Disclaimer: I do not own LotR. I think everyone gets that by now… as if they didn't before… XD

Warnings: Nothing in this chapter. But rated R for rape.

Sorry 'bout all grammar and/or spelling mistakes.

Oops, sorry 'bout the wait guys. Did not mean for it to be that long. Kinda hard to post when you can't really get on, though. Volleyball practices started up again, too! Yayness! It's awesome, man. n.n Volleyball's one of the most fun things ever! Can't wait 'til the season starts! n.n;; 'Kay, I'm done. But anyway… that is one reason why I haven't really been able to write. The other is… well, homework that I'm just now doing that I should have done forever ago. See, I hate doing it so usually just… don't. But I had an F in a class or two so had to make them be at least a D. If it's a passing grade then it's all good. Not like I care…

.:ahem:. Anyway… I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I don't really like it much but hopefully you peoples will. n.n Gah, Gundam Seed's on. I should see which episode it is. Have fun everyone. n.n;;;


Unforgivable Pain

Chapter Eighteen: Waking?

Elrond, his sons, and the warriors had arrived at the place they had taken their break at before. The elf-lord was in the middle of treating Aragorn (he had treated the others already) and had heard how exactly they ended up in their present condition. It deeply concerned him when they told him Elrohir had been unconscious for a day already, showing no signs of waking.

He had been furious when Aragorn told him of the things Selaedir (he had learned from them) had said about Legolas and the things he had called him. He was glad that the human was dead and would never harm another soul. It was too bad they hadn't been able to do anything about him sooner, before he could get his hands on Legolas.

"How was Legolas doing when you left?" Aragorn asked his father. The last time he had seen him he hadn't been doing too well, and he still felt guilty about that. "Wait, did you leave him with one of the healers?" he asked as an afterthought, hoping that wasn't the case. Legolas should not be left with someone he barely knew. He had been panicking around people he had known practically since he was born. There'd be no way he would be able to react well to a stranger.

Elrond tied off the bandage and looked up at his youngest son. "Of course not. He is with Thranduil," he said as if insulted by the suggestion.

"When did he arrive?" Elladan asked in surprise. Neither of them had known that the elf king had been with his son.

"A few days before I left."

"Has he been able to help?" the human questioned. He knew that the prince wouldn't want his father to see him in his current state (or previous since they didn't know how he was now) and wasn't sure if it was wise for him to be around. However, he knew that the elf really did need his father, especially in this case.

"Aye; Legolas even talked about… what happened," the elf-lord stated. He still was unable to say what had happened, it was too painful to think about it.

"He did?" the ranger asked wide-eyed. Legolas was definitely better than when they had left. Before he didn't even talk period… or the least amount as possible.

Elrond nodded. "Now, though, you two need to get some rest," he said, the father side taking over.

The statement had reminded Aragorn just how tired he really was. The herbs that his father had given him didn't help the matter. He had been distracted with the conversations before and hadn't been able to do anything. He was still soaked, too, he realized, when he moved to lie down. He was a bit warmer than before since Elrond had permitted the use of a fire, though small. It had also finally stopped raining. Within seconds the human was asleep, too tired to be bothered with the wetness.

Elladan laid down as well, close to his twin, wanting to be next to him at all times. He prayed to the Valar that he'd wake up soon.

Elrond sighed in relief when his sons fell asleep. Elladan had looked like he desperately needed some rest – as did Aragorn – but by what they had said the eldest brother hadn't gotten any rest, making it his duty to protect his younger brothers, which was nothing new.

He had been none too pleased with his sons and would have lectured them on their carelessness if he hadn't felt so guilty for letting them go in the first place, not to mention relieved for seeing them alive. This time he had sent them right into the mouth of the lion. Thankfully they had been able to escape its teeth even with a few injuries. He was worried about all of his sons, of course, but Elrohir the most.

"My lord, you should rest as well," a tall warrior with brown hair said in concern.

"Nay, I must keep an eye on my sons," the elf-lord replied, not taking his eyes off of Elrohir.

