Scars- Chapter 14 Mine to Bear
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 words regarding chapter 13. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. :)
"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 directly back toward Legolas as he began working feverishly 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!"
Aragorn turned puzzled eyes toward his Elven brother momentarily not understanding Elrohir's unexpected charge. Yes, in his previous frustration he could not quell his need to find out why Elladan had waited so long and had not sought him out sooner in these grim circumstances. But never, never had it been his intent to speak maliciously in regard to his eldest brother. Eying Elrohir remorsefully now, Aragorn was taken aback further with how troubled the younger twin now seemed by his prior queries. In fact the Elf's whole demeanor proved worrisome to the Ranger as Elrohir painstakingly attempted to close the distance between them, while wavering precariously upon his now shaky feet. Aragorn would have jumped forward to steady him had Halfdan not stepped forward first to lend a hand in aid to the ailing Elf and save him from collapse.
Aragorn's current frustration now mounted as his troubled eyes moved back and forth between his brother and his friend. 'What was happening here?' Yes, Legolas and Elrohir had been injured by the fire's flames, but when he had left them mere hours before, neither Elf had shown any inclination toward this grievous and rapid decline. The Human's grey eyes brightened even further with alarm as he finally recognized that it was not only Legolas, whose condition had grown more serious with the passage of time, but that such a rash and subsequent infirmity seemed to have taken hold of his older brother as well. Elrohir's limbs trembled greatly as Halfdan assisted the Elf in taking rest against a nearby tree, while his fair countenance seemed plagued by an uncharacteristic pallidness. Aragorn's hands were tied as to whom to help first, brother or friend. As if noting his commander's present indecision, Halfdan stayed with Elrohir doing his utmost to provide the Elf with additional relief, until Strider was capable of overseeing his care.
"How . . . how is this happening?" Aragorn spoke out toward Legolas' still form, giving voice at last to his bewilderment. "This should not be!" The Man continued on, while taking a few, brief steps away from his ailing friend's side to quickly gather a small pile of tender brush to use toward raising up the archer's lower extremities in the hope of aiding the flow of blood back toward the Elf's erratically beating heart.
"How can this be, mellon-nin?" Aragorn questioned yet again once his task was complete and he was able to gather beside his friend once more. Turning the Elf over a second time, the Human looked back upon his grievous wounds. The archer's previously scorched and blistered flesh now appeared puckered by the spread of rampant infection with the earlier enclosed vesicles, which had formed along his back, now breaking open to ooze their yellowish fluid. Not only that, but the affected vessels, which fanned out near the surface of the Elf's once fair flesh, were now succumbing to this bizarre affliction as well. Their formerly sound walls, which were custodian to and helped to circulate the Elf's life sustaining fluid throughout his body, were now becoming compromised by the infection's spread until they began to seep the fluid they carried beneath his friend's fevered flesh. Aragorn's stomach turned at the ugliness of the Elf's wounds, while his mind struggled again with this turn of events. Never before as a healer among the Wild had he born witness to such a rapid progression of injury among his own afflicted brethren. Shaking his head in further dismay and bewilderment, he acknowledged it was even more unlikely to see such a swift deterioration affecting the well-being of a First Born. For their race was known to hold an unusual advantage over his own in both their rate and response of recovery toward injury.
"How can this be?" The Man mumbled yet a third time as he reached toward the bucket, which held the remainder of the water Elladan had drawn previously from the village's well. Reaching for an unused length of cloth, he gently began to bathe Legolas' afflicted flesh yet again. His actions should have proved grievous to the suffering Elf, but Legolas made no attempt at protest or movement, which only caused Aragorn's heart to sink even further within his chest. Finishing up, the Ranger finally whispered a desperate plea in Elvish to his unconscious friend in an attempt to bolster the spirit still dwelling within him, while he began to replace Legolas' previous soiled bindings with fresh linens. "Do not leave me, Legolas, but fight this! Fight hard, mellon-nin, with all that you have in you! For I could not stand to lose you, my friend!"
