Hello all,
I'm back from my weekend in New York, still feeling pretty jetlagged, but I had a fantastic time. Weather was cold and windy but still we had a great time, made a very good impression for my first trip to the States. :-) But enough of that here's what you've been waiting for:
Chapter 9
Legolas was startled when the door burst open upon the meeting he was holding with some of the city's engineers. A young guard quickly approached him, his face covered in sweat and dust. Dropping to his knee the guard bowed low before looking up, and Legolas was startled by the almost wild panicked look in the young man's eyes.
"Your Highness, there has been an accident. The King..." the guard trailed off unable to complete his sentence.
Legolas felt his world tilt suddenly, his chest tightening causing him to feel pain as he drew in air. "What has happened?" he asked faintly.
"Your Highness the wall where the king and the dwarves were working has collapsed. We have found the bodies of some but the king and the remaining dwarves are missing, buried beneath the rubble..." the guard whispered painfully unwilling to finish his sentence and say aloud the possible implications.
Legolas rose suddenly to his feet. "Take me there," he demanded.
The young guard nodded rising quickly to his feet before turning and leading the prince down to the city's boundaries.
When the elf's sharp eyes took in the scene of devastation he almost faltered. His vision tunnelling to focus only upon the rubble that was all that remained of part of Gondor's defensive wall. He saw guards all over the area forming chains to try and move the debris from the area and free any survivors. Legolas quailed at the thought that such devastation could surely leave no one alive. He took a deep breath to steady himself before moving forward again.
As he approached he caught sight of litters placed at one side. Three already held bodies and although they were covered with a cloth Legolas realised with a selfish sense of relief that they were all too short and stout to be his husband. He coughed a little as the dust in the air began to infiltrate his lungs and a nearby guard turned and caught sight of him. The guard rushed over to inform his superior who immediately crossed to stand before the prince.
"Your Highness you should not be here," the captain said softly.
"I will stay," Legolas said firmly, his voice brooking no opposition.
The captain knew it would be futile to argue with the elf and instead handed him a piece of cloth to tie around his nose and mouth to make breathing easier. Legolas accepted the cloth with a brief word of thanks before turning his attention back to the rubble.
"How many remain missing?" he asked the guard who continued to hover at the side of his prince.
"Four Your Highness... including the king and Master Gimli," the captain informed him.
Legolas nodded distractedly and took a step closer. A hand on his arm made his stop and look to see who dared to restrain him. It was the captain wearing a pained expression.
"Forgive me Your Highness, but whilst the King is missing you are ruler of Gondor, we cannot allow you to place yourself in danger," the man said, not releasing the prince's arm regardless of the bright elven eyes that now regarded him.
Legolas said nothing, pulling his arm free of the man's grasp but he did not move closer and for the captain that was enough. A shout from the men working caused everyone to stop and with an air of triumph the men pulled a body free of the rubble.
"We've got a live one," a voice called out, and Legolas' heart rose in his throat only to be dashed again by the guard's next words. "It's one of the dwarves."
The dwarf was carefully pulled free from the debris and passed over to the waiting healers before the soldiers resumed their digging. Throwing a challenging look to his babysitter Legolas swiftly made his way over to the healers who now surrounded the dwarf. Pushing his way to the dwarf's side the elven prince knelt down, his breath catching in his throat as he recognised the battered form of Master Gimli. The dwarf moaned and his head tilted towards the elf prince, eyes opening slightly.
"Master Gimli was Aragorn with you," Legolas asked urgently.
Gimli seemed to drift for a moment before his glazed eyes returned to the elf. "Not accident... wizards fire," he mumbled, too low for the humans around him to hear but enough for a sharp pair of elven ears to make out. The prince looked up in shock at the dwarf wanting to ask more but he saw that Gimli had lapsed into unconsciousness.
"Get him stabilised and to the healing halls as soon as possible," he ordered, turning his attention back to the remains of the wall, at what might have been a deliberate attempt to kill the king.
A short time later another cry rang out, the king had been found not far from where they had pulled out Master Gimli. Legolas ached to rush forward and assist in freeing his husband from the wreckage but forced himself to wait until the king had been extracted and moved over to his position near the healers. Fear grasped him as he looked at the still, ashen form of his husband. Blood staining his skin and clothes, his chest did not appear to move. The healers quickly rushed forward checking for signs of life.
"He breathes," one announced in relief.
"His heart beats but it is very weak," another announced and Legolas' fear did not release him, knowing that he could still lose his mate.
