A/n *coughs guiltily* yes I know I updated late! I have no good escuse...I feel horrible, especially after such cliffie! Thanks to all you wonderful people, your reviews got me through the week!
Disclaimer: not mine
Chapter Eleven
Springing forward Aragorn grabbed the man's wrist, causing both men to tumble backwards with the motion, before the assassin could use the knife. Once on the ground, they wrestled roughly for control, smashing each other into the ground. The knife was clenched tightly in both of their fists.
Bringing his head forward, Estel head butted the man fighting for control. The other man's eyes phased out slightly and Aragorn took his advantage. Releasing the knife for a moment, as he couldn't hold onto both at once, Aragorn grabbed the man's throat, strangling the life out of him. Even though his wrist were tied together, Aragorn was much stronger than the other man.
Unfortunately, the ranger momentarily forgot about the sharp piece of metal between the two of them. The dizzy man seized the moment, yanking the knife up and plunging it deeply into the other man's arm.
Aragorn let out a hiss of pain, but paid as little attention to it as he could. Meanwhile the man below him struggled effortlessly to free himself from the ranger's grip. With on tug of his hand he ripped the knife from Aragorn's arm, but was to breathless to use it, instead it fell from the almost limp fingers.
"Give me the antidote." Aragorn hissed in a very dangerous whisper, tightening his fingers. Blood dripped down his arm, landing on the others throat but neither human cared. The man reached slowly and weakly into his tunic pocket, fumbling to pull out the bottle, his eyes scared.
Aragorn smiled, easing up on his hold on if the man. Suddenly the man reached back, jerking his arm back and letting the glass vile fly, fear and the desire for revenge giving him both the strength and the will to commit this one last horrible deed.
As if in slow motion the bottle turned over and over again, Aragorn outstretched fingers mere centimeters behind. Slowly in began to downwards decent, the glass shattering into a million small pieces as the vile connected forcefully with a large boulder.
"No." Aragorn screamed in terror, his fingers that were still reaching closing in a fist. His attention was suddenly redirect as the man beneath him tried to scamper free. "Oh no you don't!" the ranger snarled pure hatred radiating from his eyes.
"What are you going to do, kill me!" the man said, smirking.
"No, not today." The ranger in front of him whispered, the tone of his voice scarring the other. "I am bringing you back to Rivendell and letting my father deal with you and your worthless life. I hope he makes you pay erode than I can!"
Behind them came the sounds of hitching breaths and Aragorn's eyes flashed. Pinning the man down, he knocked him out with one quick swing of the knife, which he had quickly grabbed while straddling the man with his knees. The other human instantly went limp and Aragorn carefully manipulated the knife and ropes so that he was able to cut them before delivering a good kick to the assassin to help ease his anger. Dropping the dagger he scrambled to Legolas's side, falling to his knees.
"Legolas, Legolas…" he called urgently. The prince remained unresponsive, his breathing hitching again. By the faint light that the fallen lantern cast, Aragorn could tell there was something terrible wrong with his friend. Reaching around, he yanked the light closer, holding it over his friend's body.
The elf's lips were a dull shade of blue that made Aragorn panic. Tears picked at his eyes again as the man picked a strand of hair away from the prince's dry and freezing skin.
No one could be that cold and survive could they? Aragorn wondered, his heart pounding fearfully as he laid on hand on Legolas's chest and felt how it struggled to raise. The ranger needed to warm the elf up, or else he might just lose him right here and now.
Jumping up, Aragorn brought the lantern closer, hoping that even its small heat would help. As he swung the light forward, he caught sight of twinkling of glass shards. Suddenly struck with inspiration, Aragorn carefully set the light down, before racing over to the rock where the antidote had smashed.
Dropping to hi s knees, Aragorn found that the substance that the antidote was composed of was thick, almost jell like substance which some of it had mercilessly stuck to the rock, smearing its surface a dark brown. Flipping out his knife, Aragorn began to carefully scrape the substance off and into his hand, knowing that it might save the prince's life. When he all that he could but a little, the human raced back to his friend's side.
Prying Legolas's mouth open, Aragorn force his hand in, not caring that this was not the most hygienic way to do it. Scarping the substance e off against the elf's teeth, the man prayed that his would work, because if it didn't he didn't know what he would do. It wasn't much, too little to really aid the elf for long.
After he was sure that Legolas's had swallowed the stuff, he changed tactics. The ranger began to rub the elf's body urgently as he tried to raise the prince's body temperature, hoping that the small amount of antidote would also help.
