Disclaimer: not mine, never will be. They belong to J.R.R. Tolkien.

A/N: Finally another chapter from me – yes, I'm still alive! Sorry it has been so long since the last update for this story. I have this huge plot bunny biting me at the moment, but it's apparently not for this one. It seems some people missed the update of chapter 8 which was some time ago, so if you haven't read that yet, go ahead!

I hope you're still all enjoying this story and don't think I'm getting too slow in pace. As often, I worry that the characters act a little out of character, but please forgive them and me.

To my faithful reviewers – it's always nice to know someone actually reads what you write   :D


grumpy: Thanks for reviewing! Well, this chapter should tell you a little more about the twins not going out. Hope you enjoy it!

Sue: Apparently, something went wrong and FFnet didn't show the new chapter or the new story I posted then either. Well, sorry for keeping you waiting so long – hope you'll like this chappie!
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Chapter 9

More elves had been assigned to patrol the woods and borders of Imladris, looking for any sign of orcs or other foul creatures. Imladris was well hidden and strangers would have a hard time in finding the elven refuge – hidden as it was between the steep walls of the surrounding ravines, but it was not impossible to find. So far, nothing evil had been spotted, but this did not bring them any relief. Instead, the tension had been building, for all elves knew that something was bound to happen…

~~~

Elrond had returned inside the walls of the Last Homely House some time ago when the sun had crept slowly into the sky again. On his way back, he saw two birds flying away – going towards the east. Recognizing them as the messenger birds, he sighed deeply. The elven lord hoped that the birds would reach their destinies safely. Celeborn and Thranduil would send elves to help them, of that he was sure, the only concern the ancient elf had was if they would arrive in time.

He stepped through the doors of his home, his gaze on the floor as he thought. A distant part of his mind noticed the soft footfalls that he immediately identified as Elladan and Elrohir. That was when he knew that Glorfindel had told the twins that they could not join the hunting party, for the two walked up to him with a determined pace.

"Ada!" Both the twins shouted at the same time the moment they spotted their father entering their home.

Startled, the older elf looked up and he sighed as he recognized the looks in their eyes. He held up his hand to halt their protests. "I can see that Glorfindel already told you that you cannot go, that will not change. I need you here in case orcs manage to enter this house; Estel is in no shape to protect himself!"

Elrohir nearly pouted and Elladan merely had a sour look on his face. "With us out there, they would not get a chance to enter Imladris!" The elder twin snapped.

Elrond raised an eyebrow in reproach and a cold look entered his eyes. "I said that this will not change, Elladan and I expect you to obey me on this. Your brother needs you around, not out there!"

He softened his look and his tone of voice when he saw his sons looking down at the floor – their cheeks flushed in shame. Clasping their shoulders, the father smiled. "Come now and join me in breakfast. I'm sure Estel is still sleeping and Legolas is with him. There will be enough time later in the day to go to them."

Still a little bit disappointed, but seeing the reason in their father's words, the twins followed their father to the dining hall.

~~~

As soon as the sun's rays reached the window of Estel's room, the elf lying on the bed awoke and carefully stretched. Looking at the still form next to him, he wasn't worried that Estel still slept. Gently laying one hand atop his sleeping friend's forehead, he was relieved to find it cooler than it had been the day before. He was on the mend, though slowly.

Looking down at the foot end of the bed, the young elf bit his lip. His legs would take a long time to heal. Legolas did not doubt that Estel would walk again – his friend had a strong will and would get his body to obey him, the only problem was that it would take far too long for the impatient Man. Getting him to stay in bed would surely become a problem in a few days time… A few days time… That thought brought him back to the orcs. Estel had mumbled something about the Dark Tower and an attack. He was confident enough to believe that the other elves would keep Imladris safe and kill the orcs before they had a chance to strike! His heart was torn in two – he wanted to go after the orcs, but he did not want to leave his friend's side. Surely Elladan and Elrohir would go after the creatures; they had been hurt enough by their actions on their loved ones to give up on revenge. Satisfied, Legolas watched the rise and fall of Estel's chest.

