"How is your back Estel?" Glorfindel asked and glanced over his shoulder to the human.
"As well as can be Glor, now leave it be. It is well on its way to healing," Aragorn grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
The two had been riding hard for the past four days to reach the Hill of the Eye quickly. After the first night's incident they had wanted to quicken the pace to solve the reasons behind Aragorn's nightmares and his attack. After that night, Aragorn insisted on taking the nightly watches despite Glorfindel's adamant protests. The normally calm elf had finally lost patience after the third day. Aragorn hadn't slept at all except for the dozes he had on his horse that lasted about ten minutes each. The latest doze almost caused Aragorn to topple off his horse into a prickle bush. So, that night, when Glorfindel fixed a small dinner he "accidentally" mixed up the flavor herbs with some sleeping herbs when he fixed Aragorn's plate. He would never have told Aragorn, but he actually enjoyed drugging the human. He was smart; he stuck with the accident excuse when the human awoke the next day. Aragorn had been more than furious when he realized what Glorfindel had done to his dinner plate but the elf cared not for the human's anger. All that mattered was that Aragorn got his rest and the drugs had been powerful enough to ensure that his sleep was dreamless. Glorfindel knew that Aragorn would probably retaliate one way or another but he would gladly accept it if Aragorn rested.
"You should not have drugged me," Aragorn muttered as his horse splashed through a small creek.
"Hush human or I will be forced to do it again and I will take great pleasure in it again. You needed your rest," Glorfindel replied without looking back.
"You would not dare."
Glorfindel turned slightly and looked at the human with a raised eyebrow. It was a look that Elrond often used with his sons and Glorfindel had seen first hand the effectiveness. The years he had spent with Elrond allowed the 'look' to migrate to Glorfindel and the march warden used it only on special occasions. This was one of those occasions.
"Are you so sure about that Estel?"
Aragorn eyed the elf warily, not liking the look he was subjected to.
"You are scaring me, Glor."
"That was my intention," Glorfindel commented and turned in his seat to look forward.
Aragorn's eyes widened slightly before shaking his head. Sometimes he couldn't understand elves; sometimes he didn't even try, finding it too difficult at times. Even after growing up with the elves he couldn't follow elves when they got in one of their defining moods. Valar, sometimes he could barely understand Legolas at times. The older elves could sometimes be far worse at times.
"The Hill of the Eye is just over this hill," Glorfindel said and urged his horse faster.
"Marvelous."
Glorfindel smothered his smile and laughter. He had a feeling that Aragorn would not appreciate his humor on the subject. He greatly enjoyed traveling the youngest son of Elrond just as he did with Elladan and Elrohir. The sons of Elrond were refreshing to be around and interact with. Glorfindel almost felt as if he was also their father or grandfather. Whenever one of the sons of Elrond came home needing healing, Glorfindel worried just like a father but had to repress the worry while he helped Elrond. He liked to think that if he ever had children they would be a mixture of the sons of Elrond and the prince of Mirkwood. They would probably drive him insane, but he would love them and be proud.
"There it is," Glorfindel said as the stone columns emerged from the trees.
Aragorn stopped his horse and looked upon the structure that had been haunting him for weeks. Vines grew around the broken stones and choked the stairs and archways. The area was aged but still retained the power that it was built for. The small pine trees stood silently by as he looked around. His eyes slowly fluttered shut as a vision slowly washed over him and he was suddenly transported back to one of his nightmares. He felt the rough door against his hands and the fear that coursed through him. He could see the stone steps and the large stone that hid its secret. Jut as his hands reached for the stone, he was pulled abruptly from his vision and found Glorfindel looking at him worriedly.
"Are you alright Estel?" he asked concerned.
He had turned to ask the human a question and saw a dazed look descend over his face. His eyes had gone blank and didn't respond when Glorfindel called his name. Riding up next to Aragorn, he had waved his hand in front of the human's face and still got no reaction. After a few minutes he had finally come out of it with a shake.
"I am fine. Why?"
"You dazed away for a few minutes and did not respond when I called your name. Are you sure you are all right?"
Aragorn nodded and gently massaged his temples with his fingertips. He wished these visions would stop happening, they were giving him terrible headaches. Most of all, he worried that a vision might blindside him during a battle and that could prove fatal.
