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Floating….

Aragorn was gently falling through some strange place. There was no pain, no feeling of anything. There was simply peace.

But somewhere in the corner of his fuzzy mind he heard something. A bell ringing…no, was it pots and pans….no…

Suddenly he realized that the sounds he was hearing were swords clashing. And with that, Aragorn awoke.

A fiery pain instantly ripped through his back, and right arm. Aragorn's eyes flew open in a panic, seeing only black. It took him another moment to register the fact that he was lying curled up, on his side, underneath a cloak. Using his left hand, Aragorn carefully lifted the cloth.

The bright sunlight instantly assaulted his eyes, forcing him to shade them. But what he saw was not comforting.

There were three orcs closing in on a man. He had a sword, and appeared to be unharmed, and four bodies lay in the long grasses, staining the plains with their dark blood. As Aragorn watched, he parried an orc's blade skillfully away from him and drove his sword into its neck. But just when he turned to the others, one delivered a solid punch to his shoulder as well as a slash to his side, forcing him to drop his weapon. Not to be outdone, the man quickly seized a dagger on his belt and drove it into the orcs chest.

Aragorn slowly tried to think of a way to help the man. The remaining orc was wearing more and thicker-looking armor, and was unhurt, while the man was clutching his side, breathing heavily, though he had recovered his sword. As Aragorn's eyes scanned the small camp, they lit up on several of his daggers. Trying not to attract too much attention to himself, he crawled painfully to the small pile. His ribs greatly protested the movement, and they throbbed with every inch. And to the ranger's dismay, the large orc kicked the man's feet out from under him, driving him painfully to his knees. Aragorn quickly selected a dagger, and tossed it with his left hand.

But Aragorn's torn wrist would not be forgotten, and as a result, the dagger did not find its mark in the orc's flesh, but glanced off of the chest plate. The orc glanced up to its new opponent, a cruel smile gracing his face at sight of the helpless victim. Abandoning the lone man, who was frantically trying to attack the orc from the ground, he began to stalk menacingly toward Aragorn. Aragorn quickly rummaged in the pile and came up with another small knife, and this time his aim was true. The man was staring wide-eyed at the ranger's attack. Aragorn somehow forced himself to his feet and stood unsteadily in front of him.

"H-hello. I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Are you…are you-" Aragorn wobbled, suddenly stricken with pain in his leg, and would have fallen if the stranger hadn't suddenly caught him, his hands expertly placed on the ranger's waist where there was no injury.

"Hold on there! You should not even be awake yet, let alone moving around." The man chided gently, helping Aragorn back to the spot where he had awoken.

"I don't understand…" Aragorn said slowly. He realized that talking hurt his face due to the cut on his cheek. "Do I…Do you…"

"Oh, I am sorry. My name is Deowin, son of Illúwin. I am a Rider of Rohan, serving under Theoden, king of the Mark. It was I who found you at the orc encampment, and I have been tending you these past few days, along with your friends Legolas and Gimli." Deowin said quickly. "They went to look for your other friends, but before the orcs attacked I was calling for them. They should come back soon."

Aragorn smiled gently. "Then it seems…that I owe you my life. Thank you…for everything. If there is any way I can repay you-

"Nay!" Deowin interrupted, laughing. "All you should do now is rest, and concentrate on getting better. Anyway, it seems that I have to change the bandages on your back again, thanks to you saving my life. So you see, we are equal. Now hold still." Deowin relocated himself behind Aragorn, and gently removed the bloodstained bandages. Aragorn let out a small gasp when the wounds were exposed to the air, but thankfully the bandages had not stuck. He barely repressed a moan as Deowin carefully applied a salve that he had brought, and quickly rebandaged him.

"There you go. Are you feeling hungry, or thirsty? I don't think you've eaten in a while, have you?"

"No, I have not. But wait…You should tend to your side first. I saw when the orc got you, and it did not look small." Aragorn said, concerned. "Here, let me see it."

Deowin grudgingly removed his hand from where it had been clamping down on his side, revealing a small, ugly looking gash. Aragorn studied it carefully.

"I don't think it's poisoned, but you should get it stitched. I fear that my hands are too unsteady now, though. Perhaps Legolas or Gimli-

"Aragorn?"

The said ranger turned slowly at the sound of his name. Legolas and Gimli were coming down the hill. Well, now Legolas was sprinting at full force. After a moment, he was at Aragorn's side.

Legolas leaned forward and embraced his friend firmly, taking care to avoid pressing on his friend's many wounds.

"Estel," he murmured into Aragorn's shoulder, his eyes wet. "I feared I would never see you alive again." Aragorn smiled painfully.

"It would take more than a few orcs to do me in, mellon nin." He said back, returning the embrace. Gimli stood beside him, smiling joyfully.

"Well! Of course the moment we leave, you decide to wake up, you stubborn rascal. We trek after you for three days, and can't spare us the courtesy of waking in our presence!" Gimli reprimanded cheerfully, also embracing the ranger.

"I am truly sorry Gimli. But I would definitely not mind getting more rest now, and perhaps a little food…Wait! The Halflings! Did you find them?"

"Nay, Aragorn. We went back to the encampment and searched for their tracks, but we could make out nothing of the tracks. We can return tomorrow, if you are feeling better-

"No! I know where the Halflings left the orcs. If we go now, I can show you and we can follow them! I told them to wait by the river, but they will have moved by now…" Aragorn said rapidly, trying to get up.

"Aragorn, wait," Legolas gently eased the ranger back down. "You are in no condition for travel, or even moving. Just last night you were not breathing, and this is the first time in two days you have awoken. As you just said yourself, you need rest. But tell us…how did you know where Merry and Pippin left? Why did you not go with them?"

Aragorn sighed softly. "There was an orc, one of the leaders, who was taking advantage of the confusion over the Riders' attack to attempt to leave with Merry and Pippin. I was able to hinder him, and he is now dead. Pippin had loosened his bonds, and was able to release Merry, but I was tied too tightly for them to free me without a knife. I did not wish for them to be seen while wasting time on me, so I urged them to leave without me. But I do not know where they are now, except that they are probably in the forest."

Deowin had been sitting quietly throughout Aragorn's tale, and he realized that there was more to this man's capture and rescue than he could have known. He carefully prepared a small draught of tea and handing to it to Aragorn, said, "Perhaps you should tell us your story from the beginning."

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Well, there's another chapter down! So Aragorn is finally alive and well(ish) and all ready to go about saving Merry and Pippin! Well, almost.

But I want to apologize, yet again, about the tardiness of this chapter. I just keep putting it off and putting it off, until when I finally mean to do it, I get a fresh boatload of homework. I really am sorry, and hope this chapter can somewhat compensate.

Many many thanks to my wonderful reviewers- responses are out!

QueenofFlarmphgal