Author´s Note: the second part follows the end of The Two Towers and thus the battle of Helm´s Deep: in the extended version of the movie, it becomes clear that Aragorn does not heed Legolas´ advice to get some rest after he has returned on Brego and before the battle, thus he must be utterly spent afterwards.
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A Moment´s Respite, Part 2: The Two Towers
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Legolas´ gaze rested on Aragorn; his exhaustion finally seemed to have caught up with the Ranger, for his movements seemed oddly slow and mechanical, and it took him an unusually long time to undo the knots and clasps of Brego´s saddle.
The elf met the eyes of Gandalf, who had silently been talking to Shadowfax but apparently also noticed that Aragorn had obviously reached his limits. So far, Legolas had given the wizard only a short account of what had happened on the way to Helm´s Deep, but Gandalf could see the worry in the elf´s eyes as he now assessed his human friend. How Aragorn had managed to find the strength to last throughout the whole battle he could not imagine; even though they had known each other for many years had he obviously underestimated the man´s willpower.
Legolas now stepped up to his friend and silently started to give him a hand. Aragorn looked slightly irritated but did not say anything. He had finally managed to unstrap the saddle and took it off, unable to subdue a wince when the weight strained his left arm. This did not go unnoticed by the elf, who knew that something was wrong with the arm anyway; Aragorn had been holding it with his right hand whenever possible while they had been preparing for battle, but not once taken the time to have someone see to it.
Aragorn turned, only to have Gandalf taking the saddle off him: "I will take care of this, and Brego.", he said quietly. "Go and get some rest, dear friend. We will ride back to Edoras tomorrow, and I would rather not have you falling from your horse out of fatigue." Aragorn did not find the means to protest; he felt strangely dazed, as his weariness was overwhelming him.
Someone gently took hold of his right arm and led him out of the horses´ quarters; somewhere in his tired mind he knew it was Legolas, and followed readily. The elf steered his friend through the crowd of people; the smell of blood still hung in the air and assaulted Legolas´ senses, but he did not heed it, or the countless bodies which were still lying where they had fallen. Some of the Rohirrim had begun to clear them away, along with rubble and debris from the destroyed wall, but everyone was weary and exhausted, and it would probably take a few days anyway, considering the amount of dead. Aragorn did not register his surroundings properly anymore, he was nearly asleep while walking.
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When they had finally reached the stairs, Legolas led Aragorn to the armoury; there was a small chamber next to the entrance, which usually served the purpose of a guardroom, but now was deserted. Legolas had noticed it on the day before and had just thought of it a little earlier; it might be one of the very few places in the whole fortress which were tolerably quiet, thus he brought his friend there. It was dark, and he felt Aragorn stiffen instinctly, despite his stupor: "Do not worry, Aragorn", he soothed, aware that the man was too exhausted to think clearly anymore and therefore might not be able to differentiate between times: "The battle is over, you can rest soon. We are nearly there..." Taking advantage of his superior sight, the elf steered the Ranger over to a far corner with two small cots, but did not allow him to lie down yet: "We need to get you out of this mail shirt first", he said. "Just one moment longer, Aragorn." He swiftly started to remove the Ranger´s weapons and tunic, which was made difficult by the man starting to sway slightly, and finally leaning against the elf for support. Legolas dropped the tunic to the ground: "Can you lift your arms a bit?", he asked and started to pull the mail shirt upwards. Aragorn was not sure what the elf wanted from him, but complied with the movement of the mail, and somehow Legolas managed to get him out of it. With a heavy thud, it landed next to the tunic.
Relieved, Legolas helped his friend to lie down.
Aragorn ached all over, and a big weight seemed to press down on him, even though the mail shirt was gone; it was a relief to get off his feet and be allowed to close his eyes. He felt that a blanket was being spread out over him, accompanied by soft words spoken in elvish, but he could not follow them. A cool hand touched his brow, gently and comforting, then he knew no more.
Legolas felt his friend relaxing under his touch; good, so Aragorn was asleep. He got to his feet and lit a torch to illuminate the room, then went to retrieve some supplies.
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It took him longer than he would have wished for; he did not know his way around the fortress and had to ask several people where he might find some fresh water, bandages or healing supplies. Some of them were not able to answer him, for they seemed still in shock, others simply did not know it themselves. He looked around for familiar faces, but he did not even know where Gimli was. Sighing, he continued his search.