He could see the breaths becoming deeper and quicker, a grimace appearing on the young face as his mind registered the fact that his ribs hurt terribly.

The human was waking up – finally! Now he could have a talk with him, whether his friend liked it or not!

"Ah, finally you're waking, human! I had thought you would sleep this day away as well!" He teasingly spoke.

Estel moaned and opened his eyes, squinting as the sun shone in his face. Turning his head away from the fierce light, he saw the door to his room opening and his father entering.

Elrond was pleased to see his youngest son was finally awake and walked over to the bed, stroking his cheek – feeling his temperature and comforting the boy with the same movement.

"Good morning, Estel. Now let me have a look at you…"

Estel was glad his father hadn't asked him if he was all right, but he was a bit confused. His father took great care in moving him around with Legolas' help and changing his bandages. Because he didn't move and the others supported him, taking great care, the pain was minimal. Elrond didn't want to give him a painkiller just yet – wanting to speak to a more lucid Estel.

The healer frowned as he finished examining his son. The injuries were healing slowly – too slow for the elf's liking. In times like these he was reminded that his youngest son was a human and healed much slower than elves.

"Though you might not feel like it, you are on the mend, Estel. Your legs will take some time to heal and it will be several weeks before you may stand on them again."

Confused eyes met his and Estel was about to ask what had happened – why was he in so much pain? The question died before he had even voiced it – he remembered then. Agitated, he tried to sit up, but his elven companions carefully held him down.

"Calm down, Estel. Don't move – your body needs time to heal." Legolas urged.

Realizing his intent, the older elf stood up and fetched several thick pillows from the closet. He then positioned them behind Estel, Legolas supporting him for a moment and finally putting him down so that he was in a somewhat upright position.

Having learned his lesson about moving, Estel tried to lie as still as possible, but one hand reached out to grab Legolas' wrist. "No!" He shook his head. "Tell me…how long has it been since that night?"

"Two days, my friend." Legolas turned his hand out of his friend's grasp and instead gripped the human's hand in his, careful of the bandage around the injured wrist. "It's all right now, you –"

"I've been asleep for two days! By Elbereth!" Seeing that his father was planning to object to his agitated state, he softened his voice, still speaking urgently. "No! There is something you need to know!" He sounded anxious and was speaking faster and faster with every word. "The orcs… they are planning to come here in under five days and attack Imladris. They will murder everyone they encounter! The –"

Elrond interrupted his son. "Estel!"

Estel quieted and looked at his father, their eyes meeting. The elf lord's gaze penetrated the human's mind and seemed to calm him with the reassurance he found there.

Elrond smiled to let him know it was indeed all right. "We didn't know what the orcs were planning, but their actions were too bold for them not to have some purpose. We didn't take any chances and Glorfindel sent messages to Mirkwood and Lothlorien this morning – asking for help. The patrols are doubled as well looking for any sign of trouble and a hunting party left this morning along with Glorfindel."

Reassured by this, Estel looked down again, sighing softly – careful of his ribs.

"What troubles you?" Legolas asked. His friend's mood was a strange one, even considering the fact that he had been injured by orcs only two days ago.

"My brothers…" Estel whispered. "They went with them, didn't they?"

Now Elrond knew he had made the right decision in making the twins stay. "Well, actually…" He started.

He was interrupted as the door to Estel's room opened again and two identical figures entered. Elladan and Elrohir had seen the hunting party off, wishing them all a good hunt and if they encountered the orcs, to make them regret hurting their little brother.

Looking up, a smile appeared on Estel's face as he saw his brothers. He was worried that they might have gone after the orcs and would get hurt because of him – trying to avenge him. "You're still here!"

Hearing the tone of their brother's voice, the twins realized that their father's decision had indeed been the right one. Not only so they could protect Estel should the need arise, Estel seemed all too happy that they had not left him… and they had to admit that they too were happy to see their brother awake.

