Alright, this may be confusing...LoL

This is chapter 4b, so the alternative version of chapter 4. I post this first and not chapter 5, because chapter 5 can be read after reading chapter 4 (a) and 4b. So, the order is either: Chapter 1,2,3,4,5 or Chapter 1,2,3,4b,5. I hope that makes it clearer...

Chapter 4b "Learning the truth" (alternative version)

On the fourth day, although Aragorn did not know that it was indeed the fourth day after the confrontation with his family, someone knocked lightly on his door, almost too soft to be heard by mortal ears.

The sound did not lift him from his stupor and he did not answer. Another knock and still no answer. Then, the door opened slowly with a soft creaking sound, and then the fair voice of Elrohir floated into the room.

"Estel?"

Aragorn heard the voice, but his mind told him that he was only dreaming, that it could not be his brother who had come, and if he truly had come, than only to tell him that he should finally leave Imladris, because he no longer had a place in the Last Homely House. And so Aragorn unconsciously ignored the voice and let himself drift deeper into the void that loomed in his heart.

Elrohir peered into the half lit room, the curtains were nearly closed and only a tiny shimmer of light entered. With his keen eyesight he saw Aragorn lay motionless on the huge bed, and for a moment he asked himself whether it had been a good idea to come. But then his heart overrode his mind and he entered, closing the door behind him.

The figure on the bed faced away from him, seemingly gazing through the gap in the curtains upon the world outside. Advancing on the bed, the younger twin gently set down the tray with food and tea he carried on a wooden bench that stood at the end of the bed, and then gazed down at his brother.

Aragorn's eyes were open, but he did not look at him. Pain pierced Elrohir's heart at the sight in front of him. The body of his human brother looked so small in the huge bed, nearly lost in all the blankets and pillows, but too light to sink down into them. He resembled more a child than a grown man and suddenly Elrohir felt guilty for abandoning his brother in his time of need.

But alas, his own eyes had seen the welts on his back and he knew what it had meant. For days he had fought with himself, but this afternoon he had decided to visit Aragorn. The man had not left his room for days, and only this morning had Elrohir learned from a servant that no food had been reported missing. None at all.

Until then the younger twin had thought that Aragorn would steal into the kitchen in the dark of night to get what he needed, trying to get out of his family's way; but alas, he had not. So Elrohir had finally gathered up his courage and remaining care for his brother and come to see him.

And what he saw now was almost more than he could bear.

"Estel?"

The man remained motionless, eyes staring out of the window. No muscle twitched, he did not even blink. Only the soft rising and falling of his chest indicated that he was still alive, and Elrohir felt a lump form in his throat. How had it come so far?

Taking another step forward, he sat on the edge of the bed and looked down on his brother. Still, the man did not move and made no sound, and had Elrohir not know better he would have thought the man was fading.

Hesitatingly, Elrohir reached out to touch Aragorn's shoulder, but then he stopped in his motion and his hand hovered only inches above the man's body. If the man had noticed his presence, he did not show it; but a look into the lifeless and dull grey eyes told Elrohir that his brother was far gone from this world.

Almost desperate now all of the sudden, he placed his hand on Aragorn's shoulder. He felt the thinness of the shoulder and the bone poking from under the flesh, and a shudder ran over his spine. Aragorn had been thin when he had reached Imladris, and they had done nothing to help him replenish his strength, no, instead they had furthered his fall.

Swallowing thickly, Elrohir squeezed the shoulder gently and with his next words, he saw Aragorn come back to the present.

"Estel, please tell me."

Dull grey eyes met his own and the muscles under his fingers tensed as if Aragorn wanted to flee from the room. For a long moment neither of them moved while Aragorn scanned his brother's face. Then, the man averted his gaze, and Elrohir nearly wept at the man's words.

"Why?"

