Legolas pulled away from Thranduil and looked his father over for wounds. He couldn't tell where all the blood was coming from. The blood could have been Aragorn's, Bretharso's, or Thranduil's, or a mixture of all three which was more likely.
"Are you injured, Ada? Where are you hurt?" he asked and ran his hands over the wet clothing.
"I am well, ion nin. And you? Are you well?"
"I am fine now that I know you are safe."
"And Estel?"
Legolas jerked his head around to look back to the shattered window that he had come through. Scrambling to his feet, he sprinted across the courtyard as quickly as his beaten body would allow. He heard a scream of pain before reaching the room and almost flew the last bit. Thranduil was right behind him helping him up whenever he slipped. Finally reaching the room, his father and he slid to a stop at the chaotic scene in front of them.
Elrond and Elrohir were kneeling on the floor around something on the ground. Drulanean was issuing orders to get something to cover the window. Other healers were working on Elladan as Legolas pushed his way over to where Elrond and Elrohir were. As he got closer, he noted that rivulets of blood streaked across the floor and followed the trail directly to Elrond and Elrohir.
"Estel?" he called just as father and son moved apart.
Legolas fell to his knees when he realized what he was seeing. The small dagger that had been held to his throat earlier was buried up to the hilt in Aragorn's chest. The handle was moving ever so slightly as Legolas stared at it. The blade was in his chest, close to the heart, too close. Aragorn's jaw was clenched tightly as he pressed his head back against the tile floor. Elrond was staring at the handle in shock, not knowing exactly what to do. He had never seen a dagger that close to anyone's heart and the person actually still be alive. The dagger's blade was so close to the heart that the handle was moving with every heartbeat. Aragorn's eyes slowly opened and looked at his father to see the shock and disbelief in the elf's eyes. All he could feel was pain.
"Lord Elrond? Lord Elrond!"
A sharp shake jolted the elf lord from his shock to look into Legolas' face.
"What do you need? What herbs and supplies do you need?" Legolas asked, hoping to jump start the elf from his shock.
"We can not move him until we get the dagger out. We have to work here on the ground," Elrohir supplied and glanced at his father.
"I will need a heavy sedative and a muscle relaxant," Elrond ordered and a healer scrambled into the herb storage.
Thranduil grabbed Drulanean's arm as the captain passed and pulled him close.
"Send two warriors down to the courtyard and retrieve Bretharso's body. Have them take the body to the mourning room to be prepared for an honorable burial."
"Sire?"
"He was once my good friend and a warrior for this realm. I will not have him buried dishonorably."
"But sire, he tried to kill you and the prince."
"He saw his wife and son be tortured, raped, and murdered in front of his very eyes. That is enough to drive any elf to vengeance and retribution. And if you could watch all that, powerless to do anything unless hear them scream, and not seek for those. Then you are more of an elf than I could ever be."
Drulanean nodded and caught a passing warrior's arm and gave the orders. Legolas gripped one of Aragorn's hands as Elrond carefully cut away the remains of Aragorn's shirt.
"Are you having any other chest pains, Estel?" Elrond asked and accepted the mixtures from another healer.
"Nay, just the…blade and…pressure on my…chest. Like…a child is…sitting on it," Aragorn muttered and clenched his eyes shut.
"Ada, he is losing a lot of blood from his leg wound," Elrohir said softly but with urgency.
"In a moment, Elrohir," Elrond directed before turning to Aragorn. "Estel, I am going to give you a sedative and a muscle relaxant. When your heart slows, I will withdraw the blade when the heart down beats. Then I will work on your thigh and other wounds. It may be a few days until you awaken, the sedative is that strong."
"I trust you, Ada," he muttered as Elrond took a deep breath.
Carefully lifting his son's head, Elrond tipped the cup and watched as the mixture was drunk. The mixture worked quickly as Aragorn's eyes slid closed and his head lolled to the side. Elrond pressed his fingers under his son's jaw and monitored the heart rate.
"Go ahead and take the blade out of his thigh, Elrohir. He is not going to jerk away," Elrond directed and reached for a cloth.
Pressing a hand over the slowing heart, Elrond timed each beat and paused. He carefully gripped the handle of the dagger and waited a moment before quickly pulling the blade free. Blood instantly gushed out as Elrond pressed a cloth over the wound. Several curses sprang to the elf lord's lips as he glanced at the dagger's edge. The razor sharp edge was serrated to cause the most damage to the victim. Now there was possibly more damage than he had originally thought. He could feel Legolas look worriedly between Aragorn and himself.
"The blade's edge was serrated and has caused a great deal of trauma. It may have nicked the heart or just the sac that surrounds the heart," he stated and glanced around the disarray room.