"I can do that, my lord, and I…" he trailed off when the elder elf looked up at him. It was a definite that he wouldn't be able to change his lord's mind.

Elrond knew the warrior was only concerned for his well-being, however, he had just found his sons; there was no way he was going to let them out of his sight. He wouldn't sleep until Elrohir awoke either.

He sighed heavily. Well, at least they could finally get some much needed rest.

Alkar, Elrohir's horse, was glad to be back with his master and wouldn't go any farther away from the younger twin. They didn't want him to be too close, for then he'd be in the way, especially if Elrohir were to wake, since they needed to treat him properly.

Elladan ended up awakening about three hours later despite his weariness, his concern for his twin seemed to be affecting him even when deep asleep.

About half an hour later a warrior that had taken up watch came back to the elf-lord in a rush. "My lord, there are orcs headed our way," he said in a panic.

Elladan exchanged a worried glance with his father; then looked down at the sleeping human. He was about to wake Aragorn up but Elrond stopped him.

"Nay, let him rest," the elder elf told his son, knowing how much Aragorn needed to sleep and recover. The herbs he had given him would be in effect for a while still, too. They'd let him sleep until he woke up on his own.

"I shall give you Elrohir when you are ready," the elf-lord said, motioning for Elladan to mount his horse.

The elder twin looked at his father in bewilderment, since he thought Elrond would want to carry Elrohir. However, he did as he was told without question. The pain in his leg had receded a lot from before due to the herbs, but it still hurt getting onto his horse. He was sure it was going to be worse while riding, but he'd ignore it.

Elrond picked the younger twin up and walked over to Elladan and his horse. He carefully gave his eldest son the unconscious elf.

He then got onto his own horse, and with the help of a warrior, got Aragorn within his arms.

They were off in minutes, running from the orcs in hope they wouldn't have to fight. They would do everything possible to avoid a battle with Aragorn, Elrohir and Elladan in the condition that they were in. Even if Aragorn and Elladan were doing better, it did not mean that they should fight.

Elrond held his youngest close, grateful that he had him back.


"Elrohir!" Elladan suddenly shouted in surprise and excitement. He could swear that his twin was becoming conscious, he had felt him stir.

"What is it?" Elrond asked his son, looking over to him.

"I think he is waking," the elder twin told his father, never taking his eyes off of the elf in his arms.

The elf-lord widened his eyes in shock and looked down at his son waiting for any movement, any sign of him waking.

He smiled in relief when he saw Elrohir's eyes flutter. However, he frowned deeply when he remembered that they were still running from the orcs. They had been riding for an hour now, and had almost lost them but not quite. It was a bad idea to stop; however, there was no possible way he was going to continue riding with Elrohir waking in his condition. He had no idea how the concussion was going to affect his son.

They heard Elrohir groan, and it was decided.

"We must stop," the elf-lord commanded, guiding his horse to the side by some trees. He hoped they would be able to continue soon since the orcs were still after them; they could catch up.

Aragorn opened his eyes when they stopped.

"Ada?" he asked tiredly.

"Worry not, ion-nin. We are stopping for a while," Elrond said caringly. "We believe Elrohir is waking."

This got the human's attention immediately. He snapped his eyes open the rest of the way and started to sit up.

"Be at peace, Estel," the elder elf said more patiently than he felt, while beckoning a warrior over to him.

Getting the human down – not without pain on Aragorn's part – he dismounted and went over to Elladan. He had also gotten help and was kneeling down next to his twin.

Elrond knelt down next to his sons, with Aragorn close, worry etched in his features seeing the younger twin's body tense. It was clear that he had finally regained consciousness. He picked up Elrohir's hand, holding it gently in his own for comfort.

"Elrohir, can you hear me?" he asked softly, not wanting to cause him more pain, sure that he had a terrible headache.

His only response was a groan and a weak attempt at raising his hand to his pounding head.

They saw what he was trying to do, but Elladan gently placed his hand on Elrohir's, lowering it the rest of the way.

