on his back which would probably cause him to faint again - and he had done enough of that in his opinion, especially in front of dwarves. He slowly reached for his weaponbelt and frowned when his eyes wandered it. His sword was still there, as were his two smaller knives, but his long hunting knife was gone. The elf frowned in confusion, wincing with the pain that minute movement brought, but stopped himself from asking the dwarf king just in time when he realised that the dwarf might misunderstand his question and take it as an accusation.
Dáin nodded at the elf.
"You might be interested to hear that our scouts have returned. They have found the humans' camp."
Celylith's head shot up, a quickly masked grimace flittering about his scratched and bruised face as pain shot through his skull at that.
"They have?"
"They have," Ori confirmed at the nod of his king. "My men found their encampment a few hours ago. It appears that you and Strider were right: There were approximately twelve men that were guarded in a secluded area of the camp – that were probably the Lake-men you talked about. The ones who took your companions have apparently captured them as well. They also saw a trail leading to the foothills of the mountain, probably to the treasure. They would have investigated but there were guards at the entrance to the tunnel."
Celylith's eyes were glued to the dwarf's face, not caring in the least if the dwarves had found the Lake-men, treasure or an orc with the head of a goat.
"What about…"
Ori quickly shook his head.
"There was no sign of the prince or Estel, I am sorry," he admitted gruffly. "But then again, they didn't see their bodies either."
Celylith wasn't sure if he should glare at the smaller being or feel relieved by his words.
"I see."
Dáin looked at him, a frown creasing his face.
"They might very well be alive, Master Elf," he said, fervently wishing it to be so. He had no desire to see the Elvenking ever again, something that would not be preventible if his son got killed in his, Dáin's, realm. Besides, Thranduil would be in an even worse mood than the last time he had seen him, and that was something that was to be avoided at all cost.
Celylith stood slowly to his feet, swaying only slightly.
"They are alive, Lord Dáin, and to that thought I will hold until I am proven otherwise. Are your men ready to depart?"
The dwarven king nodded, one of his hands tightening on the handle of his double-edged battle axe.
"They stand at the ready at the Front Gates; we can be gone in half an hour. It should take us about three to four hours to reach the spot where we can leave the ponies, and another twenty minutes to reach the camp itself. We should get there at sunrise." He looked from the elf to his master healer, a small smile hidden behind his long bushy beard. "Have you come to an agreement?"
Celylith looked at Dofur and then at Dáin, inclining his head slightly.
"I believe we have, your Majesty. I am ready to leave when you are."
Dáin raised his chin and gave the elf a dark look, raising an eyebrow so that it disappeared under the rim of his beautifully decorated helmet.
"Dwarves are always ready, Lord Celylith. Shall we?"
The elf raised a dark silver eyebrow in return, obviously biting back a scathing reply, and nodded, brushing past the dwarves and out of the cave, his face set in a mask of concentration in his attempt not to stumble or collapse completely.
Dáin gave a small nod, but the older dwarf had already bustled off to supervise the packing of the bags which the younger healers who would accompany the warriors would take with them. He exited the small room, followed by his advisors, inwardly praying that they would get there in time and find Strider and Prince Legolas alive, and be it only so that he got rid of these infuriating elves as soon as possible.
Legolas awoke slowly, much to his discontent. He didn't want to leave the wonderful, numbing darkness behind, knowing full well that the pain he could already feel in his body would get much worse once he was fully awake. But his body didn't obey the commands his brain sent it – once again, the elf thought grumpily. He really had to do something about that, he mused, giving up the fight to stay asleep as he quickly began to near consciousness, it was not tolerable for an elven warrior to have his body ignore his mind.
While he was still pondering this, he felt how a hand was pressed against the side of his face, while another was placed lightly on his forehead.
"Legolas? Legolas, are you awake?"
"No," the elf countered rather gruffly, stubbornly keeping his eyes closed. "No, I'm not. I am asleep and not talking to you."
"Oh," Aragorn's smiling voice said, "That's alright then."
The hands were slowly withdrawn, and almost against his will Legolas' eyes opened to fix reluctantly on his human friend's slightly flushed face. The ranger looked down on him and smiled.
"Welcome back to our home away from home."
The elf grimaced, contemplating if he shouldn't simply go back to sleep.
"Wonderful."
Aragorn shrugged slightly, clearly suppressing a shudder that raced through his body when he thought of their surroundings.
"With the fire it's almost bearable." He narrowed his eyes and reached for his friend's right wrist, feeling his pulse. "I know that it's a stupid question, but how do you feel?"
Legolas thought about it for a second. He definitely felt better than when he had lost consciousness, but since he had been in agony then, that wasn't too hard. The sharp, stabbing pain in his arm had been replaced with a dull throbbing, and he could see that Aragorn had removed the arrow and bound his arm and shoulder tightly to his chest once more. He was lying on his right side, therefore aggravating his broken ribs, but that was better than aggravating his back which had been bound as well. Something that the elf identified after a while as Aragorn's cloak was draped over him, and the fire at his back emitted a soothing warmth.
All in all, he felt almost well again, apart from the dark, ever-present pain in the back of his mind that reminded him just how much he had lost in the past two days.
"Better," he said quietly, swallowing quickly. "Much better. Thank you, my friend."
"I only returned the favour," Aragorn smiled. Knowing what occupied the elf's mind right now, but what he would never ask, he added, "I have set your arm, and I think I did it correctly. I will rest much easier though when I can have a look it it somewhere where it's light and I have the proper herbs at hand. It is too early to tell, but I think it will be fine, in time, if you keep it still and don't ruin my handiwork." His smile widened a little. "You will definitely live to face your father's wrath."
Legolas groaned, carefully draping his right arm over his eyes, but even the thought of his father did nothing to diminish the relief that had swept through him at Aragorn's words.
"My father. Dear Elbereth, and I had thought it had got as bad as it possibly could."
Aragorn turned serious again.
"Do you think he will send a delegation to Dale?"
"No," Legolas shook his head, "No I don't think so. I told him in my letter that we would be gone for some time, and the weather is not conducive to travel. In the summer he might, but I do not think that he will now, not right now anyway. It's too early yet."
"That's what I thought," the young ranger mumbled thoughtfully. His mind on the date, his eyes grew suddenly wide. "Tomorrow is Winter Solstice and I haven't written ada or the twins!"
The elven prince blinked up at his friend, wondering if he had missed a wound to the man's head.
"We are in the middle of Rhîw, Aragorn," he began carefully, reaching up with his right hand, trying to place it on the ranger's forehead. Could the infection have spread so quickly? "Yestarë isn't for more than hundred days!"
Aragorn looked at him in confusion for a moment before he began to grin.
"Yes, you are right, mellonamin, but in Rivendell we celebrate it twice, even though the big feast is on the real Yestarë. My family and I celebrate one at the end of December, that's when my human forefathers did it. My father always wanted me to remember the customs of Men, as far as he knows them himself, that is."
"Oh," Legolas said slowly and rather relieved. For a moment he had really feared for his friend's mental fitness. "I didn't know that. That Men celebrated it now, I mean." He slowly turned his head and looked the man in the eye, a mocking light shining in the silver-blue depths. "And I am appalled! You had so much time to compose a small letter!"
Aragorn raised a dark eyebrow at that, and Legolas continued.
"I mean, I am sure that Adruran and his men would have given you parchment and ink had you only asked for it! I am certain that you had at least half an hour there, and here in this cave even longer! Your father will be so angry that you didn't write, with nothing but kidnappings, cave-ins and wild animals to occupy your time…"
"Alright! Alright!" Aragorn quickly interrupted him, eyes twinkling as well now. "I understand. But that brings us back to the problem at hand, I'm afraid."
"It does indeed," Legolas nodded, serious now. "Just before they let me go, Hanar said that they were bringing the treasure out of the mountain right now. They are using the Lake-men for it, apparently, but Adruran's men seem to be helping as well."
"So they will be finished soon. It can't take them much longer than a day, not if they want to leave again soon and want to take as much as they can with them. Their horses cannot carry very much in addition to their riders, and I didn't see more than ten pack animals in their camp."
The elf nodded again at his friend's words.
"And when they don't need them anymore, I think we know what they will do with them."
Aragorn's face darkened.
"We do indeed." He moved closer to his friend, who was trying to push himself into a sitting position, and reached out to help him, grimacing when his own wounds protested. "But while you were asleep, I have been thinking."
Legolas groaned in mock terror.
"And here I thought we might get out of this alive."
"You are terribly funny right now, did you know that?" the ranger asked somewhat exasperatedly, helping his friend to sit up. He wasn't really annoyed with the elf, but his deep cuts and bruises hurt, as did his cracked ribs and the burns, and he was feeling much too hot for comfort.
The elven prince seemed to notice that, since he reached out with his good hand and placed it on Aragorn's shoulder in an apologetic gesture.
"I am sorry, Estel. We are both not well, forgive me. To what conclusion have you come?"
Aragorn looked at the fair haired elf seriously, a steely glint in his silver eyes.
"That two sides can play their games, my friend. And that it is time that we raise the stakes a little."
Legolas looked back at his human friend, drawing the cloak closer around his cut shoulders. He thought of Celylith's merry face, of all the things they had seen and done together, and how he had looked when he had last seen him, lying broken at the foot of a large boulder, his blood staining the snow around him.
He shortly closed his eyes, pushing back the tears that wanted to escape from his tightly closed eyes as the pain almost became too much.
"Indeed it is, mellonamin," he nodded, raising his head again, deadly determination on his face. "Indeed it is."
TBC...
mellonamin - my friend
Nan naith Angband! - (Damn it) Into the pits of Anband!
Ú-garo sen - Do not do this
Maetho vôr hen, Aragorn ... Echuio! Si nâ farn! - Fight this darkness, Aragorn ... Awake! It is enough now!
A Belain, boe telich dan enni, adan benidhren - O Valar, you have to come back to me, reckless human
ada - father (daddy)
Rhîw - 'Winter', the time between the (modern) 21th of November and the 31th of January
Yestarë - 'First-day', the first day of the year. The equivalent of Men's Winter Solstice (celebrated on the (modern) 22nd of December), according to the Reckoning of Rivendell it fell on the (modern) 7th of April
Well, well, well, things are definitely about to become very interesting! *evil grin* So, we have lots of questions that need answering: Will the dwarves get there in time? What is Aragorn's plan? Will they manage to carry it out without collapsing due to their various injuries? Why didn't Nili write a real cliffy? Is that a bad sign? A very bad sign? A very, very bad sign? *g* As always I try to answer all these questions in the next post, which should be here ... hmm, on Thursday? I think that's quite realistic, and I promise to get it ready till then if I get many nice reviews. So: Review? Please??
Additional A/N:
Coreinha - *g* I guess 'Legolas has owies' is a certain kind of understatement... And Celylith threatening to eat a few more humans - I don't know? I'm not sure yet where he will be at the end, so I gues that's a careful no. I don't think he would have time for that kind of thing either if he were there, so...
TrinityTheSheDevil - I'm glad you liked the strangling-the-dwarf-with-his-own-beard-bit, I somehow got that really funny mental picture - don't ask me why... *g* *grabs her bow before she can kill Geran for good* Bad! Bad Trinity! How many times have I told you that you must-not-kill-my-characters!? No! I don't CARE if they are evil! And don't think Elrond will protect you! *shakes her head* Fangirls.
Gwyn - Yup, right now Legolas is worst off. But you know me, I am a. always trying to keep things fair, and b. am rather fond of Estel (which, in my twisted way, means he gets hurt a lot), so that just MIGHT change in the future... Great you liked the Legolas torture though, there is a bit more to come in this post, so have fun!
Tapetum Lucidum - *nods* Yes, Geran is very possessive - and a little bit stupid, since _everybody knows_ that Legolas is yours. *shakes head* He really is an idiot, right? LOL, 'Adruran doesn't like Geran, Hanar doesn't like Geran, and Geran doesn't like anyone'? Well, I have to admit that sums ot up quite nicely - darn, and it took me about 22 chapters to make that clear! *narrows eyes* Are you studying medicine or something? I have to admit that I didn't think of neurological and vascular damage when I wrote that bit, at least I didn't think in these terms. Stupid me. Yes, and I agree: Dáin would love to have Thranduil in his debt - who wouldn't? 'Twould be so much fun... *dreamy look*
Ulmo's Duck - First: I really, really like your screenname. That isn't something you see every day... *g* And to be honest: I DO think that you're the only one who thinks that Celylith is being a 'complete ungratful, bigoted, little snot'. *g* Most of the people try to steal him, so they aren't very objective, I think. But, technically speaking, it was the dwarven healer that insulted him first, and elves are so frightfully proud people, so... *shrugs* Elves. Thanks for the review!
Firniswin - Well, Friday's almost as good as Wednesday, isn't it? *fake grin* I'm sorry, but I really couldn't make it any sooner. There is something out there called RL and it is said to be more important than FF- yeah, right! *g* Uhm, how do I do it? I just sit down and a moment later all these funny, weird ideas are in my head and demand to be written. *shrugs* No idea, really. I am your fav FF author? *blushes* Well, that's a great honour, thank you!
