Blood of a Brother: Hard-Headed Elf
A Lord of the Rings story by Deana Lisi
Disclaimer: I don't own Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, Faramir, or any other LOTR character.
Hey everyone! Here's my new story! ;) Before we get into that, though, I wanted to show you some limericks that I wrote! I'll post one with each chapter!

This one is for Karri, about her beloved King Thranduil:

There once was a Mirkwood King
Who did not have a magic ring
His strength was in arm
And also in charm
'specially when he started to sing.

LOL on with the story!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Come, lads! We do not have all day!"

Legolas and Aragorn shot each other frustrated looks as they followed their friend. The elf and dwarf had come to Minas Tirith to visit Aragorn and drag him away—temporarily—from his stressful life as Gondor's King. Gimli was very enthusiastic, as it had been a while since he'd seen Aragorn, and he was very much looking forward to their trip.

"We come, friend Gimli!" said Legolas. He looked at Aragorn with a mischievous gleam in his eye. "You'd never know that his legs were so short."

Gimli turned around, from his position about twenty feet ahead of them. "Aha, friend elf!" he said. "Did we just hear you admit that I—a dwarf—am faster than you?"

Legolas raised his eyebrows. "No, you heard me say that your legs are short."

Aragorn laughed.

Gimli gave the elf a mock-angry look. "Short they may be, but I shall still reach the stables before you!"

With that, the dwarf ran off.

"Finally, he is gone," said Legolas, jokingly.

Aragorn smiled at his friend as they walked. "What is this trip to entail?"

Legolas shook his head. "Anything that you wish. Relaxation, hunting, throwing Gimli into every lake that we pass…"

Aragorn laughed again. How badly he'd needed this trip. "Hannon le. You always know what I need, my friend, often even before I do."

Legolas smiled back, warmly.

"Even a hobbit could outrun you!" they suddenly heard.

Legolas groaned at the dwarf's words.

Aragorn couldn't help but chuckle. "And a human!" he said, surprising Legolas by suddenly breaking into a run.

Legolas watched his friend run off, and suddenly heard Gimli's bellowing laugh. His pride was at stake now, so Legolas took off after him.

Aragorn laughed as he reached the stable, almost tripping when Gimli grabbed his arm and pulled him in before slamming the door.

A loud thump was suddenly heard, and Aragorn's jaw dropped. "Gimli! You didn't!"

The dwarf laughed so hard that he nearly fell over, not even noticing when Aragorn opened the door.

Legolas looked up from where he sat on the ground, clutching his left wrist. He gave his human friend a bewildered look, before casting angry eyes on the laughing dwarf.

"I cannot believe that you did that, Gimli!" Aragorn said, kneeling beside the elf.

It was only then that Gimli noticed their friend sitting rather than standing. Halting his laughter, he walked forward, frowning.

"Is it broken?" Aragorn asked, gingerly touching Legolas' wrist.

Legolas shook his head, carefully flexing it. "No, likely just sprained." He looked at the dwarf again, confused now more than angry.

"I—you—!" Gimli stuttered.

Legolas said nothing, just staring at him as Aragorn looked for something to use as a splint.

"I didn't think you'd be hurt!" Gimli exclaimed, horrified. "I was sure that you would see the door close before you reached it!"

"I was running too fast," said Legolas, as Aragorn returned. "By the time you closed it, it was too late for me to stop." He winced as the human manipulated his wrist to feel for himself if anything was broken.

"Forgive me!" Gimli said, contrite. "If I'd known this would happen…"

"Stop," Legolas said, cutting him off. "I think my pride was hurt worse than anything."

Aragorn nonchalantly glanced around, looking to see if anyone had seen the incident. Lucky for Legolas, there was no one in sight.

Gimli, feeling useless just standing there, picked up Legolas' pack, as Aragorn wrapped the elf's wrist with a piece of bandage from his bag of healing supplies. "Does it hurt much?" Gimli asked, dreading the answer.

Legolas shook his head as Aragorn helped him up. "No. It will heal fast."

The dwarf was relieved. "I really am sorry," he said, hanging his head.

"I know," said Legolas, patting his friend's shoulder as he walked into the stable.

Gimli sighed, angry at himself and embarrassed at having done something so terrible to his friend.

Once mounting their horses, the trio rode off to the northwest.

Gimli still felt guilty, and tried to strike up a conversation. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything to say. "The weather is perfect for a trip like this!" he blurted; his words making him feel even more foolish.

Legolas seemed to know what the dwarf was trying to do. "Indeed it is," he agreed. "Lead on, Aragorn," he said. "This is your opportunity to do anything that you would like."

The human nodded. "We go in the right direction then, for the Grey Wood is the ideal place for relaxation."

"Aye," Legolas agreed. "Full of trees…thickets…lakes…"

Aragorn chuckled, and Gimli felt like he'd missed something, especially when the human smiled at him.

