Thranduil's Last Breath

A/N: Forgive me for the long time, just hope you'll not going to kill me though.

8.

“ARAGORN!”

“PRINCE LEGOLAS? WHERE ARE YOU?”

“ARAGORN, ARE YOU THERE?”

Aragorn could hear his father’s voice, but he did not want to leave his friend lying in this pool of blood with his eyes closed.

“I AM OVER HERE, MY LORD ELROND, I AM OVER HERE!” Aragorn called, as he knelt beside his friend, attending and cleaning his wounds.


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Aragorn’s hands worked fast as he tried to stop his friend from bleeding. As the blood washed away, he could see his father walking in the horizon, followed by two elves. He rose, and called, “This way… hurry…”

Elrond ran to his adopted son as Galdor and Silinde kept pace by his side. Elrond stopped when he noticed the form of the prince, lying unmoving on the bloody grass.

Elrond could see in Aragorn’s eyes, that he feared losing his best friend right in front his eyes, and yet he could see something else… was it was trust? ‘Is Aragorn afraid that he will lose his best friend’s trust? Why would he think that?’ Elrond wondered, and then he came closer to Aragorn, and moved his hands over his shoulders. His eyes were locked on Aragorn, and yet no words were spoken, as the expression in the eyes said it all.

Galdor and Silinde wore frowns on their faces as they saw their prince, the upcoming king, there on the grass, with the pool of blood surrounding his form.

The smell of blood covered the area, and all of them had a fear that he might die, and soon the smell of blood would be replaced with the smell of death.

Aragorn knelt beside his friend, and his eyes moving over Legolas, as though worried that it might the last time that he saw him drawing breath, afraid that perhaps his friend might be going to die.

Elrond knelt beside his adopted son and started to question him, “What happened?”

Aragorn turned his face toward his father, and Elrond could see tears falling from his eyes.

Elrond wiped the tears, and waited as patiently as he could. As he watched, he could see Aragorn swallow the tears, and answered with a choked voice, “I do not know, that is how I found him.” Then Aragorn turned his gaze on Legolas as he moved the bottle of water as he washed and put herbs in each stab wound, as he tried to stop the blood from dripping, knowing that his friend already lost too many blood. Aragorn knew that too much blood loss might claim Legolas’ life.

Elrond lowered his head in defeat. Aragorn noticed his father’s movement and placed his hand on his father’s shoulder and softly said, “This was not your fault, father…”

Elrond cut him, his voice filled with regret and guilt, “But if I had let him know that his father was dead, instead of leaving him in the shadows at the time, I mean not by letting him watch his father lying like this with us surrounding him and crying…”

Aragorn could see tears leaving his father’s eyes, and remarked, “Father, this part is over, and we cannot change what happened, we need to heal it, and do not forget Mirkwood’s new king, as his guards, his elves needed him now more than ever.”

Then he looked back at Legolas, and it seemed to him that Legolas’s condition grew worse.

He leaned his ear over Legolas’s mouth, and it seemed to him that Legolas was struggling to breath.

“Ada?” Aragorn called in fear, “We need to get him to the House of Healing as soon as possible, and I need your aid…”

Elrond nodded, and then he asked, as he noticed that there was only Aragorn’s horse there, eating the green grass, enjoying the heat of the sun.

“Where is Legolas’s horse?” Elrond asked.

“I do not know. I had no time to look, as all that was… is important is Legolas’s life…” Aragorn explained.

“I understand,” Elrond said, “Let me help you get him onto your horse, and you must ride as fast as you can. When you get there, use your brothers, and Gimli, and anyone else you need until I get there…”

“I know father,” Aragorn thanked the elf lord as he mounted his horse, and took Legolas from Elrond. “My horse will ride like Shadowfax … Please come soon… I will need the Healer’s hands most of all…”

Elrond cleared his throat, then assured his son, “I will come fast as I can…”


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Near the palace…

The twins and Gimli were talking to each other, trying to understand what exactly happened in the healer’s room.

“I have never seen Legolas that sad…” Elladan wondered as he lay on the grass. He moved his hand over a leaf as started to suck the water from it.

“He seemed lost… gwador… so alone and hurt…” Elrohir added, as he moved over his elder and took the chewing leaf from Elladan and smirked, “If Legolas sees you like this, with a leaf in your mouth… I do not even want to think what he might do to you….”

“Alright. Point taken.” Elladan snorted in defeat.