Rynn - I don't know, these things just happen. Sometimes I see a story and think I have read it and didn't like it and so I don't read it again - but in reality I didn't read it in the first place but only thought I had. *reads sentence again* Does that make sense? Ah well, whatever... *blushes* Aww, thank you so much for all your nice compliments - and in fact I have ALL my writing talent in one of my pinky fingers. I live in constant fear that something might happen to it... *g* I am glad to hear that you like Celylith but have to tell you that, unfortunately, you will not allowed to have the baddies before I'm finished with them. I need them only for a while longer, so you'll have to be patient... Thank you once again for all your kind words, and I am very glad you like my demented little story. Thanks!!
Angelsoflight - Well, believe it or not, I DO remember you! From a time before I put my reviewers' names in bold characters... *g* I remember most of my reviewers, actually - that is because I am addicted to reviews, of course. I know! I don't know why Legolas, Aragorn and Co. keep complaining - it could be a lot worse! I am positively nice right now! And I've always liked Johnny Depp, but in PotC I hardly noticed anyone else. He was perfect! That's the word, perfect! And I'm sorry, but I think I have other plans for the bear fur - I think. Later. Perhaps. *g* Thanks a lot for reviewing again! Glad you like this story as well!
Firnsarnien - I guess you could say that there's _some_ Legolas angst in this chapter. (Legolas: Some? SOME? Are you mad, woman??) *coughs* Okay, there is a bit more than some, but it's not too bad in my opinion... And about the sock: It-is-not-mine! My feet smell like the sweetest roses, remember? *grim, threatening look* And believe me, I'm _trying_ to finish the story, but the end is always quite hard, don't ask me why. *shrugs* Law of nature, I guess...
Leggylover03 - Uhm, there _was_ no Aragorn pain in the last chapter, simply because he wasn't in it. *narrows eyes* You meant that, right? And will Aragorn have the nightmares again ... I don't know yet. He's not really having much time to sleep right now, so perhaps in the last chapter or something - or not at all, sorry... *squirms uncomfortably* I don't really know how to tell you, but if I write the sequel roughly in the way I have planned it right now, then there will be no Elrond in it. Elladan/Elrohir and Glorfindel most likely, but no Elrond or only a very little bit, sorry.
Alex Mistress Squirrel - *g* Legolas and Celylith are in a little bit of pain. But only a little, not much... *beams* I am the Queen of Angst and Pain? Yay!! *huggles Alex* Thank you so much! *dances* That's such a sweet thing to say! And what has befallen Aragorn ... Mhahahahaha! *runs off cackling evilly* Nothing!
Strider's Girl - I know, I know, I should have known you people would react like that to Aragorn's absence in the last chapter. I didn't even really think about it, really! I have seen PotC twice now, and like it a lot too. You need an antidote against Orlando Bloom? Well, I have to admit I wasn't paying him much attention since I was busy worshipping Johnny Depp and the evil monkey...*g*
Halo - *patiently* Of course Celylith's alive, what did you people think? And I have bought the DVD, yay Nili! And OF COURSE it was your fault that that stupid bear came up! You somehow influenced the telly with your evilness, causing it to show things that would give me evil ideas! YOUR FAULT!!! ALL YOUR FAULT!!! *g*
Cestari - Well, generally I would agree with you that it's a good thing when the evil guys fail and get mad, but in Geran's case it's a little bit dangerous since he's a deranged psychopath... *g* And I wouldn't have killed Legolas in RL, because he's an elf! That's the elves' problem, they are far too strong for their own good... The archive sounds good, I have to admit that, but then again, it ALSO sounds like a lot of work - we'll see. *huggles* Thanks for reviewing!
XsilicaX - Nope, I didn't say what happened to Estel, but hey, who cares? I mean, I think we should leave him there, it's not as if he's an overly interesting or attractively rugged ranger character, right? *runs off to escape Cathy's wrath* J/k, really! *carefully frees the poor random random reader from her grasp* Now, come on, the next bit is here, and Aragorn is in it! Yes, I promise! Go and read it, shooh! *right now wishing for a bacon sandwich* Hmmm, bacon...
Vampy2k - Alive or not alive, that is the question! Whether... *g* Okay, shutting up now. Well, I am quite stupid sometimes, so it would be possible that I killed Aragorn - or not? Read on and find out! Thanks a lot for the reivews!
Imbefaniel - Uhm, you cry when you're alone? That doesn't really sound healthy! I am glad when I am alone most of the time, I am one of these people that enjoy being alone after a long day - and it's best to leave me alone too, I can get quite grumpy... But it's easy to hate Geran, you're right there, he's not really a nice person, although I like him, somehow... *g* Uhm, you want what? A detailed description of Celylith? Well, I am sorry, but I never picture my characters that closely when I'm writing them, not even Aragorn and Legolas. He's ... well, an elf? So that makes him tall and lithe, and pointy-eared ... *trails off* Other than that, silver hair and dark silver eyebrows, and dark blue eyes. But hey, this is a _story_ and that the main characteristic of stories: Everybody imagines things differently!
Zam - *joins her in her hysterical dance* TTT has come out indeed! And I have bought it, yay Nili! Well, it doesn't really matter since I downloaded it ages ago, but it's still nice to have the real thing... I have to agree with your orc horde though, I think you HAVE become more violent since Celylith's little 'accident'. You realise that he is fine and on the mend, right? Right?? And I'm not sadistic, I'm ... okay, I AM sadistic. But you guys want me to be, admit it! Glad you like the dwarves, there are more in this part, so have fun! They are indeed adorable and funny, even if they don't want to be... LOL at Dáin taking Thranduil's treasure! I somehow pictured Johnny Depp in PotC when he looked at the treasure in that cave! *wipes eyes* Funny... O Jeez, I had forgotten about the Army of Doom, Inc.! I hope this was soon enough, I really don't want another review like that one! *shudders in terror*
Sirithiliel - Yes, dwarves ARE very funny to read and write! They're always so gruff and funny! Okay, that was a rather stupid statement, but whatever... *reads the Ori-angers-Dofur-bit again* No!!! *covers face in hands* You're right! I wrote elf instead of dwarf! I am sorry, I will change it asap - oh the shame! I'm so sorry! *continues to beg for forgiveness*
TrustingFriendship - Mhahahaha! Legolas hasn't suffered enough, they have NEVER suffered enough! It can always get worse! Mhahah! *runs off cackling evilly* And it is truly hard to work out how to get them out of this whole mess, it took me seven days of long and hard thinking! Thanks a lot for all your great reviews!
Fliewatuet - I didn't really think about that, really! I didn't not mention Aragorn on purpose or anything! It just happened, and if you want to blame someone, blame Legolas. If that bloody elf would have got up the cliff a bit faster, I might have had space to put Aragorn in! *point accusingly at barely alive elven prince* His fault! *grins evilly* You are right, I do not envy Dofur either, I mean, Celylith is a bad patient under normal circumstances, with elven healers and everything, but with dwarven ones... *trails off* Poor dwarves.
Amelie - Wow, sounds like you had a nice little shopping spree! Yeah, you're right, technically speaking Legolas has already done all the falling he can, but I very often use quotes for the chapter titles. This one was one of Woodrow Wilson's: "We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end." Don't ask me why I put in 'falling', it just seemed right. *shrugs* I'm weird, I know. Hmm, where did I get the ideas for Legolas' injuries? Well, the arm was a spontaneous thing, I hadn't really planned to do anything to him then, but I figured that it was rather unlikely that he jumped off a cliff without hurting himself, so... *g* I don't know yet who will kill Geran, but I think it will be a team effort! *g* And of course I've seen the Extended DVD - I own it since November! I had to!
NaughtyNat - *wide-eyed* Legolas. Doing the hokey pokey. In his condition. *pats her arm* Riiiiiiiiight. Believe me, I was very sorry to leave sunny Essex behind, especially since I almost died of cold when I arrived here! It's bloody freezing here! *shivers* And concerning cliffies: I think this one wasn't a real one, but the next chapter will have one, I'm afraid. But that should be the last then, ch 25 and 26 should be cliffy-free. *g* Well, usually it takes me about 4 days to write a chapter, but longer lately. They are getting longer and I have to plan a lot, mainly the EDs demises... *g* Thanks a lot for reviewing!
A Person - *nods* You're right. It doesn't matter when or where I stop, it is automatically a cliffhanger, please don't ask me why. It just happens - all the time... LOL, that would be something! Legolas somehow finds his way into the cave, crawls in bloody, bleeding and near collapse, and Aragorn sits there on a bear rug, eating marshmellows and asking "What took you so long?" LOL, I think that would be enough for the poor elf to strangle him...
Alexa - You're back! Hey! *huggles* I thought my story had got so bad that you stopped reading it - and I'm very glad to find out that it didn't and your computer was to blame. And you're right, I know that a bone has to be set soon after breaking it, but I count on the fact that Legolas is an elf and therefore has a little bit time before it becomes really dangerous. So he might get away with pulled muscles ... then again, Aragorn might be forced to _amputate_ after all... *evil grin* J/k! Really! We'll see what happens to him... And it might take him some time to recuperate, you're right again... Thanks for the review! I missed you! *huggles again*
Bailey - Secret back entrance? *looks around her quickly* Noooooo... Nothing of that sort.... *g* Yes, something like that just might be there... And Celylith is indeed a very stupid, proud elf - as are all of them. *shakes head* Elves. This update was exactly as fast as the last one, hope that was still okay!
Maranwe1 - I know! I have read the first two chapters of "Traitor" now, but I simply have no time to read more! It's horrible! *demented grin* Right you are! I think Legoas should thank me for letting him fall off that cliff, he would be in a much worse shape (read dead) if Geran had got a hold of him... *g* LOL, Aragorn, where art thou, Aragorn? That was good, really... Shakespeare in my story, I could do that! And Celylith is really rather polite, but hey, he's nobility after all. I guess he learned some restraint some time... And ALL of them antagonise all the healers they meet, family included. *g* You're right again.
Aratfeniel - Well, you're right, it wasn't really psychic, it was more or less a law of nature that Legolas got hurt, right? You will find out more about Aragorn and his friend, the bear, in this chapter, never fear. I liked PotC too, but to be honest I was too preoccupied with the DIVINE Johnny Depp and the evil monkey from hell to pay anyone else much attention... *g* You're geting a cold? Poor you! Here, into bed with you and drink disgusting teas! Disgusting teas always help!
E - Oh, there is a warning in the disclaimers. Go back to chapter 1 and if you scroll down a little, there are the two bold letters AU, plain to see for everybody! Mhahahaha! *g* You think it's funny that Aragorn is trapped beneath a bear? Uhm, okay, if you think so... But I agree, once (and if! *evil grin*) they get back Mirkwood, King Thranduil will NOT be pleased! And Hithrawyn will probably have a heart attack. *g*
CrazyLOTRfan - *narrows eyes* I wrote the first 14-something chapters while going to college at the same time, so you can review while ging to school! Understood? Yes? *grim look* No, j/k, really, I understand that you'll be busy... I'm glad that you usually don't watch forest fires, that would have been too weird... Glad you and your computer are safe though!
Lembas7 - 'A full recovery = just around the corner!'? Ah, dear friend, but so many things can go wrong... *evil grin* You never know what will happen! I guess that all three of them are in need of medical attention, although I guess that Legolas is worst off right now. LOL, I think that Aragorn is rather grateful right now that the twins are not there, they would never let him live this down! And Thranduil's reaction will be interesting, of that I'M sure... Good fanfiction writer? What am I, a dog? No, on second thought, don't answer that... *g* Thanks for your great reviews!
Mouse5 - Thank you! It's great to hear that I'm improving and not getting worse! And since you have been following my weird little stories for some time it means really a lot to me! *huggles Mouse* And I'm still planning Geran's demise, but I think Legolas will at least have a part in it. *nods* Yup, most probably.
Elenora - Nope, I don't mind at all! Feedback in any form is most welcome! *g* *innocent smile* No, I am not enjoying your anxiety in the least - that would be evil and we all know that I am NOT evil... *g* Thanks a lot for saying that this story is not just a sequel - that was indeed one of my concerns, that I couldn't come up with a convincing story line and OCs again. It's very good to hear that you like it! And I don't know if that was a constructive review either, and I don't care either. I loved it! *huggles* Thanks!
Lady Sandry - Legolas is 'really not having a very good time of it'? Nope, he is not, you could say that... LOL, the mere thought of an Aragorn Lives Foundation is enough to transform me into a gibbering mass on the ground! The Celylith Lives Foundation was vicious, but Aragorn's would have to be deadly... I'm glad you liked the twins in the last chapter, I really missed them and just had to put them in! And I understand why you're Lady Sandry now, I was very glad that no-one else has my screen name, which is not really surprising! *g* I wouldn't want to have a number behind my name either!
ThE iNsAnE oNe - Now it has happened. Miki's lost what was left of her sanity. Tragic but true. Rubber ducks? Well, that is something new, that's for sure... And it's not my fault if you're too late to review, it's yours! I mean, you have about seven days, so come on... *g* No, it's okay really, you don't have to review either. I know that you're very busy this year... LOl, pancakes à la elfie? *imagines it and fall off her chair laughing* THAT is an interesting idea! Don't overdo it with your algebra, geometry and stuff, always remember: It's only school? *sheepish* That doesn't really help, huh?
