"These men will not harm you, Legolas. They fear to fall out of Strider's good graces," Elladan said and moved to sit on the other cot.
"I am not sure that I understand."
"Strider gives out his aid freely. His friendship is harder to earn but he will go through Mordor for his friends. He gives his love to those who deserve it," Elladan said softly as he looked at his friend.
"Why do you call him Strider?"
Elladan faintly smiled before answering. "He has many names that he goes by. Around this area he is called Strider; at home he is Estel; he never uses his real name for his own protection."
"It is that bad?"
"He is the descendant of Isildur; what do you think? Anything with ties to Sauron will want him dead in the most painful ways," Elladan replied and stood from the cot.
He pushed back both flaps of the tent's entrance to allow the sunlight in and turned to Legolas.
"I am going to greet some old friends. You have no need to be wary here, Legolas."
Legolas watched as Elladan crossed the camp and greeted a man with a tight hug. The two warriors talked while a little girl tugged on Elladan's hand for attention. Not breaking the flow of conversation, Elladan bent and picked up the little girl. He tossed the child into the air effortlessly and caught the squealing child before tickling her. Looking past the elf, Legolas saw Strider leaning over a makeshift table with a map and his human friend beside him. The two men talked and pointed occasionally at the map but they spoke too softly for him to hear even with elven hearing. Shifting his elbow out from under him, Legolas laid back and clasped his fingers over his stomach before he drifted into a light sleep.
(I)(I)(I)
Legolas sensed more that heard Elrohir enter the tent and kneel by the cot. The Noldor elf waited patiently as Legolas rose from the elven rest and blinked a few times.
"Come, Legolas, dinner is almost ready and the Rangers would like to meet the new elven friend of Strider's."
Elrohir must have seen the slight flash of panic dance through Legolas' eyes for he reached out and gently squeezed his shoulder.
"Elladan or I will be with you until you are comfortable with the men. And the men know that some elves are not comfortable around humans so they will give you some space."
Elrohir stood back and let Legolas rise to his feet unaided. The ankle was bound with a strip of cloth but it was for support until the ankle was completely healed. The Noldor elf held back the tent flap to let Legolas through first and quickly followed. Legolas was comforted to have Elrohir's presence at his shoulder as he looked at the sea of humans. Thankfully, none of the adults turned to look at the new arrival but several of the children outright stared at the blond haired elf. The children, Legolas did not mind, but the adults he was wary of. Many of them were in small groups talking animatedly and laughing often. Legolas followed Elrohir to a group that contained Halbarad, Strider's second in command.
"Ah, Master Elf, you have finally joined us," Halbarad said and bowed.
"Halbarad, this is our good friend Legolas. Legolas, this unfortunate soul to be Strider's second is Halbarad. And this lovely lady is his wife, Brema, and their daughter Angelina," Elrohir introduced and tickled the little girl's chin to induce a giggle.
"Greetings, Lord Legolas, and please ignore this fool of an elf. He does not have a clear head on those shoulders of his."
"Most will claim that he never possessed a clear head," Legolas said and glanced at Elrohir as everyone laughed.
Legolas was slowly feeling at ease around these humans as he chuckled at his joke. Elrohir was chuckling and shaking his head before gently shoving his friend aside.
"Remember, I know where you sleep, elf," he threatened but he was smiling.
"All empty threats."
"I am sure there are plenty of stories about the twins and Strider that I would love to hear but I should check on Larimer. He has a tendency to over-cook the meat…well, he pretty much over does everything but that is not the point. I shall return," Halbarad said and kissed Brema on the cheek before leaving.
Brema watched as her husband moved through the crowd before sighing. "He is such a fool but I love him."
"I thought that Rangers' families do not usually travel with the Rangers?" Legolas asked as Brema turned back to the blond haired elf.
"Normally, we do not but rarely do we designate a few days for all the families to meet once again. It helps to keep the Rangers' spirits up whenever we can meet. And we are allowed to catch up with friends and our husbands," Brema said and glanced around. "Look around you. These women are overwhelmed by seeing their husbands. The men have tears in their eyes when their children yell 'Daddy' and hug them. It gives them reason to live."
Legolas did glance around and looked at the surrounding humans. Many had their families close to them and loving glances were passed between wife and husband. He saw loving families, not the type of men that held him or he had heard about in Mirkwood.
The human suddenly started to slowly move I one direction as Legolas looked to Elrohir.
"Food must be ready," he said simply.
Legolas could smell delectable scents as he moved towards the large fire where he could see three large suckling pigs on spits above the fire. A few women were uncovering some bundles from the embers and carefully pulled a few leaves away to reveal vegetables and potatoes. There were other mixtures that appeared from around the camp as tin dishes stated to appear. A plate was suddenly in Legolas' hands and he looked to Elrohir who grinned at him.
