Proven Friends

By Firniswin

Author's Note: This is the sequel to "I will be here for you". Enjoy!! And please review!!!! No flaming. Oh this story starts a little in the future. The rest of the story is past. You will get it as soon as you read. Lets hope so anyway. J P.S. I know nothing of health problems or what would happen if one was injured as Aragorn is. So please do not flame me. The worst that has happened to me in my life is a horribly sprained ankle. So don't kill me.

Chapter 1

Estel lay as still as possible, his body felt as if it had just been smashed into a thousand microscopic pieces. Pieces that could not be mended.
His head ached like fire and he cried out as he felt something touch it. He could not see anything and could hardly tell what was going on.

He could hear voices in the background but they were not easy to hear because of his pounding.

"What………..ies…..can……..help….him. How?" he cried out as he felt his injured broken body lifted from the cold hard ground.

Fiery pain lanced through his torso and legs. "PLEASE!!!!!" he shrieked through his raspy breaths. "STOP!!!! Hurts!!!!!" he screamed and tried to twist away from the elf holding him. Each time bringing more pain down on his injured body.

The past week had not been this horrible. He hardly could think of the reason he had come. Why had he not stayed in the palace with Thranduil. He could have helped there.

It had started out a normal week, save the fact that he had came to Mirkwood with a raging fever and tired starved body. He tried to visit back on the memories as his anatomy was jostled.

~ 3 Days Ago~

Estel awoke from his slumber and stretched his weary body. But stopped when he felt his head reel from the movement. He moaned and put a careful hand to the hurting place.

"What in Eru's name?" he looked around the neat room. A fire roared in the hearth and a pile of blankets were layed over him. Next to the Beautiful dark cherry wood bed a chair of the same color of wood sat on each side. He looked about, on the walls tapestries hung, the firelight showing the stories from long ago.

On the huge cloths that hung on the walls, neat pictures of green forest and small figures deer hunting were ordained on the red rug. He smiled as he read the title below.

It was in scripted in Sindarin, but that was no trouble for Aragorn. "Greenwood the Great" he read the soft flowing letters as if they were in common.

He snuggled back down into the pillows as his body started to warn him that he was tired. He began to yawn but did not sleep, but rather layed back and waited as thoughts of how he had gotten here began to flood his almost empty mind.

He remembered Zila, but then the dragon's image faded in with the shadows. And another image came into view. Golden haired and shining, softly glimmering in the oppressing darkness.

Estel smiled as he thought of home. He missed hid father so much, and his brothers….he missed them talking of their sister, he still had yet to see of her. But that mattered not to him. He only wanted to see his family again.

He sneezed and then coughed, he was surprised to find that it hurt. He then felt a grumble and pulled up the new silky white sleep wear that covered his body. He looked at his stomach with a new interest.

The boy could not believe how thin he looked, that was why he was so hungry. He looked as if he had not eaten in days. He felt it too, he looked about for some food, but discouragingly he found none. Only a small almost empty glass of warm water. He picked up the cup and began to gulp down the liquid.

"My….you are quite thirsty." he jumped and the glass fell from his hands. He tried to stop it but it made contact with the floor with a shattering sound.

He looked up and glared. On the floor, by the fire was a large elf. He looked strong and was quite handsome. He had golden hair and fair blue eyes that shimmered like the roaring sea. He smiled warmly at the boy.

Aragorn did not need another second, he smiled. "Galanion." he whispered, half shocked that the elf was here.

"Ye Estel. [Yes Estel]" he walked up to the bed and placed a warm hand on the child's brow. "Tis I." he carefully grabbed the blankets and pulled them up around the boy's shoulders.

"I missed you." Estel could hardly keep from yawning and he definitely knew he could not stop his stomach from the commotion it was creating.

"Aye lad, I missed you." he looked down the bed to where the feet gently poked the blankets. "And my, you have grown a 'wee' bit since our last meeting. How much have you grown?"

"I don't know." the boy smiled playfully.

"Well, you must be ravenous?" he smiled at the child who was blushing an awful odd shade of pink.

Aragorn nodded. "Starved."

The golden haired elf nodded. "Let me get you a 'little' something." he winked and turned to leave for the kitchen.

"Galanion?" he turned back to see the silver eyes boring into him.

"Yes?"

"Who saved me?"

Galanion smiled deeply. "Zilanaur…….but if you are wondering who found you in the forest. That was Prince Legolas." Galanion turned and this time made it all the way out, for Estel was to in awe to notice.

~

Galanion walked up the hall, his eyes smiling. They seemed to roar with pleasant laughter.

He turned the corner to see young Legolas sitting at the table finishing his dinner of deer.

"Well, speak of Morgoth." he whispered silently as he let the mirth in his eyes die down. He approached the prince.

"Legolas, my lord." he bowed and looked down at the plate that Legolas was eating from.

"Galanion. How do you fare?" The prince asked, standing from his wooden chair and frowning.

"Fine hir nin. [My lord] I was merely retrieving something for the edan. [human]" He said walking past Legolas, knowing that the Greenleaf would ask him questions.

"He awakens?" Legolas followed the warrior quickly, forgetting the food on his plate and deciding he would rather learn of the boy.

"Aye, that he does. It seems I was correct and that he is indeed the son of Lord Elrond." Galanion glared at the prince.

"I am sorry, I just couldn't believe that Elrond would take in one of his kind."

"Legolas, you still do not think he is worthy of the peredhil's care?[ half-elven ] "

"Galanion, he is a man!!! The same kind that took the life of my mother. Do you not remember?" The prince growled at the warrior.

Many centuries ago, men had captured Legolas's mother and taken her very life, just because they thought she had stole one of their horses.

"Maybe you should learn to forgive the mistakes of other, I have met this one before prince. And he IS worthy of the love and care of Elrond, no matter his race." Galanion turned and began to walk from the prince, then called back. "Meditate on what I have said young Greenleaf."