I Thought I Knew You

By Firniswin

Hey all of you wonderful fans of my pathetic and rather angst writings. I hope you enjoy this fic, and yes it will be full of angst. The title gives away a lot, kind of. You have to be a good thinker and read the summary.

But anyway, please enjoy this. And for another clue, this story, actually it was kinda funny. I was sitting at the table drawing listening to my new Mark Shultz cd, when the next song came on. It was called "Do You eve know me anymore" and while the song is between a wife and her husband. Some of the lyrics oddly went with this story.

No fear to you slash haters. This story, nor any of my others will be slash. I DO NOT like slash. And never intend to write it, as I said before in my bio. But anyway, for those of you who care, here are the lyrics.

But you don't even know who I am anymore

You're a million miles away

Though I see you every day

So ya, that is all. Off to post. Namarie! Please R&R! No flaming. Any flames will be fed to my dog.

Chapter 1

Almost Lost to Darkness

Darkness.

That was all that showed itself in the pressing confinements of the collapsed cave.

A moan seemed to come out of the gloom and he stretched his tense muscles.

Legolas realized, that the moan had not come from someone else, for there was no one else. He was the only one near.

The blonde elf opened his eyes experimentally to find the dark gloom before him, rocks littered the barely recognizable floor, and a small steak sat near.

It looked as if it had once been a torch, the end was charred and small bits of ash lay on the floor beneath it.

He hissed as he tenderly shook the rumble that lay upon his old torn garments. Crouching low, and holding his injured and bloody wrist close to himself, he looked about the darkened area.

Bright lights exploded before his vision and he rubbed his eyes in habit, though it did nothing for his aching head.

"Estel?" he whispered softly, not wanting to cause another cave-in.

Legolas was amazed at how low and raspy his voice had become, the prince coughed softly to get the dust and rock debris from his dry throat.

Experimentally he stood to his weary feet, almost falling against the cave wall. He leaned his body against it for support and lifted his now very sore limb.

"Mellon nin?" His voice became more serious and fearful as he heard nothing from the dark air before him.

Many emotions collided into his lithe and wounded frame. Fear, worry, happiness, but most of all was the horror.

Horror filled his heart and blackened the thoughts that came into his tired and shadowed mind.

Pictures of Aragorn, trapped under a boulder, struggling for his last breaths, calling out for him.

Pictures of pooled blood collecting beneath his best friend's body, his dying body.

A sob collected in his throat and caught at his cries.

"Estel?! Please! Answer me mellon nin?!"

Tear streaked his pale cheeks as the horrible plea echoed all around the walls.

His heavy breaths ceased as a faint whisper of the wind brushed against his delicate, but slightly scratched ear.

"Legolas? Help!"

The prince stopped breathing and a frantic breath jammed in his throat.

"Estel?!" he called louder.

"Ye Legolas. Help me."

The blonde's breath hastened.

"Where are you?"

A slight pause made him jump and jitter. Legolas moved unconsciously and started to repeat the question when a voice came from the darkness.

"I'm…trapped Legolas! Trapped! A pillar has trapped me!!"

Now he noticed, that the man's words were somewhat slurred and his breathing was not natural.

"Each time I breath, the pillar-" the man took a small barely audible breath. "It moves Legolas!"

"Why?" he asked and smacked himself after wards.

"Well, it looks as if there…." another suck in. "is a smaller boulder on each side……each time I-" Aragorn hissed uncomfortably. "Move, the pillar moves with my breath. And every, time it slips that slightest bit and comes to rest at my body."

The elven prince put all the figures Aragorn was feeding him together as quickly as his aching and unnaturally slow mind would allow.

Another rein of terror pulled at the prince's heart, he realized what it meant. In a matter of minutes, Estel could be killed with just one more breath.

"Estel. Hold on mellon nin. I am coming."

The words slightly soothed the man's mind, although, being under a pillar with your life swaying in the balance was not a actually natural thing. And he did not at all welcome death, he had dreamed to have that come to him at a very slow and tedious pace.

"What should I do?" he asked, eager to help in any way possible.

"Well-" Legolas picked up a small but heavy rock with his good hand and threw it away. "Do not move. Try not to breath to much, breath only as much as if truly needed."

This answer did not come welcoming either. 'But, if Legolas said to do it' he sighed inwardly. 'Than Eru help me. I will do as he says.'

With those last and excruciating thoughts, Aragorn let the breath ease from his weary frame, he let the fresh air flow in slowly. And to his astonishment and joy, what Legolas said to do worked quite well.

The pillar barely flinched at the human's soft ad hardly noticeable breath.

A praise came from somewhere close by, Legolas smiled, very joyful that his mind was still in full function.

"Good Estel." He sucked in air as a rather large rock was seen obscuring his path from the mortal. "Now, I am almost to you. If you can hear me better, make some kind of noise, but it must be without disturbing the column."

A small sigh made the elf smile again.

"Good." he placed his hands sturdily as he could upon the rock. Heaving a breath, he pushed forward, grunting in pain and exhaustion as he did so.

