Disclaimer : I don´t own anything , no matter how much I wish I did !
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Legolas19 :Here´s the next chapter , hope you´ll like it!
Lady Nierwen : Thank you , it´s nice to know that you think my English is good .
Bradleigh: Is this what you call inner turmoil ? Well , thank you for reviewing every chapter!
DestinyLot:Thank you , hope you like this , as well ! Let me know what you think ....
Katie: Thank you !!!
Forsaken on^3:I guess you´ll find some more AragornLegolas in this chapter , so , please keep your promise to read and review this chapter as well!
VaniaHespkins :I think the worst thing about Arwen is that she comes between the two true lovers. Otherwise , she would be okay ,I guess.
Nímin: I am so happy that your computer is up again , otherwise I truly would have missed your wonderful reviews. Well, here´s the next update you asked for , and *I * am eagerly waiting for your next review!
On to the story....and please, R & R !
Chapter 8
Night watch
The journey of the fellowship started off rather easily, mostly consisting climbing in the mountains and then on more flat ground. As a wonder they did not encounter any orcs or goblins , they did not even see any sign of them . Instead , this odd mixture of Middle –Earths free folks, spent these first days of their quest to get to know each other better. In fact , this was easier for them than expected , much due to the circumstances ; they had no other choice than to turn to each other. Legolas was not used being around others so long, much less from such different races , but it didn´t disturb him as much as he thought it would do. Even the dwarf was endurable , at least when he wasn´t talking about elves.
Being the one with the , by far , keenest eyesight and hearing , Legolas took the lead during the passage over mountains, plains and distant paths. Aragorn walked last in line, giving the man and the elf few chances to exchange any words at all, except for a few necessary phrases. It did not matter though ,as always the air around them was light , caused by the closeness these two friends always felt in the presence of each other. Gandalf , Legolas noticed , sometimes watched them with a cunning smile on his lips, although he never approached the subject with words. The only who ever commented them was Boromir, who ,overheard by Legolas, once told Aragorn that he did not the understand "the nature "of the ranger's" relationship with the elf. To this Aragorn answered nothing, but later the elf heard him mutter to himself that he did not understand it, either.
**********************************************************************'
The dark was ascending fast over the small camp, near the mountains where they had decided to rest for the night. There was a biting cold in the air, and the elf could smell snow approach, not tomorrow ,but some of the following days. He felt worry for the hobbits, being of a more delicate statue, this would be hard for them. In fact , the hardening weather was beginning to wear down on the whole fellowship , their easy talking and chattering was gone , the burden of their task feeling heavier for everyone. Legolas was the only one that wasn´t bothered much for his own sake, had it not been for the others he might as well have enjoyed it , he had seldom seem snow and it fascinated him , making the world white and beautiful . But surely , the warmth of summer would have been much more fitting, for everyone. He gazed out in the shady surroundings , seeing random movements of rabbits and different night-living creatures, even the fast disappearing shadow of a fox. Far away his sharp senses detected owls that were howling. He could lose himself to the beauty of this night , to him this was as much rest as sleeping would have been. He had agreed to take first watch this time, being the one that was least tired, the others were completely exhausted. Some hours earlier this day they had encountered a band of orcs. The creatures had been chased off without too much effort , but in combination with the wandering , it had everyone tired.
The elf looked around in the camp, listening to the random snores from the sleeping members of the fellowship. Well , concerning Gimli , random was not precisely the word. His was heavy and loud, as usual. Legolas was amazed that he did not wake anybody with his sounds. A sudden movement from Aragorn´s direction caught his attention. The man stirred in his sleep and seemed restless ,as he started to toss and turn , uttering some incoherent phrases , apparently in different languages. The elf was unable to detect any sense in it at all , Aragorn was seemingly having restless dreams.
He watched him from a distance first, but as the moments went by , the ranger did not calm down , rather the opposite. Legolas raised himself and went over to Aragorn´s bedroll , where he kneeled down. He knew that Aragorn usually slept lightly, so he almost expected him to wake, as a cause of the prince´s movements, but he didn´t , sleeping deeper than usual. Instead the man started to thrash around wildly, almost hitting the elf, sweat appearing on his forehead.
