Scars-Chapter 6- Unhealed Wounds

Disclaimer: This story is being written for enjoyment only. I do not own any of Tolkien's characters.

Author's Note: Wow! Thank you all once again for your kind words regarding my story! :) I'll be holding the deed to your farm for safe keeping, Firnsarnien, until all has been revealed. Lol! Well here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. :)

The fleeting sensation of a gentle hand served to draw Elrohir back toward the present. His dark eyes blinked groggily in bewilderment as he tried to place his current location until at last the memory of it slowly returned to him. Sluggishly he turned his head toward the side to observe a cloak less figure kneeling beside Legolas. The individual was administering equally compassionate ministrations to the injured Elf as he checked upon his wounds. Though his flowing dark hair immediately gave away his identity, Elrohir had no need for any further visual clues. For a woodsy scent, he had long associated with his younger brother, lingered in the air surrounding him apprizing the Elf to Aragorn's presence. Without further thought, Elrohir placed his bandaged hands upon the ground beside himself in an attempt to rise up. Instantaneous and excruciating pain coursed through the Elf with this action, and he was unable to bite back the intense groan of distress that accompanied his movements. Straight away, the figure crouched beside the Silvan Elf was startled by the sound and drew back toward his brother's side.

"Elrohir?" Aragorn inquired with concern as he watched the Elf attempt to recover from his torment.

Slowing his now rapid breathing as the extreme pain subsided, Elrohir was finally able to provide answer to the Human. "Do not be alarmed, Estel . . . " The Elf began stiltedly. "It's just that I forgot my situation for a moment. Curse these blasted hands . . . "

Lightly Aragorn took his brother's bound hands into his own. The Ranger purposely turned them over and examined them carefully to assess for any additional damage the Elf's actions may have caused. Finally satisfied that there was no further harm done to them, Aragorn answered his brother as his thoughtful grey eyes met with those of the Elf's. "Nay, Elrohir. Never shall I refer to these as blasted," He replied earnestly as he continued to clasp them gently within his own. "For over the years of my existence upon these Lands, they have brought me many things-protection, aid, knowledge, comfort and support . . . Never refer to them as such again. Without their assistance today, my friend beside you might not still be with us."

Elrohir's current frustration with his own impairment abated as he turned his attentions toward Legolas. "How is he?" The raven-haired Elf asked.

Aragorn directed his concerned attentions back toward his friend before answering his brother. "He still slumbers in an unnatural way . . . " The Ranger began as if trying to reassure himself of his friend's present condition. " It is a healing sleep, however," The Man finished, though it disturbed him to watch his unconscious friend's face clench up in pain every time he attempted to take any more than a shallow breath. He had hoped the Elf's unique healing capabilities might have spared him from experiencing such deep distress. But it appeared that such a desire was not going to be met.

Hearing his brother's regret, Elrohir spoke out to console him. "He will recover in time, Estel. He is too stubborn not to. Do not allow yourself to become disheartened."

Troubled grey eyes once again returned to the Elf's. A brief smile appeared upon the Man's face, however. "I can always count upon you, Elrohir, for words of encouragement."

Though a momentary grin had shown upon Aragorn's countenance, Elrohir could read a deep unrest within the depths of his youngest brother's eyes. An anxiety so unsettling that the Elf made to ascertain its origin. But his brother did not allow him the chance. For Aragorn was the first to speak and his words revealed little to the Elf.

"Please have Elladan keep a close watch over him. Though I know that such a request is unnecessary . . . " Aragorn conceded. Then turning a searching eye toward the surrounding area, the Man could not help but wonder for a moment about what had become of his eldest brother. Shaking such uncomfortable thoughts aside, he reasoned that Elladan was most likely nearby collecting supply. And turning to Elrohir once again, he finished with, "I must go now, Elrohir. A commitment calls out to me, though I shall not be far away."

Watching as the Ranger turned to go, Elrohir called out to him, "Est . . . " And then remembering himself, he switched to, "Strider?...."

Turning his now harried countenance back toward his brother, the Man replied. "Yes?"

"Is there something that you wish to speak of?" The Elf entreated.

Aragorn's eyes narrowed at his brother's inquiry, as a momentary look of desperation played across his haggard features. But just as quickly as it had arisen, it was suppressed and the Ranger shook his head no before declaring more assertively, "No, there is nothing . . . Nothing that cannot wait, Elrohir . . . " And saying no more, Aragorn withdrew from the scene.

Anxiously Elrohir watched his brother's departing figure. Aragorn's present aloofness worried the Elf. It was unlike his youngest brother to remain so tight-lipped. Though the Man had never been talkative by nature, in the past he had shared his troubles with his brothers and friend. But of recent, the Ranger had remained unusually reticent with those, who cared most about him, not feeling the comfort to share with them his present worries or concerns. Trying to suppress the sting of rejection, Elrohir prayed that Aragorn would find the encouragement to open up to someone else. And then he suddenly wondered if perhaps he already had, and if the ears currently privy to such private discourses with the Human resided at Rivendell as well. 'Is it to you, Arwen, that he now expresses his deepest confidences? He is no longer a boy. Of this, I am well aware. Though a profound sadness lays claim to my heart over what time and distance has sought to change between us. Time allows naught to stand still. I should find consolation that there is at least one with whom he still feels the reassurance to bare his soul to. For never would I want him to believe again that there are none to understand him. Never could I condone nor allow him to experience yet again the absence of empathy . . . ' The Elf's thoughts concluded anxiously as a deep furrow of consternation lined his usually smooth features while his mind briefly turned toward a tortured recollection from his past.

