Disclaimer: All things related to Tolkien's works are his.

A twist of fate

Chapter IX – Foul Weather

 Legolas stumbled for what seemed like the thousandth time. He was becoming frustrated at his weakness. His muscles ached and trembled faintly and all he really felt like doing was lying down to sleep.

Sensing his companion's growing depression, Aragorn unconsciously quickened their pace. Legolas struggled to keep up with the ranger, though every step made his head swim and his legs want to give way. His vision blurred and despite his efforts he soon began to stumble even more frequently and would have fallen if Aragorn did not have a tight hold around him.

The ranger paused as he realized the elf was having difficulty. He cursed himself for being so stupid. He hastily slowed their walking speed.

"I am sorry, my friend …" He began apologetically.

Legolas shook his head, waving off the apology. He was too exhausted to reply. In silence, the two hurried on as fast as they were able, anxious to get to the elven realm.

~*

Rain poured forth from thick wooly grey clouds in the sky and lightning flashed momentarily lighting up the pith black woods. Aragorn caught sight of Legolas' pair of dilated and glazed blue eyes staring blankly ahead, before darkness fell again.

A cruel wind gusted around the trees, throwing itself into the faces of the ranger and elf, until both of them had to squint to block out the discomfort. Large heavy drops were slipping down from trees onto the ground, turning the forest floor into a mixture of mud and fallen leaves. It was getting more difficult to walk on as the ground got more slippery by the minute.

"I think we should stop," Legolas finally spoke up.

"It is hopeless traveling on in this wet."

Aragorn had to agree. With a sense of despair, they went about trying to find some sort of shelter from the storm. The ranger sighed heavily. The dire situation they were in was starting to weigh on him. He knew not how long his friend would be able to fight he battle with the poison. For all he knew, his friend might drop dead on the spot this very minute. His heart sank at the thought. No. I will not let him die. We will get back to his home in time. As resolute as he tried to be, doubt still tugged at the corner of his mind, but he tried to shove it aside.

Thunder rumbled deep from the sky belly and the ground almost seemed to quake with the resonance. Lighting soon followed, the white light tore a jagged cut in the sky and hit a tall tree that protruded from the canopy of the woods. Unfortunately, it was also the tree under which Aragorn and Legolas currently stood.

A good sized sturdy branch gave way like a mere twig, and tumbled to the ground. Legolas and Aragorn both heard the branch as it roughly made its descent to the bed of the forest, pushing past the branches of other trees and breaking off smaller weaker ones.

Simultaneously, the two friends hurled themselves as far away from the tree as possible. However, it was not far enough.

Without a thought, Aragorn pushed Legolas ahead of him, as far as was possible, just as the  branch hurtled down, trapping him beneath it. Darkness swept swiftly across the ranger's vision.

~*

Legolas rolled for a good way down the slightly steep ground. He was bumped and jostled by the uneven ground before his midsection hit a tree hard. His breath was knocked out of him and he heard a sickening crack as several of his ribs were unable to withstand the impact.

He gulped and choked, trying to take in air which his body desperately needed. After several moments, he lay still, wheezing, trying to recover from the shock. He had to get back to Aragorn. Shakily he pulled himself away from the tree and gasped as his insides throbbed painfully. He tried to stand, but his legs refused to hold him. Throwing away all pride for the sake of his friend, the proud elf painstakingly began to crawl over to where he perceived Aragorn to be.

Just a little more… a little idiotic voice kept telling him, although the rest of his mind screamed out that it was lying. Stubbornly, he refused to listen to it. His arms shook with the exertion. His hands were caked with mud as he grabbed onto the ground and pulled himself forward.

As he dragged himself across the uneven ground, rocks and twigs dug into his already bruised and battered body causing him great pain. His arrow wound was ripped open again and blood oozed out from it, dripping onto the ground below. The broken ribs grated painfully.

Despite, the agony Legolas was in, he stoically pushed himself forward. He stopped to rest once, resting his head on the muddy ground, smearing brown dirt over his cheeks. That same voice commented that he should take a good long bath when he got home. Hopelessly, Legolas wondered it he would ever be so lucky as to do just that. 

~*

When Legolas reached the place where he had last been together with Aragorn, his heart froze at the sight. His friend was caught between the ground and the heavy tree branch. Thankfully, the ranger was not wedged tightly. Legolas thought he would probably be able to get him out from there with some effort. Right now, he was too exhausted. His friend was not grievously wounded from the looks of it, just unconscious. Legolas let himself go limp as he slumped on the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

TBC …

Really really sorry for the very very short chapter eight…. Well, this chapter is longer… and more eventful.

Thanx to all who reviewed and those who are still reading this! Please continue to review!! They encourage me to write quicker…. Really!