Asha Dreamweaver - Oh, I COULD make it AU and kill Aragorn. It's always nice to see what happens then... *g* But never fear, I won't kill him - in this story, I think... *evil grin* You might be right, you know. I don't think that Celithramyr and Thranduil will be very please when they see their sons - ot Elrond when he hears about it...
Lina - Come now, do you never curse? I curse sometimes, unfortunately, and I am SURE I would curse when I had an arrow sticking out of my shoulder! LOL, it's always the question what's worse: Being stuck in a dark cave alone or being stuck in a dark cave with Lina! It's rally hard to say... *g* And I think the correct translation for Hobbitlet would be 'perianeg'. That should be correct, so Zam is a nogotheg and you are a perianeg. *g* Sounds good! And I really hope Éomer finds you soon, I'm sure he's beside himself with worry right now! *g*
Marbienl - Short? *wide-eyed* You call that short? Well, then I would really like to see what you consider long, then... LOL, Geran should have hit himself? That would have been a bit like in Robin Hood - Men in Tights! *g* Right, we FF writers are the most normal people in the world! WE don't hurt anybody! And see, what happened to Legolas' back is what happens when you give me funny ideas! *g* No, j/k, I wrote that a long toime before that, never fear... And you like Red Bull? Really? I could never stand that stuff, I think it's much too sweet. If I need something to keep me awake I drink Diet Coke with lemon, which is the most divine thing after Ginger Ale/Beer. *shrugs* I have weird taste, I know. I will think about a fatherly Frór scene, but to be honest I don't really want to put it in. You know I try to humour my reviewers, but it doesn't feel right. So, perhaps, that's all I can say, okay? I am sorry I couldn't make it one ar two days sooner, but I've been too busy. And no, I've never suffered a writer's block, I somehow just sit down and write! I hope you get home safe and sound, and don't worry to review! I know you're busy! Thanks a lot for your 'short' review!
Ciria - Yay! Ciria's back! Hey, your German sentence was very good! There were a few minor mistakes, but mainly it was just fine! Congrats, it's not an easy language! I hope you're better now and tha your computer has stopped giving you any trouble? *sighs* Why do they keep doing that? Never fear, I will definitely read your reviews, even if they are for earlier chapters! I love all reviews! *huggles her* Oh, and thanks, I had a very nice time in England, the weather was simply great. And you're right, Miki's reviews are indeed insane! I like her squargs, though... *g* LOL, 'Estel, meet Estel and Estel meet Estel'? That would be very interesting! I can just picture it... Glad you liked that chapter, and I hope you'll like the rest as well! Thanks for reviewing again, I missed you!
Nikara - 'Whoever finds them will find both of them'? That's an interesting way of seeing it... *g* I think all three of them are the worst patients any healer can imagine, and believe me, I already pity poor Hithrawyn! I hope this chapter was soon enough to cheer you up a little, thanks for the review!
Eva27 - Here it is, the chapter with your Sindarin curse. Hope you'll like it! *g* Okay, but you keep confusing me, and I'll tell you why: In the beginning you write that Cyd's a natural healing freak, therefore implying that you are not Cyd. And then you sign as Cyd? That doesn't make much sense, does it? You realy have to explain that to me... All your family are in the military? Well, that has to be interesting; my whole family is very pacifistic and no-one is in the military!
Shaz1 - Well, thank you very much, I'm very glad you like it! I don't think that there will be any more real Aragorn torture though, we don't want to kill the poor lad, after all, do we? No... Thanks a lot for reviewing! Reviews help me immensely, really!
Seveawen - Great you are back! I hope you had lots of fun! I'm sure you did, I am so jealous! 3 ½ weeks in Italy! There are som many wonderful things there, museums and ruins and all that... *sighs* Not fair. And yes, you DO drive on the wrong side of the road, but I love it! Well, and I guess Legolas hadn't really planned it that way, it was more or less an accident that he had to jump off that cliff really... And sorry to diappoint you, but Geran won't try out the saw on me, he knowsw I am the author and therefore the mistress of his universe, it would be very stupid and almost suicidal to do so! Glad you liked it and thanks for the review!
Cara - *bnlushes* Thank you! It's always great to 'see' someone new who likes my weird little stories... I was a bit away from Devon, in Essex to be precise. It has the one, unbeatable, distinctive advantage that it's not far from London, which I absolutely love! I just love that city! And believe me, I know how horrible English weather can be - I was there last year from April - October. Lots of rain and cold, yesss precioussss... *g* I have indeed more stories planned, at least one more, and I think there even is the shadowy outline of a forth - we'll see. Thanks a lot for reviewing, reviews help immensely! Thanks a lot!
TigerLily713 - I know, I couldn't write an only-serious-chapter if my life depended on it! Glad you still like it, thanks for reviewing!
Critternut - Nope., and I won't do anything to his legs either, I need both him and Aragorn to be able to walk! So rest assured, his legs will be fine... *evil grin* I won't say Happy Birthday now because it's bad luck, but your present sound very good! I mean, I am SO not interested in football (even though I like the movie Bend it Like Beckham! *g*), but if you are there is nothing better than the World Cup - I guess! *g* And I had lots of fun in Englad, and to be honest, yes, I like it better than the US. The accent is unbeatable, and it's close to Scotland which I simply LOVE! *g* Hope you have lots of fun on your birthday! *huggles her*
Ellyrianna - You read THAT in the Da Vinci Code? I mean, I knew that he invented lots of things, but torture methods? Really? But thanks a lot, I will think about putting it into the next story! It's great you agree with me that a dead Legolas would have messed the whole thing up a bit, and I'm sorry that I couldn't get this up on Thursday! *sobs* Sorry! Hope this is still soon enough to cheer you up a little!
Brethil, Estelle - Yes, to live or not to live, that is the question... *g* Will Aragorn survive or not? Read on, dear friend, and find out! Thanks for revewing!
Aron - I must say Legolas is very clever to disguise himself as C-3PO! I don't think he has many fangirls following him... Hmm, so Aragorn would be Chewie then? As long as he isn't Jar-Jar Binks I don't care - I hate that ... that ... that THING with a passion! And to defend Geran a little, he comes from the East and is still fairly young, so he hadn't had the chance to 'study' elves. Since there aren't many East of Mirkwood... 'Happy Geran means pain for our heroes which is not good'? You might be right there, but I guess it's a no-win situation for our dear heroes! It's even worse if Geran is unhappy, so go figure... *g* I'm glad you liked the description of Legolas' wounds, I was afraid I had overdone it a little there... *evil grin* Don't mention to Celylith that he agreed with dwarves, though. He's a little bit testy about that one... 'Plus he's unconcious which is not helping the situation...' LOL, no it's not helping the situation at all... *g* ROTFL!! Aragorn as Rapunzel!! Jeez... *g*
Stacee Phelps - That's exactly the point: He's so damn the beautiful, strong, and brave! It's his own fault he gets hurt all the time! *evil grin* I am sorry for not updating any sooner, but there is someting called RL and sometimes it demands some attention... *g* I hope you wiped the floor with the other team, and in case it was the other way round: They cheated! Even it's not true, it makes you feel better! *g*
Reginabean - I am looking forward to that cookie once I find a little bit time to read your story! Not right now, but I will find some time ... some time. *g* Okay, that sounded rather stupid... My God, it's a Whack-a-Nili-MACHINE now? That really sounds dangerous... *g* Thanks for all your great reviews, btw!
Delph - *evil grin* Yup. No matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. That's my motto. It was my pleasure not to kill Celylith, or let's say it would have been my pleasure to kill him but I was too afraid of the CLF to kill him. *shrugs* They are really dangerous... *g* Thanks a lot for your review! Reviews are soooo nice and they help to encourage me a lot!
*wipes brow* Wow, that took a long time! Thanks a lot for all your reviews and encouragement! I would hug you but I have to go to find my dwarves that just escaped, sorry! Thanks a lot again!
A/N:
Okay, okay, so it was plus a day. I'm sorry, I really am. Life's real hectic at the moment, with family and everything. I'm sure you understand that, right? *readers give her fake, bright smiles and start looking for chainsaws, pointy and heavy objects, pet wargs/balrogs etc.* You guys are not the most understanding lot, huh? *gulps*
Alright, but the chapter IS here, so everybody calm down. And I agree with you: Geran's made a bigger mistake than he realises by shooting our dear elven prince with his own bow. Legolas is not really happy about that, no... But the poor little elf and his equally poor little ranger friend won't find out about Celylith's not-death for a few more chapters yet, I think it will be in chapter 25, so only two more to go and we can have a merry little reunion. *g*
And for all of you who wondered: This story will be 26 chapters long, or at least I try to make it 26 since 27 is not nearly as nice a number (don't tell me, I'm mad). Those of you who have read my previous story will know that that means that the next few chapters will be longer than usual since I try to put about twice the amount of things into them - which is probably not really something you disapprove of... *smiles*
There is a Sindarin curse in this which took me ages to come up with and construct, but Eva27 wanted to actually hear an Elvish curse (see, you do get rewards if you review! *g*), so here you go. I'm sorry if it doesn't sound very fearsome, but Sindarin isn't a very good language to curse in, even though Quenya is even worse.
Very well, here's the next chapter, whose main part is a long, long H/C scene, something which both Aragorn and Legolas deserve, really. *nods vigorously* They do. Other than that, we also have more of Celylith and his new best friend, Dofur the healer (*snickers*), and King Dáin and the others. *tries to huggle her dwarves but finds that they have run off in annoyance* Here we go again. *sighs* They always do that.
Enjoy and review, please!
Chapter 23
For a while, Legolas merely sat on the jumbled stones, darkness closing in on him on all sides. Night was falling, and in more sense than one; to him it seemed that all the light there was in the world had just disappeared, had been swallowed in an endless, bottomless chasm of despair.
'It cannot be, it cannot be, it cannot be…' he repeated endlessly, the words sounding hollow and false even to himself.
There was no sound, no sign that Aragorn was still alive. His friend had been crushed by the rocks, or died of his injuries, he was dead, he was gone…
A small, stubborn thought flickered through his mind. Who said Aragorn was dead? He hadn't seen his body, and as long as he hadn't made sure of it with his own eyes, the young ranger was still alive, for he had no proof indicating otherwise.
Legolas shook his head and slowly got to his feet, freeing himself of the despair that was threatening to pull him into its dark embrace once again. Aragorn was still alive, and to that thought he would hold until he had seen his body.
He briefly placed his good hand against the stone wall and took a deep breath.
"Hold on, mellonamin," he whispered softly, hoping with all his heart that Aragorn was there somewhere on the other side, waiting for him. "I am going to look for a way to get to you. I will be back, I promise."
The fair haired elf ran his hand through his hair and carefully climbed off the heap of stones. He leaned against a huge rock, trying to force his aching brain to think. He was at the Lonely Mountain, and the Lonely Mountain had belonged to the dwarves for ages. So that meant that the tunnel the men had pushed his friend into had probably been made by dwarves, especially if one considered the fact that its entrance had been barely higher than a grown man.
'What does that tell me?' he asked himself tiredly. The answer came promptly: That dwarves were smaller than men.
He barely held back an erratic giggle. The reasonable part of him was noting calmly that he was beginning to lose it now, but he ignored it and concentrated on the problem at hand. If this had been a dwarf mine once, or a tunnel, or even a cave, then there had to be other, smaller shaft to let in light and fresh air. Presumably even dwarves needed that.
Legolas smiled grimly, beginning to slowly make his way up the path, carefully climbing up the mountainside. If there was something like a ventilation shaft, he would find it, he vowed silently, and if it was too small to allow him access, he would keep looking until he found one he could use. There was no way he would leave his friend in a tunnel far away from the heavens; the least he could do was try and get out his body to bring it to Rivendell, to his family. That thought brought a new wave of pain and grief in its wake, but he refused to let if pull him down again. He would find Aragorn, even if that was the last thing he ever did.
The search was slow, exhausting and rather painful, because every step he took jarred his arm and shoulder, the pain of which causing him to wince and jerk slightly, which in turn aggravated his back, his ribs, his head…
Just when he was sure that he felt like throwing himself onto the ground in a childish fit of rage if he didn't find something soon, he saw something to his right, a dark opening in the rock face, partly concealed by some shrubbery. It wasn't too big, perhaps three feet high or a little more, but it was enough for him to crawl through – or at least he hoped so. Under normal circumstances it would have been more than enough, but he had accepted long ago that these weren't normal circumstances.
As quickly as he could he made his way over to the opening and kneeled down in front of it, peering inside with keen eyes. It was a dark, smooth-floored tunnel that led on into the darkness, disappearing round a rough stone corner after a few yards and therefore preventing him from surveying the rest of it.
Legolas sat back on his haunches, wrinkling his brow. He didn't want to go in there, he didn't even know if it would lead him to his friend! It was dark, far too dark for his liking, and it was so narrow – he didn't even want to think what his back would say to that…
The elven prince forcefully pushed down these dark feelings and fears and took a deep breath. Of course he would go in there, there was the chance that this tunnel might lead him to his human friend, and that alone was reason enough. He slowly began to crawl forward, grinning grimly when he imagined what he must look like, cut, bruised, bloodied and with one arm bound tightly to his chest, the broken stub of the arrow still protruding from his shoulder.
While he was crawling through the narrow space and tried to convince himself that the walls were not closing in on him, he amused himself with imagining what his father would say if he could see him now.
