Disclaimer: I do not own any of the LotR characters… only the bad guys actually, and I don't even want them… ;-;
Warnings: Lots of Legolas angst. Rated R for rape.
Well, guess the update was on Tuesday. n.n I almost couldn't… ;-; Bro was on for quite a while. –shrugs- Next update won't be 'til this weekend or next Tuesday…
Yayness! I reached 100… actually 103 reviews! Thanks guys! It was Kiharu-sama who got the 100. Thanks, for leaving very encouraging reviews and for being such a faithful reviewer! n.n Really appreciate it. I didn't think a lot of people would actually like this story… glad some of you do, though! Thanks so much everyone for all your wonderful comments!
I can't believe this is already up to chapter ten… it's crazy… Crazy I'm tellin' ya! -.-
I don't even know… I just want to sleep… but can't…
Unforgivable Pain
Chapter Ten: Evil Grounds
Legolas sat on his bed leaning against the wall behind him; staring with half-open eyes at nothing. He had been for hours since awakening from his nightmare. He once again refused to sleep or even close his eyes. His fevered mind affected him too greatly and he jumped at the slightest movement or sound.
As the minutes passed by he knew he wouldn't be able to stay awake for much longer. He was about to give in to Elrond's persistence about taking the sleeping herb.
The last nightmare he had, had shaken him up terribly as he was forced to relive the agony of the burns the human had repeatedly forced upon him.
And now Aragorn and the twins left to find them. It was all too much for him to handle. He couldn't possibly think of sleeping with the fear he felt for his friends' lives. He told them not to go. Why did they have to?
He closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. Then, realizing what he had done, he snapped them open immediately; before any memories could resurface again.
"Legolas," Elrond said quietly, trying to get the elf's attention without startling him. It had been quite a while since either of them had spoken.
Nonetheless, the archer jumped at the sound and turned fearful eyes towards the elder elf.
"Forgive me for startling you, penneth," Elrond stated sadly. Things were getting worse for the blonde, he could tell. He had no idea how much more the young elf would be able to endure. Now he really regretted letting his sons leave, for that had obviously put even more stress on the already panicked elf.
"…Not your fault," the blonde said in a mere whisper, trying to calm his racing heart.
"Legolas, you really need some rest. Your condition will only worsen without it," the healer told the elf caringly. Before he was going to tell him he was going to leave him for a few minutes, but seeing how he reacted simply to his name, the elf-lord thought better of it. Legolas should not be left alone. Not unless absolutely necessary. He'd just have to wait until he fell asleep… or finally took the sleeping herb, either one would work.
"Iston…" the blonde trailed off, thinking. He knew what the elder elf said was true and that he really needed rest. He knew this probably more than the healer with the effects it was causing his body. The archer thought about Elrond's words for a few minutes. Either he would pass out from exhaustion and be forced into sleep, and the nightmares. This thought made him shudder in fear. Or he could simply take the herbs, still rest, and with no nightmares. He didn't like that either way he'd have to sleep. He felt bad for getting to sleep while his friends were out risking their lives for him. But… what choice was there?
Legolas sighed heavily; giving in to the elder elf's persistence he said, "Very well," trying to stifle a cough.
"Does that mean you want the herbs?" Elrond asked to make sure. He was glad that the prince had finally decided to sleep. It would give his body a chance to fight off the fever he still had, which had finally gone down some.
"Aye," Legolas answered somewhat hesitantly. He still felt bad, even if he knew there was no other option. There was no way he'd be able to catch up with Estel and the twins. And if he did, what could he possibly do? He'd either be dragged along with them and have to face those humans again – Valar forbid – or… well, he didn't quite know. He just knew that he couldn't really do anything now. Too many hours had passed since they left. He very much doubted he'd be able to get pass Elrond anyway.
Elrond smiled at the young elf and told him to wait until he got it ready. He had had no idea when or even if the blonde would agree to the herbs so hadn't prepared them. Fortunately, he had brought the needed herbs into Legolas' room before he woke up so he didn't have to worry about that.
Legolas watched the elder elf as he prepared the herbs, his eyes slowly following the movements Elrond made as he grabbed different herbs.
Should he really be doing this: sleeping while Estel and the others risked their lives because of him? He couldn't stop feeling guilty. It was his fault they were out there. It was his fault their lives were in danger. It was his fault—
His thoughts were cut short by Elrond's voice and a cup being held in front of him.
"Here you go. Just drink all of this," the elf-lord instructed smiling; still holding the cup since Legolas hadn't grabbed it. "It shall take longer for it to take effect since it's not heated, but will still work."
