BURIED
By: Cheryl W
Disclaimer: I don't own The Lord of the Rings or anything in conjunction with the Lord of the Rings nor am I making a profit from this story. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 11 ))))))))))
It was not Elrond but another healer that unwrapped Aragorn's wounds with Legolas' aid while the man still slept under the tea's effects. When the white cloth had been removed and Legolas received his first look upon the wounds that marred his friend's body, he clenched his teeth together to not let out an enraged cry or a string of Dwarven curses. Knowing the battle that Aragorn had waged, the blood that he had lost, had not prepared Legolas for the sight of the grisly wounds. Unbidden, Elrond's words came again to his mind. 'You know that traveling to the rangers tomorrow could kill him.' If he had held some doubt about the elf lord's claim, Legolas did not now, not after seeing the true damage inflicted upon his friend.
The healer began to clean the wound to Aragorn's right side and instructed Legolas to perform the same task on Aragorn's left side. Gently, Legolas ran a wet cloth over the long line of stitched skin of his friend. Elrond's stitches had held but Legolas found that knowledge did not abate much of his present worry. He had thought himself prepared to see his friend's wounds. He was wrong. With a trembling hand, he gently wiped away traces of dried blood from Aragorn's long sword wound and vainly tried not to think of all Aragorn had endured at Barion's hands. For the man to be so grievously wounded only to be sealed into a tomb ...a shiver coursed through Legolas, earning him a strange look from the healer, which he was oblivious to as he bent his head and closed his eyes.
How had Aragorn born the darkness in the tomb?! How had he managed to attempt escape let alone achieve it with the wounds Barion had inflicted upon him?! How, still, had he managed the walk to Rivendell?! With clarity, Legolas knew each answer was the same: Only by the grace of the Valar.
Opening his eyes he studied his friend's pale face. He had felt the rending of his soul when he thought Aragorn had perished and the joyous relief when he knew the man still lived. How could he contemplate letting the man risk his life by riding to the rangers tomorrow?! How could any of them? Legolas' heart clenched as he thought of the unholy cost he might have to pay if he stood against Estel is this matter. Was it enough reward to know his actions saved Estel's life even if he never again had the beloved gift of the man's friendship? His thoughts flashed to Elrond. He alone knew what kind of pain awaited Legolas if he was separation from Estel. Can I bear that type of pain? Can I willingly forfeit my friendship with Estel to save his life?
"Prince?" came a soft inquiry from the healer.
Breaking from his thoughts, Legolas' eyes snapped to the healer's.
Without a word the healer handed the Mirkwood elf salve to apply to the man's wound. Legolas gently rubbed the medicine upon the wound but his mind would not stray from the choice before him. Finishing his task, Legolas noted that the healer had already prepared the new bandages and was waiting patiently for him. Fearing to bring hurt upon his injured friend, Legolas' motions were slow and full of care as he slid his hands underneath his friend's back and neck and sat him up.
A moan escaped Aragorn at the action but he did not awaken as Legolas held the man against his chest and the healer wrapped the fresh bandage around the man's torso. Legolas' eyes did not stray from his friend's face and he tensed as he saw a flinch tighten his friend's eyes. He was about to caution the healer to have more care but a soft plea from Aragorn stopped him.
"Dark," Aragorn murmured, panic in his barely audible word. "So dark....help me."
Legolas pulled Aragorn more tightly against him and soothed, "Be at ease, mellon nin. You are free." Shooting a look to the healer, Legolas saw the elf's task was complete and nodded his head to the door, ordering the elf from the room. The healer's eyes filled with a question and Legolas knew that the healer wondered if Elrond should be summoned. Legolas shook his head in reply and watched as the elf quietly left the room, closing the door behind him.
Gently Legolas settled Aragorn back upon the bed and brushed the man's hair from his brow. Aragorn's head rolled away at the touch. "Awaken, Aragorn and see the light that surrounds you."
A voice broke through the void that claimed Aragorn, a voice that beckoned him to a place he knew not how to go to. "Help me," he pleaded, trying hard to not let the darkness that smothered him turn his heart cold with fear.
Legolas cursed Elrond's tea's sleeping properties for it was keeping Aragorn trapped into his dreamscape. Cupping Aragorn's face with both his hands, Legolas leaned close to Aragorn and beckoned, "It is Legolas. I am here for you. No harm will come to you, Estel. Just open your eyes and you will know you are safe and at home."
Slowly the words made their way into Aragorn's muddled thoughts and he knew the owner of that voice. Legolas. Legolas had come to rescue him from the tomb. He walked forward toward where the door of the tomb was but suddenly something grabbed his arm, something that was but bones. He spun around and tried to pull away but the boney hand could not be dislodged and amid the void a cold breath blew in his ear. "It is time to face your father, Aragorn son of Arathorn. You have much to answer for."
"No!" tore from Aragorn and his eyes flew open.
Immediately Legolas put his hand upon Aragorn's chest, afraid the man would once again run from his presence. Aragorn made no move but instead drew in large deep breaths and Legolas watched as the panic and fear faded from his friend's eyes. Assured that Aragorn would not make any foolish moves, Legolas leaned over and picked up a glass of water from the night stand. Gently he put his hand behind Aragorn's neck and raised the man's head and put the glass to Aragorn's lips.
Greedily Aragorn drank the water but sooner than he wished, Legolas pulled the glass away and settled his head back upon the pillow. Absently he rubbed at his arm where the corpse had held him in his dream as his eyes studied Legolas. The elf did not meet his eyes but was fidgeting with the covers, pulling them up to Aragorn's chest and tucking them under the man. Suddenly Aragorn wondered what he had uttered in his sleep, what weakness he had shown to Legolas making the elf ashamed to meet his eyes.
Since denying his nightmare seemed ludicrous, Aragorn decided on the next best thing to prove that he was not all frailty. "I need to take a walk to clear my head," he announced an instant before he flung back the covers Legolas had worked so hard to secure about him, rolled to his side and sat up.
Whatever action Legolas had expected from Aragorn, it was not this one and he barely got over his shock in time to round the bed, block the man's path and seize his shoulders as he sat up. "What in the Valar do you think you are doing!?"
