By Draugwen and Elnáriël

Summary and Disclaimer: see first chapter

Through the Earth – Chapter 2

For long moments they sat there in silence, each of them thinking of a way that would miraculously get them out of this situation.

Suddenly Legolas got up and moved towards the bend of the tunnel. 'I need to find out something,' he called over his shoulder. 'I'll be right back, so don't do anything stupid, understood!' And before Aragorn got the chance to reply the elf had moved around the corner and vanished out of sight, leaving the ranger in total darkness.

'Don't do anything stupid! As if I could do that when I can see absolutely nothing,' he thought sarcastically.

With a sigh he leaned back against the wall. Normally he never would have let the prince go alone, but he really needed rest, or rather his leg did. It was still aching fiercely, not at all happy with the strain that was placed upon it as the ranger robbed through the tunnel, and though their makeshift bandage had helped so far the pain was now almost too much.

But even that could not keep him from being concerned. During their walk in here the soft glow of Legolas' skin had become steadily weaker, though a casual observer would have hardly noticed, especially because Legolas never complained and simply pushed every discussion concerning his own health aside.

But Aragorn knew the elf far too well to be fooled: his friend was wearying.

It was the way his shoulder slumped when he thought the ranger would not notice. It was the way he closed his eyes, however briefly, every time they had to stop. But most of all it was that sudden outburst yesterday.

Never before had Aragorn seen his friend losing control over his actions or his words, and though he believed him when he said that he didn't mean what he had said, it was still strange to think back on this argument. He didn't even remember how it had started.

But this was just the point: it had been so completely senseless. He suspected it was the tightness of this place that ailed Legolas.

His thoughts were interrupted when Legolas re-appeared. The elf's fair face was set in a way that told the ranger that he had come to a decision, and that Aragorn wasn't going to like it.

Without preamble the prince spoke: 'All right Aragorn: I found a way. Listen closely, don't interrupt me and most of all don't try to argue with me!' 'I'm not going to like this, am I?' the ranger asked carefully. 'No,' his elven friend replied dryly. 'But that doesn't matter, it's the only chance we have.'

'Now listen: I've had a closer look at the cave, there really seems to be an exit, or at least that's what I make of it. But to reach it we will have to be really careful! I've found a way to crawl there, for there are many bigger rocks lying on the floor that should give us some shelter from the views of the spiders. Still, a few metres before the next tunnel we will have to cross uncovered. Most probably the spiders will notice us then but this will be not your business. You will concentrate on nothing but to get out of here. I will try to distract and fight them as best as I can, until you are a good distance ahead.'

'And you think I will-' Legolas held up his hand.

'If you have a better suggestion the I'm all ears, if not we're going to do it my way. You can't fight and we can't stay here long enough for your leg to get better, for we are running out of supplies.'

Aragorn sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Legolas was right. 'Alright, we do it your way. But you have to promise me that if it looks like you can't fight them any longer you have to run, and do not think of me then, I can take care of myself.'

'Right,' Legolas smiled. 'Now let's go! I'm so eager to get out of here!'

Then he dimmed the light of his body to a minimum, and then, very slowly, very carefully, they crawled towards the cave, Legolas in the front.

The elf had been right: the boulders on the ground shielded them from the spiders and they managed to cover the distance to the open space before the other tunnel without being noticed.

Now the difficult part would begin. Legolas mentioned for Aragorn to go first. The ranger obeyed, but not without a last glance at his companion that clearly said : 'Be careful!' Then he turned his face forward and robbed in the direction of the tunnel.

For some time it almost looked as if he was going to make it, but as he could not see what was before him he missed a pile of small stones and tripped on them, sending them rolling over the rough ground with enough noise to tell every spider in the cave that there was an intruder in their home.

And true enough, only a few moments later he could hear the hairy feet of what seemed to be hundreds of the foul animals coming towards him.

But before the could reach him there was a flash of light behind him, momentarily blinding the creatures. He turned and saw Legolas running towards him, all the while firing arrows at the spiders.

'Hurry up, Estel, I can't keep that up for long!' Even as he said these words his glow began to grow weaker until it was no longer strong enough to distract the spiders.

Aragorn concentrated on going forward again, gripping the wall and pulling himself to his feet when he finally reached the other tunnel.

Legolas came up, too, walking with his back to the ranger and never stopping in shooting his arrows.

