where tears fall: Hey everyone! I'm so happy that so many people reviewed (or at least I consider it a lot of people)! Thank you all so much! I decided to update a few days early because I probably won't be able to update on Sunday. (very busy weekend) Have a happy President's Day and enjoy:
Chapter 4
Legolas awoke with a start. He tried to sit up, but found that when he tried his whole body filled with pain. His head ached and his ribs were on fire with every breath.
He laid back down against a tree, sqeezed his eyes shut, and desperately tried to remember what happened. In a sudden flash it all came back to him.
The wargs, the human, the fight.
Legolas subconsciously reached a delicate hand toward his hurting head and touched a bandage.
He shot his eyes open started with surprise at feel of the fabric against his fingers. He lifted up his tunic and found another bandage around his ribs. Legolas bit is lip and looked towards his leg where he found yet another bandage with crimson stains seeping through the fabric.
Some one had tended to his wounds and did not do a bad job by the looks of it.
The human! Legolas sat up again, wincing slightly at the pain his ribs caused him, at the thought of the man.
All of the sudden a wave of nausea and dizziness claimed him, and it took all of his energy to prevent himself from throwing up his lunch. He sat as still as possible with his eyes closed once again, and waited for uneasiness to pass.
Once the wave of nausea had passed, and his vision had cleared, he looked at his surroundings.
He was in a camp with a dying fire in the middle and some sort of bag lay across from it.
It was evident that the man was not there.
Legolas scanned the camp for his weapons. The sooner he got out of this place the better. Humans were tricky. This one would probably try to make him a slave or just kill him for the fun of it. He started to regret trying to help the man. What would his father say when he found out that he had been killed by a human!
He gulped at the thought.
A noise sounded through the woods, causing his ears to perk up slightly.
The human was returning. I must escape now! He thought
The blond elf furrowed his brow and placed his hand on the tree for support.
He weary tried to get up with out injuring himself further. He laid his hand on the bark of the tree and gently pushed on his leg to stand up. As soon as he put pressure on his hurt leg, a searing pain ran through it, causing him to loose his balance and hit the ground with a thud. Legolas gasped for breath as the fire in his chest greatly intensified. He squeezed his blue eyes shut and prepared to push him self off the ground.
He could almost sense the human drawing nearer. One... Two... Three...
He pushed with all his might, hoping to make it into a sitting position.
"Hello there" a gruff voice said
Legolas in mid-push froze and shot his eyes open in surprise. He felt himself losing his balance and fell to the ground, yet again, with a painful grunt. Searing pain again found its way into his body.
"Let me help you." the voice said and Legolas felt strong arms pull him up and help him lean against a tree. He tried to pull away from the man's touch, but found him self too tired to do so.
Legolas kept his eyes closed and grudgingly opened them to see the man sitting on the other side of the camp shuffling through his bag.
The fair elf raised an eyebrow at the sight of the man that he could see now clearly through the night.
He had dark brown hair that loosely hung about his face, and grey eyes. His clothes were elven made and torn in some places, most likely from the wargs.
Legolas tried his best to not let the fear he felt in his stomach show on his face. He was almost helpless and at the mercy of a human! Instead he covered up his fear with the best 'come near me and I'll kill you' glare that he learned from his father. It seemed to have the desired effect because the human stayed at the other side of the camp, glancing back once, only to shrink away from the powerful glare.
Aragorn looked at the elf. The fair being had been staring at him of the past half and hour, with a glare that would almost top Elrond.
Aragorn continued to stir the tea that he was preparing. He put some herbs in it that would help numb the pain of the elf.
With one last ingredient, it was finished.
The human looked from the freshly made tea to the elf. The fair being had not said a word since he had awoken. He simply remained staring at him watching his every move with a deadly glare. Aragorn desperately wanted to say something to the elf, but did not know what he should say.
He needed to get the elf to drink the tea, but how was he going to do that when the elf would not even talk?
And that blasted glare! He could have sworn that the elf had captured his soul and was slowly burning it.
