Warning: This story should be considered AU and OOC! But, I deleted most of the story and wrote three new chapters, so I will try to bring the twins and Elrond out of OOC - status and back to normal. Although, I think this little excurse to OOC land has its merits. And, I was tired of the usual plotlines in which Aragorn comes home wounded and all mother him to no end. Elves are onlyliving beings, after all and not perfect. They have theirfailures and character issues as well. Elladan and Elrohir might have their reasons to behave as theydo, butstill, even I think they are way too OOC. But, Ikind of like it for once.And somehow I have a feeling as if you like the little OOC-scenes as well. Keep telling me what you like and what not!

°°°°° Chapter 3: Deaf ears

The first thing Aragorn became aware of upon waking, was that he was still alone. His room was silent and he could not feel the presence of someone else. When his gaze wandered to the window and the position of the sun, he saw that it was still morning, although some hours had passed since the twins had woken him.

Aragorn felt drained and utterly spend. His body had stopped trembling and his breathing and heartbeat had returned to normal, but he felt weak and cold. Painful memories came rushing back to him; he saw his brothers' faces and could hear their words in his ears; but there was not enough strength in his body left to fight these images.

Biting his lip, he slowly scrambled out of his bed and made his way over to his nightstand. One look at his back told him that indeed some of the cuts had reopened, but they had already stopped bleeding. Taking up some fresh cloths, he began to bandage his upper body, a task that he was suddenly loath to do.

But his mind was blank as he tied the bandages in place, changed his clothing and stepped out of his room. He did not know where his feet carried him, until he suddenly stood in front of Elladan's room.

Only then did Aragorn feel the urge to talk to his brothers, to tell them everything that had happened and the circumstances that had led to his wounds. They needed to understand what had happened, surely when they heard what he had to say they would think differently of the matter.

He lifted his arm to knock on the door, but before he could knock the agitated voice of his oldest brother reached his ears through the thick wood. Aragorn leaned forwards a bit to understand what was being said. He hated eavesdropping, but in this situation he could not stop himself from pressing his ear against the wood and listen.

Inside the room, Elladan paced agitatedly, while Elrohir stood near the window, arms crossed before his chest.

"Elladan, calm down. You will only rip the carpet."

"How can you be so calm, Ro? You have seen the wounds on his back! And you know what it means."

Elrohir sighed deeply, "Aye, I know. We are discussing this for hours already, brother."

"And he truly told you that he deserved the punishment?" Elladan sounded like someone who not wanted to believe what he had already been told.

Elrohir nodded solemnly, and then swallowed thickly, "He did not confess it, but his eyes belied him."

Elladan stopped in his pacing and faced his brother with an incredulous look upon his face. "He denied it?"

"Well Elladan, he did not deny it, but he did not expressly say that he deserved it either."

Elladan resumed his pacing and said agitatedly, "Never had I thought that he would become a criminal. No wonder he was loath to show us his wounds. Have we taught him nothing? Have we not time and again sat with him and told him what is right and what wrong? And here I thought our brother was a good man, a honourable man!"

"Dan, you do not know what he did. Perhaps there is an explanation for it…"

"I can tell by your voice that you do not believe that yourself, Elrohir. There are not many crimes that warrant a punishment such as that. Have you counted the welts on his back, Ro, have you?"

The younger of the twins nodded, and then gazed out of the window. "I have, and I know you have as well. It must have hurt terribly."

Elladan snorted, "He deserved it, he said so. What do you think he has done? Killed some farmers cow? Stolen some horses? Lain with someone else's wife or daughter?"

"Elladan! Listen to what your are saying! I cannot believe that our brother did such a thing."

"But you have seen the whiplashes. Fifteen, Ro. Fifteen! You do not get fifteen whiplashes for nothing!"

"I know, Dan, I know."

Silence reigned for some time, while Elrohir gazed out of the window at the snow covered forest that surrounded the valley and Elladan paced the room. Then, Elladan stopped in his pacing and looked sadly at his twin.

"I would have never thought that I would say this one day, but mayhap we have erred in our assessment of Estel. Perhaps he is not better than all the other humans out there, with the same greedy heart and weak soul. Perhaps…perhaps all the sayings about his line are true after all, and the heir of Isildur is as dark minded as his ancestor."

Elrohir could not reply to his brother's words, for his reasoned thought agreed with what Elladan had said, but his heart told him that it was not true. Sighing, he still gazed out of the window as Elladan flopped down on his bed to stare at the ceiling; both were in deep troubled thought. Inside of them, both did not truly believe that their brother had done a henious crime, but the evidence was strong.

None of them knew that their conversation had been overheard by Aragorn.

