Chapter 22
Alone again the elf sat and pondered just what it was he had done wrong this time. That he still wore the clothes his master had finally allowed helped him feel his transgression had not been too bad but he could never really tell. One moment the comforting presence would be there beside him, speaking gently of life beyond the room, stroking his hair and allowing him the hope that he would soon be able to see the outside world for himself. The next, there would be cold, dark loneliness, with only the drip of water for company and the threat that he would remain alone for evermore. All that he once knew had turned from him already, life would become unbearable if the one person left abandoned him also.
He could not tell how much time had passed, there was neither day nor night and life stretched on before him in an endless ribbon of confusing thoughts and feelings. Dreams and reality merged into one until he could no longer tell the difference and had, in fact, ceased to try, allowing his emotions to be swept along by whatever tide chanced to be taking them at the time. The only constant in his life was the hooded figure he had come to call master and of his life, countenance or station he knew naught at all and cared even less.
.
~o~
.
" Ugh," Aragorn shuddered as he wiped his sword across the furred abdomen of the huge spider he had just removed it from, cleaning the sticky blood and gore from its blade. "I hate spiders!"
A duet of musical chuckles made him look up to see his brothers, standing between the bodies of four more of the great creatures, regarding him with mirthful indulgence and suddenly he was returned to his childhood.
To a balmy evening when he was about 9 or maybe 10, he had been lying in bed watching the gauzy drapes gently blowing in the breeze through the open window and congratulating himself heartily upon finally having been able to get one over on the pair he called brothers earlier that day when he felt a light, tickling sensation on the sole of his left foot. Reaching down under the thin sheet that was his only covering for the night he had scratched the area unthinkingly and smiled at the mental images of his brothers faces when they had witnessed the culmination of a weeks planning. They had been a joy to behold. He had scratched again as the itch moved to the top of his foot.
His brothers had been playing tricks upon him for as long as he could remember and never had he been able to effectively return the favour until that morning. After bathing in the large pool reserved for family members they had both discovered two disgruntled snakes nestling within their abandoned clothing on the waters rocky bank. Hidden in the bushes out of sight where he could safely watch the scene unfold Estel had found it hard to muffle his laughter at the startled yells and never before heard oaths that had emanated from the pair, the latter of which he had squirreled away for future use himself.
He had wriggled in the bed as his mirth threatened to spill over into laughter once more, his fingernails raking the skin of his calves. The itch had multiplied by this point and he had finally become aware that it had now become akin to a myriad of tiny feet pattering up and down his lower limbs. He had jumped at a sudden, small pinprick of pain at the back of his right knee and as his hand had automatically gone to rub the area felt something small squash under his fingers. Deciding an insect must have crawled into his bed he had rubbed his fingers onto his short sleeping robe to remove any residue and turned over to settle down for the night.
The itch, however, had not stopped. In fact, it had grown worse, now invading his torso also, setting him to wriggle and squirm under its assault, his fingers flying from one point to another without pause until he had finally raised himself to a sitting position and pushed back the white cotton sheet, thus uncovering the cause of his discomfort. It was then he had screamed.
The memory was strong enough for Aragorn's heart to begin racing in horror and his breath to catch in the throat that was now feeling again the rawness of that long ago wail. He glowered over at the pair who were now watching him warily.
"Is something amiss, Estel?" Elladan's eyebrows raised in query in a manner very much akin to that of his father.
"Aye, Estel," the younger twins face echoed the innocent seeming puzzlement of his brother. "You look as if you have seen a monster."
"And a very unfriendly one at that." Speaking in perfect unison, the pair shared a grin before turning back to face the young man.
"Or maybe 'twas more than one!" Elladan chuckled lightly and kicked the spider at his feet.
"Lots of little hairy ones." Elrohir laughed and wiggled the fingers on his left hand in a scampering motion.
"With eight legs apiece!" The duo looked to each other and dissolved into giggles as their memories merged with those of their human brother.
"Suddenly finding yourself to be sharing a bed with hundreds of spiders is no laughing matter!" Aragorn glared at the amused pair, "Especially when you are only 10 years old at the time." Trying to maintain an indignant air was becoming difficult as the twins were now almost crying with laughter.
"H-h-hundreds!" Elladan stammered out eventually. "T- there were only a- about t- twenty."
"W-well. F-fifty at the most." Elrohir chimed in. "A-a-and they were very t-tiny anyw.." Breaking off midsentence he dissolved once more into gales of laughter and turned to his twin for support.
"You s-s-screamed like a girl." The pair were now hanging onto each other, tears running down their faces, their words coming out in a jumble together. "Even l-l-lou-der, tha-n, Ar-Ar-wen, ever d-d-did."
"I did not!" The young man blurted out, trying his hardest to sound affronted and maintain a grim expression. He failed.
Watching as his brothers became more and more helpless Aragorn tried desperately not to give in but their mirth was so infectious that it was not long before his cool facade cracked and he found himself bent double, joining his own laughter to theirs.
It was a few minutes before man and elves had themselves back under control but eventually their laughter subsided leaving all three gasping for breath, with tear stained, flushed faces,
"Hannon Le." The young man clapped a hand on each of the twin's shoulders, his heart full of affection for those two he loved so well.
"For the spiders?" Elrohir voiced as the half elven pair shared a puzzled look.
"Nay," chuckled Aragorn. "For always knowing when and how to lift my spirits." He squeezed each shoulder affectionately. "What would I do without you?" He smiled then quickly added, "Don't answer that." As two mouths simultaneously opened. "I fear my sides can take no more."