The voice sounded so weak and bleak. There was no strength left, no hope, no life. And in that fleeting moment Elrohir knew that Aragorn, although still in Imladris, was no longer with them. Not really. Yes, Elrohir thought, why? He did not know, but he felt that he must hear what had happened to understand his brother's pain and his own. And so he answered what was on his mind,

"Because my mind and heart battle with each other, and my heart is yet too strong to yield to my mind. Tell me what happened to you, and help me understand."

A great sigh seemed to leave Aragorn, but he said nothing. But then his resigned voice once more reached Elrohir's ears,

"Would you believe me then, if I tell you?"

"Yes." It was barely a whisper, but Elrohir knew it was the truth.

And with that, Aragorn began to speak of his journey to Imladris. His voice filled the silence of the afternoon and his words wove a tale of such a sad truth that Elrohir could not stop the tears that fell from his eyes.

When Aragorn finished his story and the words no longer filled the room, the silence was broken by a heartfelt sob and then Elrohir's voice could be heard, "Estel, I am so sorry. I am so sorry for not listening to you. Oh Estel, I am sorry."

Aragorn heard the words and felt the bed move under the sobs that threatened to over take the elf, and the tiny spark of hope that had clung to his heart now roared to a fire, and a small glimmer returned to his dull eyes.

He swallowed, but his voice was merely a whisper when he asked, "You believe me, then?"

"Oh Estel, of course! Of course!"

A tremor ran through his weakened body, then another and another. Aragorn could not stop them, and before long he shook like a leave in a summer rain. He had no longer any tears left to spend, but silent sobs of relieve left his body like water leaked out of a broken bottle. This was what he had hoped for, dreamed of. And now that it had come true, he felt it crush him as his body and mind were ripped from their grief induced stupor.

Seeing and feeling his body tremble, Elrohir bend down and scooped him up in his strong arms and buried his face in Aragorn's hair, all the time whispering how sorry he was about what had happened.

"Oh Estel, I should never have doubted you, I don't know why I did. Never have you given us any reason to regret placing our trust and faith in you! I am sorry, I am so sorry Estel!"

Slowly his trembling ceased and Aragorn felt comforted by his brother's presence. For him, words were not necessary and he leaned deeper into the so welcome touch of his older brother.

Elrohir rambled on, his guilt only increasing when he felt the almost withered form of his brother, the cold skin and the sharp bones under the flesh. And he felt the warmth that radiated from Aragorn's forehead and knew that the wounds on his back had not been treated properly, perhaps not at all.

But as another rush of apologizing words left his lips, he felt Aragorn stiffen in his arms, and then the man withdrew from the comforting embrace and sank back down onto the bed. Aragorn's voice was thin and not much more than a whisper,

"Please, no more. You carry no guilt, Elrohir, for it was me who lied to you from the start. I am sorry I did not confide in you and Elladan, but I…could not."

"Now that I know what happened, I can understand your hesitancy, and I am sorry for causing you more pain."

"Ro,…" Aragorn did not want to hear any more apologies. He felt tired and weak, his body had no strength left to argue with his brother.

"Sh, Estel. I know you feel guilty for not telling us, but please, let me carry the burden on my shoulders, for I want to do so."

Aragorn nodded, his eyes already half closed as the relief about this turn of events had lightened his heart more than anything else. Seeing his brother's need of sleep and rest and wanting to lift the mood, Elrohir commented,

"And after all, I am the older of us two, and therewith should be the wiser. That I was too blind to see the truth is only a testament my famed idiocy."

A small smile that vanished so fast that Elrohir was not even sure he saw it flittered over Aragorn's face, and then the man's breath evened out and he drifted off to sleep, finally able to close his eyes without the fear of nightmares.

But Elrohir sat for many more minutes on the edge of the bed, gazing down at the sleeping form of his brother. He took in the pale skin, the fever flushed and hollow cheeks, the thin limbs and the matted hair.

Slowly and gently, so as not to wake his brother, Elrohir lifted the thin blanket from the man and then the tunic Aragorn wore. The bandages that were revealed were no longer clean, but here and there a deep red tainted them, and Elrohir knew that Aragorn had not tended his wounds in the four days that he had been in his room.

