Scars- Chapter 13- It Is Done

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

Author's Note: Thank you all for your kind responses for chapter 12. I hope you enjoy what follows. :) Warning - This chapter might be perceived as a little dark . My apologies if it proves to be disturbing to anyone.

"Sleep, little one, sleep . . . For I shall never let harm come to you . . . "

"I was unable to keep that promise . . . " Elladan's pain ridden voice lamented as he spoke out again into the stillness, which now surrounded him.

Immediately, the grief-stricken Elf's thoughts turned from those filled with prior wonder to that of deep and abiding pain. A pain, which though long tempered through the decades, was one he had never been quite able to assuage. A pain that had remained with him always, quite like the scar his brother bore, fading with the passage of time, but ever present. With events, such as those which he had faced this day, making it all the more palpable.

"Why? Why . . . " Elladan's choked voice repeated, while haunted, grey eyes searched outward into the darkness now enfolding him. "Why did I not listen to him? For if I had, things might have turned out so differently . . . "

His tragic plea remained unanswered, while his tormented mind, like a swirling vortex, attempted to draw him even further into its emotional fray. Carrying him back to confront that, which should never have happened. Pulling him further into its suffocating grip, like the potent draw of the mysterious undertow, which governed the icy seas. It sought to plummet him beneath its stormy depths until all else was lost and he was engulfed by its massive weight yet again.

"Elbereth, help me! ..." His strangled voice exclaimed in one last attempt to buoy himself against its turbulent tide, but he failed to maintain a stronghold and ultimately was drug under by its dark and surging force.

Dawn had been attempting break once more through night's cyclic hold upon the land, but the promise of its restoring light provided little comfort to Elladan. Many hours had passed since he and his brother along with their remaining contingent had learned of the Orcs' duplicity. And with its passage, the spark of hope, he had carried within his breast, grew ever dimmer until at last it had all but faded from sight.

As the horse beneath him gathered distance over the quickening landscape, he could not shake from his mind the chilling image of a few hours past. His coursing heart had nearly faltered within his chest when they had come upon Berior or what remained of the once magnificent steed. With this grim discovery, his tightening fist flew toward the line of his jaw, while thumb and forefinger clenched firmly against the quivering flesh about his mouth to stifle the startled cry of anguish seeking to escape. He had forced his watery eyes to focus elsewhere as they struggled with similar emotion, turning from the sight until he regained the necessary composure to continue on. He used these fleeting moments in a vain attempt to scan the perimeter for any sign of what might have become of Aragorn, but the swirling tide of thoughts now assaulting his senses blocked anything productive from being noted. Forcing his eyes back upon that of the gutted horse, he strove hard to keep a tightened rein over his reeling emotions, while betraying little if anything to those, who surrounded him. For they looked to him for both leadership and guidance, and he could not flounder at this crucial moment. With time, his rattled faculties were finally able to divulge that the boy could not have escaped this travesty unscathed. For there were traces of blood, which sullied the landscape, too far from remaining carcass. The remnants of shifted debris left unspoiled by the battering of savage limbs and finally an almost imperceptible path leading outward in the direction of home confirmed his suspicions and relayed to Elladan that Aragorn must have somehow managed to elude his pursuers. But for how long?

As they remounted their horses and began tracing the path Aragorn had set out upon, Elladan realized that his younger brother had done well for a time at keeping the route he had taken concealed from untrained eyes. His command in the face of danger was admirable, especially when he most likely struggled with bodily injury. The raven-haired Elf perhaps should have felt pride at the youth's notable achievement, but he was unable to get past his own deep-set misgivings and self blame to allow any flicker of hope to reignite within his breast. Nothing would possibly reassure him of Aragorn's continued safety until he held the boy fast within his arms once again.

Aragorn's concealed trek might have assisted his brother from confronting further danger while in the Wild, but it also worked unfavorably against the Elves seeking to perfect a rescue by greatly hindering their speed.

"He took off toward the South originally, before turning West here once again . . . " Elladan at last spoke out while his keen eyes scanned the surrounding foliage during this most recent break in activity.

"He heads toward the Bruinen," Elrohir confirmed "For he knows the safety its shores offer up to him."

Elladan's wary gaze, met with Erohir's, but not in disagreement. For he knew what his brother proclaimed was most likely true. There was no safer haven left for the boy to strive toward than the opposite shore and hence the hidden valley. 'But would their brother reach its banks on time?' He worried. For as the boy's trek continued on through the densely covered vegetation, it had become increasingly apparent that the Human was losing in his battle to keep the direction of his course concealed from his lumbering opponents.

'They are closing in upon him!' Elladan's harried mind conceded. He did not have to look toward his traveling companions to know that each had reached the same conclusion from the increasing disfigurement that scarred the landscape. And as if in unspoken agreement after Elladan remounted his steed, the ensuing contingent pressed on harder in their pursuit to find the boy.

