All right, here's chapter 24. More healing-stuff, but things will get more interesting. Just bear with me!
Again, thank you for the wonderful reviews. Please keep them coming! Again, I don't have time to respond (RL's really busy right now), but I hopefully I will be able to sometime in May.

I have more bad news: this may be my last update for a while. Maybe for a few weeks, I don't know. I'll just have to see how things go.

But don't worry; I haven't forgotten about this story and it will be finished!

Romen

24. Another Rainy Day

Legolas started, wondering why everything had gotten so silent. He had heard his father's voice yelling inaudibly, but now everything was still. He shivered, wondering if he should try to get up and see what had happened.

'What a foolish idea! You can't even sit up, for that matter.'

Scowling, Legolas rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He hated being bedridden. There was nothing to do, nothing to distract you from pondering the horrible events that had led you there. Right now Legolas wanted nothing more than to change, wash, and stretch his legs, but that was out of the question. He cursed under his breath. He envied Elrohir and Estel at that moment, something that he rarely ever did.

'You've brought this upon yourself,' he reminded himself, though it didn't help the situation any. 'You deserve to be bedridden for the rest of your life.'

The sight of Elladan's dead body made him cringe, and he immediately turned over to face the wall. He kept trying to push Elladan to the back of his mind, along with Varda, but the other part of him would drag those images and thoughts back, forcing him to remember it again. He wished that he could let himself forget about everything. No, he didn't. He needed to remember everything.

'Why am I arguing with myself? This is stupid.'

Legolas swallowed. He had debated with himself quite frequently after his mother had passed away. For some strange reason, there was a small amount of comfort found in it. Perhaps it was that he wasn't actually alone in the world; he still had himself! He ignored the irony and foolishness in this statement.

'Then I must stop doing it if it comforts me.'

'Well, no...'

'Yes! Remember, you deserve all of this.'

Legolas sighed, his head pounding. The pain numbing herbs didn't last for long, and they made him feel sluggish and dizzy. He longed for the day that he could stop taking them.

'That should be soon. Elrond said you were healing fast.'

It didn't feel that way. Legolas felt awful. If he didn't know better, he'd think that he'd been through a lot more (physically) than he really had been. It had just been several fights, several wounds. Nothing, right?

Thinking about the fights made him feel restless. He longed to feel the hilt of his knife if his hand again, to hear it sink into flesh...

"Stop!" He shut his mouth quickly, not knowing that he'd actually spoken aloud. He was still for a moment, wondering if anyone heard him. He relaxed a little when no one came.

As much as he hated to admit it, it was the horrible truth. Legolas wanted to be involved in another battle. He wanted to feel the rush of adrenaline, the surge of energy. He wanted to forget about everything again.

'Am I really that animalistic?'

'You're thinking it, aren't you?'

Legolas considered speaking to his father about it, or perhaps Lord Elrond. He wasn't sure what he should do.

No, he wouldn't tell either of them. His father was worried enough. Legolas felt a pang of guilt every time his father looked at him, his blue eyes filled with distress. Legolas had brought so much sadness and pain to their family. What kind of a son was he?

'Obviously not an honorable one.'

Legolas felt a lump form in this throat. Then why did his father take such good care of him? He remembered Thranduil spoon-feeding him like a baby just a moment ago. Why was he so gentle? And why did Legolas allow him to do such things for him every time? Legolas usually didn't wish for such treatment, but he was now eagerly accepting it, as thirsty for the tender actions as he was for battle and bloodshed. Even now he missed his father's watchful gaze.

"Maybe I could speak to Estel," he muttered to himself, under his breath.

Ever since Legolas had been brought to Rivendell by Meg, he had not gotten to speak to his friend alone. This fact was bothering him. He couldn't tell what Estel was thinking. He insinuated that the adan was angry, as he should be, and even if he was, Legolas wanted to hear him rant and rave at him. He was sick at having to guess what people were thinking about him. He'd rather that they just say it to his face, no matter what it was.

The sound of footsteps and voices from the hallway drew him from his thoughts. He cocked his head towards the door, listening.

"I'm fine, Adar," it sounded like Elrohir was saying. Legolas wondered if he had been injured somehow. "Glorfindel already took care of me."

Glorfindel was back? Legolas blinked. If Elrohir and Estel hadn't known that Elladan was dead, which he highly doubted, they surely would now.

