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He's Gone

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

Rating: T (PG-13)

Genres: Action/Adventure/Angst

A/N: Well, I've got two announcements to make today. First, after some last-minute rearranging, we have discovered that this story is actually going to be a little shorter than we'd originally thought it was. So, after this, I believe there will be only one more chapter, and an epilogue. Secondly, we will be leaving on vacation next Friday. Now, I'm fairly certain that we should still be able to post on time (if it looks like we won't, we'll probably post a day early). However, the Friday after next, we will not have any internet connection, so we're planning on posting the next Monday or Tuesday (that would be the 20th or 21st of June), when we will be back from vacation. Alright then, hope I haven't too thoroughly confused anyone ;-)

For disclaimer and notes see chapter one. Reviewer responses at bottom of chapter.

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After working over the Prince for some time, Elrond sat back with an almost inaudible sigh. Legolas was out of danger—at least for the moment. The would need to keep a close eye on him, but undoubtedly Aragorn… He paused mid-thought, searching for the familiar, worried face that always haunted Legolas' sick-room. But Elladan and Elrohir were the only other occupants in the room.

"Where is Estel?" he inquired quietly. He looked at the twins, hoping to see them smile, and reassure him that they'd forced Aragorn to drink some tea, and that he was mostly uninjured, but resting. The absence of a response drew his attention to the slightly guilty, scared looks on the twins faces as they glanced at each other, refusing to meet his gaze. "Where is Estel?" he repeated more insistently.

"Well, h-he was delirious, Ada…" Elrohir trailed off, a note of pain in his voice as he stumbled over his words. "We thought that he might…w-well…not be thinking straight. He c-couldn't have meant..."

Misunderstanding, Elrond interjected harshly, his voice sharpened with worry, "Estel is delirious and you told me nothing? Of course he wouldn't be thinking straight. Where is he?" Elrond was confused and shocked; this was so unlike his sons…

"No, Ada, not Estel," Elladan hastened to say. "Elrohir was talking about Legolas."

Elrond forced his eldest to look him in the eye. "What did he say?" he asked, still firmly, but allowing gentleness enter his voice.

"Right before he lost consciousness, Legolas said…" here his voice broke. "He said that Estel was…dead."

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Glorfindel settled further into the shadows. He was not given to eavesdropping, but then, this wasn't really eavesdropping―it was more like…

Spying? his thoughts supplied helpfully.

He barely caught himself from snorting out loud. Councilors did not spy. In order to help his lord, a councilor had to do a certain amount of…observing. Yes, that was the word: observing.

And so he continued to "observe" the twins as they sat watchfully next to the Prince's bed. Intermittently, they would make eye contact―one tentatively looking up at the other―connecting for a split second before looking back down. Each time their eyes connected, they seemed to convey the same message, and each time they separated they seemed to conceal the same doubts, fears, and indecision.

Elrohir glanced slowly up at Elladan, and then furtively looked away. It would have been comical under less heart-breaking circumstances. But everyone knew the devoted, nearly possessive love both twins had for their "little" brother. This scene was nothing to laugh at. Glorfindel closed his eyes briefly, feeling deeply the pain the Peredhil family was going through.

He needed to have a serious talk with the two headstrong young elf lords, and experience told him he was going to need to be in full control of his emotions in order to carry through with it. He stepped forward into the soft firelight. For a full minute, his presence remained undetected, then Elrohir saw him out of the corner of his eye.

"Glorfindel!" he said, with obviously strained cheerfulness.

They both sat up straighter in their chairs.

"What do you want?" The words didn't come out at all like Elladan had meant them to, but he was running low on emotional energy, and frankly, he didn't have the strength or loquaciousness to make any pretences of being "just fine".

Even though Elladan muttered apologies and tried to explain, he was really counting on Glorfindel to understand what he'd meant. The Balrog slayer didn't disappoint. He smiled understandingly, an expression that Elladan might have found annoying had he been in the mood to notice.

Looking at the two weary faces before him, Glorfindel decided it would be wise to get right to the point. He eased himself down to sit on the edge of the bed. "All of Imladris worries for Estel," he started quietly.