The urgency now pounding within Elladan's breast was relentless. The propinquity between his brother's flight and that of the shadowing Goblins was growing slimmer and slimmer with each passing furlong they covered. 'Could Aragorn have made it to the banks of the Bruinen already without encountering these savage hunters yet again? And if he had so, was he in any condition to cross its surging force unattended? Never before during the history of Middle-earth had any Orc intruder been bold enough to traverse the mighty river's banks and set foot upon the deep cloven valley, which offered refuge to all Elves and folk of goodwill, Elladan acknowledged. 'Still did his brother stand a chance of escaping them successfully?' He prayed that he had as the incessant appeal, sounding within his head, petitioned the Valar to grant the boy's safe passage in his absence. But as the frantic pace of horse flesh and hooves concluded their rapid advance and drew to the river's edge, Elladan's keen eyesight grievously acknowledge that he had not.

"NO!" The raven-haired Elf cried out, unable to quell the rising horror within him at the sight of his youngest brother being brutalized within the Orcs' savage clutches. "NO!" He screamed out yet again, as he pulled the racing mount beneath him to a sudden halt, while springing forward to meet the still moving earth before charging desperately forth with his weapon unsheathed. He heard rather than saw the accompanying Elves behind him ready themselves in similar fashion. There was no time to hold back, no element of surprise this day. For if the thunder of their advancing hooves had not already alerted the assailing goblins of their imminent approach, then Elladan's blood curdling outcry most surely had.

The whizzing of arrows now filled the air about him, as Elladan relentlessly pressed forward wielding the sword he carried, while cutting a path through the Enemy toward Aragorn. The last thing he saw, before turning to fend off yet another approaching scimitar to his right, was the boy curving into the massive body now holding him as if to strike back. Elladan attempted to call out to him, but his voice was lost among the growing conflict swarming about them. His anxious, grey eyes instantly witnessed the boy's gruesome captor suddenly stagger backwards from their contact as if in shock. Aragorn swayed with his release as if suddenly unable to support himself. It was then the foul predator beside him seemed to regain some control and lashing out, cuffed the tottering boy hard, slashing him across the face with a protruding bolt that embellished his coarse garment's sleeve. Aragorn's neck snapped back with the impact, while the boy's body faltered once again before collapsing hard toward the earth beneath him to lie motionless.

"NO!" Elladan recoiled as he witnessed what might possibly have been a brutal death blow. 'No!' his mind echoed, while his frantic heart seethed within his chest. He was so caught up in the moment that he did not feel the initial sting of an Orc blade cutting against his bicep slicing both garment and flesh as it made its contact. His arm drew back instinctively from the pain as his attention now focused upon the present danger coming down upon him. The adrenaline rushing through his veins did not allow the substantial blow to hinder his unremitting progress, and drawing back upon his own sword, he impaled the storming predator with one fatal thrust before extracting the blade and moving forward to address the assailing figure still hovering over Aragorn's lifeless form.

By the time he reached the loathsome creature, it had collapsed to its knees upon the terrain beside the boy. The goblin's gnarled hands clutched at a gaping wound that covered its stricken abdomen. Black blood coursed through the slashed opening of both flesh and cloth between the beast's knobby fingers as it attempted in vain to hold back the life force now draining from its body. Elladan's troubled gaze shifted from the perishing creature to that of his fallen brother. The sight that greeted him stole his breath away. Aragorn lay limp upon the ground. His body bloodied and broken. The garments, he'd been wearing, lay in shreds, torn away to expose the child's naked flesh beneath them.

"No! NOOOOOO!" Elladan roared as the enormity of what most likely had transpired while Aragorn was within the Orcs' grasp bombarded his senses. He was unable hold back now nor stem the tide of the hot tears now forming within his anguished eyes. Their dampness worked toward clouding his vision, but they could not hide from him the evidence so abounding that surrounded him.

"NOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed out yet again as if in denial before returning his frenzied attentions back toward the dying monster, who lingered beside him. Wielding his already blood soaked blade, he took the vile creature's head. The Orc drew breath no longer as its remaining torso crashed forward toward the ground. But that did not stop the distraught Elf, as his sword found the creature's body again and again. Over and over Elladan struck out at the heinous being, which had assaulted his brother, as his blade continued to hew and slash, while a flood of tears coursed down his face. Their dampness and his rage blinding him to all else surrounding him, until he heard Elrohir's battle weary voice sound roughly within his ear.

"Enough! Enough, Elladan! It is dead! They are all dead! It is done!"

