Beta: Kalisona

Translations:

Peredhil – half-elven

Goheno nin – forgive me

Mellon nín – my friend

Ion nín – my son

Ada – father (dad, daddy)

Chapter 7

You told me, go away.

I told you, leave me now.

I want to turn back time,

But I do not know how.

-

I tried to let you go

And to forget the past.

I tried, but always failed.

My memories will last.

-

I think about the roads we've gone,

I think about the tears we've cried,

I think about the smiles we've shared,

Don't tell me they all died!

-

I tried to let you go,

I tried, but I just can't.

This can't break our bonds.

You'll always be my friend.

-

"Come on, El, you almost have it!" Elladan encouraged his twin. "I told you it's always a good idea to have a knife in your boot."

"Yes, especially when your hands are not tied, so that you can actually reach the knife!" His twin hissed, somewhat irritated.

Elladan had tried to get a hold of the knife in his boot, but the task had appeared to be harder than he had initially thought. After several minutes of awkward movements with his feet, he had finally managed to take off his boot, letting the dagger roll to the ground. The knife had fallen closer to Elrohir, so now the younger peredhel was trying to get a hold of the weapon. He also had his shoe off, and he finally managed to hold the blade between his toes.

"Be careful not to cut yourself," his brother warned him. Elrohir bent his knee, lifting his leg backwards. His hands were tied behind his back, and he managed to grab the knife. Cutting the bonds with his hands still tied wasn't easy, but he eventually succeeded and rushed to help his twin.

"So the two of you managed to get yourselves free." A voice spoke behind them, causing them to jump.

"Ada!" Elladan said almost accusingly. "Never do that again!"

Elrond sighed and walked to them, holding Elrohir's face and gently lifting it.

"I see you haven't taken the herbs, ion nín," he said in a matter-of-fact voice, not really surprised.

"I was going to, but then we had to fight the orcs, and then…" he tried to defend himself, but Elrond interrupted him.

"So I see," he said and looked critically at the dead orc bodies, his gaze finally resting on the pile of golden hair. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Elrohir ran to the place he remembered the herbs had fallen and promptly chewed half of them, keeping the other half for later. He had learned his lesson.

"Good." Elrond nodded in approval.

"And now, I suppose, we should go after Legolas," he said, still looking at the pile of hair on the ground.

"Ada," Elladan had finally found the courage to ask the question that had weighed on his mind since his father had arrived. "Where is Estel? Is he alright?"

"Don't worry about him," the Elven Lord assured him. "He is safe."

---

Aragorn fell to his knees once again. This had proven to be a very bad idea. The antidote was wearing off, and his vision was growing more and more blurry. He was losing control over his body. He could just hope that no one would attack him. He was in no condition to fight.

The young ranger sighed in defeat. If he was in no condition to fight, how was he supposed to help his brothers? He shook his head to clear his vision, but immediately regretted it as a wave of nausea passed through his body. He waited for a minute for the dizziness to subside, and resolutely got to his feet. His brothers needed him. He had to go on!

He walked slowly along the tracks, until he reached a small clearing. He stopped and gasped at the view.

Slain orcs were littering the ground. But what made his blood freeze in his veins was a pile of hair, slightly reflecting the last sunrays.

"No!" Estel ran towards the hair and buried his trembling hands in it. There could be no mistake about whose hair it was. Whoever has done this was going to pay!

But if the captors had dared cut Legolas' hair, what further damaged had they inflicted on the elf? Aragorn felt his heart clench in fear. This could not be happening, it could not be…

His dizzy mind never wondered what the elf was doing there. It could register only one single thought: his friend was captured by orcs, and was most probably tortured, in great pain, and maybe, no, it's couldn't be, but still… maybe… already dead? No, he wasn't ready to accept this!

He tried to control his quickened breathing and heartbeat. He had to find Legolas, and quickly. He knew what happened to elves captured by orcs, and he didn't want to imagine his friend in the hands of those disgusting creatures.

His friend…

Was Legolas still his friend? Estel pushed away the absurd question. Most probably not, but it didn't matter. Yes, he knew that the elf was angry with him, hated him, worse, didn't care about him, but this would never change how he felt. He still cared about his friend. A lot. And he would never let anyone hurt him.