Legolas leaned over him, and whispered gently:
"Oh , my friend , do these nightmares still haunt you ? Do they still deprive you from peaceful sleep after all these years ? "
He was reminded of the child he had given his comfort, the child that had begged the elf for his arms, for his soothe and even for innocent kisses. It was seldom he let himself think about this ,considering the loss and the pain ,but at this moment the memory was vividly brought back to him. Then he leaned over the agitated sleeping form, forming a decision in the back of his mind .
He gently laid a hand on the ranger´s chest . Through the fabric of clothing the elf felt the steady, but no less, all to fast hammering of the man´s heart , beatings that revealed how anxious Aragorn truly was. The feeling of the beating under his palm was so intense, he nearly lost himself and he could not do that , he was supposed to be on guard, but being an elf he could sense that no danger was near , everything was still peaceful around them.
"Now I see your nightmares are different from back then, but still you need to be at peace , you must , we all need you to endure tomorrow "he continued in a soothing voice.
And then , for the first time since this man was five years old , and he hadn´t done it for anyone else since then , he pressed his fingers to the man´s temples , giving him images of Rivendell , of trees bathing in sunlight , of dew glittering on flowers in the morning , of birds singing in the air. Soon enough , but not as soon as the child Estel, Aragorn´s heart slowed its rapid pace to a more normal rhythm and he slept peacefully .
But it was still there , the blazing pain in the back of Legolas` head , even more intense than before, so intense that his vision dimmed for a second . It did pass swiftly though , and he still did not feel weaker, just a bit worried.
He kept his hand on the man´s chest , since it was what made Aragorn seem most comfortable. It felt good to touch him like this , feeling his heart under his fingers.
When morning broke , Aragorn woke , feeling more rested than he had done since the journey started . He was also astonished to find Legolas sitting beside him, having not woken him to take over the watch, as were decided. (Legolas had removed his hand when he felt the ranger starting to wake.)
"Why did you not wake me, Legolas , it must be tiresome even for an elf to be on guard the whole night ?" he asked.
"No, not quite , I don´t need to sleep every night , and you were restless , apparently needing your rest. You can´t tell me that I am wrong about this , could you ? "he said with a mysterious smile on his lips that the distracted Aragorn so much, that he forgot to ask the elf why he had found him by his side when he woke.
"Well "he said feeling slightly confused "in fact , I slept very well this particular night ,so I suppose that you are right on that one."
*********************************************************************** The following night when Gandalf was having watch , Aragorn had these bad dreams again. Legolas had suspected this , so he had placed his bedroll right beside that of the man. Aragorn was surprised at this , but he also found it enjoyable to have Legolas sleep near him.
As the night before , Legolas put his fingers to the man´s temples, but it was harder this time. When he had given him the images, he couldn´t let go of him with less than that the nightmares started again so he ended up leaning his back against a tree , Aragorn´s head in his lap. Leaning was a good thing , this time the pain almost drove tears to his eyes , even more forceful than the day before.
When the pain had subsided ,he could not stop himself from running his fingers through the man´s dark hair , tracing the lines of his jaw and the contours of his lips with tender fingertips. He found him so enchanting.
Chocked was not word enough for what the man felt, when he woke and found himself laying with his head, like a child, in Legolas lap.
"What´s this? "he said, also feeling embarrassed.
"You were having bad dreams again , and laying like that made you relax " Legolas said, matter of factly.
"I´m not a child that needs to be lulled to sleep!"
"Of course not , but you acting like one at the moment, there are many efforts during this quest and you really need to be rested , no matter how you get that rest . Those nightmares you suffer would have left you exhausted , had not Legolas helped you "Gandalf intertwined, having heard them.
Aragorn did not say anything more on the subject , knowing that the wizard was right. What had felt most embarrassing though ,was that he had woken aroused , and he was sure that Legolas had noticed., but he knew the elf would never say anything about it.
During the day both the ranger and the elf felt that the bond between them was getting stronger.