"And what is this?" Gimli asked. "Some fell plot, I assume? Hatched by the elf?"

In front of him on the horse, Legolas turned slightly. "Of course, who else?"

Gimli rolled his eyes, pretending that he didn't care, but inwardly looking forward to whatever mischief Legolas had planned.

After riding for about twenty miles, they reached the White Mountains.

"We should do some exploring!" Gimli suddenly said. "There could be tunnels and caves containing many interesting things of worth!"

Legolas looked at Aragorn with an amused expression. Seemingly every time the two of them entered a cave, something terrible happened.

Aragorn smiled at his friend, and looked at Gimli. "There are indeed many caves, but I have yet to hear of anything of worth in them."

"Ah, lad," said Gimli. "That is because you are not a dwarf!" With that, he hopped—or rather, fell—off Legolas' horse, and began to climb.

"Gimli," said Legolas, smiling. "There are pathways up the mountain."

Gimli slipped, and fell onto his rear. "I meant to do that," he said, quickly scrambling up.

Legolas chuckled and lifted his left hand to pull Gimli back up, but laid it in his lap again when he realized that his wrist would never hold the dwarf's weight. Speaking a command to Arod, the horse turned around, and Legolas held out his right hand instead.

Gimli inwardly sighed as a pang of guilt hit his stomach. Reaching up, he accepted Legolas' help and sat behind him, holding on when the horse began the steep climb.

"Which cave catches your fancy, master dwarf?" Legolas asked.

Gimli looked around, trying to spot what the elf's keen eyes could see. "A remote one. One that would not be often explored."

A rumble of thunder interrupted his words, and the three friends looked around with surprise. The mountains had served to hide the dark clouds that announced the approach of a storm.

"It appears that your idea may have been a convenient one, Gimli," said Aragorn.

Gimli nodded, not wishing to get wet.

The three friends climbed higher and higher, going off the path and finding a cave that met with Gimli's approval.

"We picked the right one, laddies!" said the dwarf, walking to the back of the cave. It turned into a tunnel that sloped downwards, and Gimli ran down it, completely unafraid.

Legolas and Aragorn descended more slowly, the elf's senses on alert, hoping to recognize possible trouble before it came upon them unawares.

"Well bless me beard!" they suddenly heard.

Legolas chuckled, walking faster until he stopped in surprise at the sight that had entranced the dwarf.

The end of the tunnel lead into a massively-large hollow cavern, so vast that the three friends were momentarily shocked.

"An entire army of orcs could live in here!" said Gimli, turning in a circle.

"Let us hope that none do," said Aragorn, looking at Legolas.

The elf shook his head as he looked around. "I do not sense the presence of orcs, nor do I smell their lingering scent. There is nothing here to suggest that this cavern is occupied."

As he spoke, a sudden explosion shook the mountain, and thunder rumbled loud enough to hurt their ears.

"Ai!" Gimli exclaimed, thrown off balance.

Legolas knew what it meant. "Lightning has struck the mountain!" he exclaimed, watching in horror as the ceiling began to crumble. "Run!"

The others obeyed, trying desperately to avoid tripping as a wall of rock slid towards them. The floor of the cavern gained height as the rubble began to accumulate, and the three friends acquired many bruises on their legs as they tried to stay above it.

They ran to the other side of the mountain, for there was a hill that led to another opening that would be safer than the tunnel that they had come into the cavern through.

Thunder suddenly sounded again, heightening their anxiety.

"Run!" Aragorn shouted.

It was an unnecessary command, for the dwarf and elf were going as fast as they could, desperate to stay ahead of the tumbling rock.

Legolas brought up the rear, putting himself in the most danger as he watched to ensure that his two friends kept their footing. It may have been better had Gimli been in his location instead, for the huge rock that suddenly crashed into the elf's head would've sailed harmlessly over the shorter dwarf.

Gimli heard the elf's sudden gasp and turned to see what was wrong. "Legolas!" he shouted, reaching out to grab his friend.

Aragorn turned around at the shout, to see Gimli grab onto Legolas' cloak as the elf slid. He reached out and grabbed Gimli, preventing the dwarf from being pulled after Legolas.

The Prince of Mirkwood jerked to a halt thanks to his friends' grip.

Aragorn fought to keep his footing as the rockslide continued around them. "Pull him up before he strangles!" he exclaimed.

Gimli pulled on the elf's cloak, fighting inward panic as they literally pulled Legolas up by his neck, praying that the brooch holding the cloak around Legolas' throat wouldn't give way and send the elf to his death…or stab him…

TBC

Oh man, what a terrible place to end the chapter, LOL! I had no choice though; it would've been waaay too long otherwise. (Runs from readers) Remember in the extended edition of ROTK when the sea of skulls crashed down around Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli? I kept thinking to myself that it was totally impossible for no one to get hurt during that, so this story is my rant, LOL! Stay tuned! ;)