Aragorn, shocked to have Legolas' furious eyes leveled at him, barely managed to not flinch at his friend's outraged question. This tone and look the Mirkwood prince usually reserved for Orcs. Had his vision not been swimming and his body not been overloaded by agony, Aragorn would have thought of a snappier comeback. "Going for a walk," he reinstated as if it were the most obvious thing.
Anger and disbelief flickered across Legolas' features. "No, no you are not. Now lie down, Aragorn." Beginning to press the man back upon the bed, he was startled at the man's resistance.
"No," Aragorn growled and used what strength he could to fight the elf's leverage.
Afraid that Aragorn would further injure himself by his struggle, Legolas stopped trying to force the man back upon the bed and instead pulled Aragorn again to a sitting position. "Stop fighting me, Estel!"
"Stop treating me like an invalid," Aragorn shot back but his breath came out hard and labored.
"I'm treating you like a very wounded ..."
"Don't say it," Aragorn warned, his eyes bright with barely leashed anger if his friend called him a human, or a child or a mortal or anything some elves considered frail and without strength.
Legolas sighed. This was an old argument. Lowly he insisted, "I was only going to say I'm treating you like a very wounded friend. Which you are! You must lie still and let your wounds heal! You know this! You are a healer!"
"What I need to do is get up and move around so that I am ready for tomorrow's travel," Aragorn replied, not bothering to retort to Legolas' cut about his own healer knowledge. With concern he saw Legolas pull his look away from him. "What's wrong, Legolas? Has something occurred while I slept?"
Legolas shook his head a moment before meeting the searching eyes of his best friend. "All is well."
"All is not well. Tell me why you can not meet my eyes. Is it because of what I spoke in my dreams? Legolas they were but false words, words conjured up by my drugged mind. You know how that tea affects me."
But Legolas's eyes did not shy away this time but held Aragorn's unflinching in their grasp. "They were not false words," he disputed softly painfully. "You had need of me and I was not there."
Aragorn sighed in frustration, "You bear no guilt in what happened to me, Legolas. Now quit stalling and tell me what you wish not to."
Legolas shoved the words out of his mouth, "I have changed my mind. I will not support you tomorrow."
The room fell silent and Aragorn's jaw clenched. Lowly he questioned, needing to hear the words from Legolas himself. "And what is it you will no longer support me in, Legolas?"
Legolas wanted to rescind his words, his decision which he had suddenly come to but he could not, his fear would not allow him that cowardice. Meeting his best friend's eyes, Legolas steadily stated, "I will not support your decision to go to the rangers. Not when you are so wounded and weak. Your brothers can go retrieve Barion from the rangers and bring him here so that you may meet him in battle when you are healed."
Aragorn's eyes turned to ice and his voice was deadly but low, "Did Elladan and Elrohir follow Renen?"
"No but ..." suddenly Legolas knew he should have not spoken these words as some light of triumph sparked in Aragorn's eyes.
"That is good," Aragorn cut off Legolas' words. "I 'wished' for your support but I had no real 'need' for it. I will make the journey alone," his words cold and impersonal.
Legolas' grip upon Aragorn's shoulders tightened, "No! You will not be making the journey at all! Tell me the location of your camp, Aragorn."
Silence met Legolas' demanded and the elf found it hard not to flinch under the man's cold, hard, gaze, the gaze of the chieftain of the rangers. "The rangers may have need of help sooner than you can reach their camp, injured as you are," Legolas ventured, hoping this logic would unlock the stubborn human's mouth.
There was no softening in Aragorn's eyes. "The rangers have no need of help from elves. Now release me," the ranger ordered with a deadly threat in his eyes.
Hurt by the bitter way Aragorn had said "elves" Legolas growled back, "Listen to me, 'human', you could die if you ride for the ranger's camp! I will not stand idly by and watch you throw away your life for revenge...or for your pride."
Silence fell upon the room as the elf and the ranger looked upon each other.
Legolas' words seared into Aragorn and for a moment he could not determine what he felt more, fury at the elf's words, pain at yet another betrayal from one he loved or sorrow for the loss that was sweeping over him. Quietly, without emotion, Aragorn spoke, "Do not worry. I no longer require you to stand at my side."
"No," Legolas breathed in disbelief. "You can not mean that."
Aragorn pushed Legolas' now loosened hands from his shoulders and steadily met the elf's eyes. "I can and I do. Your presence is no longer required here. Go home."
Aragorn could not have hurt Legolas more if he had buried a knife into the elf's heart. Swallowing hard, Legolas forced his voice to be even as he softly questioned, "You have shut your family out of your heart, will you also shut me out because I dare to value your life more than your pride?"
"If you were the friend I thought you to be you would have faith in me and support me when I am in need. What motivated you to offer me your friendship, Legolas? Did your father think it would mend the rift between Elrond's house and his? Or did you know from the start what destiny bid me do? Like Elrond, was it only honor and duty that lead you to befriend me?" Aragorn spat, not truly believing his own words but they flew from him bitterly in retaliation for the pain of the loneliness that was taking over his heart.
Legolas paled at Aragorn's words and flinched as if each sentence was a whip lash. "You..you can not believe that, Estel?" he choked out, his pain darkening his blue eyes. "We are friends because I came to value your presence in my life...as you value my presence in your life."
The elf's words could not go unanswered as Aragorn had planned. "What value is in our friendship if you do not side with me when I desperately need your support. I thought I could count on you, that you alone would not betray me." Frustrated that he had bared so much of his soul, Aragorn bitterly declared, "I see now that I was foolish to trust any elf."
Angry desperation surged through Legolas. "By the Valar, Estel, I am not betraying you! I am trying to save your life!"
"I can take care of myself," Aragorn growled back. Before Legolas could protest Aragorn continued, "It was 'my' stubbornness that allowed me to cling to this life amid my wounds. Alone I faced the darkness of the tomb and it was 'my hands' that clawed through the dirt to the light. And it was by 'my strength' that I walked the path to Rivendell."