Soon Aragorn could see a small spot of daylight some distance ahead of him. The exit.

He wanted to wait for his friend but the elf mentioned for him to go on.

'Pado lim, Aragorn!' the prince screamed over his shoulder as he fired another arrow. 'Ú-diro dan! Pado' /Go on, Aragorn! Don't look back! Go/

Reluctantly the ranger turned and walked on towards the light. He hoped Legolas would make it out, too, for the spiders were used to the dark, so they would not be able to follow them as long as the sun shone.

The he had finally reached the end of the tunnel. As he stepped out carefully he had to close his eyes, the light blinding him.

Then he froze in shock as a pair of strong hands grabbed his shoulders.

He was running out of arrows! But the steady flow of spiders seemed to have no end. How many of these damn creatures were in that cave? He knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

He just hoped that by now Aragorn had come far enough, and so Legolas was just about to turn and run when suddenly something heavy fell onto his back. A split second later a searing pain exploded in his right shoulder and he dropped the arrow before he could notch it on the string.

He tried to reach back to pull the spider off his back but found that he could barely move his arms, the paralyzing poison of the animal quickly taking effect.

His knees gave way as the fast blood loss caught up with his already weakened body. And when he saw several spiders rushing towards him and thought that now it would be finally over for him, he heard the sound of arrows whistling over his head, killing the advancing creatures.

Then the spider was yanked away from his back and an amused voice said: 'You can't stay away from trouble, can you?'

At first Legolas couldn't believe his ears. He looked up - and straight into the face of Elrohir.

At least he thought it was him, but his vision had started to blur and he wasn't sure. But it did not matter anyway.

'What are you doing here?' he managed to ask, though his voice sounded weak.

'I'll explain when we are outside,' the son of Elrond said. Gently he helped the prince to his feet and led him towards the end of the tunnel.

Just like Aragorn before Legolas was blinded by the sudden light, so he let himself being guided by Elrohir's arms. A relived sigh escaped his lips as he felt the warmth of the sun on his body.

After a few more steps he was lowered on the ground, and when he opened his eyes he saw Aragorn sitting propped up against a rock near him, with Elladan tending to his broken leg.

'Managed to find trouble again, did we?' the other twin said without looking up from his task.

Elrohir had examined the prince's shoulder were the spider had bitten him. 'You were lucky, mellon nin!' he said as he applied some herbs to the wound. 'It was only a small spider that bit you. You won't be able to move that arm for the next few hours, but the poison is not live-threatening.'

'Thank you,' Legolas replied somewhat weakly. 'But what are you doing here?'

'Well, you wanted to be home over a week ago. I mean, with most people that would be nothing to be all too excided about, but knowing you two.'

'Hey, that's not fair!' Aragorn exclaimed. 'It's not our fault that trouble seems to follow us! We certainly did not ask for it!'

'Sure you did not,' Elrohir smiled. 'But it still is amazing how it seems to find you all the time. How did you end up in this cave anyway?'

'Tell them, Estel! It was your idea!' Legolas said with a grin.

After shooting his friend a dark look, the ranger started to tell his brothers their latest adventure.

'Honestly, can't you two, just for once in you life, go on a trip together that does NOT end in disaster?' Elladan sighed after Aragorn finished their tale. 'I'm so tired of you needing to be patched up again and again!'

'Calm down, dear brother,' Aragorn said with a wry grin. 'And it's not that bad this time. We've had far worse!'

'Oh, really?' came the sarcastic reply from Legolas. 'Trapped in the darkness, forced to crawl through rock, stone and sand without light or fresh air for Valar only know how long, I think that is bad enough!'

'Bad or not, what do you think our fathers will say when we bring you home like that again? Especially since we got a visitor shortly before we departed that wanted to see you, Legolas! I think your father meant to see you in one piece!'

Legolas stared at Elrohir, mouth agape. 'My father?'

'Yes, your father. And he's still in Rivendell, waiting for your return.'

Elrond's sons laughed at the look on Legolas' face. The prince of Mirkwood had intended to return home a fortnight ago. That meant Thranduil would once again have one of his notorious lectures in store for him when he returned, which he wasn't really keen on. Most of them he knew by heart anyway.

The elf prince turned huge pleading eyes at his companions.

'Uh... don't you think we can just... delay a bit more?'

The End