A/N Here we are again, a new week, a new chapter! Actually, I guess it is the end of the week, but that is not the point. The point is that I am getting around to posting and not leaving you awesome guys hanging!
Disclaimer: not mine.
Chapter Five
Aragorn stirred, savoring the warmth of the blankets and softness of the bed. He was glad to be awake, glad to be rid of the nightmare that had invaded his dreams and haunted him even now after he had awakened.
In his dreamm Legolas had been attacked by numberless amounts of men, more than any one person could survive against. Aragorn had wanted to help, but someone had held him back. That had been the worst part of all, screaming and screaming for them to stop dreadfully beating his friend, to stop shedding Legolas' blood, but to no avail.
Shifting again, Aragorn breathed in the scent of the pillow, and frowning when he didn't catch Rivendell's comforting sent, before jumping almost a foot when an unexpected female voice startled him.
"Glad to see you awake, young man. You gave us all quiet a scare."
Aragorn shot up, eyes flying open and flicking across the room. "Where's Legolas? Where am I?" he blurted out, arms shaking slightly with the effort of holding himself up right. An old women sat by his bedside, hands flying as she patched something.
"Who?" she asked as confusion darkened her brown eyes, before clarity crossed her face. "Oh, you mean your friend."
"Yes, yes, where is he?" Aragorn asked, sinking back down against the pillows. Every muscle in his body seemed to ache and he could feel that the sickness had no totally left his body yet. Twisting his head to the side, the man managed to keep one eye on the women and the other on the door. He was ill at ease with the situation he found himself in, but Legolas apparently had put his trust in these people, so why shouldn't he? "When is he going to be back?" He asked wearily.
"He just had to step out for a moment. Gerda is my name." she answered patiently, still sewing dedicatedly. "You really should get some more sleep, you would look so much better for it."
Aragorn shrugged, wanting to do just that and slide into the welcoming embrace of slumber, but also wanting to wait and talk to Legolas, putting to rest his fears from the dream. The women —Gerda, frowned, once again stating that he needed sleep if he was to get any better.
The man shook his head, his decision in wanting to see Legolas cemented. "I want to wait for Legolas. " he whispered, voice rough from coughing. Gerda rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue disapprovingly, but let him have his way.
The minutes began to tick past, and there was still no sign of Legolas. Aragorn began to grow tired, his eyelids closing of their own accord and his movements becoming lethargic. Just when it appeared as if he had fallen asleep, however, the door burst open.
Aragorn's eyes flew open at the sound and he once again sat up, his friend's name already leaving his lips…except for it wasn't Legolas. It was a tall, dark haired man he didn't know. Sinking back into his pillows with disgust, the ranger threw a disappointed glare at the stranger, falling into a moody silence.
Gerda, however, jumped to her feet, exclaiming what must have been the man's name."Damrod!"
Aragorn continued to sulk, not even caring to listen to the whispered conversation that the two strangers had engaged in. If Legolas would just walk through those doors then everything would be alright. The prince would be able to explain where they were at and what was going on…without the elf by his side it just didn't feel right.
Still glowering, Aragorn rolled over so that his back was too them and waited for the door to open and for Legolas to appear. This time, however, sleep claimed him and he knew no more.
Damrod glanced over, noting the other man's soft snoring and nudged Gerda.
"He is asleep." He pointed out. The healers smiled softly, putting down her sewing for a moment and reaching out to pull the curtains across the window so that the sun would no longer cast its bright light over the slumbering man.
"The elf must have stronger control over him than what we originally thought." Gerda muttered softly as she did so, the smile slipping of her face as it was replaced by an angry frown. "He has managed to brain wash the boy into thinking that he is his friend. Though as soon as the elf was removed from his side, he began to get better."
"That elf's done a good job." Damrod agreed, shaking his head in bewilderment.
"Has that elf told you anything yet?"
"Gerda, these kind of thinks take time, just like an artist painting a picture. But do not worry, he will talk." The middle-aged man replied smugly.
"He had better." Gerda growled, her normally kind voice turning hard and cold, anger was blazing from her brown eyes. Damrod felt his stomach sink and moved forward he placed a callused hand on her shoulder in comfort.