Legolas opened his mouth to angrily ask the man who he thought had tended to his wounds, wiped his brow, changed his bandages but at the last instant, he decided he would say none of those things. He would not tear the man down, would not belittle the obstacles that Aragorn had recounted, would not refute the truth of his friend's claims. "I do not dispute your strength, Aragorn, but everyone has his limits," he tenderly countered.
"And you believe I have reached mine?" Aragorn lowly questioned.
Sensing the trap laid for him, Legolas worded his response carefully, "I have no wish to see you reach your limit. Yes, you survive all Barion had done to you on your own but you do not need to face things alone anymore. I am at your side and so is your family."
Sorrow crept into Aragorn's eyes, "You are wrong. I am alone, alone as I was in that tomb. I have only ghosts as companions, the ghost of our friendship of my family's love, things once alive but now dead."
Despair was coating Legolas' heart. How could he make Aragorn see that it was his love for his friend that dictated his actions? "I wanted to support you in anything you decided...but I found I could not support you in this, not if it may cost you your life."
"My life is not under your protection, Legolas. I may risk it as I see fit without your blessing and regardless of your condemnation. Tomorrow I leave for the ranger's camp and there is naught you can do to sway my path", Aragorn sternly warned, "so do not try."
Seeing in the ranger's eyes that he could not change his mind on this matter, Legolas stood up to his full height. His heart pleaded with him to say whatever was necessary to mend this rift between he and his best friend but the words of acceptance for Aragorn's plan would not come from his mouth. Instead he nodded his head to Aragorn and stalked across the room and firmly shut the door behind him. Closing his eyes and hanging his head, Legolas leaned forward against the closed door of his friend. He had ventured everything...and lost. "Valar, what have I done?"
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Startled from his dark thoughts by a light rap upon his study door, Elrond turning from his gaze out the window, forced himself to abandon the slump posture that had plagued him of late and bade, "Enter."
Legolas entered the study and Elrond's heart skipped a beat at the anguish that cloaked the young elf. Before Legolas came to stand before him, Elrond knew that Legolas' anguish mirrored his own, the anguish of one banished from the heart of one they loved. "He would not heed your pleas," Elrond numbly surmised.
Grateful for the older elf's insight, Legolas allowed a shake of his head to be his reply, fearful that speech was still beyond him. It had taken him some time to control his emotions enough to seek out Elrond but now he feared he had still come to soon, had misjudged his reign upon his emotions. He was startled as Elrond lightly took hold of his arms, and pressed him into a chair.
Claiming a chair beside the prince, Elrond guiltily watched the emotions flicker over Legolas' features. Valar, why had he blackmailed Legolas to do what he himself had feared to attempt! "I'm sorry, Legolas. It was wrong of me to force you to confront Estel, to choose your loyalties."
Legolas shook his head and quietly countered, "No, you were right. I...I saw his wounds...I heard him cry out in his sleep...I could not support his decision, I never should have."
Elrond put a comforting hand on the prince's shoulder, "Your friendship with Estel led you to support him, I know this."
Flinching as if in pain at the word "friendship", Legolas hung his head. "I no longer have the privilege of his friendship," his words barely audible even to Elrond's elven ears.
"Legolas, Estel will not abandon your friendship, he values it too well."
"Like he values your love," Legolas said in bitter despair before he could catch himself. Swiftly raising his head, he saw the paleness of Elrond's features and stammered, "I'm ..I'm sorry..I did not mean those words."
His voice tight with emotions, Elrond replied, "It is alright, Legolas. You are right. None of us are certain if we can reclaim Estel's love but we must not stop believing it is possible...I can not."
"What will you do?" Legolas questioned, his eyes dark with failure.
"I will talk to Estel tomorrow but if I can not sway him with my words....I will do nothing to restrain him from leaving."
Legolas nodded his head in agreement with Elrond's decision. "If he should leave..." Legolas began.
"You will be joining him," Elrond finished with a small smile. "That is no secret."
"And I will not be the only companion Aragorn will have to endure," Legolas stated with conviction to which Elrond simply smiled a little brighter.
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Having managed to emerge from his bed and walk to his balcony, Aragorn leaned heavily against the railing and watched the waterfalls, savoring the sound of the rushing water crashing down upon itself. The falls had always been a source of comfort for him when he was a child and the world seemed most against him. Silently he corrected, 'when the elven world seemed most against me.' How many times had he felt he did not belong here in Rivendell, among elves? How many different ways did the other elves show their hatred of him and tell him that he was not a true member of Lord Elrond's family? Too many times to count. "I was right, they were right, all of them. I never belonged here. It was all some illusion," he gruffly admitted. Vivid memories of Elladan, Elrohir and even Elrond soothing him ran through Aragorn's mind. They always assured him that Rivendell was his home and told him they were all family and none could undo that.
But they had been wrong. It was undone before it began. Not only had his name been a lie but now it seemed all of his childhood had been a fabrication weaved for the sake of honor, of duty. "Hope" he sneered aloud and clenched tightly onto the railing in fury and despair and gut wrenching sorrow. 'Hope itself is a lie, a lie that tricks you into believing in something that will never be,' he bitterly thought wishing he could throw something or kick something to vent his anger. Hope would not ensnare him again. No longer would he let a lie comfort him. Tomorrow he would leave Rivendell forever and remand his memories of his childhood into the deepest darkest pit of his soul, never to be released or remembered.
There were yet more memories to be banished, memories of the times he had spent with Legolas. Aragorn's jaw clenched as his sorrow threatened to bubble from him. Legolas had been his anchor amid this storm, a role he had played many times for Aragorn in their long years of friendship. He was the one person Aragorn thought he could trust, the one person who would stand at his side no matter what. Again he had put his faith in an elf foolishly. None of the firstborns could be counted upon.
Loneliness gripped Aragorn's heart. Astonishingly, he felt more alone now than when he had been buried alive in the black void of the tomb. Searching his feelings for an answer to why, he found the truth left a bitter taste in his mouth. Hope. Regardless of how foolish it was, he had clutched onto the deluded hope that the letters were false, that Elrond's love had been true, that the life he had lived had not been a fabrication, that he would miraculously find a way from the tomb, stumble home and be reassured that everything Barion had told him was a lie.
