Into the Mines

By: Max Pilote

Chapter Eleven: Dying

Estel gritted his teeth to keep from crying out as the whip fell across his back. Elladan tried his best to get to his brother, but the orcs were holding him and Rymir back. He was thankful as the beating stopped and he was pulled back to his feet. The orcs began moving once more.

Elladan frowned as he walked next to Rymir. The large elf next to him had a look of concentration on his face, anger and concern mixed in his eyes. That's when the half-elf realized that he wasn't really as bad as his brother. There was a heart under that tough exterior. Under his hard outer shell, there was a spirit yearning for kindness and friendship. He had found that one friend and now he was on the very verge of losing him.

The small army was suddenly thrown into chaos. There were orcs running in every direction as they scrambled for weapons and fighting positions. The prisoners were lost in the confusion.

What was happening?

A barrage of arrows felled a few orcs standing at the front of the group. Elladan smiled at Rymir as he realized who they were: warriors from Imladris. About twenty of them rushed the group of thirty, lead by the strong warrior Glorfindel.

"Dispose of the prisoners!" yelled one of the orcs.

Rymir spun on his heel and ducked an orc blade. He pushed Elladan to the ground just as two swiped at the half-elf. Estel was caught somewhere in the crowd where neither of them could see.

A cry of pain echoed off the cave walls, louder than the cries of battle. Elladan jumped to his feet, recognizing that voice.

"ESTEL!!"

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The hard, cold ground was a harsh reminder that he was indeed still alive. His body was practically pleading for death. Pain radiated from his wounds, running through his body like the orc poison in his blood. All the things that were so normal and natural to him were now painful. Breathing was painful, thinking felt painful. Being alive was painful.

Legolas's eyes fluttered open slowly. He expected to see Elrond sitting next to him with the worried father looked on his face, but only darkness sat beside him. Fear threatened to overwhelm him as he laid there, alone. It reminded him far too much of those nights he spent on the floor of that prison cell as he clung to life.

This was different though. This was not as bad. If he were to die, he would be happy. He would be happy because he gave up his life for another. Maybe this is what Illuvitar wanted of him. Maybe this was his destiny...to give Ryldor a second chance.

"You can't leave, Legolas," came a soft voice from nearby. It was so familiar. "You promised to protect me. You can't do that if you're dead."

A slight smile came to the prince's face. He turned his head and saw the human son of Elrond kneeling next to him.

"You escaped?" asked Legolas in disbelief.

The boy nodded and brushed a few loose strands of hair from Legolas's face. "Don't leave me, mellon nin. You can not leave me," said Estel.

Suddenly, Legolas realized that little Estel did not sound so strong. He reached his hand up and felt across the child's chest. A warm, thick liquid touched his hand. "Estel! You're bleeding!"

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Glorfindel walked up to Elrond and frowned, "We must hurry. There may be others nearby."

"There are no others. Accompany me back into the cave," responded the elf- lord. "Prince Legolas is badly injured. We need to get him back to Imladris as soon as possible."

Elladan ran up to his father, "Ada! Where's Estel?" His voice was full of alarm and worry.

"He is not with you?" asked the father, his face now showing an expression of worry as well.

"No, he was separated from us and I lost sight of him in the battle."

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Estel collapsed against Legolas. The elf refrained from crying out as the boy's body landed on top of his already fragile one. Mustering any strength he had left, Legolas sat up. He pulled off his over tunic and ripped it into thin strips. He took Estel and assessed the wound. It was hard to do in the darkness of the cave, but the human needed help. As best as he could, Legolas wrapped the wound. Then, he pulled his friend against him and cradled him protectively in his arms.

He turned his head as he heard several sets of heavy footfalls. Holding Estel against him as if he were the most precious thing in the world to him, Legolas pulled himself against the cave of the wall. Did some of the orcs come back to finish him off? He reached into his boot and pulled out a small penknife.

"By death or poison," whispered the prince, "I will protect you."

Normally, the skilled warrior could have taken the five orcs that came into view, but he wasn't normally in this bad of a condition. One of the orc's face twisted into a sick expression of pleasure as they advanced on the helpless duo. With nothing more than a penknife to protect him, Legolas was afraid that he and Estel might die there.

"We should have finished you off the first time you came back," sneered the horrible beast as Estel was torn from the prince's arms.

When he got up to fight off the orcs, a blade was pushed into his gut. He cried out, falling to his knees as it was ripped violently from his flesh. Then, the orc moved to Estel, who was just waking up.

"No!" cried Legolas. "Please don't hurt him!"

The orc raised his blade, but another stopped him. "Why don't we torture this one some," he said with a wicked smile. "Nothing is more enjoyable than watching an elf suffer."

Instead of killing the poor boy, he ran the blade across his back. The semi- conscious Estel cried out. Too weak to struggle, Legolas had to simply watch and listen as cold steel was pulled across Estel's skin. Every time the boy cried out, the elf felt his heart tear.

An arrow struck one of the orcs and he fell to the cave floor. Elrond rushed up and cleaved off the head of a second and third orc. Glorfindel disposed of the other two easily.

Estel smiled slightly as he curled up in his father's arms. "Ada," he whispered weakly, "you came to find us? Are you going to help Legolas?"

"I am going to help you both, ion nin," responded the wise elf-lord softly, kissing his son on the forehead. Clutching the boy's trembling body against his own, he started to leave the cave.

Glorfindel held Legolas, who protested against being denied the right to walk. The warrior laughed at the prince and started to follow Elrond.

"Even as an elfling you were stubborn, Legolas Greenleaf."

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Elrohir frowned as he watched his father sitting beside Estel's bed. A tear rolled down his father's cheek. "Please do not leave me, Estel. Ten years...it isn't long enough," he whispered gently. "You are now my son, and you can not leave me. I will not allow it. Even if the Valar say we can no longer be together, I will not allow you to leave me."

The youngest twin moved from the room, leaving his father alone with Estel, in order to seek out his brother. When he walked into the next room, he froze. Elladan laughed lightly.

"Do not worry, brother," he whispered. "Rymir is an ally now. Please do not be afraid of him."

He stood next to the bed, staring down at his friend.

Legolas's skin was abnormally pale, his eyes closed. His breathing was labored, indicated by his rasping breaths. The stab wound to his abdomen had stopped bleeding, but no one knew how long that would last. The heavy dose of orc poison running through him was complicating things further.

The three sat in silence for several moments before Elladan finally spoke, "Rymir, will you be staying with Legolas?"

"You two go get some rest. You can take my place in the morning," replied the large elf, smiling up at the twins. He didn't want to address them by name, having a hard time trying to tell them apart.

Elladan nodded and took Elrohir with him as he left. Rymir was going to make a good addition to their little team of troublemakers. Elladan had a feeling that he was going to be around for a long time.

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Blessing the room with a soft glow, the moon was about to reach her peak in the sky. Midnight was nigh and Legolas had made no sign of waking up. Rymir woke up from his light sleep and checked his wounds. When he saw that on had started bleeding again, he went off to go find some more bandages.

This is when Ryldor saw his chance...