-o0o-
Legolas was still trying to make sense of what had happened. One moment they had been enjoying the sunny day and the fun in the pool and the next minute the entire world had collapsed around them. He had been following Estel to the shallow end of the water, when suddenly the ground beneath their feet had given way and Estel had shrieked in fear. Only Legolas' quick warrior reflexes honed over hundreds of years, had let him jump forward and grab his little human friend.
As the darkness surrounded them, they suddenly splashed into a deep body of water. An underground river, he thought, given the strong current that pulled them along instantly, ever deeper underground. The noise of the water was deafening and he struggled to orient himself. Legolas did not know which way was up or where to go, what to do. All he knew was that he had Estel in his arms and that he must not let go. He held Estel as tightly as he could, all the time trying to keep his and Estel's heads above the hurling waters. The current smashed them against the rocks lining the river's edge, over and over again, while he tried, desperately, to keep them afloat.
Legolas turned his back towards the rocks that lined the water as they tumbled along, trying to shield Estel from serious injuries. Normally that might not have been a problem and would have left him with little more than bruises, but, as he was reminded with vengeance, his back was still injured.
And now, as he smashed into another rock with tooth shaking force, he felt the wound on his back split open. The pain was sharp, an intense searing pain and Legolas almost lost hold of his precious cargo. Only sheer determination and protectiveness helped him cling to Estel.
Still, it had been a close call and the river was still raging. Legolas did not know how long he could keep this up. If they did not get out of this torrent soon, he was sure he would lose consciousness and then both he and Estel were doomed. No, he had to hold on. For Estel's sake. They had to get out of here.
-o0o-
The river was a raging maelstrom, a violent flurry of sharp rocks and ice-cold water straight from the mountain springs. In seconds it had torn Elrohir from the place he had fallen, dragged him along until the last glimmer of the collapsed ceiling, of the outside world, was but a faint glow, a hint of a direction.
He crashed into another boulder, his shoulder jarring at the impact but the stop was brief. Already the water was dragging him along again, trying to drag him under the heaving, whirling waves. Always forward without remorse, without respite. Everything was water and darkness.
Except, suddenly in the dark gloom of the cave he thought he caught a glimpse of gold and almost breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Legolas - and he had a hold of Estel! The wood elf would not let any harm befall his brother. The thought was as comforting as it was brief before another sharp current dragged him under the icy waters once more. The light disappeared and amid the torrent, the tremendous forces that tossed his body this way and that, he soon lost the feeling for which way was up. He struggled against the current, tried to hold on to something, to anything, but his air supply was rapidly dwindling. Bright spots lined the corners of his vision.
Another sudden jerk tore him downwards and he collided with the bottom of the river, small stones grinding against his side and face but finally, finally, he had found something solid. With his last strength he scrambled to twist and turn around, to lever his feet against the riverbed and, kicking off from the rubble, he finally managed to break the surface of the river above. He gulped a sweet breath of air, and another before trying to coax his burning muscles to cooperate. They screamed with the effort of withstanding the force of the raging river, of being but a plaything to the mischievous games of the Ainur.
But one of the gods must have felt compassion for him at last, for even as he was flailing blindly in the dark, trying to swim for a shore he could not see, his hand collided with something soft. A jolt of recognition rushed through him, followed by a surge of blind panic. Elladan!
Elladan was not moving.
-o0o-
After what felt like ages, Legolas finally felt ground beneath his feet. He was not entirely sure how he had done it, but somehow he and Estel had managed to reach what felt like a shallow spot on the shore of the river. The water here was less wild, less destructive, and with a last push of strength, Legolas heaved Estel and himself out of the water.
Legolas felt around in the darkness and made sure they were on solid ground. He hoisted them both further from the water's edge, until they were in no danger of being swept away by the river again. Only then did Legolas finally loosen his tight grip on his little friend and tried to check the little boy over.
"Estel, are you hurt?" he asked
He heard a quiet "No" in the darkness in front of him and sagged in relief. At least he had managed to protect Estel. That was what mattered. Even if he did not know where they were or what had happened, at least they were both alright.
Legolas winced as the wound on his back burned and a numbness spread up his neck and into his head, already threatening to muddle his thoughts. Well, maybe he was not entirely alright, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
"Let us rest for a moment, Estel," he suggested and all but collapsed next to the human child. He took Estel's silence as affirmation but even if he would have felt the urge to withstand the need for sleep, the darkness pulled him under.
-o0o-
Light.
His eyes burned at the hateful glare of the world above that had suddenly found a way into his dark domain. Down here he was king, and he would not tolerate this insurgence of sunlight into his realm - nor the presence of trespassers.
His sharp ears caught the sound of struggle, of splashes in the water. Something larger than fish had found its way into the river, something tastier. He licked his rough, blackened lips and reconsidered. A new opening to the outside world was not only an inconvenience - but also an opportunity. Eventually the sun would sink and then the world above would be his.
He turned and trotted down the tunnel to prepare his orcs. At sunset they would rule, and before that they would feast.
They had fish to catch.