Repositioning the Elf once again, so he could rest upon the ground, the Man felt compelled to finish up with. "I leave you now, but only for a short while. I must see to Elrohir as well, for he is hurting too, mellon-nin. But make no bones about it, my friend, I am here! I shall not depart from your side, until you awaken again and give me cause for complaint." Aragorn's voice concluded as his words caught in this throat, while the makings of a faint smile struggled hard to form along his haggard features. The Ranger's attempt at lightheartedness failed to reach his sorrowful eyes or ease the torment that had taken a fast hold upon him. Reaching a hand forward, the Man made to soothe the fevered flesh covering the vulnerable Elf's brow and cheek as if seeking to comfort them both with the contact, when his attentions were immediately drawn away.
"My lord! Come quickly!" Halfdan called out in alarm.
Startled, Aragorn turned swiftly in the direction of the other Ranger's voice upsetting the bucket of water in the process. Its now meager contents draining from the holding vessel to first pool then be absorbed by the growth of herbage located beneath it. Aragorn could not hold back the precipitous oath, which sprang to his lip, over such a blundering movement on his part. But immediately, he was upon his feet hurrying toward Haldan and Elrohir.
Halfdan was now kneeling beside the stricken Elf. His calloused hands positioned around the being's flailing wrists as if attempting to prevent the raven-haired Elf from carrying out some purported action. As Aragorn neared the struggling duo, he was alarmed to see the bandages covering Elrohir's damaged hands now tinged crimson with blood.
"Elbereth! What is happening here?" The Human uttered yet again as he drew himself down beside his scuffling brother. Taking the Elf's shoulders within his steady grasp, he looked into Elrohir's now disoriented features. "Be still Elrohir! You will harm yourself further if you fight us! Please be still!" The Ranger beckoned.
The Elf's fevered gaze met with that of his brother's as he continued to wrench within his hold. " Release me, Estel!" The stunned Elf commanded. "I must find Elladan!"
"No, I cannot, Elrohir!" Aragorn responded regretfully as he tried to get through to his now distraught brother. "You are ill, Elrohir. You must allow me to take care of you!"
"No . . . no . . . " the confused Elf continued as he shook his head in dispute. "It is Elladan, who needs our comfort. It is he, who is need of care. I am well enough. Release me! I must get to him!"
Staring down at the blood stained bindings still within Halfdan's grasp, Aragorn retorted. "We will see to Elladan, but first, Elrohir, please allow me to treat your wounds . . . They require my attentions. First, I will see to them and then, we shall both seek out Elladan . . . "
Elrohir seemed to settle within the two Rangers' grasps as his youngest brother's reassuring words reached through the stifling haze surrounding him, the fight now leaving the Elf as his ailing body sunk even further into the unfailing support being lent by the tree behind him. Aragorn loosened his hold upon the twin as his troubled gaze turned toward Halfdan while he issued forth a command.
"Get the bucket! We need more water forthwith, so I can treat his wounds!"
The younger Ranger hesitated briefly, as if startled by the request. Cutting the roots that had grown beneath the younger Man, Aragorn barked out. "Quickly, Halfdan! Make haste!" And as the Ranger reached for the overturned receptacle and started toward the village, Aragorn's words halted his initial progress to redirect him. "No, not the village! Make toward the stream, Halfdan! Its borders lie closer!"
Seeing that his companion had taken heed to his instruction, Aragorn turned once more toward his brother, his now speeding heart nearly being torn in two with his renewed discovery. The once struggling Elf, now lay trembling against the tree. His ashen features consumed by fever's heat. As the Man made to speak out his concern, the Elf cut him off. His bound hands pawing against the Human's now extended arms leaving traces of blood against the Ranger's garments in their wake as he spoke out shakily . "You mustn't blame him, Estel. This is not his doing, but mine!" The raven-haired Elf stammered, while his Human brother struggled to figure out to whom it was that Elrohir now referred to. " I should have helped him long ago . . . helped you both! The fault lays with me! It is mine to bear . . . Do not blame Elladan for he knows nothing of this. It is by my doing and mine alone . . . " The raven-haired Elf repeated in a gasp before collapsing forward into his brother's awaiting arms.
Author's Closing Notes: Well if you reached this point, then thank you for reading chapter 14. I hope you enjoyed it.
In an effort to post more frequently, I'm aiming toward shorter chapters. I'm hoping this might help me in posting more frequently and perhaps speeding the story along. We'll see. Well, until next time, Sue a.k.a. Quickbeam