Legolas pulled the struggling man into Raegon's home and pushed him down on a nearby cot.
"Ah! You've come. How good of you," said Raegon.
The elf heard Strider mumble something about being forced to come and not having a say in it, while Raegon kept rambling on about the day's events.
As the hyperactive healer busied himself with Strider, Legolas couldn't help feeling sorry for the young man. The constant chatter probably helped none in relieving his headache.
He was rather surprised that he had taken a liking to him. He had, after all, been taught that men could not be trusted. His father, King Thranduil, had told him many stories about the failures of men when he was just an elfling and had made sure the young prince trusted no other race than that of the Firstborn. His encounters with the few men he had met before, only strengthened this belief.
But this man was different. Strider seemed to be exactly the opposite of his image of men. Strider was loyal, honest and brave, as his actions earlier that day had shown.
The thing that still worried him was how the man would react if he found out his companion was an elf. Legolas was glad that the villagers were so glad to have help that they paid hardly any attention to the fact that he wasn't a man, except for a few glances, which Strider couldn't see of course.
Tomorrow, he decided, he would subtly mention that he was an elf. If Strider showed no ill-favoured reactions, he would continue to help him, and if he proved to be just like the men he had met earlier in his life, he would leave him here and let the villagers take care of him.
Legolas was so deep into his own thoughts, that he didn't notice Raegon was talking to him, instead of the constant stream of words, which the elf had tuned out.
"...that jar, please, Legolas?" said the healer.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" asked Legolas.
"I asked if you could give me some water in that jar over there." As the elf moved to get the jar, Raegon leaned over to Strider and whispered with slight contempt: "Those elves, always so wrapped up in their own world..."
Legolas turned to see the blind man stiffen and throw something between a frown and a glare at the healer. Probably because he's angry for not having been told that he has been travelling with an elf, Legolas thought sadly. So much for breaking it to him subtly myself.
Aragorn was angry, but with himself for not noticing Legolas was an elf. There were many aspects that discern elves from men, and not only visible things. His companion's musical voice for instance, or the fact that he hardly made a sound when walking, whether in the village or earlier in the forest. Then there were the battle skills. No man could fire arrows as fast as Legolas had or overcome a dozen orcs as easily as Legolas did.
He would have hit himself on the head, if his headache had allowed it.
The glare part of the look he gave Raegon was directed at the healer himself. Apparently he had no real love for elves, but didn't want the race in question to find out. Of course he hadn't taken into account that an elf's hearing far exceeds that of men.
Deciding that he had to talk to Legolas, he kindly thanked the healer and told him he'd better rest and bed down for the night.
Once outside, Aragorn asked Legolas if there was someplace they could talk privately. The elf led him to the edge of the forest and sat down.
"Look, Strider, the villagers here are kind enough. They will help you through your ordeal. I will be on my way again."
"No, please Legolas, I need your help. You must have been heading for Rivendell, were you not? That is where you and your friends had to deliver your message to? Well, these villagers cannot help me. The only place where I can go for help is Rivendell. Lord Elrond might be the only one who can heal me."
Legolas hesitated a moment, still not sure whether to fully trust the human. "Alright," he said at last. "Tomorrow morning I will take you to Rivendell."
The following morning, Legolas was up at dawn. Deciding Strider needed his rest badly, he let him sleep and went out for an early-morning stroll.
He walked through the forest, pondering about the human. It had to count for something that the man wanted to go to elves himself, but the angry glare was not forgotten by Legolas. Maybe Strider didn't want anything to do with elves unless his own health was at stake, a selfish trait he had seen in most humans he had met before.
How far could he take his trust for this man? He would take him to Imladris, of course. Lord Elrond is probably Strider's only chance of ever seeing again. But he had vowed he would never befriend a human, they would only betray his trust. Yet he couldn't help but like this one.
Legolas was still trying to decide how to handle Strider when he found himself back at the village. A familiar voice startled him out of his thoughts.
"Legolas! What are you doing here?"
Legolas twisted around to see two dark-haired figures sprinting towards him. He smiled as he recognised the twin sons of Elrond.
"Elladan, Elrohir! It is good to see you! I was heading for Rivendell, but had to take a detour. What brings you here?"
