Hello everybody!

Got this chapter up early because…NO MORE SCHOOL! NO MORE HW! NO MORE CREEPY SCIENCE TEACHER! YAY!

And…YESTERDAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY! WOOT! 14 YEARS OLD!

So I decided to give my reviewers a present. I'm so nice, huh!

Anyway, in this chapter, SOMEONE gets hit with an infected dagger, Eowyn finds Gimli, and Gandalf realizes that protecting two panicked hobbits is not easy…

Aragorn froze, only pausing for a second. Panicked eyes swept the cell for anything to intercept the knife's path. Then he realized. The only barrier would be him.

Without a second thought, he lunged toward Legolas just as the dagger left Harnad's hand.

Harnad smiled as he watched the elf fiddle with the clumsy sword in his bound hands. It would be an easy kill. Since the leader had proved himself immune to the poison (however possible), the least he could do was kill one of his minions. His smile grew wider as he pulled the dagger back a bit further, and released.

Suddenly a black blur obscured Harnad's vision of the elf. He blinked and was shocked to see Aragorn on his hands and knees, directly where the elf had been a second ago. He turned his head and saw the surprised elf on the edge of the chamber, clearly dazed. As he watched, Aragorn slowly rolled over. Then Harnad understood. Aragorn's own dagger protruded directly from his left shoulder.

Aragorn looked slowly down at himself and smiled faintly. He had countered this once before, and Legolas was safe. But that didn't make it hurt any less. He felt the familiar burning sensation of his skin, and the pain in his ribs had doubled, if that was possible. But he stiffly pulled himself to his feet and faced Harnad, who was cowering disbelievingly in the corner.

"Never again will you harm me…or my friends." As he drew up his blade, he added, "May you find peace in…Mandos' halls." And he swept Anduril down, piercing the man's heart. Harnad's last vision was a tall, wise, merciful king standing over him.

A small movement brought Aragorn out of his moment. Legolas was struggling against his bonds. Kneeling carefully, he quickly cut Legolas' bonds and removed the gag. But to his surprise, there were tears glittering in Legolas' eyes.

"Mellon nin, what is wrong? Are you hurt? Is it your head? That cut looks

bad-"

"No," Legolas cut in waveringly. "The man, who captured us…he told me…" He looked up at Aragorn with a heart wrenching look. "He told me you were dead. And I…I believed him. Because on the way in, we…we passed your cell. You were so still, and you hardly drew breath." He looked up again. "I was so afraid, Estel. It was like…the before. I knew that I had failed you."

"Legolas," Aragorn interrupted tenderly. He opened his arms and Legolas embraced him, sighing while avoiding his wounded shoulder. "You never failed me. I am here, and alive, and so are you." They remained locked in memories and friendship for several minutes before Legolas remembered something.

"Your shoulder!" he gasped. "There was something on the blade…a poison…"

"No, I'm fine…I'll be alright. L-leave the dagger in…otherwise I will lose a lot of blood." Aragorn gasped as he pulled himself up using the wall. He wasn't telling the entire truth, but he would be alright. But they had to leave. Now, if they could.

"But let me tend…your forehead."

"Nay, Estel." Legolas answered, grinning. "You are far worse off than me. If you do not require instant aid, then neither do I. Come. Let us leave." Aragorn nodded and started to the door. But suddenly the pain in his legs inflamed and he stumbled, and would have fallen if Legolas had not caught him. He laughed.

"'Fine' are you! I think our definitions may be different, mellon nin."

"It's not my fault," Aragorn argued as he exited the chamber, leaning heavily on Legolas. "If Harnad didn't poison me before, then I wouldn't have leg pains-" He abruptly stopped. Legolas was staring at him, a horrified expression on his face.

"You were poisoned before this?"

"Well, yes, but the healers-"

"And you came BACK?'

"Well I had to stop them and-"

"So you throw yourself in front of a poisoned dagger, to save me and- Oh no! Gimli!" Legolas visibly paled, and craned his neck to peer into the nearest cell.

"It's alright Legolas. I did not come alone." Aragorn said quickly. Legolas relaxed, but increased their pace a little. But then he paused and looked back again.

"Just a moment- I forgot something." Leaving Aragorn against a wall, he sprinted back into his cell. A second later he emerged, clutching his twin white daggers. Aragorn smiled as he put the arrow pack on his back lovingly. Legolas shot him a furtive glare before coming closer and taking his arm again. "Well, at least you were not wholly reckless. Who else came? Gandalf? Eomer?"

"Actually…Eowyn." Aragorn visibly cringed as Legolas gave him yet another astonished look. "Well, she saved me before and brought me to the healers and helped me get in again and is looking for Gimli now." Aragorn said this very fast and hoped it would satisfy Legolas. But it didn't.