He knew he was the only person in the city in a position to help his husband, and regardless of whether or not it would betray his secret he would give his all to save his beloved. "Get him to the healing halls," he ordered quickly and stalked away from them to make his way up to the halls himself.
When he arrived he sent for Celdarion, the older elf arriving just as they brought in the wounded king. Dismissing the healing staff to their shock and surprise the younger elf stood alone with his bodyguard.
"Legolas, I heard about the accident," the warrior announced, and then stilled as he finally saw both the king and the dwarf Gimli lying still on beds in the room. "By the Valar!" he whispered.
"I do not think it was an accident," Legolas stated softly.
"What?" Celdarion's gaze flew to the young prince. "Why would you think that?"
"Before he passed out Gimli said that it was no accident, and he mentioned wizard's fire," the prince explained. Celdarion remained in shocked silence. "Celdarion I want you to take Elessarion and sneak out of the city. You must ride to meet up with my father, or failing that ride to Lothlorien and to the protection of the Lady Galadriel," the prince announced suddenly.
"But my prince…" Celdarion immediately objected but was cut off by his charge.
"Heed my words old friend. If this was a deliberate attempt to murder my husband, and after the previous attempt on Elessarion's life I will not take the chance that these fiends will not strike again. This time they almost succeeded. If I am unsuccessful they may still succeed. I need to know that Elessarion is safe, and the only person I can trust to do that is you," the prince explained, his pain evident in his tone.
Celdarion shook his head stubbornly. "I cannot leave you here unprotected Legolas. Your father would never forgive me should something happen whilst I am gone. I would never forgive myself."
"I am leaving you with no other choice. Celdarion please, I will have no rest until I know my son at least is safe. You must do this for me. Once I have your word I can focus on healing my husband, but you must leave now. I can take no chances that these people will not use the chaos Aragorn's injuries have caused in order to strike out again." Legolas' eyes pleaded whilst the Prince's face remained in the impassive mask he had been schooled to wear from a young age.
The warrior elf nodded in defeat. "I will do as you ask. I will leave immediately in disguise that none might know of our disappearance, but I should inform Lord Denethor first, otherwise he may panic," Celdarion pointed out logically.
Legolas shook his head. "Nay, I want no one to know of your departure until you have actually left, then there may be no attempt made to stop you. I will write a letter to inform Lord Denethor and have it delivered to him later today. That should give you a fine head start since there is very little chance of anyone being able to track you once you have departed. Now please go," the young elf begged.
Celdarion moved forward swiftly to embrace the smaller figure of his charge before turning and quickly departing. Legolas heaved a sigh of relief once the guardian elf had departed and then called for a servant to bring him a quill and parchment. He wrote quickly knowing that every second he delayed was one second in which Aragorn moved closer to death. He sealed his parchment and informed the servant that it was to be delivered to Lord Denethor when the bells tolled for the evening meal, and then he turned to his husband.
Seating himself on the edge of the bed he gently placed his hands upon the broken chest of his mate. He immediately felt a pull as his healing powers seemed to engage and making himself comfortable Legolas lay down beside Aragorn, his hands never moving from their position. His gift allowed him to feel the injuries that had nearly killed the king outright. The broken ribs, mercifully none of which had punctured his lungs, the broken ankle, the bleeding that even now filled his internal cavities, the severe head wound which had caused swelling of the brain.
Into all of these areas Legolas poured his strength, slowly feeling the brain swelling reduce to safer levels, the bones beginning to knit together to begin the healing process, and finally the blood inside being led to a nearby orifice in order to dissipate before the severest of the internal bruising was healed. He finally drew his hands away from the body of his mate. Aragorn was no longer in danger of expiring, yet neither was he anywhere near fully healed. The young prince staggered to his feet and shakily made his way towards the still form of the dwarf. For selfish reasons he needed the dwarf to survive and act as witness on Aragorn's behalf that foul play had been involved, yet he also admired and respected the short creature.
He dropped to the bed and placed his hands upon the injured dwarf, his healing powers taking over almost immediately. Although the dwarf had not been injured as severely as Gondor's King, setting broken bones to knit, and reducing internal swelling sapped the last of Legolas' strength, and he slipped quickly into unconsciousness, his body falling from the bed to the hard floor beneath. He remained unaware as Gimli's eyes opened and watched as someone entered the room. The dwarf tried to call out a warning to the fallen elf but was helpless to save either the elf or himself when a sharp blow threw him back into darkness. Neither elf nor dwarf, nor the unconscious king, were aware as two bodies were trussed up and taken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celdarion thanked Amelia for looking after Elessarion before gently taking the infant and departing from her rooms. He swiftly made his way back to the royal chambers taking time to ensure no one saw his movements. Once there he swiftly gathered some of Elessarion's things into a pack for the journey before ensuring the infant was dressed warmly. Elessarion watched from his place on the bed, his eyes curiously taking in the urgent movements of the warrior elf. When he had finished Celdarion turned back to his charge.