Though his watchful grey eyes remained fixed upon his brother's diminishing form, his mind became caught up in a disquiet all his own. And he was only drawn back toward the present scant seconds later by the interruption of a now distraught figure drawing up beside him.

"Do you see where he goes?" Elladan spoke out grimly to his once distracted brother, while gesturing toward the assemblage of Rangers in the far distance and then to the long row of coarse woolen sheathed bundles lined up upon the foreground beside them. All save for one, which was enshrouded in the familiar grey-green colors of the Rangers'. "They make ready to bury the dead. For none survived this day!"

Elrohir drew in a sharp intake of breath at his brother's devastating disclosure.

"How can they stand this? How can he stand this?" the Elf went on to question. "These Lands wreak of death! Its foulness overwhelms me!" Elladan's troubled voice now broke with emotion.

Elrohir turned his anxious gaze now toward his twin. "Elladan?" He began, but then stopped for he was at a loss for words with which to answer him. His eyes searched out Elladan's extremely disconcerted features. An uneasiness lay claim to the younger twin's heart at what he witnessed, and the Elf desperately sought to come up with words with which to comfort his brother's obvious distress and his own growing anxiety over the situation now presented to him. Taking another stab at it, he began, "Aye, carrying out such a commission as this is difficult even in the best of circumstances when the one, who is presently deceased, led a long and prosperous lifetime upon these Lands. But Elladan, Estel knows what he must do . . . "

"How can you say that?" Elladan fiercely challenged. The elder Elf's increasingly erratic behavior causing further alarm to now spread within his bewildered brother.

Elrohir had been unprepared for Elladan's verbal assault and he attempted to compensate for it. "It has never been my wish for Estel to experience the harsh realities of this life, but we cannot protect him from them any further, Elladan. He is no longer a child, but a Man. He does not wish that from us . . . I have never wanted him to experience the pain that goes with . . . "

"But he has!" Elladan passionately cut in. "We . . . I have never been able to truly protect him from it! I have failed him!"

"How can you say that?" Elrohir now countered forcefully. "You have always been there for him!"

"Not when it counted!" Elladan admonished. "Not when he really needed me!"

"Elladan, why do you say these things? They make no sense! Of course you have been there for Estel! How can you claim otherwise? What has happened, brother, to make you react this way? "

Bleakly Elladan turned toward his twin and then gestured to the distant row of corpses now awaiting burial once again. The last of which Elrohir ultimately perceived was wrapped within Aragorn's own missing cloak. Finally speaking, the elder twin's voice was barely above a whisper. "He found the child some hours ago a few furlongs from the village. They left her broken body behind among the reeds beside the stream after having committed numerous acts of perverse violence upon her. He found her as such . . . " Elladan's voice now broke as he attempted to finish. "I watched from afar as he gently gathered and composed her body before wrapping her within his cloak. I watched him as he remembered . . . as he remembered his own past torment."

"You cannot know that!" Elrohir retorted.

"You say not . . . " Elladan began as the threat of tears once again pooled within his dark depths of his eyes. The sight of which cut at his younger brother's heart as the elder twin finished. "Aye, but I say I can, Elrohir. For as I watched, he touched the scar . . . " Elladan's voice now trembled. "And once again, I could do naught for him. As he stood there overwhelmed by grief, I could not approach him. I stood there frozen, and hence I have failed him once more as if it had been that very day in which I denied him the chance to ride with us. I sent him home over his fervent pleas to remain. Do you not remember? I sent him back toward Rivendell . . . back toward safety or so I had thought! How could I have been so mistaken?"

"You speak of the past, brother! A time long over!" Elrohir argued, though he could not prevent the uncanny resurgence of his own prior thoughts as they resurfaced with regard to the very same memory. A tremor shook through the younger Elf in reaction to it. 'Was what Elladan claimed just minutes before true? Were these lands they now occupied plagued by darkness? Was it thus which stirred up this bleak disturbance from the past which haunted them both?'

"You are mistaken, brother!" Elrohir finally asserted. "Estel has come to terms with what happened to him. You were there! He admitted thus to you!"

"Did he?" Elladan disputed now dubiously. "Or was it a ploy on his part to try to assuage my own guilt? I question this now! And it tears my heart apart! For I cannot go on watching him as he pretends that none of this matters! He grieves! I know this! And I do as well!"

"Now is not the time to bring this up with him, Elladan," Elrohir observed warily .