Aragorn could not believe what he had just heard, and his heart beat in denial. He leaned away from the door and fought the painful sting in his heart. Slowly, as if a heavy weight was pressing down on his shoulders, he turned and walked back to his room, where he locked the door and then sank down onto his bed.

For long moments he just sat there, staring at the wall, letting the conversation he had heard play in his mind again and again.

/And here I though our brother was a good man…/

/Lain with someone else's wife or daughter/

/…the same greedy heart and weak soul./

/…and the heir of Isildur is as dark minded as his ancestor./

Did his brothers really think he was that way, that he was a greedy and weak man, capable of all the things that they had said? All these long years, had they not been enough to show them that he was not like Isildur? All the struggles and hardships he had suffered, the pain and longing, had that not been enough to make them believe in him? Had they no trust in him? No faith?

Had it all been in vain? His years in the wild, in Rohan and Gondor, his countless years of fighting the spreading evil and the shadow of Sauron, had that not been enough to be worthy in their eyes? To earn their love?

According to their words, no, it had not been enough. It had all been in vain, for some simple marks on his back had been enough to make his brothers believe that he was a man like all others; greedy of heart and weak of soul. A mere human, a mere mortal.

Filthy, tainted, unworthy.

A sob rose unwilling in Aragorn's throat, and he did not suppress it. Why should he? Slowly, in his exhausted and hurting mind, he began to believe that perhaps his brothers were right. Perhaps he was what they claimed and even more.

Had not Rogondil tried to kill him, because he had caused his younger brother to get hurt and nearly die? The man had claimed that Aragorn was a bad Chieftain, not worthy to rule the Dunedain; that he was weak and only Chieftain by blood and not by deeds.

And Cederic, the young ranger had stolen the goods not for himself, but for his parents. But, had it not been Aragorn's decision to rest in the small village in the first place? Had he not seen that something was amiss with Cederic and had not questioned him? Was it not he who had been ignorant to the young ranger's problems? Had he paid more attention to the ranger, he surely would have seen that something was wrong and acted accordingly.

And then, when he had come home, had it not been his decision to hide his wounds? Perhaps, had he shown them from the start and explained how he came by them, his brothers would have believed him. But now that chance was inextricably lost. Elladan and Elrohir would never believe a word he said, not in a million years.

And Aragorn did not want to think about his foster father and what he would say about the wounds that marred his back. If not even the twins had faith in him and believed him, then his father would not believe his explanations either, of that Aragorn was certain.

As it seemed, all of his decisions only led to more pain and heartbreak. No matter what he did, it caused someone pain. If not even his own family had faith in him, then how could the rangers?

Another sob escaped his lips, and soon more followed, accompanied by bitter tears. He had not cried in years, but his exhaustion overrode his mind and his body tried to ease his pain on this way. And so Aragorn sat on his bed until the sun dropped behind the horizon, night settled over the elven haven and peace and quiet stole over all hearts.

But not three hurting hearts in the Last Homely House, hearts that bled in anguish, denial and uncertainty.

°°

Elrond sat at the head of the dining table and patiently awaited the arrival of his sons, so that they could enjoy supper together. To his dismay he had been busy the whole day and there had been absolutely no time to check on the twins and Aragorn, but Elrond had no doubt that his sons had found something to occupy their minds.

It felt so good to have his youngest under the roof again, and to be able to talk to him and share his company. Too long Aragorn had not been home, and Elrond had felt each day of his absence keenly. The thought of all his sons at home alone was enough to make him smile.

Sipping at his wine, he suddenly saw his twin sons enter, but when he saw the expressions on their faces, his smile faltered. Elladan and Elrohir looked …forced cheerful. The Lord of Imladris knew his sons' antics long enough to see that something was not right and that his sons were trying to hide something from him.

Wordlessly, the twins took their seats at the table, poured themselves some wine, and expertly managed to avoid their father's look. Elrond watched the spectacle for some minutes while he waited for Aragorn to appear, but when neither his third son made an appearance, nor the twins broke the stillness, he cleared his throat.

"My sons, do you have any idea where your brother is?"

Inwardly he mused that the three had managed to get themselves into some mischief during the day, and that Aragorn had blamed the twins for one prank or another. And now they were trying to hide the damage from their father; probably Aragorn was still busy clearing up the mess.

Elrohir sipped at his wine and answered his father's question with an emotionless voice, "Maybe he is not hungry."

Elrond's eyebrow rose at that statement. "Not hungry? He looks starved, and even the little he ate yesterday evening was hard for him to keep down. He missed breakfast already, surely he must be hungry by now."

This time it was Elladan who answered curtly, "Perhaps he has already eaten?"

Elrond did not miss the look that Elrohir gave his brother, but there was no point in arguing the topic at the moment. Aragorn was a grown man and knew when supper was served in his home. If he was not present at the table, perhaps the man was really not hungry.