"Sit still, ion-nin," Elrond grumbled. "I'm almost done."

There was a moment of silence, and then Legolas could hear footsteps rushing for his door. He stared, wide-eyed, as it flew open. Elrohir and Estel stood in the frame, followed by Elladan.

"Elladan?" Legolas whispered, swallowing against the lump slowly rebuilding in his throat.

Elladan smiled, though his eyes looked cold and harsh. "Don't worry, mellon-nin; everything is all right now."

'No, it's not!' Legolas wanted to cry. 'Nothing is right.' But at the moment, his voice felt too small. He simply stared, trying to stop the tears that would come.

Elladan smiled. "Got to sleep; you need your rest."

Legolas nodded, his eyes half-closing as he fell asleep on command. Everyone sat, watching.

Elrohir frowned, glancing at his older brother. "What took you so long? I was starting to think that you would never come."

"We kept expecting another attack from the Wild Men," Elladan replied, tearing his dark eyes from Legolas. "It never came, surprisingly."

Estel shifted awkwardly. "How strange..."

Elladan laughed. "'How strange.' What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well...it's just strange." Estel sighed. There was a spot of silence. "The Wild Men...are they really that bad?"

Elrohir choked on the water that he had been drinking. He stared at Estel, wide-eyed. "What do you mean, are they not that bad? What's gotten into you, Estel? Haven't you seen them?"

Elladan nodded in agreement. "They're disgusting pigs."

"Some of them are, but are all of them? What about Klia? She's from one from one of their villages. She rescued Legolas."

"You have a point." Elrohir bit into an apple, swallowing. "Still, she's probably considered odd and uncouth where she comes from."

Elladan smiled wryly. "And disgustingly clean."

Elrohir and Elladan chuckled, for some reason thinking that they were clever. Estel felt his face grow hot as he listened to them make fun of the Wild Men.

"They're people too," Estel pointed out.

Elladan caught his breath, raising one eyebrow higher than the other. "Yes, Estel, they are people; people who give the world of edain a bad name."

"Estel, listen to our older and wiser brother." Elrohir leaned forward, clasping his hands in a mock plead. "The Wild Men went to war without having a reasonable cause. They wanted land; I mean, they didn't need any more land. People are dying because of that."

"I guess." Estel paused as his brothers stared at him. "You haven't ever seen them though, have you? In their homes."

Elladan and Elrohir glanced at each other, groaning. "Estel..."

"They live similar to us." Estel felt like this was a lost cause, but he couldn't sit there and listen to them turn Klia into sport. "Just don't make fun of them like that. It sounds...so rude."

Elladan rolled his eyes. "Whatever you want Estel. Anyway," he looked back down at Legolas, "how is our friend fairing?"

Elrohir hesitated. "Well...he's healing."

"Hmm." Elladan's eyes narrowed. "It's interesting that he got here before I did."

"Well, Klia brought him back, you know." Estel smiled nervously.

"You weren't even worried about me, were you?" He looked at Elrohir, who was working his way through a clump of grapes. "Tithen gwador, you just ate!"

Elrohir shrugged sheepishly. "I'm hungry," he justified. Elladan scowled, but the let the matter lie, looking back down at Legolas quickly as if he didn't keep his eyes on him their friend would do something terrible.

"Elladan, we were worried about you to a certain degree," Estel began, "but we didn't know anything had happened to you. We hadn't imagined that he could possibly even think of doing something like that."

"Oh, are you trying to say that he didn't tell you?" Elladan crossed his arms, now rounding on Estel. "I suppose that it just 'slipped his mind'. He's killed so many others I must have just been a smudge on the list."

"Quit complaining, Dan." Elrohir rolled his eyes. "Do you have nothing else to do than feel sorry for yourself?"

"I'm not whining. I'm just trying to warn all of you."

"Warn us of what, Legolas's militia?" Elrohir stretched his legs out on a chair. "We can take care of ourselves brother. Besides, he's back to normal now."

"Maybe you are all sure, but I am not." He looked down at his hands, his eyebrows drawn down in concentration. "Well, I'm going to turn in. I'll see you all in the morning."

"I think I shall do that as well." Elrohir stood, following Elladan to the door, but before they exited he turned around to observe Estel. "What about you, adan?"