"We're looking for Estel. Have you, by any chance, seen him?" asked the oldest twin.
"Who's Estel? Do not tell me you have a young elfling on the run," laughed Legolas.
"Of course, you wouldn't know, it has been more than twenty-five years since we've last seen you. You see, Estel's -- "
Elladan's explanation was cut short by one of the inn's maids, who was shouting for Legolas.
"Master Elf, Master Elf! Mr Strider won't wake up!"
The two brothers spent one second to glance at each other before running after the maid.
Legolas spent two more seconds realising the implication before running after the twins.
When the elf arrived at Strider's room, he saw Elladan kneeling beside the human, checking him out, while Elrohir grabbed the limp hand and tried to wake him up.
"Estel, wake up. Please, ada will kill us if we have to carry you home again. Estel, lasto beth nîn, echuivo gwador nîn, echuivo." Estel, listen to my voice, wake up my brother, wake up
"There's no reaction, Elrohir," said his brother. "We must take him to ada right away."
Legolas, upon hearing the urgency in his two friends' voices, wasted no time and ran out of the inn to ask for horses. He didn't know why the twins reacted this way to the human, but those answers would come on the way to Imladris. He soon found a man bringing two horses to a stable.
"Sir, please, I need those horses. I will buy them if need be. Strider is very ill and needs to be brought to Rivendell."
"Strider is ill? Well, the two of you did save our hides yesterday. I can't very well afford to lose my horses, because they're a good lot. But if you promise me you'll bring 'em back, I'll let you borrow them."
"Thank you. You have my word that your horses will be brought back to you in good shape," said Legolas as he ran back to the inn to get the twins and the human.
When he entered the room, the two brothers were still trying to get Strider to wake up. And finally they were succeeding. A moan came from the bed as Strider slowly returned to the waking world, screwing his eyes shut against the pain.
"Estel, can you hear me?" asked Elladan, his worry etched on his face.
"Elladan? Is that you?" said Strider weakly.
"Aye, little one, it is I. Elrohir is here also. We are going to take you back home." Elladan looked up at Legolas, who nodded, indicating he had found transportation.
"Try to stay awake as long as you can, I fear you've taken a blow worse than your hard head can handle," said Elrohir.
Before long, the four of them were on their way to Rivendell. Legolas and Elrohir shared a horse, while Elladan was on the other, holding Aragorn tightly in front of him. The man managed to stay awake for the most part. He listened while Legolas told the twins what happened and he could hear two quiet gasps as the elf told them about Aragorn's blindness. They hadn't noticed it, because Aragorn kept his eyes shut because of the pain most of the time. After Legolas' story, the twins explained what Estel meant to them.
"Nineteen years ago, we were travelling with the Rangers, who were tracking a large band of orcs," began Elladan. "We were ambushed and many were killed, including Estel's parents. His father was the Chieftain of the Dúnedain, so there was danger for Estel, as the one who would eventually take his father's place. We had no choice but to bring him to Rivendell, where he would be safe until it was time for him to join the Rangers. Father took him in as his own, adopting him and naming him 'Hope'. So Estel's our brother, and we all love him as one."
Elladan squeezed his adopted brother's hand to emphasize his point, receiving a weak gesture in return. Legolas sat in silence, locked in his own thoughts, trying to fit in this new information in with his ideas about the young man.
Elrohir guided his horse through the forest, hoping his younger brother would make it to Rivendell. Both he and Elladan knew that Estel showed sure signs of a heavy concussion and probably even something worse.
Aragorn already knew it was something worse. He was having a lot of trouble staying awake. His mind kept trying to shut down and he couldn't think clearly. Through the pounding of his head, he suddenly remembered that his brothers were also hurt by the lightning strike.
"Elladan? Are you and Elrohir alright?" he asked.
It took the brothers a moment to understand what he meant. "We are fine," said Elrohir. "We both were blown backwards into a tree and were knocked out. When we came to, we couldn't find you anywhere. We tried to see which direction you had gone, but soon we lost your tracks. We thought you had gone home to get help, so we decided to catch up with you. When we still didn't find you or your tracks, we headed for the village, to see if anyone's seen you. Little did we know we would find you in the company of Legolas. But we're glad he was there."