After giving the matter considerable thought, he decided that he would start with giving him his special Wait-till-we-are-alone-my-son-look. Then he would glare at him all the time it took Hithrawyn to tend his wounds, and after that he would lecture him for a few days about his duties and responsibilities and behaviour befitting his status. And if he had made it through that without slipping into a catatonic state, his father and king would put him in charge of a guard that coincidently consisted of extremely old, experienced captains that would watch him like a dragon its hoard, and that equally coincidently was assigned to a remote, absolutely safe part of their realm.
Legolas smiled slightly, moving forward as swiftly as he could and trying to ignore the pain that was spiking yet again. Right now he would be very happy about a chance to endure his father's wrath; he would even be happy if he threw him into the dungeons as he had so often threatened if it meant that he would first be home, in his bed, looking at his father's stern face that yet didn't hide the concern and fear for his well-being.
The thought of his home cheered him up a little, and with renewed resolve he doggedly crawled on. The tunnel, he reasoned, had probably not been an air vent but a second exit in case of emergencies when this mine had been still in use, in case that a part of the mine collapsed or something similar. The elf shook his head unwillingly, noting that the light a few yards in front of him changed slightly. He didn't know much about mining, and even now he didn't regret that in the slightest. Elves were craftsmen and metal smiths, yes, but they didn't delve into the earth in search for metals, gems and stone themselves, and he had no intention whatsoever to ever learn more about these things.
When he had covered a few more metres, he sensed a drop just in front of him and stopped in mid-motion. From his position about three feet above the ground he could see the dim blackness of the main tunnel, and he slowly climbed down from where his tunnel branched off the main one to stand on the surprisingly smooth floor of the tunnel, a mixed feeling of triumph and dread sweeping through him.
Legolas just looked about him, trying to decide whether he should go right or left, when his keen senses detected something that made him freeze in his tracks: A strange, strong smell that filled the air, a wild smell he automatically associated with danger. It took the elf about a second to identify it, and when he did it caused his feelings of dread to multiply tenfold.
"Bear," Legolas muttered horrified, reaching automatically for his daggers and cursing when his hand met only air.
The smell was stronger to the right, up the path that led deeper into the mountain, and Legolas finally understood what Geran had meant when he had said that Aragorn would die no matter what. Elbereth, there was a bear in here with its nest deep up into the mountain to his right, and these men had put his friend in here knowing full well that it would probably be roused from its sleep by the noise of falling stones…
"Nan naith Angband!" Legolas swore angrily and turned to the left, hurrying down the corridor into the direction of the cave entrance. Valar, he ranted inwardly, nearly overcome with fear for his friend, what was wrong with this man, with Geran? How insane and sick had one to be to put someone else into a cave with a bear?
Before he could find an answer to that rather rhetorical question, he entered a large room, roughly circular in shape. It was still far darker than anything he would call comfortable, but his elven eyes allowed him to see the heap of stone that had been the cave entrance a few hours ago. The ground wasn't as smooth as the tunnels', and Legolas mused inwardly that it had probably a natural cave once that had been expanded by the dwarves in their search for precious metals and stones.
While he was still pondering this, his eyes that had been frantically wandering over the stone covered ground came to rest on what looked on first glance like yet another large, furry rock. His eyes were already moving on when he realised that there was something wrong with that statement, and it took him another ten seconds to understand what it was: Rocks were not furry, not even rocks in a dwarven mine.
Only a second later the fair haired elf rushed forward, coming to a stop a few feet from the furry rock that turned out to be a rather big, rather dead brown bear. Legolas stared at the animal, his tired brain trying to work out what had killed it, when his gaze fell on a dark, blood covered piece of wood that protruded from the beast's bulky body. He took another step forward, silver-blue eyes narrowing slightly. Until the bear had stabbed itself in the back, there was only one possible explanation, and that was…
His eyes wandered over the body of the bear, and he felt how a dark, icy hand reached into his chest and crushed his heart in a steely grasp when he saw a pale, bloody hand that was almost entirely covered by the bear's large body.
"Aragorn!" he gasped, falling to his knees next to the bear with a sharp, dull thud that made his body scream in pain and started to push the animal aside.
It took him quite some time to move the heavy, bulky body of the bear even a few inches, but the minute movement encouraged him and gave him new strength, and so he finally managed the drag the dead animal to the side, dreading what he would see.
Legolas took a deep, hissing breath when Aragorn's prone body was revealed and winced openly when that movement send a sharp, stabbing pain through his ribcage. His human friend was … a mess, Legolas admitted stunned and reached out with his hand, but let it hover a few inches above his bloody chest, suddenly too afraid to touch him. He didn't want to find out that he was dead, didn't want to receive proof that he had been taken from him as well, but after what seemed an eternity, he slowly reached out and placed his hand lightly on his friend's throat.
For a second, he could feel nothing, but he refused to give up and pressed his hand harder against Aragorn's neck, pleading with Ilúvatar and each and every Vala to spare the young ranger's life. He felt almost faint with relief when his shaking fingers found a heartbeat after a moment, and a rather strong one at that. Legolas pressed his hand against the side of the human's bruised face and gave a short, fervent prayer of thanks, knowing full well that he was grinning from ear to ear and probably looking like a lunatic.
The fair haired prince resisted the urge to sing with joy and moved closer to the ranger, trying to assess his injuries. The man seemed to have trouble drawing breath, and his breathing was so soft and yet laboured that the elf could hardly hear it. Now that the bear was removed, it appeared to become easier for him, but Legolas still placed his hand lightly on the man's chest, waiting for a couple of minutes until he was sure that his friend wouldn't suddenly stop breathing altogether.
He began to move his hand down the human's ribcage, feeling for broken bones and trying to visually ascertain any new injuries, but shook his head in frustration after a few seconds. There was simply too much blood to find out what new wounds Aragorn had sustained, but Legolas hoped that it was the bear's, or at least part of it. The entire body of the young man seemed to be drenched in the rust coloured liquid, but Legolas knew that a human couldn't have lost so much blood and lived, so parts of it had to belong to the bear.
That was a rather sound reasoning, but in his heart the elven prince wasn't very convinced, his mind spinning with worry and fear. He tried to make out the man's features in the near darkness of the cave, and had to forcefully calm himself when he saw his tightly closed eyes.
He would never get used to it, Legolas decided with a small shiver; every time he saw his human friend asleep he had to remind himself that it was not a bad sign that he was sleeping with his eyes closed. In the back of his head he had always known that the younger races slept with closed eyes, but when he had first met Aragorn, he had spent the first few nights shaking the ranger awake when he had seen his closed eyelids. It had been an instinctive reaction on Legolas' part to make sure that the man was alright, but for the three or four days it had taken the elf to get used to a companion who slept with his eyes closed and was not grievously injured or exhausted Aragorn had been a very grumpy, sleepy ranger indeed.
'It doesn't mean anything,' he told himself firmly, forcing himself to push down the overwhelming worry he felt, 'He will be fine, he will be just fine…'
He quickly pondered how he could get Aragorn out of this cave, and finally he resented himself to the fact that he couldn't carry the man through the tunnels in the condition he was in at the moment. Bringing him out of here now was not that good an idea anyway, he decided as an afterthought, night had fallen some time ago and it would be too cold for the ranger, especially considering his injuries.
Legolas slowly stood to his feet, amazed how much better he already felt, knowing that his friend was alive. He looked about him, spying some more splintered wood from the struts that had supported the entrance of the tunnel, and there were some long, dead branches lying on the ground as well, either blown in by strong winds or dragged in by the bear for nesting material.
He carefully moved around the room, collecting all the wood he could get and piling it up some distance away from Aragorn and the body of the bear. He returned to his friend's side and kneeled down again, quickly searching the man's clothes. Even though he was wearing a normal coat and not his leather overcoat – something for which Legolas was rather thankful now, because Aragorn would complain for ages if he had ruined it as he had ruined this coat – there were a lot of pockets on his shirt and breeches, and if he was lucky, his friend had kept some more or less useful things in one of them for once…
"There we are," the elven prince mumbled softly and pulled out a two small flints from one pocket, vowing inwardly never again to tease the young ranger about his habit of keeping at least two sets of everything in his kit. While it could be very funny to see what or how many useless things the young man stowed in his countless pockets, he was very thankful for it now.
The fair haired elf moved over to the wood, musing that Adruran's men had probably been too lazy to thoroughly search all of Aragorn's pockets – or they had given up after the first fifty. Whichever had been the case, he was not complaining, Legolas decided as he stoked the small flame he had kindled to a merrily burning fire.
Sighing softly and suppressing a tired groan of pain as his body protested against the constant movements, he walked back to Aragorn and carefully bent down, using all his remaining strength to lift the unconscious human. The few feet over to the fire proved to be almost too much for him, and he all but collapsed next to the dancing flames.
The elven prince sat back tiredly, gasping for breath. Either Aragorn had got a few stones heavier since he had last lifted him – which he doubted, since that had been merely ten days ago – or he himself had grown weaker than he had been in a few hundred years. Legolas shook his head, enjoying the proximity to the flames. While he hadn't exactly felt cold, even though he had not even had his cloak to warm him, it was very nice to sit next to the fire and let its warmth wash over him.
The light the fire provided also helped him to examine his human friend, and Legolas winced openly when he pulled the slashed, bloodstained shirt to the side that covered Aragorn's torso. Apart from the cuts Hanar had placed there and the blossoming bruises, there were also the reopened burns, contrasting sharply against the rest of the skin in their angrily red colour. There were no signs of infection though, probably because of the salt. The elf clenched his teeth slightly, once again grinning inwardly at the attractive images that flittered through his mind, images of a dead or painfully dying Hanar. They were very attractive indeed, and he resolved to put some of them into action. Or all of them, that would be interesting…
The frown on the elf's face deepened when he saw the new slashes that the bear had torn, and Legolas realised that his friend had paid a heavy price for killing the animal. There were slashes all over his chest and arms, and probably on his back as well, and he could even see some on his face. The prince sighed. He didn't even have water to clean the wounds, not to mention athelas or any other healing herbs that Aragorn – and, if he was perfectly honest with himself, he too – needed.
The cuts had stopped bleeding, and only a few had reopened when he had moved the man, and so Legolas decided to try and rouse him. He had to see himself that Aragorn was alright, one could simply never tell with humans. He might merely be sleeping, but then again, he might not, and with the amount of blood that could be seen all over his friend's body, Legolas was not prepared to take the risk.
Clutching his aching arm to his chest once more, the elven prince tried to coax the young ranger back to consciousness.
Aragorn groaned inwardly when he heard it again, a sound that seemed to become louder by the second.
Something was disturbing his rest and pulling him back to awareness, a fact that greatly annoyed him. He wasn't quite sure why he was certain that he definitely did not want to return to consciousness, but he was certain, and if he had learned one thing in the past few years, it was that he could rely on such feelings. They were usually right, and he had yet to experience a situation he had enjoyed waking up to when he had felt like this, namely as if he had tried to play catch with a pack of wargs.
After a while his memories returned to him, and he winced inwardly when he remembered the last thing he had seen before he had lost consciousness: The dark ceiling and the dark walls of this cave or mine or whatever it was that seemed to come closer and closer, threatening to suffocate him. The young ranger shuddered. No, he did not want to wake up to that!
Besides, there was still the matter of the bear, an annoyingly calm part of his mind piped up, what if there was more than one? What if this had been a she-bear and if there were cubs somewhere in this cave? He knew that young bears often stayed with their mothers for a long time, sometimes until they were several years old, so there might be other bears in here.
Aragorn gave an inward shrug. If there were more bears here, there was nothing he could do about it; in the state he was in at the moment he doubted he would be able to defend himself against even a cub. The noise grew louder again, and the young ranger began to wonder what it could be. Perhaps more bears that were coming closer?
'Well,' a sarcastic voice inside his head noted, 'If that is so, then they speak remarkably good Elvish.'
Aragorn raised a mental eyebrow at that, but the voice was right: There was someone or something talking to him in the grey tongue, and that someone sounded more annoyed and frightened the longer he talked.
"Estel … ú-garo sen …"
'Do?' he asked himself fuzzily, beginning to pay attention to that voice, 'Do what? I'm not doing anything!"
The voice continued, sounding more distressed by the second, but Aragorn needed quite a long time to understand more of what was being spoken.
"Maetho vôr hen, Aragorn …Echuio! Si nâ farn!"
The young man wanted to reply that that was exactly what he was trying to do and that he agreed wholeheartedly, but said darkness was still stubbornly refusing to let go of him, like a predator reluctant to part with its prey.
"Estel," the voice started pleading again, "A Belain, boe telich dan enni, adan benidhren…"
The fear in the voice was enough for Aragorn to make him double his efforts to return to consciousness, even though he strongly suspected that he would regret it once he had woken up properly, and he decided that whoever was calling him, it were probably not bears. After a while he finally managed to open his eyes, blinking tiredly at the ceiling … or at least the ceiling should be there, only that it wasn't. He looked at something that looked like a bruised, bloody face that grinned so widely that the dark haired ranger expected it to split in two any second now.
"Estel!" the face exclaimed, the grin impossibly even widening. "Thank the Valar!"
Aragorn simply blinked at the face above him, trying to figure out who or what it was, when the missing piece of information found its place in his mind.