The elf-lord's frown deepened at the lack of response, but he tried again. "Elrohir, ion-nin, open your eyes for me," he told the pained elf.

Instead of opening them, however, he got the opposite reaction. The younger twin shut his eyes tightly and clenched his fists, squeezing Elrond's hand painfully.

The elder elf winced at the amount of pressure his injured son was unintentionally inflicting.

Is he in that much pain? he thought; the answer obvious.

"Elrohir," he tried again, "Elrohir, I need you to open your eyes for me."

Said elf groaned again and fought to open his leaden eyelids; to obey the heart-wrenching pleas.

Finally, he managed to open them, though only about half-way, to find his eyesight blurry.

Elrond sighed in relief at the sight of the grey orbs, even though they were still partially hidden, it was a start and definitely better than before.

"Elrohir, do you know who I am?" the elder elf asked.

The injured elf started to close his eyes again, but at the shout of his name, that did nothing to help his pounding head, he reluctantly opened them. After a repeat of the question, which processed much slower than he thought possible. He squinted his blurry eyes, trying to focus.

Elrond frowned in concern when he noticed his son struggle to focus on him. Not a good sign. He should have at least recognized his voice, if nothing else.

"Ada," the younger twin finally responded certainly.

The elf-lord – along with Aragorn and Elladan – let out a breath of utter relief at the sound of him being absolutely sure, even if it had taken longer than it should have.

"Do you remember what happened?" he tested again, hoping for better results.

Elladan watched his father and twin exchange words, or rather his father mainly. He was ecstatic to see his brother conscious, but was sad to see how he fared.

Aragorn also watched quietly in concern, not wanting to interrupt.

The warriors in their party were becoming increasingly worried; not only with their young lord's behavior, but with how much time this crucial test was taking. They feared the orcs would catch up. However, they said nothing, for they knew how important this was… to them as well.

Everyone watched as Elrohir desperately tried to recall.

Elrond could tell that his son was in agony, but he couldn't give him any painkillers. It would be dangerous this soon after waking. He was about to tell the younger twin to think about it more later when he finally started to speak.

"We… we were fighting. Sel… Selaedir, I think, was killed by… Estel… and Estel was…" he trailed off, eyes widening slightly at the memory that was slowly coming back to him with much difficulty; not helping his splitting headache. "Estel, is—"

"Shh, calm down, brother. I am well," Aragorn reassured quickly, getting within Elrohir's sight so he could see for himself.

"My lord…" a warrior started quietly, standing next to Elrond.

"Iston," the elf-lord said, knowing what he was going to say. "Just a little longer, please."

The warrior was taken aback by the plea. All Lord Elrond had to do was command them, there was little they could do to contradict him.

The elder elf looked back down at his son, and didn't like that he was already becoming so unaware. He had been very pleased to see that Elrohir had been able to remember what had happened before he was knocked unconscious. That was a good sign indeed.

"Do you feel nauseous?" he asked, needing to know all the symptoms his son was experiencing. He already knew about the obvious headache and that his eyesight was blurry.

It took Elrohir a while to sort through his exhausted and splitting head until he finally understood what he was asked.

He nodded slightly, as much as he could.

"My lord, I'm sorry, but they have come too close," the warrior interrupted again.

Elrond sighed deeply. He could hear the anxiousness in the warrior's voice and knew that they were all becoming too worried of the orcs attacking. He knew they wouldn't have bothered him again if they weren't in so much danger.

"Very well, prepare to leave," the elf-lord told the warriors sadly.

Turning back to Elrohir, he wasn't surprised to see the elf's eyes closed in, what he hoped to be sleep, even though his brothers had tried to keep him awake. They would have to wake him up occasionally to make sure he hadn't fallen into unconsciousness. He hated seeing his son's eyes closed, but it was expected. He didn't want Elrohir to sleep either; however, it would be too much pain for him to endure if he were to be conscious while riding on the horse.

The elder elf squeezed his son's hand, comforting not only Elrohir, but himself.