The ranger took a strand of the golden hair and carefully put it into his pocket. He blinked a couple of times to clear his blurry vision as much as possible. He would need to see well in order to follow the tracks. He could soon see that a single orc had dragged Legolas, and his brothers and father had followed. They had gone to the hills, following a path he knew well.

Too well. Aragorn stopped and smiled slightly. He knew very well where this path was leading. And he knew a shortcut. He walked to the rocks and disappeared into an almost invisible tunnel entrance. Legolas and he had discovered this tunnel a few months ago, during one of their hunts.

Estel sighed sadly. He would never again go hunting with Legolas.

But this didn't matter now. He had to save his friend, and this tunnel would significantly shorten the distance he had to walk. Now it didn't seem impossible to catch up with the orc.

---

"I found the perfect place to spend the night." The orc grinned down at his prisoner. "I believe you will enjoy it."

He bent down and pulled his knife out of Legolas' shoulder.

The elf gasped at the pain, but remained silent. He was relieved that he wasn't pinned to the ground anymore, but he suspected that what was going to follow would be worse.

The orc grabbed him by his injured shoulder, which was bleeding more heavily after the knife had been removed, and dragged him up the hill.

"I found a lovely cave!" He smirked.

Legolas shut his eyes in pain. Cave. He should have known.

The orc dragged his prisoner to the cave. He glanced briefly at a small hole in the rock, next to the cave opening. It was impossible to see from the outside that it was the entrance of a hidden tunnel.

---

Aragorn moved swiftly in the darkness of the passage, all of his pains totally forgotten. He had only one aim in his mind. Reach his friend on time.

The ranger suddenly stopped as the passage was blocked by something sticky. He took out his hunting knife and cut through it. He was so intent on reaching his goal, that he never wondered what it was.

Suddenly he stopped and listened. A soft sound reached his ears. Tap tap tap. Tap tap. Tap. Tap tap. As if water dropping on the ground. But there was no water inside the tunnel.

Aragorn took a step backwards and held firmly his knife. He hadn't expected that. Apparently one of the spiders had decided that the passage would make a perfect lair.

The man knew that the creature would attack, but still he wasn't prepared when a dark body lunged at him and knocked him down. His head impacted with the stone floor, and he fought hard to remain conscious. Blissful darkness seemed too tempting, but he couldn't give up while Legolas was still a captive.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He could feel one of the spider's fangs pierce his flesh and the venom enter his bloodstream. Estel resisted the urge to cry out in pain and concentrated all of his remaining strength in one last effort. He lifted his uninjured arm and stuck his blade into the spider's gruesome belly.

A sticky fluid flowed on his arm, and a shriek assaulted his ears. He pushed the dead body off him and slowly got to his feet.

This was the worse thing that could have happened. His condition was bad even before the bite, and now the new venom could very well have been fatal. He tried to take another step, but fell to the ground, his face meeting unyielding stone.

Estel quickly scrambled to his feet and wiped away the blood from his forehead. He couldn't stop! Not before he had helped Legolas! He ran forward, his high adrenaline the only thing that kept him from collapsing.

---

Legolas didn't like his new position. Being tied to a stone wall wasn't something he enjoyed. His heart beat wildly, trapped in his chest, just like he was trapped in the darkness of the cave. He wanted to get away, to breathe the fresh air, to hear the birds, to see the stars. But all he could see was a grinning orc's face.

"Are you feeling comfortable, my Prince?" The creature's grin grew wider. "You are royalty and I want to please you."

"If you want to please me, take that knife and stick it into your stinky stomach!" Legolas snapped.

"I will take the knife, your Highness," he replied. "But it is not my stomach I will stick it in," he muttered, tracing the elf's chin with the blade. "Or maybe not the stomach," he mused. "The throat might be better."

"You want me alive, scum, so that you won't need to carry my body," Legolas reminded him darkly.

"Oh, but we are almost there," the orc pointed out. "One more day and we will be outside the borders of Mirkwood. I think I can carry you that far."

Legolas paled. The orc was right, they had almost left Mirkwood. Soon he would be lost beyond help or hope. And it seemed the orc wanted to end everything here and now.