"Elessarion we are leaving the city now, we are going to see your grandfather," Elessarion smiled, his hands clapping. Celdarion smiled briefly. "Yes that is good, but we need to go and you must be a brave little warrior, you must make no sound as we leave," the older elf explained.
The infant looked at him quizzically, his head tilted to one side. "Ada?" he asked.
The warrior shook his head. "Ada cannot come with us, but he will join us later. Can you do this for Celdarion, can you be a brave little warrior," the elf asked.
Again Elessarion looked at him, his eyes wise and shrewd in his small face. "Dar'on," he said seeming to agree, lifting his arms up to be lifted.
Celdarion laughed softly in relief, his heart squeezing warmly at the child's attempt at his name, proud to be added to the babe's limited vocabulary. "You are a good boy Elessarion. Your ada and papa would be most proud of you. I am very proud of you. Now come, I will hide you against my chest but you must keep still and quiet, and then we will ride to meet your grandfather."
The warrior picked up the child nestling him securely in a sling across his chest before wrapping a cloak around him to conceal his precious cargo. He left as quickly and quietly as he came with none the wiser as to his passing. Once outside the palace walls he blended carefully into the crowds of people along the busiest streets before he managed to exit the city gates. He had a moments fear as he noticed the guards questioning the people leaving, but he joined a large group of merchants who were leaving to sell their goods in other towns. Once free he took in a deep lungful of refreshing air. He walked a little way with the merchants, long enough to be out of sight of the city's guards before melting away and making for the cover of the nearby forest. He felt a sense of calm reach out and embrace as he stepped beneath the boughs of the ancient trees, and he finally allowed his cloak to fall away so that Elessarion too could breathe the fresh clean air of the forest.
Spying a small bird watching them from a nearby tree Celdarion called out softly in elvish seeking the bird's assistance. Elessarion was entranced as the bird flew and landed on Celdarion's outstretched finger and watched with eyes aglow as the elf whispered a message for the winged creature to carry. With a gentle chirrup the bird took off flying back towards the city. Celdarion seated himself on the ground to wait.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Felton looked up from his work startled as a whinny and a rush of air alerted him to the fact that one of the horses was escaping. A quick glance around told him who the escapee was and the man wondered with a sinking heart how he was to explain to Lord Celdarion that his horse had run away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elladan shared a concerned look with his twin as they noted the deep concentration on the face of their father.
"Ada, what is wrong?" the elder twin asked.
Distracted from his thoughts Rivendell's lord looked up into the faces of his sons. "Forgive me, I was thinking on Aragorn's missive concerning the emergence of healing gifts within Legolas."
"Do you believe they are similar to your own?" Elrohir asked.
"Perhaps, and if so they could be dangerous to the young prince without proper training," Elrond explained.
"How so?" Elladan asked frowning.
"In order to heal something energy has to be given to the wound or sickness to mend or dissipate it as necessary. Without proper training the energy is taken from your own body, depleting your own strength. The fact that Legolas collapsed in exhaustion after healing Elessarion indicates that he drew the energy that was needed from his own body. He must be taught how to draw the strength instead from the world around him, taking in small amounts from the living things around him who offer their strength and support willingly. Healing a dangerous injury could become life threatening to the prince himself, not least because it would leave him vulnerable and unable to defend himself," Elrond explained to his sons.
Elladan smiled trying to ease his father's concern. "Do not fear father, we will reach Minas Tirith within a few days and we will be there to help Estel and Legolas, and you can work with the young prince to aid him in using this new gift."
Elrond smiled. "I pray you are correct my son, however my concern will not ease until I see them with my own eyes. The fact that Legolas has allowed himself to become pregnant again troubles me deeply especially when there is already a threat against them."
The twins shared another look. The news of Legolas' pregnancy had shocked them all and none could fathom a reason why the young prince would have done it. They could only wait until they arrived at their brother's city.
End of Chapter 9
I must point out that this is where my pre written material ends and I cannot guarantee regular updates from here on in, although I promise to post as soon as I complete a chapter.
