Hey everyone! Here's the chapter that you've all been waiting for; the danger begins! LOL ;)
***************
Everyone jumped to their feet as Legolas started firing arrows into the woods.
Sudden growls filled the air, as orcs plunged into the thicket from two different directions. There were so many of them that the elves' bows quickly became useless.
Legolas whipped out his twin knives, engaging in a deadly dance that brought down each foe that dared to attack him. He heard Aragorn and the twins nearby, the sounds that reached his ears assuring him that they were prevailing against their enemies.
Orc after orc fell to the ground dead, as the four friends made use of their exceptional fighting skills.
Aragorn and the twins kept glancing at Legolas, not knowing if he was yet strong enough for such a fight. He appeared to be doing well, to their relief, and so far none of them had received any kind of injury…yet.
Legolas slashed his knife across the throat of an orc, kicking it away so that he could stab the creature that came up behind it. His still-healing stab wound was protesting his fast movements, and a cry of surprise to his left had him suddenly looking towards Aragorn.
An orc had pushed the human to trip over a dead body, where Aragorn fell.
Legolas started towards him, intent on saving his friend's life, but Aragorn rolled out of the way of the attacking orc and jumped to his feet, quickly regaining the offensive.
Legolas was greatly relieved. Taking a deep breath, he turned around slower than usual, to accommodate his old stab wound…but slowness was Legolas' undoing. There was a sudden movement to his left, and the elf wasn't quite prepared for it.
An orc wildly swung a club towards his head, and Legolas threw his left arm up to protect himself as he stabbed at the evil creature. The knife met flesh, sinking in to the hilt, but not before the orc's club connected with crushing force.
Legolas heard the snap of bone, and he gasped at the sudden pain. It was enough to distract him from pulling his weapon from the now-dead orc, and as it fell, Legolas nearly went down with it, his body still weakened from his old injury.
Stumbling forward with the orc's considerable weight, Legolas yanked out the knife, managing to regain his balance.
Aragorn saw his friend's difficulty, and knew that he must be injured in some way. He quickly ended the life of the orc that he was fighting, and made his way towards the elf, just in time to see another orc rush towards his friend with a knife held high. "LEGOLAS!"
Legolas turned, to see the orc with a knife aimed for his head. He quickly dropped to the ground, but wasn't quite fast enough. The tip of the blade managed to leave a long cut from the left side of his forehead down past his temple.
Aragorn rushed the orc, sword slicing towards it with deadly force.
The foul creature fell without even knowing what had hit him.
Turning around, Aragorn knelt beside his friend, who was sitting on the ground cradling his arm. "Broken?" he asked.
Legolas nodded, with a sigh. Blood dripped down his face, but he paid it no mind.
Elladan and Elrohir suddenly appeared and likewise dropped to their knees, neither twin having a mark on them from the sudden battle.
Aragorn shook his head in relief at their luck as he pulled out his healer's bag, handing Elladan a cloth and motioning to Legolas' face.
Gently taking the elf's arm, Aragorn gently ran a hand along it, feeling the broken bone. It was a bad, uneven break, one that he knew would be extremely painful, but he was immensely relieved that it hadn't broken through the skin.
Legolas winced and closed his eyes, biting his lip to avoid voicing his pain.
"Elrohir?" said Aragorn.
The twin looked up, instantly knowing what his brother needed him to do. Quickly scooting behind Legolas, he tightly gripped the younger elf by his upper arms.
With a swift motion, Aragorn pushed the bone back where it belonged.
Legolas tried valiantly to hold in his cry of pain, but failed, weakly slumping back against Elrohir, who gripped him tighter.
His face a mask of sympathy, Elladan placed the bloody cloth against the cut on his friend's head, taking Legolas' right hand and placing it over the fabric to hold it there while he retrieved some sticks to use as a splint for his arm.
Aragorn carefully pushed up Legolas' sleeve, wrapping a long bandage around the limb as he waited for his brother to return. Gently pulling the sleeve down again, he took the sticks from Elladan and placed them where he wanted them, making his brother hold them still while he wrapped another length of bandage around them, securing them in place.
Reaching into his bag again, Aragorn pulled out a piece of cloth and made a sling, slipping it around his friend's neck. When he looked into Legolas' eyes, he was concerned to see them closed. "Legolas?"
The wounded elf opened them, pain clearly showing on his pale face.
Aragorn sighed deeply, realizing that they should've never gone on this camping trip. Guilt over his friend's stab wound began to assault him terribly, and after carefully resting Legolas' arm in the sling, Aragorn took some painkilling herbs out of his bag, asking Elladan to fetch a cup of water.
As his brother obeyed, Aragorn reached towards the cut on Legolas' head and moved the elf's hand away from it. Taking the bloody cloth from him, he was relieved to see that the injury wasn't deep. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"
Legolas started to shake his head, but changed his mind. "No."
Elladan brought back the water, handing the cup to Aragorn, who crushed the herbs and dropped them in.
Elrohir took the cup and held it to Legolas' lips, who shot him an, 'I-can-do-it-myself' look.
Smiling at the sight, Elladan stood and walked a few paces away, motioning for Aragorn to join him. "We need to get Legolas home."
Aragorn nodded, with a sigh. "Ada is going to kill us."
Elladan paled at his words. "Ai! I promised him that no one would get hurt!"
Aragorn shot him a shocked look. "You promised him? You made a promise about something more unlikely than orcs becoming citizens of Imladris!"
Elladan rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh, trying to figure out how to explain this to their father…