Instead Barion had told the truth, brutally and unerringly. The lies had come unexpectedly from the ones he had loved with all his soul. He clamped his eyes shut as he remembered Elrond's admission that the letters were not false, that he had not wanted Aragorn in his life. Whatever hope had survived Barion's sick games died a swift death at that very moment.
'No longer will I allow hope to blind me. Nor will I bestow my faith so recklessly. I have been a fool but no more.' He vowed bitterly as he turned his back upon his vista of Rivendell and made his way to the bed with determined steps. Settling under the covers he prayed the morrow would come swiftly and that his sleeping mind would not force him to face yet again the terror of the tomb.
TBC ))))))))
Replies to Reviews:
Joey: Your so right, Aragorn is on the edge and he doesn't know what he should feel or do. I hate situations like that! Since you'll be reading this after your trip...I hope you had a fantastic time...drop me an email and tell me about it. Thanks so much for your compliments and can't wait till you're able to send me reviews again!
MoonFire1: Well, Aragorn's injuries from Barion at least saved him from a baseball bat over the head...he should be glad for small mercies. So glad you could see both sides of Legolas and Elrond's argument about friendship vs saving Aragorn's life. I didn't want either of them coming off as the bad guy. Barion's remains will probably consist of DNA if any of the characters in this tale have a say in it. Thanks so much for your loyal reviewing!
Tailspin: I'm so right there with you on that abandoned story issue! It's gotten to the point that I hardly read a story unless it's completed. I've been burned too many times! I love your insight into Aragorn and Legolas' friendship! You brought up some things I never realized. As you can tell, I myself am very attached to their "buddy story". Sorry I didn't get as far in the plot as I wished this chapter but don't worry...ah...I mean worry...cause Aragorn is going to have his confrontation with Barion. He deserves it! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews!
Sielge: Thank you for your wonderful compliment! I'm always worried that some of the chapter's drag and I was a little more fearful of that last chapter and this one. Hope you liked this chapter too.
Beling: Glad you liked the treat of the "old" Aragorn/ Legolas! You know I can't keep the sap out of this story for too long...I go into withdrawal! I love a stubborn Aragorn, can you tell? I LOVED your "come to Jesus meeting" phrase. I gotta use that around here and see what kinda reactions I get! And I agree with you, Aragorn's gotta be the one to face off with Barion...injured or not. Maybe everyone else will get in a punch or two ...how would that be? Now you have to cut Legolas some slack this chapter...he now understands better what pain Elrond feels at the separation from his son. I think Legolas attitude will be changed from here on out. Elrond didn't take any beatings this chapter, do I get a gold star for that? (I'm taking what I can now because I'm not promising to be this nice in the upcoming chapters). Hope you had a wonderful vacation and I can't wait for your reviews!
Tychen: Thanks for not sending me a death threat. And yes, it would have been kinder of me to end last chapter on a happy note but I'm glad you understand that this isn't going to be a happy story until the end. I'd hate to promise you angst and not deliver! Yes, Aragorn does need Legolas' friendship more now than ever before but sometimes in life when one thing goes bad, all things go badly. (Even I pity Aragorn but not enough to give him an easier time!) And Aragorn will get back his self respect ...eventually. So happy you loved Legolas's bedside manner! Thanks for your wonderful review!
Nefhiriel: You're ready to kill?! I DO take that as a compliment! Thanks!!! I'm jealous of your vacations but I'm glad you got a chance to review! Hope to get more death threats from you!
Elven Kitten: Thanks for the review ! Glad you see you're still protecting Aragorn and now even Legolas!
Elvingirl3737: I was very pleased to get your review filled with beautiful compliments! Your words eased a lot of my insecurities that's been creeping up on me with each chapter. (The characters' angst must have even "me" on edge!) Glad you're still enjoying the twins and their emotions! Can't wait to hear from you again!
Someone Reading: Thanks so much for thinking my dialog was "superb"!! I love writing dialog but I'm always worried it falls flat and not met my readers' expectations. And I couldn't resist the quip about Legolas allowing Aragorn to sign his own letter..these two characters are the most fun when they're picking on each other. Sorry but Legolas "did" decide to side against Aragorn but I hope I made his reasons come across believable as well as Aragorn's responses. Yes, the twins can be taught reason...it just takes some strong words. As for Elrond, I'm working hard to get him out of his "hellish nightmare" but I've decided that there has to be some more factors working in his favor. I can't thank you enough for your reviews! They really are a pleasure to read and I always look forward to reading them and hearing what you think!
Athelassa: I was so touched that you said you "love" my story "a bit more with every chapter"! What a wonderful compliment!!! Ah...so you already knew Legolas was going to heed Elrond's advice?! You know the elf so well! I agree, Elrond's tactics were a little mean but what's the saying "the end justifies the means." Very pleased you liked the bantering because it's a joy to write! Can't wait until your next review!
Grumpy: The "queen of angst"?!? I LOVE THAT!!! Sorry to say that Aragorn is determined to fight Barion and you know once that stubborn human makes up his mind, it's all over. Hope you liked this chapter's round of angst!
Aebbook: I'm blushing over your compliment to Mire and to this story! Thank you so much for that wonderful compliment! Sorry to say I don't have instant messenger but I would love to get an email from you!! My email address is under my author profile. Looking forward to your next review!
Magickalstar135: Thank you for your compliments! And I'll pass your advice on to Legolas about smacking Estel over the head. I have to agree, Barion's death will not solve all the problems only the sharing of each of their hearts will mend the wounds. However, I'm stuffing the ballot box with requests for Barion to get the death penalty. Sure his death won't solve all problems but it'll make me feel better. Hope to hear from you again.
Joslin: Thanks so much for your wonderful review! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for this update!
Koriana: Thanks for the review and uh....I can't think of anything more to say either.
Luinthien: Yes, I do feel dreadfully sorry for Legolas. I would have hated to be forced to make the decision he did. Poor Elf! And I too am looking forward to that satisfying fight between Barion and Aragorn. Aragorn needs to kick some serious butt! (But of course that's just my opinion). Thank you so much for your wonderful review and I look forward to your next review. )
Thanks so much for reading this chapter and I love those reviews! They make my day!
Cheryl W.