"So am I," said Aragorn, sounding even weaker than before.
Elladan felt that his little brother was losing his connection with the waking world. "Estel, stay with me, do not let the darkness overcome you," he said, clutching the man tighter.
He just barely heard the whispered answer. "The past days were in darkness. At long last, I see light." The body went limp in Elladan's arms.
"NO!" shouted Elladan, causing the two in front to turn their heads and fall back next to the other horse. Elladan was afraid they were too late. But he was terrified when the body in front of him started shaking and convulsing.
"Elrohir, ride ahead and warn ada. I will follow at close distance. Go!"
Without hesitation, Legolas jumped off the horse. "You will be swifter without me," he called after the two racing horses. "May the Valar watch over your brother!"
Elladan held Aragorn close to his chest as he rode at full speed behind his twin, whose horse was slowly increasing the distance between them, since it had only one body to carry. They had already been travelling with haste; they would arrive in Rivendell in less than two hours.
Whenever Aragorn started convulsing again, Elladan let go of the reins to hold onto the man with both arms, trusting the horse to keep going, steering with his knees.
Foam stood in the horse's mouth when Elladan arrived with Aragorn in his arms. The mare had needed little encouragement to ride hard, as if feeling the tension, knowing time was running out. After handing Aragorn over to the waiting elves, Elladan jumped off the horse and thanked her in Elvish, before hurrying after the others.
Elrond was waiting for the group in Aragorn's room, Elrohir by his side. The younger twin had already told his father what had happened, so they had prepared everything they would need.
When Aragorn was placed in his bed, Elrond examined him. "I fear he has a bleeding in his skull, probably where he hit his head. It is taking up space in his skull, causing his brains to be compressed. I need to drain the blood and wait for Estel to awaken before I can address the blindness."
The other elves left the room in silence, leaving Elrond and his sons to tend to the young man.
Elladan walked over to the bed and put his hand on his brother's forehead. It felt clammy. "Will he be alright?" he asked his father.
Elrond sighed. "He may already be too far gone. If he does wake, he might never be the same. We will do what we can and the rest is up to Estel."
Elladan looked at his twin. Both already knew what could happen, but neither had wanted to say out loud what their father had said.
"Elrohir, please send a messenger to Arwen. Your sister may well be the only one who can get through to Estel in this state. And fetch an extra chair for our Mirkwood friend."
The twins turned to find Legolas standing hesitantly in the doorway.
Legolas had been running since he separated with the twins. Halfway he met an elf who had been sent to fetch him. Borrowing his horse he arrived in Imladris not much later than Elladan and Strider.
He was shown the way to the man's room but hesitated to enter. The door was open, but he felt an intruder to the worrying family. He was surprised when Lord Elrond invited him to join them.
As the healer explained the situation to Legolas, the blonde elf sat down in a chair brought by Elrohir. "I need to drill a small hole in Estel's head to let the blood out", said Elrond as he picked up something that had a frightening resemblance to an ordinary hand-drill. "When the pressure subsides, he might wake up right away, or it may take longer."
Legolas could sense in the tension that they hoped for the former, yet expected the latter.
Legolas watched as Elrond worked on his youngest, carefully drilling the hole. The dark-haired elf gave a sigh of relief when blood started seeping through, fast at first, but slowing to a drip until the flow stopped altogether. Legolas looked up to Elrond, who nodded and gave a small, encouraging smile. He would come out of it eventually. In what state, none knew.
Well, that's it for chapter two. Remember to drop a review before you leave!
Thanks to the reviewers! Within 24 hours after posting my total reviews doubled! (okay, admittedly, I didn't have many reviews before this, but that increases the pleasure in receiving so many for this one :D)
I'm studying for my neurology/ophtalmology exam, (meaning more ideas for this story :P),so I have time forjust a few notes:
Of course I'm not telling whether Aragorn will stay blind or not, it would ruin the tension ;)
Aragorn is my favourite character, so there'll be a lot of things happening to him. I just have to keep reminding myself to give the elves some hurts here and there too, or it'll be abit onesided and 'boring' for Legolas/Elrohir/Elladan-fans. Can't let that happen of course.
Anyway, thanks again for the reviews!