Estel shook his head. "I'm going to stay awhile."

"Suit yourself." They shut the door behind them, their voices echoing in the silent hallways as they spoke to each other hurriedly in Sindarin. Estel sighed, leaning his head back in the chair and shutting his eyes, wishing that he had some kind of an idea of what was going on.

He wondered what Elladan and Elrohir thought of the situation. Elladan seemed a bit angry, his anger directed at Legolas and almost everyone around him. Elrohir didn't seem to think that anything bad was going on; he was his same, happy-go-lucky self.

Estel heaved a sigh, letting his eyes slip shut.

"Estel?"

The adan reluctantly slid an eye open. Legolas was looking at him, his eyes shining through the darkness of the room. The adan wondered if he had fallen asleep. The sound of softly falling rain caught his attention. "Yes, mellon-nin? Are you in any pain?"

"No, I'm fine." Legolas seemed hesitant. He let his head fall onto the pillows, shutting his eyes a little. "Where are Elladan and Elrohir?"

"They left; they were tired," Estel replied, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Do you need anything to eat?"

"Yes, please."

Estel stood, stretching and suppressing a yawn. "Are you feeling any better?"

"A little. Estel..."

Estel handed him some bread, expecting an answer. "Hmm?"

"I- I'm sorry about Elladan." Legolas picked at the bread.

"It's all right; no one blames you for what you have done. You weren't yourself."

"That doesn't change anything. Elladan could have died if Glorfindel hadn't come back, looking for me."

Estel stood and lit a candle, scooting his chair closer to the elf before sitting back down. "Legolas, I need you to do me a favor. You must swear to do this before I tell you."

Legolas blinked. "All right..."

"Quit beating yourself up about everything that has happened. You can't go back and change the past; it's done and there's nothing that we can do about it now. Forgive yourself."

"I'm sorry, Estel." Legolas chewed on his lip, his unnaturally pale skin illuminated by the candlelight, accentuating the unusual gauntness of his cheeks. Estel shivered.

"We all know that you're sorry; you don't need to apologize further." He paused, watching his friend reluctantly being to eat. "We're worried about you, Legolas. We're not used to seeing you in this condition. It scares us; it scares me."

"I never meant for it to go that far." Legolas's eyes were wide. "It just happened. I didn't even notice the difference at first. I couldn't remember anything. It was like I couldn't control myself. Now that I think back on it, it was terrifying."

The adan twitched, cursing himself. He had put his friend in a state of vulnerability, something that he never liked to see. "Nothing like that will ever happen to you again."

"I'm not sure of that, Aragorn." He set the bread on the nightstand, looking away. "I'm not sure that it's even over yet."

"Legolas, what do you mean?" Estel's voice was barely above a whisper. "I don't understand."

"I can still hardly remember anything. I- I still feel just as...restless."

"Anyone in your situation would feel restless," Estel said quickly, more to himself than to the elf. "As for your memory, that could just be due to your injuries. You have no need to worry."

Legolas sat still, a light of defiance in his eyes suddenly doused to a smolder of resignation, though Estel knew that it wasn't to what he had just said to him. He slumped down.

"I suppose you're right. I think that I shall retire, Estel. Thank you for speaking with me."

"You have no need to thank me." Estel stood, frowning. "It is probably good that you are resting; it will hasten your recovery. Do you want me to put out the candle?"

Legolas shook his head, yawning. "You needn't do anything else for me, Estel. I am fine."

Estel offered a soft smile as he opened the door, pausing in the doorway. "Sleep well, my friend." There wasn't an answer, and Estel guessed that Legolas had simply fallen asleep. He sighed before shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

The halls were loud with silence. Everyone must have already gone to sleep. The adan glanced around. There was no one in sight. Surely at least one healer must have remained awake to check in with Legolas every other hour. And where was Thranduil? He had hardly left Legolas's side ever since he had been brought back to Imladris. As he pondered this, the sound of someone clattering inside made him whirl around.

A very wet figure entered the hall, water dripping from its wet cloak. He took in the face with mortification.

"Klia? What are you doing out here, soaked?"

"I cut through the gardens," she panted, wringing water from her long hair before flinging it behind her back. She took her cloak off, examining it before throwing it back outside with a scowl. "It's too wet to be of any use to me anymore."