That seemed to break the ice. Elrohir's posture, if possible, became even more mournful. Elladan raised his head, desperate grey eyes searched Glorfindel's face for an answer. "And we sit here and do nothing."

It was hard to tell whether it was meant as a question or a statement, but Glorfindel chose to answer it as the former. "No, we do not sit here and do nothing. Even now, Glamdil rides to search for any signs of Estel. I will leave in a few minutes as well. And there are others looking already." he smiled sadly at the twins, locking gazes with Elladan. "You two must also do your part."

The two dark-haired elves looked slightly startled and Elladan hurriedly said, "Of course, El and I are ready to leave. Or I could go with you and Elrohir could―"

"No…" Glorfindel interrupted. "I don't think you should come with us."

Not a little confused, all Elladan and Elrohir could do was stare. Finally Elrohir stammered, "What do you mean?"

"Yes, why shouldn't we look for Estel too?" Elladan added weakly.

Glorfindel smiled patiently. "You know as well as I." The twins still looked blank. "I think you were debating the very subject when I entered just now."

"How…?" Elladan's voice trailed off.

"How did I know?" Glorfindel completed the sentence, chuckling lightly. "I can put two and two together, and like anyone, I can see you are torn in two over whether you should go or stay."

Elladan nodded, sighing in defeat. "I feel so guilty, not being the first to look for Estel, but…" He spoke for both himself, and his twin, as they so often did.

"Right now half the warriors in Rivendell are out looking for Estel, and you two aren't going to make much of a difference. It's up to Eru now." Glorfindel leaned forward to place a hand on each of their shoulders. He studied their faces carefully, firmly forcing each to look him in the eye. "But your Adar does need you―and he needs you here."

To his surprise, they both began to nod, as if a great weight had just been removed. He'd come expecting to have to do a good deal of convincing. Still, he decided to give them all the assurance he could. "Glamdil and I will look just as hard as you would." On second thought, he added with an enigmatic smile, "And likely end up in much less trouble."

Despite their best efforts, the twins couldn't help but smile.

Glorfindel rose slowly. That had gone a lot better than he'd expected. From his…observations, he'd gathered that Elrond needed to know that at least two of his sons were safe, if only for the moment. Besides, what he had just said was true. They were likelyto have enough to worry about without wondering just what new trouble the twins were going to discover this time.

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The forest usually calmed him, but not today. Glamdil's thoughts were in turmoil, and the importance of his task weighed heavily on him. The sound of the dozen horses behind him was intensified in his own hyper-alert hearing, as he strained to catch the faintest disturbance in the quiet woods. Again, he pushed aside feelings of incompetence; Lord Elrond had chosen him, and that ought to be enough.

Inhaling the fresh green scent left by the last rain, he urged his horse forward and scanned the forest for any signs of the ranger. The scenery was discouraging: mile after mile only uncovered more trees, more bushes… He jerked his horse to a stop so suddenly it whinnied in surprise. But he ignored it, for there, leaning against a tree, was Aragorn.

"Lord Estel!" he exclaimed, nearly losing his elven composure, and falling off his horse, in his hurry to dismount. Aragorn, who seemed to be focusing all of his attention on each ragged breath, didn't immediately look up. "Estel!" Glamdil repeated, in his urgency to get a response forgetting formalities.

Slowly, Aragorn lifted his head. Glazed silver eyes tried to focus on him through a feverish haze. He narrowed his eyes uncertainly. "El?" He took a tentative step forward.

Glamdil reached forward just in time to catch him, as his legs buckled out from beneath him. "No Estel, it's me, Glamdil." The elf began to feel overwhelmed, this time with relief. As much as Elrond had tried to hide it, everyone in Rivendell could tell he feared that Estel was dead. After what Legolas had said, delirious or not, they all were inclined to believe him. The friendship between the Prince of Mirkwood and Aragorn was as close as that of brothers; Legolas never would have given up and left him, unless he thought all hope was gone.

Now, Glamdil could hardly keep back the tears of relief. "Legolas…he..." Glamdil choked on his words, remembering the pain in the eyes of Elladan, Elrohir, and Elrond. If Aragorn had truly been dead, he didn't know how Rivendell could have suffered the blow.