Oh, Valar help me Aragorn thought to himself as he grabbed a cup full of tea and shakily stood up
The silence was eerie and the man knew he could not take much more of the glare.
"I just wanted to thank you for saving me.." Aragorn began, splitting the silence.
Aragorn watched a wave of confusion quickly pass over the blond elf's face, but just for a moment. The elf remained quiet still not letting up the glare. If anything, the glare intensified.
"My name is Strider." He said not prepared to tell the elf his real name for he still did not know who the elf was. He would be putting himself in huge jeopardy if the elf worked for the side of evil.
The blond remained silent and starring. He made no effort to move the fine hair that hung about his face.
The elf remained rigid up against the tree, not moving an inch. His stare was icy cold and searing hot at the same time, a unique combination that Aragorn had to give some credit to.
Aragorn grabbed the cup harder as to gain some invisible strength and reassurance from it and slowly proceeded towards the elf, as not to alarm him as he had done earlier.
Legolas remained starring, even as the man got up and headed his way. The elf remained still and looked frantically for some sort of weapon he could use against the man, being ever so careful not to show any weakness at all. He had been trying for the past half an hour to "stare" the man away or at least remain so still that maybe he would disappear into the tree, but neither choice seemed to be working.
The elf's head felt like a thousand dwarves were having a mining party in his skull and his ribs felt as though they were on fire, but he refused to show any discomfort to the human.
Aragorn neared and stopped a few feet from the elf.
"Would you like something to drink?" the human said.
The elf stared incredulously at the cup of dark liquid in the man's hands.
Aragorn took a step closer to the elf, while Legolas stiffened at this action.
"It will help with your pain." Aragorn stated trying his best to sound friendly.
He pushed the cup out further to the face of the blond, but the elf made no move, remaining completely rigid. Legolas continued to stare at the cup with scrutiny letting his eyes wander from the dark liquid to the human.
It is most likely poison he thought
The blond elf did not make a noise, and tried his best to make himself seem more powerful than the man. Aragorn sighed again he and pondered about the elf.
That's it! Oh why had I not thought of it before! The elf does not know how to speak common tongue!
Although it was very unusual that one of the Eldar did not know how to speak the common tongue, Aragorn had no other idea what could be the matter with the elf.
"Would you like something to drink. It will help with the pain." Aragorn stated, this time in the grey tongue. The man gestured to the cup just in case the elf had further trouble understanding.
Legolas had heard him the first time, still confused at why the man would offer him a drink. Than it hit the elf. The human had just spoken in the grey tongue!
Legolas jumped up with a start and tried, unsuccessfully to back up further into the tree. What type of man was this that knew how to speak the way of the elves?
Aragorn sighed, as his grip on the cup hardened. He was tired of the little game that they were playing. He knew the elf understood him. Why wouldn't he answer him? If the elf wanted to be in pain than it was his fault. The human looked at the steaming liquid.
"
If you won't give me your name than I guess I shall have to call you Elf." Aragorn stated matter-of-factly, never looking up from the cup. He walked back to the other side of the camp, trying desperately not to show the pain he was feeling in his ribs, not caring to glance at the confused expression of the elf. He knew he was being extremely rude, and his adar would likely give him a lecture if he ever found out, but this elf was getting on his nerves. Who knew? The elf could be a conspirer to Mirkwood, or something worse.
"And if you want to be in pain I shalln't stop you." Aragorn stated, sounding like a mother talking to a naughty child.
Legolas watched with disgust as the human walked to the other side of the camp and plopped himself down by a tree. He needed to get out of here. He needed to get back to Mirkwood.
"What do you want of me?" Legolas said, trying his best to make his melodious voice sound harsh and commanding. The man froze from what he was doing and slowly looked up at the elf, seeming as if he looked to fast, the words might disappear.
Aragorn was shocked that the elf would suddenly talk. It took a moment for the words to register in his head.
"What do you want of me?" The fair haired elf repeated, trying his best to stop his voice from failing, clutching the hem of his tunic in an effort to remain calm.
