Beta: Firith-Tindome

A/N: I want to thank everybody who reviewed. I am sorry that I cannot answer you all individually today. I hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 7: Choice

Aragorn and Legolas exited the caves an hour later. They were both tired, sweaty and had to show some bruises for their efforts. But that did not matter, for they had escaped the darkness of the tunnels and corridors, as well as the pressing feeling of the stillness and the dark memories that lingered in the cave system.

Once outside, Aragorn gazed around in wonder. Legolas had told him about the storm and the thunder, but seeing leaves, branches and even small stones sail through the air, was something completely different than being told about it. By now, the dark was almost black, with green tinges. Thunder rolled almost minutely through the forest, a deep growling that made the earth quiver.

"And now?" Aragorn shouted in Legolas's direction, trying to be louder than the howling wind.

Legolas held his hair away from his face so as to be able to speak, "We can stay here or move to the Last Homely House."

Aragorn considered this for a moment. He wanted to leave this place and return home. Not only made the caves him uncomfortable, but if the storm would turn any worse, he wanted to be home to be able to help. Moving closer to Legolas, he shouted above the wind, "Let us go home!"

Legolas nodded in answer, for just in that moment another loud thunder boomed in the air. In the distance, lighting illuminated the sky. The air had turned colder, but still no rain was falling on the dry earth. When the worst of the thunder had vanished, Legolas asked loudly, "Which way do we take, then? Through the forest or over the plains?"

The way through the forest would be shorter by a few leagues, and the trees would provide them with some shelter should it begin to rain. The plains, however, would be saver, for there would be no danger of falling trees or branches. While Aragorn still contemplated their options, a gust of wind whipped past them. The gust was so strong that it nearly shoved him to the ground, and Aragorn quickly moved closer to the cave wall for protection. If the wind was so strong already in the forest, where it had to sneak past trees and boulders, how strong would it be on the open plains?

As if Legolas had been able to read his thoughts, he said, "The forest, then?"

Aragorn nodded, "The forest it is." And together they set off towards the Last Homely House and deeper into the forest. The sky above them growled loudly and in the distance, a white bolt of lightning split the clouds.

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Leagues away, Elrond stood on a balcony, high above the courtyard. The strong wind was whipping his long hair around his head and his robes billowed around his body. But the elf Lord did not care overly much. His gaze was turned East, towards the valley and the mountains. There, in the distance, the storm was approaching fast. Already he could feel the energy in the air and see the first bolts of lightning. Soon, he knew, the storm would break, and it would be terrible.

They had secured the dwellings, stables and bridges as best as they could, had taken the animals inside and brought the women and children into the stone houses to keep them sheltered. A large number of elves had found refuge in the Last Homely House itself, for their houses were either too close to the rivers to be safe or too old to withstand the storm for long. It were all precautionary measures, but Elrond had felt that they were necessary. What did he always tell his sons? Better safe than sorry….

His sons. Elrond thoughts turned to Elladan and Elrohir, who were still out there, helping the last elves to secure their houses. They would be home, soon, Elrond knew. But what about Aragorn and Legolas? Elrond felt his heart constrict in his chest. His son and the Prince were somewhere out there, in the storm. He hoped that they had found shelter somewhere, and that they would not be in the open when the storm finally broke loose. It would be suicide to be outside when it all began.

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They had barely travelled for two hours when Aragorn and Legolas realized that it had been a very stupid idea to return to the house. The storm was so fierce now that they could barely make themselves heard above the continuous thunder. Lightning struck repeatedly, and the storm seemed to have swallowed all the light. It could not be later than midday, but already it was as dark as in the evening. And the storm was worsening still.

Twigs and branches were flying through the air, making walking dangerous. A few minutes ago, Legolas had only narrowly avoided being hit by a thick branch by jumping to the side in the last minute. The trees around them groaned in the wind, flapping their branches and showering them in needles. And what was bad as well, was the fact that walking in this wind was sapping their strength. It felt as if they were walking in chest high water; for every step they took, they had to take half one back. The wind was fighting them every step of the way.

Panting, Aragorn grabbed a tree trunk to steady himself before he moved on. The wind showered him with leaves and twigs, but he did not notice it anymore. Legolas walked to his right and slightly in front of him. As an elf, he had fewer difficulties, but he was struggling all the same.

White light filled his vision and Aragorn closed his eyes, but it was already too late. When he opened his eyes, green dots danced in his vision. Thunder boomed right above them a few seconds later, showing them that the storm was right above them. It was as if he was travelling westwards with them.