When Legolas had finally gathered together what he needed, he returned to the guardroom; Aragorn had not moved and was lying just as his friend had left him.
Legolas put the supplies down on a small stool and sat down on the edge of the cot. He pulled the blanket off and started to remove the Ranger´s clothes, or rather their remains.
Aragorn´s body was heavily bruised; appalled, Legolas took in the sight of it and thanked the Valar again that his friend had survived the fall from the cliff at all. The warg must have hit the water´s surface first, otherwise the Ranger´s body would very likely have been smashed by the force.
Legolas pushed that thought aside and concentrated on his friend instead. Aragorn´s arms and legs were bloodied and partially scabbed over where his clothes had been ripped apart; his left shoulder felt warm to the touch and seemed slightly swollen. Legolas gently felt along the bone, but did not discover anything unsusual; it might just be a contusion. He did not think that the shoulder was dislocated, otherwise Aragorn would not have been able to move it at all, if he remembered correctly. He put a wet cloth on it, assuming that the cold would be good, then redirected his attention to the countless small wounds Aragorn had sustained, most of them undoubtedly being consequences of his fall, or, Legolas reminded himself, of his two falls: Aragorn had after all landed hard on the ground after the wall had exploded.
The elf gently washed the blood off; several mostly minor cuts became visible, which the elf cleaned thoroughly. At last he saw to the man´s hands; nearly every knuckle had severe abrasions, remains of the fierce battle Aragorn had fought.
He covered Aragorn back up with the blanket and layed the Ranger´s elven cloak on top of it for additional warmth; that was all that he could do for now. He felt like resting as well, his own tiredness slowly creeping up on him; he wanted to go and find Gandalf first, though, for he would know what to do with Aragorn´s shoulder.
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Slowly, Legolas got up and left the room. He found the wizard on the outer wall, overlooking the keep and obviously watching something. By the time the elf had reached him, he had recognized what it was: two elven warriors were carrying Haldir´s body away. Silently, their eyes followed the bier, and it suddenly seemed to Legolas as if all the sadness and grief he had experienced so far could easily be increased to the infinite, no matter how strong it had already been before.
Gandalf´s low voice interrupted his thoughts: "Were you looking for me?", he asked.
Legolas nodded hesitantly, as his mind was still with Haldir: "Yes", he murmured and finally pulled himself together, turning to the wizard: "Aragorn´s shoulder seems injured, and I am not sure what causes it."
Gandalf nodded and followed the elf to the guardroom.
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When Aragorn woke up a few hours later, he did not feel any pain; it was warm around him, and his mind was still tired enough to keep him in a state of relaxed contentment. He could vaguely make out the shape of Legolas, resting on the other cot and seemingly asleep, and knew everything was well if the elf had let his guard down like this. Thus reassured, he closed his eyes again.
He had not noticed the old wizard, who was sitting on the other side, watching over the two friends. While he had examined Aragorn´s shoulder, Legolas had sat down on the unoccupied cot.
"It is a mere contusion", Gandalf said, confirming Legolas´assumption, "not dangerous but certainly painful. I will brew a tea which will help to reduce the swelling and the pain."
When he returned with the tea, however, Legolas had fallen asleep and sunk down sideways on the cot.
Muttering under his breath good-naturedly, the wizard put the cup down and lifted Legolas´ legs on the cot as well, then he started to make Aragorn drink the tea, gently lifting his head so he could swallow. The Ranger did not wake up at this, so deep was his usually light sleep.
Gandalf could not but look from him to Legolas a few times, smiling into his beard.
When the cup was finally empty, the wizard got up once more and pulled the elf´s cloak over him: he knew that Legolas probably would not feel the cool air as much as Aragorn, but still- Gandalf simply could not imagine feeling truly comfortable without a blanket.
Legolas stirred in his sleep, his unfocused eyes blinking once and looking at Gandalf before he drifted off again.
The wizard smiled once more and sat back down, mulling over the past few days. His gaze came to rest on Aragorn, whose face was peaceful. He had lead the people to victory, had proven his valour beyond expectations; Gandalf hoped that he would not pay too high a price for this, for the war, he knew, was just about to begin.
His gaze strayed over to Legolas again, watching the prince for a while: without losing too many words about it, had he stayed at Aragorn´s side and would continue to do so as long as he could. The wizard was glad about the loyalty he had found even in the dwarf; friendship and the strength it provided truly had to be valued above anything else in times like these.
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The End
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