Aragorn's own eyes welled up, as he misinterpreted Glamdil's tears for those grief. He hung his head and gave up trying to restrain his own torrent of emotions. As he allowed his body to slide into the painless abyss of unconsciousness, he said hoarsely, "I'm sorry, I tried…But the orcs, Legolas…the cliff…" With one last effort, he looked back into Glamdil's eyes said numbly, "He's dead."

Glamdil blinked in surprise at that announcement. What on Arda…But there was no time to waste in useless conjecturing. After selecting two warriors to accompany him back to Rivendell, he sent several others to find the other search parties and inform them that Estel had been found. The remainder he sent on to reinforce the border patrols and warn them of the possible presence of orcs in the area.

Glamdil hastily examined Estel, doing what he could to bind the worst of his wounds. His skill in such matters was limited, but it was easy to see that Estel's condition was serious. Normally they would have made a litter to carry him, but Glamdil feared that he might not have the time left that it would take to walk back to Rivendell. No, they must ride.

He handed Estel to one of the warriors, who held him while Glamdil mounted, then handed him up. Glamdil took him, carefully settling him before himself on the horse. Then he turned to the other mounted warriors.

"Come, we must return to Rivendell as swiftly as possible."

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Glamdil slowed his horse to a walk as they entered the gates of Rivendell. Obviously their approach had already been spotted, for as he entered the courtyard, the Peredhil family already stood there waiting for him. They immediately caught sight of the figure slumped in front of him.

Instantly, three pairs of fearful, questioning eyes fixed on Glamdil. They pleaded silently with him to give them hope, at the same time terribly afraid that Legolas might have known all too well what he was saying when he had told them that Estel was dead.

He hastened to reassure them. "Peace, my Lords, his wounds are grievous, but he lives yet."

There were three collective sighs of relief, sounding as if they had been holding their breath the entire time he'd been gone, only daring to release it now. Then Elladan was gently pulling Estel off the horse, taking him into his arms, while Elrohir called a servant to bring Glamdil's horse to the stables. Elrond lead the way to the healing wing, hurrying on ahead to ready the herbs and equipment he expected he would need.

Glamdil followed silently in the family's wake. He knew they would soon be wanting to question him about the details of how and where he had found Estel. In the mean time, he was ready to provide what little assistance he could, but otherwise disappear into the background until he was wanted.

Elladan started toward the bed next to Legolas', intending to lay his brother where he always wanted to be when they were hurt: near his friend. Elrond, however, hastily redirected him to a bed a short distance away.

"Whatever has happened, Legolas obviously believes Estel to be dead. His words may have been nothing more than the result of his fever, or he may have had better reason to think it. Whatever the case, I do not think that the shock of seeing someone he thinks dead would be the best thing for him when he first wakes up."

After that, a worried silence descended over the room, broken only by an occasional soft request from Elrond as he worked over his youngest son. The twins handed him the things he wanted and lent a hand where needed, their expressions uncharacteristically grim as injury after injury was discovered and tended. Glamdil had not been exaggerating when he had said that their brother's wounds were grievous.

Even Elrond winced when they were forced to cut away Estel's boot to reveal his extremely swollen and discolored ankle. But obviously the worst wound by far was where the dagger had pierced him, far too close to the heart for comfort.

Elrohir gave a gasp when it was uncovered, while Elladan said softly, "It would appear that Legolas did have good reason to think that Estel was dead."

"It would indeed." Elrond quietly agreed, trying hard not to allow the fear and pain the sight of the wound awakened in his father's heart to get in the way of his need to assess and tend it calmly.

When they had finished caring for Aragorn, the Peredhil family sat for some time in silence looking down at him, deep in thought.

Glamdil was dead tired. He had taken very little rest on the way out, intent on discovering the truth of Aragorn's fate and bringing news to his worried family, and none at all on the way back. He had been too afraid for Estel's life to risk any delay. But as exhausted as he was, he was loathe to intrude on the family, and he did not want them to be forced to track him down when they did wish to speak with him, So he stood in silence.

As usual, Elrond was the first to recover himself. Looking up, he noticed Glamdil, still waiting patiently. As soon as his lord became aware of him, he stepped forward.