Glorfindel cast one more worried look to Aragorn before starting to look for a good place to set up camp for the night and however many days they intended to stay there. He knew it would be useless to try and push the human to explain what happened. If anything, Aragorn was known for his stubbornness and pride; something that more often than not got him into trouble. He could only hope that he would open up and allow him to help. While setting up camp, he noticed that Aragorn seemed slightly distracted and deep in thought. Glorfindel spoke a few words to the horses and released them to wander nearby. Catching Aragorn rubbing his temples again and grimacing, Glorfindel fixed a cup of tea and sprinkled in a few select herbs. Standing up from his squatting position, the elf walked over to the human and handed him the tin cup. Aragorn warily sniffed it before casting a look to Glorfindel.
"It will just help with your headache; I promise, nothing else," he said holding up his hands with palms towards Aragorn.
"You are almost as bad as ada," he muttered and downed the liquid in one gulp.
"I shall take that as a compliment."
"It was not intended to be one."
Glorfindel raised an eyebrow in question but chose not to speak. "So what now Strider?"
A bit of tension left the human as his headache faded and he stood. He walked towards the ruins and slowed to a stop before pressing a hand against the stone. He knew Glorfindel was behind him without turning around.
"A door used to be here. A wooden one with a heavy but old bolt lock. And there used to be a foyer type room with a fire place there," he said and pointed towards a pile of stone.
He slowly turned and looked at Glorfindel before looking past the elf to the tree. "They came from those trees, dark shadows that were chasing me. I finally opened the door and ran in to lock it behind me. Then I ran…I ran up the steps."
Glorfindel kept his questions and comments to himself but he was really starting to worry. His companion spoke of things that had been ages ago, far before his time yet he spoke with a sense of familiarity. It almost seemed as if he had been there before when it was still used as a watchtower. He followed the human up the steps and watched as he stopped to retrace his steps.
"There was a stone along the steps, a stone that come out from the others. I think it is this one."
Aragorn knelt on the step and felt around the stone before gripping the edges. Slowly, he tugged at all the corners and felt the stone move bit by bit before falling from its place and tumbling down the steps. Glorfindel jumped aside to avoid being hit by the stone before looking to Aragorn.
"You are starting to scare me Strider."
"I am starting to scare myself," he replied and turned back to the gaping black hole.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly eased his hand in and carefully felt around. His fingertips gently brushed against something rough and he grasped it before slowly pulling it out. It was a folded piece of parchment that was deeply browned by age, hidden away for countless years. Glancing up at Glorfindel for a moment, Aragorn carefully started to unfold the parchment but stopped when the elf placed a hand atop of his. Looking at the elf, Aragorn stopped his movements as he recognized the expression.
"What is it?"
"Orcs, a small group of them."
He carefully put the piece of paper away in his coat and vowed to look at it later. His hand found his sword and pulled it out as he followed Glorfindel down the steps. Glorfindel stopped suddenly and turned to Aragorn.
"Try not to get too injured, please."
"Trust me, Glor."
Aragorn stepped past the elf as he rolled his eyes. He grasped his sword as the orcs rushed from the trees towards them.
Consciousness suddenly slammed into him from every angle to yank him from the peaceful blackness that he happily rested in. He heard someone screaming his name combined with something heavy resting on his back. The weight made it difficult of breath as he slowly opened his eyes to allow him to focus on something and find his balance. He remembered the battle and Lina yelling at him after his vision bleached out and he suddenly saw Aragorn. He growled slightly and tried to move his arms under him to push himself up. Legolas released several colorful curses when he realized that his arm was trapped under something heavy.
"Legolas! Can you hear me?"
"Lina!" he bellowed and struggled to free his arm.
The woman hurried over to the pile of goblins and started to pull off the goblin bodies with one arm. Her other arm was pressed against her body to soak up the blood streaming from a nasty gash on her bicep. Kicking away a goblin, she freed Legolas' arm and pushed away another corpse as Legolas pushed himself up. Climbing to his feet, he flicked his hair out of his face and grimaced when his hand brushed against a small cut on his cheek.
"Are you injured?" Lina asked and quickly looked him over.
"I am fine, the small cut is the worst of my injuries. How are you?"
"Fine," she replied and turned away just as the elf saw her bloody arm.
"Do not start acting like a female version of Aragorn. You are not fine," he said and cleaned his blades before slipping them in his quiver.
