For Disclaimer please view Chapter 1.
Author's Note: Sorry for the wait on this chappy, but I had lots of papers and coursework to do over the past week and more in the upcoming weeks. I will try my hardest to get a new chapter out for you within the week. Thanks for all your reviews and I hope you enjoy. –Kersi-
Chapter 22: In the Darkness
Her hands trembled as she held on to the dagger that was now embedded in the chest of the man that had tried to kill her and Legolas. They trembled as she slowly pulled the dagger out of the man. He clung on to her as he slid down to the ground, releasing his last breath. Her hands were covered in blood, and the rain did not wash it away, there was too much of her own blood mingled. She looked past her bloody hands, to her feet where the dead man now laid; his eyes were still open, with an element of surprise still imprinted on his face.
The last moment before she had killed the man had been a quick one. When he had dragged her back to Legolas's side and told her that she was to die. There was no more room to beg, no strength left in her, only the remembrance of the dagger she had taken from Legolas earlier that day. What else was she to do? She wanted to kill this man, and if she hadn't, he surely would have killed her. She held her breath and without suspicion she took the dagger out and stabbed him. But her whole body began to tremble after that, whether it was the poison or not, she did not know.
She dropped the dagger and dropped to her knees, besides Legolas. He was lying face down on the ground and she tried to lift him up, but she could not. She was on the brink of collapsing into unconsciousness. She cried out in her attempt to lift him, he was too heavy and she had fallen backwards onto the man she had just killed. The poison was affecting her, and she found she could barely move, she closed her eyes in defeat. She too, heard the voices of Aragorn and Gimli coming towards her. At one moment they seemed far away, and the next, she could feel a pair of arms lifting her off the ground. "They are still alive, hurry, we must get them back quickly." She heard Aragorn say, it was he that had her in his arms. She opened her eyes. She clung on to his clothing and pulled herself closer to Aragorn's body. He looked down at her face in disbelief, her lips were moving as if trying to speak. He thought perhaps he heard her say his name, but there was no way to know for sure. It was still raining and Gimli had managed to drag Legolas back to the horses.
"Aragorn!" shouted Gimli. Aragorn came towards where Gimli was standing, he was pointing at something with his axe. "Children! They are sleeping."
Aragorn looked into the small space in between the boulders and saw two children lying there, sleeping as Gimli had said. So they had found the survivors, if only they had not gone out on their own thought Aragorn. "I cannot take Legolas, Aurel and those children with us. We do not have enough horses." It was the truth. Gimli had ridden with Aragorn, and Legolas had ridden with Aurel, there were only two horses and six of them.
"You take both horses, and I will wait here until you return. I doubt those men will be coming back." said Gimli. "The children will be safe where they are."
"They are sleeping, but one of them is wounded badly." said Aragorn, lifting Aurel onto the back of his horse. He then took Legolas, and strained to put him on the other horse. "I will have to ride slowly." He said to himself. Gimli peered into the shelter of the boulders, staring at the children.
"They are so young." Gimli shook his head in disgust of the situation.
"I will return as quickly as possible, stand fast Gimli!" said Aragorn as he mounted the horse and pulled Aurel closer to him, he took the reigns of the horse that Legolas was on and pulled, riding gently all the way back to the safety of the Helm.
"And if the thought crossed my mind?" asked Legolas with a smile.
Aurel inched back a bit, to be able to take in his face at full view, "I would have to warn you." Inside, she was more excited than she had ever been.
"Of?" He asked honestly.
"Never being able to catch me." she replied. Both of them had remained quiet after that moment. Aurel had lived in this moment for years, replaying the words that they said to one another that fateful day they met. She memorized the way his eyes shone in the moonlight and the way his voice seemed to soothe and calm her. The way their laughter seemed to mix together so perfectly, why then, had she not been able to decipher what was happening between them? Even when she had fallen from the tree, and pretended to be hurt, the look in Legolas's eyes held something more than just worry for her well-being. It was this moment that she wished she could have once more; perhaps if she could, she would have done things differently. And so her mind went back to the festivities, when Elrohir and Elladan had left her alone. She had sat there for hours watching the Elves dance and sing and have a wonderful time. She knew that the entire time, from when she had entered the hall where the dancing was being held, until then, that Legolas had been watching her. Not so much a full stare, but from the corners of his eyes. Whenever he spoke to others, he would always sneak a look at Aurel, though at the time he did not know who she was. She refused to dance with anyone, she was not very good at dancing, in fact, she was not very sociable when it came to festivities. She liked the quiet; she liked the peace that silence brought. Even when Legolas himself had come to ask her to dance, she refused, and her rejection brought a look of disappointment from him. She smiled politely remembering that they had met before when they were very young, she remembered him well, but he did not seem to recognize her at all. She thought that maybe he would stay and try to speak to her, but when she had refused to dance, he excused himself and went back to the group of Elves he had been speaking to before. She grew tired of waiting for her brothers and of constantly being asked to dance, so she left, and the Prince followed her. Instantly the memory went to the point where she was sitting on top of Legolas, laughing at having been able to trick him, but suddenly the laughing stopped, and Legolas looked so very sad. This was not her memory any longer, this was something different.