"You are the most reckless human I have ever, EVER met. So you get poisoned, nearly die, then come BACK and bring a wounded woman to help. Sounds brilliant."

Aragorn didn't reply, finding no fitting remark to answer with.

Meanwhile, Eowyn was dashing around the long corridors, frantically looking for Gimli. But after only a few minutes of dashing, she heard footsteps. Terrified, she slowed her steps and tried to act confident and natural. A soldier appeared down the hall, a sheaf of papers in his hand. He spotted her and stepped toward her. Eowyn quickly tried to think of an excuse for being there…

"What are you doing here, soldier? And what is your name?"

"I-I was sent by the L-lord to check on the p-prisoners." Eowyn stuttered and tried to steady her voice. "My name is Enerad."

"Hmmm…very well. Carry on, Enerad." The soldier nodded slightly and kept walking.

"Oh, wait! Could you…could you remind me which cell he was in? The lord told me, but…"

"The short one is in the cell about six doors ahead. Making a right little racket, he was. Rotten troublemaker, he is." The soldier scowled and kept walking. Eowyn waited until he had disappeared from sight before rushing forward and counting doors. When she got to the sixth, she anxiously peered inside.

There was Gimli. But he seemed to be in much better shape than Aragorn had been. There was no trace of a wound, and even though he was gagged, he was only bound by the wrists. Clearly, the Faithful didn't see him as much of a threat. Eowyn grinned at how wrong they were. She then plunged her sword into the wood of the door, carving out the lock. In only about a minute, Eowyn was inside the cell.

Gimli had looked up when a sword appeared in the door, but instantly recognized her when she stepped in. There was a joyful expression on his face, and he was chatting quickly though the gag. Eowyn smiled again and leaned down to free him. She did not worry about hurting him because not only was his skin tougher, he was wearing armor. Once he was free, Gimli rose and bowed.

"My lady, I cannot thank you enough for freeing me. I only wish to find Legolas before we leave…" Gimli suddenly saddened, and looked around the cell as if expecting thee elf appear from wall. Eowyn noted this sadly, while edging him out of the cell. .

"Aragorn came here with me. We had to split up…but I'm sure he found Legolas and is alright. They have quite a history, do they not?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood. They had begun walking down the corridor already. Gimli snorted.

"History? You could call it that. You could also call it sixty years of recklessness, as their families do, or at least what Elrond told me." Eowyn grinned and was about to reply when she heard voices from down the corridor.

"Legolas, I am sure they are on the way. We agreed to meet back here, and here is where we'll stay."

"But what if they were captured again? We have to go look for them!"

"Mellon nin, wouldn't you know if Gimli was in trouble? If you-"

"We're right here you young rascals!" Gimli suddenly called down the corridor. A second later, Legolas came tearing down the corridor. When he saw Gimli he bent down and embraced him warmly. Eowyn decided he was in good shape, except for a cut on his forehead. But she had a feeling that Aragorn wasn't in very good shape. Her suspicions were proved true when she turned the corner. Aragorn was breathing heavily again and leaning against the wall for support. Upon closer inspection, he had acquired a new cut and also had a dagger protruding from his chest. A horrible thought suddenly struck Eowyn. It had to have been at least two hours since he last had the antidote. Was he having a relapse? As she watched him struggle for breath, her mind came to one conclusion.

Yes.

Amid all of this, a very frustrated Gandalf was ready to lose it. He had spent three hours at least trying to keep the hobbits inside the room with him. Gandalf had had to resort to telling some of his own jokes to prevent the hobbits from leaving. But his thoughts were yet again interrupted when Pippin started whining.

"Gandalf, come on! They are all in trouble and they need our help! We must go after them!" Gandalf rolled his eyes and repeated his answer.

"Aragorn and Eowyn can take care of themselves. As can Legolas and Gimli. I am sure they are alright. Anyway, Aragorn wanted me to stay here with you, so that is what we will do." Pippin scowled and flopped on the bed. Merry, understanding his cousin's mind, tried to cheer him up.

"Hey Gandalf, do you know any other jokes? You know, to pass the time…"

Gandalf sighed.

'Hurry up, you four' his mind whispered to them. But he did not know just how long they would be.

TBC

Well, there's the next update! I DID NOT receive the required amount of reviews, but I REALLY wanted to post this. So please review! PLEASE!

Answers to reviews:

lindahoyland: Yay! Aragorn angst! Oh yes he is so good! But why does this bad stuff keep happening…thanks for reviewing!

catwraith: Here's your update! Thankx for reviewing!

Dark Borg Drone: No way! Happy its-your-birthday-in-18-days! Thanks for reviewing!

Aragorn75: Here's your update, and a little more angst, soon to GROW! Thanks for reviewing!

Thanks everyone! Keep it up! Oh, and I'm thinking of writing a prequel…send me your thoughts!

-QueenofFlarmphgal, updated 6/2/05