Thanks again for sticking with me. You're all beautiful people. ;-)
Regards
Soar
I'm back from my weekend in New York, still feeling pretty jetlagged, but I had a fantastic time. Weather was cold and windy but still we had a great time, made a very good impression for my first trip to the States. :-) But enough of that here's what you've been waiting for:
Chapter 9
Legolas was startled when the door burst open upon the meeting he was holding with some of the city's engineers. A young guard quickly approached him, his face covered in sweat and dust. Dropping to his knee the guard bowed low before looking up, and Legolas was startled by the almost wild panicked look in the young man's eyes.
"Your Highness, there has been an accident. The King..." the guard trailed off unable to complete his sentence.
Legolas felt his world tilt suddenly, his chest tightening causing him to feel pain as he drew in air. "What has happened?" he asked faintly.
"Your Highness the wall where the king and the dwarves were working has collapsed. We have found the bodies of some but the king and the remaining dwarves are missing, buried beneath the rubble..." the guard whispered painfully unwilling to finish his sentence and say aloud the possible implications.
Legolas rose suddenly to his feet. "Take me there," he demanded.
The young guard nodded rising quickly to his feet before turning and leading the prince down to the city's boundaries.
When the elf's sharp eyes took in the scene of devastation he almost faltered. His vision tunnelling to focus only upon the rubble that was all that remained of part of Gondor's defensive wall. He saw guards all over the area forming chains to try and move the debris from the area and free any survivors. Legolas quailed at the thought that such devastation could surely leave no one alive. He took a deep breath to steady himself before moving forward again.
As he approached he caught sight of litters placed at one side. Three already held bodies and although they were covered with a cloth Legolas realised with a selfish sense of relief that they were all too short and stout to be his husband. He coughed a little as the dust in the air began to infiltrate his lungs and a nearby guard turned and caught sight of him. The guard rushed over to inform his superior who immediately crossed to stand before the prince.
"Your Highness you should not be here," the captain said softly.
"I will stay," Legolas said firmly, his voice brooking no opposition.
The captain knew it would be futile to argue with the elf and instead handed him a piece of cloth to tie around his nose and mouth to make breathing easier. Legolas accepted the cloth with a brief word of thanks before turning his attention back to the rubble.
"How many remain missing?" he asked the guard who continued to hover at the side of his prince.
"Four Your Highness... including the king and Master Gimli," the captain informed him.
Legolas nodded distractedly and took a step closer. A hand on his arm made his stop and look to see who dared to restrain him. It was the captain wearing a pained expression.
"Forgive me Your Highness, but whilst the King is missing you are ruler of Gondor, we cannot allow you to place yourself in danger," the man said, not releasing the prince's arm regardless of the bright elven eyes that now regarded him.
Legolas said nothing, pulling his arm free of the man's grasp but he did not move closer and for the captain that was enough. A shout from the men working caused everyone to stop and with an air of triumph the men pulled a body free of the rubble.
"We've got a live one," a voice called out, and Legolas' heart rose in his throat only to be dashed again by the guard's next words. "It's one of the dwarves."
The dwarf was carefully pulled free from the debris and passed over to the waiting healers before the soldiers resumed their digging. Throwing a challenging look to his babysitter Legolas swiftly made his way over to the healers who now surrounded the dwarf. Pushing his way to the dwarf's side the elven prince knelt down, his breath catching in his throat as he recognised the battered form of Master Gimli. The dwarf moaned and his head tilted towards the elf prince, eyes opening slightly.
"Master Gimli was Aragorn with you," Legolas asked urgently.
Gimli seemed to drift for a moment before his glazed eyes returned to the elf. "Not accident... wizards fire," he mumbled, too low for the humans around him to hear but enough for a sharp pair of elven ears to make out. The prince looked up in shock at the dwarf wanting to ask more but he saw that Gimli had lapsed into unconsciousness.
"Get him stabilised and to the healing halls as soon as possible," he ordered, turning his attention back to the remains of the wall, at what might have been a deliberate attempt to kill the king.
A short time later another cry rang out, the king had been found not far from where they had pulled out Master Gimli. Legolas ached to rush forward and assist in freeing his husband from the wreckage but forced himself to wait until the king had been extracted and moved over to his position near the healers. Fear grasped him as he looked at the still, ashen form of his husband. Blood staining his skin and clothes, his chest did not appear to move. The healers quickly rushed forward checking for signs of life.
"He breathes," one announced in relief.
"His heart beats but it is very weak," another announced and Legolas' fear did not release him, knowing that he could still lose his mate.
