Unlikely Rescue

Chapter 11 - Hurts

Thank you EstelElfstone dobblewolf Cynarr for voting on the last chapter and commenting! Thanks to @raerim15 for adding this story to their reading list!

Legolas awoke slowly, feeling sick and dizzy. His head swam and he couldn't sort the contents of his dream from reality.

It was dark. It had been dark in his dream, too. That didn't help. He opened his eyes cautiously, and thin rays of sunshine filtered in from somewhere above.

So it was morning then. He wondered vaguely why the light was so bright; his cell was usually much darker. Perhaps it was a sunny day?

When he tried to look around, he found that his vision was distinctly blurred and he could only make out vague shapes. On top of that, the strangely bright light hurt his sensitive eyes and he could, at first, only squint.

When his eyes adjusted, which was faster than he'd expected, having been locked up underground all his life, he could see blurry green shapes: trees? What in Arda were trees doing in his cell?

Or, he thought, what if... no. It was impossible, wasn't it? He couldn't be...

What if he wasn't in his cell? What if he was... free?

Adrenaline raced through the elfling's body, banishing the horrible pain and confusion filling him.

He tried to scramble to his feet, but his injured knee gave way and he fell right back to the forest floor, landing painfully hard on the injury.

Even standing upright for such a short time brought all the pain rushing back and he gasped, curling in on himself. It hurt, it hurt so much! He whimpered.

At the sound, something - no, someone - stirred to his left. He froze.

Thranduil was here. Thranduil was coming to hurt him again! Soft footsteps coming towards him made him shake in fear.

"No, no please, please just leave me alone!"

He screamed the familiar words, loud enough for all the forest to hear. He felt... safer, somehow, with the trees around him. They comforted him in a way nothing else had ever been able to.

He was unable to face his father again. It was too much, too much!

He dragged himself on his stomach towards the closest tree, out of the dark, sheltered alcove he had been in and gripped the bark with all of his strength, pulling himself close and leaning against the trunk, ear pressed to the surface.

Help me. He thought.

At the desperate plea, the tree seemed to enclose the elf in its embrace, roots moving ever so slowly towards him until he was nestled within it.

Hush, little one. You have nothing to fear.

Just as Legolas became calmer, a hand grabbed his right shoulder roughly from behind, span him around and pressed him firmly against the tree.

Legolas screamed.

"Who are you?"

Legolas looked up, confused. Thranduil knew who he was.

What he saw startled him. It wasn't Thranduil, it was... the silver eyed human.

Legolas knew he shouldn't trust this human with his name. He probably just wanted to hurt him. Aragorn, had he said he was called? He'd said he was getting Legolas out for good, and he had, but...

"L-Legola-" he was cut off by a fit of coughing. He hadn't eaten or drunk in days. Strange, though, because he didn't actually feel at all hungry. In fact, he felt as though if he ate, he would be sick.

A look of pity came over Aragorn's face and he sighed, letting the elf down. Quickly, he inspected the knee and found that it was not severely damaged, to his relief. Still, it must hurt.

Legolas shied away when Aragorn tried to pour water into his mouth. He deserved to die; he'd killed Naneth, and even being free wouldn't change that.

He wasn't free, anyway. He was trapped in the company of a strange human who, if he had been to Mirkwood with the permission of King Thranduil, couldn't be trusted. He probably wanted to hurt him, anyway.

Cringing, Legolas began to cry softly to himself, despair at the terrible situation fuelling his tears. He was probably just going straight back to Thranduil.

He was sure the punishment for this disobedience would be death.

Legolas squirmed away when the human tried to touch his wounds, knowing it would hurt.

"I'm not going to hurt you, tithen pen. I need to see your wounds to help you heal. Can you let me please? Pân natha mae, pân natha mae, do not fear."

Legolas was drawn to the kindness in his words, and, against his instincts and the way the human had hurt him earlier, lay still and let the human see to his wounds. It hurt while he did it, yes, and Legolas had to grit his teeth to keep from crying out, and the pain was terrible even after he had finished, but he knew it would improve. It had to.

"Nen?" He asked tentatively.

"Goheno-nín, yes, you may have water!" Aragorn exclaimed, glad that the elfling had asked for himself.

And yet, when the human tried to get the elfling to drink, he refused. Legolas knew he couldn't have the water, no matter how much he wanted it. He was a murderer. He deserved to die.

Saes, drink. I-" Aragorn wasn't sure if it would be wise to admit that he knew the elfling's crime. He had decided that even if he had killed, he didn't deserve this, and had resolved to take the elf to Rivendell, where Lord Elrond could be the judge.

"I know why you were in there, in the dungeons I mean. I'm not going to hurt you for it, do you understand? You're safe."

The elfling looked at him in wonder. Aragorn... knew? And yet, he was still trying to help. Legolas wondered why. But it didn't change the fact that he was a murderer.

"I c-can't! I-I killed - I killed her!"

Aragorn could see that the child was sorry for what he had done. He knew that that didn't excuse it, of course, but he couldn't bring himself to hate the elf. He couldn't.

"Drink. Nobody deserves to die as punishment. Please, drink!"

This time, when Aragorn offered the water, the elfling took a small sip, then shook his head.

"Can't."

"Ok, ok. Try to get some rest. I'm getting you away from the people who hurt you, so please work with me, ok? We'll rest today, then tonight we're moving again. Don't fight me when I carry you. Stay silent. Remember, I'm trying to help."

At a small nod, he smiled.

"Thank you. Manen ce?"

"Hurts." Came the quietly whimpered reply.

Thank you to everyone who reads this! The elvish is:

Pân natha mae: all will be well
Nen: water
Saes: please
Tithen pen: little one
Goheno-nín: forgive me
Manen ce?: how are you feeling?

If I missed anything, please comment and I'll tell you!

Also, from now on, the chapters will stop alternating Legolas and Aragorn because I need to do other characters and I will just do whatever works best! Thanks.

Next chapter: Thranduil finds out!

Oh, don't forget to vote :P