By: Cheryl W
Disclaimer: I don't own The Lord of the Rings or anything in conjunction with the Lord of the Rings nor am I making a profit from this story. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 11 ))))))))))
It was not Elrond but another healer that unwrapped Aragorn's wounds with Legolas' aid while the man still slept under the tea's effects. When the white cloth had been removed and Legolas received his first look upon the wounds that marred his friend's body, he clenched his teeth together to not let out an enraged cry or a string of Dwarven curses. Knowing the battle that Aragorn had waged, the blood that he had lost, had not prepared Legolas for the sight of the grisly wounds. Unbidden, Elrond's words came again to his mind. 'You know that traveling to the rangers tomorrow could kill him.' If he had held some doubt about the elf lord's claim, Legolas did not now, not after seeing the true damage inflicted upon his friend.
The healer began to clean the wound to Aragorn's right side and instructed Legolas to perform the same task on Aragorn's left side. Gently, Legolas ran a wet cloth over the long line of stitched skin of his friend. Elrond's stitches had held but Legolas found that knowledge did not abate much of his present worry. He had thought himself prepared to see his friend's wounds. He was wrong. With a trembling hand, he gently wiped away traces of dried blood from Aragorn's long sword wound and vainly tried not to think of all Aragorn had endured at Barion's hands. For the man to be so grievously wounded only to be sealed into a tomb ...a shiver coursed through Legolas, earning him a strange look from the healer, which he was oblivious to as he bent his head and closed his eyes.
How had Aragorn born the darkness in the tomb?! How had he managed to attempt escape let alone achieve it with the wounds Barion had inflicted upon him?! How, still, had he managed the walk to Rivendell?! With clarity, Legolas knew each answer was the same: Only by the grace of the Valar.
Opening his eyes he studied his friend's pale face. He had felt the rending of his soul when he thought Aragorn had perished and the joyous relief when he knew the man still lived. How could he contemplate letting the man risk his life by riding to the rangers tomorrow?! How could any of them? Legolas' heart clenched as he thought of the unholy cost he might have to pay if he stood against Estel is this matter. Was it enough reward to know his actions saved Estel's life even if he never again had the beloved gift of the man's friendship? His thoughts flashed to Elrond. He alone knew what kind of pain awaited Legolas if he was separation from Estel. Can I bear that type of pain? Can I willingly forfeit my friendship with Estel to save his life?
"Prince?" came a soft inquiry from the healer.
Breaking from his thoughts, Legolas' eyes snapped to the healer's.
Without a word the healer handed the Mirkwood elf salve to apply to the man's wound. Legolas gently rubbed the medicine upon the wound but his mind would not stray from the choice before him. Finishing his task, Legolas noted that the healer had already prepared the new bandages and was waiting patiently for him. Fearing to bring hurt upon his injured friend, Legolas' motions were slow and full of care as he slid his hands underneath his friend's back and neck and sat him up.
A moan escaped Aragorn at the action but he did not awaken as Legolas held the man against his chest and the healer wrapped the fresh bandage around the man's torso. Legolas' eyes did not stray from his friend's face and he tensed as he saw a flinch tighten his friend's eyes. He was about to caution the healer to have more care but a soft plea from Aragorn stopped him.
"Dark," Aragorn murmured, panic in his barely audible word. "So dark....help me."
Legolas pulled Aragorn more tightly against him and soothed, "Be at ease, mellon nin. You are free." Shooting a look to the healer, Legolas saw the elf's task was complete and nodded his head to the door, ordering the elf from the room. The healer's eyes filled with a question and Legolas knew that the healer wondered if Elrond should be summoned. Legolas shook his head in reply and watched as the elf quietly left the room, closing the door behind him.
Gently Legolas settled Aragorn back upon the bed and brushed the man's hair from his brow. Aragorn's head rolled away at the touch. "Awaken, Aragorn and see the light that surrounds you."
A voice broke through the void that claimed Aragorn, a voice that beckoned him to a place he knew not how to go to. "Help me," he pleaded, trying hard to not let the darkness that smothered him turn his heart cold with fear.
Legolas cursed Elrond's tea's sleeping properties for it was keeping Aragorn trapped into his dreamscape. Cupping Aragorn's face with both his hands, Legolas leaned close to Aragorn and beckoned, "It is Legolas. I am here for you. No harm will come to you, Estel. Just open your eyes and you will know you are safe and at home."
Slowly the words made their way into Aragorn's muddled thoughts and he knew the owner of that voice. Legolas. Legolas had come to rescue him from the tomb. He walked forward toward where the door of the tomb was but suddenly something grabbed his arm, something that was but bones. He spun around and tried to pull away but the boney hand could not be dislodged and amid the void a cold breath blew in his ear. "It is time to face your father, Aragorn son of Arathorn. You have much to answer for."
"No!" tore from Aragorn and his eyes flew open.
Immediately Legolas put his hand upon Aragorn's chest, afraid the man would once again run from his presence. Aragorn made no move but instead drew in large deep breaths and Legolas watched as the panic and fear faded from his friend's eyes. Assured that Aragorn would not make any foolish moves, Legolas leaned over and picked up a glass of water from the night stand. Gently he put his hand behind Aragorn's neck and raised the man's head and put the glass to Aragorn's lips.
Greedily Aragorn drank the water but sooner than he wished, Legolas pulled the glass away and settled his head back upon the pillow. Absently he rubbed at his arm where the corpse had held him in his dream as his eyes studied Legolas. The elf did not meet his eyes but was fidgeting with the covers, pulling them up to Aragorn's chest and tucking them under the man. Suddenly Aragorn wondered what he had uttered in his sleep, what weakness he had shown to Legolas making the elf ashamed to meet his eyes.
Since denying his nightmare seemed ludicrous, Aragorn decided on the next best thing to prove that he was not all frailty. "I need to take a walk to clear my head," he announced an instant before he flung back the covers Legolas had worked so hard to secure about him, rolled to his side and sat up.
Whatever action Legolas had expected from Aragorn, it was not this one and he barely got over his shock in time to round the bed, block the man's path and seize his shoulders as he sat up. "What in the Valar do you think you are doing!?"