"Legolas!" he croaked, shooting into a sitting position. "You came back! Elbereth, are you alright!?"
A second later his whole body exploded in pain, causing him to double over, both of his arms wrapped around his middle in an attempt to ease the pain that every breath he took brought, but Aragorn ignored it, staring with wide eyes at the elf who simply pressed him back down.
"Hush, Aragorn," the fair haired prince retorted, still grinning widely in relief, "Of course I came back, do you honestly think I would risk returning to your father admitting that I had left you in a cave of all places? Calm yourself, you need to rest; you have lost far too much blood."
A part of the ranger's mind nodded vigorously at that, urging him to listen to his friend's advice, but Aragorn was too confused and worried for the elf to pay it any heed.
"No," he shook his head and struggled upright again, ignoring the pain that shot through every fibre of his being and noting with concern that it was far too easy to shake Legolas' hand off, "Are you alright? What did Geran want with you? Are you injured, did they hurt you?"
Legolas shook his head unwillingly when he saw the stubborn glint in the ranger's eyes, noting with detached interest that the dark cave started to spin softly at that movement. Mentally debating if that was normal, he turned to the young human again who had turned several shades paler and was beginning to sway slightly back and forth.
"No, Estel," he tried to assure the man and smiled at him, "They didn't hurt me." A small, cynical voice in his head began to roar with laughter at that, but Legolas ignored it. He was getting quite good at that, he decided. "They think we are both dead, so they should leave us alone for a while." He saw his friend open his mouth to ask further questions, and Legolas decided that the young ranger had to be in a rather bad shape if he hadn't noticed his arm that he had bound clumsily to his chest. Trying to divert Aragorn's attention, he added, "Tell me again how you do it."
Aragorn frowned in confusion, looking about him and taking in the bear to the side and the crackling fire next to him.
"Do what?" he asked, his hand sneaking up to his face to finger the stinging cuts there.
Legolas grinned wryly, his cut lip finally splitting open again. He awkwardly reached for the strips of cloth that had once been his cloak, the only things he could use to help his friend.
"This," he gestured at their surroundings, pressing the man back down once more, and, this time, Aragorn didn't resist. "How do you do it? How do you get us into these situations?"
The young ranger closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head.
"Elentári," he murmured, pain beginning to sneak into his voice, "I don't know, I truly don't. I am beginning to suspect that we are cursed."
"You might be correct there," Legolas nodded, carefully helping his friend to remove his shirt. "Where are you hurt, Estel? You have to tell me or I can't help you."
Estel opened his eyes and looked the elf over, for the first time noticing the fact that Legolas' cloak was gone and his arm and shoulder bandaged and tied to his chest. He ignored the elf's question and gave him a dark, questioning look.
"The question should rather be, mellonamin," he began seriously, "where you are hurt? What happened, and don't tell me 'Nothing' or I will hurt you."
Legolas blinked tiredly, much too exhausted and in too much pain to come up with a witty reply. His ribs ached, his shoulder throbbed and his arm was awash in pain where the bone had penetrated the skin. And there was his back as well, of course…
"I jumped off a cliff," he stated gruffly as he carefully began to clean the cuts and tears on his human friend's body. He had only managed to find some puddles with relatively clean water near the blocked entrance where snow had melted, but that was little more than enough to wet the ragged piece of cloth.
Aragorn stared at the elf as if he had just announced that he had decided to adopt a pair of orcs.
"You did what? Are you mad? Why? And when? Let me have a look at you, now!"
Legolas shook his head carefully, not intending to cause it to swim even more.
"If you lie down, I will tell you, human. But only if you lie still and let me tend you first; you are a far better healer than me and I need you as strong and pain-free as possible."
Aragorn nodded reluctantly, secretly rather frightened by the elf's statement. If Legolas admitted to need help for anything, it was usually not a good sign and meant that he was in a lot of pain or generally in a rather bad shape. Studying his friend's battered body with the eyes of a hawk while the elf told his story, he tried to hold as still as possible while the elf cleaned and bound the deep cuts he owed to the bear and Hanar's dagger, only groaning in pain when his friend touched his ribs.
"Are they broken?" Legolas asked concern when the ranger moaned again, drawing back his hand slightly.
"No," Aragorn shook his head through clenched teeth, "I don't think so. Only very badly bruised, and a few might be cracked, I think." He grimaced. "That bear was rather heavy."
The elf nodded solemnly and continued his ministrations, carefully bandaging the reopened burns. He turned his attention to his friend's face where the bear's claws had left two deep slashes that ran parallel from cheekbone to chin.
"Not good," he mumbled under his breath as he examined them, but the ranger's sharp ears caught the muttered words and he turned his head slightly in his elven friend's grasp to look him in the eye.
"What is 'not good', elf?" he asked suspiciously.
"Nothing," Legolas replied a little too quickly, but relented with a sigh when Aragorn raised an eyebrow and gave him the look. "I think these slashes are infected, as are those the bear left on your chest and back. We need athelas or some other herbs to stem the infection."
"Well, please correct me if I'm wrong," the other commented dryly, "But we don't have either or the chance to get some in the near future, right?"
"Right," the elven prince nodded and grabbed the human's chin firmly once more, "That is the reason why I am going to clean them as best as I can and you will hold still, understood?"
Aragorn merely grumbled something under his breath that sounded rather like an insult, but let the elf tip his head to the side once more.
"So they think you're dead," he summed up quietly while Legolas was washing the cuts on his face, "Why did they just leave you there? They couldn't be certain that you were really dead, could they?"
Legolas shifted slightly where he was sitting next to the man, wiping away the last blood that had caked Aragorn's dark hair to the side of his head all around the old cut he had sustained when Adruran's men had captured him in Lake-town. Valar, it felt as if that had been years and years ago.
"Well," he started slowly, inspecting his friend for any more wounds. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stay upright for much longer, but he thought he had tended to most of the man's injuries. The cuts and tears all over his upper body and face had been cleaned as best as possible, and the more serious ones bound, as had the angry red burns. He could do nothing for the massive bruising on his friend's torso, or for his ribs.
Legolas eyed his human friend suspiciously. He was rather sure that infection had already set in, and in his eyes the man was looking a bit too bright-eyed and flushed, even though he seemed to shiver with cold as well, even despite his proximity to the fire. The elven prince sighed inwardly. There was nothing he could do to prevent it anyway, but the thought of watching this infection spread in his friend's already weakened body made his head reel with helplessness and anger.
"Well what, elf?" Aragorn asked, squirming slightly when the elf reached out and placed an ice-cold hand on his forehead. How had Legolas' hands become so cold?
"Well," Legolas repeated, concentrating hard on staying upright now, "They didn't really just leave me there." He giggled irrationally. Aragorn did a double-take, carefully grabbed the hand that still lay on his forehead and moved it away, seizing this chance to inconspicuously feel his friend's pulse. Much too fast and weak, he decided with a frown of concern. He looked at Legolas again who had his eyes closed tightly now. Had Legolas Thranduilion, Prince of Mirkwood, proud and fearsome elven warrior, just giggled?
Legolas smiled broadly, finding the entire thing impossibly amusing now.
"They shot me," he told Aragorn with a disapproving sigh. "With one of my own arrows, can you believe that?"
That statement, in connection with the elf's bright eyes and his irrational tone of voice, served to double Aragorn's worry tenfold, and he quickly sat up, ignoring the pain that shot through him at that abrupt motion.
"Shot you??" he exclaimed, unbelievingly. "Alright," he told his friend, unconsciously slipping into what Legolas had called his Mighty-healer-tone of voice, the one that sounded as if he was talking to mentally retarded trolls – or so the elven prince claimed. "Lie down and let me have a look at you, and no arguing."
The fair haired elf was frighteningly compliant when Aragorn gently helped him lie down on his right side, something that made him feel even more anxious. The ranger carefully unfastened the simple bandage that covered the wound and bound his arm to his chest, and sucked in a deep breath when he saw the wooden shaft protrude from the shoulder. He reached out carefully and ran his fingers over the shoulder blade, feeling for the arrowhead and, not surprisingly, finding none. Legolas would have removed the arrow had there been any way for him to do so, he reasoned, resolutely pushing back his hatred for the men who had done this. Such feelings had no place in your heart or mind when you were attempting to heal someone.
Letting one hand linger reassuringly on his friend's good shoulder, he shifted slightly to have a look at his back, and promptly closed his eyes to regain his composure when he surveyed the damage done by Geran's "toy" that was lit by the eerily flickering light of the fire. Seldom had he seen such deep lashes on anyone's back, and he had some first-hand experience in these matters after all. He was hard-pressed to spy a patch of undamaged skin between the elf's neck and waist; every square inch seemed to be ripped open, sometimes so deeply that one could see or nearly see the white bone of a rib, especially at the elf's sides. The few intact bits of skin were bruised a deep purple colour, as was the ribcage. Had Legolas been of any other race than the elven, he would definitely not have survived this.
Aragorn took a deep breath and lightly ran his fingers over his friend's ribs, wincing in sympathy when the elf moaned softly in pain.
"You have at least four broken ribs, my friend," he told him softly, instantly berating himself for that comment. What a stupid thing had that been to say?
"Yes," Legolas nodded sleepily, his former good humour replaced by a bone-deep, overpowering sense of exhaustion and pain. "Yes, I had gathered as much."
He hissed in pain when Aragorn took up his left arm and began to unwrap the bandage.
"What happened here?" the young man asked, trying to be as gentle as possible.
"I had a rather abrupt encounter with a stone covered cliff base," the elf answered softly, beginning to grin again. A part of him knew that the pain was finally getting the best of him, but he didn't care. Grinning like a maniac was a lot better than to concentrate on the agony in his body anyway. "It had the better arguments and wasn't exactly inclined to a reasonable discussion."
The ranger blinked slowly, deciding not to question his friend's statement – or his sanity, while he was at it. When the piece of cloth came off, he swallowed quickly, wishing for nothing more than for one of his father's sleeping draughts he could give his elven friend – or better yet, for his father himself, who would probably know what to do. Elrond always did.
'Elbereth Gilthoniel,' he sighed inwardly as he took a closer look at the bone that protruded from the pale skin of Legolas' left forearm. This looked bad, very bad, and he needn't be told what the loss or partial loss of one of his arms would mean to his friend.
"Great Manwë, how did you do that?" he asked the elf that had his eyes closed tightly to deal with the pain that even his friend's light touch brought. He continued, reproach in his voice. "You must have bent it backwards at an angle of at least forty-five degrees to produce this impressive result!"
Legolas didn't answer, too concentrated on thinking of something, of anything else that would help him to take his thoughts off the pain in his body. Here it came, he thought tiredly, Aragorn's What-were-you-thinking-stubborn-elf-speech. Sometimes it became apparent that he spent far too much time with Glorfindel and his father.
True enough, Aragorn glowered at the prince while he lightly ran his fingers over the rest of Legolas' arm, trying to determine if anything else had been broken.
"What were you thinking?" he asked the elf, causing the other to snicker silently. "You really jumped off that cliff? See what happened, stubborn elf! How many times do we have to discuss that…"
"This is hardly a discussion," Legolas grumbled, already on his way into unconsciousness. There was only so much a body could take, elven or not, and his limits had been reached some time ago. "This is … a lecture."
"…that you may be immortal, but that you are not indestructible? You could easily have snapped your neck instead, Legolas!"
Aragorn continued for some time, examining the rest of his friend's body, and Legolas found that the man's scolding voice was strangely comforting. He sounded very much like one of their fathers now, he decided with a small smile, allowing himself to drift off slightly; he sounded just like them when they dragged themselves back to their respective homes half-dead once more…
"…alright? Legolas? Legolas, are you listening to me?"
The young man's voice ripped through the peace the prince had allowed to envelop him, and he opened his eyes he hadn't even realised he had closed.
"Of course I am listening to you," the fair haired elf mumbled, obviously having no idea what the other was talking about.
Aragorn sighed in mock exasperation as he steeled himself for what was to come. He pushed all his fear, concern and anxiety to the back of his mind and stated in a calm, level voice,
"I will have to set your arm." He looked at his friend, bright eyes huge and dark in his face. "It will hurt, Legolas. A lot. It is a very bad break, I will not lie to you, but if I do it now and lose no more time, it will most likely heal."
The elf only nodded, closing his eyes once more. He was already in so much pain that he thought it highly unlikely to become much worse.
"Do as you must. I trust you, Estel, just as I have trusted your father so many times."
Estel smiled at him, but a tiny, quickly disguised shadow of fear flickered across his face, almost lost in the dancing, wild shadows the flames cast on his features. Ilúvatar, he wasn't his father, and he hadn't half the skill the wise elf did in the healing arts. What if he did it wrong, what if Legolas' arm didn't knit properly because of him? He would never be able to look him in the eye again, never, knowing that he had taken from him the ability to exercise the one great skill the One had gifted him with…
He shook his head quickly and banished these thoughts from his mind, placing one of his hands on the elf's elbow and one on his wrist.
"Ready?"
Legolas opened one eye and gave him a wry, dark look, looking remarkably like his father at this moment.
"Just do it, human. It can hardly hurt any worse than it does now."
Aragorn only gave him a small, sad smile and braced his body against his friend's side, prepared to stop him from hurting himself further or interrupting him at a crucial point. Without any further ado he tightened his hold on the elf's arm and began to pull and stretch it, trying to force the bone back under the skin.