Identical mischievous grins split the twin's faces and Aragorn wondered, not for the first time, at their ability to switch from youthful, carefree elflings, to cold, brutal killers within one hearbeat and the next and wished it need never be so. He would have given anything for them never to have to face another orc or foul creature again.
With a sigh the young man turned and surveyed the grotesque corpses that surrounded them, he was sure the creatures had become more daring than when last he had visited the woodland realm, larger too. He shivered, as a sudden, vision came to his mind of sharing his bed with one of the monsters before him and he shook his head to clear the most unwelcome sight from his thoughts. That was definitely not funny. With a final grimace he walked over to where his dagger protruded proudly from one of the beasts multifaceted eyes and grasping its hilt tugged it free. It released with a sickening squelch, bringing a string of thick mucous with it that clung to the blade as if reluctant to let it go. Shaking the blade in an effort to remove the viscous fluid he watched the thick globules spatter the beasts furry abdomen before finally wiping it clean and replacing it at his belt ready for use once more, all the time swallowing hard to suppress the bile he felt rising inside.
"If you are quite ready, muindor," Elladan's dulcet tones held an unmistakable air of raillery. "I think these creatures are past invading anyone else's sleep."
Aragorn scowled at his brothers bright smile.
"What?" The elder twin feigned an expression of innocence then ducked quickly out of the way as a glob of mucous was hurled in his direction. "What did I do?"
"You know full well, you infuriating, exasperating, troublesome elfling." Grinning from ear to ear the young man followed the first handful quickly with a second and this time his brother was not quite fast enough. It hit the elf square in the forehead, with a resounding squelch and Aragorns laughter rang out as he whirled away into the trees.
"Come on then!" The young man shouted back over his shoulder. "Have you forgotten we have a friend to rescue!" He sped off, safe in the knowledge that his brothers would follow yet also very aware that at some point in the future he would find himself on the receiving end once more.
.
~o~
.
Gallion was worried.
He had never known his king be so quiescent, so deep within his own thoughts as to take no part in the discussions of his captains whilst they planned their patrol rotas and strategies for the coming season. Standing beside the king's chair where he could best be called to serve if there was anything his lord required, the careworn elf's features remained calm and free from expression, as they had been schooled over the many years of his service, yet beneath their surface concern was eating away at his resolve.
Silence descended as the captains looked over to await Thranduil's opinion upon their thoughts. He always had the final decision on their plans, often appearing to overturn a proposal for the merest of reasons, yet this time he said naught, just sat and stared into the distance. The silence grew and Gallion saw the apprehensive glances the captains began to exchange as they awaited their kings verdict over the schedules laid before him. Stepping forwards briskly and reaching across in front of the king as if to turn the chart spread out upon the table they had gathered around, Gallon managed to jostle Thranduils arm enough to bring him out of his fugue and bowed his head in meek apology at the cold glare earned for his temerity. He smiled sadly as the king's eyes briefly cleared and he waved his hands, dismissed the captains without further comment and picked up the glass that had lately become his constant companion.
"I am so tired Gallion." Thranduils voice held a depth of anguish and lassitude that the other had never heard before and his worry increased. "So very tired."
The glass tilted upto eager lips and its contents were swiftly gulped down before it was replaced upon the table and the king raised his eyebrows in expectation. Gallion moved to retrieve an elegant, long necked, crystal decanter from the nearby cabinet and made to refill the empty glass.
"Then you should sleep, sire." Keeping his tone neutral, the wood elf deliberately misunderstood in an effort to lighten his king's mood.
As the deep red liquid neared the vessel's rim a long, pale hand reached out to snatch the glass away before Gallion quite realized what was happening, thus causing a thin ribbon of wine to flow down and form a ruby pool upon the table. With a strangled gasp Thranduil rose to his feet, his eyes fixed upon the spot and wide open in terror.
"Legolas!" The single name was uttered in such a grief stricken cry it tore at the wood elf's heart as for a moment his king stood transfixed by the vivid puddle then, accompanied only by the sound of breaking glass, crumpled to the ground to lay in a motionless heap, a red stain spreading from underneath his inert body.
"Thranduil!"
Kneeling down beside the king, all sense of protocol and decorum forgotten, Gallion ran his hand down his old friend's cheek, feeling the unusual chill within the porcelain skin.
"Oh Valar, nay! Help! " Tears ran down his cheeks as he raised his voice, reluctant to leave his position, and called for assistance. "Help!"
Relief rushed through the anguished elf as the door opened and two guards came rushing in to discover the cause of his cries.
"Healer, quickly!" He shouted as they approached. "The king needs a healer. Now!" His voice raised in volume as the startled elves approached, jolting them into obedience and after a shared glance one rushed back out of the room before the other warily approached the strange scene.
Unmindful of the guards thoughts Gallion returned his eyes to the fallen monarch, picked up one icy hand and began to rub it between his own, alternately muttering imprecations, pleas and curses under his breath. Finally allowing his fear to turn to anger in an effort to penetrate through to the king's mind he raised his voice, grasped the kings shoulders, shook him violently and began to shout.
"You cannot do this to us Thranduil! I will not let you. Do you hear me!"
But the king remained motionless and unresponsive and Gallion felt his own heart begin to break.
A/N
I am so, so sorry for keeping you all waiting this long but I hope to be back on track now. The shiny new laptop I got for my birthday is helping enormously too!
Thanks for your patience and I do hope I have not lost too many of you over this prolonged hiatus in proceedings.
Special thanks as usual go to the awesome Obsidianglasses, Estaron, BlackMinx17 and NirCele for taking the time to review.