For a few more minutes they moved through the forest, when suddenly a loud grown filled the air. At first Aragorn thought that it was the thunder, but instead of rolling across the sky and fading, the groaning did not cease. He stopped in his tracks and looked around, searching. There was debris sailing through the air everywhere. The forest ground seemed to have been swept clean; where needles, twigs and branches used to be, Aragorn could see the plain dark sand. It was creepy.

Concentrating on the groaning once more, Aragorn looked up at the towering trees. And as he did so, his eyes widened in fear. He had barely a second to register what it was he saw, before the large pine tree in front of him shuddered and then tilted to the side. Aragorn saw the roots break through the earth at the bottom, saw the branches come at him and hear the splintering of wood. Without so much as a thought, he threw himself to the side.

"ESTEL!" Legolas screamed, but his voice was drowned in the loud thump of the tree hitting the ground. Lighting lit the sky and thunder boomed overhead. The fallen tree gave another shudder, its branches trembling, then they laid still.

The impact with the ground knocked the air from Aragorn's lungs. Gulping air into them, he timidly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw where needle covered branches; they seemed to be everywhere around him. With sudden clarity Aragorn realized that he had not been fast enough to clear the falling tree. He had been buried under the branches. As if this knowledge was a trigger, he suddenly felt his body ache in different places, his back the most prominent at the moment.

Aragorn shifted, then winced at the pain that shot through his back. It felt as if he had been used as a hedgehog's pillow. He moved again, and when the pain got not worse, he sighed in relief. If a few abrasions and bruises were the worst he had received, he had been lucky. Digging his elbows into the ground, Aragorn began to extricate himself from the tree.

Over the wailing of the storm, he suddenly heard Legolas agitated voice. "Estel? ESTEL? Can you hear me? Estel!"

"I'm here, Legolas!" Aragorn called, pushing himself forwards. The branches of the fallen tree tugged at his hair and clothing, but then two hands gripped his forearms and pulled. In the next moment, he was out from under the tree and engulfed in a hug.

"Estel! I thought you had been crushed. Never, ever do something like that again." Legolas's relieved voice reached his ears, and Aragorn gave a small chuckle.

"I'm not planning on doing this again."

"Good." Legolas said, then got to his feet. He stretched a hand down to help Aragorn up. Taking the offered hand gratefully, Aragorn let himself be helped to his feet. But no sooner was he standing, did he topple against Legolas, crying out in pain. Legolas's arms wrapped around him and lowered him to the ground.

"What is it? Are you hurt?"

"My ankle." Aragorn ground out, clutching his left ankle with both hands. His face turned a shade paler, and his brow was creased in clear pain. "I think I strained it."

"Let me see." Legolas gently pushed Aragorn's hands out of the way. With slow movements he examined the ankle through the boot. He knew that the thin leather would have offered no protection against a fall, and sure enough, he could already feel the beginning of a severe swelling.

"I cannot tell whether it is broken, you would have to take your boot off for such an examination." Legolas said, crouching beside Aragorn. "In any case it is badly strained."

Breathing quicker due to the pain, Aragorn grimaced. He gazed at his ankle for a moment, then looked around him. The storm was still raging. He opened his mouth to speak, but Legolas cut him off before he had uttered a word.

"Maybe we should head back to the caves."

Aragorn shook his head, "No. If we keep going westwards through the forest we will reach the outskirts in a few hours and then it will only be a short ways home."

Legolas looked at Aragorn for a moment, indecision warring on his face. To track back would be saver and now that Aragorn was injured, they would have to take it slower. And if the storm got any worse….But before he could voice his thoughts, Aragorn placed his hand on Legolas's knee and looked up at him with those big grey eyes of his.

"Legolas, let us go on. I don't want to be stuck in the forest or the caves when the storm finally breaks."

After a moment, Legolas nodded. When the storm finally broke and the clouds released the masses of water that they held, the forest would turn into a quagmire, as would the surrounding fields. Traversing them would be nigh impossible. If they went back to the caves, they could get stuck there for days.

"Alright, we will go on."

"Then help me up, please. Let us leave here." Aragorn said and pushed himself off the ground.

Nodding, Legolas grabbed Aragorn under the pits of his arms and set him on his feet. Tentatively, Aragorn tried to put weight on his injured ankle, but the pain that shot through it was so fierce that he hissed and tilted sideways into Legolas. "I will not be able to walk on it, Legolas."

"Then I will help you." And with that said, Legolas unceremoniously took a hold of one of Aragorn's arm and draped him across his shoulder. Putting his other arm around Aragorn's middle, Legolas began to move.