Sighing, Elrond gestured at the plates of food, "I think we should start, then. The meal is becoming cold."

Supper was a quiet affair, too quiet for Elrond's liking. Always when Aragorn was at home, dinner was a loud and cheerful thing; they would talk and bicker, smile and laugh. And furthermore, the absence of his youngest child worried Elrond, as he could not truly believe that Aragorn would miss supper with his family.

During the meal, the twins had not spoken a word on their own account and the short answers Elrond had received upon his questions, had frustrated him. After supper, Elladan and Elrohir had excused themselves, saying that they had some important things to discuss about their next patrol.

Now more certain than ever that something was amiss, Elrond made his way to Aragorn's room. Whatever the twins had done to him and how bad the prank had been, surely it was not so bad as to keep a grudge all evening long and miss the songs in the Halls of Fire and the company of his family and friends.

Stopping in front of the closed door, he knocked and waited for an answer. When he heard nothing, he knocked a second time, "Estel, are you in there?"

Elrond heard a shuffling behind the door, and then the unmistakable sound of the key being turned in the lock reached his ears. But he had only one moment to wonder about the fact that his son would lock his door in his own home, before the door opened before him and he stood face to face with Aragorn.

The room behind the man was dark; no candles had been lit and no fire burned in the hearth. Instead, a window had been opened, letting the cold night air enter and fill the room. When Aragorn took a step back, Elrond entered and scanned the room quickly.

The bed sheets were untidy, blankets and pillows strewn over the bed; clothing had been thrown over the back of a stool and an assortment of cloths and herbs lay on the bedside table, but otherwise the room looked as it usually did. There was no sign of a prank or ill gone joke, and Elrond once again wondered what had occurred to garner the sour mood of all his children.

Because, one look at Aragorn told him that the man was in no good mood; the dark circles under his eyes were even more prominent, and the paleness of the skin had not changed much either.

Turning towards his son who was in this moment moving the door so that it stood slightly ajar, Elrond sighed deeply, "Estel, what happened? And don't tell me you know not of what I am speaking, for I have eyes to see." His tone was not reprimanding, but held an amused shimmer; Elrond still believed that his sons were begrudged over a prank. For, what else could have happened?

Aragorn thought his hearing failed him as he detected the amused fibre in his father's voice. By now he was sure that the twins had told Elrond about his wounds and the reason for them, but the elf Lord did not act as if he knew. Was it possible? Had the twins not told him about it, leaving this gruesome task for him to do?

Aragorn swallowed and then answered, "You do not know? Have the twins not told you?"

A chuckle came from Elrond, and then he said, "Well, as it seems your brothers are either too shy to tell me or too afraid. So, would you perhaps enlighten an old elf?"

Aragorn did not know what to say. He felt that his father was not playing with him, but that he had truly no idea what had happened. Should he tell him then, and spare him from finding out via the twins? Would his father believe him if he told him?

As it seemed his inner struggle had been visible on his face, or he had simply been silent for too long, but Elrond took a step closer and eyed him carefully.

"Estel, what is it? What happened?"

Suddenly, a gruff voice sounded from behind Aragorn, and he needed not turn to identify the owner, Elladan.

"A good question, is it not?"

Confused, Elrond looked first at Elladan and Elrohir who stood in the doorway, and then back at Aragorn, who had not moved an inch.

"Elladan, what are you talking about?"

The oldest of the three brothers stepped into the room and gestured at Aragorn, "Let him tell you. Or even better, let him show you."

Behind Elladan, Elrohir entered the room, and after closing the door behind him, went to the drawer and lit some candles. The small flames dipped the room into a soft orange glow, but it did not help to lighten the tension that suddenly hung thick in the air.

As it seemed, Elladan was quite agitated, and when Aragorn did not answer him, indeed, did nothing but stand motionless between his father and brother, Elladan snapped, "What? Are you such a coward that you dare not tell him? Yes? Shall I?"

Turning and facing his enraged brother, Aragorn tried once again to explain, "Let me explain, Elladan, please, it is not as you think it is."

But his brother only snorted and then spat, "Oh, and how is it then? I saw what I saw, and not even you can talk yourself out of this one."

Elrond had seen and heard enough; taking a step towards his sons, he said in a deep voice, "Elladan, Estel, what is this all about? I want an explanation, now."

Without letting his human brother out of his eyes, Elladan asked bitterly, "Shall I tell ada about your new career, or will you? But I bet you are too cowardly to tell him, let alone show him."