All of Legolas' resolve not to scream or to show how much it hurt dissolved like snow in the sun when hot, burning agony stabbed through his arm. Elbereth, Aragorn wasn't trying to set the bone, he was trying to wrench it out completely!
He instinctively tried to escape the pain, not thinking anymore, not caring if he would never be able to use the arm again, but Aragorn's hands held him down, still stretching the bone. Legolas could actually feel the splintered pieces of the bone slide back beneath the skin, and that was the moment when his brain decided that this was definitely enough now.
The darkness he had been fighting off for the past few hours grew until it swallowed him whole, and the last thing he perceived before he lost himself in it was a strange, pain-filled scream that echoed through the cavern, closely followed by the stunned realisation that it must have been his.
In the early hours of the night Dáin entered the small cave the elf was residing in at the moment, and when his eyes fixed on the scene that greeted him, he felt very glad indeed that he was already wearing his armour. Behind him he could almost see the amused grins his two companions, Ori and Nori, hid as soon as they had spread on their faces.
The dwarven king suppressed a tired sigh. He hadn't expected reasonable behaviour from an elf, but he had thought that Dofur had a bit more sense. Right now, however, it appeared that both, the elf and his master healer, had completely lost their minds, at least judging by the sight in front of him.
The elf was standing in front of his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of breeches, the enormous bandage that wound round his torso and the darkest expression Dáin had ever seen on anyone's face, elf or not. "Standing", the dwarven king corrected himself thoughtfully, was stretching it a bit though, for he was swaying slightly back and forth, reminding him of the flickering flame of a lantern deep under the mountain.
The tall being was obviously trying to get to the rest of his things that, including his weapons, had been piled up on a small table some feet away from the bed, but there was a small but obviously fiercely determined obstacle in his way: Dofur, who glared at his much taller patient so grimly that it would even have impressed a dragon.
Obviously it did not impress the elf, Dáin admitted tiredly.
The silver haired being's already dark look darkened even further, and he gripped a bedpost with his right hand, trembling slightly.
"I do not see your point, Master Dwarf," he announced in a voice that could only be described as icy. "I am standing, am I not?"
Dofur folded his arms across his chest and gave a low, annoyed growl.
"Standing does not equal fit to ride, Master Elf," he countered, showing no sign that he intended to back down in face of the elf's wrath. "Look at yourself! You are not strong enough to stand unaided!"
"That does not matter," Celylith stated haughtily, taking a careful step forwards. "Standing was not part of our agreement. To declare me fit to stay on a horse, and please note 'stay on a horse', not 'ride a horse', will suffice completely."
"And why," the healer asked, eyes glinting dangerously, "do you think that I will do that?"
Celylith gave the being that stood hardly taller than his waist a bright, charming smile.
"Because I will leave this cave anyway, whether you give me the permission or not, Master Dofur."
He took a quick, whereas slightly wobbly step forward, narrowly avoided falling flat on his face and managed to get close enough to the pile to grab his shirt, which had been cleaned but not mended so that there still was a ragged hole in the back where the arrow had hit him.
The dwarven healer sidestepped quickly, putting himself between the rest of the elf's kit and the elf himself.
"We will see about that, Lord Celylith. You are my patient and therefore my responsibility at the moment, and I will not allow you to get yourself killed on a fool's errand!"
The silver haired elf who had just slowly and painstakingly pulled his shirt over his head seemed to freeze for a few moments, and slowly turned around to look the small dwarf in the eye. He sat down heavily onto the bed, raw emotion flickering over his face. Dáin who had just wanted to make his presence known to the two of them closed his mouth again, suddenly wanting to know what the elf would say.
Celylith looked solemnly at the smaller being, all haughtiness and bravado stripped away.
"It is not a fool's errand, Master Dwarf," he began slowly, eyes dark and close to despair. "It mustn't be. They are my friends, both of them, and Legolas is my prince." He raised his head and looked Dofur straight in the eye. "I do not expect you to understand me or my kind, but I know that you understand this. Prince Legolas is my liege's son, my responsibility as long as he travels in my company, as much as he sometimes likes to ignore that. I swore King Thranduil that I would protect him and the ranger, and I have failed! I could not protect him, I was not there when he needed me. I have broken my oath. And no-one, and I mean no-one, not you, your healers or your king, will stop me from coming to his aid. And," he stopped shortly and lowered his eyes again, "and if I have truly failed and he and Strider are dead, then I will go and bring their bodies back to Mirkwood so their families can mourn them according to our customs."
He fell silent and ran a slightly shaking hand through his silver hair.
"And I have some things to discuss with the men who did this," he added after a moment. "I will not let them get away with this just like that; they will pay for whatever they have done to the ranger and my prince."
He looked up and gave the dwarf another long look.
"Surely you do understand that."
Dofur studied the elven warrior in front of him for a long while, before he finally gave a sharp jerk of his head.
"Alright, Master Elf," he nodded. "Alright. I hereby declare you fit to stay on a horse, but please note that I said 'stay on a horse', not 'accompany our warriors'. I understand your motives and your need for revenge, but you are not strong enough to fight yet."
Celylith looked up somewhat surprised and got to his feet, slowly making his way over to the small pile on the table.
"Elves heal quickly, Master Dofur. You would be surprised."
"I very much doubt that, elf," Dofur grumbled under his breath, and Dáin decided to intervene before the two of them could start insulting each other again.
"Greetings, Lord Celylith, Dofur," he announced loudly and took a step forward, followed by Nori and Ori.
Dofur gave a small bow while the elf nodded his head, not stopping to awkwardly clothe and rearm himself.
"Lord Dáin," Celylith said, deciding against securing his quiver on his back which would probably cause him to faint again - and he had done enough of that in his opinion, especially in front of dwarves. He slowly reached for his weaponbelt and frowned when his eyes wandered it. His sword was still there, as were his two smaller knives, but his long hunting knife was gone. The elf frowned in confusion, wincing with the pain that minute movement brought, but stopped himself from asking the dwarf king just in time when he realised that the dwarf might misunderstand his question and take it as an accusation.
Dáin nodded at the elf.
"You might be interested to hear that our scouts have returned. They have found the humans' camp."
Celylith's head shot up, a quickly masked grimace flittering about his scratched and bruised face as pain shot through his skull at that.
"They have?"
"They have," Ori confirmed at the nod of his king. "My men found their encampment a few hours ago. It appears that you and Strider were right: There were approximately twelve men that were guarded in a secluded area of the camp – that were probably the Lake-men you talked about. The ones who took your companions have apparently captured them as well. They also saw a trail leading to the foothills of the mountain, probably to the treasure. They would have investigated but there were guards at the entrance to the tunnel."
Celylith's eyes were glued to the dwarf's face, not caring in the least if the dwarves had found the Lake-men, treasure or an orc with the head of a goat.
"What about…"
Ori quickly shook his head.
"There was no sign of the prince or Estel, I am sorry," he admitted gruffly. "But then again, they didn't see their bodies either."
Celylith wasn't sure if he should glare at the smaller being or feel relieved by his words.
"I see."
Dáin looked at him, a frown creasing his face.
"They might very well be alive, Master Elf," he said, fervently wishing it to be so. He had no desire to see the Elvenking ever again, something that would not be preventible if his son got killed in his, Dáin's, realm. Besides, Thranduil would be in an even worse mood than the last time he had seen him, and that was something that was to be avoided at all cost.
Celylith stood slowly to his feet, swaying only slightly.
"They are alive, Lord Dáin, and to that thought I will hold until I am proven otherwise. Are your men ready to depart?"
The dwarven king nodded, one of his hands tightening on the handle of his double-edged battle axe.
"They stand at the ready at the Front Gates; we can be gone in half an hour. It should take us about three to four hours to reach the spot where we can leave the ponies, and another twenty minutes to reach the camp itself. We should get there at sunrise." He looked from the elf to his master healer, a small smile hidden behind his long bushy beard. "Have you come to an agreement?"
Celylith looked at Dofur and then at Dáin, inclining his head slightly.
"I believe we have, your Majesty. I am ready to leave when you are."
Dáin raised his chin and gave the elf a dark look, raising an eyebrow so that it disappeared under the rim of his beautifully decorated helmet.
"Dwarves are always ready, Lord Celylith. Shall we?"
The elf raised a dark silver eyebrow in return, obviously biting back a scathing reply, and nodded, brushing past the dwarves and out of the cave, his face set in a mask of concentration in his attempt not to stumble or collapse completely.
Dáin gave a small nod, but the older dwarf had already bustled off to supervise the packing of the bags which the younger healers who would accompany the warriors would take with them. He exited the small room, followed by his advisors, inwardly praying that they would get there in time and find Strider and Prince Legolas alive, and be it only so that he got rid of these infuriating elves as soon as possible.
Legolas awoke slowly, much to his discontent. He didn't want to leave the wonderful, numbing darkness behind, knowing full well that the pain he could already feel in his body would get much worse once he was fully awake. But his body didn't obey the commands his brain sent it – once again, the elf thought grumpily. He really had to do something about that, he mused, giving up the fight to stay asleep as he quickly began to near consciousness, it was not tolerable for an elven warrior to have his body ignore his mind.
While he was still pondering this, he felt how a hand was pressed against the side of his face, while another was placed lightly on his forehead.
"Legolas? Legolas, are you awake?"
"No," the elf countered rather gruffly, stubbornly keeping his eyes closed. "No, I'm not. I am asleep and not talking to you."
"Oh," Aragorn's smiling voice said, "That's alright then."
The hands were slowly withdrawn, and almost against his will Legolas' eyes opened to fix reluctantly on his human friend's slightly flushed face. The ranger looked down on him and smiled.
"Welcome back to our home away from home."
The elf grimaced, contemplating if he shouldn't simply go back to sleep.
"Wonderful."
Aragorn shrugged slightly, clearly suppressing a shudder that raced through his body when he thought of their surroundings.
"With the fire it's almost bearable." He narrowed his eyes and reached for his friend's right wrist, feeling his pulse. "I know that it's a stupid question, but how do you feel?"
Legolas thought about it for a second. He definitely felt better than when he had lost consciousness, but since he had been in agony then, that wasn't too hard. The sharp, stabbing pain in his arm had been replaced with a dull throbbing, and he could see that Aragorn had removed the arrow and bound his arm and shoulder tightly to his chest once more. He was lying on his right side, therefore aggravating his broken ribs, but that was better than aggravating his back which had been bound as well. Something that the elf identified after a while as Aragorn's cloak was draped over him, and the fire at his back emitted a soothing warmth.
All in all, he felt almost well again, apart from the dark, ever-present pain in the back of his mind that reminded him just how much he had lost in the past two days.
"Better," he said quietly, swallowing quickly. "Much better. Thank you, my friend."
"I only returned the favour," Aragorn smiled. Knowing what occupied the elf's mind right now, but what he would never ask, he added, "I have set your arm, and I think I did it correctly. I will rest much easier though when I can have a look it it somewhere where it's light and I have the proper herbs at hand. It is too early to tell, but I think it will be fine, in time, if you keep it still and don't ruin my handiwork." His smile widened a little. "You will definitely live to face your father's wrath."
Legolas groaned, carefully draping his right arm over his eyes, but even the thought of his father did nothing to diminish the relief that had swept through him at Aragorn's words.
"My father. Dear Elbereth, and I had thought it had got as bad as it possibly could."
Aragorn turned serious again.
"Do you think he will send a delegation to Dale?"
"No," Legolas shook his head, "No I don't think so. I told him in my letter that we would be gone for some time, and the weather is not conducive to travel. In the summer he might, but I do not think that he will now, not right now anyway. It's too early yet."
"That's what I thought," the young ranger mumbled thoughtfully. His mind on the date, his eyes grew suddenly wide. "Tomorrow is Winter Solstice and I haven't written ada or the twins!"
The elven prince blinked up at his friend, wondering if he had missed a wound to the man's head.
"We are in the middle of Rhîw, Aragorn," he began carefully, reaching up with his right hand, trying to place it on the ranger's forehead. Could the infection have spread so quickly? "Yestarë isn't for more than hundred days!"
Aragorn looked at him in confusion for a moment before he began to grin.
"Yes, you are right, mellonamin, but in Rivendell we celebrate it twice, even though the big feast is on the real Yestarë. My family and I celebrate one at the end of December, that's when my human forefathers did it. My father always wanted me to remember the customs of Men, as far as he knows them himself, that is."
"Oh," Legolas said slowly and rather relieved. For a moment he had really feared for his friend's mental fitness. "I didn't know that. That Men celebrated it now, I mean." He slowly turned his head and looked the man in the eye, a mocking light shining in the silver-blue depths. "And I am appalled! You had so much time to compose a small letter!"
Aragorn raised a dark eyebrow at that, and Legolas continued.
"I mean, I am sure that Adruran and his men would have given you parchment and ink had you only asked for it! I am certain that you had at least half an hour there, and here in this cave even longer! Your father will be so angry that you didn't write, with nothing but kidnappings, cave-ins and wild animals to occupy your time…"
"Alright! Alright!" Aragorn quickly interrupted him, eyes twinkling as well now. "I understand. But that brings us back to the problem at hand, I'm afraid."