"Elladan take Estel," he said suddenly, slightly startling the two.

"Ada, I can ride on my own," the human argued. At the look his father gave him he said nothing more and relented.

Elladan wanted to carry his twin and keep him by his side. However, he knew that his father wouldn't give him up and this was no time to argue.

The warriors, and their horses, were getting more and more restless. They were ready to go, except for the couple that were going to help get the injured sons into the arms of the father and brother.

Elrond checked to see if Elrohir was really sleeping (just in case); finding that he was he picked the elf up and brought him toward his horse. With everyone ready to go, Elrond gave the order to leave.

"Ada, how do you think Elrohir is?" the elder twin inquired in concern. Aragorn also looked over at his father expectantly, with weary eyes.

The elder elf sighed, knowing he would never get away with lying to the elf's twin, he had too strong of a bond with him for that.

"Adar?" the human asked, not encouraged by the elf-lord's hesitance.

"I am unsure," he finally answered, looking down at the son in his arms. "'Tis a good thing that he was able to recall what had happened, but he is nauseated, has a terrible headache, and his eyesight is blurry, and who knows what else. I like not how hard it was for him to stay awake either…" he told them truthfully, thinking aloud as well.

At his sons' crestfallen expressions he felt guilty. He knew they could handle the truth, though. They had gotten bad news so many times before when one or more of them had returned injured. None of them had ever had a concussion this severe, however.

Elrond sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that hour.

Every time. He should have known one of them would be severely injured by the end of the whole ordeal. He had just been too blinded by Leoglas' behavior and the need to make the humans pay to think straight. He was regretting that now for sure.


Well, what do you think? I don't know what to think. You tell me, 'kay? 'Kay. n.n I do know that we need some Legolas goin' on, though. Haven't seen him in a while… well, not much anyway.

Yeah… well, like I said before. Volleyball started up again… for a while, so I don't know how much updates you'll get for a while. Prob'ly the same amount, though. I'll try to keep them the same at least. Only a couple more weeks left of school! So freakin' awesome! n.n

.:ahem:. Review Responses

inulover28 – Lol, yeah you have no idea how tempted I am to make him sick. But I think I've made too many of my characters sick… already had Legolas get a fever too. ;-; .:shakes head:. Well, you have more written now, right? Riiight? n.n

HarryEstel – Cannot type Estel… XD Yup, he found them alright. n.n Yeah, you're prob'ly right. I am hard on myself, but I can't help it. I'm truly amazed people can enjoy my fics. .:shrugs:. And thank you so much, btw. You have been very supportive for most – if not all – of my fics. n.n

MoroTheWolfGod – 'Course. n.n

Mrs. Bloom – Eh, I still do like it. It's my favorite story of mine. I just think that it's not as enjoyable as it was in the beginning… to say the least. Don't worry, I would never stop in the middle of a fic (unless I had no choice), especially since this fic is so close to the end… though it does keep getting longer and longer… hmm…

Haldir's Heart and Soul – Hmm… well… yeah. Sorry, I have no idea what to say. Brain's not workin' that well… XD

Saerwen – I'm glad you like those scenes! n.n This is the first fic I've actually had Thranduil in (alive in any case) and so I'm glad you like how I have it. n.n Lol, yeah, I'm wonderin' that same thing myself. XD Sorry 'bout the wait!

empath89 – Yup, yup. Lol, well, what do you expect? Of course the scenes with Legolas are depressing. That's the whole point. n.n;;;

Huge Fan! – Thank you so much! I hope that you are still enjoying this. I don't know if you're still reading or not, but thanks for the compliment. n.n

Chichiri's Wanderer – Indeed. For a while at least. XD

Well, thanks again everyone, especially for stickin' with me and havin' to listen to me rambling… like now for example. XD No, but seriously, thank you. n.n

Yeah… well, I can't think of anything to say, besides I really can't type! Rawr! No, that's not what I was going to say. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. n.n

Plz Review

Ja ne