Consciousness slowly returned to Aragorn, and the first thing he realized was that he was lying on something warm and soft. The second thing he realized was that he was in pain. Blinking, he turned his head and frowned when he saw the blurry outline of a blonde figure.
"Ah," the figure spoke, "I see you have awoken at last."
Aragorn winced as the sound caused the pain in his head to intensify.
"Stop yelling," he whispered hoarsely.
"I was not-," the figure started again, but immediately stopped when he saw the reaction his speaking invoked.
With a lowered voice, the blonde continued, "I was not yelling Estel."
It took Aragorn a mere moment to realize that the figure had called him Estel and not Thorongil. He sat up with a small gasp, and the movement caused something akin to Gandalf's fireworks to erupt behind his eyes. He felt his body betray him as it went limp, and he barely registered the sensation of being eased back down onto the bed.
"Relax Estel."
It was then that Aragorn realized he had been conversing in solid elvish and that the blonde's voice sounded vaguely familiar.
"Glorfindel!" Aragorn cried out in recognition, and then winced in response to his own volume.
"Aye," Glorfindel chuckled, "it is I, and you, Estel, are safe in Imladris."
"What...what happened?" Aragorn asked, suddenly unable to make sense of anything.
"What is the last thing you remember?" Glorfindel asked, immediately concerned.
"I...I-I cannot recall."
Glorfindel smiled encouragingly, "It is probably the head injury although I wish your father were here so he could make sure."
Aragorn glanced around the room and saw that his father was no where in sight. In fact, his lack of presence frightened Estel.
"Where is Ada?" Estel asked meekly. "Is he well?"
"Aye," Glorfindel assured. "He has been in Lothlorien for the last few weeks. He was actually expected to be back either today or tomorrow."
Aragorn nodded in relief before inquiring, "And my brothers?"
"They accompanied him."
Aragorn grinned when he thought of his brothers traveling with their father. He knew how Elladan and Elrohir were and he almost pitied his ada, but just almost. The young man whimsically thought about the kind of shenanigans the twins could pull when a wave of sleepiness overcame him. He tried to blink it away, but his injured body refused to relent.
Glorfindel, seeing the way Estel's eyes seemed to glaze over, smiled and said, "Do not fight it tithen pen. Just rest. It is more than likely that when you next awaken your adar will be by your side."
It was these assurances that Aragorn, now Estel, fell asleep to with the hint of a smile on his face.
Thanks for reading everyone! Sorry this update is so late, but my stupid computer's been on the fritz.
sielge - What do you mean no one knows Estel? Glorfindel knows Estel. j/k Linthan and Celi are young, so when Estel was growing up he was friends with the really young elflings, and then when he matured he was friends with the adults, so Linthan and Celi are supposed to be somewhere inbetween there. Plus, Rivendell's a pretty big city so...it could happen. ;-) Yah, maybe it's a stretch... Thanks for reviewing!
elvendancer - You like my plot?! That's so cool. I just wish I knew what my plot was. Ah, I'm just kidding, but thanks for the review!
goddesscal - I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I hope I don't disappoint. Thanks for dropping me a line!
HarperionBay - Thanks for the compliment! I e-mailed you, but if you didn't get it I'm just giving you the okay to archive any of my stories.
grumpy - Hey, I'm glad you liked the last couple of chapters. How's this one? Okay? I think I might have accidentally edited out the part in the last chapter that explained that Elrond was gone and that Glorfindel and Erestor were filling in for him. That was part of the reason why Glorfindel was looking for Erestor. Oops, but I guess I explained that in this chapter. Still, I should've caught that. Thanks for the review! Keep reading!