He closed his eyes and prayed that his ending would be quick, although he highly doubted that.

"Goheno nin, Estel," he finally whispered and took a deep breath. If this was going to be his end, he wasn't going to give the orc the pleasure of seeing him suffer. No, he wouldn't scream, he vowed silently.

He felt the foul blade pierce his arm and cut through it. A scream pierced the air. But the voice wasn't elven. Legolas' eyes snapped open in surprise, and his gaze locked with the terrified eyes of the orc. The evil creature reached to take the knife out of his back, and turned to face his assailant.

Legolas gasped in shock. There, at the cave entrance, stood a man, his form shaking slightly. The skin was unnaturally pale and contrasted sharply with the dark red blood, oozing freely from a deep gash on his forehead.

"Estel!" He shouted, afraid that the vision might go away, and desperately wanting him to stay. What was the human doing here? He was poisoned and in no shape to go after him. Was he hallucinating from the pain? Was it a ghost he was seeing?

The orc lunged at the man with a battle cry. Aragorn took out his sword to meet the attack, but he couldn't control the trembling of his hand. The orcs body impacted with his, and sent them both to the ground.

For a moment Aragorn's vision blurred even more, and when it finally cleared, he saw the orc's fist flying towards his face. Instinctively he closed his eyes, but it did nothing to prevent the pain that followed. He could hear Legolas' frantic shouts in the background, but couldn't make out the words.

The fist landed on his face one more time, and he wished for nothing more than to succumb to the tempting darkness. No pain. No fear. He just needed to close his eyes and let go.

And he did.

Darkness swept all over his senses, and he let himself sink into blissful oblivion. It was so pleasant, so peaceful. And it didn't hurt.

"Estel!" Legolas' panicked scream brought him back to the word of pain. Why? He wished he could stay where he was. He groaned and opened his eyes, quickly remembering what he was doing here. And then he came to full awareness.

All darkness seemed to fade away as he realized what he was fighting for. If he surrendered, if he let the shadows claim him, this orc would torture Legolas to death. No! He would stay. And if he had to suffer, he would. It was a small price to pay.

He blindly reached and grabbed a stone, slamming it into the orc's head. The creature seemed stunned for a moment, and Aragorn used this to push him to the side. Orc and man rolled together, until they rolled out of the cave entrance.

Legolas' fear turned into panic as he couldn't see his friend anymore. All he could hear were shouts and groans, and to his greatest dismay, he often recognized the voice.

All noises suddenly stopped and complete silence settled over the cave.

"Estel!" The elf screamed. "Estel, answer me!" There was no answer. He thought his heart would stop.

The next five seconds seemed like centuries to Legolas. Finally a bent, dark figure appeared at the entrance. The elf gasped.

"Oh, Estel, you scared me so much!" He whispered weakly. The human didn't answer and walked towards him, his head bent down. He walked unsteadily, but determinedly, never meeting the blue gaze following his every move.

Finally he reached the elf and fell to his knees beside him. The ranger took out a knife and quickly cut the bonds.

"You are free to go now," he muttered. He wished his former friend would go away. He could feel the venoms slowly but surely claiming his body, and he didn't want the elf to watch him die. He couldn't bear the indifference.

As Legolas' hands were finally free, he reached out and grasped the man's arm.

"Estel, are you alright?" He asked worriedly. His friend's behavior was confusing him, and the human looked terrible.

Estel pulled his arm free.

"It is alright, Legolas. You don't need to pretend you care."

"What?!" Sapphire eyes widened in confusion. "Estel, what do you mean?" Could the human think he was still angry with him? It was absurd! "Mellon nín, I am sorry, I didn't mean to –"

"I said it's alright," the man interrupted him in a curt tone. "You don't need to apologize. I understand why you decided to leave me. It was all my fault." He tried to sound confident although his heart was tearing apart.

"Leave you?" Legolas' confusion grew. His brow furrowed, but realization suddenly struck him. "Leave you!" He shook his head in horror. "You foolish human! I cannot believe this!"

Estel's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the sudden pain on his cheek and his hand instinctively touched the place where the elf had just slapped him. "Legolas?" He asked, confused. "Why did you do this?"

