Scars -Chapter 29 Don't Keep Your Distance

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

Author's Note: Thank you all once again for your continued kind words and support regarding this story. As always, they are much appreciated. This next chapter is a short one and some of it contains the repetition and continuation of a memory mentioned in an earlier chapter. I hope you enjoy it. :)

(Perhaps it would be helpful to remind you that these are Elladan's memories. In the present day storyline, he continues holding onto the hand of his dying brother.)

"What does Father write?" Elladan pressed onward, this time more urgently, unable to the control the tremor of uneasiness which accompanied his words.

"Estel…"

"Yes, Estel?" Elladan answered, his heart now in his throat, as he took in the look of anxiety now filling his brother's grey depths.

"He has left Imladris. He is missing…."

Possessing such natural skill upon horseback was perhaps the sole reason that Elladan was not to be unseated during his frantic ride with Elrohir to meet up with their father. For his mind was not upon the terrain that was rushing past him, his thoughts lay exclusively with Estel.

"Why had the boy left the safety of their home to venture out into this untamed wilderness? How could he have been so reckless as to travel without chaperone into a land, which offered no promise of security? Had he not learned first hand, only a year ago, the dangers which were ever present within its deep growth? For long had the enemy, like vermin within a storehouse, encroached upon its terrain to lay in wait and strike out whenever the opportunity presented itself. And now Estel was making himself vulnerable yet again, offering himself like a lamb to the slaughter for whatever purposeful gain?"

Had his youngest brother lost all common sense? Did he not remember how very close to death he had come only short months before? If it had not been for Elrohir…

No, Elladan would not let his mind go back to that grievous hour…He would not allow those terrible moments to resurface again… for he could not relive the failure which had been his…And throwing caution even further aside, he closed his eyes to this darkening stream of thoughts, placing his full trust in the mount beneath him as his body flowed along with its, as if the two were one entity, while the powerful beast raced forward to keep up with Elrohir's galloping steed.

"Why are you doing this, Estel? " His troubled mind pondered as he tried to conjure up the image of his Human brother's face. Acute pain tore at his heartstrings when his inward senses realized that he could not come up with an accurate depiction of the lad. Had Aragorn changed so much within these last twelve months? Had it been that long since he had taken close note of his youngest sibling? After the attack upon the boy, Elladan had begun avoiding Aragorn, but surely this cooling off in their relationship had not caused him to lose sight of the child he had come to love more than life itself? Never had this been his intention when he had chosen to keep a distance between them. He had done so for protective purposes alone, though his father had pressed him as to whose, Aragorn's or his own?

He had rationalized when he had left Imladris months earlier that he had done so to rid his homeland of the overwhelming threat of the advancing shadow. Upon his return, he remembered the heated exchange which took place between his father and himself.

It has been long enough, Elladan!" The Lord of Imladris argued, " Estel, questions why you have been away so long. You must face up to him."

"You are being ridiculous, Father. You cannot believe it is because of Estel, that I've been so long away from home?"

"Can I not?" The Elf lord retorted.

"No…duty…"

"Duty?" Elrond interrupted. "What about your duty to your brother? He needs you to help make his recovery complete. There! You see! No, perhaps you don't…" His father continued as he watched his eldest flinch at the mere mention of his youngest's state of health. "That has been the problem all along. You do not see or at least you try not to. What is it Elladan? He has made great strides. Surely, you cannot continue to blame yourself, for such placement of blame is unmerited. No one could have altered the events which took place. You do not hold this world within your hands, and you have not the power to dictate what should and should not happen within it. For to believe so, would be imprudent. You are as much at the mercy of this existence as I, myself, or any other being which inhabits These Lands. We only hold sway over what has been given to us; no more; We can do our best with that alone. But you… you have fallen short of your best where your brother is concerned. He needs you to help him set things right…"

"How can I father?" Elladan appealed. "I cannot not even look at him…his face without remembering…"

"It is the scar, which holds you back then?…I've guessed as much. You see it then as only an impediment…and not as a testament of his endurance in the face of adversity. You do yourself a great disservice by doing thus…and to your brother as well…"

His father's words still echoed within his head as the painful memory moved onward

Aragorn had been as startled as himself when at last the two met up. For, many months had passed since the boy's hasty return to Rivendell. His brother was still in need of a crutch to get around the hallways of their home. It was as such that Elladan now met up with him.

Aragorn's face was free of any self-imposed mask to hide his emotions. In the moments that he remained unspotted by the youth, Elladan could easily discern that the boy was still suffering from the lingering effects of his injuries through the lines which marked his forehead, his thinned lips, the flesh above them marred by a now fading scar, and at last by the concentrated effort the child put forth as he tried to maneuver the passageways of their home. But it was in those unguarded moments as well, before Aragorn's eyes at last perceived his brother's return home, that the child was unable to keep from Elladan the grimness that now marked his gaze. Yet this unmasked vulnerability disappeared in a flash, as if it never existed, when Aragorn at last took note of his eldest brother, being replaced instead by a heartbreaking look of longing and love.