And the nights followed that same pattern ;Legolas would end Aragorn´s nightmares , each time pain in the elf´s head a little more severe than before. The snow came , and everyone except Legolas was in need to sleep close to keep them warm and finally they were driven into the mines of Moria.
The long dark in these caves made Legolas weary , although he tried not to show it. He suspected Aragorn knew , though.
To further complicate things, Aragorn´s nightmares were getting worse at this point , so Legolas had quite some effort to keep them at bay. When he finally succeeded he almost went unconscious with the raging pain followed. It lasted longer than before and when it passed he began to hum in elvish, as much to himself as to Aragorn.
He had the man´s head in his lap as had become his habit , because he enjoyed it so much. This night he just couldn´t stop himself from lowering his head and let his lips softly touch Aragorn´s .Maybe his senses were weakened by the pain attacks , since he didn´t notice that Aragorn was sleeping no more and that he was being kissed back. When he did,he tried to withdraw himself , but the man took hold of his hair and brought him closer ,opening his mouth so that their tongues met.
Legolas was stunned at first, but then he leaned into the man, and continued the kiss.
Aragorn hands tangled in his hair, with his tongue he probed the elf´s teeth . He had wanted this for so long, having almost given up hope that he once again would hold this dazzling creature in his arms. When he felt the warmth of the elf´s mouth, nothing else existed in the world, least Arwen.
The elf , on the other side , knew he probably should end this, but he didn´t want to. During the stress of this task he felt like he could give himself and Aragorn this; the memory of this kiss, to ease the burden of the journey that laid before them. Not even their strange pose ; Aragorns head in his lap, bothered him. The only thing that mattered was those lips against his , their meeting tongues and the growing hunger for more. The ring and the fellowship did not matter anymore.
The kiss did not stop until the ranger needed air, and that only for a brief moment , time enough for the man to raise himself from Legolas´ lap and start to ravish the elf´s mouth again, with yet more force and need. Legolas felt his body start to respond to Aragorn´s obvious desire.
How it should have ended , hadn´t they heard a gasp from behind them , Legolas did not want to think about when he had came back to his senses some time later.
Now the man and the elf turned to see Frodo standing there, with an embarrassed blush on his face , apparently not knowing what to do or say.
"Aah...well, I wanted to inform you that ...ehmm, Gandalf said that we should continue now...sorry to interrupt you..."the hobbit stammered and was gone in a blink of an eye.
The elf and the man could not help smiling at the hobbit´s embarrassment.
"I hoped that we did not shock him all too much" Aragorn said.
"I guess we just gave him something to think about. "
When Aragorn some time later tried to explain to Frodo , the only answer he received was a knowing smile, and the words that what the hobbit had seen explained some things that he had been wondering about.
*************************************************************************** And then the complete disaster were upon them , with Gandalf falling from the bridge of Khazad – Dûn , along with the balrog , screaming "Run , you fools!"
As he ran , Legolas could see disturbing images in his mind, images of a golden – haired warrior – clad elven woman fleeing from a balrog in to a cave , he saw her draw her sword only to have it shattered by a burning whip. This was followed by a sequence where she had been stripped of her clothes standing in a stair , dark lightning's shooting from her that made the balrog fall and then, at last , he saw her sitting , all battered and bruised ,by a pond crying , blood steaming from her nose. With a sense of astounded grief , he realized that he had seen his mother , memories somehow brought to him by the demon Gandalf had been fighting.
Outside the mines , after escaping the shooting orcs , everyone in the fellowship stopped , paralyzed because of the shock the loss of Gandalf had been for them. Legolas felt like he couldn´t gather his thoughts because of the blurring images inside him, a mixture of the fall of the wizard and of his mother. Therefore, Aragorn´s voice seemed to come to him from afar:
"Legolas , get them up!"
Numbly , acting automatically , he did as he was told , vaguely hearing Boromir protest and the rangers statement they had to reach Lótlorien before nightfall. The elf sighed to himself , with some kind of relief. The Golden Wood seemed the absolutely best place to go right now, the right place to find solace from the pain that all of them felt.
Aragorn took the lead when they started to move , shortly followed by Legolas. When the man had crossed a small creek , he suddenly stumbled , and should have lost his balance if he hadn´t took hold of a near-by tree.