"To beat some reason into that thick, stubborn, silly, empty, useless human head of yours!" The elf was almost yelling. "How could you ever think that?! I didn't leave, I was kidnapped by orcs!"

Estel pulled back and gazed into his friend's eyes, which were by now shimmering with unshed tears. Of course it all made sense when he thought about it. How could he have been so foolish?!

Suddenly exhausted by extreme happiness and relief, Aragorn sat on the ground and rested his back on the stone wall.

"So you came to the forest because you followed me?" He asked weakly, and the elf nodded. "Oh, Legolas, so you were hurt because of me once again! And they… they…" Unable to continue, he just fingered the golden hair, which was now a bit shorter than shoulder length.

"Oh, please, mellon nín, don't worry about my hair." Legolas smiled. "Elven hair can grow very fast if we want it to. And don't blame yourself, it was I who chased you out of the palace," he said softly and pulled his friend into a tight embrace. "I must have hurt you a lot to make you think I would leave you. I am sorry, Estel."

He suddenly tensed. The human in his arms was shaking uncontrollably. He had been shivering since he had arrived in the cave, and the elf had contributed it to shock and exhaustion. But now it was quickly intensifying and this worried him.

"Estel, mellon nín, are you alright?" He pushed the man backwards and gazed into his face. What he saw made him gasp. The gray eyes were bleary and unfocused, and they didn't seem to see him.

"Estel!" He was starting to become scared. "What happened to you?"

He quickly tore off a piece of his tunic and pressed it to the man's forehead to stop the bleeding. The wound needed to be cleaned, but he knew that the real problem was something else.

"I…," the ranger tried to speak. "I… I am so sorry… so sorry, mellon nín."

"Sorry for what?" Legolas tried to control himself, but he was panicking. The man had suddenly gone whiter than snow. "Estel, talk to me! What happened? What happened to you on your way here?"

"I… it… it bit me, Legolas." Aragorn's teeth were clattering and he had trouble speaking. "The spider… it bit me."

The elf stared in horror. After everything his friend had endured and all the toxins in his body, a new spider bite could mean the end.

"Mellon nín, I need you to stay with me!" He pleaded desperately. "Please, stay awake, Estel! Stay awake for me!"

The human gave no indication that he had heard his words. He couldn't keep his eyes open anymore, and he just gave up. His task was complete. His friend was safe, and he could leave now.

"ESTEL!" Legolas slapped his cheek once again, carefully but resolutely. No reaction. Then the elf gave up all caution and fiercely shook his friend's limp body. All his wounds screamed at him, but he gave them no heed. "Don't do this to me, human! You cannot do this! You won't die!"

"Oh, yes, he will." A voice from behind made Legolas jump. "He will die."

---

"So he spoke nothing of my son?" Thranduil eyed the patrol that had just arrived.

"No, my liege," Miresgal replied. "Lord Elrond said that he would go look for his sons, but he spoke nothing of the Prince."

The King's brow furrowed. "And yet, you are saying that the ranger was bitten by spiders?"

"Yes, my Lord." The leader of the patrol nodded.

"Where this human goes, Legolas follows," Thranduil whispered thoughtfully. "I am sure he is in trouble. Send a patrol to find him! And take spider antidote!" He ordered. "Oh, and Miresgal," he called back his subject, who had almost left the hall. "You can take several additional horses. The peredhil family and my son might need them."

Although I doubt they will be in any condition to ride by themselves, he thought darkly.

---

"Yes, he will die," Elrond repeated. "I will kill him myself! Silly child!"

He bent over his foster son and slightly tilted his head backwards. "Elrohir, give me the herbs you have left and boil some water! We need to prepare the antidote. Elladan, take care of Legolas' injuries."

"I am fine, Lord Elrond, it is Estel who needs –"

"Elladan, I said take care of Legolas," Elrond interrupted him. "And tie him and gag him if he protests."

Legolas was about to say something, but realized it was better not to distract the healer. Elrond would need all of his concentration to help his human son.

"Estel? Can you hear me, ion nín?" He spoke softly and soothingly, rubbing the man's back in gentle circles. The voice of the healer seemed to scatter the darkness. "I am here my son. Ada is here." Elrohir handed him the herbs, and he continued. "Breathe, Estel, I need you to breathe. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Slowly, slowly Estel. Inhale…"

The twins and Legolas watched transfixed, their faces pale. Elladan had momentarily forgotten that he was supposed to clean and dress the prince's wounds, and Legolas had conveniently forgotten to remind him.