"Legolas, find some more thread. Elrohir, are you finished with the needle?"
"Yes, Ada."
Elrohir passed over the needle carefully as Legolas scrambled around the other people in the room. Thranduil immediately protested when he saw blood on his son's back from his reopened wounds. His son quickly dismissed it with an 'I am fine' and continued to search for thread. Finally finding it, he rushed back and held it out to Elrond.
"Listen to me Legolas. I am going to cut open the wound more to be able to work. I need you to hold the wound open for me," Elrond instructed calmly and saw all color fade from the elf prince's face.
"Lord Elrond, I cannot do that. Elrohir can help-"
"Elrohir is working on Estel's leg and you are free. Now put your hands-"
"I am not a healer! I cannot do this!"
"Legolas! Help me or Estel will bleed out and die!"
Elrond's words were a powerful punch to Legolas' gut as any remaining color fled from his face. He slowly nodded and Elrond directed the elf prince. Legolas swallowed hard and did as Elrond instructed to quickly feel the slick and warm blood on hands. His fingertips felt the warmth from inside the human's chest and it made his stomach churn. Elrond's fingers moved nimbly as he felt around the wound and found the problem. He worked around the ribs carefully as he stitched the slash in the sac surrounding the heart and dabbed away the blood to look closer.
"The hole is stitched; you can let go, Legolas."
The younger elf removed his hands and watched numbly as Elrond stitched the flesh closed. Legolas gently lifted Aragorn up and held the human as Elrond tightly bound the wound. Binding the other wounds that they found, the three of them finally leaned back and relaxed slightly. They carefully lifted the human and carried him to a bed.
"We will have to carefully watch him until he awakens and prevent against infection. His body is already extremely weakened," Elrond said and wiped his hands clean of blood.
Legolas nodded dumbly as he stared at the blood staining his hands. The smell suddenly assaulted his senses and he lunged towards one of the spare chamber pots. His stomach expelled anything and everything that was in there until he was dry heaving. Strong arms held him up until he sagged against the person holding him up. Thranduil pressed a damp cloth to the back of his son's neck as Legolas breathed deeply.
"Are you well now?" Thranduil asked softly as his son nodded slowly.
The two slowly stood as the king carefully watched his son. When Legolas' legs started the crumble, Thranduil swept him up and carried him to the bed that was closest to Aragorn. Elrond left Aragorn's side and moved behind Legolas to carefully unwrap the bandages.
"You have torn out some of the stitches, young one," Elrond commented and started to replace the stitches.
"Ada, how did you know to come back and bring Gandalf with you?" Elrohir questioned as he looked over his twin.
"On my journey back to Imladris, I met with Mithrandir on the trail and he said that we were both needed back in Mirkwood. We rode back as quickly as possible and came across Elrohir with Legolas in the forest," Elrond explained and prepared a mixture for Legolas' back.
Legolas looked over at the wizard who was hunched over the black book that Elrohir had brought back from Bretharso' cave. The wizard mumbled occasionally under his breath and flipped through the pages. The elf prince hissed sharply when the mixture stung as Elrond smeared it onto the wounds. The healing room had emptied out and a blanket was now draped over the broken window to keep out the rain.
"Ada, I believe Elladan is waking," Elrohir said quietly and looked over Elladan to his father.
Elrond moved around the table and hurried to Elladan's bed side. The older twin was moaning softly and clenching his eyes tighter. Elrond rested a hand on Elladan's bare lower back and waited for his son's eyes to open.
"Elladan? Open your eyes, my son."
Moaning softly, Elladan gradually opened his eyes and blinked slowly as his father's face swam in and out of focus. Eventually it stayed in focus and he warily glanced around.
"How do you feel Elladan?" Elrond asked softly as Elladan's eyes narrowed.
"Sore; my back is sore," he muttered quietly.
Elrond reached over and pinched Elladan's calf.
Elladan softly groaned as his eyes fluttered shut. "That hurt."
"Which leg did I pinch?"
"Left calf," Elladan replied as Elrond nodded before standing.
He carefully felt along Elladan's spine and probed the muscles that ran along both sides of the column.
"Can you move your toes?"
Elrond watched as Elrohir pulled up the bottom of the sheet and nodded when he saw his twin's toes move.
"I will help you sit up, ion nin, but tell me immediately if you feel any numbness in your limbs."
Elrohir stood on the other side of his twin and took hold of Elladan's left arm. Elrond took Elladan's right arm and helped him up to rise off his stomach. Elladan bit his bottom lip as his sore muscles protested to the movement. Finally sitting on the edge of the bed, Elladan leaned forward to lean against Elrohir's chest. Elrohir cradled his twin's head on his shoulder as Elrond examined the older twin's back. Elladan was still battling off the remains of the sedative from earlier and was still a bit fuzzy. Elladan slowly looked around the healing room and stopped at Estel's unconscious form.