"He will be alright?" he asked, glancing with sympathetic concern toward the bed.

"He should be. He is resting quietly now. As you should be." He added, noting the other elf's worn appearance. "I am sorry we kept you here waiting so long."

"It is perfectly alright, Hir-nin. I know how worried you have been about him."

"We will not keep you much longer. If you will simply tell us briefly what happened, the full report can wait until tomorrow, when you are rested."

The twins were, by now, listening attentively, so without further ado, Glamdil launched into the report. He was to-the-point, making sure to leave out no important detail, but keeping as concise as possible. When he was finished, Elrond thanked him quietly, and dismissed him. As he was turning to go, however, Glamdil suddenly halted.

"My lord, there was one other thing. When I found him, he said something rather curious." Upon Elrond's questioning "Oh?", he continued. "He told me that Prince Legolas was dead."

A perplexed frown crossed Elrond's face, as he glanced automatically at the bad where Legolas lay. The prince was, of course, resting quietly, as he had been since he had arrived.

Elladan voiced all of their thoughts. "Those two are going to have a lot of explaining to do when they wake up."


Well, there you have it, they're both finally back to Rivendell! And they still manage to be just as clueless as before… They do have such lovely luck, if I do say so myself –eg- Oh, I suppose I should let you know that this is Imbecamiel again this week. Yup, looks like you guys are stuck with me –g- Unless Nef decides to do this again next week… ;-)

Reviewer responses:

Slayer3: NOOO! Not the pointy objects! -sigh- Fine. I guess we'll let him live... THIS time. Just watch out though, we may feel the need to make up for it next time ;-) BTW, what does the quote at the end of your review mean? I can only seem to remember what about every other word means :-P Thank you so much for your review! Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Daethule: LOL, Nef and I laughed so hard over your little skit with Aragorn and the twins. Surprisingly accurate, actually :-) Hehe, yup, poor Elrond. Personally, I've always even felt more sorry for the poor people left at home to worry then for the people who actually get into the trouble. At least the people out there getting hurt actually know what's going on! Well, most of the time, that is. In this case, no one really knows what's going on... -eg- We're so mean to them. Thank you so much for the review! Hope you like the new chapter too!

Lady Leeanne: Leeanne! Yay! So good to see you here :-D Oh um, and hello, entwife Chloe. My what an... unusual name you have. For an entwife, that is ;-) Hehe, I rather liked that line myself, glad to hear you found it funny too -g- ROTFL! Oh that is so funny about the door to your room. Hehe, fortunately/unfortunately, our door doesn't have a lock, so that doesn't really happen all that often to us. Come to think of it though, I did walk into the door just last night, because I was really tired and didn't realize that it was latched :-P Thank you so much for your reviews, mellon-nin! Hope you like the new chapter.

CKlovesme2040: LOL, well, I wouldn't exactly say nothing can harm him now... Those two seem able to find trouble ANYwhere. Besides, the twins live there, remember? -g- It really is surprising how often my favorite authors end up being Christians. Did you know that even Cassia and Sio are Christians? Keep them safe? Well... -sigh- If I HAVE to... Of course, you realize this means they'll probably have to make up for it in the next story -eg- Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter.

Ainu Laire: LOL, ah, the Ranger's not-so-subtle forms of revenge... But really Aragorn, haven't you ever heard of second-hand smoke? Better watch out, Laire, I think he may be trying to poison you ;-) LOL, nope, I don't believe we ever get anything less than a perfect score on those tests. So much fun -g- Oh yes, isn't it fun watching peoples' reactions when they find out just how obsessed you are? We've had some pretty interesting reactions... -snickers- Silly Ranger, doesn't understand the true value of a fake gold star. Or the fact that a silver one makes you an honorary Ranger either... -shakes head sadly- Really, Laire, it would appear you have been neglecting his internet education! Ah yes, such a sad sight, a poor, ignorant, uneducated Ranger... -notices Aragorn's glare- Ahem, well anyways, it would appear you'd probably better fill him in on a few things, if he's to be a well informed king ;-) Aw, I think you'd make a wonderful Ranger,
Laire! -sticks tongue out at Aragorn- And don't you dare tell me I'm being childish, Strider! Believe me, we authors have even better ways of taking revenge than you Rangers do! -eg- Thank you so much for the review! Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Hippielover459: I'm so glad to hear that you loke the story :-D Thank you for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter.