-o0o-
Legolas was not sure how much time had passed when he awoke in total darkness. At first he was disoriented, unsure of where he was, but then he felt a small body shiver against his side and remembered what had happened. Estel! The small boy was shaking violently, so much so that it had woken Legolas from his stupor.
He instinctively put his arms around Estel to warm him and was shocked to feel how cold his friend was. Remembering something about how dangerous the cold could be for humans, he started shaking Estel in turn. "Estel, wake up! Estel."
"Adar?" A faint relief spread through Legolas at the innocent question. Estel was okay for now, but they definitely could not stay here much longer. As an elf Legolas was not as susceptible to the cold as his friend, but the wound on his back was still bleeding and he had sustained bruises and cuts all over his body. A shiver shook him and he winced.
Truth be told, his wound reopening and so freely bleeding worried Legolas. It would slow him down and limit his ability to get out of here - or to protect Estel. But there was nothing he could do about the wound at the moment. He could not even reach it on his own - and he certainly could not ask Estel for help. They had hidden his injuries from Estel too well and now, alone in the darkness, was hardly the right time to tell the boy about them. Plus he had no equipment anyway. They needed to get out of here and find their horses and provisions.
"No Estel, it is Legolas, remember?" he answered the boy's question soothingly, gently stroking the boy's back. He tried giving him as much of his own body heat as possible, but so far it did not seem to do much good. Estel's teeth clattered with the strength of his shivers.
"Legolas? What happened? Where are we?"
"I do not know. We were caught in some kind of cave-in and are underground." Legolas looked around but the darkness that surrounded them was near complete and he had no further information to offer.
"Where are Dan and Ro?"
Legolas winced again, this time not from physical pain. He had tried not to think about the twins and what might have happened to them, but of course their little brother would inquire after them.
"I do not know what happened to them, Estel. I am sorry", he answered truthfully. "They were deeper in the pool, so they most likely were caught in the cave-in as well." There really was no point in lying to the little boy.
"We have to find them!" Despite the shivers that racked him, Estel sounded determined.
"We cannot, Estel."
"But we can't leave them behind!" Estel all but shouted accusingly, finally rousing from his quivering mumble. If nothing else his burst of anger seemed to warm him up a bit. It broke Legolas' heart to have to disappoint the boy.
"Estel, "Legolas tried to reason with his friend, "we do not even know where we are. How can we look for them, when we are lost? Besides, we do not know for sure that anything happened to them. They are likely alright and looking for us already."
Estel remained quiet. Legolas knew the boy was not convinced yet, at least as worried for the twins as he was himself. But for the moment Estel did not argue further. When the silence stretched, Legolas continued: "You know that they can look after themselves. They would do anything to keep each other safe. Just like you and I will," Legolas promised.
"What are we going to do, Legolas?" he heard Estel ask, acceptance of their bleak reality now swinging in his words, subduing his spirit once more.
Legolas' heart went out to him and he tried to muster what positivity he could. "We are going to try and get out of here. We will have to be careful, but I am sure we can find our way back along the river to the waterfall if we work together."
Estel remained quiet as if doubting his words, so Legolas played his trump card: "I will need your help if we are to succeed, Estel."
Legolas felt Estel's little arms grab him back and hold onto him. A little dip of his head, indicated Estel's approval. "We'll do it together," Estel promised.
And together they moved.
-o0o-
Elrohir's arms burned with the effort of keeping himself and Elladan's limp body above the swirling waters, of ever trying to steer them somehow towards the shore. But finally, blessedly, his hand struck gravel at the end of another stroke. The pull of the river lessened as he reached shallower water and soon he could get his feet on the ground and use that leverage to pull his own aching body and Elladan ashore.
For a moment Elrohir allowed himself to collapse next to his twin, to gasp air into his burning lungs without risk of swallowing a mouthful of water instead. His hand never left Elladan's shoulder. He needed the physical connection to bolster their bond, needed to feel the warmth of his brother's skin to confirm what his awareness of his brother's fëa already told him: Elladan was alive.
Warmth slowly returned to his body that had been numbed by the cold of the underground river, bringing with it the sting and pain of a myriad of scratches and forming bruises. Their ride in the river had not been gentle.
Fresh concern for Elladan made him roll over and force his stiff body to cooperate. His brother was still unresponsive and Elrohir needed to find out why. What had happened to his twin?
At least Elladan's breathing was even, which was a small respite, and Elrohir thanked the Valar for the fraction of mercy. Still, his twin looked ghostly pale in the darkness. The faint glow of their own bodies was his only light source and it gave his brother an almost otherworldly sheen, as if he had left his physical body behind already. Banning that thought from his mind at once, Elrohir set to work. He let the cold rationality of his healer's training take over, focusing on finding and assessing possible injuries, trying to ignore who it was that was injured.
With practiced moves and despite the cold numbness of his fingers he found the reason for Elladan's unconsciousness almost immediately. A small gash on the back of Elladan's head meant he had probably hit his head on one of the rocks that had dotted the turbulent river. The wound was bleeding sluggishly now that it was out of the river, but the cold water had probably prevented excessive blood loss. It would be best to keep it that way.
