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Chapter 9: Attempt To Escape Part Two
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Elrond woke up because something was not right.
It took him an unusual long time to find out what it was: he had been sleeping in a chair and managed to twist his neck in an awkward position.
Feeling unpleasantly stiff, he rubbed the spot with his hand and sat up.
.
Early morning light filled the room, and despite his weariness, Elrond could not but marvel at its beauty.
He slowly got up to check on Estel, who lay exactly as before.
The elf intuitively reached out and stroked the Ranger´s hand.
He was about to turn away from the bed when he caught a movement in the corner of his eye: Estel was slowing flexing his fingers, responding to his father´s light
touch.
.
Quickly, Elrond sat down with him, his stiff neck all but forgotten: "Estel", he said, his voice quiet but demanding.
He took his son´s hand and squeezed it gently.
After a few seconds, he felt a faint reply, encouraging him to adress the man yet again: "Come to me, Estel. Leave the darkness..."
Aragorn moaned softly, but after a little while his eyes opened.
.
Elrond was so relieved that he felt hot tears well up in his eyes. He squeezed Aragorn´s hand again, allowing him to take in his surroundings without haste.
The Ranger´s eyes were glassy from the fever, which had barely decreased despite Elrond´s ministrations, and it took him a while to focus, but then he turned his
head slightly and looked at his foster father.
Elrond saw him wince at the movement, but the elf had wholeheartedly longed for this moment all the time he had spent sitting with the sick man, so he rejoiced
nevertheless.
"There you are", he said fondly, and smiled. Only then did Aragorn recognize him, and his eyes widened when he grasped the full meaning of this.
"You are safe now", Elrond said, having read his son´s mind. "You are at home."
.
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Aragorn had no memory of how he had gotten to Imladris; for a while, he actually did not quite know what exactly had happened or which year it was, to start with.
He racked his brain, but all he could come up with was that it had something to do with Orcs, and that he felt terribly weary now, stifled by an unpleasant heat, and did not mind to lie in bed for a change.
He drifted in and out of sleep, sometimes startled by the cold when Elrond renewed the cloth, and lost track of time again.
Every time he woke up, his father or sometimes Erestor were there, and both of them constantly seemed to want something from him, forcing him to swallow water,
broth and a bit of bread, or ugly-smelling brews they claimed to be good for him.
.
Once both of them were there, Erestor helping Elrond to change Aragorn´s nightshirt and bedding and wash the fine film of sweat off his body, as he had been
sweating strongly in his fever.
Aragorn feebly leaned against his father´s chest and once more wondered why he was sick while Erestor gently guided his thoroughly bandaged and splinted arm
through the fresh shirt´s sleeve, but then the thought escaped him.
It felt good to be held in those strong, familiar arms, and contentedly, he drifted back off to sleep.
.
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On the third day, the fever finally started to subside.
Elrond sighed in relief as Aragorn´s sleep deepened.
The past few days had been a strain; he had alternately been caring for Aragorn and Legolas.
Fortunately, Erestor had offered to help, which Elrond had gratefully accepted.
He could of course have asked someone else from his household, but felt reluctant to do so, if only because whenever Estel had been ill, Elrond or the twins had
taken care of him, and Erestor had known him well since his childhood.
.
And Estel, as much as Elrond detested it, was no child anymore.
He deserved to be treated like an adult, which he was, but in the elves´ eyes he would forever remain but a mere child.
Elrond understood this and wished to spare him the embarassment of being tended by someone not as close to him.
The same held true for Legolas.
.
Elrond sighed when he thought of the prince; oddly enough, his condition had not improved much yet.
He was healing only slowly, still being unusually dazed every time he woke up, and he slept with his eyes closed.
The elf-lord blamed it on the blood loss, which had happened when Legolas had most likely been severely exhausted already.
Aragorn had told his father everything he remembered, and Elrond did not have another explanation.
The "few blows to the head" that that dreadful Orc had mentioned to Aragorn could not have caused any grave damage, or else Legolas would have visibly suffered
from their consequences already.
So Elrond concentrated on restoring Legolas´ strength, determined to bring him back to good health as soon as possible.
.
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Aragorn stared at the wall for some time before he realized that he was awake; the transition from dreaming to being awake had been too smooth.
He knew that his father was drugging him to keep the pain at bay, letting him float through warm and shallow dreams.
