Hey everyone! I'm sure you all saw that this website had problems yesterday, so I was unable to post. Here it is now, though, so enjoy! Only one chapter left after this one, but never fear, there are more to come!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Aragorn and the dwarves arrived back at the Inn, they got many curious stares—the dwarves both looked bedraggled, and when the people saw the unconscious elf, a few of them asked if they needed help.

Aragorn refused, thanking them for their concern as he entered the Inn and brought Legolas up to his room. Gently laying the elf down, he removed Legolas' wet shirt and frowned at the bruises adorning his torso. He carefully rolled his friend onto his side, to find that his back was bruised just as badly. He sighed and looked at the dwarves, wanting to ensure that they saw the damage that they'd inflicted on the Mirkwood Prince.

Jari and Bari both echoed the sigh, not meeting Aragorn's eyes.

The human changed Legolas into nightclothes, finding that bruises covered most of his body. Legolas was lucky that only his arm had been broken, but there was no real way for Aragorn to be sure if any of his bones had hairline fractures.

The dwarves pulled chairs up beside the bed and awaited the elf's awakening, desperate to apologize.

It wasn't until evening when Legolas woke, and he blinked his eyes open with a groan. A hand touched his right arm, and a voice said, "Do not move, Legolas."

The elf looked at Aragorn, who smiled. Legolas said nothing at first, blinking his eyes and looking around the room. "I am no longer inside the barrel!" he exclaimed.

Aragorn shook his head.

Legolas sighed with relief, closing his eyes. "How did I get inside it? Who did that to me?"

A new voice spoke, and Legolas turned his head towards it.

"We…ah…put you in it," said Jari.

Legolas blinked at the dwarves, frowning. He seemed speechless.

"It was done in jest!" Bari told him. "We returned to the lake at dawn to let you out, but found that the rope had broken!"

"Rope?" Legolas echoed, finding his voice.

"The rope that tied the barrel to a tree."

Legolas stared at them, completely shocked. "You put me inside a barrel, tied it to a tree, and left it floating?"

The dwarves nodded.

Legolas glared at the dwarves, making them squirm. "You have not yet told me why."

"O-our father was one of the dwarves that were imprisoned by your father all those years ago," said Bari, nervously.

"He and the others with him escaped in barrels," Jari said.

Legolas' angry expression changed. "And this was your way of getting revenge?" he asked, sounding hurt.

"No! Not revenge," said Jari. "We have no anger for what happened, and neither does our father. It was a jest. We came to let you out a few hours later, but the barrel was gone!"

Legolas stared at them silently for a minute, before closing his eyes with a sigh. "You win, Aragorn."

The human blinked, not understanding the sudden odd statement. "What?"

"Do you not recall?" Legolas asked, smiling slightly. "Last year, the twins were recollecting old times when we'd almost gotten killed for ridiculous reasons. I jested that it probably would not be long before it happened again—since we get into so much trouble!—and you said that it happens to me most and if it occurred again, I would surely be the unfortunate victim."

"Ah, yes!" Aragorn said. "I remember indeed, and I must say that I am not surprised at all!"

Legolas rolled his eyes.

The human smiled slightly as he walked over to the table of herbs, leaving the dwarves 'alone' with the elf.

"How long was I in the barrel?" Legolas asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Ah…" said Jari, nervously. "About...ah...fifteen or sixteen hours."

Legolas' eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He blinked his eyes and shook his head, looking away from them.

The dwarves looked at the floor, sighing in unison.

"How do you feel?" Jari asked, awkwardly.

Legolas almost said 'fine', out of habit, but he decided to tell the truth, hoping that it would teach them a lesson. "I feel as if I went over a waterfall in a barrel."

Aragorn hadn't expected that answer, and he unintentionally snorted, attempting to cover it up by clearing his throat.

"Is the pain very bad?" Bari asked, sounding sad.

"In some places," Legolas admitted.

The dwarves were quiet after that, not knowing what else to say.

"This will help," said Aragorn, returning with a cup. He helped Legolas sit up, carefully trying to not cause more pain to his terrible bruises.

Legolas drank it, nearly inhaling the first sip when his back vehemently protested Aragorn's touch. The amount of pain surprised him, and he realized that he was very lucky to have not broken his back.

Aragorn saw what happened and pulled the cup away before Legolas could choke. He fed it to the elf slowly, laying him down again as gently as possible.

Legolas took a deep breath, wincing. He was in more pain now than he'd been in when he got out of the barrel, and he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for the next few days; until the invisible oliphaunt decided to get off him.

"We are so very sorry!" Jari exclaimed, as he and his brother watched the elf's face pale even more than it was already.

Legolas made no reply, unable to as the herbs sent him into welcome sleep.

TBC :)