"Ok, Breath out. Softly."

The soft breath beyond the scarcely moving rock noted the prince that the man had done as he wished.

"Alright, wonderful. Now slowly, breath in. Make it last now."

The mortal complied bit by bit, slowly sucking In the air that his lungs so desperately longed for.

A low groaning came from beneath the boulder that Legolas was pushing, this sign made him push harder and faster than before. He clenched his teeth and grunted as the last bit moved quickly into the ever present darkness.

He moved from the rock to see a large tunnel like way through the rocks.

Getting down on all fours he began to crawl painfully through the opening.

"I'm coming Estel." he smiled and pressed on. He did not care how much it hurt and he did not care how much pain it caused his mind.

The only thing that now was in his recovering thoughts was his best friend laying in the middle of the corridor, his breathing slow and his eyes wide with terror as a large pillar lay over him like a ton of bricks.

He came upon a rocky area and bit his lip as needle like rocks dug into his skin and injuries.

But he was rewarded as his eyes saw in the middle of the corridor, his friend laying on his back. Two semi-large boulders lay on each side, and a huge, monster pillar lay over the top. The mortal was now struggling with his breaths as fear took hold. The column began to slip.

Quickly, Legolas got to his feet and rushed at the pillar, and with both hands, he grasped the column, gritting his teeth as it strained his wounded hand.

"Estel quickly!" The human gulped the breath in and tried to move, he pulled himself from the his tomb and back against the rock wall, panting and huffing for the musty air.

"Drop it!" Legolas let go and back away as quickly as he could, tripping over the rubble.

He fell back against the rock wall, he watched the pillar fall to the floor with a loud crash.

"Well, that was close."

He grinned at the rough and barely audible words that came from his side.

"Ye mellon nin, very close."

The two friends sat a moment, sucking in long breaths as both regained their total lung capacity again.

Aragorn looked down to his side, the skin was beginning to sting and burn. That reminded him of his own injuries as well as his friends. Both knew, that they were in a very tight pickle.

"What now?" Estel asked, looking sidelong at Legolas, who was still panting from the strain the pillar had given his sore hand.

"I suppose we should…get going." the prince gained his feet slowly and the man did the same, neither needed their wounds to bleed heavily right now.

Not when they had no clean water, and no bandages, string, or map.

Aragorn looked the elf in the eyes and saw great pain, even though he did not show it.

"Legolas, we can re-"

"No! We must go! I fell that this cavern will not last long."

The young man smiled. "Those elven bones tingling?" he asked with the satisfaction that he could still joke.

The blonde elf aimed a light punch in the human's direction.

"No, it was more my ears that were tingling."

Aragorn laughed.

~*~

"Come on Aragorn." Legolas encouraged as he reached for the man's hand.

The two had found a way out of the main cave which they had been trapped in.

But now, they faced another difficult challenge. Legolas had had no trouble making it up the cliff that was now deemed the only way out in which it was possible they would not die trying.

But Aragorn, with his injured ribs had problems and could not get high enough to reach the prince's good hand.

Estel hissed as he moved his torso and stretched his body to reach the blonde elf's hand that sat a few feet up from where he clung to the cliff wall.

"Come on A-er Estel." The elf prince stuttered and changed names quickly. He did not believe he had had the wrong name. He must be worse than he thought.

"Legolas! I am slipping!" The prince shook the thoughts away and watched in horror as his best friend slipped from the stones that protruded from the wall.

'If he falls now?' Legolas looked beyond the human to find that the cave floor was far below. 'He will die.'

Thinking quickly, Legolas searched the flat area around him for something to use.

He growled in fury when he saw no rope or vine.

"Estel! You…must….jump!"

Aragorn turned frightened eyes upon him.

"Have you lost your sanity Legolas?!" he shouted as his booted feet slipped from the stones, he clung to them and groaned as his side protested to the new abuse.

"No, I mean jump up, towards me."

The young man growled as the stones beneath his feet crumbled and the dust fell the long ways below.
"Legolas!" he called readying himself.

The prince turned his blue-silver eyes back on the man.

"I will do it."

Legolas smiled, and let himself lay down upon his stomach.

"On three?"

The prince glanced down again and watched as the man nodded in submission.

"One."

Aragorn sucked in a rather harsh breath through his nostrils and waited.

"Two."

The young man crouched against the stones and waited for the last and final signal.

Legolas gritted his teeth and brought out his bloody hand, let it dangle as another lifeline for Estel to grab.

"Three!"

Defying all he knew, Aragorn pushed off the stones.

Panic raced through his heart and made him dizzy as he groped blankly for something to break his fall. But nothing came. His heart sank to his knees and he cried out.

"Legolas!"

TBC~

Hey all that are still here with me. Hope you liked this rather short and annoying first chapter. For those of you who wondered at all, this was seven pages long.

I just wanted you to know.

Ok, now for the fun part, well, the fun part for me. You guys are all probably bringing out your Bows, axes, knives, daggers, swords, and spears to use on me.

So I better run now.

[zips off like road runner]

Meep! Meep!