lindahoyland: Well, you got your wish - Aragorn has now reached Rivendell. Now if only Legolas knew that... Hehe, we're so mean to them. I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying the story! Thanks for reviewing :-)

QueenofFlarmphgal: Yay! So happy to hear that you like our story :-) Hehe, I really loved TWO too. LOL, took me forever to convince Nef that it IS actually a good story, though. She's so hard on her own work. Well, you should be happy to hear that Nef is actually more than half way done with the sequel to TWO :-) LOL, yup, more Aragorn torture would be tragically fun (um, for US, anyways)... Unfortunately, it seems that for some reason everyone actually WANTS him to survive, so we kind of had to get him some medical attention here ;-) Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter!

Tinorial Peredhil: Aw, it's alright, mellon-nin, we do understand :-) This tends to be a pretty busy time of year for everyone. Not to worry, you're quite forgiven ;-) Tsk, tsk, looks like LR still has a lot to learn... Imagine, having the gall to say that he could WAIT. -shakes head sadly- My, he does come back from unconsciousness quickly, though. -looks suspicious- Guard hasn't been replacing all your rocks with foam ones, has he? Hehe, oh yes, I'm afraid that the chapter titles will be of very little use to you this time around. I wound up completely forgetting to name ANY of them, right up untill it was time to start posting the story, and then I was just too lazy to go back and do it, so this time all the chapters are nameless :-P Or, I suppose, I could call them 'captured by orcs' ' They get beat up' 'They get beat up some more and Aragorn dies... sort of' ''Aragorn wakes up, and Legolas dies... sort of'... LOL, or not. No! I don't think we need a Remorse Reminder! He'd probably decide that his job was to make us feel bad every time we do something to one of them... and you wouldn't want us to stop that, now, would you? Hmm, let me think... Did we expect Legolas to make it to his feet on the first try? Um... Well, you see, actually, we kind of knew that he would. We authors are kind of psychic that way, you see. -attempts knowing, mysterious look... looks more like she's got indigestion- Now Guard, there's no reason to be such a spoilsport! Honestly, she teaches you all these wonderful new games, and all you do is complain! "I couldn't breathe." Really... And she's so forgiving, too. Look, even after all that, she invited you to go with to Dol Guldor. Such a nice friend. Ah yes. -nods gravely- That's what happens when people don't review on time - the chapters just start growing shorter and shorter... Ooo, bad idea LR. Never, I repeat, NEVER interrupt a fangirl when she's in an angsty mood - even if it IS in an attempt to tell her there's no need for grief. I assure you, saying anything at such a time is considered very bad for your health. Well, who'd of thunk the Witch King of all people would come in handy... Guess it just goes to show you never know about people. Aw, and it looks like dear Fluffy would like to invite Guard over for dinner! So sweet... Hmm, the WK isn't as mean as last time? Probably had a few too many candy-canes in the course of that quest of his... Oh, what a lovely picture! -hangs up over computer- I'll put it right here, to inspire us while we write ;-) -sighs happily- So sweet, such a loving little group... Aw, yes Guard, you don't have to worry about leaving her! The reason we gave you to her is that we knew she'd give you a good home for the rest of your life. -pats Guard reassuringly- Thank you so much for the lovely reviews, mellon-nin! Hope you like the new chapter :-)

Evergreene: Yup, Legolas is back sort-of-safely, and now Aragorn is too. Now if only they could figure that out... Oh yes, we definitely know about sleep deprivation. In fact, our lovely dog has been determined to teach us all possible meanings of the term :-P Thank you for reviewing, even in your not-quite-awake state ;-) Hope you like the new chapter!

