Chapter 17

Thranduil stood on the stone balcony of his private rooms and stared out into the forest. One hand clutched a crystal goblet, half full of his favourite ruby wine, the other rested upon the carved railing that marked its edge. To anyone who glanced upwards from the gardens below he would have appeared a statue, so unmoving was he, so lost in thought.

An eerie silence had settled upon the forest and the trees had turned their songs inwards as if they were searching for something, or someone, they could not find. He waited. Up until this point he had known his son lived, out there, in the depths of what once was Greenwood the Great, until this festering, creeping darkness had come to claim it. Yet the trees no longer felt his presence and somewhere, deep within the king, a shard of ice was growing larger with each passing of the moon.

"Legolas," the name whispered out into the still air, half plea, half prayer. "Ion nin."

Silver tears began to flow silently down ice cold cheeks. Without sound the king wept, as he did all else, regally and controlled. Yet none the less in anguish and regret. For so long had he maintained the rigid mask of kingship he knew not how to set it aside but withim, his heart still bled.

Pictures flowed through his mind as first memories of his son overtook him. A tiny elfling in the forest, gifted when Thranduil thought his world had ended, when grief and despair had almost worn his fading body past redemption. Staring into eyes filled with love and trust and knowing he would never be alone again.

How had he turned so cold as to drive this purest of hearts away?

Time passed and still he stood and still the trees did not speak.

.

~o~

.

The sun was rapidly disappearing from the sky once more and Aragorn felt the, now familiar, prickle of apprehension between his shoulder blades at the thought of what the night would bring. The deeper they had gone into the accursed forest, the more of it's deadly inhabitants they kept encountering and it was beginning to feel as if some unseen force was pitting the creatures against them. Pulling his cloak tighter around his form, as much for the comfort of it's presence than for warmth, he maintained the pace set by his brothers and followed in their wake, scanning the trees warily as he moved.

Up ahead Elladan suddenly stopped and held up one hand in silence, signalling his brothers to do the same. The pair then remained motionless and silent for a few moments, until the elder waved them forward to join him.

"What is it?" The younger twin whispered as he approached.

In lieu of a reply Elladan simply raised his hand to point between the trees. Aragorn's eyes followed the finger and he could not help the slight gasp that escaped him when he saw to what his brother indicated.

Three men half sat, half sprawled under the trees their eyes closed as if in sleep, limbs splayed, surrounded by belongings apparently dropped and left wherever they had fallen.

"Wait here." Elladan whispered, before carefully moving towards the figures on feet light enough to make no sound.

Aragorn found his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword as he moved back slightly with Elrohir into the shadows where they would not easily be seen. If this were a trap, he wanted to be ready. The pair scanned both trees and men carefully as their brother approached them, nerves strung tightly as they awaited the attack they were certain would come. At last Elladan stood before one of the figures

and Aragorn watched as he seemed to stand there, staring down for an age before slowly squatting down in and felt Elrohir tense at his side.

For long moments there was neither movement nor sound from the strange tableau, then Elladan carefully reached out a hand and gently placed his fingers upon the mans neck to feel for the pulse of life that he knew should beat there, shaking his head when he found nothing under the icy flesh. He stood once more and moved to the second man, bending down to feel in the same way and again finding no sign of life. Turning to look back towards his brothers he contemplated whether it was worth trying the third when he heard a soft sigh and hastened towards the sound. Squatting once more he was surprised to see a glint of light in half hooded eyes and realised that this one was, at least for the moment, alive.

The twin turned, beckoning urgently to his brothers before placing his hand gently upon the others brow and recoiling from the heat contained within the clammy skin. The man's fingers were flexing slightly as if trying to grip something not there and he had begun to moan incomprehensively, his head rocking from side to side.

"Hush, you will be alright now." Placing his hands on either side of the man's face Elladan held him still for a moment whilst murmuring softly in westron. "We are here to help you."

Suddenly the man's eyes opened wide, shining with terror and he let out a terrible, loud scream that was cut off almost immediately by one of Elladans hands as he placed it over the gaping mouth.

"Hush, or you will bring every evil creature in this Valar forsaken forest down upon us!" The peredhil hissed curtly but realised his words had gone unheeded when the eyes before him rolled up into the man's head and his whole body began to twitch and jerk before him.

Elrohir and Aragorn had rushed over to their brother the moment his signal was given, arriving just in time to witness the beginning of the man's convulsions. Without the need for words the younger twin was on his knees, helping his brother to roll the man over onto his side. Aragorn, his nose twitching in distaste at the putrid scent that pervaded the air around the area, shrugged off his pack and began collecting the means for making a small fire. If he was right, they would need plenty of hot water, both for cleaning wounds and for steeping the herbs he could tell would be necessary, to combat the infection his nose was telling him had set in.

At last the man had stilled and the twins both breathed a soft sigh of relief as his chest continued to rise and fall, albeit very shallowly, indicating the continuance of life. Turning him over to lay upon his back the pair began a very gentle examination. Dried blood and other fluids appeared to heavily encrust the entirety of the man's clothing such that it was difficult to know where to start but they had experience enough in these circumstances and knew that their routine, methodical approach would uncover all wounds eventually whilst ensuring none were missed.

