Chapter 14
Aragorn's groggy mind wasn't able to comprehend what was happening when he woke up. He could hear a fire softly crackling in the background, and there was a soft blanket covering him. As he glanced around himself he assumed he was in a cave, the stalagmites and stalactites giving away his location. He looked at the size of the cavern, noting that it was fairly small. Wincing as he tried to sit up, he heard voices.
"As you can see, we were very successful hunting."
"We? You mean me."
"No, I meant me. I just wanted to be nice to you."
'Hunting? What do they mean? Am I a prisoner?' Aragorn thought to himself.
"Excuse me, I was the one who shot it."
"You were also the one who scared it off so we had to chase it for hours."
"Could you two please stop? You are giving me a headache. The important thing is that you caught it," a third voice shouted, sounding annoyed.
"Well, it is his fault," the first voice said.
"No it's not," retorted the second.
Aragorn was concentrating on the people speaking. 'Those voices sound almost like....'
"ESTEL!" Two identical voices shouted when they saw he was awake. They rushed over to his side, helping him to sit up.
"Estel, how are you feeling?"
"Where have you been?"
"I can't believe you got lost."
At that, Aragorn had to interrupt. "Excuse me, 'I' got lost. Elladan, I fear it was you that was lost."
"Was not." The twin looked outraged at being accused of such a thing. "Elves never get lost."
"Well, it was you that suggested that we go right instead of following Legolas and Estel to the left," Elrohir said.
As the two started to bicker again Aragorn gasped. "Legolas! Is he okay?" He started to stand, struggling against the twins, who held him down.
"Calm yourself, young one," a wise voice soothed.
"Gandalf! What are you doing here?"
"Saving your life, apparently." At Aragorn's confused look, Gandalf continued, "I was the one who found you in the woods. I helped heal you as best I could, and then brought you to this cave. Where..."
"Where we were packing up to go home," Elladan said, a little too rushed to be believable.
Gandalf glared at the elf for interrupting him. "Where you were trying to find your way home after getting lost in the woods."
"We were not lost."
"We just had trouble remembering where we were."
As the two defended themselves, Aragorn continued to try to get up.
"Aragorn, you have to rest." Gandalf was concerned that Aragorn would reopen his leg wound if he moved too much.
"Legolas? Where is he?" Aragorn didn't seem to notice anything around him in his panic.
"Shh, Estel, Legolas is fine," Elladan comforted.
Elrohir pointed to the other side of the room. "He is simply resting, which is what you should be doing."
"Can I g-"
"No, you can not get up. If you want, we will wake you when he rouses." Elrohir tried not to laugh at his next thought. "Or, if you wish, we can drug you until we get back home."
"I..."
"Rest, Aragorn. Even now, you must be extremely tired." Gandalf's voice was gentle and calming, which did not help the ranger rest. If anything, it annoyed him even more.
"No, I'm not."
"Sleep."
"But-"
"Sleep."
At that, Aragorn felt his eyelids grow heavy, until he could keep them open no longer. His soft snores filled the cave.
"What did you do?" Elladan asked.
"Only a small sleeping spell."
"Can you teach it to us?" asked the other twin. Gandalf just gave him an incredulous look, as if Elrohir had asked him to tell all of his secrets.
"No, my young elf, I think that would be too dangerous." He looked over in the corner, towards Legolas. "Besides, we weren't exactly truthful to Aragorn, and I fear he will not appreciate being lied to."
"Is he that bad, Mithrandir?"
"I still haven't found a cure for the poison. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. Somehow, it has been infused with a dark magic that I have never seen before."
"You can cure him, can't you."
"I'm not sure. We may have to hope that Legolas is strong enough to fight it off on his own." At the melancholy looks of the twins, Gandalf aimed for a less depressing tone. "Come, we still need to bandage their wounds." He looked at Elladan. "Will you assist me with Legolas, and Elrohir can finish with Aragorn."
They each went to their respective tasks.
******************************************************************************
"Gandalf."
"Yes." He looked up from where he was mixing herbs together.
"I cannot get the bleeding to stop."
"Put as much pressure as you can on it, for it is the only thing we can do, I fear."