Legolas hurried towards him, a realization growing in his mind.
"Aragorn , you are injured ! "he said.
The ranger looked almost irritated.
"It´s nothing bad , really, just a small wound in my leg , caused by an arrow just brushing beside me. Do not worry about that. We do not have the time "he continued when Legolas started to inspect his leg, when the others were upon them.
"What´s this about ? I thought we were in a hurry "Boromir said, sounding slightly annoyed .
"Strider ? Are you hurt ? "Frodo asked.
Aragorn shook his head.
"The wound is not deep, that is true enough , but it is bleeding and the arrow may have been poisoned "Legolas whispered , well knowing that the man would not want the others to know the details.
"It doesn´t matter , we have to continue immediately "the man said between clenched teeth.
"You are not going to make it, running all the way to Lótlorien , we still have a long way to go ".
Aragorn made a move as if to protest , even though he knew that the elf was right. Then , all of a sudden , he grabbed Legolas shoulder.
"Then *make* me forget the pain, I know that you can do it , just do it , like you`ve wiped out my nightmares during this whole quest "he looked the elf deep in the eyes with a demanding glimpse.
Legolas was stunned for a brief moment , he had not even suspected that the man knew about this. Then he said ,anxiously:
"I can do that , yes. But you will overestimate your capabilities, since you not are going to feel any pain at all , and that can make the wound worse in the end ."
"JUST DO IT! We have to go on!"
Almost seeming resigned , the elf brought his fingers to the man´s temples , at the same time bringing their foreheads together, whispering in elvish, almost too low for human ears.
Afterwards Aragorn did not feel any pain at all, instead he felt stronger and almost rested.
Legolas , on the contrary , stepped backwards as a cause from the whips of pain in his head.
"Legolas, what..." the ranger began , but the elf interrupted him.
"Run! I will come !" he panted.
Giving Legolas a quick look of concern , Aragorn began to run , shouting to the others to continue. They were shortly caught up by Legolas , who followed them as soon as the pain had passed.
TBC.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Legolas19 :Here´s the next chapter , hope you´ll like it!
Lady Nierwen : Thank you , it´s nice to know that you think my English is good .
Bradleigh: Is this what you call inner turmoil ? Well , thank you for reviewing every chapter!
DestinyLot:Thank you , hope you like this , as well ! Let me know what you think ....
Katie: Thank you !!!
Forsaken on^3:I guess you´ll find some more AragornLegolas in this chapter , so , please keep your promise to read and review this chapter as well!
VaniaHespkins :I think the worst thing about Arwen is that she comes between the two true lovers. Otherwise , she would be okay ,I guess.
Nímin: I am so happy that your computer is up again , otherwise I truly would have missed your wonderful reviews. Well, here´s the next update you asked for , and *I * am eagerly waiting for your next review!
On to the story....and please, R & R !
Chapter 8
Night watch
The journey of the fellowship started off rather easily, mostly consisting climbing in the mountains and then on more flat ground. As a wonder they did not encounter any orcs or goblins , they did not even see any sign of them . Instead , this odd mixture of Middle –Earths free folks, spent these first days of their quest to get to know each other better. In fact , this was easier for them than expected , much due to the circumstances ; they had no other choice than to turn to each other. Legolas was not used being around others so long, much less from such different races , but it didn´t disturb him as much as he thought it would do. Even the dwarf was endurable , at least when he wasn´t talking about elves.
Being the one with the , by far , keenest eyesight and hearing , Legolas took the lead during the passage over mountains, plains and distant paths. Aragorn walked last in line, giving the man and the elf few chances to exchange any words at all, except for a few necessary phrases. It did not matter though ,as always the air around them was light , caused by the closeness these two friends always felt in the presence of each other. Gandalf , Legolas noticed , sometimes watched them with a cunning smile on his lips, although he never approached the subject with words. The only who ever commented them was Boromir, who ,overheard by Legolas, once told Aragorn that he did not the understand "the nature "of the ranger's" relationship with the elf. To this Aragorn answered nothing, but later the elf heard him mutter to himself that he did not understand it, either.