Whilst his brothers had begun cutting through the man's gore thickened clothing, Aragorn had managed to coax a small fire into being and set a bowl of water to heat. He had also opened his pack and removed a selection of herbs ready for use should they be needed. Once all was ready he turned to watch the twins, marvelling, as ever, at the way they worked in complete harmony with no need of verbal communication.

In no time, the man's torso was revealed along with a short, shallow gash, just above the navel, that was inflamed and oozing a thick green pus and was very obviously infected. Clearly someone had tried ineptly to care for the wound as it had been covered by some leaves that Aragorn had not recognised and bandaged with a dirty length of cloth. It was not deep enough to have been a serious wound when inflicted but judging by its appearance now it was a miracle that the man still lived. Quickly sorting through the herbs he had available Aragorn picked out those best for cleansing and fighting infection then added them to the pan of water to steep as it heated, as his brothers continued to examine the man for further injuries.

Throughout the twins examination the man had remained quiescent, only uttering a slight moan when he had been rolled from one side to the other in order for them to determine that his back was free from any injury. In fact, apart from a few minor cuts and abrasions the only real wound which appeared to be present, was that they had first noticed upon his stomach and in itself should not have been enough to threaten the man's life had it been properly tended when first inflicted. Elladan had found himself grimacing at the thought of such needless suffering.

"I wonder where they came from?" Aragorn mused aloud as he stared over at the two dead bodies still half seated under the trees.

"And why they were here?"

Elrohir moved to lift the pan from the flames and set it down beside his twin then picked up a clean cloth his human brother had removed from his pack in readiness, handing it to Elladan with a smile.

Silence fell as the pair watched the older elf gently wash away the thick, foul smelling substance from around the wound, grimacing at the blackened edges and angry red tracks that had begun to spread out across the otherwise pallid torso.

"This is not good," Elladan muttered almost to himself, whilst he worked. "Not good at all."

"There is so much dead flesh." Elrohir leaned over his twin, his voice ridden with disbelief. "And see how far the infection has spread." His finger hovered, pointing out the extent of the tracks without actually touching the mans skin.

"Aye, muindor," The elder replied sadly. "He needs more care than we can give out here." The wound thoroughly cleaned and exposed he began to pack it with some of the herbs Aragorn had carefully provided. "And even then I am not sure he will survive."

Squatting down beside his brother once more Elrohir helped with the bandaging of the wound, lifting the man gently as Elladan wrapped the clean strips of linen around his body before tying it off neatly, then lowering him gently to the ground.

"What do we do now?" Aragorn asked as the pair sat back upon their heels and looked to each other in silent communication.

"What indeed" stated Elladan as he went to rise.

"We can not leave him here," Elrohir rinsed out the pan, re filled it with fresh water then placed it back upon the fire, "that is for certain." He glowered at his twin before turning to rummage in his own pack.

"Of course we can not leave him!" Aragorn was aghast that the thought may have even crossed his brothers minds. "Not when he is in such a state." The young man's eyes flashed with anger. "How could you even think.."

"Hush, Aragorn." The elder twin spoke gently whilst holding up his hands in conciliation. " We can not leave him like this, no." He paused slightly before continuing. "But think for a moment where we are."

"I know where we are!" Aragorn spat out and shook his head as if not wishing to hear the elf's words.

"We are in the middle of one of the most dangerous regions in all of Arda." Elladan smoothly continued, keeping his voice calm and low. "With an almost certainly mortally injured man, the scent of whose wounds will draw every foul creature in the are towards us." He held up a hand to cut off the words he could see forming upon Aragorn's lips. "How long will it be before they arrive do you think, and how many? Ten? Fifty? One hundred? Two hundred? Are you prepared to throw away your life, your heritage, the hope of the world for one man?" For a moment elf and man stood, eyes locked together, fierce determination reflected in both.

"I will not leave him." Aragorn forced out through clenched teeth, "you should know, more than any other, what those creatures will do if they find him."

There was a horrified hiss of indrawn breath and the young man watched in horror as the colour drained from his brothers face, suddenly realising what he had just said. His stomach lurched.

"'Dan, I..." Desperate to find the right words Aragorn's throat constricted, strangling the apology before he could give it voice. "Please.."

"Leave it, Estel." Elrohir placed a hand on his human brothers arm to stop him from trying to follow as Elladan turned swiftly on his heels and stormed into the forest, the hilt of his sword gripped tightly by a hand trying desperately not to draw it. "How could you?"

Aragorn recoiled at the pain and disappointment that flashed from the younger twins eyes before he turned to follow his brother with a curt command for him to stay where he was and shame flooded through his body. His brothers had every right to be angry and upset with him. He had spoken without thought. knowing that their mothers fate was never far from the pair's minds and well deserved their ire and disgust. He looked back down at the unconscious male, noticing for the first time that he appeared merely a youth, even younger than himself and although regret for his words still burned within him this made him even more determined to ensure his safety. Seating himself beside the young man's feet he scanned the trees, hoping for, and dreading, his brothers return at the same time.

A/N

Well, I just had to make it all a little more difficult for the lads didn't I ?! Hehehe!

Just a quick note of thanks to those of you still reading and of course special mentions to Estaron,Obsidianglasses,Miraclesinthedark and LegolasLover 2003 for getting in touch and telling me what they think.