A New Life (On Hold)

Chapter 7

The next morning Legolas was the first one to wake up. He was glad that he had a dreamless sleep because he was able to rest properly.

It was still cold, but not as cold as yesterday. His wound still hurt him greatly, but he had got used to it.

The sky was cloudy this morning, which was good for they wouldn't have to deal with the burning sun.

An hour passed before Aragorn woke up with a yawn. Legolas had his eyes fixed in the sky and didn't notice that hid friend was awake.

"Good morning" Aragorn said and Legolas jumped at his voice.

"Good morning too" Legolas smiled at him.

"How is your shoulder?"

"It still hurts me a lot, but I have got used to it. Today will be easier to walk as the sky is cloudy." said Legolas and Aragorn gave him a nod.

After a few minutes, Gimli woke up with a growl. When he saw that his two companions were awake, he asked "How long have you been awake?"

"I woke up a few minutes ago" Aragorn answered.

"I have been awake an hour and some more minutes. Good morning😃" Legolas said and smiled at Gimli who nodded.

Aragorn handed them some apples and they ate them silently. When they finished, they started walking again.

Legolas was still a little weak, but his strength was slowly returning to him.

The clouds were getting darker and darker; a sign that rain would come soon. For that reason, they moved faster in order to find some trees in this endless valley.

It was afternoon when they saw the last thing they expected to see; the Mirkwood forest.

Legolas' face lit up in delight and touched a tree. It wasn't sick, it was healthy and green, full of life. So were all the trees around him; the darkness was leaving.

He turned to his friends and hugged them tightly, they hugged him back.

They reached the entrance where his mother's statue stood. Legolas stroke her cheek and whispered to her softly. He then bowed and the three started walking deeper in the forest.

The deeper they got, the more sick the trees were.

"So, the darkness is leaving but slowly." Legolas muttered sceptically. "Well, we follow the elven path. Don't worry, we won't get lost for I know this forest as well as my palm. But... I hope we won't have to deal with any spiders..."

"Spiders? What spiders?" Gimli growled.

"Giant spiders. Don't worry, I know how to defeat them. I remember how me and the Forest Guard bumped into the company of Thorin Oakenshield. They nearly survived the spiders' attack. So, you have better be careful." Legolas said and they continued walking.

All of a sudden, it started raining heavily. Even though the trees protected them, the rain could reach the ground and wet them.

Gimli cursed under his breath and they finally decided not to go any further until the rain stopped.

They slept under a large tree, the rain wetting them the whole night. When the sun rose, the rain had already stopped.

Aragorn's and Gimli's clothes were soaking wet and were dripping when they stood up. Legolas was covered with only Aragorn's soaked wet cloak for he was still shirtless.

His bandage was soaked wet too, which made the wound bleed again. Legolas cursed loudly and Aragorn helped him replace the the bloody bandage.

They walked the whole day when the caves showed up. They walked steadily until they reached the gates.