"Ada, can you help him?" Elrohir asked quietly, but his father only raised his hand to indicate to his son to keep quiet.

"I will give you some herbs, Estel. I need you to chew them and keep them under your tongue. Can you do that?"

The young man nodded. He had finally relaxed in his father's arms. He seemed oblivious of the world around him, and the only thing he could hear was Elrond's voice.

Soon the antidote was ready, and the Elven lord helped his son drink it. He eased his body on the ground, and wrapped him tightly in all of their cloaks to keep him warm. Now they could only wait for the antidote to take effect.

"Elrohir, Legolas, you also need to drink," Elrond commanded. "And don't protest. Your bodies are fighting the toxins already, but a little help won't hurt."

The elves silently obeyed and sat down beside their human friend and brother.

Gray eyes fluttered open and Estel gazed around groggily. He suddenly gasped and averted his gaze.

"Dan, Ro! You are here?" He whispered.

Elladan's heart hurt to see his brother like that. He gently lifted the man's chin and looked him in the eyes.

"We are here, little brother," he said softly.

Estel seemed to relax when the elf called him 'brother'. "Ada told me that you had forgiven me. But I was afraid to believe him."

"There is nothing to forgive." Elladan smiled slightly. "At least there is nothing we should forgive you for. I just wonder if you could forgive us."

"Dan, I –" he tried to protest, but the elf interrupted him.

"I said things I didn't mean, Estel. I told you that you weren't my brother anymore. That's not true. You are our brother and always will be." he pulled the human into a warm embrace. "Always will be."

Estel raised his face and looked at Legolas, who just gave him an I-told-you smile. He smiled back and nodded in thanks.

---

Five figures moved slowly through the woods. Two of them had sustained too many injuries, and they had to stop often to rest.

Suddenly the sounds of horse's hooves could be heard. The small group stopped and waited for the riders to appear.

"Your Highness!" Miresgal was shocked when he observed the condition his prince was in. The King wasn't going to be pleased.

"Well met, my friend." Legolas smiled. "I am glad we met you. It might have taken days to get to the palace at our pace."

"Your father sent us," the leader of the patrol explained. "He was worried about you, and I can see he was right."

"Oh, it is nothing," Legolas said. "Now let's go to my father and assure him that we are alright. Miresgal, we could use some horses. I will ride with Estel, he cannot ride by himself."

"You also cannot ride by yourself," Elrohir remarked. "I will ride with Estel, and you will ride with Dan."

"You also aren't well." Elladan looked at his twin. "I will ride with Estel."

"You will ride with Legolas, and I will ride with Estel," Elrond suddenly settled the argument. "There are some things I need to discuss with my son."

The three younger elves suddenly paled and gave the human a sympathetic look. The man had a lot of explanations to give.

Everyone was finally mounted, the ranger sitting in front of Elrond. "I am sorry, Ada," he muttered as they rode towards the palace. "I didn't mean to disobey."

"Are you really sorry?" Elrond raised an eyebrow, his voice sounding more amused than angry.

Estel sighed. "Actually, no, I am not. I am happy that I managed to help Legolas on time."

"Don't apologize if you aren't truly sorry, ion nín," Elrond said. "What you did was a mistake, and I don't approve of it, but it was your decision, and if you believe it was right, I will respect it. You are a child no more, Estel, and you don't need my approval. All I can give you now is advice, and not commands. But the decision will always be yours to make, and the consequences yours to suffer."

Aragorn nodded. "You are right, Ada. And I don't regret helping Legolas. But I am sorry for lying to you. I truly am."

"I know, ion nín," Elrond said softly. "I know. But we can talk about this later. You are tired now. Why don't you try to sleep on the way to the palace?"

The young man smiled. Many times Elrond gave him orders, or advice, as he had just called it, and often he was unwilling to listen. But this was an order he would happily obey.

Estel relaxed in his father's protective arms and drifted into sleep.

---

Silver eyes opened tiredly and fixed on the smiling face above him.

"Legolas?"

