Chapter Eleven

Different Paths

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Aragorn awoke, wondering for a moment where he was. He felt a hand on his chest and looked down to see a beautiful elf lying against him…

Aragorn smiled slightly at the sight of him. Legolas had saved Aragorn's life the night before, all because he loved him and didn't want him to get hurt anymore…

He stirred, blinked a few times to clear his eyes, a puzzled look on his face, then looked up at Aragorn and smiled.

"Good morning."

Aragorn chuckled slightly at his cheerfulness.

"Good morning to you too."

Legolas yawned, and sat up, stretching himself out almost like a cat, revealing his slim muscular torso beneath his untied tunic.

"If I have this to look forward to every morning, I greatly look forward to them." Said Aragorn, a sly smile on his face.

Legolas stopped mid-stretch, and looked down at his bare skin, and blushed slightly.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it, because it will be the last time for quite a while." He said playfully, doing up the front of his shirt as he did.

Aragorn sat up too, and kissed him lightly before standing up and stretching slightly himself.

"We should change that bandage on your shoulder. And find you a new shirt."

Legolas stood up and began to take out his gauze and wraps. Aragorn sat back down on the edge of the bed, contented to watch him for the moment. After he had gotten his supplies out he dumped them out on the bed, and crossed to the wardrobe. He rummage around the drawers for a few moments, then pulled out a silver grey tunic. He crossed back to the bed and sat down next to him.

"Take off your shirt."

"What?"

"You heard me, take it off…or I will be forced to cut it off of you."

Aragorn stared at the serious look on Legolas's face and did as he was told, stripping the shirt off carefully, so as not to touch his still sore shoulder. There was blood beginning to soak through the outside of the bandage now, and as Legolas began to peel it off he

grimaced.

"It seems to be healing quite well…I'll just clean it some, then bandage it again and make you a sling, so it will have less stress put on it."

Aragorn nodded, and watched intently as he cleaned the stitches, checking them for signs of infection. He cleaned them carefully, causing less than an expression to cross Aragorn's face. As soon as he was done, he wrapped his arm and shoulder up in clean gauze and dressings. Then he helped Aragorn put his shirt on over top, and then made a cloth sling for his arm, making it so he would not move his arm much, or reopen the stitches.

"You are healing fast, you should be better in no time at all."

Aragorn stood up, pulling him up with him.

"Thank you."

Legolas just smiled, and returned to the wardrobe, fully redressing himself in what seemed to be more casual military attire. He turned to Aragorn, an almost sad look in his eyes. Then he turned away and sighed, softly muttering something in the elven language.

"What are you saying?"

"Hmmm?"

"When you speak in that language…what are you saying?"

Legolas smiled again, but it did not chase the look from his eyes.

"Would you like me to teach you?"

Aragorn crossed to him, kissing him lightly upon reaching him.

"I would love it."

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Legolas was just beginning to feel happy again, safe in Aragorn's arms, when a knock came at the door. He looked at the door, and then back at Aragorn, who had a startled look in his eyes.

"Go sit on the edge of the bed, and act like we barley know each other…just in case it is someone we don't know."

Aragorn nodded and did as he was told, perching himself lightly on the edge of the bed. Legolas composed himself for a moment, then crossed to the door and opened it.

Haldir and Elrohir stood in the doorway, grim looks on their faces.

(Haldir, what are you doing here so early?)

(We came to see you.) piped in Elrohir, stepping in front of Haldir.

Legolas eyed the pair for a moment, and then he opened the door, admitting them into his room, closing the door firmly behind them.

"Take seat." He said, motioning to the chairs that sat in one corner of the room.

But neither of them responded. He looked at them strangely, then followed their fixed gaze, and saw Aragorn, who was staring back at them with equal shock.

(What is he doing here?) asked Haldir incredulously.

"He is under my care…where else would he be?"

Haldir gave him a strange look.

(You came back to the hall covered in his blood; we all thought you had nearly killed him…)

Legolas sighed.

"Two things. One, if there is anything you wish to say to me, you can say it in the common tongue, and in front of Aragorn. You can trust him. Second, the reason his blood was on me was I had to perform an emergency field surgery to remove the remnants of the arrow in his shoulder before infection set in."

"Oh…umm… Well, yes, of course…" said Haldir haltingly.

"So what did you come to see me for?" he said, motioning to the chairs again, and sitting in one himself.

The two sat, the grim looks coming back again.

"You said last night that you knew of someone else I would have saved…who is it?"

Legolas looked at him for a moment, then sat back and sighed.

"There were two people. One of the two was under your very nose, the other, not a few halls away…"

He looked at Elrohir penetratingly.

"The one was your sister, Arwen. She was the dark haired slave you met in Aragorn's quarters at the palace. The other was your twin brother, Elladan, who is in the care of another lord."