**********************************************************************'
The dark was ascending fast over the small camp, near the mountains where they had decided to rest for the night. There was a biting cold in the air, and the elf could smell snow approach, not tomorrow ,but some of the following days. He felt worry for the hobbits, being of a more delicate statue, this would be hard for them. In fact , the hardening weather was beginning to wear down on the whole fellowship , their easy talking and chattering was gone , the burden of their task feeling heavier for everyone. Legolas was the only one that wasn´t bothered much for his own sake, had it not been for the others he might as well have enjoyed it , he had seldom seem snow and it fascinated him , making the world white and beautiful . But surely , the warmth of summer would have been much more fitting, for everyone. He gazed out in the shady surroundings , seeing random movements of rabbits and different night-living creatures, even the fast disappearing shadow of a fox. Far away his sharp senses detected owls that were howling. He could lose himself to the beauty of this night , to him this was as much rest as sleeping would have been. He had agreed to take first watch this time, being the one that was least tired, the others were completely exhausted. Some hours earlier this day they had encountered a band of orcs. The creatures had been chased off without too much effort , but in combination with the wandering , it had everyone tired.
The elf looked around in the camp, listening to the random snores from the sleeping members of the fellowship. Well , concerning Gimli , random was not precisely the word. His was heavy and loud, as usual. Legolas was amazed that he did not wake anybody with his sounds. A sudden movement from Aragorn´s direction caught his attention. The man stirred in his sleep and seemed restless ,as he started to toss and turn , uttering some incoherent phrases , apparently in different languages. The elf was unable to detect any sense in it at all , Aragorn was seemingly having restless dreams.
He watched him from a distance first, but as the moments went by , the ranger did not calm down , rather the opposite. Legolas raised himself and went over to Aragorn´s bedroll , where he kneeled down. He knew that Aragorn usually slept lightly, so he almost expected him to wake, as a cause of the prince´s movements, but he didn´t , sleeping deeper than usual. Instead the man started to thrash around wildly, almost hitting the elf, sweat appearing on his forehead.
Legolas leaned over him, and whispered gently:
"Oh , my friend , do these nightmares still haunt you ? Do they still deprive you from peaceful sleep after all these years ? "
He was reminded of the child he had given his comfort, the child that had begged the elf for his arms, for his soothe and even for innocent kisses. It was seldom he let himself think about this ,considering the loss and the pain ,but at this moment the memory was vividly brought back to him. Then he leaned over the agitated sleeping form, forming a decision in the back of his mind .
He gently laid a hand on the ranger´s chest . Through the fabric of clothing the elf felt the steady, but no less, all to fast hammering of the man´s heart , beatings that revealed how anxious Aragorn truly was. The feeling of the beating under his palm was so intense, he nearly lost himself and he could not do that , he was supposed to be on guard, but being an elf he could sense that no danger was near , everything was still peaceful around them.
"Now I see your nightmares are different from back then, but still you need to be at peace , you must , we all need you to endure tomorrow "he continued in a soothing voice.
And then , for the first time since this man was five years old , and he hadn´t done it for anyone else since then , he pressed his fingers to the man´s temples , giving him images of Rivendell , of trees bathing in sunlight , of dew glittering on flowers in the morning , of birds singing in the air. Soon enough , but not as soon as the child Estel, Aragorn´s heart slowed its rapid pace to a more normal rhythm and he slept peacefully .
But it was still there , the blazing pain in the back of Legolas` head , even more intense than before, so intense that his vision dimmed for a second . It did pass swiftly though , and he still did not feel weaker, just a bit worried.
He kept his hand on the man´s chest , since it was what made Aragorn seem most comfortable. It felt good to touch him like this , feeling his heart under his fingers.
When morning broke , Aragorn woke , feeling more rested than he had done since the journey started . He was also astonished to find Legolas sitting beside him, having not woken him to take over the watch, as were decided. (Legolas had removed his hand when he felt the ranger starting to wake.)
"Why did you not wake me, Legolas , it must be tiresome even for an elf to be on guard the whole night ?" he asked.