Aragorn, shocked to have Legolas' furious eyes leveled at him, barely managed to not flinch at his friend's outraged question. This tone and look the Mirkwood prince usually reserved for Orcs. Had his vision not been swimming and his body not been overloaded by agony, Aragorn would have thought of a snappier comeback. "Going for a walk," he reinstated as if it were the most obvious thing.
Anger and disbelief flickered across Legolas' features. "No, no you are not. Now lie down, Aragorn." Beginning to press the man back upon the bed, he was startled at the man's resistance.
"No," Aragorn growled and used what strength he could to fight the elf's leverage.
Afraid that Aragorn would further injure himself by his struggle, Legolas stopped trying to force the man back upon the bed and instead pulled Aragorn again to a sitting position. "Stop fighting me, Estel!"
"Stop treating me like an invalid," Aragorn shot back but his breath came out hard and labored.
"I'm treating you like a very wounded ..."
"Don't say it," Aragorn warned, his eyes bright with barely leashed anger if his friend called him a human, or a child or a mortal or anything some elves considered frail and without strength.
Legolas sighed. This was an old argument. Lowly he insisted, "I was only going to say I'm treating you like a very wounded friend. Which you are! You must lie still and let your wounds heal! You know this! You are a healer!"
"What I need to do is get up and move around so that I am ready for tomorrow's travel," Aragorn replied, not bothering to retort to Legolas' cut about his own healer knowledge. With concern he saw Legolas pull his look away from him. "What's wrong, Legolas? Has something occurred while I slept?"
Legolas shook his head a moment before meeting the searching eyes of his best friend. "All is well."
"All is not well. Tell me why you can not meet my eyes. Is it because of what I spoke in my dreams? Legolas they were but false words, words conjured up by my drugged mind. You know how that tea affects me."
But Legolas's eyes did not shy away this time but held Aragorn's unflinching in their grasp. "They were not false words," he disputed softly painfully. "You had need of me and I was not there."
Aragorn sighed in frustration, "You bear no guilt in what happened to me, Legolas. Now quit stalling and tell me what you wish not to."
Legolas shoved the words out of his mouth, "I have changed my mind. I will not support you tomorrow."
The room fell silent and Aragorn's jaw clenched. Lowly he questioned, needing to hear the words from Legolas himself. "And what is it you will no longer support me in, Legolas?"
Legolas wanted to rescind his words, his decision which he had suddenly come to but he could not, his fear would not allow him that cowardice. Meeting his best friend's eyes, Legolas steadily stated, "I will not support your decision to go to the rangers. Not when you are so wounded and weak. Your brothers can go retrieve Barion from the rangers and bring him here so that you may meet him in battle when you are healed."
Aragorn's eyes turned to ice and his voice was deadly but low, "Did Elladan and Elrohir follow Renen?"
"No but ..." suddenly Legolas knew he should have not spoken these words as some light of triumph sparked in Aragorn's eyes.
"That is good," Aragorn cut off Legolas' words. "I 'wished' for your support but I had no real 'need' for it. I will make the journey alone," his words cold and impersonal.
Legolas' grip upon Aragorn's shoulders tightened, "No! You will not be making the journey at all! Tell me the location of your camp, Aragorn."
Silence met Legolas' demanded and the elf found it hard not to flinch under the man's cold, hard, gaze, the gaze of the chieftain of the rangers. "The rangers may have need of help sooner than you can reach their camp, injured as you are," Legolas ventured, hoping this logic would unlock the stubborn human's mouth.
There was no softening in Aragorn's eyes. "The rangers have no need of help from elves. Now release me," the ranger ordered with a deadly threat in his eyes.
Hurt by the bitter way Aragorn had said "elves" Legolas growled back, "Listen to me, 'human', you could die if you ride for the ranger's camp! I will not stand idly by and watch you throw away your life for revenge...or for your pride."
Silence fell upon the room as the elf and the ranger looked upon each other.
Legolas' words seared into Aragorn and for a moment he could not determine what he felt more, fury at the elf's words, pain at yet another betrayal from one he loved or sorrow for the loss that was sweeping over him. Quietly, without emotion, Aragorn spoke, "Do not worry. I no longer require you to stand at my side."
"No," Legolas breathed in disbelief. "You can not mean that."
Aragorn pushed Legolas' now loosened hands from his shoulders and steadily met the elf's eyes. "I can and I do. Your presence is no longer required here. Go home."
Aragorn could not have hurt Legolas more if he had buried a knife into the elf's heart. Swallowing hard, Legolas forced his voice to be even as he softly questioned, "You have shut your family out of your heart, will you also shut me out because I dare to value your life more than your pride?"
"If you were the friend I thought you to be you would have faith in me and support me when I am in need. What motivated you to offer me your friendship, Legolas? Did your father think it would mend the rift between Elrond's house and his? Or did you know from the start what destiny bid me do? Like Elrond, was it only honor and duty that lead you to befriend me?" Aragorn spat, not truly believing his own words but they flew from him bitterly in retaliation for the pain of the loneliness that was taking over his heart.
Legolas paled at Aragorn's words and flinched as if each sentence was a whip lash. "You..you can not believe that, Estel?" he choked out, his pain darkening his blue eyes. "We are friends because I came to value your presence in my life...as you value my presence in your life."
The elf's words could not go unanswered as Aragorn had planned. "What value is in our friendship if you do not side with me when I desperately need your support. I thought I could count on you, that you alone would not betray me." Frustrated that he had bared so much of his soul, Aragorn bitterly declared, "I see now that I was foolish to trust any elf."
Angry desperation surged through Legolas. "By the Valar, Estel, I am not betraying you! I am trying to save your life!"
"I can take care of myself," Aragorn growled back. Before Legolas could protest Aragorn continued, "It was 'my' stubbornness that allowed me to cling to this life amid my wounds. Alone I faced the darkness of the tomb and it was 'my hands' that clawed through the dirt to the light. And it was by 'my strength' that I walked the path to Rivendell."