Elrohir sat still as stone, a shocked look plastering his face.

"His sister is still alive? I thought she had been murdered along with the lady Galadriel." Said Haldir, a puzzled look on his face from this new revelation.

"So did I, until I was sold with his brother, and then met the Lady Arwen…"

"I must save them."

Legolas looked at Elrohir, who was now staring at his palms, a sad look on his face.

"I left them behind…I was so concerned with getting the two of you out that I barley recognized my own sister…my own flesh and blood…" he looked up, his melancholy showing painfully clear to his companions. "It is my responsibility to go back and free them from their chains…along with anyone else that I can save."

"No. It is too dangerous for us to go back. If we do we could be caught, and then flogged, tortured for information, then murdered in cold blood for escape!"

Haldir cuffed the younger elf's head for his stupidity.

"Ouch! What are you talking about?"

"Be easy with him Varin. He had never been a slave before, so how could he know the consequences?" said Aragorn, rising from his spot on the bed.

Haldir glared at Aragorn.

"Now that I am no longer a slave, or yours for that matter, I would prefer it if you did not call me that."

"Then what shall I call you?"

Legolas sighed, then got up and gripped the back of his chair, leaning over it.

"Please do not squabble like children. Aragorn, his name is Haldir. And the other twin is Elrohir."

"What do you think you are doing!"

"Avoiding an unnecessary conflict, which you are running headlong into. Now sit down and be calm. I told you that you can trust him."

Haldir glared at the both of them, but did as he was told.

"As I was going to say," Aragorn continued with a slight smile, "I know a way to get you into the palace safely, and back out."

They all stared at him in disbelief.

"It is just a simple mater of drafting a letter to my father, saying that we are nearly to Rohan, and that I am in need of my other slaves…all you have to do is go in the palace, and find Nerin and Aphara, and then walk back out…as for your brother...I'm sorry to say that as far as he is concerned, you are on your own."

Elrohir eyed him suspiciously.

"It is a wonderful plan…but you are willing to risk being called a traitor to help out our rebellion?"

"I have good reason to."

Legolas felt himself blush slightly…he knew what Aragorn's good reason was…but he did not let on to the others that he did know, or that he was the reason.

Elrohir studied Aragorn for a moment, and then nodded.

"Let us get stared then. We have no time to lose."

"I will not be going with you…you must go back on your own."

"Why?"

"I must go to Rohan, and have the King draft a letter to my father as well, so it does not look like I have dropped of the face of the earth."

He looked round at them all, his eyes coming to rest on Legolas.

"But it would be better, and more convincing, if one of you were to come with me to Rohan."

Legolas remained silent for a few moments, waiting to see if either of the others would respond. Haldir did first, much to his surprise.

"I suggest that Legolas go with you, Aragorn. I will accompany Elrohir back to Gondor…I will not risk him going alone, and it will look much less suspicious if I, your most faithful servant, went back with him. People would be less likely to question the two of us."

"Good thinking Haldir." Said Legolas, smiling slightly at what he knew to be his friend's purposeful suggestion.

"I will start drafting the letter. You had all better start preparing for the journeys ahead…we must set out at first light tomorrow, and not a moment sooner…we have no time to lose."

Aragorn crossed the room, and seated himself at the writing desk next to the bed. Legolas turned to his companions and smiled.

"So be it…get going lads…we have a lot of work to do, and no time to do it in."

They both nodded, and began to retreat out the door.

"And one of you had better tell Elrond!" he called after their retreating backs.

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Aragorn flourished the last letter of his signature, pleased with the out come of the letter.

"Done!" he pronounced, his satisfaction evident.

He felt Legolas come up behind him, slipping his arms under his and placing his hands on his shoulders, pulling them close together.

"They will be ensured safe passage now, if they do not cause to much trouble with Faramir."

"Hopefully they will not. I want them all back here in one piece." Said Legolas with a small laugh. He hugged Aragorn closer, putting his chin on top of his shoulder.

Aragorn put his good arm above his head and pulled Legolas around, both of them laughing, to sit on his lap. Legolas put his arms lightly around Aragorn's neck, leaning up against him, and he put his arms around his waist, pulling him closer.

Aragorn lifted Legolas's chin, looking deep into his silvery eyes.

"I want you to be free, Legolas. I know you now…and if the others are anything like you…I never want to see them in chains again."

Legolas smiled, a beautiful smile that lit up his whole face.

"There are many reasons I love you Aragorn, and that is one of them."

He kissed him lightly, then got up and crossed to the other side of the room, to continue packing. Aragorn stared after him a moment, then turned back to the writing desk and began to draft a second letter, one that he hoped would smooth the road further for his elven friends.

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