"You do realize that there is a chance that we will not be able save the boy. The elf may have done something irreversible." He said, his voice gruff. Gerda nodded with understanding.
"I know." was all she said. Aragorn broke the silence that had fallen in-between them by mumbling something incomprehensible in his sleep. At the noise, Gerda roused herself, snapping to attention and sitting back down in her chair.
"Leave, I have a sick man to care for." She ordered, pointing at the door. Damrod turned to do as directed, but a sudden thought crossed him mind and he turned back.
"How much more pain could an elf handle than a man, do you think?" he asked with a grin that sent shivers down Gerda's spine.
"I wouldn't know. But if in doubt, I'd say more." She said loudly, as this could still her resolve not to care about what Damrod would do to gain the insight needed to save the boy. Damrod left the room, hiding the smile stretching his face. Oh, this was going to be much better than he could have ever imagined.
THEWORTHOFAFRIEND
When Legolas awoke it was too pitch-blackness and a massive headache. Immediately his heart began to race and panic settled into the pit of his stomach. Never, never, had he done well underground or in dark confined places and waking up in such a situation was jumpstarting a panic attack.
Jumping to his feet, Legolas swore loudly as his head smacked harshly against the not very high ceiling and he crumpled back to the ground with his hands pressed against his head at the intensified pain. Breathing heavily, the prince lay there, curled up into a tight circle. Already it felt like the walls where pressing in on him, enslaving him with their tight confines and allowing him no beauty, no air, no freedom. Even the intense pain from his beating was pushed aside for panic to take its place and fill his whole body.
Pressing his lips together in a thin line, Legolas swallowed thickly and closed his eyes, hoping that it would help his rising fear. He could feel his heart thudding painfully fast against his ribcage and the sweet forming on his brow and upper lip as he instinctively pulled his limbs in even tighter.
Be calm, be calm! Nothing is going to happen. It is going to be fine. They are just walls. Legolas repeated to himself desperately, sucking in a large breathe. He began the cycle again, consternating on nothing but the words until he felt like he could breathe freely, his heart-rate dropping and his mind clearing.
Slowly the elf sat up right, still fighting faint panic, and scooted back so that he was sitting against an earthy, wet, wall. His eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness and he could make out the four walls of his prison, the ceiling hardly four feet tall. Once again he felt a surge of fear attempt to take control and pushed it back down with effort.
"You have better be making a swift recover, Estel." Legolas murmured aloud. Drawing his leg up and resting his chin on his knee. With one hand he drew up a handful of dirt and let it swift though his fingers and sprinkle back to the ground, concentrating on that rather than his darker thoughts.
Leaning back he blew out a sigh, wincing as his beaten from before, which had faded, returned in full vengeance. He was in for a long wait, unless some sort of miracle accorded and Aragorn recovered enough to help him escape, or he escaped without aid. Closing his eyes, Legolas forced him mind somewhere else, somewhere pleasant and beautiful where he could escape too for just a while, to be free of this dark, dank, horrible, confining, prison that he landed himself in.
THEWORTHOFAFRIEND
Legolas was disappearing under a pile of men, his life preserving blood already drenching the ground under him. Aragorn was screaming, thrashing widely against unseen bonds, but not matter how hard he fought; he was not able to break away. As he watched, the men began to change.
Monsters began to form and soon their leering faces could have easily fit in with a pack of orcs Laughing manically, they moved away from the downed elf and Aragorn felt his stomach drop. The elf lay there, a pool of blood spreading so rapidly that the man knew he could never save the elf in time, even if he could break free. Legolas stared up at him, his mouth moving soundlessly as blood trickled from in-between his lips.
"Help…me…" Aragorn had just enough time to discern, before the prince's eyes went bank and his soul fled his body.
"NO!" Aragorn screamed, tugging once more at his invisible bonds as tears coursed down his cheeks. The monsters only laughed, before turning back and baring down on the dead elf.
"NO!" Aragorn yelled again coming into awareness in pitch-blackness as he shot upright and clutching at the blankets that had somehow become bunched in his fist. His breathing came in ragged gulps as sweat was trickling down his face and for a moment he thought he might be ill.