"But, he is so pale."
"Aye, now continue to clean the wound. I'm almost done."
As the last bits of wood from the arrow were pulled free, the wizard leaned over the older twin, inspecting it. He pursed his lips as he began to pour the herbs into the wound. A slight moan from Legolas was the only indication he got that the elf was still alive. His breaths were shallow, and he already looked more deathlike than a corpse.
Gandalf started apologizing to the prince. "I'm sorry, little one. I should have-"
"Nay, it was us that failed them. If we hadn't gotten lost, none of this would have happened." Elladan was not going to let the wizard take the guilt he thought he deserved.
The two were wallowing in their thoughts when Elrohir walked up to them.
"They are not dead yet. Don't mourn ones that aren't lost. You are doing no good sitting there. If you have nothing better to do, you can help me finish cooking the venison." Elrohir didn't allow himself to dwell on despairing thoughts. He told himself that if he kept busy, everything would turn out all right. A little illogical, but he continued to say this to himself.
While Elladan and Elrohir were cooking Gandalf continued to keep watch over the others. The twins were starting to fight again, putting the old wizard at ease. He allowed himself to slip to sleep.
"What do you think happened to Saruman. I thought they were traveling together." The younger twin was puzzled with the absence of the white wizard.
"They were, but I heard that Saruman said he had urgent business in the Shire, so they went their separate ways."
"What could be so important with the hobbits?"
"Who knows. No one ever hears anything about the comings and goings of the halflings."
"Surprisingly content. They never seek adventure."
"Except for that one. What was his name?"
"Which one? The one with the dwarves?"
"Yeah! That one!"
"Bilbo, I think."
"Right. I wonder what happened to him?"
"I don't know. Probably went insane. Probably was from the beginning; he had to be to go with those dwarves."
******************************************************************************
When Legolas awoke he was in a great deal of pain, confused as to where he was. Breathing was a formidable task; speaking was impossible. He tried to stay as still as possible, listening to the voices around him. No one noticed him, as they were involved in a heated argument.
"We can't leave, Mithrandir. He would die on the journey home." Elrohir's loud voice rang throughout the cave.
"We can't stay, or else he will die." Elladan didn't like arguing with his brother on important matters, but there was no way that they would be able to heal Legolas in that cave.
Gandalf considered both their points. If they acted, Legolas could die, but if they didn't act at all, Legolas' fate would be the same.
"We should go," he said at last, with as much confidence as he could muster. "Elladan is right, he has no chance here. We can only offer him a chance."
Legolas panicked at those words. 'Aragorn! I failed him! I-' His thoughts stopped as he chocked on his tears. The salt from them got into his many scratches, burning them. His labored breathing became worse, until the lack of oxygen made his mind fuzzy, and he fell back into the relief of unconsciousness.
To Be Continued....
Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your reviews. You are all some of the kindest people I've ever met.
Restless-Soul: Me? Scared? (Comes out of hiding place underneath her bed.) No, I knew you were kidding. lol. Thanks for reviewing.
Deana: Thank you so much! Your reviews are always so kind and encouraging (and fast, I sometimes find them a couple of minutes after I post) I look forward to them every time I update my story.
SliverKnight7: I thought I was being too mean to Legolas, and that I needed to give him a break. (Laughs, listening to the words coming out of my mouth.) Thanks for reviewing. I used to like school, but since I have to get up at 5:00 am, I've started to like it less.
Elfmage: lol. You should ask my friends about my room. They are so tired of hearing about it. (It's the first time it has been painted in sixteen years, and I'm really excited about it.) It's a pale green color, and soon I'll be putting up a mural with....a forest!!! (Somehow, I have to wonder if LotR made me chose that?) You are completely right, school is evil (especially a certain pre-calculus teacher); fanfiction is much more important. Thank you for your reviews! I love them so much!
After the Rain: Thanks for reviewing.
Jamie: Thank you for reviewing. I'm still not sure about my definition of soon. I hope this was an acceptable amount of time.
Butterflyer: Yes, I know, I'm a science geek. (I actually have the periodic table hanging above my desk.) My friends think I'm insane, but I actually call water dihydrogen monoxide. lol. Your reviews mean a lot to me; thanks so much!