SmilingDragonGirl: -nods understandingly- Oh, of COURSE you're possessed by a dead Balrog. Happens all the time. Dreadful nuisance, that. -hands over
spare fire extunguishers of doom- These should help. They've been known to do wonders with flamers, they ought to work against a Balrog ;-) Hehe, sorry, no wolves for Aragorn this time. LOL, we kind of figured there were some limits to reality, and to expect him to fight wolves in this state, armed with only a single orc dagger... And he's not exactly in much of a state to be climbing trees either, so... -sighs- Ah well, maybe next time -eg- You like the reviewer responses? Thank you! Very encouraging to know that people actually find us funny, not just dumb or wierd ;-) LOL, and of course, to be compared to the great Cassia and Sio, even if it's only for reviewer responses, is always incredibly flattering -g- I agree, though. It's SO sad not to have them on here any more. and now all the reviews and everything are gone -sniff- I used to keep myself sane between stories by re-re-re-reading the old ones, and then going on to read all the reviewer responses, and then all the reviews... Hehe, at least I can still read their stories on their site, even if the reviews and such are gone. Hmm, and now I'm the one who's rambling... Ah yes, the tourists would be in the cave to, wouldn't they... But don't you see? That's just another part of his incredibly bad luck - one of them would probably decide to sue! Oh, best of luck with the Balrog slaying! And be careful! We would DEFINITELY hate to lose you! -hands over garden hose- Here, better take this, just incase the fire extinguishers don't work. Hope you're still around to enjoy this chapter ;-)

Inuyashaloverfan: Well, here's another chapter for you, hope you like it :-) Thank you for reviewing!

Deep Sorrow, aka she-who-was-until-recently-known-as-elvingirl3737 ;-) I like your new name! Well, I mean, it's kind of... sad, obviously, but I really like it ;-) LOL, oh I know all about the traumatizing, long, internet-less vacations. We took one that was nearly a month long over Christmas, and then, a week after we got back, we left again to visit friends for a week... Traumatizing is definitely the word. -g- At least we all survived, though! So now we can provide angst therapy for you, and you can provide review therapy for us, right? Oh, I am SO glad you liked Legolas' escape! Hehe, when I was writing that part, I got him INTO the cave, but then I didn't really have any more idea how he was supposed to get out than he did :-P I'm very happy to hear that it didn't wind up seeming totally unrealistic or something, though :-D Hehe, yes, it would be deliciously bad if they were to not even go look for him... However, even WE are not quite evil enough to just leave them all to die of grief. At least, I don't think we're evil enough... Maybe with enough practice, we could GET evil enough to do that. Hmm... -stares off dreamily- There's an idea... Glad to hear you liked Elrond's thoughts! Nef's responsible for that wonderful part :-) Poor guy, I think he's the one who needs a vacation. Actually, Nef's got a story started about that... Unfortunately, it's kind of running into some snags, so I'm not sure if she'll be finishing it anytime soon. Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! Hope you like the new chappie!

HarryEstel: Well, as you can see, however cruel we might be, we're not quite cruel enough to let them all die of grief :-) Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter too.

Erulasse: Aw, I'm so glad you like the way we write together! It's really been a lot of fun for both of us :-) Hehe, well actually, we DO have a brother… LOL, oh yes, poor deluded Elrond… -sigh- The poor guy's probably just in denial. Either that, or he's the world's biggest optimist :-) ROTFL, loved your ideas for ways to use "Aragorn" and "escaped without injury" in the same sentence! So very true… Alright, here's an update! Hope you like it. Thank you so much for the review!

viggomaniac: LOL, nope, Aragorn's not wolf chow – this time ;-) –sigh- Now that I'm just about done posting, I keep thinking of all these great things I could have added or done differently… No, not actually letting Aragorn die! But there are so many other things… Ah well, can't get it all just right on the first story, I guess. I'll just have to remember it for next time. LOL, yes, it would be rather "disconcerting" to imagine your best friend getting eaten by wolves… As for Elrond… It's my opinion that by now he's got to be either in denial, or the world's biggest optimist. I think that's the only way he could possibly avoid insanity. Terribly sorry for the shortness of the last chapter. We really tried to make it longer, but there really just wasn't any way that worked :-P Thank you so much for your review! Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Again, thank you all so much for your reviews! We love you all! As I said before, next chapter can be expected next Friday, or possibly Thursday.

Imbecamiel, proud member of the SNWCG