Aragorn stood up from where he was sitting with all the gracefulness an injured man could have.
"I only wish for you to get better, Master elf, and then continue on my way." the man replied trying to hide his confusion at the question that seemed to materialize out of the blue.
The fair elf looked perfectly confused and the man felt a smile quriking at his lips.
"You aren't going to harm me?" Legolas replied more confused than ever. The elf looked like a hurt puppy with his great blue eyes softening.
At this Aragorn broke out into a full out laugh and probably would have rolled on the ground if it weren't for his injuries. Something about this statement the human thought was extremely funny. Legolas's eyes began to flash with anger
His gaze once again hardened as he watched the man turn slightly purple form laughing so hard.
The human continued laughing until he became keenly aware of a whole new glare the elf was giving him. He straightened himself up as best as he could, red cheeks shining brightly in the fire light..
"No, master Elf, I do not intend to harm you." He said trying to suppress a chuckle.
Legolas mentally relaxed at this statement. For some reason, he believed that he could trust this human. After all, he did save his life. Legolas lessened his glare and replaced it with a thankful smile that the human returned in full.
"Now, would you like something for your pain." Aragorn said, holding out the cup in a friendly manner.
Legolas paused contemplating the question deeply. He still felt nauseous from his head injury, but the tea, if it was tea, would stop the burning in his leg and stomach…
Legolas looked towards the human and nodded a slow yes.
Aragorn looked like he had just been given a present as he rushed as fast as he could over to the elf and handed him the cup. The elf looked from the man's expectant eyes back down to the cup. The fragrance of the tea lofted up into his nostrils.
Legolas took a moment to stare at the bubbling concoction. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and looked pleadingly at the human. Aragorn nodded again towards the cup.
Legolas could feel the heat of the liquid through the cup he held in his thin hands. He shakily lifted the cup up to his lips and let them hover centimeters away from the tea. He closed his eyes and took a long sip. Legolas felt the warmth of the liquid running down his throat and did not notice how thirsty he had been till this very moment. The tea actually did not taste that bad at all.
Legolas pulled the cup away from his hands.
He looked up at the man's gleeful face and smiled.
Aragorn's smile grew even wider as he saw the elf smile at him.
"Hannon le" The elf said
"No need for thanks" Aragorn stated and made his way to the other side of the camp completely satisfied with his progress.
Aragorn searched through his pack till he found a package of bread.
"Are you hungry?" the man asked to the elf taking note of the way the blond slowly nursed the tea in his hands.
Legolas shook his head no and continued to take small sips of his tea.
Aragorn shrugged and began to barbarically eat the piece of bread.
Legolas still did not trust the human fully, but he could feel his defenses starting to break at the way the man barbarically ate the bread. The elf let a small laugh escape his lips, that did not go unnoticed by the man.
"What is so amusing?" Aragorn said, his voice coated in mirth.
"You." Legolas said, the same mirth twinkling in his blue eyes.
"I am glad you are feeling better mellon-nin." The man said and continued eating his food.
Legolas looked at the man with shock. The man had just called him his friend. Legolas smiled once again, this time letting it envelope his whole face. Humans were indeed strange creatures.
He once again stared into his tea as if it would give him some insight to this strange race.
The elf remained on one side of the camp pondering the man, while Aragorn remained in the other side, pondering the bread.
They sat that way, man and elf, each taking as much comfort as the other would allow from their company.
Legolas tired to remain hard, but inside, he was glad that he had met this human. He could not wait to tell his adar of this human that was not bad. Of course he would have to leave out the part of rescuing the man and the deadly fight with the wargs that could have killed him.
He felt a small smile spread across his face.
His father was famous for his temper, and probably would not appreciate the news.
Legolas let his thoughts take him to his home and only when he was sure the man had fallen asleep did he himself look at the stars and welcome his tired body to rest.
where tears fall: Did you like it? Review! Tell me if I need to edit some things or if you have any suggestions (or critisizims) at all. Anything will be helpful and greatly appreciated! REVIEW PLEASE!