"Do you think that I do not know this? But I cannot stand back and pretend as if none of this matters! How can I allow myself the further pretense of illusion? It is too much to bear, brother! No! I need some time to think! My attempts are stifled here by the stagnant claim of death that permeates the air and lands about us. Forgive me, brother, but I must find some quiet in which to gather my thoughts or I shall go mad!"

Elrohir's distressed countenance mirrored that of his brother's, but he could not deny his twin the chance at reclaiming some tranquility. And so he answered, "Go, Elladan, but do not traverse far, for we know not yet what hidden dangers may still lurk upon these lands."

Elladan's indebted eyes turned toward his twin and he made to speak, but his brother silenced him. "Go! Find the peace you require! But do no laze in the past, for it is over and cannot be changed. Estel does not blame you. You must believe this! None of us do!"

Hesitating only briefly while an unshed tear ultimately rolled down his smooth cheek, Elladan turned to go. Elrohir stood shaken as yet another of his brothers departed from him. Attempting to gather his thoughts, he was startled once again as he felt a hand reach forth and gently grasp his shoulder. Legolas now lay awake beside him. The current paleness of the Silvan Elf's features was only to be underscored by the fever-bright brilliance of his blue eyes.

"What has happened?" Questioned the dazed Elf. "Has Estel been injured? I did not mean to eavesdrop, but as I lay waking beside you, I heard you and Elladan discussing him. I must admit my rousing mind is still somewhat muddled , but it is slowly attempting to reclaim its resourcefulness. How fares your brother, Elrohir? Pray, do not keep any confidences from me whether they bear forth ill tidings or not!" Legolas finished intently.

'Which brother?' Elrohir's heart cried out as he made to answer his fair-haired friend. "All is well, Legolas" The raven-haired Elf attempted.

Though hampered by injury, Legolas was not to be fooled by his dear friend's endeavor to spare him from any unpleasantness. The Elf's piercing blue eyes searched out the dove grey of Elrohir's own. "Do not try to appease me with misconceptions, Elrohir. For I can easily read the trouble that riddles your features. I am well enough to be told the truth. I do not need to be coddled, mellon-nin."

The Rivendell Elf's shoulders bowed in resignation. "I have not told you any falsehoods, Legolas. Estel is well . . . at least physically. What may trouble him . . . and Elladan as well lies far within the past."

Legolas' increasingly steady gaze met yet again with his friend's in an attempt to encourage him onward in his explanation.

Though Elrohir recognized the archer's directive to proceed on with his story, the raven-haired Elf hesitated briefly as he acknowledged once again the vast difference between himself and his twin. Whereas Elladan needed the privacy of solitude in which to gather his thoughts, Elrohir had always sought the comfort of words in which to express his emotions. His father had provided him with this consolation years ago and now he looked to Legolas to do the same, though it was grievous to him to dwell once again in these painful recollections. But Legolas had a right to know. For unbeknownst to the Silvan Elf, a part of his own history was intricately entwined with these scars from the past.

Turning to his friend, Elrohir inquired briefly. "What if anything has Estel told you about the scar he bears?"

Legolas was taken aback by his friend's surprising inquiry. "Nothing . . . " The archer responded directly before continuing on in further explanation. "It would be a lie to claim that I never took notice of it, though it has faded with time."

"If only the memories that come with it could do likewise." Elrohir lamented before continuing on. "He has said nothing to you then regarding it?" The Elf inquired intently yet again while he watched Legolas nod his assent.

An unease began gnawing in the pit of Elrohir's stomach as he went on in further explanation. "No, of course not. He has mentioned naught to anyone concerning it save Elladan."

"Pardon my interruption, Elrohir," Legolas now cut in. "But of what significance could this scar which he bears have upon the events of present? He has never sought to explain its origin. He has never seemed caught up by its permanence. I see no relevant connection."

"But you shall . . . " Elrohir exhaled roughly as he readied himself for the long tale ahead he was about to impart. "For when I am finished, mellon-nin, it shall all make sense to you."

"My story begins around the time of Estel's thirteenth birthday. It was during this period that turbulent events in Mirkwood kept you from us. Prior to our brother's celebration, Elladan and I had made travel to the lands of the Rohirrim. And when we returned, we brought back with us a magnificent steed as a gift for our brother. You should have seen the delight upon his face when we made our present known to him. His spirits were not to be matched and nothing could dampen them. Not even when we were forced to admit to him that the stallion had already been given a name by the horse masters of Rohan. Nothing could discourage, Estel. And with his growing enthusiasm to test his new mount, he pestered us for days to allow him to accompany us on a jaunt out into the Woods surrounding Imaldris. For he greatly anticipated discovering the full prowess of Berior's many attributes. None of us were to know about the travesty that lay ahead. ..." Elrohir's much sought after attempt at calm now eluded the Elf, as his quavering voice finally broke while a profound rush of guilt gained the upper hand.

Author's Closing Notes: Well if you've reached here, then thank you for reading chapter 6. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm hoping chapter 7 will follow in a week or so. Until then! Sue-a.k.a. Quickbeam