"Why?" He asked.
Aurel was confused.
"Why have you put me through so much pain?"
"Legolas…I—..." She was at a loss for words.
He pushed her off of him. "You have been the cause off all my worries; I have suffered because of you." He stood from the ground.
She got up as well. "I have told you why I did what I did…I could not-."
"Dina! Aurel. I do not want to hear any more of your excuses; you have put others through pain as well, your family, my family, Lothluin, so many have suffered because of you.." He began to walk away.
Aurel began to cry, running after him and holding him back by grabbing his arm.
"What good will your tears do now?" He said looking at her with pity.
"You cannot leave me. Not here. I do not want to be alone; I did not want to cause so much pain."
"But you have, and that is why I leave you, because you have always been alone." His words held no feeling, no compassion. He pulled his arm away and continued walking.
"Legolas! Please!"
She sat up and gasped for air, waking Aragorn who had been sleeping beside her.
Before him lay a battlefield and everything seemed to be moving so slowly. There were people fighting, there were orcs, goblins, uruk-hai and there he stood in the middle of this battle, doing nothing but staring at something ahead of him. It was Aurel, she was screaming at him, running towards him with a sword in her hand. He did not understand why she was screaming…
His eyes fluttered open and the first vision that came to him was blurry, as if his eyes had not been open for a great while. He wanted to cry out, for something felt as if it was draining the life from him. He sat up and noticed the dressings on his chest, and then noticed a strange woman sitting in a chair next to his bed.
"Man le?" asked Legolas.
Eowyn's eyes widened, he had woken, "Master Elf…" she quickly reached for a cup of water. "I will go alert Lord Aragorn of your waking…drink this." She held the cup to his lips, but he turned his face and pushed the cup away from him.
"Man Le?" He asked again, trying to sit up.
She shook her head in lack of understanding, "Your wounds are still healing, and you should not try to move." She said putting her hands on his shoulders to keep him down.
He quickly took her hands off of him and held on to her wrists tightly. "Who are you? What am I doing here?" He asked now in the common tongue.
Eowyn gasped, "Let me go...you are hurting me." She said trying to pull her hands away.
Legolas was distracting by the door that had suddenly flown open; Gimli came in having heard the commotion outside the door. He walked in to find Legolas awake and holding on to Eowyn's wrists so tightly that her hands had gone white. "Legolas! Let go of her!" he said, pulling Eowyn. Legolas let her wrists go. "Have you lost your mind?"
Legolas looked at the two strangers in front of him; he did not understand why they spoke to him as if they knew him.
"By the looks of it, you have!" said Gimli, Eowyn rushed out the door to go and find Aragorn.
"A dwarf and a human? By what means have I come to befriend such creatures?" asked Legolas, suddenly realizing the pain he felt. He rose from the bed, half dressed.
"Watch your tongue Prince-ling, or I will put you back on that bed, and you won't be getting up any time soon after…" threatened Gimli.
Legolas's eyes lit up with surprise, "I know you then."
"That's right, you know me." said Gimli suspiciously.
"And we are friends?"
"If that is what you want to call it." replied Gimli.
"Well are we friends or not Dwarf? For I do not remember you at all."
"Legolas?" asked Aragorn, walking in on their discussion. He looked at Legolas, standing there half naked, a distance away from the bed and away from both Gimli and himself.
Legolas looked at Aragorn, not recognizing him fully. He had certain Elven qualities to him, the way he said his name sounded familiar, and the way he stood there, his eyes spoke of wisdom beyond that of just a man, he was more. "You are not Elvish." said Legolas.
Aragorn smiled, "No, I am not."
"Yet you seem familiar to me, who are you?"
Aragorn looked at Gimli in question and Gimli shrugged his shoulders, "He has gone mad, I think."
"You do not remember us?" asked Aragorn.
Legolas walked a little closer to them, "If I did remember you then I would not ask who you are." Legolas examined him, this person he spoke to was a man, and why he mistook some of qualities for that of an elf before, he did not understand.
"What is the last thing you remember?" asked Aragorn.
He shook his head, "My memory is clouded, I do not remember much farther than who I am and where I hail from…."
"You are in Edoras; there is much I must tell you about…."
"Who is Aurel?" Legolas asked interrupting Aragorn.
"A friend of yours." replied Gimli.
"I must see her. Where is she?" He walked even closer to them, wanting to get to the door.
"She is resting; you were both injured in a fierce fight. You are still healing from your wounds, it is not wise for you to be moving about so."
"If she is resting, I want to go to her." demanded Legolas.
Aragorn raised his hands slightly, stopping Legolas from walking past him and out the door. "Legolas." He shook his head no. "Not yet, she has only just woken, and is disorientated like yourself. You will see her as soon as she and yourself are tended to."
"It is not your place to tell me what I can and cannot do."
Gimli huffed; he was ready to knock Legolas down.
"No, it is not my place. Do as you wish." said Aragorn calmly.
