Chapter 15

"Estel, wake up." It pained Elladan to wake his little brother, but they had to start moving immediately.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Aragorn's eyes shifted to the corner that held his friend,watching as Gandalf and Elrohir gingerly wrapped the elf in a blanket.

"No, everything is fine. We just have to go back to Imladris as soon as possible."

"Why?" Aragorn failed to understand the urgency in his brother's voice.

"Because...." Elladan's mind was torn in two. One side screamed that it was the right thing to tell the ranger, but the protective older brother in him wanted to shelter his little brother. "Because we do not want your wounds to become infected, and we have limited supplies here."

Aragorn didn't fully believe his brother, but he allowed the twin to help him up. Making sure he wasn't putting any pressure on his injured leg, he hopped over to his horse. As he started to mount he heard a chuckle behind him.

"And what makes you think you are riding on your own?"

Aragorn glared at Elladan. "Of course I am riding on my own. I am not that injured."

"Considering that the last time you were on your horse you managed to pull both yourself and Legolas to the ground, I will be riding with you."

Aragorn was furious. He was a grown man, capable of taking care of himself. He thought for awhile, coming up with the perfect plan.

"Fine. Now can you please help me up?"

Elladan didn't trust the glint in his brother's eye. He carefully walked up to Aragorn, helping him mount without further hurting his leg. As he started to pull himself up onto the horse's back, Aragorn ordered the animal to trot forward.

Frowning, Elladan started for Aragorn again, trying to get close enough to the animal to mount.

"You're crazy if you think I will let you ride with me," Aragorn called.

"You cannot run forever."

"Want to bet?"

Elladan was getting ready to lunge for Aragorn when Gandalf shouted at him.

"If he is well enough to put up that much of a fight, he is well enough to ride by himself. Leave him be."

Elladan turned back towards Aragorn, who promptly stuck his tongue out at the elf when the wizard's back was turned.

"Gandalf! Did you see what he did?"

"Yes, now stop acting like a child and help me." Gandalf started to pick up Legolas, surprised at how light the prince was, even for an elf. "Elladan, bring me my horse."

As the beautiful creature came to him, Gandalf handed Legolas to Elrohir. He climbed up onto his horse's back, and took Legolas as Elrohir handed the prince to him. The twins mounted their own horses as well, prepared to start.

Legolas' chestnut animal only neighed softly, waiting for someone to let her carry her master.

"I'm sorry, but Legolas must ride with Mithrandir," Elrohir whispered to her.

She only looked back at him with sad eyes, understanding how grave the situation was.

"Why? I thought you said he was sleeping?" Aragorn questioned Elladan.

"Well, he is. He is just so exhausted we don't think he could ride." Elladan hoped Aragorn would accept the half-truth.

Aragorn knew something was amiss, but he didn't push it. They all started riding towards Rivendell, when Aragorn thought of something.

"How did you know that I was me?"

"What?" The twins were perplexed.

"How did you know that Legolas and I had switched back?"

"Well...umm." At this, those present blushed a little, yet had a devilish smile as if they knew a huge secret.

"You talked in your sleep," Elladan muttered.

Aragorn's face grew ghostly white. "What did I say?"

"Let's just say that if we previously had any doubts about your feelings toward our sister, we don't anymore." Elrohir looked at his foster brother, barely containing his mirth.

Aragorn couldn't take the teasing stares anymore, and looked straight ahead for the rest of the day.

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When the sky turned dark, Aragorn had a hard time staying awake. He swayed on his horse's back, and the others feared that he would eventually fall off. Aragorn's exhaustion fogged his mind, so he did not put up much of a struggle when Elladan suggested that Aragorn ride with him while they traveled through the night.

A few minutes after that Elladan heard a small sigh and felt his younger brother relax into his arms, a soft snore shortly following the sigh. 'But he insists that he doesn't snore,' Elladan thought.

As he shifted Aragorn's weight to a more comfortable position, he heard a slight gasp. He looked towards Gandalf and the source of the sound.

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He knew only one thing; pain. He heard a deep, gruff voice above him, whispering words of comfort. He muttered something about being 'almost there' and to 'stay with them'. He wasn't sure who 'they' were in his delirium, but something nagged at the back of his mind.

He only wanted them to stop, so that the jarring motion of the horses would cease. As he wondered why they were traveling quickly, and in the dead of night, he remembered everything he had heard.