"No, not quite , I don´t need to sleep every night , and you were restless , apparently needing your rest. You can´t tell me that I am wrong about this , could you ? "he said with a mysterious smile on his lips that the distracted Aragorn so much, that he forgot to ask the elf why he had found him by his side when he woke.
"Well "he said feeling slightly confused "in fact , I slept very well this particular night ,so I suppose that you are right on that one."
*********************************************************************** The following night when Gandalf was having watch , Aragorn had these bad dreams again. Legolas had suspected this , so he had placed his bedroll right beside that of the man. Aragorn was surprised at this , but he also found it enjoyable to have Legolas sleep near him.
As the night before , Legolas put his fingers to the man´s temples, but it was harder this time. When he had given him the images, he couldn´t let go of him with less than that the nightmares started again so he ended up leaning his back against a tree , Aragorn´s head in his lap. Leaning was a good thing , this time the pain almost drove tears to his eyes , even more forceful than the day before.
When the pain had subsided ,he could not stop himself from running his fingers through the man´s dark hair , tracing the lines of his jaw and the contours of his lips with tender fingertips. He found him so enchanting.
Chocked was not word enough for what the man felt, when he woke and found himself laying with his head, like a child, in Legolas lap.
"What´s this? "he said, also feeling embarrassed.
"You were having bad dreams again , and laying like that made you relax " Legolas said, matter of factly.
"I´m not a child that needs to be lulled to sleep!"
"Of course not , but you acting like one at the moment, there are many efforts during this quest and you really need to be rested , no matter how you get that rest . Those nightmares you suffer would have left you exhausted , had not Legolas helped you "Gandalf intertwined, having heard them.
Aragorn did not say anything more on the subject , knowing that the wizard was right. What had felt most embarrassing though ,was that he had woken aroused , and he was sure that Legolas had noticed., but he knew the elf would never say anything about it.
During the day both the ranger and the elf felt that the bond between them was getting stronger.
And the nights followed that same pattern ;Legolas would end Aragorn´s nightmares , each time pain in the elf´s head a little more severe than before. The snow came , and everyone except Legolas was in need to sleep close to keep them warm and finally they were driven into the mines of Moria.
The long dark in these caves made Legolas weary , although he tried not to show it. He suspected Aragorn knew , though.
To further complicate things, Aragorn´s nightmares were getting worse at this point , so Legolas had quite some effort to keep them at bay. When he finally succeeded he almost went unconscious with the raging pain followed. It lasted longer than before and when it passed he began to hum in elvish, as much to himself as to Aragorn.
He had the man´s head in his lap as had become his habit , because he enjoyed it so much. This night he just couldn´t stop himself from lowering his head and let his lips softly touch Aragorn´s .Maybe his senses were weakened by the pain attacks , since he didn´t notice that Aragorn was sleeping no more and that he was being kissed back. When he did,he tried to withdraw himself , but the man took hold of his hair and brought him closer ,opening his mouth so that their tongues met.
Legolas was stunned at first, but then he leaned into the man, and continued the kiss.
Aragorn hands tangled in his hair, with his tongue he probed the elf´s teeth . He had wanted this for so long, having almost given up hope that he once again would hold this dazzling creature in his arms. When he felt the warmth of the elf´s mouth, nothing else existed in the world, least Arwen.
The elf , on the other side , knew he probably should end this, but he didn´t want to. During the stress of this task he felt like he could give himself and Aragorn this; the memory of this kiss, to ease the burden of the journey that laid before them. Not even their strange pose ; Aragorns head in his lap, bothered him. The only thing that mattered was those lips against his , their meeting tongues and the growing hunger for more. The ring and the fellowship did not matter anymore.
The kiss did not stop until the ranger needed air, and that only for a brief moment , time enough for the man to raise himself from Legolas´ lap and start to ravish the elf´s mouth again, with yet more force and need. Legolas felt his body start to respond to Aragorn´s obvious desire.
How it should have ended , hadn´t they heard a gasp from behind them , Legolas did not want to think about when he had came back to his senses some time later.