"You still haven't told me what you're doing out here," Estel pressed. "Why didn't you just walk through the halls?"

Klia looked around before grabbing his arm and pulling him through the door and into the gardens, shutting it behind here.

"What are you doing?" he cried, glancing at the quantity of rain. "We're going to get wet."

"I'm already wet. We can't talk inside; someone might hear us."

Estel, who was making quite an effort to ignore her insanity, was beginning to feel very cold. "Klia, I'm tired and I want to go to my quarters."

"You shall in a moment. For now, we must speak." She looked around once again for beginning.

"Estel, you know what I was doing out in the forest, and I won't try to pretend that you don't. My brother had commanded that I find you and bring you back to our village. I just happened to run into your friend, who was half-dead when I found him. He took me captive, but I managed to escape. Unfortunately, he was wounded in the process."

"You tried to kill him!" Estel cried, not reasoning with the fact that he had taken the poor woman prisoner.

"It was an accident. Anyhow, I went back and took him to Imladris. He was lying next to the body of a dead horse. I won't make any insinuations but I do think that it is obvious what happened."

"So, this is what you pulled me out here for? To criticize Legolas?" Estel snapped.

"No, but I just thought that I should tell you what happened." She rubbed her hands together, shifting from her left to right foot in an attempt to keep warm. "Anyway, I can't leave Rivendell until you agree to come with me to the village."

"Klia, I'm not your brother"-

"I know that!"

Her words took Estel aback. "You don't think that I'm your brother?"

Klia sighed. "I never did. Berve has always believed in reincarnation, and he thought that since our brother tried to live as pure a life as he could, bless him, that he would be reborn in someone with such a status as yours. Still, I had my doubts.

"Despite the fact that I know that you're not my brother, I cannot return unless you are with me. I would be dishonored and thrown out. I would no longer be able to look after Prea. I can't let that happen!"

Estel ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "Klia, I want to help you, but I can think of nothing right now. Let's talk in the morning."

Klia stood for a moment before nodding curtly. "I suppose you're right. I'll meet you in the morning."

Estel watched her walk in the opposite direction before slightly shaking his head. She was definitely the oddest person that he had ever met in his life.

He waited until she had entered before returning indoors and hurrying to his room. The halls were still quiet. He opened his door.

"Where have you been?"

Estel shut the door and whirled around. Elrohir was standing near the window with his arms crossed while Elladan sat on the bed.

"Nowhere," Estel lied, wishing they would leave so he could get out of his wet clothes. "Why are you in my room?"

Elladan shrugged. "We were bored, so we came to talk to you, only to see that you were gone. It was too late for you to still be with Legolas." He looked him up and down. "Why are you sopping?"

"I took a walk outside," Estel replied smoothly, sitting down next to the oldest twin and glaring at him.

"Alone?" Elrohir blinked.

"Yes, alone. Why do you care?"

"Oh Estel," Elladan said in a mock tone of sadness, "why doth thou lie? Can ye not speaketh the truth?"

"Stop talking like that. What do you mean?"

Elrohir grinned. "You could have just told us about your rendezvous with Klia so we wouldn't have to guess."

"Rendezvous!" the adan cried. "There was no 'rendezvous'!"

"Was that the first one, or have you been planning these secret meetings for a while?" Elladan smirked. "And to think that I always thought you fancied Arwen..."

"Just shut it," Estel snarled, shoving the eldest twin. "I wasn't meeting with Klia. For your information, she dragged me out there and talked to me."

"What about?" Elrohir sat down. "Was it about 'your soulful gray eyes', or the way she swoons when you walk into a room?"

"Stop it, Ro, this isn't funny." Estel stood and went over to the window, looking down. "She wanted to talk about what happened when she found Legolas. That was all."

"Why didn't she just say those things to you indoors?"

Estel shrugged. "She's a bit strange. There's really no logical explanation for it." He frowned. "Can you two leave? I'm tired."

"Fine, fine...We're not insulted when you don't want to spend any time with your brothers, but we expect some answers in the morning..."

"Whatever." Estel slammed the door behind them, leaning against it and wondering how many appointments he would have to make for tomorrow morning.

TBC...

Again, even though I'm not able to respond right now, please review! I'll try to update as soon as I can.

Romen