Although he disliked the idea, he was grateful enough, because even now his arm and shoulder hurt a little bit, not dramatically and only just to be a tiny presence in
the background of his mind, but it gave him an idea of how bad it actually would be without any painkillers, and he had not forgotten the agony he had been in.
His memory had come back completely once the fever had gone, and ever since had he tried to persuade Elrond to let him go and see Legolas.
He was worried about him, especially as Elrond and Erestor remained strangely vague whenever he demanded to know how his friend fared.
But of course, Elrond had not permitted Aragorn to get up: "Your head must not be aggravated", he repeated sternly every time that his son started to argue. "And
apart from that, you have told me that your vision is still blurry due to the concussion, so I do not quite see why you insist that you are well!"
.
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Cautiously, Aragorn looked around and found himself to be alone.
He decided that did not want to wait any longer, he had to see how Legolas was doing.
So he sat up slowly.
His head started to throb, but it was bearable.
Once he had swung his legs out of bed, the throbbing increased a little and joined forces with a slight additional spin of his already blurred vision, but it was nothing
he would not be able to manage.
Swaying, he came to his feet; his legs were not up to supporting him though, so he fell back down on the bed.
.
For a moment, he just sat there, cursed the Orcs and his weakness and waited for the room to slow down and his sight to return.
Once it did, he stubbornly tried again.
Although he had a hard time to find his balance with only one arm to count on, he managed to stand and totter towards the door like a newborn foal.
Once he had reached it, he leaned against the wall and breathed in deeply to fight off the nausea which assailed him now.
Shaking, he reached for the door, but he had not even touched it yet when it opened, and he found himself face to face with Erestor.
.
Elrond´s counsellor comprehended at once, stepped inside swiftly and shut the door behind him.
Then, he crossed his arms and looked at Aragorn reproachfully: "What are we to do with you?", he chided.
Instead of an answer, Aragorn groaned as he felt his knees buckle, and had it not been for Erestor, who quickly reached out and supported him, he would have
collapsed.
Erestor helped the Ranger back to bed and tucked him in: "It is for a reason that you are not allowed out of bed, you know", he said, but could not hide his worry.
"Yes. It is not worth the trouble, I can see that now", Aragorn murmured with his eyes closed, trying to regain his senses.
"And if it had not been me but your father just now, you would be in even more trouble", Erestor firmly pointed out.
Aragorn opened one eye: "You are not going to tell him?", he asked.
Erestor shook his head: "I will not tell him if you promise me to stay put!"
Aragorn knew that he was defeated, and it did not feel good.
.
"I have to see Legolas", he pleaded nevertheless.
Erestor, who heard the gravity behind the rather childish insistence, sat down on the bed: "Why can it not wait?", he asked sympathetically.
Aragorn looked at him, pain evident in his eyes: "Because I know that you and my father are hiding something from me, and I have to know how he fares", he said in
a small voice. "I worry for him, Erestor. He saved my life. He would not tell me how he managed to free us, but we escaped. And if it had not been for Legolas, I
would not be here now. He did not leave me there but carried me a long way, even though his leg was hurt..."
He fell silent, looking stricken.
.
Erestor smiled sadly: "We are not so much hiding something from you as not telling, which is a difference", he said. "Legolas is recovering only slowly.
Lord Elrond is quite worried about it and knows that you would be as well."
Aragorn stared at him: "What do you mean, recovering only slowly? He is on the mend, is he not?"
Erestor half-shrugged, half-shook his head, looking quite uncomfortable: "His wounds are healing, but he is still very weak , and he is recovering at an unusual slow
rate for an elf, I should say-"
He interrupted himself when he saw Aragorn pale visibly: "Do not worry", Erestor therefore added quickly, regretting that he had given away too much, "your father
does everything in his power to help him."
.
Aragorn knew not what to say. It frightened him to know his friend was suffering, and he wished he could do something as well.
He closed his eyes, feeling very tired all of a sudden: if it had not been for him, Legolas probably would not have been injured like that and forced to walk, carrying
additional weight and ignoring the bleeding.
He knew he should not hold himself responsible, but he could not rid himself of feeling guilty nevertheless.
.
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Despite his misery, Aragorn eventually fell asleep.
Erestor stayed with him long after the man´s breathing had evened out, watching over him and reprimanding himself for telling Aragorn about Legolas.
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TBC
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