Collapsing to his knees as well, Elladan allowed his now sullied blade to fall from his grasp toward the ground below and lie there unattended while he struggled for breath. His composure was completely shot as his heaving lungs tried to force air past the tightened knot, which obstructed his throat until a tortured sob was ripped from him. His unusual behavior startled the ranks of brethren now closing in upon him and his twin curtailing all prior movement and sound. Elladan's shoulders continued to shake as yet another sob tore through the Elf, while his grief-stricken eyes once again turned toward his youngest brother.

Aragorn had not moved since the Orc's staggering blow. He was sure the lad was dead. The absence of movement from his companions surrounding him confirmed this belief to the grieving Elf. So much blood and so many wounds covered Aragorn's fallen body. No being could possibly withstand the effects of such abuse upon them. Slowly Elladan began creeping toward the boy's still body as if to gather his corpse up into arms. Almost tripping over his previously discarded blade, he resheathed it quickly without thought, before returning to his prior pursuit. But as his trembling arms slid about the boy, the child swallowed convulsively, while his head stirred to the side. In shock, Elladan backed away, while too in awe to acknowledge that the child indeed still lived. Stupefied, the Elf reached out a hand again, this time in comfort, only to have his heart cut in two when Aragorn shrunk away from the contact. Struggling to open pain glazed eyes, the boy fought to draw in a labored breath before choking on the blood that flowed from the ugly gash above his upper lip. He managed but one word, "Where? ..." before collapsing into unconsciousness yet again.

Elladan was paralyzed by Aragorn's inquiry as he miserably filled in the words he believed to be missing from his brother's obvious query, while Elrohir rushed forward to take his place beside the suffering child. "Where were you?"

"It is done It is done." The present day Elf repeated before moving his trembling hands up to cradle his tear-stained face.

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"Where has Elladan been throughout all this? ... And why . . . why did he not come and get me before Legolas' condition became so dire?"

Not waiting for his brother to answer, Aragorn's attentions moved back toward Legolas as he began working frantically over his stricken friend doing all he could to save the Elf's life. He was in the process of finding something to raise the suffering archer's limbs up upon to aid the flow of blood back toward the Elf's erratically beating heart, when he heard Elrohir's shaky response.

"I'll not have you speaking ill of Elladan, Estel. For you do not know how he's suffered through this!"

TBC

Author's Closing Notes: Well if you've reached this point then thank you for reading chapter 13.

Yes, no quotes this time. (Gosh, I almost feel naked without one! Lol!) I had two, but then I ended up changing the title of the chapter, and well they no longer fit. I didn't have time to dig up any more.

To answer a few questions regarding chapter 12, Why are Elladan, Elrohir, and Legolas so upset over what happened to Aragorn in the past, when in fact he is safe and healthy in the present? Gah! I've been struggling with that one myself. :) Okay here's my take on it.

I guess what's troubling Elladan is akin to what we refer to today as PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). Some of the symptoms of this disorder are as follows:

· Recurring thoughts or nightmares about the event.

· Having trouble sleeping or changes in appetite.

· Experiencing anxiety and fear, especially when exposed to events or situations reminiscent of the trauma.

· Being on edge, being easily startled or becoming overly alert.

· Feeling depressed, sad and having low energy.

· Experiencing memory problems including difficulty in remembering aspects of the trauma.

· Feeling "scattered" and unable to focus on work or daily activities.

· Having difficulty making decisions.

· Feeling irritable, easily agitated, or angry and resentful.

· Feeling emotionally "numb," withdrawn, disconnected or different from others.

· Spontaneously crying, feeling a sense of despair and hopelessness.

· Feeling extremely protective of, or fearful for, the safety of loved ones.

· Not being able to face certain aspects of the trauma, and avoiding activities, places, or even people that remind you of the event.

As for Elrohir and Legolas, well both Elves have been injured by the fire and are suffering from the effects of it (more on that in later chapters). Elrohir has delved into memories that he has not thought about for a long time. Memories that he acquired from Aragorn concerning the event. Rehashing them has left him emotionally spent whereas his injury has left him physically spent. Hearing them for the first time has done the same for Legolas.

As for Aragorn behaving thoughtlessly, it was my intention to create some tension with his questions. I guess they could have come off as sounding thoughtless, but in defense of Aragorn, he has no knowledge of Elladan coming up upon him when he found the girl near the river, nor of the fact that Elrohir has informed Legolas about most of the story concerning his scar. So don't be too hard on the Human. It will all come out and make sense in the end . . . well at least I hope it does . . .

In this chapter, I gave you Elladan's viewpoint concerning how Aragorn received his scar. I will touch upon it again in a later chapter, when the Human, himself will be forced to go back and relive that moment. He'll do so to aid another. (Yep, that's all I'm revealing for now.)

The information I posted concerning PTSD was from MedlinePlus. I hope this has been helpful. Well that's it for now. I'm sorry these closing notes were so long! Until next time! Sue. a.k.a. Quickbeam 1