"I am perfectly fine, it is a small scratch," she said and picked up her bow before walking away.
Legolas grabbed his bow and jogged after the woman as he cursed human stubbornness. He always ended up being stuck with the ones who had an over abundance of the stubborn streak. It seemed to always be common with humans and he thought it was only the males but it seemed to be the females also.
"I do not call that a small scratch. What is on my cheek is a small scratch and yours is not a small scratch. Do not argue with me woman," he said and grabbed her good arm to pull her around and look closer at the wound.
He had no need to turn her for she spun on her own. Legolas jumped back a step when her fiery glare fell upon him and he knew that if looks could kill he would already be halfway to Mandos. Her eyes narrowed angrily as she pulled her arm from his grasp.
"I do not need an elf telling me what to do."
Ignoring his shocked expression, she spun and stormed towards the dwarf cave muttering curses under her breath. Entering the cave, she waved off questions of what happened as she walked to the back of the cave where they kept the healing supplies. Slipping out of the jerkin, she carefully pulled off her long sleeve tunic to her under tunic. The wound was finally exposed as she twisted her shoulder forward to look at the wound better. Squeezing out the excess water from the rag, she carefully cleaned the wound and wiped away the excess blood. Picking up a dry bandage, she pressed it against the wound to wait for the blood to stop seeping. Sensing someone watching her, she opened her eyes and found the source. Legolas stood a few yards away watching her while he held a mug in his hands. Seeing her look at him, he walked towards her and knelt in front of her before holding out the mug.
"Truce?"
She eyed the mug and looked to the elf before sighing. "Truce."
"Will you let me look at your wound now?"
Lina nodded and carefully removed the bandage as Legolas moved to her side. He hissed softly when he saw the raggedness of the wound. It wasn't severe but could leave a nasty looking scar if it wasn't treated correctly.
"It would probably be best to have it stitched," he commented and Lina nodded.
"I figured as much. So stitch it," she muttered and took a sip of the warmed wine.
"Do you trust me to? I am not as talented as the healers."
"Just stitch it and bind it."
He shrugged his shoulders and searched through the supplies to find what was needed. Lina nodded to him when he looked for permission to begin. With nimble fingers, he quickly stitched the gash closed and tied it off before cutting away the remaining sinew. Lina handed him a jar and bandages for him to finish. Lathering the closed wound with the salve he bound her arm tightly before sitting back.
"Done."
"You should clean that cut on your cheek. It could become infected," she said and gestured towards his cheek.
"That would be just my luck," he muttered and picked up the wet bandage. "I will be leaving at first light to ride to Hill of the Eye."
"Why?"
"I worry that my friend Strider is in trouble."
"Strider as in…?"
Legolas nodded in confirmation and Lina nodded.
"Will you be staying with the dwarves for a while?"
"No, my neck is beginning to ache from looking down at them when we speak. If you would allow it, I would like to travel with you though," she said and pulled on her tunic and jerkin.
"I have no objections; just be ready to leave early."
"I will."
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And here comes Chapter Four down the red carpet! She is looking stunning this evening at the FanFiction awards is she not Mike? She is going up against some hard competition this evening and only time will tell how many reviews she will get from the audience. Oh and here comes her mother down the red carpet…Spades: There goes my baby! *wails*…*poke*…Erin wake up…*poke poke*…Other Erin (roommate): You are day dreaming again…Erin wake up!...*smacks Spades over the head as she jerks awake in her butterfly chair* Hunh, what happened to the red carpet?...Roommate Erin: Red carpet? I have no idea what you are talking about girl but you need to post the new chapter.
It has been an interesting few days lately *cough* or at least you could call it interesting. So anyway, here is the new chapter for you all to read and review for me…pretty please with a cherry on top? I hope to get some more written in the next few days. Classes are over with but exams are coming up so that may occupy my time more until I go home for Christmas break. YEAH! I love Christmas time…well actually I hate it too. Love and hate it about the same. So please review for me people and I will love you all.