"What happened to Estel?" he asked weakly as he looked over Elrohir's shoulder.
"We will tell you later, Elladan. Now you need to rest," Elrond said and glanced up at Elrohir. "Help him to his chambers so he may sleep."
Elrohir nodded and called for another warrior to help him with his older brother. They left the healing room as Legolas looked after the twins and dropped his gaze guiltily. He had caused all of this.
"Do not do that, young one. You are not to blame for this."
Legolas looked up to Elrond and saw the knowledgeable eyes watching him. Elrond knew what the young prince was thinking. It was the same thing that all three of his sons would be thinking if they were in Legolas' position. Legolas dropped his gaze and stared at the blood that still stained the floor. A servant hadn't been able to come in and clean up all the blood from Aragorn.
"Please excuse me. I need to be alone for a moment," Legolas said softly and slipped off the edge of the bed.
He waved off his father and slowly walked out of the healing room and down the darkened hallway. His arms wrapped around his abdomen to brace his wounds as his feet shuffled him along. Walking past a large window, a bolt of lightning illuminated his figure and temporarily blinded him. Rain lashed against the window sharply as Legolas stared at the window and watched as the rain streamed down the glass. Turning away from the window, he slowly moved down the hallway and occasionally had to stop and lean against the wall to rest. His feet took him to the mourning rooms and he slowly pushed open the heavy doors.
The room was silent except for the occasional rumble from the storm outside the walls. A few candles were lit to illuminate the dark room. On the closest dais was a sheet covered figure that was the only one in the room. Legolas slowly walked towards the dais and walked up the two steps to stand next to the raised slab of stone. On its own accord, his hand reached out and snagged the edge of the sheet. Thunder rumbled outside, almost as if to warn him, as he pulled down the sheet. Bretharso's pale face was soon revealed to him as he dropped the sheet to the dark elf's chest. The blade that had killed him had been removed and in its place was a gaping hole and congealed blood. Legolas closed his eyes and bowed his head as he swallowed hard.
"You killed him."
Legolas' head snapped up and he stared in horror at the blank eyes that stared back at him. Bretharso's eyes stared at him as Legolas stumbled back a step.
"You killed him."
Legolas shook his head in denial as speech failed him and the figure started to morph. A choked cry escaped his lips when it was soon Aragorn on the dais and blood was pouring from his chest. Legolas' knees almost gave out in horror as the head turned and looked directly at him. Silver eyes locked with terrified blue eyes as Legolas felt a crushing pain encircle his heart and squeezed.
"You killed me, Legolas."
"No! I did not! It was not my fault!" he cried, knowing that this wasn't real but unable to deny it.
"Do you really believe that? Who is wounded in the healing room, dying?"
Legolas cried out and stumbled back to feel his foot miss the edge and he toppled backwards. His arms flailed wildly as he fell back and hit the stone floor hard. His back and ribs screaming in agony as he rolled onto his knees and forearm. His forehead was pressed against his arm as he gritted his teeth against that pain that consumed him. Looking under his arm to the dais, the figure was once again the dead Bretharso but the damage was already done. Legolas rolled onto his side as sobs echoed in the mourning room.
()()()()()()()()()()
Well, I am not going to sleep after writing this chapter. On rare occasions can I seriously freak myself out and this is one of those times. Well, anyway, sorry for making everyone wait for this chapter. I wrote as quickly as I could without losing the good stuff. So here is the new chapter and review once you are done. Cheers to all!
Linuvial Greenleaf- Well, mellonin, I am eager awaiting your response to the chapter while I type this out. Everyone quiet! The beta slave is at work, heehee. Your poor brother; I am really starting to feel for him. Poor guy. Hope you have a new box of tissues ready for later chapters. Well this is the second to last one so not much longer now. Until our next interesting conversation. Heehee. OMG, I had such fun reading you remarks on the betaed chapter. The Stephen King moment has arrived. Gah, that part really freaked me out too when I was writing it but I thought it was good. And now I am listening to you freaking out in you bedroom thinking that someone is going to get you.
BabeyRachey- Was everything explained in this chapter? I hope it was; or at least everything about Aragorn and what happened to him. Sometimes I purposely put in cliffies and other times they just occur without my knowledge. Blame it on the plot bunnies. Aragorn is perfect; gah, I wish I had one just like him.
