Disclaimer: All things related to Tolkien's works are his.
A twist of fate
Chapter VI –Not always what they seem
The sun flitted in through the leaves of the forest leaving strange patterns of shadow and light on the forest floor, as the group traveled deeper into Mirkwood, unaware that they were already being watched.
An elf, clad in the greens and browns of his people peered at the intruders from amongst the branches of a tree. He took note of their number and his eyes quickly scanned the group of men for other details to report to his Captain. In his haste to return, he missed a glint of blonde from amongst the heads of men, being dragged from behind a horse…
~*
Aragorn eyed Legolas through his peripheral vision, the elf had not stumbled as of yet and to an untrained eye looked barely affected by the journey at all, but to the ranger, it was fairly obvious that he was in some pain. The elf caught his friend's eyes and raised his eyebrows in question. Giving a sigh, Aragorn turned away; his friend's stubbornness would be the death of him one day.
In truth, Legolas was more then just in some pain. Every step sent waves of agony from his injured shoulder, until his entire right side was almost numb from the pain. He chewed his lips nervously, trying hard to concentrate on running and not let the pain distract him. So intent was he on trying to focus that he failed to notice a tree root protruding from the ground.
He was dragged along by the rope for a few moments before he finally gained his bearings and managed to rise. He refused to look at the ranger whom he knew was worrying immensely for his well being.
Worse still, Legolas was beginning to feel strange. There was a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach and his heart seemed to pump unnaturally loud in his chest. The surroundings seemed to swirl from time to time and often, he got the sensation that the trees were waving from side to side.
He swallowed hard to calm his nausea and took a few deep breaths. Silently, he wished that they would stop for the night as soon as possible, before the illness claimed him.
~*
Legolas rested against the smooth bark of a tree and closed his eyes tiredly. All of a sudden, a spasm of nausea wrecked his stomach, unable to keep his body under control anymore, he violently retched its contents on the forest floor. When the weakness at last past, he shuddered slightly and shut his eyes tightly, leaning once again against the tree.
Aragorn awoke from his slumber at the sound of the retching and moved as close to his friend as his bonds would allow. He brushed a few slick strands of blonde hair away from the elf's face and checked his pulse.
Anxiously, he checked on Legolas' arrow wound. The wound had begun to heal slightly although that was doing more harm then good because of the sharp wooden splinters still embedded in the flesh. It did not seem infected and yet it seemed like his friend was ill. Legolas' forehead felt warm and droplets of sweat had collected on his brow.
In normal circumstances, Aragorn would put it down to poison, but he had managed to get a close look at the arrow when it was carelessly thrown to the ground and there was no trace of poison on its head.
A distressed moan from the elf brought him back to the present and Aragorn continued his inspection of his friend's various injuries. None of them seemed serious enough to have caused a fever.
A bird overhead flew from the branch it had just landed on and shook it, causing a few drops of water to fall onto Aragorn's face, reminding him of the dryness of his throat. They had not been given water for the entire day and already, he was beginning to feel slightly dehydrated. The ranger frowned as he recalled the other night. The only thing that Legolas had consumed and Aragorn had not, was the water the night before.
His ire rose as he realized the reason why his friend was not well.
~*
Tiddyn twisted in his sleep caught in the throes of a nightmare.
The women sobbed pitifully, tears streaming down her face. This was not how it was supposed to be… no… it couldn't be happening… this was not real… Her sobbing eyes tried to find his in the crowd, but he looked away, unable to meet her eyes
A traitor… their eyes seemed to stab at his body cruelly. I didn't do it! Blame her, not me!
It was funny how such circumstances turned family against each other. And yet he felt no surge of guilt at the thought. All he wanted was to get away. Get away from this nightmare.
A firm hand was placed on his shoulder and it led him away from the mass of people. When they had reached a fair distance away, they stopped. His uncle's kindly eyes looked down and murmured soothing words to the boy.
A sharp crack from afar rung in the air for a few moments, and the boy turned around. He soon wished he hadn't. A hanging is not for the eyes of a child…
He gasped, as he sprung awake, his fists tightly balled.
"Are you alright, Captain?"
It was just a dream. But no, it was worst then that, it was a memory.
"Sir?"
"I'm… alright, Geollyn. What's the matter?"
"It's one of the prisoners, sir, he seems to be ill." Tiddyn followed Geollyn to where the captives were being guarded, his heart racing at this new complication.
~*
Legolas lay on the ground tiredly; he had just completed a rather exhausting process of dry retching. His lithe frame shuddered in pain, as he swallowed hard, irritating his swollen throat. He stared ahead at nothing in particular, too indwelled on his discomfort to concentrate on anything else.
He was barely aware that a man bent down and lifted his head slightly, to look into his eyes and check his pulse.
Aragorn glared angrily at the man who bent down to touch Legolas. He had been unable to do much to ease his friend's suffering in the course of the night and it frustrated him to say the least. Now, his agitation was directed to their captors. It was they who had gotten them into this mess in the first place.
"Do not touch him." He said in icy tones that sent a slight shiver down the spines of those who were listening.
"I said… do not touch him." He reiterated. When everyone else continued to ignore him, Aragorn lashed out in a fit of anger. He landed a sound punch onto the jaw of the man examining Legolas and threw him back a few paces.
At that moment, Tiddyn entered the small clearing. He frowned as he saw one of his men lying on the ground and one of the prisoners standing defensively over the other.
TBC…
There! I wrote a nice long chapter… so review please!
Thanks for all past reviews!
