A friendly trip 2

5.

The next time Legolas woke up it was still dark. It could not have been more than two or three hours. He breathed in the dark, before turning to his back to stare up at the ceiling. His eyes felt less heavy than last time he had awoken, and this time his thoughts felt a bit clearer. The only light was a soft glow from the fireplace in the middle of the room, making the shadows move against the walls. Legolas thought he saw trolls, and his heart started beating faster. It was foolish, he supposed, thinking the trolls resurrected from the dead and came after them but it did not make it less scary. Irrational fears are still fears.

Rising from the bed he opened the door to leave the house. The cold air of the night chilled him to the bone, but felt refreshing in his lungs. The village was empty at this time of night, so he took a walk. His heart almost stopped when he saw a shadow by the fence holding horses. Only when it moved he saw it was a young woman, reaching over the fence to pet one of them. Soon she saw him looking, and smiled. He just saw it barely in the dark. She waved at her, and he hesitantly waved back.

"Isn't it a bit late to be out?" He asked in a joking matter, and she smiled softly.

"I don't sleep much. I...I can't ever seem to fall asleep. The horses help me calm down." Her voice was low and tired, yet soft and kind.

He nodded and gave her a smile he hoped came across as warm. "I'm glad they help you. They do have a healing effect on the mind." He said and looked at the light grey horse still being scratched, and reached over to run his hand between its ears. The horse looked at him then, and he stroked it slower. He mumbled in elvish to it, and it's ears flicked.

"Are you a wizard?"

He had to laugh then, and it felt good. "Wizard? No. It's Sindarin."

"Sindarin?"

"Elvish."

"You're an elf?"

"I am." He hoped she wouldn't ask more, but his hopes were crushed as she climbed up to sit on the fence with a grin on her tanned, freckled face. She looked at him in a way that made him avoid her eyes, even though her smile was glowing.

"I see your ears. That's fascinating. Do you use to keep your hair tied up?"

"No, I assume the healer tied it up."

"I have never seen one, only heard stories. How are they? Are you as fair as the tales say?"

"I do not wish to speak of it." He said, sounding harsher than he had meant to. She nodded, respectfully not asking more before jumping down to leave. He sighed. "Forgive me. I came here with a friend, and he's...badly wounded. We went through something...traumatic."

She looked up at him again, but he kept his eyes on the horse. "I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm sure my uncle will do a fine job."

He looked down at her then. "Gleomer is your uncle?"

She nodded. "I see you got that gown. Are you injured as well?"

He shook his head. "Not as bad as my friend."

"Is he an elf as well?"

"No he's a man."

She nodded again and they stood in silence for a while. "You got beautiful eyes, I hope you know that."

Legolas must have looked surprised, because she giggled and looked down, fiddling with the laces on her dress. "Forgive me. I only see the same faces every day. A new one was nice to lay my eyes on, I must admit."

He forced a smile then. "Thank you, my lady." He said awkwardly and turned to the horse, who snorted and trotted off. She was so young, he thought. This could not be. So he thanked her for the talk and walked back to the healer's chambers. The night was getting too cold.

"I met your niece last night," Legolas said as he took his own shirt from Gleomer, trying not to think about the fact that he had no shirt on too much. Gleomer had checked on his own injuries, but he didn't have much except ugly, dark, purple bruises and tiny cuts from the rope on his wrists. Gleomer said the bruises would turn yellow in a few days, then fade. The cuts would heal very soon as well.

Gleomer, or someone else, had also washed their clothes. The ugly stains of blood and mud were gone, and even though the fabric was stiff and rougher than before, it felt heavenly to hold it in his hands. At least it was clean.

Gleomer would change Aragorn's clothes the moment sitting up didn't pain him. For now, he was almost naked, Legolas had learned. He couldn't stop the thought of how his body looked from coming, and the thought made him upset. His body was more likely as bruised as his own, but with more bandages.

"Déorwyn? How was she?"

Déorwyn. "She couldn't sleep," Legolas said as he put on his own shirt, feeling the familiar feel of the fabric against his skin. It made him feel stronger. His shoulder aced as he pulled it back, but not enough to hinder him. The familiarity soothed his nerves slightly. "She said the horses help her." He spoke as he took his pants off to put on his own, and then his socks. His boots stood beside his bed.

Gleomer nodded. "They do. She loves those horses."

Legolas couldn't help but smile. Aragorn did love horses as well. Which reminded him...

"Our horse?"

"In the stables. It'll be fine."

He nodded, feeling a bit guilty when he thought about the horse. "How bad is it?"

"The neck is sore, for sure. May I ask what happened?"

Legolas lowered his gaze. "A troll hit it...but I cannot remember with what. I hit my head as well."

Gleomer nodded, eyes widening a bit. "I'm aware, I treated you. How's your head doing now? Painful?"

Legolas had to be honest. "Very."

Gleomer chuckled softly. "It's gonna be sore for a while I'm afraid. Up to two weeks are normal, though it gets better. You should rest and the dizziness should go away at least, and I have some herbs for nausea should you need it."

Legolas nodded slowly. He removed the string holding his hair back then, and let it fall over his shoulders in waves, even free from the small braids he used to have. He felt more like himself, and it eased the pressure on his scalp, even though it was almost nonexistent before. It felt freer. His hair felt greasy, but that was a task for another day. At least it wasn't muddy or bloody. He assumed Gleomer had washed that off but didn't dare ask.

The healer looked for a moment before he asked; "Trolls you say?"

Another nod. "Two of them."

Gleomer didn't ask more, and Legolas was grateful. The reminder about his head made it ache even more, and he went back to bed. He put his hair back once again, enjoying the way it was not in his face. He tied it so loose it might fall off during the night, but the slightest pressure was painful.