"Elladan!" The child cried out as he moved awkwardly forward towards his Elven brother.

"Estel…" His own strangled voice replied as the child at last met up with him before he could exact an escape. Without hesitation, the child did what came naturally to him, and dropping his crutch, he threw his arms about his brother. Elladan's slight side step caught the youth off guard, and though he tried to compensate for it, his injured body would not allow him. He stumbled and would have fallen if Elladan had not rethought his previous response and moved quickly forward to save his brother from further injury.

Surprise flashed within the child's grey eyes at this unexpected reaction from his eldest brother, but just as quickly it faded away to be replaced by a look of gratitude for Elladan saving him yet again.

"Elladan, it's been so long. Where have you been? Why have you stayed away so long? I have missed you."

Elladan's voice caught with emotion as he tried to provide answer. "It has not been that long, Estel. It just seems that way because you are young, but when you get older like me, have been witness to the passing of many millennia, then the time we've spent apart will be like the blink of an eye."

"Not to me!" The boy argued as he pressed onward. "Say you will stay for a while! You will not be so quick to set out again, will you? Promise me that you will stay! I've been so lonely…"

"Lonely?" Elladan returned in exaggerated astonishment. "With all the household staff afoot and your increasing studies, not to mention the constant stream of visitors at father's table, I dare say you've not had time to miss your brother."

"But I have, for none of them compare to you or Elrohir. None of them can make me laugh as you do or keep me entertained by the stories they tell. Please promise me you will stay awhile, brother. I shall try my best not to be a pest."

"You have never been a pest, Estel." Elladan's voice broke as he crushed his brother to him forgetting how frail the boy's body now appeared since his devastating encounter with the Orcs.

Aragorn was startled by the passion within his brother's sudden embrace and stiffened involuntarily. Noting his reaction, Elladan immediately backed away putting the youth from him. "Did I hurt you?" He asked tersely, as his anxious, grey eyes searched the depths of his brother's own for any sign of pain.

"No," Aragorn shook his head, "You just surprised me." The boy answered forthrightly, while noticing for the first time the uncustomary aloofness now replacing the serenity and joviality of his brother's once familiar features.

"Good!" Elladan responded quickly before continuing hastily. "For I don't want to hurt you. I've never meant to hurt you…" Then changing the subject, he rambled on further. "You must excuse me, Estel, but I promised father that I would meet with him to discuss the activity we encountered while out in the hinterland. I don't mean to rush off like this, but you know how father does not tolerate being kept waiting. I shall come to see you soon, perhaps tonight as you make ready for bed. I will tell you then some of the tales that happened to Elrohir and myself while we were out in the Wild." He smiled uneasily. "Forgive me…" He finished in a rush.

"Of course…" Aragorn attempted to answer as Elladan turned at once and walked briskly away from him in the direction of their father's study not waiting to hear his remaining response. " But you have never hurt me, Elladan…" Or so the boy thought.

Elladan was not to come to his room that evening, nor the next, nor any of the succeeding nightfalls because he had set out early the next morn, before dawn, to return to the safety offered up to him by the Wild.

The rushing wind that drifted past the raven-haired Elf, as his galloping steed continued soaring onward, served to dry the stream of tears that ran down his ageless face, allowing none to become privy to the dark thoughts which still haunted him.

For, his was a wounded spirit, much like his brother, Estel's. Through the tragic events of the year past, his soul had sustained damage that was beyond reparation.

TBC

Author's Closing Notes: Well if you reached this part, then thank you for reading chapter 29. I hope you enjoyed it. Yes, the flowers from last chapter will be important towards the future events of this story. The small shower of white, which fell from Aragorn's hand while he was being carried by Legolas, was indeed some of the very same flower petals that Elladan earlier encountered.

Okay, since it's been so long since I've last updated, I'll provide you with a brief clue. Elladan's contact with Aragorn is important as is Legolas'. He has established a link with his brother, though he is yet to realize the strength of his capabilities.

To continue with my ongoing AWL theme, the chapter title is from the lyrics of the Evita Song, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina. " :)

Edited- My apologies, I noted quite a few mistakes as I reread this chapter , and I have changed a few words to better suit the text I hope. I need to take my time and not post so hastily next time, perhaps later in the day when I more awake. I am guilty of forever tweaking my writing, however, and have become quite fond of the edit option available here. :)

Well until next time. :) Sue a.k.a. Quickbeam1