"It does indeed," Legolas nodded, serious now. "Just before they let me go, Hanar said that they were bringing the treasure out of the mountain right now. They are using the Lake-men for it, apparently, but Adruran's men seem to be helping as well."
"So they will be finished soon. It can't take them much longer than a day, not if they want to leave again soon and want to take as much as they can with them. Their horses cannot carry very much in addition to their riders, and I didn't see more than ten pack animals in their camp."
The elf nodded again at his friend's words.
"And when they don't need them anymore, I think we know what they will do with them."
Aragorn's face darkened.
"We do indeed." He moved closer to his friend, who was trying to push himself into a sitting position, and reached out to help him, grimacing when his own wounds protested. "But while you were asleep, I have been thinking."
Legolas groaned in mock terror.
"And here I thought we might get out of this alive."
"You are terribly funny right now, did you know that?" the ranger asked somewhat exasperatedly, helping his friend to sit up. He wasn't really annoyed with the elf, but his deep cuts and bruises hurt, as did his cracked ribs and the burns, and he was feeling much too hot for comfort.
The elven prince seemed to notice that, since he reached out with his good hand and placed it on Aragorn's shoulder in an apologetic gesture.
"I am sorry, Estel. We are both not well, forgive me. To what conclusion have you come?"
Aragorn looked at the fair haired elf seriously, a steely glint in his silver eyes.
"That two sides can play their games, my friend. And that it is time that we raise the stakes a little."
Legolas looked back at his human friend, drawing the cloak closer around his cut shoulders. He thought of Celylith's merry face, of all the things they had seen and done together, and how he had looked when he had last seen him, lying broken at the foot of a large boulder, his blood staining the snow around him.
He shortly closed his eyes, pushing back the tears that wanted to escape from his tightly closed eyes as the pain almost became too much.
"Indeed it is, mellonamin," he nodded, raising his head again, deadly determination on his face. "Indeed it is."
TBC...
mellonamin - my friend
Nan naith Angband! - (Damn it) Into the pits of Anband!
Ú-garo sen - Do not do this
Maetho vôr hen, Aragorn ... Echuio! Si nâ farn! - Fight this darkness, Aragorn ... Awake! It is enough now!
A Belain, boe telich dan enni, adan benidhren - O Valar, you have to come back to me, reckless human
ada - father (daddy)
Rhîw - 'Winter', the time between the (modern) 21th of November and the 31th of January
Yestarë - 'First-day', the first day of the year. The equivalent of Men's Winter Solstice (celebrated on the (modern) 22nd of December), according to the Reckoning of Rivendell it fell on the (modern) 7th of April
Well, well, well, things are definitely about to become very interesting! *evil grin* So, we have lots of questions that need answering: Will the dwarves get there in time? What is Aragorn's plan? Will they manage to carry it out without collapsing due to their various injuries? Why didn't Nili write a real cliffy? Is that a bad sign? A very bad sign? A very, very bad sign? *g* As always I try to answer all these questions in the next post, which should be here ... hmm, on Thursday? I think that's quite realistic, and I promise to get it ready till then if I get many nice reviews. So: Review? Please??
Additional A/N:
Coreinha - *g* I guess 'Legolas has owies' is a certain kind of understatement... And Celylith threatening to eat a few more humans - I don't know? I'm not sure yet where he will be at the end, so I gues that's a careful no. I don't think he would have time for that kind of thing either if he were there, so...
TrinityTheSheDevil - I'm glad you liked the strangling-the-dwarf-with-his-own-beard-bit, I somehow got that really funny mental picture - don't ask me why... *g* *grabs her bow before she can kill Geran for good* Bad! Bad Trinity! How many times have I told you that you must-not-kill-my-characters!? No! I don't CARE if they are evil! And don't think Elrond will protect you! *shakes her head* Fangirls.
Gwyn - Yup, right now Legolas is worst off. But you know me, I am a. always trying to keep things fair, and b. am rather fond of Estel (which, in my twisted way, means he gets hurt a lot), so that just MIGHT change in the future... Great you liked the Legolas torture though, there is a bit more to come in this post, so have fun!
Tapetum Lucidum - *nods* Yes, Geran is very possessive - and a little bit stupid, since _everybody knows_ that Legolas is yours. *shakes head* He really is an idiot, right? LOL, 'Adruran doesn't like Geran, Hanar doesn't like Geran, and Geran doesn't like anyone'? Well, I have to admit that sums ot up quite nicely - darn, and it took me about 22 chapters to make that clear! *narrows eyes* Are you studying medicine or something? I have to admit that I didn't think of neurological and vascular damage when I wrote that bit, at least I didn't think in these terms. Stupid me. Yes, and I agree: Dáin would love to have Thranduil in his debt - who wouldn't? 'Twould be so much fun... *dreamy look*
Ulmo's Duck - First: I really, really like your screenname. That isn't something you see every day... *g* And to be honest: I DO think that you're the only one who thinks that Celylith is being a 'complete ungratful, bigoted, little snot'. *g* Most of the people try to steal him, so they aren't very objective, I think. But, technically speaking, it was the dwarven healer that insulted him first, and elves are so frightfully proud people, so... *shrugs* Elves. Thanks for the review!
Firniswin - Well, Friday's almost as good as Wednesday, isn't it? *fake grin* I'm sorry, but I really couldn't make it any sooner. There is something out there called RL and it is said to be more important than FF- yeah, right! *g* Uhm, how do I do it? I just sit down and a moment later all these funny, weird ideas are in my head and demand to be written. *shrugs* No idea, really. I am your fav FF author? *blushes* Well, that's a great honour, thank you!
Rynn - I don't know, these things just happen. Sometimes I see a story and think I have read it and didn't like it and so I don't read it again - but in reality I didn't read it in the first place but only thought I had. *reads sentence again* Does that make sense? Ah well, whatever... *blushes* Aww, thank you so much for all your nice compliments - and in fact I have ALL my writing talent in one of my pinky fingers. I live in constant fear that something might happen to it... *g* I am glad to hear that you like Celylith but have to tell you that, unfortunately, you will not allowed to have the baddies before I'm finished with them. I need them only for a while longer, so you'll have to be patient... Thank you once again for all your kind words, and I am very glad you like my demented little story. Thanks!!
Angelsoflight - Well, believe it or not, I DO remember you! From a time before I put my reviewers' names in bold characters... *g* I remember most of my reviewers, actually - that is because I am addicted to reviews, of course. I know! I don't know why Legolas, Aragorn and Co. keep complaining - it could be a lot worse! I am positively nice right now! And I've always liked Johnny Depp, but in PotC I hardly noticed anyone else. He was perfect! That's the word, perfect! And I'm sorry, but I think I have other plans for the bear fur - I think. Later. Perhaps. *g* Thanks a lot for reviewing again! Glad you like this story as well!
Firnsarnien - I guess you could say that there's _some_ Legolas angst in this chapter. (Legolas: Some? SOME? Are you mad, woman??) *coughs* Okay, there is a bit more than some, but it's not too bad in my opinion... And about the sock: It-is-not-mine! My feet smell like the sweetest roses, remember? *grim, threatening look* And believe me, I'm _trying_ to finish the story, but the end is always quite hard, don't ask me why. *shrugs* Law of nature, I guess...
Leggylover03 - Uhm, there _was_ no Aragorn pain in the last chapter, simply because he wasn't in it. *narrows eyes* You meant that, right? And will Aragorn have the nightmares again ... I don't know yet. He's not really having much time to sleep right now, so perhaps in the last chapter or something - or not at all, sorry... *squirms uncomfortably* I don't really know how to tell you, but if I write the sequel roughly in the way I have planned it right now, then there will be no Elrond in it. Elladan/Elrohir and Glorfindel most likely, but no Elrond or only a very little bit, sorry.
Alex Mistress Squirrel - *g* Legolas and Celylith are in a little bit of pain. But only a little, not much... *beams* I am the Queen of Angst and Pain? Yay!! *huggles Alex* Thank you so much! *dances* That's such a sweet thing to say! And what has befallen Aragorn ... Mhahahahaha! *runs off cackling evilly* Nothing!
Strider's Girl - I know, I know, I should have known you people would react like that to Aragorn's absence in the last chapter. I didn't even really think about it, really! I have seen PotC twice now, and like it a lot too. You need an antidote against Orlando Bloom? Well, I have to admit I wasn't paying him much attention since I was busy worshipping Johnny Depp and the evil monkey...*g*
Halo - *patiently* Of course Celylith's alive, what did you people think? And I have bought the DVD, yay Nili! And OF COURSE it was your fault that that stupid bear came up! You somehow influenced the telly with your evilness, causing it to show things that would give me evil ideas! YOUR FAULT!!! ALL YOUR FAULT!!! *g*
Cestari - Well, generally I would agree with you that it's a good thing when the evil guys fail and get mad, but in Geran's case it's a little bit dangerous since he's a deranged psychopath... *g* And I wouldn't have killed Legolas in RL, because he's an elf! That's the elves' problem, they are far too strong for their own good... The archive sounds good, I have to admit that, but then again, it ALSO sounds like a lot of work - we'll see. *huggles* Thanks for reviewing!
XsilicaX - Nope, I didn't say what happened to Estel, but hey, who cares? I mean, I think we should leave him there, it's not as if he's an overly interesting or attractively rugged ranger character, right? *runs off to escape Cathy's wrath* J/k, really! *carefully frees the poor random random reader from her grasp* Now, come on, the next bit is here, and Aragorn is in it! Yes, I promise! Go and read it, shooh! *right now wishing for a bacon sandwich* Hmmm, bacon...
Vampy2k - Alive or not alive, that is the question! Whether... *g* Okay, shutting up now. Well, I am quite stupid sometimes, so it would be possible that I killed Aragorn - or not? Read on and find out! Thanks a lot for the reivews!
Imbefaniel - Uhm, you cry when you're alone? That doesn't really sound healthy! I am glad when I am alone most of the time, I am one of these people that enjoy being alone after a long day - and it's best to leave me alone too, I can get quite grumpy... But it's easy to hate Geran, you're right there, he's not really a nice person, although I like him, somehow... *g* Uhm, you want what? A detailed description of Celylith? Well, I am sorry, but I never picture my characters that closely when I'm writing them, not even Aragorn and Legolas. He's ... well, an elf? So that makes him tall and lithe, and pointy-eared ... *trails off* Other than that, silver hair and dark silver eyebrows, and dark blue eyes. But hey, this is a _story_ and that the main characteristic of stories: Everybody imagines things differently!
Zam - *joins her in her hysterical dance* TTT has come out indeed! And I have bought it, yay Nili! Well, it doesn't really matter since I downloaded it ages ago, but it's still nice to have the real thing... I have to agree with your orc horde though, I think you HAVE become more violent since Celylith's little 'accident'. You realise that he is fine and on the mend, right? Right?? And I'm not sadistic, I'm ... okay, I AM sadistic. But you guys want me to be, admit it! Glad you like the dwarves, there are more in this part, so have fun! They are indeed adorable and funny, even if they don't want to be... LOL at Dáin taking Thranduil's treasure! I somehow pictured Johnny Depp in PotC when he looked at the treasure in that cave! *wipes eyes* Funny... O Jeez, I had forgotten about the Army of Doom, Inc.! I hope this was soon enough, I really don't want another review like that one! *shudders in terror*
Sirithiliel - Yes, dwarves ARE very funny to read and write! They're always so gruff and funny! Okay, that was a rather stupid statement, but whatever... *reads the Ori-angers-Dofur-bit again* No!!! *covers face in hands* You're right! I wrote elf instead of dwarf! I am sorry, I will change it asap - oh the shame! I'm so sorry! *continues to beg for forgiveness*
TrustingFriendship - Mhahahaha! Legolas hasn't suffered enough, they have NEVER suffered enough! It can always get worse! Mhahah! *runs off cackling evilly* And it is truly hard to work out how to get them out of this whole mess, it took me seven days of long and hard thinking! Thanks a lot for all your great reviews!
Fliewatuet - I didn't really think about that, really! I didn't not mention Aragorn on purpose or anything! It just happened, and if you want to blame someone, blame Legolas. If that bloody elf would have got up the cliff a bit faster, I might have had space to put Aragorn in! *point accusingly at barely alive elven prince* His fault! *grins evilly* You are right, I do not envy Dofur either, I mean, Celylith is a bad patient under normal circumstances, with elven healers and everything, but with dwarven ones... *trails off* Poor dwarves.
Amelie - Wow, sounds like you had a nice little shopping spree! Yeah, you're right, technically speaking Legolas has already done all the falling he can, but I very often use quotes for the chapter titles. This one was one of Woodrow Wilson's: "We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end." Don't ask me why I put in 'falling', it just seemed right. *shrugs* I'm weird, I know. Hmm, where did I get the ideas for Legolas' injuries? Well, the arm was a spontaneous thing, I hadn't really planned to do anything to him then, but I figured that it was rather unlikely that he jumped off a cliff without hurting himself, so... *g* I don't know yet who will kill Geran, but I think it will be a team effort! *g* And of course I've seen the Extended DVD - I own it since November! I had to!