The archer slowly nodded understanding. Well, he thought with a shrug, at least I shall no have to think...
He took the cup with shaking hands and drank all the contents.
"Lay down, penneth," Elrond commanded softly, greatly relieved that the elf hadn't changed his mind. He had no idea what the young elf could possibly be thinking with how long he had refused to sleep. Did he think it was going to help matters for him to be totally exhausted? He wished he could understand what the elf was thinking then he'd have a better chance of helping him. Nevertheless, he would try; he'd try his hardest to help the blonde recover.
The elder elf looked down at Legolas and noticed that he was sleeping. He hadn't even seen him lay back down. He shrugged it off, just glad that the elf was finally able to rest peacefully.
He stood there for a few minutes sadly watching over the elf in front of him. It was amazing how much could happen in such a short amount of time. It had only been a few days since Legolas had arrived. He still needed to know more about the blonde's situation. As much as he didn't want to pry him too much about it he needed to know so he could have a better understanding. He wasn't so sure about questioning him again, though. With how he had reacted last time to just telling him where he was at… He didn't want to think about how he would respond to other questions that were more personal. But talking about it would help the scarred elf.
Elrond took a final look at Legolas to make sure he was really sleeping peacefully and then walked out of the room. He decided it was time to send a letter to the young prince's father, Thranduil. He knew he should have sent one sooner but he had had no time to think about it, let alone actually do it. He definitely wasn't looking forward to delivering such terrible news to the elvenking; however, he couldn't keep something like this from him. Legolas was his son after all; his only son. Elrond knew he'd want to be informed if something had happened to any of his sons.
"So how much farther is it?" Elladan asked his human brother. They had been riding for hours now; most the time was in silence, except for their earlier jesting.
"Actually, it should be right up here," Aragorn answered, looking around for any signs of a struggle or anything that could signify Legolas' presence.
Ten minutes later the human shouted, "Look over here!" pointing at a tree near the path they were on. He was still in front of his two brothers, leading the way to the place he hoped was the one Legolas had described.
"It looks like there was a struggle here," Elrohir confirmed. The tree that they were currently looking at had branches broken off, the grass at the base of it had been torn up at places, and there were patches of dirt everywhere. It must been a very difficult struggle indeed to cause this much damage.
"You think this is where they captured him?" the elder twin asked in a wavering tone.
Aragorn and Elrohir merely shrugged, having the same amount of knowledge as him on the subject.
Too bad we could not get anymore information... Elladan thought. He knew their father had pushed Legolas for what they did know now. He didn't want the young elf being pushed even farther and possibly past his limits. Who knew what could happen then. He most certainly didn't want to find out.
"Well, we must be headed in the right direction at least. Estel lead us not astray," Elrohir said lightly with a smirk.
Aragorn shot an exasperated look at the younger twin while the older softly chuckled.
They soon became serious, however, knowing that they had to keep a sharp eye out for anything that could help them find the ones who hurt Legolas. Following the tracks from around the tree, they were soon led to a place like Legolas had told their father. There was a cave with bushes at the entrance and the river was crystal clear; you could easily see the rocks at the bottom. Even with all this there was an uneasy feeling about the place.
"Y-you think he was forced into the cave?" Aragorn inquired in horror. He knew how much Legolas abhorred caves – as did most elves. The human had been with the elf when the two of them had been stuck in a cave during a cave-in and all the exits had been blocked. They had been in there for a couple of days before they were finally dug out. Ever since then Legolas had developed an utter fear about even going near a cave. Aragorn could understand it perfectly too. He was none too fond of them either, though he could put up with them if he had to. Elves hated dark, cramped spaces by nature.
"I think not. Only human footprints are near the cave's entrance; no elf's," Elladan reassured after dismounting his horse and inspecting the ground. Elven footprints were usually hard to find because of the light steps they took, that is, if you didn't know what to look for. However, wherever the blonde elf walked they could easily see his footprints. They were heavy and looked as if he were even dragged for a while, which they had no doubt that he had been. They figured they must have severely injured him before camping at this place.
Aragorn and Elrohir had also dismounted and were looking around for anything that could help. There were a countless number of footprints. Maybe they didn't care about being found? There was definitely more – a lot more than just a couple humans and Legolas. Well, they'd find out soon enough how many there were.
"These are fresher than the others," the ranger stated, pointing at some footprints.
The twins went over to their younger brother to look at them. "Then they must have gone that way," Elrohir said, pointing ahead of them.
"Aye," Elladan agreed. "However, night is almost upon us and we cannot risk traveling." There were still orcs, wargs and other such creatures that dominated the nighttime that they did not wish to run into.