Elladan himself could not say where his anger came from, but in this very moment it felt so very good to let go of it. He did not truly see the hurt look that crossed his human brother's face, or that Aragorn's face blanched more with every word that he spoke. He did not see the small tremors that wracked Aragorn's body, or the red eyes of his brother that spoke of a very painful day. All he saw was his human brother, who he himself had helped raise and in who he had placed so much trust and faith, and who had now failed him and betrayed all that was worthy to him.

Elrond's voice filled the room, "Show me what, Elladan? Estel?"

Aragorn did not look at his father, or brother for that matter, as he slowly reached for his tunic and then lifted the fabric far enough to expose the bandages that wound around his upper body.

As he had thought he would, Elrond gasped and stepped closer, intent on helping his son and tending to his wounds. But before the elf Lord could reach him, Aragorn let go of his tunic and it fell back in place, hiding the bandages from view once more. Elladan's voice was cold as he said,

"There is no need to tend to him, ada. He says he has deserved his punishment and he should bear it as a reminder of what he has done."

So hurtful were the words, that Aragorn felt his blood turn cold in his veins. But what was even more horrible to him, were the guarded words of his foster father.

"Punishment? What do you mean, Elladan?"

A snort escaped the twin and then Elladan answered his father, "Have you not heard yet, ada? Out foster brother has become a common criminal, and he has been caught and punished for his crime, whatever it was."

No! All inside of Aragorn wanted to tell his brother the truth, tell him what had truly happened, "Dan, please, let me…"

"No! I do not want to hear what you have to say, for it will be naught but lies. Tell me, for how long already do you tread the path of darkness instead of light? Have we taught you nothing? Do you hold us and what he believe in such little regard that you forfeit it as soon as you step outside of this house?"

Elladan was fuming, he had clenched his hands into fists and he seemed barely able to control himself. He gave Aragorn another angry stare, and then bolted from the room. Elrohir watched his brother leave, but did not follow yet. He wanted to hear what his father had to say, and deep inside he could still not believe that his younger brother had turned into a criminal.

The mighty Lord of Imladris locked his eyes with his human son, and then he asked quietly, "Is what your brother claims true? Do these bandages veil the marks of a crime sentence?"

The question itself could only lead him deeper into despair, but Aragorn answered nevertheless, feeling the urge to tell his father the truth, "Yes, they do. But…"

He never had the chance of finishing his sentence, as Elrond suddenly took a step backwards, and his eyes turned such a shade of dark brown as Aragorn had never seen before. All the warmth and love they usually held fled them and were replaced by disbelief and disappointment. And something more could be seen in those ancient eyes, hurt and scorning contempt.

"Enough! I do not wish to hear more, Aragorn."

A sob wanted to escape Aragorn's lips, but he kept it inside. He had not missed the exchange of names his father now used, and it hurt him deeply. But still, once more he tried to plead his case and let his father see what had truly happened to scar him thus, "Please, let me explain."

"There is nothing to explain. I know what one has to do to deserve the punishment of your kin."

Elrond stood there for a moment, disbelief and disgust fighting in his heart, but he could not shake the picture of Aragorn's tightly bandaged chest out of his mind, and he knew what it meant.

Letting his head hang, finally unable to argue any longer, Aragorn said softly, "I will leave immediately if you so wish, but I would ask you of the favour to let me stay till morn, for the snow is still deep and the night dark."

Gazing at the man who stood before him, Elrond said, his voice void of all outward emotion, "Stay as long as you wish. Perhaps it would be best to stay as long as you had initially planned, for your rangers will otherwise surely search for you." And in his thoughts he added 'and I have no wish to see them here in Imladris, not now.'

And with that, Elrond, confused and slightly dazzled, turned and left the room, making his way to his study, hurt and anger welling inside his heart at the open display of broken loyalty and honour towards himself and his house he had just seen.

Aragorn could not move. His father's word still echoed in his ears, heard but not truly registered. How had it come to all of this? His wounded back hurt whenever he drew a shaking breath, but it was nothing compared to the ache in his heart.

Soft footsteps reached his ears and he felt Elrohir's eyes on him, but he did not lift his gaze, and so he listened unmoving as his brother left his room and closed the door behind him with a soft click.

And in that moment, Aragorn felt his entire world crumple; his family, all that he held dear, had turned from him, to leave him alone and bereft of all warmth and love. He was utterly alone in a world that had once been so familiar to him, but that now moved out of his control.

And Aragorn fell to his knees as his legs were unable to hold his weight any longer, but tears would not come as he had spent them all before. So he sat there for a long time, battling his emotions and trying to figure out if he should stay in Imladris or leave to venture out into a world, that suddenly looked brighter than his own home, despite the dangers that lurked there.

Tbc...

So, what do you say? Please, keep telling me, I need your support with this story! Tell me what you like, and what not. It will help me to finish the last two chapters.