"The food is good; I promise."
Legolas raised an eyebrow at the Noldor elf and turned when Elladan suddenly appeared at his side. His eyes were bright and he was smiling.
"I miss evenings like this. All of the food I have seen and smelled could rival those at Rivendell and Mirkwood combined," he said as they reached the collection of food.
Elrohir and Legolas were amazed at the amount of food scattered down the tables. They filled their plates with a small bit of everything before locating a seat on the fallen log. Aragorn was already seated next to Halbarad but lacked a plate as he glanced up when his brothers approached with Legolas.
"Where is your food, Strider?" Elrohir asked and sat on the ground next to Strider and leaned back against the log.
"I will wait until everyone goes through," he replied and sipped for a mug that smelled of ale.
"Is this going to be one large drinking fest like last time?" Elladan asked before taking a bite of food.
"Last time? If my memory serves me correctly, Elladan, it was you who won the drinking contest and yet had one of the worst hangovers the next morning. And when I came to wake you and opened your tent, you threatened to make me physically useless to Arwen." Aragorn leaned forward to look over to Elladan. "Or am I mistaken?"
Elladan visibly blushed and everyone laughed as they picked at their food.
"Aye, and he claimed that we tricked him," Halbarad laughed as Legolas chuckled at the jesting relationship.
"Yes, well, you are certainly not going to trick me again like last time," Elladan said with a stern face before he smiled.
"Do you also hail from Rivendell, Lord Legolas?" Halbarad asked once the laughter stopped.
"Nay, Master Ranger, I am from Mirkwood, King Thranduil's realm," Legolas answered and saw Halbarad nod.
"We have dealt with some elves from Mirkwood before at Lake Town. We happened to stop by for supplies while they were there trading; very honorable elves and great warriors."
Legolas was mildly surprised at the human's comments. He knew that most elves saw humans as barbaric and almost uncivilized. He also assumed that humans had a similar dislike of elves with their own reasons. To learn that humans actually respected elves was a new point of view for Legolas.
"Aye, Mirkwood elves are great warriors. I would certainly not want to be on one's bad side and possibly die," Aragorn said and Legolas sensed that it was directed at him.
Elladan glanced to Elrohir before looking at his adopted brother.
"Strider, the line has eased; go and get some food."
Whacking his brother over his head, Aragorn stood and walked towards the collection of food. No one spoke while Aragorn was gone and they just ate their food. Halbarad was watching Aragorn closely when he came back with a full plate.
"Earlier when I asked, you said you would tell me later. Now I ask you again. Why are you limping and why is your thigh wrapped?" Halbarad asked as Aragorn slowly sat.
"It is not wrapped."
"Yes, it is; I can see the extra thickness."
Aragorn avoided Legolas' gaze and looked to Halbarad. "On my way here I followed the river and the ground was weaker than I believed. My horse slipped and we both fell into the river. Something gouged my thigh and I roughly bandaged it before moving on. I met with Elladan, Elrohir and Legolas and they bandaged me up."
"I swear we can not leave you anywhere unattended. You always seem to attract trouble," Halbarad said exasperatedly.
Aragorn stared at Legolas before turning his gaze to Halbarad with a smirk.
"You are right, Halbarad. I always seem to attract the worst type of trouble," he chuckled and looked up as Brema appeared behind Halbarad.
"There you are you big lug. Angelina said she saw you over here with these misfits." She turned to look at Aragorn while resting her hands on Halbarad's shoulders. "I certainly hope you are not corrupting him after I finally got him trained."
"My lady, I am corrupting him only as good as I was corrupted by my brothers. If you have any issues with it then take it up with those two," Aragorn said and pointed to Elladan and Elrohir.
Everyone laughed as the twins stuck their tongues out at Aragorn. Legolas was amazed at how relaxed Elladan and Elrohir were around the human they called their brother. They seemed much younger and free spirited than Legolas ever remembered seeing him.
Brema leaned down and kissed Halbarad. "Do not forget to kiss Angelina good night. And do not stay up too late; I want to spend some uninterrupted time alone with my husband."
"I will be sure to send him to bed early, Brema," Aragorn smiled as the woman straightened.
"And then I can prove to you just how corrupted I am," Halbarad said and reached up to slap Brema's ample rear.
"Halbarad, not in front of the guests," she scolded but a smile tugged at her lips.
"As if they will not hear us tonight," he joked before she walked off.
All the elves were blushing but no one as red as Legolas. These things were just not spoken out loud in Mirkwood even though it was a known fact. Aragorn was smiling and laughing as Halbarad winked at him. The two men were extremely open with each other and at ease about any topic. Halbarad stood with reason to put his daughter to bed and the group of four alone. The food had been cleared away and many of the men and families had already gone to bed while others silently patrolled the camp's perimeter. Many of the fires were out except a scattered few and the one before the twins, Legolas and Aragorn. The group was silent as they stared at the fire and flames that licked at the night sky.