Elrohir sighed, and then went to rekindle the fire in the hearth. These wounds needed cleaning and tending, and as soon as Aragorn woke, he would get him to drink some tea and eat something. And after that, for he would not leave this room before his brother had woken, he would talk with Elladan and his father. It was time they learned the truth.

°°

Slowly the afternoon gave way to evening, but still Aragorn slept. Elrohir had tended to the wounds on his back, shocked to see that some of them had not even begun to heal and that most of them had been red and inflamed. But what had even more shaken him, was the fact that he had been able to count the man's ribs without feeling them. Aragorn was not only thin, he was nearly starved. Elrohir had known that the winter had been hard on the rangers, but never had he thought how hard.

His brother's body gave a sad testament of the dire need the families in the villages in the North felt, and now he understood the cruel punishment his brother had taken upon himself much better. And he knew that under these conditions a mere boy of sixteen summers would not have easily survived such a sentence.

Whatever Aragorn might think about himself, Elrohir looked with pride in his eyes on his human brother, for to save the young ranger from such a fate was a great deed indeed. And Elrohir had no doubt that Aragorn was a good Chieftain and that whatever had caused the boy to steal, he had not done it because he had no trust in his Chieftain. No, surely not.

When night settled over Imladris and the first stars appeared in the sky, Aragorn finally stirred. Elrohir was at his side in a mere moment, and when the tired eyes opened and grey orbs locked on deer brown ones, the younger twin smiled gently.

"Good to see you awake, gwanur nin."

Aragorn said nothing, not yet trusting his voice. He looked around his room and took in the fire in the hearth, the burning candles and the fresh blankets that were spread on the bed. The fine scent of herbs drifted to his nose and he knew that his brother had treated his wounds.

"Thank you, Elrohir, for tending my wounds, but you needed not…"

"Yes, I needed to and I wished to help you. But now, you have to drink some warm tea to chase away the stiffness in your body. And you need to eat something so that your strength returns."

With that Elrohir presented a steaming cup of tea and a bowl of soup, and Aragorn asked himself if his brother had only waited for him to open his eyes to make him eat something. But strangely, that thought comforted him, and he smiled thankfully and drank the tea without complaint. But he felt not hungry and the thought of food made him feel sick to the stomach.

Just as he was to shake his head and tell his brother that he was not hungry, Elrohir said pleadingly, "Please Estel, just a few spoonfuls. You can stop when you have enough, but you need to eat something."

Sighing, Aragorn nodded, took the bowl of soup from his brother and began to eat. Elrohir never left his brother out of his sight, but too soon Aragorn placed the spoon back into the bowl and returned it to Elrohir. He had not eaten half of it, but his stomach already felt filled and he could eat no more.

Smiling despite the strange feeling in his stomach, Elrohir patted his brother's arm, stood to his feet replaced the bowl on the tray.

"You'll see Estel, your appetite will return. Perhaps you can try a little bit more later."

"Yes, perhaps."

Returning to Aragorn's side, Elrohir did not know how to ask this, but after a few minutes of silence he decided that the straight way was sometimes the right way, and so he asked his question.

"Estel, Elladan and father need to learn the truth. Do you want me to tell them, or do you want to do that yourself?"

Aragorn sighed, "Would they believe me, after all that has happened? You saw and heard Elladan, he will not listen to me, and I doubt he would listen to you."

"What would you have me do then?"

He was silent for long moments, but then Aragorn spoke, his voice soft, "Nothing. Nothing Elrohir."

And so Elrohir stayed in Aragorn's room for the night, and did not go to his brother as he had planned. If Aragorn felt that his brother and father needed to sort our their feelings and then come to the right conclusions on their own, Elrohir would wait as well.

Days passed. The younger twin treated Aragorn's wounds, healed him from his fever and made him eat. The pale colour only slowly left the face and it would take weeks if not months to repair what the harsh winter had damaged, but after some days the fear of loosing his brother left Elrohir, and he could breathe easier.