Lulu Bell: I found them!!! Shame on them, hiding out in a cave the entire time. They looked so sad when I found them, and I'm not sure if it was because they fear for the friend's health or their won. I see them sneaking to the edge of the cave every once in awhile, as if they are trying to escape. lol. Thanks for reviewing, and helping me find them.
Feagil: I know, I was disgusted with myself for writing such a short chapter. Hopefully, I will never do that again. Thank you for reviewing.
Evenstar: I don't know if you can use a fake e-mail address or not. Since I didn't want to get a lot of junk main, I got a separate e-mail account (I know Yahoo and a couple of others have ones for free) and then used that address when I registered. (The sad thing is that I get all my reviews sent to that address, so I check it more often than my regular e-mail address.) So far, I don't think I have gotten any junk mail from fanfiction.net or internet weirdoes. (I had to request that they send reviews to my e-mail address.) Thank you so much for your reviews. Reading them brightens my day. I wish you good luck with posting your writing. Feel free to ask anytime if you need help, and let me know if/when you post it so I can read it.
Elven Kitten: Thanks for reviewing! However, no matter how much I may dislike what Peter Jackson did to certain characters cough Faramir cough the LotR movies are awesome.
Marbienl: Thanks for taking time out of your busy life to review. They mean a lot to me, and I know life can get hectic sometimes. Last night I went to a program about reducing stress. (Taught me nothing, but I am one step closer to getting my Girl Scout Gold Award.) The funny thing is, everyone knows how to reduce stress; they just lack the capability to do it. The program said the computer was a stressor, but it is where I go when I want to relax. lol. Legolas didn't switch with Aragorn immediately because he didn't want to cause his friend pain. He felt bad about messing up Aragorn's body, and was waiting for it to heal before they switched back. *Sudden knock on the door, so the evil author hides under the desk.* Fror! He's been following me all night. He wouldn't really hurt me, would he. (That ax looks sharp, though.) And that spiders. *shudders* I hate spiders!!!
Sesshomarul103: Thank you very much.
Aragorn's groggy mind wasn't able to comprehend what was happening when he woke up. He could hear a fire softly crackling in the background, and there was a soft blanket covering him. As he glanced around himself he assumed he was in a cave, the stalagmites and stalactites giving away his location. He looked at the size of the cavern, noting that it was fairly small. Wincing as he tried to sit up, he heard voices.
"As you can see, we were very successful hunting."
"We? You mean me."
"No, I meant me. I just wanted to be nice to you."
'Hunting? What do they mean? Am I a prisoner?' Aragorn thought to himself.
"Excuse me, I was the one who shot it."
"You were also the one who scared it off so we had to chase it for hours."
"Could you two please stop? You are giving me a headache. The important thing is that you caught it," a third voice shouted, sounding annoyed.
"Well, it is his fault," the first voice said.
"No it's not," retorted the second.
Aragorn was concentrating on the people speaking. 'Those voices sound almost like....'
"ESTEL!" Two identical voices shouted when they saw he was awake. They rushed over to his side, helping him to sit up.
"Estel, how are you feeling?"
"Where have you been?"
"I can't believe you got lost."
At that, Aragorn had to interrupt. "Excuse me, 'I' got lost. Elladan, I fear it was you that was lost."
"Was not." The twin looked outraged at being accused of such a thing. "Elves never get lost."
"Well, it was you that suggested that we go right instead of following Legolas and Estel to the left," Elrohir said.
As the two started to bicker again Aragorn gasped. "Legolas! Is he okay?" He started to stand, struggling against the twins, who held him down.
"Calm yourself, young one," a wise voice soothed.
"Gandalf! What are you doing here?"
"Saving your life, apparently." At Aragorn's confused look, Gandalf continued, "I was the one who found you in the woods. I helped heal you as best I could, and then brought you to this cave. Where..."
"Where we were packing up to go home," Elladan said, a little too rushed to be believable.
Gandalf glared at the elf for interrupting him. "Where you were trying to find your way home after getting lost in the woods."
"We were not lost."
"We just had trouble remembering where we were."