Elladan smiled at him. "Indeed we are." He shuffled his foot in front of him, his hands behind his back as if he were an elfling admitting some mischievous thing he had done. "Though I must admit that if it hadn't been for Ada, we would have joined the hunting party this morning."

"But we now realize that it is a far better option to stay here with you." Elrohir finished. "We were so worried about you!"

Smiling slightly, Estel closed his eyes briefly. He tiredly wondered how he could still be sleepy after having slept for two days, but he feared he would soon be asleep once more.

Seeing that his son was nearly falling asleep on them, Elrond stood up and motioned to the twins. "Come, Elladan… Elrohir. You have seen that your brother still lives, so let us give him some time to rest." Turning to Estel, he asked. "I will be back later with something to eat for you. Do you want something for the pain now?"

Estel shook his head slowly, if he didn't move it didn't hurt all too much – just a throbbing in his legs and ribs and a burning at his wrists. "No, Ada, I'm fine…"

Rolling his eyes at that, Elrond said to Legolas. "If he should have need of something to dull the pain, do not hesitate to force it on him. I think you two have something to discuss, do you not?"

Legolas smiled. "Indeed we do, Lord Elrond. And I will keep an eye on him, don't worry."

Nodding, the three elves left the room, leaving the two friends…

~~~

"What did Ada mean?" Estel questioned as soon as he knew the other elves had left.

"You did not think you could escape this conversation for ever, did you?" Legolas replied. Seeing the confused look in his friend's eyes, he decided to explain a bit further. "I asked you why you didn't tell me before and you answered with that you didn't want me to know. Why not? Do you not trust me?" A hurt tone seeped into his voice.

Even more confused by this, Estel just stared uncomprehendingly at his friend. "What are you talking about? What do I not want you to know? You know I trust you more than anyone!"

Legolas sat back in one of the chairs. "Water."

"Water?"

"Your fear of water…"

Shocked that Legolas would know about that, he questioned. "How did you find out?"

A bit irritated by this evasion, Legolas replied. "Your family told me. When you arrived here, you were in a terrible condition and when I filled them in on what had happened, they told me. Why didn't you tell me?"

Estel tried to sit up so he could see his friend better, but as soon as his weight rested on his damaged wrists, he fell back against the pillows and bit back a groan. "I didn't want you to know, my friend." He pleaded.

"That I know, you already told me so."

"It's just that… it's happened so long ago… I think I had forgotten all about it." Estel tried to come up with a reason, not sure himself if he was telling the truth.

Standing up so that he towered over the young man, Legolas raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Estel… From what your family told me, you avoid water as much as you can – any kind of water! How can you call that forgetting it?"

"I… I…" Estel's mouth opened and closed, unsure of what to say. Indeed, ever since he had awoken all those years ago he had avoided water as much as he could. It had become such of a habit, that he hadn't even been aware he was doing it anymore. It just became natural to avoid water and his family never had said anything about it afterwards…

Seeing Estel's eyes, Legolas realized that the human really hadn't known that he had a problem. "You really didn't know you were doing it, didn't you?"

The young ranger lowered his eyes, a tear slipping from them. "I'm sorry, Legolas." He whispered.

Feeling guilty for making his friend feel even worse, Legolas carefully enveloped him in a comforting hug. "It's all right now, Estel. I see now that you really didn't know… The water can't hurt you anymore, little one. It's time for you to let your fear go."

Estel quietly started sobbing. "I don't know how, Legolas! I don't know how!"

Legolas soothed him with quiet words until the sobs stopped. "Let's start with telling me everything that happened… The accident, the nightmares – both old and new. Then we'll take it from there: step by step."

Feeling the body against him growing slack, he gently laid Estel down on the bed – having him lie flat again. "But first, get some sleep. There will be time for you to heal up here –" The elf gently tapped the youngster's head. "– but now you shall rest. Your healing will begin at last!"

~~~

TBC