He knew he was the only person in the city in a position to help his husband, and regardless of whether or not it would betray his secret he would give his all to save his beloved. "Get him to the healing halls," he ordered quickly and stalked away from them to make his way up to the halls himself.
When he arrived he sent for Celdarion, the older elf arriving just as they brought in the wounded king. Dismissing the healing staff to their shock and surprise the younger elf stood alone with his bodyguard.
"Legolas, I heard about the accident," the warrior announced, and then stilled as he finally saw both the king and the dwarf Gimli lying still on beds in the room. "By the Valar!" he whispered.
"I do not think it was an accident," Legolas stated softly.
"What?" Celdarion's gaze flew to the young prince. "Why would you think that?"
"Before he passed out Gimli said that it was no accident, and he mentioned wizard's fire," the prince explained. Celdarion remained in shocked silence. "Celdarion I want you to take Elessarion and sneak out of the city. You must ride to meet up with my father, or failing that ride to Lothlorien and to the protection of the Lady Galadriel," the prince announced suddenly.
"But my prince…" Celdarion immediately objected but was cut off by his charge.
"Heed my words old friend. If this was a deliberate attempt to murder my husband, and after the previous attempt on Elessarion's life I will not take the chance that these fiends will not strike again. This time they almost succeeded. If I am unsuccessful they may still succeed. I need to know that Elessarion is safe, and the only person I can trust to do that is you," the prince explained, his pain evident in his tone.
Celdarion shook his head stubbornly. "I cannot leave you here unprotected Legolas. Your father would never forgive me should something happen whilst I am gone. I would never forgive myself."
"I am leaving you with no other choice. Celdarion please, I will have no rest until I know my son at least is safe. You must do this for me. Once I have your word I can focus on healing my husband, but you must leave now. I can take no chances that these people will not use the chaos Aragorn's injuries have caused in order to strike out again." Legolas' eyes pleaded whilst the Prince's face remained in the impassive mask he had been schooled to wear from a young age.
The warrior elf nodded in defeat. "I will do as you ask. I will leave immediately in disguise that none might know of our disappearance, but I should inform Lord Denethor first, otherwise he may panic," Celdarion pointed out logically.
Legolas shook his head. "Nay, I want no one to know of your departure until you have actually left, then there may be no attempt made to stop you. I will write a letter to inform Lord Denethor and have it delivered to him later today. That should give you a fine head start since there is very little chance of anyone being able to track you once you have departed. Now please go," the young elf begged.
Celdarion moved forward swiftly to embrace the smaller figure of his charge before turning and quickly departing. Legolas heaved a sigh of relief once the guardian elf had departed and then called for a servant to bring him a quill and parchment. He wrote quickly knowing that every second he delayed was one second in which Aragorn moved closer to death. He sealed his parchment and informed the servant that it was to be delivered to Lord Denethor when the bells tolled for the evening meal, and then he turned to his husband.
Seating himself on the edge of the bed he gently placed his hands upon the broken chest of his mate. He immediately felt a pull as his healing powers seemed to engage and making himself comfortable Legolas lay down beside Aragorn, his hands never moving from their position. His gift allowed him to feel the injuries that had nearly killed the king outright. The broken ribs, mercifully none of which had punctured his lungs, the broken ankle, the bleeding that even now filled his internal cavities, the severe head wound which had caused swelling of the brain.
Into all of these areas Legolas poured his strength, slowly feeling the brain swelling reduce to safer levels, the bones beginning to knit together to begin the healing process, and finally the blood inside being led to a nearby orifice in order to dissipate before the severest of the internal bruising was healed. He finally drew his hands away from the body of his mate. Aragorn was no longer in danger of expiring, yet neither was he anywhere near fully healed. The young prince staggered to his feet and shakily made his way towards the still form of the dwarf. For selfish reasons he needed the dwarf to survive and act as witness on Aragorn's behalf that foul play had been involved, yet he also admired and respected the short creature.
He dropped to the bed and placed his hands upon the injured dwarf, his healing powers taking over almost immediately. Although the dwarf had not been injured as severely as Gondor's King, setting broken bones to knit, and reducing internal swelling sapped the last of Legolas' strength, and he slipped quickly into unconsciousness, his body falling from the bed to the hard floor beneath. He remained unaware as Gimli's eyes opened and watched as someone entered the room. The dwarf tried to call out a warning to the fallen elf but was helpless to save either the elf or himself when a sharp blow threw him back into darkness. Neither elf nor dwarf, nor the unconscious king, were aware as two bodies were trussed up and taken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celdarion thanked Amelia for looking after Elessarion before gently taking the infant and departing from her rooms. He swiftly made his way back to the royal chambers taking time to ensure no one saw his movements. Once there he swiftly gathered some of Elessarion's things into a pack for the journey before ensuring the infant was dressed warmly. Elessarion watched from his place on the bed, his eyes curiously taking in the urgent movements of the warrior elf. When he had finished Celdarion turned back to his charge.