They stumbled through the forest, evading falling branches and doing their best to walk in a straight line towards the Last Homely House. With all the wind, the lightning and the thunder, the forest had become a confusing maze of dark trees and obstacles. While the thunder rolled right above them, the air was still dry and no rain was falling. The absence of rain was worrying both of them. They had long enough lived in and near forests to know that such a storm was a true danger. If lightning struck in the wrong place…

An hour later, Legolas suddenly stopped in his tracks. Panting, he hoisted Aragorn up by his side a few inches. "Can you hear that?" He said, looking around the dark forest.

"Hear what?" Aragorn said loudly, looking around as well. He could hear nothing out of the ordinary and the pain in his ankle was driving most of his thoughts out of his mind anyway.

"There is something on the air." Legolas said, and he tilted his head to the side to listen. "Something sinister."

Aragorn's head perked up. "Orcs?"

"No, wait." Legolas shook his head and continued to listen. At first he lost the sound he had heard, but then it came again, clearer this time and getting nearer. It was a sound as if hundreds and hundreds of small feet were scrambling over the ground, running, actually. Legolas frowned, not sure what it was he was hearing.

A tug at his sleeve brought him out of his concentration. "Legolas, look!" There was a hitch in Aragorn's voice that caused Legolas to swivel his head around quickly. He gazed into the direction Aragorn was pointing in. He recognized it the moment he saw it. There was a red glow between the trees right in front of them. While they watched, the red glow spread to both sides.

"A fire." Legolas breathed, shocked. He had worried that it could happen, but he had so hoped that it would not.

"Lightning must have ignited the dry forest." Aragorn said, shifting his weight. He scanned the surrounding area quickly. "It is in front of us and to our right."

"Then let us go left and hurry." Legolas tightened his hold on Aragorn and quickly they moved on. Both of them knew that they had to move quickly to avoid being encircled by the flames. With all the wind and the dry underbrush, the fire would spread quickly. But they had barely gone a few yards when Legolas stopped once more. Aragorn needed not to ask why, he could see it for himself. Red flames were burning high in front of them, barring their path. Without a word, Legolas turned around to get back the way they had come. It was the only way of escape they had left.

But after half a mile, they saw that it was not to be. Red flames glowed between the trees and the crackling of fire surrounded them; a rather small brook flowing through the area they stood in seemed to offer any protection from the fire. They turned around in a circle, trying to find a way out, but wherever they looked the red gleam of hot flames met them. They were surrounded by a sea of fire.

While they watched the dancing flames, the crackling of the fire got steadily louder and thick grey smoke snaked around the trunks and the undergrowth. In a few minutes, the whole forest would be a mass of smoke, fire and heat.

"What shall we do now, Legolas?" Aragorn asked, his voice trembling.

"I….I don't know." Looking around, Legolas could see no way out of this situation. The flames burned high, and already it was so hot that his shirt clung to his sweaty body. Beside him, Aragorn coughed shallowly, his eyes already red from the smoke.

"If it would just start raining." Aragorn commented, looking up at the grey sky. Legolas followed his gaze, but when he looked at the sky, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Estel! The trees!" He exclaimed agitatedly.

"I know that they are burning, Legolas, but there is nothing we can do to save them."

"No, no! That is not what I mean." Legolas grabbed Aragorn's arm and locked his eyes with the man's. "We can climb the trees that have not yet caught fire and try to get out of here by walking on the branches until we find an area where the fire has already been. A fire never strikes a place twice, for there in nothing there to consume."

Coughing, Aragorn gazed up at the trees surrounding them. They were tall and their branches sturdy. He had no doubt that they would hold Legolas's weight or his own. For a tiny, glorious moment his heart lifted in hope…before it crashed down hard. Paling even more, he turned red eyes on Legolas.

"My ankle, Legolas. It will not hold my weight. I cannot climb out of here."

Shocked, Legolas looked down at Aragorn's swollen ankle, as if he had forgotten that the human had injured it and that he was not holding half of his weight to prevent him from toppling to the ground.

"I can help you, together we can…."

"No, Legolas." Shaking his head, Aragorn cut Legolas off. "My ankle does not even hold my weight while walking. I will never be able to climb a tree and jump from branch to branch. Even if my ankle was not hurt, it would be very difficult for me to do with all the heat and the smoke. No, Legolas." Aragorn looked Legolas deep in the eyes. "I cannot go, but you can. You can get out of here. Leave me and save yourself."

To be continued

What do you think? Was that mean? Well maybe I will rescue them in the next chapter ... but only if you review. +evil grin+