"Legolas!" he called; his hear thudding painfully against his ribs as he waited for a response. When no answer came, Aragorn began to panic, his dream far too close to the front of his mind. "Legolas?!" he called again, this time forcing his seemingly frozen fingers to let go of the blankets.
Twisting the material off of him, the ranger placed his bare feet on the cold floor and staggered upright. He felt weak and strangely lightheaded and his healer instinct where telling him that he might be running a fever.
Ignoring all this, Aragorn pushed himself forward, gripping tightly to the bed post he shuffled forward, grunting with the effort it took. At the sound, Aragorn looked up, half-excepting to see his friend emerging out of the darkness to give him a lecturer on taking better care of himself. He didn't though and Aragorn felt his absents keener than ever.
Letting go of the bed post, Aragorn stumbled forward, before tipping to the side and landing on the ground with a crash. The human lay on the ground for several second, body shaking with both terror and sickness and he curled on himself, simply wishing with all his heart that his best friend would walk in.
However, when the door did open, it was not Legolas who walked in, but a woman —Gerda, he thought her name was. Her face was illuminated by a small candle that she held and Aragorn saw her mouth flew open with a gasp.
"What has happened? Are you all right?" she asked, dropping on her knees next to him and touching his shoulder. Aragorn scrambled back, visibly startled at the touch.
"Where is Legolas?" he asked hotly, glaring at Gerda as she moved closer to him.
"Oh, my poor boy." She whispered, her hands flying to her mouth. "Don't you worry! You are free of him, for he will never touch you again!"
Aragorn stared at Gerda with disbelief etched into her face.
"What do you mean?" he asked, allowing the older women to get close to him, though he kept a wary eye on her.
"We have him! He hurt you." Gerda said, her loathing for the elf slipping into her voice.
Aragorn shook his head, confusion radiating from him. "Legolas is my friend. He wouldn't hurt me."
Gerda blinked, looking equally confused until her wrinkled face hardened. "So, he's still has you bewitched." She muttered lower than whispered, her brown eyes glinting. She had been hoping that with his beating the elf had sustained, the curse would be weaker. In a louder voice she directed the conversation back at Aragorn. "Shouldn't you be in bed? You are still recovering."
"Not till I know where Legolas is!" Aragorn retorted, annoyance form the lack of information clear on his face. Gerda got to her feet, hands on hips, and started down at the human with a commanding vibe.
"You will get back into bed this instant or else." She ordered, meeting Aragorn's retaliation stare with fire. They started each other down, Aragorn dressed only in his breeches and on the floor while the old women towered above him.
Aragorn dropped his gaze and felt his face flush with embarrassment but didn't protest a second time when she helped him to his feet and over to the bed.
"Get some rest." Gerda whispered softly, as she closed the door behind her, taking the candle with her so once again the room was bathed in darkness.
Aragorn rolled over and glared forlornly at the wall, thinking hard rather than doing as Gerda had suggested. Legolas was in danger, of that he was sure. What he wasn't sure of, though, was what Legolas had done to create such anger and hatred in Gerda. Legolas was not the type to cause trouble unless there was a reason, which worried the ranger. They were not in a good position, for crying out loud he didn't even know where Legolas was, or for the matter, where he was!
Pillowing his head on his arm, Aragorn fought back tears brought on by exhaustion and fear. He missed Legolas…all he wanted to do was find the elf and get out of this blasted place once and for all.
TBC...
Great. Things are just awesome for those two! But wait, who knows what will happen in the next chapter! Maybe things will staet looking up for them, maybe they will find a... Why are you all laughing? You don't believe me? For some strange reason, I do not blame you! : D
Review Replies:
Nameless: I will take the blame! I have started you down a road that there is turning back on! :) Trust me angst is my life in a way. Thanks!
SaphiralovesTolkien: Welcome to the sight! (Love your URL, by the way) If you do archery then that is so awesome. I wish I could. You are right, long bows are one of the most amazing weapons. Men should really be careful around you, I guess! Thanks!