"Aragorn," he weakly called.

"He is fine, young prince. Now go back to sleep."

"No, he is in danger. You said so yourself. What is wrong with him?"

Gandalf gave a puzzled glance to Elrohir. Everything he said seemed to agitate the elf further. "Aragorn has a few minor injuries, but he will survive. He is not our major concern right now."

"But you said you had to leave, or else he would die."

Gandalf reflected on the many conversations he had had, finally recalling the one the prince had overheard. His felt tears in his eyes as he realized the misunderstanding. However, he did not have the heart to tell the weak form the truth.

"Aragorn will live. Now go back to sleep."

Legolas tried, but he couldn't ignore the pain that kept him awake. Even Gandalf's spell didn't last long. Elrohir suggested giving him a sleeping potion, but Gandalf wasn't sure if Legolas could survive it combined with the poison.

After hours of watching the prince suffer, Gandalf felt the young elf give one last gasp, and then go limp. Assuring himself that Legolas was still breathing, he urged his horse to go faster.

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In a couple of hours he saw the gates of Rivendell spring up before him, giving him new hope. He looked down one last time, whispering words of encouragement to Legolas. He paled as he saw the blue tinge to the fair being's lips. He tried to find the elf's pulse, but it wasn't there.

To Be Continued....

Author's Note: I don't really like this chapter, but I had three days off from school due to snow. (A whole half-inch!) Can you tell that we don't get much snow in North Carolina? Our state has declared a state of emergency. (For less than an inch???) I will have to make up the days later, but I had the joy of being trapped with my little brother for three days. (Probably why there are a lot more mistakes in this chapter.) Anyway, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who reviewed!

Marbienl: I spend almost all of my summer breaks (and any others for that matter) behind the computer. I am happiest when it is me, my radio, and my computer. Fror and Anca were very helpful last time, but I kept glancing over my shoulder to make sure Anca was at least a few feet away. I know I will have to grow up sometime, but as long as I have my little brother to kill all spiders for me. (Actually, I get him to catch them and release them. No matter how terrified I am of them, I feel bad killing them.) The twins think I know how to cast the sleeping spell, and they won't leave me alone. If I actually knew I wouldn't tell them, I fear what they would do to me. They seem to be mad at me for getting them lost. As if it is my fault? And I have to know, was it Fror that banged on my door last night at two am?

Deana: Thanks for your review. I knew there was something I was forgetting to do. Read fanfiction! As soon as I've posted this chapter that is exactly what I am going to do.

Silverknight7: Schools in North Carolina are really messed up. (Sometimes I think two year-olds are smarter than our school board.) However, I consider myself lucky; if one of my friend's rode the bus she would have to be at the bus stop at 4:30. Thanks for reviewing.

Jamie: Thank you so much. I never really like anything that I write, so your reviews mean a lot to me.

Evenstar: Thank you so much! Reviews like yours are what I live for.

Elven kitten: Thank you for bringing my mistake to my attention. When I proofread I meant to go back and tell everyone how the twins and Gandalf knew, but somehow I forgot.

OBStar20: The only thing predictable about life is that it is never predictable. At least mine isn't. lol. Thanks for reviewing and pushing me to continue writing.

Kandice: Thanks for reviewing.

Websterans: I was beginning to wonder where you were. Thank you so much for your review! The dilemma in chapter twelve was the thing I was most proud of, and you are the first one to mention it.

AAAclub: A holiday without a computer? It sounds like torture to me. lol. My family and friends keep waiting for me to announce my engagement to my computer, or Mac as I call him. Thanks for reviewing.

Elfmage: If I could have anything on my wall, it would be a picture of the Grey Havens. That was one of my favorite scenes in the Return of the King. Anyway, you are way too kind. My work isn't worthy of your praise. There is nothing for you to cry about. Thank you so much for your reviews!

Lulu Bell: Aragorn? What about me? The twins have been giving me evil looks ever since I found them. For some reason they think I'm the reason that they were lost. If they ever got their hands on that sleeping spell shudders I would probably never wake up.

MK: Thank you so much!

Marsha: (Yes, that's you. I thought I would use Sarah's nickname. lol.) Well, thank you for saying that the fluffiness has gone down some, as well as the lack of slash elements. (Even though there were none to begin with.) With the exception of those two things, your advice has always been of great help to me.