"What?" asked Gimli.
"Though I do not know how you will get to where you need without proper clothing, and without knowing your way. You are injured and soon will need tending to, those wounds you carry are not light." said Aragorn.
Gimli smiled at the expression on Legolas's face. He looked around the room not knowing what to do. "I apologize."
Aragorn nodded, "There will be someone here soon to look after you, try not to frighten them, they are only trying to help. I will come back later." He walked out of the room, but Gimli stayed and sat himself down on a chair nearby.
"I have my eye on you Elf."
Legolas sat back down on the bed, and looked down at the dressings that covered most of his torso. When he placed his hands down upon it, it stung.
"You were struck by a poisoned blade." said Gimli as he watched Legolas. "When we found you, you were nearly gone, and now, both of you stubborn Elves have decided to wake, and at the same time. I can't say that really surprises me, everyone knows you have some connection to one another, but did you really have to be stupid enough to go out on your own? I knew you were daft, but not that daft, lad. It was her idea from what I've heard, but surely you could have talked some sense into her…at least some good came out of it."
Legolas did not know what to say, Gimli looked sad to him, as if there was something that needed to be said, but could not for some reason. "Good?"
"The children you went after are saved, and recovering, though the rest of their family were not so lucky."
It was too much information to be taken into account for such a short time of consciousness. He held his face in his hands. A knock came to the door and Eowyn appeared, looking flushed and apprehensive at entering. Legolas looked up at her, she gave a weary smile, "I have come to change your dressings Master Elf, if you will permit me to do so."
"Of course he will. Don't worry Lady." said Gimli eyeing Legolas.
Eowyn quickly walked in and set the basket of items she had been holding, down on the ground. "You will need to lie down."
He lied on the bed and closed his eyes as he felt Eowyn remove the dressing from his wounds and begin to apply new ointment upon them.
"No! Please… take me in his stead, I am a noble of Rivendell, my death will be of greater triumph for you! Please…" Legolas heard this in his head and jumped up, knocking the bottle of ointment Eowyn held in her hands to the ground, the breaking of glass startled Gimli and he stood from his chair. Eowyn backed away.
"What did you say?" asked Legolas to Eowyn.
"I said nothing Master Elf." She held her hands together and looked back at Gimli.
"No, I heard a voice, a female's voice."
"Perhaps you should come back at another time Lady Eowyn." said Gimli.
She nodded her head and scurried out the door once more.
"I heard her speak!" said Legolas.
"Calm yourself…she did not say one word, I was here."
"A noble of Rivendell?" said Legolas to himself, repeating the words he had heard.
Gimli stared at him in curiosity, "She is a noble of Rohan, not Rivendell. It must be Lady Aurel you think of, she is of the house of Elrond."
"What happened?" asked Legolas to himself, he was confused. "Why can I not remember anything of which you speak?"
"It will come back to you."
He looked down upon his wounds in amazement, they were not fully healed, but he could see the extent of the damage that they had caused. There would be scars upon his chest for many years. "I cannot remember what caused this." Suddenly the urge to want to find out more about Aurel crept upon him. "She was with me?"
"Yes."
"And she was injured?"
"Yes, lesser injuries than yours, though she is smaller than you and the poison took hold of her for many days."
"How long have I…"
"Nearly a fortnight." said Gimli interrupting his question.
"I must see her, something in me compels me to search for her..." said Legolas beginning to stand up
"And you think you are going to go search for her like that?" asked Gimli, not noticing the distant look in Legolas's eyes. "I am tired of having to repeat this to you Elf, but if you make me tell you one more time that-."
The door slowly crept open and Gimli looked its way. "Lady Aurel." He said surprised.
She looked Gimli's way one moment before catching hold of Legolas, and he stood completely away from the bed. Legolas looked upon her image, her dark hair was long and flowed beyond her waist, her eyes seemed dark, and sadness marked her fair face, her lips were dry and parched, the clothes she wore seem to cling on her, they were too big, her hands were trembling and she was on the brink of crying.
She noticed the broken glass on the floor, and that Legolas's wounds lay exposed. "Lay down." She said softly to him, "And I will help tend to your wounds." She walked closer to Legolas and Gimli watched with his mouth open, he had never heard her speak before, and he never thought he would hear a voice so soft, so graceful, not in her of all people. "Gimli." She said, and he closed his mouth, "My brother looks for me, will you tell him where I am?"
"Of course." He replied and went off in search of Aragorn.
Noticing that Legolas was still standing she spoke to him again, "Will you not lay down so that I may help you?"
"I do not know you." said Legolas staring at her.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. "But I know you." She stood there looking at him before letting her inhibitions go; she went to him and embraced him, making sure not press herself against his exposed wounds. The feeling of her arms around him, reminded Legolas of something else. Images began to flash in his head, short unclear images, of fighting, and the sounds, the sounds of struggle came to mind.
"You are the one whose voice I heard. In the darkness; all I see and hear is you." He said to her, as he put his hands up to her face and stared into her dark silvery blue eyes. "For some reason, all I want to see or hear… is you…"