Gimli chuckled. Then thinking he heard someone shouting, he put his ear to the ground and asked “Do you hear something?”

“Hear what?” Elladan muttered, and waved the air.

“I think I can hear voices… but… you are the ones with the keen ears…” Gimli grinned at them. He was alert, as he saw each of them jump from the grass and hurry over to the palace.

“What is it? What did you hear?” Gimli asked in panic and fear.

“Aragorn’s voice… he is shouting for aid… it is about Legolas…” Elrohir’s answer trailed off.

“What about Legolas?” Gimli asked, his eyes never leaving the twins’ form.

“We do not know, though we dearly wish to know, my friend…” It was Elladan that spoke for his twin.

“What can I do?”

The twins stared at him, and Elrohir answered, “Go to the healer’s rooms, and get Mirkwood’s healer, we will need his assistance until father arrives, and then I need you to collect fresh water, and while you do that, take elves with you…”

Gimli smiled, thinking they were joking with him now.

Then the smile on Gimli’s face vanished, as he could examine every movement that appeared in the twins’ face, and realized they were serious in their words.

“You are not joking.” Gimli said.

“That was not our purpose…” Elladan informed him, and then he set his eyes on his twin, and ordered, “For you, gwenneth… I need you to collect from the house all the herbs that you find, and then I want you too, to take elves with you as you search for more herbs.”

“Aye, Ada…” Elrohir grinned at his twin as he left.

Elladan then turned his gaze to the dwarf.

“What is wrong, my friend?” Elladan asked his eyes set over the horizon as he thought that he saw something.

Gimli said nothing as he joined Elladan in waiting for Aragorn to show up.

The gallops of the horse could be heard, harder and harder.

Elladan saw his brother rode the horse, as he held the prince, then without turning around to Gimli he asked, “Gimli, did I not ask you to ready the room, and find the healer?”

“You did, forgive me,…” Gimli answered and hurried inside the palace.

Elladan waited until his brother reached him to help him with Legolas.

When the horse had stopped, Elladan hurried over to his brother, noticing his weary face and the dullness in his eyes. Then he gazed over Legolas’s limp form, he noticed all the stab wounds, and the paleness of his friend’s face.

“How did this happen?” Elladan asked, as he helped his brother carry their friend.

“I do not know… brother… but he needs help…” Aragorn answered as he tried to catch his breath.

“Easy brother… it was a tough day for all of us.” Elladan said comfortingly.

They entered the palace as they carried the prince. The guards led them over the healing room that Gimli ready and saw the healer waited with concerned eyes.

They laid Legolas in the bed.

Gimli’s jaw dropped as he noticed all the dry blood in Legolas’s blond hair, his bruised face, and the stab wounds that seemed to cover all of his body.

“Aragorn, was he beaten?” Gimli asked as he noticed the black bruises on Legolas’s jaw and cheeks.

Aragorn came closer to the bed, and started to examine all the bruises on his friend’s face. He frowned and released a cry, “I did not see this there, only the stab wounds, I swear.”

“Nobody blames you, little brother, after all you were with the wounds, not the bruises.” Elladan assured him, as he tried to washed off the guilt that appeared on his brother’s face.

Elrohir entered the room with herbs in his hands, though he almost dropped them on the floor as he saw Legolas’s pale form, lying there in the bed…

Elladan hurried over to his twin, and held the herbs, bringing them to Aragorn and the healer, as they continued checking all the wounds and bruises.

“’Ro?” Elladan tried unsuccessfully to catch his twin’s attention, but Elrohir still stared at Legolas with a frown on his face.

Elladan started to shake his twin gently, as he called him, “’Ro, ‘Ro?”

Elrohir shook his head as he stared at his twin, with shock on his face.

“Gwador, what happened to him?” Elrohir asked.

“This is the question that only Legolas can answer.” Elladan explained, and then Elladan turned to Aragorn, “Do you need our help?”

Aragorn turned to look at his elder brother. He recognized the worry and concern in the twin’s face, and answered as he issued orders, “Elladan, I need you to bring him new clothes, Elrohir, boiling hot water for the herbs, and Gimli, I need you to wait for Lord Elrond. He will come with Silinde and Galdor on foot, and when they get here show them to this room.”

All of them nodded and left to do their assignment, as each of them wondered if they were going to lose their friend.

End of Chapter 8.


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I decide to do - 2 possible ends: sad and happy, so please don't kill me... evil grin...