"I remember the last time the Rangers got together like this. It was about six years ago," Elrohir said softly as Aragorn slowly lifted his cup.
"Nay, it was seven," Aragorn said and sipped the liquid.
"Seven?"
"Aye. Sebile had just been born and Mesin brought him. Sebile just celebrated his seventh birthday a few days ago from what Halbarad told me."
"What happened to them?" Legolas asked and saw Aragorn's face twitch in pain.
"Mesin was killed by orcs a few days after Sebile was born seven years ago. He had been such a proud father when he showed everyone his son," Aragorn murmured and stared into the fire.
It fell silent again until Aragorn looked up to see Halbarad moving quickly towards him. Aragorn sat up as Halbarad bent to speak to his leader. Before Legolas could blink, Aragorn's mug was cast aside and he was on his feet leaving the fire's circle of light. A moment later Elladan and Elrohir were following him and Legolas had to move quickly to catch up to the four. The shadows were deeper into the trees as they moved farther away from any of the few fires left around camp. Legolas soon saw a young man who couldn't be much older than two and twenty years; but it was hard for Legolas to estimate a human's age.
"Girath, what is wrong?" Aragorn asked softly as he approached the young man.
Before he could answer, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slowly started to crumble. Aragorn's long legs ate up the ground and he caught the young man in his arms before gently lowering him to the ground. He quickly searched for wounds and his hands touched warn blood. Without a word, he slipped his arms behind the boy's back and under his knees. Aragorn stood without help and quickly moved back towards the center of camp.
"Elrohir." The younger twin was beside Aragorn before the name had faded from his lip. "Hurry to my tent and lay out my herbs. You know what I will probably need."
Elrohir ran past Aragorn as everyone followed behind the man. Legolas watched Aragorn's strong back and how he never once faltered even with the thigh wound. Every moment Legolas found something new to respect about the man. Every one of his preconceived notions about humans was being wiped away. And all by this one human.
The tent flap was open and a small fire was burning with a pot of water heating. Aragorn ducked into the tent and gently laid Girath onto a small cot. Halbarad helped Aragorn remove the boy's coat and tunic to reveal the wounds.
"None of these wounds are serious. Why did he pass out?" Halbarad asked quietly and stepped back to let Aragorn clean the wounds.
"You are correct, they are not serious and there looks to be no massive blood loss. I would assume exhaustion for there are dark bags under his eyes," Aragorn said and motioned towards the young boy's face.
"Did he have anything with him?" Elladan asked and Halbarad paused for a moment.
"I do not think so but I can not be sure. He told me that he needed to speak with Strider and it was an emergency. He would not answer any of my questions until he spoke to Strider."
"Elladan, check and see if he dropped something or how he got to camp. He should not even be here," Aragorn muttered and tossed aside a bloody strip of cloth.
"He is right," Halbarad agreed. "Girath and his father had gone home for his sister's wedding."
"I will see what I can find, Estel."
Elladan left the tent without a sound and Elrohir appeared with a small bowl. He handed the bowl to Aragorn and then collected some bandages.
"Halbarad, perhaps you could fix a plate of food for Girath for when he awakens. He will probably be hungry."
The other man nodded and left the tent as Elrohir helped Aragorn with the wounds. Legolas stood quietly at the edge of the tent as Aragorn gently spread the paste onto the wounds. Elrohir saw the movement first and his hands stilled.
"Legolas, come and hold him down until we finish," Elrohir said softly as he glanced up to his friend.
Legolas paused for a moment before moving to the top of the cot. He gently pressed down on the young boy's shoulders and watched as his eyes fluttered before opening. A groan escaped the pale lips and his body jerked when the paste was spread into a deep wound.
"Strider," Girath mumbled and Aragorn handed the bowl to Elrohir before moving closer to the top of the cot.
"Rest east, Girath. I am here and you are safe," Aragorn whispered as the boy's eyes slowly opened.
"Strider…I finally reached…you."
"Rest Girath, you-"
"No…I must tell you…he is hunting…f-for you. He holds…the t-town…hostage," he muttered and Aragorn's eyes narrowed.
"Who, Girath?"
"Nasin…Nasin hunts you."
The name had an affect that none expected. Aragorn jerked back in shock and would have fallen if his hand didn't hit the floor quick enough to brace himself. His face paled and the elves knew there was a bad story coming.
(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)
Thank you everyone for waiting so patiently for this chapter. Life is just so hectic right now and I just have had no drive to write. I will send the reviewer responses out by email, if I can. When you review please put in your email address so I can respond. Till next update.