Aragorn still slept a lot, but in the hours he was awake, they talked and shared stories, acting as if nothing had happened. Aragorn appeared stronger, but Elrohir noticed the fearful glances that Aragorn shot the door when he thought he would not see it, and he saw the vacant and dull look that entered the grey eyes in the gloomy moments of silence.

A week passed, and still neither Elladan nor their father had come, and with every day that passed Elrohir could see that Aragorn slipped further through his fingers. Maybe he had treated his physical wounds and helped them start to heal, but the wound in Aragorn's heart was deep and would stay scarred forever. And with every day that passed and the door to his room only opened for Elrohir, Aragorn lost a bit more of his hope and Elrohir felt that soon nothing would be left than the empty shell of the man Aragorn had once been.

Something needed to be done, now.

Then one night while Aragorn slept, Elrohir left the room and made his way to the Hall of Fire, intend on finding his brother and father. No matter what Aragorn thought, they needed to know what had happened and apologize to Estel.

The Hall of Fire was empty beside his brother and father, as Elrohir had hoped it would be around this late hour. Striding purposefully over towards his family, Elrohir finally stopped in front of his father and brother, who both sat in comfortable chairs before the hearth.

It was Elladan who spoke first, not giving his brother a chance to speak,

"Ah, look who graces us with his presence" Elladan was no longer angry, not really, but he was afraid and ashamed of what he had done, and he did not truly know how to handle it. With every day that had passed, his fear to see his brother had increased, up to the point where he could no longer deny the pain in his own heart. But, it was hard to confess his own mistakes, so much so that he had retreated behind his shield of carelessness.

"You would not speak thus had you seen him or his wounds."

"I have no need to see them again, for I know he deserves them, and I pity him not."

"I know that is not true, you love him and care for him, as we all do, Elladan. And we wronged him, we…"

Elrond cut his son of, "How could we have wronged him, for was it not he who wronged us by betraying all we hold dear?"

Elrohir shook his head vehemently, and said sadly, "No, he did nothing wrong. He told me."

Elladan sat up in his chair and said gruffly, "Lies, I bet."

Anger flared in Elrohir, for he knew that his brother was indeed deeply worried for Aragorn, and he could not understand why he behaved as he did. "No, Dan, no lies. He never lied to us, never! But it is not as it seems to be."

Rising form his chair, Elladan spat, "But he confessed! He told us that it was a crime punishment and that he deserved it!"

"But because of different reasons than you think! He committed no crime, Dan."

Pacing, the older twin threw at his brother, "What for reasons? What was he punished for, Ro?"

Elrohir wrestled with himself for only a second. He had promised Aragorn to not tell the story, but something needed to be done. "Do you want to know why he was flogged? In public, with a whole village and three of his rangers watching?"

Elladan and Elrond paled visibly at this news. Secretly they had thought that the punishment had been dealt out in a prison, some dank and dark place were no light or prying eyes entered. To learn that Aragorn had endure such cruel punishment in public horrified them, for they both still cared deeply for Aragorn, no matter what their minds told them. He was family, after all.

Elrond asked softly, hoping that he had not heard correctly, "Public, Elrohir?"

"Aye, in public and in the icy snow and with nothing but the biting wind and the coldness to sooth his aches."

Quietness reigned for a moment. Elladan stood rooted to his spot, his face belying his inner turmoil, and Elrond suddenly small in his chair. Then the Lord of Imladris said softly, "Elrohir, please tell us, for I no longer wish to be separated from Estel, but I have to learn of what happened first."

And so, Elrohir told his father and brother all that he had heard from Aragorn, and when he was finished he told them about the condition in which he had found his brother. As he had anticipated, Elladan and his father felt the same guilt and regret that he had felt, and he hoped that soon things would be again as they had been before.

Although, somewhere deep inside he knew that one single word or action could shatter all the trust that one had built up all his life. And he feared that the scar in Aragorn's heart would never fade.

Tbc…