As much as all of them wanted to continue they knew they couldn't. They had to camp for the night. Running into orcs would undoubtedly force them into a fight and they didn't want to delay their search. One of them could get seriously injured, too. They definitely didn't want that to happen!
None of them wanted to camp in the spot Legolas had been held captive, but there was no other place close to them that was safe enough to stay the whole night. So, reluctantly, they settled down, placing their bedrolls on the ground near the fire they had started up.
"I shall take first watch," Aragorn stated when they were done eating, it now being dark out.
"Nay, I shall do it," Elladan protested, knowing the limitations his human brother had, but always ignored. "You need to get some sleep, Estel. You have had less than both of us when you need more."
Elrohir could only nod his head in agreement towards his older twin. His twin had spoken faster than him and said exactly what he was going to. Aragorn looked exhausted and really needed some sleep.
The human let out a heavy sigh and gave up, knowing there was no possible way he'd be able to convince both his brothers. Besides, it really wasn't worth it. He was tired and knew he needed to be prepared for anything. Sleep couldn't hurt anything.
"Good boy," Elrohir teased, patting his younger brother's head.
Aragorn swatted the hand away and stood up. He went to his bedroll and laid down waiting for sleep to claim him so exhausted he forgot to ask Elladan to wake him up to take over watch, which he always did.
Even if Aragorn had played it off like he was angry both twins could see the slight tug at the corner of the human's mouth indicating he was trying hard not to smile.
Elladan turned to his younger twin. "Go get some sleep," he said caringly.
Elrohir started to protest, but stopped at his twin's concerned look. "Alright, but only if you promise to wake me so I can take over and you can get some rest," he negotiated.
"Of course," the elder twin replied with a smile.
Elrohir nodded and returned the smile. Standing up he went over to his own bedroll.
Now that his brothers weren't around Elladan let his cheerful façade down. This place was full of evil emotions; the trees warned him that malicious things had occurred there recently. He hated the feelings he was getting from this area and wondered how Legolas had been able to endure since he was at the receiving end of said evil. He was sure his own brothers had felt the unease around his place too, but had kept quiet, knowing they had no other choice.
The elf closed his eyes tightly, looking up at the sky. By the Valar, Legolas, how much did you have to put up with? he thought in despair.
The brown-haired elf climbed a tree and sat in its branches on the lookout for any danger, with thoughts of Legolas running through is mind. He just prayed that the poor elf was doing alright.
Hmmm… yeah, me no like. You? I have an idea for one of the upcoming chapters, but I have to figure out if I can actually do it or not… No point in me saying that… just ignore please.
Review Responses
Chichiri's Wanderer – Yup… plannin' on having that happen sooner or later… n.n
inulover28 – Yes, he did… let's all go after him with torches and pitchforks! Yeah, ya really shouldn't talk… sheesh… poor Shun! Speaking of which, are you going to post that again anytime soon? n.n Lol… good job with the no groundingness (whatever that was…). It's all the 2nd month…whoa… guess it's the 3rd now… Crazyness… Don't mind me…
Jack Sparrow's Secret Lurrver – Glad ya like it. But… I don't get it… what's the 'go Ja ne' all about?
Kiharu-sama – Lol… he might actually. I think he wants to be the one, ya know? Ya might want to watch your back now. n.n;; Hmmm… their theme song… Lol… I have no idea… something about never getting a break that's for sure! I wonder what it really would be… -ponders-
Lynx Yamato – Really? Why thank you! n.n
MoroTheWolfGod – Nah, it's alright. I was just messin'. Yeah, that was disabled for a long time. Someone else said they keep track of what chapters they've read by that, too. How can you do that?
Haldir's Heart and Soul – Indeed!
Legolas4me – I'm glad ya think I use a lot of detail! You have no idea how much that comment means to me, especially since I've been trying to improve upon that.
empath89 – Lmao! Of course not. How much fun would that be? n.n Well, you know my endings… they're all extra happy. Maybe not this one, though… I dunno if I am goin' to make it happy or not… Lol… it is good for the story! n.n
HarryEstel – Lmao! Yeah, they definitely wouldn't be. Un, I don't think it would be right if I had it so they didn't get in some type of trouble, do you? Besides, look why they're out there in the first place? Lol…
Thanks for all the great reviews everyone! And for the 100 again! n.n;; I love hearing from all of you. For the moment, though, I'm goin' to sleep… gah! I have homework… ;-; Freakin' school… I'm ready for a vacation… XD
Plz Review!
Ja ne