Mornflower- Thank you so much for the compliment. HA! You could not sleep? I usually just say that I lost track of time. Most of the time that is what happens to me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Galadriel evenstar- You want to talk about reviews? Go and check out how many reviews Linuvial Greenleaf has for Fading Flame. Damn, she has a lot of them. I am kind of jealous of her. And go right ahead and review the wrong chapter; I do not mind, really. Heehee.
Linchi- I am sorry for leaving you like that. I really did not mean to…okay, yeah, I did but I could not help it. The plot bunnies made me do it!
Lynn-G- Thank you so much for the compliment. Earlier today when I was writing this chapter I got slammed with a sequel to this story and almost wanted to bang my head on the desk. These ideas just come to me and I can not stop them to save my life.
Hiei-Rulez- HA! Yeah, he is a stupid, over-exuberant Ranger but that is why we all love him. Or at least I do. Elrohir just needed to berate Aragorn for something and that was the first thing that came to mind. RUN ELROHIR! Heehee, so much fun toying with the elves. Enjoy!
Tychen- It is okay; I know that life can get hectic at times. And the 'New multi purpose Aragorn' comes in five different colors. We accept Visa and Mastercard. Heehee. I like Thranduil; I think he is a good dad unlike some authors that make him seem to be an abusive or uncaring father.
Arayelle Lynn- Thank you so much for the compliments. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the others.
Dha-Gal- I guess that means you are happy that Bretharso is deceased now? You must not have liked him that much. But who really likes the bad guys other than the authors that create the bad guys? But anyway, hope you had a marvelous vacation.
Star-Stallion- I really felt for my bad guy in this story. I did; he really did not deserve that kind of life but oh well.
Ringmarciel- The angst is here! Heehee. On my Fourth of July, I sat in my room writing and watched the fireworks through my window and my family and I cooked out for dinner. That was pretty much it. What did you do on the first?
XxgemxX- I just could not resist putting that small little lovey dovey part in there. It was needed after all that earlier stuff. The little flashbacks came when I was just finishing the chapter and thought that it would be a good idea to put that in there. Kind of like seeing your life flash before your eyes just when you are in a perilous situation.
Elvendancer- I have my cat, Peanut, to chase around the plot bunnies but then the plot bunnies get angry and kidnap my cat and hold her for ransom. But I think that the plot bunnies and cat are in cahoots together; everyone is conspiring against me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Jadesaber- Thank you for the compliments and I hope you enjoyed the angst in this chapter. I was driving Linuvial Greenleaf psycho when I was writing this because I would type random things on IM and she would freak out because she did not know what I was going to do in the chapter. Heehee, so fun.
Snow-Glory- (hands over a tissue) There, there, do not cry. Look, he is not dead…yet. I am kidding, do not freak out on me.
Elven Kitten- Thank you so much for the compliment. Enjoy!
WildBlackWolf and Viva- Well, Tokala sounds well rounded but once you start writing is when you have to make him well rounded. You have to write him like a person. Put yourself into his place and think about how you would feel or what you would do. Is your story already posted? If so I will happily go and read it.
Wolf Jade- I read your story and now I can not remember it. My memory can be really bad at times. You will just have to work on your stories and your writing. Linuvial Greenleaf keeps saying that she is a horrid writer and yet she is getting far more reviews than I so she is getting much better. You just have to find your area of talent and expand on it. I am typing these reviews' responses with a headache. Not fun.
Miriel- Thank you so much for the compliment. I like that word 'whelp'. I watched that movie again and remembered your review and I just had to chuckle. 'Whelp' is such a fun word and Sparrow and Turner are hot! Yummy.
ELFan- I like strange people. They make things fun. You are turning into Aragorn with far too many names that should be allowed for a human. I can not keep them all straight! Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Celebrean- Thank you so much for the compliment. I hope I update quick enough for you. I probably did not but I tried really hard. Earth Shattering…I think I have read it. I will have to check again and leave a review. I am so bad about reading things and then not remember that I read them. Till next update.
Kelly Kragen- Thank you so much for the compliment. Linuvial Greenleaf is a really good friend of mine, she is hilarious if you ever talk to her over IM. Right now she is waving a bat around madly because she thinks someone (a ghost/zombie/fugitive turned chainsaw wielding maniac) is coming after her. Gah, I love her to death.
Grumpy- Enjoy!
Gozilla- Thank you so much for the compliment.
Elenlor Edhelen- Eh, he is gone; that is all that counts. You really have to feel for Aragorn. I have an idea for another story that will really make you feel for him and pity him but I have to write it first. I am so lazy at times. (reaches back and pats self on back) Thank you for the compliment; I pull them all out when I am having a bad day and they boost me back up too a good, happy mood.
Coolio02- Thank you. Thranduil is a cool elf king. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Hamsterjuice- Thank you so much for the compliment. I am glad that you enjoy this story so much. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.