Now the man and the elf turned to see Frodo standing there, with an embarrassed blush on his face , apparently not knowing what to do or say.
"Aah...well, I wanted to inform you that ...ehmm, Gandalf said that we should continue now...sorry to interrupt you..."the hobbit stammered and was gone in a blink of an eye.
The elf and the man could not help smiling at the hobbit´s embarrassment.
"I hoped that we did not shock him all too much" Aragorn said.
"I guess we just gave him something to think about. "
When Aragorn some time later tried to explain to Frodo , the only answer he received was a knowing smile, and the words that what the hobbit had seen explained some things that he had been wondering about.
*************************************************************************** And then the complete disaster were upon them , with Gandalf falling from the bridge of Khazad – Dûn , along with the balrog , screaming "Run , you fools!"
As he ran , Legolas could see disturbing images in his mind, images of a golden – haired warrior – clad elven woman fleeing from a balrog in to a cave , he saw her draw her sword only to have it shattered by a burning whip. This was followed by a sequence where she had been stripped of her clothes standing in a stair , dark lightning's shooting from her that made the balrog fall and then, at last , he saw her sitting , all battered and bruised ,by a pond crying , blood steaming from her nose. With a sense of astounded grief , he realized that he had seen his mother , memories somehow brought to him by the demon Gandalf had been fighting.
Outside the mines , after escaping the shooting orcs , everyone in the fellowship stopped , paralyzed because of the shock the loss of Gandalf had been for them. Legolas felt like he couldn´t gather his thoughts because of the blurring images inside him, a mixture of the fall of the wizard and of his mother. Therefore, Aragorn´s voice seemed to come to him from afar:
"Legolas , get them up!"
Numbly , acting automatically , he did as he was told , vaguely hearing Boromir protest and the rangers statement they had to reach Lótlorien before nightfall. The elf sighed to himself , with some kind of relief. The Golden Wood seemed the absolutely best place to go right now, the right place to find solace from the pain that all of them felt.
Aragorn took the lead when they started to move , shortly followed by Legolas. When the man had crossed a small creek , he suddenly stumbled , and should have lost his balance if he hadn´t took hold of a near-by tree.
Legolas hurried towards him, a realization growing in his mind.
"Aragorn , you are injured ! "he said.
The ranger looked almost irritated.
"It´s nothing bad , really, just a small wound in my leg , caused by an arrow just brushing beside me. Do not worry about that. We do not have the time "he continued when Legolas started to inspect his leg, when the others were upon them.
"What´s this about ? I thought we were in a hurry "Boromir said, sounding slightly annoyed .
"Strider ? Are you hurt ? "Frodo asked.
Aragorn shook his head.
"The wound is not deep, that is true enough , but it is bleeding and the arrow may have been poisoned "Legolas whispered , well knowing that the man would not want the others to know the details.
"It doesn´t matter , we have to continue immediately "the man said between clenched teeth.
"You are not going to make it, running all the way to Lótlorien , we still have a long way to go ".
Aragorn made a move as if to protest , even though he knew that the elf was right. Then , all of a sudden , he grabbed Legolas shoulder.
"Then *make* me forget the pain, I know that you can do it , just do it , like you`ve wiped out my nightmares during this whole quest "he looked the elf deep in the eyes with a demanding glimpse.
Legolas was stunned for a brief moment , he had not even suspected that the man knew about this. Then he said ,anxiously:
"I can do that , yes. But you will overestimate your capabilities, since you not are going to feel any pain at all , and that can make the wound worse in the end ."
"JUST DO IT! We have to go on!"
Almost seeming resigned , the elf brought his fingers to the man´s temples , at the same time bringing their foreheads together, whispering in elvish, almost too low for human ears.
Afterwards Aragorn did not feel any pain at all, instead he felt stronger and almost rested.
Legolas , on the contrary , stepped backwards as a cause from the whips of pain in his head.
"Legolas, what..." the ranger began , but the elf interrupted him.
"Run! I will come !" he panted.
Giving Legolas a quick look of concern , Aragorn began to run , shouting to the others to continue. They were shortly caught up by Legolas , who followed them as soon as the pain had passed.
TBC.