Struggling out of his shirt, he tore the cold, wet fabric into something vaguely resembling very soaked bandages. He sighed as he wrung the excess water from the strips; This was far from ideal. But it was the best he could do under the circumstances and Elladan's head wound was continuing to bleed; it would need to be bound.
After using them to dab up the worst of the blood, he discarded the sorry remnants of his shirt and wrapped the makeshift bandage around his twin's head with the practiced speed that came from unfortunate familiarity with the task.
Elladan's head taken care of, he moved on. A quick examination of his brother's arms and legs revealed nothing worse than scrapes and bruises and Elrohir breathed a sigh of relief. That was something at least. It meant that once Elladan awoke they could likely walk out of here. He finished his inspection by probing Elladan's ribs. Under his twin's water-logged shirt, dark bruises were already forming along his left side, more souvenirs from the river's rough path. His touch was gentle, just enough to confirm that the bones were not broken, but the pain of it must have cut through Elladan's unconscious state regardless. His brother hissed and tensed, unconsciously moving away from his probing hands.
In the dim light Elrohir could barely see Elladan's brows knit together, his face registering the pain that he was suddenly becoming aware of. Elladan groaned again, a low sound and Elrohir winced in sympathy. An echo of his twin's pain was coursing through their bond, a painful yet welcome affirmation of his brother's return to consciousness.
"Elladan, wake up," he coaxed.
He was rewarded with another low moan and then, finally, with the welcome glimpse of his brother's gray eyes opening.
"'Ro?" Elladan was visibly struggling to bring his eyes to focus on him in the darkness. "What happened?"
"The pool collapsed. The river must have dug its bed beneath the rocks for years, trickling through the bottom of the pool until the ground would hold no longer. We fell into the true course of the river – underground."
Recollection dawned in Elladan's eyes at his words and, ever hating the feeling of being helpless, he struggled to sit up. Elrohir was quick to lend him a hand, knowing that trying to prevent Elladan from sitting up would be futile. Still, the effort left his twin winded and he was leaning noticeably to one side, barely able to keep upright. Elrohir chose not to comment.
"What of Estel and Legolas?" Elladan asked. "They fell as well."
"I am not sure, but I caught a glimpse of Legolas close to the other shore, near to the collapsed ceiling. He had Estel with him. I think they reached the shore and left the river much earlier than we did."
He hoped so, he really did. The thought of his little brother stuck in the raging waters of the river, lost in the darkness of the underground world was not one Elrohir was eager to entertain. The worry still burned within him, bright and hot, but he shoved it down, trying to focus on other things: On how to get out of these tunnels for one thing - and on making sure that Elladan did not fall flat on his face for another.
He hurried to support his twin's unseemly attempts to stand as the stubborn fool struggled to get his feet under him, swaying like a dwarf who had had too much ale.
"We have to get out of here," Elladan pressed through gritted teeth, forestalling any reprimand Elrohir could make. "We have to find Estel and Legolas."
He was right, of course. Elrohir sighed and released his hold on Elladan's arm, equal parts steadying and restraining. He would have preferred his twin rest a while longer, but who had he been kidding? The day Elladan would listen to sound advice was the day that those caring for him should truly worry.
Elladan swayed but he remained upright, and he remained determined to set out immediately. Hovering close behind in case his steps should falter after all, Elrohir let his brother take the lead and together they followed the edge of the river back towards the fairy pool. Back to the place that had brought so sudden a stop to their sun-filled day and thrown them quite literally into darkness.
-o0o-
Together Legolas and he made good progress along the underground river. It was slow going, but by the faint glow of Legolas' skin and with a lot of stumbling they eventually made it back to the original cave in. Dim light filtered through the giant hole in the ceiling where the pond had once been and water ran down the edges in a constant stream, falling into the river below. Estel looked up and wondered how, in Eru's name, they were going to get back up there. Especially with something being clearly wrong with Legolas.
Apart from the obvious bruises and cuts that Estel could make out in the low light, there was something else making Legolas slow and sluggish. His friend shouldn't be in such bad shape. What if he collapsed? Estel didn't know what he was going to do if Legolas lost consciousness, or whether he would. Was he just imagining things? Just because he was scared? He felt so uncertain, so overwhelmed and frightened. And where were his brothers?
Reaching a nearby pile of rocks, they both sat down to rest again. They were exhausted and needed time to think about their next move. Estel noticed Legolas wince and move very slowly and stiffly as he sat down. He reassessed his earlier thoughts. He was not imagining things. Something was definitely wrong.
"Legolas, are you alright?"
"I am fine. Do not worry," the elf replied.
But Estel couldn't help but worry for his friend. If Legolas was anything like the twins when injured, he would even insist he was fine while being mangled by orcs. Finding himself unable to completely believe his friend, but unsure what to do about it, Estel instead tried to distract himself.
"How are we going to get out of here?" he asked Legolas, who had been carefully scanning the debris of the cave-in.
"The opening is only about 10 feet up. There are enough rocks for us to use as a ladder and climb up there."
Estel was doubtful: "Are you sure, we can get up there?"
"Of course, we can," Legolas insisted. "We have come so far together. We can do this together as well."
Estel nodded. His friend had gotten them this far. He would not doubt him now, not in this at least.
-o0o-