As the two defended themselves, Aragorn continued to try to get up.
"Aragorn, you have to rest." Gandalf was concerned that Aragorn would reopen his leg wound if he moved too much.
"Legolas? Where is he?" Aragorn didn't seem to notice anything around him in his panic.
"Shh, Estel, Legolas is fine," Elladan comforted.
Elrohir pointed to the other side of the room. "He is simply resting, which is what you should be doing."
"Can I g-"
"No, you can not get up. If you want, we will wake you when he rouses." Elrohir tried not to laugh at his next thought. "Or, if you wish, we can drug you until we get back home."
"I..."
"Rest, Aragorn. Even now, you must be extremely tired." Gandalf's voice was gentle and calming, which did not help the ranger rest. If anything, it annoyed him even more.
"No, I'm not."
"Sleep."
"But-"
"Sleep."
At that, Aragorn felt his eyelids grow heavy, until he could keep them open no longer. His soft snores filled the cave.
"What did you do?" Elladan asked.
"Only a small sleeping spell."
"Can you teach it to us?" asked the other twin. Gandalf just gave him an incredulous look, as if Elrohir had asked him to tell all of his secrets.
"No, my young elf, I think that would be too dangerous." He looked over in the corner, towards Legolas. "Besides, we weren't exactly truthful to Aragorn, and I fear he will not appreciate being lied to."
"Is he that bad, Mithrandir?"
"I still haven't found a cure for the poison. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. Somehow, it has been infused with a dark magic that I have never seen before."
"You can cure him, can't you."
"I'm not sure. We may have to hope that Legolas is strong enough to fight it off on his own." At the melancholy looks of the twins, Gandalf aimed for a less depressing tone. "Come, we still need to bandage their wounds." He looked at Elladan. "Will you assist me with Legolas, and Elrohir can finish with Aragorn."
They each went to their respective tasks.
******************************************************************************
"Gandalf."
"Yes." He looked up from where he was mixing herbs together.
"I cannot get the bleeding to stop."
"Put as much pressure as you can on it, for it is the only thing we can do, I fear."
"But, he is so pale."
"Aye, now continue to clean the wound. I'm almost done."
As the last bits of wood from the arrow were pulled free, the wizard leaned over the older twin, inspecting it. He pursed his lips as he began to pour the herbs into the wound. A slight moan from Legolas was the only indication he got that the elf was still alive. His breaths were shallow, and he already looked more deathlike than a corpse.
Gandalf started apologizing to the prince. "I'm sorry, little one. I should have-"
"Nay, it was us that failed them. If we hadn't gotten lost, none of this would have happened." Elladan was not going to let the wizard take the guilt he thought he deserved.
The two were wallowing in their thoughts when Elrohir walked up to them.
"They are not dead yet. Don't mourn ones that aren't lost. You are doing no good sitting there. If you have nothing better to do, you can help me finish cooking the venison." Elrohir didn't allow himself to dwell on despairing thoughts. He told himself that if he kept busy, everything would turn out all right. A little illogical, but he continued to say this to himself.
While Elladan and Elrohir were cooking Gandalf continued to keep watch over the others. The twins were starting to fight again, putting the old wizard at ease. He allowed himself to slip to sleep.
"What do you think happened to Saruman. I thought they were traveling together." The younger twin was puzzled with the absence of the white wizard.
"They were, but I heard that Saruman said he had urgent business in the Shire, so they went their separate ways."
"What could be so important with the hobbits?"
"Who knows. No one ever hears anything about the comings and goings of the halflings."
"Surprisingly content. They never seek adventure."
"Except for that one. What was his name?"
"Which one? The one with the dwarves?"
"Yeah! That one!"
"Bilbo, I think."
"Right. I wonder what happened to him?"
"I don't know. Probably went insane. Probably was from the beginning; he had to be to go with those dwarves."
******************************************************************************
When Legolas awoke he was in a great deal of pain, confused as to where he was. Breathing was a formidable task; speaking was impossible. He tried to stay as still as possible, listening to the voices around him. No one noticed him, as they were involved in a heated argument.
"We can't leave, Mithrandir. He would die on the journey home." Elrohir's loud voice rang throughout the cave.