"Come on, Legolas. Fight it." he whispered helplessly, struggling to free Legolas of his sleeping shirt. It was soaked from the wet snow and right now was doing more harm than good, the sleeping leggings could wait. Ripping off his own outer tunic, he wrapped the prince in as best as he could. Breaking his concentration away from just a moment, Aragorn carefully wrapped the left over antidote in a strip of his undershirt, this way Elrond would be able to recreate it.
Walking swiftly over to the unconscious assassin, Aragorn studied him. There was no way he was going to leave the man here, unbound Rifling through the man's bag the ranger found a length of rope, and hurried to tie the man to a tree. He would send someone to gather him after he had taken care of Legolas.
"Just hold on Legolas." Aragorn muttered to his friend, gently gathering the elf into his arms. Hugging his best friend close the man took off back into the darkness at a fast pace. Legolas was not out of danger yet, not until he received a proper amount of medicine. As he ran, Estel shifted the prince, shielding his body against the snapping tree branches and cold wind…Legolas was in no shape to deal with anything else.
The elf's breathes were uneven and troubled, making Aragorn's feet fly even faster. As they were just racing towards the edge of the woods, Legolas convulsed, coughing up some dark liquid which splatter across Aragorn's chest.
"Hang on, Legolas…just hang on!" Aragorn begged, lying the side of his face against the top of the elf's head and praying that the antidote would kick in soon.
"ESTEL!" a voice suddenly shouted, one he knew well. Looking up wearily, Aragorn slowed to a stop, panting heavily. The dark shapes of his brothers and father were racing towards him, coming in to sight as they passed a shade of moonlight.
"Legolas needs help." Aragorn sobbed exhaustedly, feeling tired from both the emotional strain and running back and forth all night. His arm was stinging painfully and even Legolas's light weight was straining it. He had all but forgotten about it tell now.
"Let Elladan have him." Elrond directed, running up to his human's sons side. His eyes searched Aragorn's form, looking for blood and injuries. The young man's face was scratched and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth….he looked exhausted and cold.
"You forgot this." Elrond said softly, draping a warm cloak around his son's shoulders. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine, but Legolas―"
"Here, let me have him." Elladan broke in, holding out his arms. Aragorn nodded, gingerly, but carefully, passing his burden over. However, with a hiss of pain the man's injured arm gave way, unwilling to support the elf's weight any more. Legolas's dead weight would have toppled to the ground if not for the twin's quick reflexives.
Hosting the sick elf between them, Elrohir shifted Legolas more fully into Elladan's arms. Behind them Elrond gave Aragorn a hard look,
"You said you were fine." He accused, raising his eyebrows.
"It's just my arm, ada." Aragorn said softly not meeting his father's eyes as he pulled away. "The assassin is back in that clearing a way's back." He added, turning back to Legolas and smoothing back the blond tresses before Elladan began to hurry forward. Elrond turned his gaze to Elrohir, silently asking him to go back and collect the man. Nodding, the younger twin ran off into the night.
"Ada…" Elladan prompted, already several feet ahead of Elrond and the human. He cocked his head towards the last homely house.
"Go on ahead, Elladan. I'm going to walk back here with Estel." Elrond stated, wrapping an arm around his shivering son's shoulders. The twin nodded, taking off at brisk pace.
"Ada!" Aragorn suddenly exclaimed, having forgot about the antidote in his rush to get Legolas back. "I have some of the antidote….right here." he said, a full grin breaking across his face as he fumbled with the small pouch he had placed the substance into. With a proud smile he handed it over.
"Oh, Estel," his father said softly, taking the bag carefully in one hand. His son had just saved the prince's life, there was no doubt.
The pair hurried back, Aragorn and Elrond both needing to get back to finish saving Legolas's life. Before the elf lord left to start recreating the antidote, he pulled Aragorn aside.
"You need to go see the healers and get warm…" he pointed out gently, looking at the wounded arm. "You need to take care of yourself before you can look after Legolas." Effectively cutting off any protest the young man might have, he pushed Aragorn towards the healer's rooms.
BYYOURSIDE
Aragorn walked swiftly down the hall, towards Legolas's room. His injuries had been seen too and his wounded arm now rested in a white sling. He was dressed in warmer, cleaner clothes than before and was just now being permitted to return to the prince's side.
Pushing the wooden door open, the human was hit with a blast of warmth, causing his skin to tingle. It felt good on his still cold body and Aragorn hurried to shut the door behind him.
"Estel, come in by the fire, you look frozen!" one of the twins called, looking up as he entered. It was Elrohir, who was standing next to a couch near the brightly burning fire.