Legolas opened his mouth to angrily ask the man who he thought had tended to his wounds, wiped his brow, changed his bandages but at the last instant, he decided he would say none of those things. He would not tear the man down, would not belittle the obstacles that Aragorn had recounted, would not refute the truth of his friend's claims. "I do not dispute your strength, Aragorn, but everyone has his limits," he tenderly countered.
"And you believe I have reached mine?" Aragorn lowly questioned.
Sensing the trap laid for him, Legolas worded his response carefully, "I have no wish to see you reach your limit. Yes, you survive all Barion had done to you on your own but you do not need to face things alone anymore. I am at your side and so is your family."
Sorrow crept into Aragorn's eyes, "You are wrong. I am alone, alone as I was in that tomb. I have only ghosts as companions, the ghost of our friendship of my family's love, things once alive but now dead."
Despair was coating Legolas' heart. How could he make Aragorn see that it was his love for his friend that dictated his actions? "I wanted to support you in anything you decided...but I found I could not support you in this, not if it may cost you your life."
"My life is not under your protection, Legolas. I may risk it as I see fit without your blessing and regardless of your condemnation. Tomorrow I leave for the ranger's camp and there is naught you can do to sway my path", Aragorn sternly warned, "so do not try."
Seeing in the ranger's eyes that he could not change his mind on this matter, Legolas stood up to his full height. His heart pleaded with him to say whatever was necessary to mend this rift between he and his best friend but the words of acceptance for Aragorn's plan would not come from his mouth. Instead he nodded his head to Aragorn and stalked across the room and firmly shut the door behind him. Closing his eyes and hanging his head, Legolas leaned forward against the closed door of his friend. He had ventured everything...and lost. "Valar, what have I done?"
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Startled from his dark thoughts by a light rap upon his study door, Elrond turning from his gaze out the window, forced himself to abandon the slump posture that had plagued him of late and bade, "Enter."
Legolas entered the study and Elrond's heart skipped a beat at the anguish that cloaked the young elf. Before Legolas came to stand before him, Elrond knew that Legolas' anguish mirrored his own, the anguish of one banished from the heart of one they loved. "He would not heed your pleas," Elrond numbly surmised.
Grateful for the older elf's insight, Legolas allowed a shake of his head to be his reply, fearful that speech was still beyond him. It had taken him some time to control his emotions enough to seek out Elrond but now he feared he had still come to soon, had misjudged his reign upon his emotions. He was startled as Elrond lightly took hold of his arms, and pressed him into a chair.
Claiming a chair beside the prince, Elrond guiltily watched the emotions flicker over Legolas' features. Valar, why had he blackmailed Legolas to do what he himself had feared to attempt! "I'm sorry, Legolas. It was wrong of me to force you to confront Estel, to choose your loyalties."
Legolas shook his head and quietly countered, "No, you were right. I...I saw his wounds...I heard him cry out in his sleep...I could not support his decision, I never should have."
Elrond put a comforting hand on the prince's shoulder, "Your friendship with Estel led you to support him, I know this."
Flinching as if in pain at the word "friendship", Legolas hung his head. "I no longer have the privilege of his friendship," his words barely audible even to Elrond's elven ears.
"Legolas, Estel will not abandon your friendship, he values it too well."
"Like he values your love," Legolas said in bitter despair before he could catch himself. Swiftly raising his head, he saw the paleness of Elrond's features and stammered, "I'm ..I'm sorry..I did not mean those words."
His voice tight with emotions, Elrond replied, "It is alright, Legolas. You are right. None of us are certain if we can reclaim Estel's love but we must not stop believing it is possible...I can not."
"What will you do?" Legolas questioned, his eyes dark with failure.
"I will talk to Estel tomorrow but if I can not sway him with my words....I will do nothing to restrain him from leaving."
Legolas nodded his head in agreement with Elrond's decision. "If he should leave..." Legolas began.
"You will be joining him," Elrond finished with a small smile. "That is no secret."
"And I will not be the only companion Aragorn will have to endure," Legolas stated with conviction to which Elrond simply smiled a little brighter.
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Having managed to emerge from his bed and walk to his balcony, Aragorn leaned heavily against the railing and watched the waterfalls, savoring the sound of the rushing water crashing down upon itself. The falls had always been a source of comfort for him when he was a child and the world seemed most against him. Silently he corrected, 'when the elven world seemed most against me.' How many times had he felt he did not belong here in Rivendell, among elves? How many different ways did the other elves show their hatred of him and tell him that he was not a true member of Lord Elrond's family? Too many times to count. "I was right, they were right, all of them. I never belonged here. It was all some illusion," he gruffly admitted. Vivid memories of Elladan, Elrohir and even Elrond soothing him ran through Aragorn's mind. They always assured him that Rivendell was his home and told him they were all family and none could undo that.
But they had been wrong. It was undone before it began. Not only had his name been a lie but now it seemed all of his childhood had been a fabrication weaved for the sake of honor, of duty. "Hope" he sneered aloud and clenched tightly onto the railing in fury and despair and gut wrenching sorrow. 'Hope itself is a lie, a lie that tricks you into believing in something that will never be,' he bitterly thought wishing he could throw something or kick something to vent his anger. Hope would not ensnare him again. No longer would he let a lie comfort him. Tomorrow he would leave Rivendell forever and remand his memories of his childhood into the deepest darkest pit of his soul, never to be released or remembered.
There were yet more memories to be banished, memories of the times he had spent with Legolas. Aragorn's jaw clenched as his sorrow threatened to bubble from him. Legolas had been his anchor amid this storm, a role he had played many times for Aragorn in their long years of friendship. He was the one person Aragorn thought he could trust, the one person who would stand at his side no matter what. Again he had put his faith in an elf foolishly. None of the firstborns could be counted upon.
Loneliness gripped Aragorn's heart. Astonishingly, he felt more alone now than when he had been buried alive in the black void of the tomb. Searching his feelings for an answer to why, he found the truth left a bitter taste in his mouth. Hope. Regardless of how foolish it was, he had clutched onto the deluded hope that the letters were false, that Elrond's love had been true, that the life he had lived had not been a fabrication, that he would miraculously find a way from the tomb, stumble home and be reassured that everything Barion had told him was a lie.