"Elessarion we are leaving the city now, we are going to see your grandfather," Elessarion smiled, his hands clapping. Celdarion smiled briefly. "Yes that is good, but we need to go and you must be a brave little warrior, you must make no sound as we leave," the older elf explained.
The infant looked at him quizzically, his head tilted to one side. "Ada?" he asked.
The warrior shook his head. "Ada cannot come with us, but he will join us later. Can you do this for Celdarion, can you be a brave little warrior," the elf asked.
Again Elessarion looked at him, his eyes wise and shrewd in his small face. "Dar'on," he said seeming to agree, lifting his arms up to be lifted.
Celdarion laughed softly in relief, his heart squeezing warmly at the child's attempt at his name, proud to be added to the babe's limited vocabulary. "You are a good boy Elessarion. Your ada and papa would be most proud of you. I am very proud of you. Now come, I will hide you against my chest but you must keep still and quiet, and then we will ride to meet your grandfather."
The warrior picked up the child nestling him securely in a sling across his chest before wrapping a cloak around him to conceal his precious cargo. He left as quickly and quietly as he came with none the wiser as to his passing. Once outside the palace walls he blended carefully into the crowds of people along the busiest streets before he managed to exit the city gates. He had a moments fear as he noticed the guards questioning the people leaving, but he joined a large group of merchants who were leaving to sell their goods in other towns. Once free he took in a deep lungful of refreshing air. He walked a little way with the merchants, long enough to be out of sight of the city's guards before melting away and making for the cover of the nearby forest. He felt a sense of calm reach out and embrace as he stepped beneath the boughs of the ancient trees, and he finally allowed his cloak to fall away so that Elessarion too could breathe the fresh clean air of the forest.
Spying a small bird watching them from a nearby tree Celdarion called out softly in elvish seeking the bird's assistance. Elessarion was entranced as the bird flew and landed on Celdarion's outstretched finger and watched with eyes aglow as the elf whispered a message for the winged creature to carry. With a gentle chirrup the bird took off flying back towards the city. Celdarion seated himself on the ground to wait.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Felton looked up from his work startled as a whinny and a rush of air alerted him to the fact that one of the horses was escaping. A quick glance around told him who the escapee was and the man wondered with a sinking heart how he was to explain to Lord Celdarion that his horse had run away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elladan shared a concerned look with his twin as they noted the deep concentration on the face of their father.
"Ada, what is wrong?" the elder twin asked.
Distracted from his thoughts Rivendell's lord looked up into the faces of his sons. "Forgive me, I was thinking on Aragorn's missive concerning the emergence of healing gifts within Legolas."
"Do you believe they are similar to your own?" Elrohir asked.
"Perhaps, and if so they could be dangerous to the young prince without proper training," Elrond explained.
"How so?" Elladan asked frowning.
"In order to heal something energy has to be given to the wound or sickness to mend or dissipate it as necessary. Without proper training the energy is taken from your own body, depleting your own strength. The fact that Legolas collapsed in exhaustion after healing Elessarion indicates that he drew the energy that was needed from his own body. He must be taught how to draw the strength instead from the world around him, taking in small amounts from the living things around him who offer their strength and support willingly. Healing a dangerous injury could become life threatening to the prince himself, not least because it would leave him vulnerable and unable to defend himself," Elrond explained to his sons.
Elladan smiled trying to ease his father's concern. "Do not fear father, we will reach Minas Tirith within a few days and we will be there to help Estel and Legolas, and you can work with the young prince to aid him in using this new gift."
Elrond smiled. "I pray you are correct my son, however my concern will not ease until I see them with my own eyes. The fact that Legolas has allowed himself to become pregnant again troubles me deeply especially when there is already a threat against them."
The twins shared another look. The news of Legolas' pregnancy had shocked them all and none could fathom a reason why the young prince would have done it. They could only wait until they arrived at their brother's city.
End of Chapter 9
I must point out that this is where my pre written material ends and I cannot guarantee regular updates from here on in, although I promise to post as soon as I complete a chapter.
Thanks again for sticking with me. You're all beautiful people. ;-)
Regards
Soar