"We can't stay, or else he will die." Elladan didn't like arguing with his brother on important matters, but there was no way that they would be able to heal Legolas in that cave.
Gandalf considered both their points. If they acted, Legolas could die, but if they didn't act at all, Legolas' fate would be the same.
"We should go," he said at last, with as much confidence as he could muster. "Elladan is right, he has no chance here. We can only offer him a chance."
Legolas panicked at those words. 'Aragorn! I failed him! I-' His thoughts stopped as he chocked on his tears. The salt from them got into his many scratches, burning them. His labored breathing became worse, until the lack of oxygen made his mind fuzzy, and he fell back into the relief of unconsciousness.
To Be Continued....
Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your reviews. You are all some of the kindest people I've ever met.
Restless-Soul: Me? Scared? (Comes out of hiding place underneath her bed.) No, I knew you were kidding. lol. Thanks for reviewing.
Deana: Thank you so much! Your reviews are always so kind and encouraging (and fast, I sometimes find them a couple of minutes after I post) I look forward to them every time I update my story.
SliverKnight7: I thought I was being too mean to Legolas, and that I needed to give him a break. (Laughs, listening to the words coming out of my mouth.) Thanks for reviewing. I used to like school, but since I have to get up at 5:00 am, I've started to like it less.
Elfmage: lol. You should ask my friends about my room. They are so tired of hearing about it. (It's the first time it has been painted in sixteen years, and I'm really excited about it.) It's a pale green color, and soon I'll be putting up a mural with....a forest!!! (Somehow, I have to wonder if LotR made me chose that?) You are completely right, school is evil (especially a certain pre-calculus teacher); fanfiction is much more important. Thank you for your reviews! I love them so much!
After the Rain: Thanks for reviewing.
Jamie: Thank you for reviewing. I'm still not sure about my definition of soon. I hope this was an acceptable amount of time.
Butterflyer: Yes, I know, I'm a science geek. (I actually have the periodic table hanging above my desk.) My friends think I'm insane, but I actually call water dihydrogen monoxide. lol. Your reviews mean a lot to me; thanks so much!
Lulu Bell: I found them!!! Shame on them, hiding out in a cave the entire time. They looked so sad when I found them, and I'm not sure if it was because they fear for the friend's health or their won. I see them sneaking to the edge of the cave every once in awhile, as if they are trying to escape. lol. Thanks for reviewing, and helping me find them.
Feagil: I know, I was disgusted with myself for writing such a short chapter. Hopefully, I will never do that again. Thank you for reviewing.
Evenstar: I don't know if you can use a fake e-mail address or not. Since I didn't want to get a lot of junk main, I got a separate e-mail account (I know Yahoo and a couple of others have ones for free) and then used that address when I registered. (The sad thing is that I get all my reviews sent to that address, so I check it more often than my regular e-mail address.) So far, I don't think I have gotten any junk mail from fanfiction.net or internet weirdoes. (I had to request that they send reviews to my e-mail address.) Thank you so much for your reviews. Reading them brightens my day. I wish you good luck with posting your writing. Feel free to ask anytime if you need help, and let me know if/when you post it so I can read it.
Elven Kitten: Thanks for reviewing! However, no matter how much I may dislike what Peter Jackson did to certain characters cough Faramir cough the LotR movies are awesome.
Marbienl: Thanks for taking time out of your busy life to review. They mean a lot to me, and I know life can get hectic sometimes. Last night I went to a program about reducing stress. (Taught me nothing, but I am one step closer to getting my Girl Scout Gold Award.) The funny thing is, everyone knows how to reduce stress; they just lack the capability to do it. The program said the computer was a stressor, but it is where I go when I want to relax. lol. Legolas didn't switch with Aragorn immediately because he didn't want to cause his friend pain. He felt bad about messing up Aragorn's body, and was waiting for it to heal before they switched back. *Sudden knock on the door, so the evil author hides under the desk.* Fror! He's been following me all night. He wouldn't really hurt me, would he. (That ax looks sharp, though.) And that spiders. *shudders* I hate spiders!!!
Sesshomarul103: Thank you very much.