Instead Barion had told the truth, brutally and unerringly. The lies had come unexpectedly from the ones he had loved with all his soul. He clamped his eyes shut as he remembered Elrond's admission that the letters were not false, that he had not wanted Aragorn in his life. Whatever hope had survived Barion's sick games died a swift death at that very moment.
'No longer will I allow hope to blind me. Nor will I bestow my faith so recklessly. I have been a fool but no more.' He vowed bitterly as he turned his back upon his vista of Rivendell and made his way to the bed with determined steps. Settling under the covers he prayed the morrow would come swiftly and that his sleeping mind would not force him to face yet again the terror of the tomb.
TBC ))))))))
Replies to Reviews:
Joey: Your so right, Aragorn is on the edge and he doesn't know what he should feel or do. I hate situations like that! Since you'll be reading this after your trip...I hope you had a fantastic time...drop me an email and tell me about it. Thanks so much for your compliments and can't wait till you're able to send me reviews again!
MoonFire1: Well, Aragorn's injuries from Barion at least saved him from a baseball bat over the head...he should be glad for small mercies. So glad you could see both sides of Legolas and Elrond's argument about friendship vs saving Aragorn's life. I didn't want either of them coming off as the bad guy. Barion's remains will probably consist of DNA if any of the characters in this tale have a say in it. Thanks so much for your loyal reviewing!
Tailspin: I'm so right there with you on that abandoned story issue! It's gotten to the point that I hardly read a story unless it's completed. I've been burned too many times! I love your insight into Aragorn and Legolas' friendship! You brought up some things I never realized. As you can tell, I myself am very attached to their "buddy story". Sorry I didn't get as far in the plot as I wished this chapter but don't worry...ah...I mean worry...cause Aragorn is going to have his confrontation with Barion. He deserves it! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews!
Sielge: Thank you for your wonderful compliment! I'm always worried that some of the chapter's drag and I was a little more fearful of that last chapter and this one. Hope you liked this chapter too.
Beling: Glad you liked the treat of the "old" Aragorn/ Legolas! You know I can't keep the sap out of this story for too long...I go into withdrawal! I love a stubborn Aragorn, can you tell? I LOVED your "come to Jesus meeting" phrase. I gotta use that around here and see what kinda reactions I get! And I agree with you, Aragorn's gotta be the one to face off with Barion...injured or not. Maybe everyone else will get in a punch or two ...how would that be? Now you have to cut Legolas some slack this chapter...he now understands better what pain Elrond feels at the separation from his son. I think Legolas attitude will be changed from here on out. Elrond didn't take any beatings this chapter, do I get a gold star for that? (I'm taking what I can now because I'm not promising to be this nice in the upcoming chapters). Hope you had a wonderful vacation and I can't wait for your reviews!
Tychen: Thanks for not sending me a death threat. And yes, it would have been kinder of me to end last chapter on a happy note but I'm glad you understand that this isn't going to be a happy story until the end. I'd hate to promise you angst and not deliver! Yes, Aragorn does need Legolas' friendship more now than ever before but sometimes in life when one thing goes bad, all things go badly. (Even I pity Aragorn but not enough to give him an easier time!) And Aragorn will get back his self respect ...eventually. So happy you loved Legolas's bedside manner! Thanks for your wonderful review!
Nefhiriel: You're ready to kill?! I DO take that as a compliment! Thanks!!! I'm jealous of your vacations but I'm glad you got a chance to review! Hope to get more death threats from you!
Elven Kitten: Thanks for the review ! Glad you see you're still protecting Aragorn and now even Legolas!
Elvingirl3737: I was very pleased to get your review filled with beautiful compliments! Your words eased a lot of my insecurities that's been creeping up on me with each chapter. (The characters' angst must have even "me" on edge!) Glad you're still enjoying the twins and their emotions! Can't wait to hear from you again!
Someone Reading: Thanks so much for thinking my dialog was "superb"!! I love writing dialog but I'm always worried it falls flat and not met my readers' expectations. And I couldn't resist the quip about Legolas allowing Aragorn to sign his own letter..these two characters are the most fun when they're picking on each other. Sorry but Legolas "did" decide to side against Aragorn but I hope I made his reasons come across believable as well as Aragorn's responses. Yes, the twins can be taught reason...it just takes some strong words. As for Elrond, I'm working hard to get him out of his "hellish nightmare" but I've decided that there has to be some more factors working in his favor. I can't thank you enough for your reviews! They really are a pleasure to read and I always look forward to reading them and hearing what you think!
Athelassa: I was so touched that you said you "love" my story "a bit more with every chapter"! What a wonderful compliment!!! Ah...so you already knew Legolas was going to heed Elrond's advice?! You know the elf so well! I agree, Elrond's tactics were a little mean but what's the saying "the end justifies the means." Very pleased you liked the bantering because it's a joy to write! Can't wait until your next review!
Grumpy: The "queen of angst"?!? I LOVE THAT!!! Sorry to say that Aragorn is determined to fight Barion and you know once that stubborn human makes up his mind, it's all over. Hope you liked this chapter's round of angst!
Aebbook: I'm blushing over your compliment to Mire and to this story! Thank you so much for that wonderful compliment! Sorry to say I don't have instant messenger but I would love to get an email from you!! My email address is under my author profile. Looking forward to your next review!
Magickalstar135: Thank you for your compliments! And I'll pass your advice on to Legolas about smacking Estel over the head. I have to agree, Barion's death will not solve all the problems only the sharing of each of their hearts will mend the wounds. However, I'm stuffing the ballot box with requests for Barion to get the death penalty. Sure his death won't solve all problems but it'll make me feel better. Hope to hear from you again.
Joslin: Thanks so much for your wonderful review! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for this update!
Koriana: Thanks for the review and uh....I can't think of anything more to say either.
Luinthien: Yes, I do feel dreadfully sorry for Legolas. I would have hated to be forced to make the decision he did. Poor Elf! And I too am looking forward to that satisfying fight between Barion and Aragorn. Aragorn needs to kick some serious butt! (But of course that's just my opinion). Thank you so much for your wonderful review and I look forward to your next review. )
Thanks so much for reading this chapter and I love those reviews! They make my day!
Cheryl W.