Estel took a look around. He was lying on a soft bed in one of the palace chambers. This was his second day here, and he was already feeling better, but complete recovery would take some more time. "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to stay in bed."

"Obviously I'm not." The elf grinned somewhat mischievously.

"But the healers said –" the man tried to protest, but his friend interrupted him.

"It doesn't matter what the healers said, mellon nín. I am the prince, so I can do what I choose."

"Certainly. And I am sure your father will be happy to hear this."

"He doesn't need to know." The elf shrugged and sat on the bed. The ranger tried to rise, but Legolas gently pushed him back down.

"That doesn't mean that you can get up, human." He smiled and brushed away a stray lock of dark hair out of the pale face. "You look much better now, although you still look terrible. Actually, when I think about it, you always look terrible." He grinned.

Estel shook his head in amusement. "Well, I am glad you came, mellon nín. I wanted to tell you something."

"What?" The elf asked, curious of what his friend had to say.

"Do you know what Ada told me?"

"No, but I can easily guess. He told you not to wander around trying to save everyone when you are half-dead." The prince smirked.

"No!" The man protested.

"Oh, didn't he?"

"Alright, he did tell me that," Estel reluctantly admitted, "but I was talking about something else."

"Go on." His friend nodded.

"He told me something very wise and very true. And I didn't listen to him."

"Well, this still sounds to me like 'Estel, don't wander around trying to save everybody when you are half-dead!'"

"Legolas!"

"What, am I not right?" The elf tried to defend his point. "This is something very wise and very true, and you never listen to it!"

"Alright then, I won't tell you if you don't want to listen!"

Legolas sighed. "I'm sorry, mellon nín. I want to hear it, really."

"I will tell you, but only if you let me sit," the man calmly stated his conditions. "I am tired of lying down."

"Fine, but be careful." The prince carefully helped him sit up in the bed. "So what did Lord Elrond tell you?"

Estel smiled when he remembered his father's words. A few days ago he had been so afraid, and he hadn't known if to believe them, but now he knew they were true.

"He told me that the bonds of family are too strong, and nothing can break them, no matter what. No matter what happens, no matter what I do, no matter how hard we fight, I will always be his son, and he will always be my father. And I was thinking…"

"…that the same is true about bonds of friendship?" Legolas finished his thought.

"Exactly. How did you guess?" The young man stared wide-eyed at him.

"Oh, it is obvious." The price laughed merrily. "No matter how much you annoy me, and no matter how stupidly you act, I will always be your friend, and nothing can change that. I can never be angry with you for more than three minutes. Sometimes I wonder what madness had possessed me to forgive you everything so easily."

"Friendship is madness indeed." Estel smiled.

"Yes, but I do not wish to be cured from it," Legolas replied seriously, and blue eyes locked with gray. "I think you learned a good lesson, mellon nín."

"I did," the young man replied. "Some bonds are unbreakable. But I wish I had known this before. It would have saved us from trouble."

The elf laughed in reply.

"Oh, Estel!" He finally managed to say. "Nothing can save us from trouble!"

THE END

A/N 1: Yes, in case you are wondering, spiders have "fangs". You can visit the Estel Angst Central for a discussion on spider anatomy :D

A/N 2: This story was a pleasure to write, especially with such wonderful readers like you! Thank you all for the wonderful and encouraging reviews!(I know that many of you reviewed just to get a strand of Legolas' hair, but still thank you ;)) If you have left a signed review, and don't have a reply, it's because alerts are down again, and you'll get it eventually. I have replied to all of yours reviews because I value them a lot. And to everyone who reviewed, but didn't leave an email: the randomer, Fan, Jennifer, and Mossheart, your words made me smile :) Thanks!

A/N 3: Many thanks to Kali for correcting all of my stupid mistakes :D

A/N 4: To all readers of "Friendship is a Family Trait": This story is over, so now I am going to update more often. Thanks for the patience.

A/N 5: I know you are probably tired of hearing this, but this story was written for the EAC competition "Spiders" and you are welcome to participate :) Even if you don't want to participate, you can still check the other stories and vote. All stories will be posted on EAC after April 30. Link on my profile page.

Until the next story, my friends. Navaer!

StarLight :o)

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