NaughtyNat - *wide-eyed* Legolas. Doing the hokey pokey. In his condition. *pats her arm* Riiiiiiiiight. Believe me, I was very sorry to leave sunny Essex behind, especially since I almost died of cold when I arrived here! It's bloody freezing here! *shivers* And concerning cliffies: I think this one wasn't a real one, but the next chapter will have one, I'm afraid. But that should be the last then, ch 25 and 26 should be cliffy-free. *g* Well, usually it takes me about 4 days to write a chapter, but longer lately. They are getting longer and I have to plan a lot, mainly the EDs demises... *g* Thanks a lot for reviewing!
A Person - *nods* You're right. It doesn't matter when or where I stop, it is automatically a cliffhanger, please don't ask me why. It just happens - all the time... LOL, that would be something! Legolas somehow finds his way into the cave, crawls in bloody, bleeding and near collapse, and Aragorn sits there on a bear rug, eating marshmellows and asking "What took you so long?" LOL, I think that would be enough for the poor elf to strangle him...
Alexa - You're back! Hey! *huggles* I thought my story had got so bad that you stopped reading it - and I'm very glad to find out that it didn't and your computer was to blame. And you're right, I know that a bone has to be set soon after breaking it, but I count on the fact that Legolas is an elf and therefore has a little bit time before it becomes really dangerous. So he might get away with pulled muscles ... then again, Aragorn might be forced to _amputate_ after all... *evil grin* J/k! Really! We'll see what happens to him... And it might take him some time to recuperate, you're right again... Thanks for the review! I missed you! *huggles again*
Bailey - Secret back entrance? *looks around her quickly* Noooooo... Nothing of that sort.... *g* Yes, something like that just might be there... And Celylith is indeed a very stupid, proud elf - as are all of them. *shakes head* Elves. This update was exactly as fast as the last one, hope that was still okay!
Maranwe1 - I know! I have read the first two chapters of "Traitor" now, but I simply have no time to read more! It's horrible! *demented grin* Right you are! I think Legoas should thank me for letting him fall off that cliff, he would be in a much worse shape (read dead) if Geran had got a hold of him... *g* LOL, Aragorn, where art thou, Aragorn? That was good, really... Shakespeare in my story, I could do that! And Celylith is really rather polite, but hey, he's nobility after all. I guess he learned some restraint some time... And ALL of them antagonise all the healers they meet, family included. *g* You're right again.
Aratfeniel - Well, you're right, it wasn't really psychic, it was more or less a law of nature that Legolas got hurt, right? You will find out more about Aragorn and his friend, the bear, in this chapter, never fear. I liked PotC too, but to be honest I was too preoccupied with the DIVINE Johnny Depp and the evil monkey from hell to pay anyone else much attention... *g* You're geting a cold? Poor you! Here, into bed with you and drink disgusting teas! Disgusting teas always help!
E - Oh, there is a warning in the disclaimers. Go back to chapter 1 and if you scroll down a little, there are the two bold letters AU, plain to see for everybody! Mhahahaha! *g* You think it's funny that Aragorn is trapped beneath a bear? Uhm, okay, if you think so... But I agree, once (and if! *evil grin*) they get back Mirkwood, King Thranduil will NOT be pleased! And Hithrawyn will probably have a heart attack. *g*
CrazyLOTRfan - *narrows eyes* I wrote the first 14-something chapters while going to college at the same time, so you can review while ging to school! Understood? Yes? *grim look* No, j/k, really, I understand that you'll be busy... I'm glad that you usually don't watch forest fires, that would have been too weird... Glad you and your computer are safe though!
Lembas7 - 'A full recovery = just around the corner!'? Ah, dear friend, but so many things can go wrong... *evil grin* You never know what will happen! I guess that all three of them are in need of medical attention, although I guess that Legolas is worst off right now. LOL, I think that Aragorn is rather grateful right now that the twins are not there, they would never let him live this down! And Thranduil's reaction will be interesting, of that I'M sure... Good fanfiction writer? What am I, a dog? No, on second thought, don't answer that... *g* Thanks for your great reviews!
Mouse5 - Thank you! It's great to hear that I'm improving and not getting worse! And since you have been following my weird little stories for some time it means really a lot to me! *huggles Mouse* And I'm still planning Geran's demise, but I think Legolas will at least have a part in it. *nods* Yup, most probably.
Elenora - Nope, I don't mind at all! Feedback in any form is most welcome! *g* *innocent smile* No, I am not enjoying your anxiety in the least - that would be evil and we all know that I am NOT evil... *g* Thanks a lot for saying that this story is not just a sequel - that was indeed one of my concerns, that I couldn't come up with a convincing story line and OCs again. It's very good to hear that you like it! And I don't know if that was a constructive review either, and I don't care either. I loved it! *huggles* Thanks!
Lady Sandry - Legolas is 'really not having a very good time of it'? Nope, he is not, you could say that... LOL, the mere thought of an Aragorn Lives Foundation is enough to transform me into a gibbering mass on the ground! The Celylith Lives Foundation was vicious, but Aragorn's would have to be deadly... I'm glad you liked the twins in the last chapter, I really missed them and just had to put them in! And I understand why you're Lady Sandry now, I was very glad that no-one else has my screen name, which is not really surprising! *g* I wouldn't want to have a number behind my name either!
ThE iNsAnE oNe - Now it has happened. Miki's lost what was left of her sanity. Tragic but true. Rubber ducks? Well, that is something new, that's for sure... And it's not my fault if you're too late to review, it's yours! I mean, you have about seven days, so come on... *g* No, it's okay really, you don't have to review either. I know that you're very busy this year... LOl, pancakes à la elfie? *imagines it and fall off her chair laughing* THAT is an interesting idea! Don't overdo it with your algebra, geometry and stuff, always remember: It's only school? *sheepish* That doesn't really help, huh?
Asha Dreamweaver - Oh, I COULD make it AU and kill Aragorn. It's always nice to see what happens then... *g* But never fear, I won't kill him - in this story, I think... *evil grin* You might be right, you know. I don't think that Celithramyr and Thranduil will be very please when they see their sons - ot Elrond when he hears about it...
Lina - Come now, do you never curse? I curse sometimes, unfortunately, and I am SURE I would curse when I had an arrow sticking out of my shoulder! LOL, it's always the question what's worse: Being stuck in a dark cave alone or being stuck in a dark cave with Lina! It's rally hard to say... *g* And I think the correct translation for Hobbitlet would be 'perianeg'. That should be correct, so Zam is a nogotheg and you are a perianeg. *g* Sounds good! And I really hope Éomer finds you soon, I'm sure he's beside himself with worry right now! *g*
Marbienl - Short? *wide-eyed* You call that short? Well, then I would really like to see what you consider long, then... LOL, Geran should have hit himself? That would have been a bit like in Robin Hood - Men in Tights! *g* Right, we FF writers are the most normal people in the world! WE don't hurt anybody! And see, what happened to Legolas' back is what happens when you give me funny ideas! *g* No, j/k, I wrote that a long toime before that, never fear... And you like Red Bull? Really? I could never stand that stuff, I think it's much too sweet. If I need something to keep me awake I drink Diet Coke with lemon, which is the most divine thing after Ginger Ale/Beer. *shrugs* I have weird taste, I know. I will think about a fatherly Frór scene, but to be honest I don't really want to put it in. You know I try to humour my reviewers, but it doesn't feel right. So, perhaps, that's all I can say, okay? I am sorry I couldn't make it one ar two days sooner, but I've been too busy. And no, I've never suffered a writer's block, I somehow just sit down and write! I hope you get home safe and sound, and don't worry to review! I know you're busy! Thanks a lot for your 'short' review!
Ciria - Yay! Ciria's back! Hey, your German sentence was very good! There were a few minor mistakes, but mainly it was just fine! Congrats, it's not an easy language! I hope you're better now and tha your computer has stopped giving you any trouble? *sighs* Why do they keep doing that? Never fear, I will definitely read your reviews, even if they are for earlier chapters! I love all reviews! *huggles her* Oh, and thanks, I had a very nice time in England, the weather was simply great. And you're right, Miki's reviews are indeed insane! I like her squargs, though... *g* LOL, 'Estel, meet Estel and Estel meet Estel'? That would be very interesting! I can just picture it... Glad you liked that chapter, and I hope you'll like the rest as well! Thanks for reviewing again, I missed you!
Nikara - 'Whoever finds them will find both of them'? That's an interesting way of seeing it... *g* I think all three of them are the worst patients any healer can imagine, and believe me, I already pity poor Hithrawyn! I hope this chapter was soon enough to cheer you up a little, thanks for the review!
Eva27 - Here it is, the chapter with your Sindarin curse. Hope you'll like it! *g* Okay, but you keep confusing me, and I'll tell you why: In the beginning you write that Cyd's a natural healing freak, therefore implying that you are not Cyd. And then you sign as Cyd? That doesn't make much sense, does it? You realy have to explain that to me... All your family are in the military? Well, that has to be interesting; my whole family is very pacifistic and no-one is in the military!
Shaz1 - Well, thank you very much, I'm very glad you like it! I don't think that there will be any more real Aragorn torture though, we don't want to kill the poor lad, after all, do we? No... Thanks a lot for reviewing! Reviews help me immensely, really!
Seveawen - Great you are back! I hope you had lots of fun! I'm sure you did, I am so jealous! 3 ½ weeks in Italy! There are som many wonderful things there, museums and ruins and all that... *sighs* Not fair. And yes, you DO drive on the wrong side of the road, but I love it! Well, and I guess Legolas hadn't really planned it that way, it was more or less an accident that he had to jump off that cliff really... And sorry to diappoint you, but Geran won't try out the saw on me, he knowsw I am the author and therefore the mistress of his universe, it would be very stupid and almost suicidal to do so! Glad you liked it and thanks for the review!
Cara - *bnlushes* Thank you! It's always great to 'see' someone new who likes my weird little stories... I was a bit away from Devon, in Essex to be precise. It has the one, unbeatable, distinctive advantage that it's not far from London, which I absolutely love! I just love that city! And believe me, I know how horrible English weather can be - I was there last year from April - October. Lots of rain and cold, yesss precioussss... *g* I have indeed more stories planned, at least one more, and I think there even is the shadowy outline of a forth - we'll see. Thanks a lot for reviewing, reviews help immensely! Thanks a lot!
TigerLily713 - I know, I couldn't write an only-serious-chapter if my life depended on it! Glad you still like it, thanks for reviewing!
Critternut - Nope., and I won't do anything to his legs either, I need both him and Aragorn to be able to walk! So rest assured, his legs will be fine... *evil grin* I won't say Happy Birthday now because it's bad luck, but your present sound very good! I mean, I am SO not interested in football (even though I like the movie Bend it Like Beckham! *g*), but if you are there is nothing better than the World Cup - I guess! *g* And I had lots of fun in Englad, and to be honest, yes, I like it better than the US. The accent is unbeatable, and it's close to Scotland which I simply LOVE! *g* Hope you have lots of fun on your birthday! *huggles her*
Ellyrianna - You read THAT in the Da Vinci Code? I mean, I knew that he invented lots of things, but torture methods? Really? But thanks a lot, I will think about putting it into the next story! It's great you agree with me that a dead Legolas would have messed the whole thing up a bit, and I'm sorry that I couldn't get this up on Thursday! *sobs* Sorry! Hope this is still soon enough to cheer you up a little!
Brethil, Estelle - Yes, to live or not to live, that is the question... *g* Will Aragorn survive or not? Read on, dear friend, and find out! Thanks for revewing!
Aron - I must say Legolas is very clever to disguise himself as C-3PO! I don't think he has many fangirls following him... Hmm, so Aragorn would be Chewie then? As long as he isn't Jar-Jar Binks I don't care - I hate that ... that ... that THING with a passion! And to defend Geran a little, he comes from the East and is still fairly young, so he hadn't had the chance to 'study' elves. Since there aren't many East of Mirkwood... 'Happy Geran means pain for our heroes which is not good'? You might be right there, but I guess it's a no-win situation for our dear heroes! It's even worse if Geran is unhappy, so go figure... *g* I'm glad you liked the description of Legolas' wounds, I was afraid I had overdone it a little there... *evil grin* Don't mention to Celylith that he agreed with dwarves, though. He's a little bit testy about that one... 'Plus he's unconcious which is not helping the situation...' LOL, no it's not helping the situation at all... *g* ROTFL!! Aragorn as Rapunzel!! Jeez... *g*
Stacee Phelps - That's exactly the point: He's so damn the beautiful, strong, and brave! It's his own fault he gets hurt all the time! *evil grin* I am sorry for not updating any sooner, but there is someting called RL and sometimes it demands some attention... *g* I hope you wiped the floor with the other team, and in case it was the other way round: They cheated! Even it's not true, it makes you feel better! *g*
Reginabean - I am looking forward to that cookie once I find a little bit time to read your story! Not right now, but I will find some time ... some time. *g* Okay, that sounded rather stupid... My God, it's a Whack-a-Nili-MACHINE now? That really sounds dangerous... *g* Thanks for all your great reviews, btw!
Delph - *evil grin* Yup. No matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. That's my motto. It was my pleasure not to kill Celylith, or let's say it would have been my pleasure to kill him but I was too afraid of the CLF to kill him. *shrugs* They are really dangerous... *g* Thanks a lot for your review! Reviews are soooo nice and they help to encourage me a lot!
*wipes brow* Wow, that took a long time! Thanks a lot for all your reviews and encouragement! I would hug you but I have to go to find my dwarves that just escaped, sorry! Thanks a lot again!