Thank you extremely to Lauren and Dha-Gal for betaing for me on this chapter. I love both of you to death *throws skittles into the air*
tHe InSaNe OnE- Wow…really long review. I think I have met my quota for being yelled at by a reviewer in that one review. Now Miki…calm down. First off I did not throw him off a cliff *glances over the balcony edge* okay well I did not throw him. Second, if you do not hear voices then you are alone; the voices in my head do not like you…just kidding. Thirdly, I did not severely hurt him, just a little maimed. Fourthly, Glorfindel thinks that all the sons of Elrond are insane; it must have been a sex linked trait because Arwen does not have it. Fifthly, yes Legolas and the 'stunted ones' and Lina is the bestest dwarf lover there is. I just had to pull her in there as a dwarf lover. Sixthly, (apparently it is a word because my spell check did not highlight it) OH LOOK! Legolas only has a small scratch on his cheek! I did not think it possibly for him to get in a scrape with orcs/goblins/wargs/anything else possible without coming out with a few deathly injuries. Apparently it is for he just has a small scratch…must be because Aragorn is not with him. Now…did I get everything in the review that you yelled at me for? *looks over review again* I think so.
Farscapeangel- Thank you for the compliment. I sent you an email about betaing for me but you did not respond.
Balrog Lover- YES! Little Lina is back and better than ever. The exams have come to take over the beating and attacking job for the orcs. And let me tell you they are beating my ass to a pulp.
Lydia2- I emailed you about betaing for me but you did not respond. And thank you very much for the compliment.
Astievia- Lina is very cool. I am toying around with the idea a little later of having the twins come into the fray. I just worry that if I get too many characters in the story then I will harder for me to keep everyone straight and busy. I do not want to clutter the story and plotline with too many characters. I might have them come in later in the story though.
Dha-Gal- You already betaed for me on this chapter and I thank you for it *bows and sweeps hand out from over my heart to my side…Hannon lle. I thank you very much for the compliment on my timing of bringing Legolas into the story later. I have the next chapter or two planned out in my head so now I just have to write it *rubs hands together and gazes at Poppy* Come my precious, we have work to do *evil cackle*.
Elvendancer- Yes, everyone likes Lina. I like her too, very much. Do not even try to imagine yourself in my position. It is a nightmare come alive, I swear it is. I swear, I can write an entire chapter in just one night if the mood strikes me. I would start writing a bit and then I will get hooked and I just can not stop writing to save the life of me and before I know it the clock reads one or two in the morning. You have your sister reading the stories? How does she like them? Good I hope. I am always so antsy when someone reads my work.
Deana- I wrote you an email about betaing for me and you did not reply *pouts*. And no, it never ends with those two. I swear they should have their own personal healing wing dedicated to themselves. Just think of the insurance costs *shudder*.
Konjurer- Do you realize how much my ego swelled when I read your review? Eh gads, I thought I would bloody float out the third floor window with that review. I swear I just started to dance around in my seat at my desk when I read it *giggle* Did I just giggle? Oh it is getting bad if I giggled.
Snow-Glory- Did Lina surprise you? Well they are not exactly hurt…just a little worn around the edges. Heehee, I am so bad but I love it.
Star-Stallion- This is the first time that Legolas has been in a battle and come out relatively unscathed. Shocking, I know. If you would like to be one of my beta readers then please understand that this would be a phenomenal undertaking. I will email you all the details and if you still want to do it then I will put you on my beta people list.
Bill the Pony2- *blushes* Thank you so much and yes I did see the movie Dragon Heart. I saw it a few months ago for the first time on USA and I started to think that a story with a dragon would be a good story and I just started to daydream about the story and wrote a bit of it in my head before putting it down on paper. I kind of took Draco's image and described Sauros in the same physical form but the rest of the dragons were conjured from my demented little mind. One getting the original idea it just took off and has been leading the way ever since.
Grumpy- I thought the trap was hilarious. The sign will be reappearing eventually in the story, I have this really good idea that I will use a few more chapters into the future…I just hope that I do not forget it. Send me a cookie! What kind are they? Yummy.
Lauren- It is really funny when anyone tries to scare me. That is one of the reasons that I was almost banned for life from Madam Toussauds for life. You know the famous wax museum in London. Yeah, really bad occurrences there including me and being scared by a bloody actor *growls* anyway, that is a really long story. The Aragorn sign will be coming back in a few chapters, Heehee, it will be funny believe me. 'I Spy' is a very good funny movie. Those two were marvelous together. And thank you very much for being my beta reader *bows with hand over heard before sweeping it out* Hannon lle.