"When did you get back, Elrohir?" Aragon asked, glancing over at the bed and finding it empty. With a frown he turned towards the twins.
"Just a few minutes ago." The elf responded, motioning for the man to come over by the fire. The man took a several steps forward, till he could easily fell the heat. His eyes lighten on Legolas, who was wrapped in numerous blankets with the couch pulled as close to the fire as they could get it.
"The assassin was put into a room downstairs. He is being heavily guarded." Elrohir finished softly.
The man wasn't listing however, instead drawing in a sharp breath and focusing in on his friend's face. The prince was sheet white, except for his lips which were still tinged blue from cold. With a low moan of despair the ranger sunk down so that he was kneeling next to his friend's side, letting his forehead land against Legolas's chest, he turned his face so that he was looking directly into the princes.
"Please be ok…" he pleaded in a whisperer, just for the unresponsive elf to hear. "Please…" Reaching up, he let the back of his fingers brush against a cold cheek. They may have found the antidote, but the prince was not out of trouble yet.
"Estel, you found the antidote! He's going to be ok…" Elladan gently whispered, wrapping an arm around his brother.
"Trust me, he will back to his old prissy self before long." Elrohir offered. When Aragorn didn't react, staying where he was at, the twins gave each other long looks. Offering the ranger one last comforting squeeze, Elladan gracefully rose to his feet. Together he and his twin left the room, willing to give Aragorn some alone time with his friend.
Aragorn sighed heavily, hearing the door shut with a soft click behind him. Bringing his head up he stared directly into Legolas's closed eyes, almost begging for them to open…to remember him. Yes, he had found the antidote…but what if Legolas was per mutely damaged?
Raising his good arm, the man gently cupped the side of the elf's face, letting his fingers massage the skin…Legolas was still so cold.
"Mellon-nin," he offered, gingerly moving the arm in the sling, Aragorn positioned himself so that he could do the same with his other hand. Now having the prince's face bracketed between his hands, he just remained where he was at. His arm stung, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
"Please…Please remember…" he begged, louder now that the twins were gone. When the prince showed no sign of awakening and Aragorn let out what sounded close to a sob. He needed his friend to wake up, to talk to him, to remember him.
Removing his hands, Aragorn slide further to floor and pressing his face against his knees. Dark thoughts chased their way through his mind, causing his heart to thumb even faster against his rib cage and his breathes to come in ragged sobs.
TBC...
I promise that I will update next Friday (or whatever day it may be where ever you are), no more late updates!
Review Responses:
Epic Elven Warrior Princess: Thanks for reading the story! And thanks for favoriting it!
Freddie23: Thanks so much! I love those leggy angst fics, can't get enough of them! I am glad you are, and normally I much better about updating on time!
DragonElf: It really is! My sisters and I talk about that all the time, yet I couldn't resist doing it myself! Thanks!
GreenleafUndomiel: I am so sorry about updating late, I promise I am usually much better than this! This must seriously have sucked for aragorn and still does! Thank you so much!
The Phantom Dragon: Rhavan had really better watch out! We are masters at the torturing thing Legolas, we know what we are doing! Lol! That sounds perfect, I really should have! Thanks!
AMazingWriter123: Legolas was just in the wrong place and the wrong time I guess! I hate exams. I am so glad that this was able to help!
ShadowHawq35:*similes guiltily* I know I know, a late update, the worse thing I could have ever done! Lol, oh dear, I liked the universe! Jk. Thanks!
Crystal di Angelo: lol,that is funny! Thanks for reviewing!
World-classgeek: I like snow, don't get me wrong, but when it does it in spring then I don't like it as much! Well, know he at least he can worry about it and thanks!
sarathestarkidranger: I am so sorry about the late update! I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I doubt that I could ever kill my Leggy off! I love him too much! Hey, at least the guy's been capture now, even if he's not dead! Thanks!
LILEVILONE96: Yea, poor Elladan! Well, at least they are both safe and 'sound', sort of anyways. Sorry about the late update. Thanks though!
Elves are awesome: You are welcome! And well, I guess that is just how it worked out, it fit the story better that way! The poor guy, everyone is out for his blood!
robinsmum: It is better now, isn't it, or at least sort of! Hah, did you see that he got your kick! Thanks so much, reviews make my days!
Jack-damian: I am so glad that this helped! I have my own to worry about (part of the reason thus is late) so I understand! Trust me, getting reviews is a life-savior in my life.
brankel1: Thanks so much!