SLIP & FaLL

by: WhiteGloves

It's been a while since I made a oneshot ^^

I'm still working on my other titles LOL but please enjoy this something that spouted from my head O.O''

(First Part: Slip)

This had once happened to me… when I was a young elfling many centuries ago...

Long ago in Mirkwood an elfling had accidentally set his father's quarters on fire and had almost died. That little one was I, Legolas, the Prince Of Mirkwood. I got scolded after; My father had been cruel. I believed then that he cared more about his quarters than I who was almost burnt to ashes. Of course it was only my radical imagination. Out of hurt feelings I had ran away and wandered to one of the least place any of the Wood Elves would take.

It was out of impulse.

It was the call of pride.

It was but a foolish move and to this day I regret it.

And to this day also… I reminisced it.

Unlucky, as one may call it, but through my wandering along the dark forest an unexpected creature of darkness followed me. I sensed danger the moment I could no longer view the palace but I disregarded it for an unknown stubbornness was within me. Because of my own foolishness I ended up meeting the beast; I had met a giant arachnid. As a Wood Elf and resident of Mirkwood forest I was accustomed of meeting them but this one was different. It was one of the rarest we see and I was amused by how mightily it stood before me.

My confidence was up to its peak but my height and my power says other wise. I had to flee.

I was humiliated but the call for survival strangled me. I ran away; convince that the beast was behind me. Panic suffocated my heart and before I know it- I had slipped.

I slipped down a steep slope of a hill, forcing my body to slide and making stop impossible.

I fell to a rocky ground. You cannot imagine the pain…

I cried for help.

I cannot move with a broken leg and sprained ankle.

I was alone on the narrow cold ground with a giant spider watching over from the top and covering the sky.

I was both hopeless and helpless.

I had kept in mind and trusted that the Wood Elves would be able to find me.

The night passed. I was alone and defeated.

Still I cried.

"Tua amin!"

"Ada!"

No help came. I was too young and filled with fright. The confidence I had suddenly melted on my despairing heart. I feared the possibility of being not found. I feared dying alone.

I cursed my leg, I cursed the spider, I even cursed the nonstop tears that flowed through my cheeks like a river.

I tried to pull myself together but the pain was excruciating. Still... I had no choice but to drag my bleeding body. I was disabled.

I was cold and shivering when they found me later on the dawn. I was like a dried piece of leaf hanging on hopelessly on its twig, waiting to be blown. I was soaked by tears and shaking terribly that my father feared I would pass to Grey Heavens because of my weakened heart.

But the experience made me strong.

It made me focus on my skills and be able to defend myself without waiting for anyone's aid.

It came to a point that I became the most proficient warrior of all.

Yet I had a flaw.

The memory I had also made me too weak.

I never trusted anyone to save me.

Never trusted their skills.

Never let them offer a helping hand.

Never. I had closed the open doors to my heart.

(Second Part: Fall)

And to this day, at this very moment, I am like the elfling trapped on his doom once more. I am a full grown elf with formidable skills but still lacks the foresight for this situations.

I looked around the dark cavern and upward the hole reflecting light from the outside. Yes, I fell, unexpectedly, to one of the hidden holes around the hills of Rivendell. If I had been paying more attention...

And to have a broken leg like before…

The way up the hole was too risky even for an elf... Just like then... I am far from home and had just arrive to Rivendell how would anyone know my situation?

A sweat drop slid down the side of my face. My breathing started to shallow. I never liked closed space...

My situation was no better than before- helpless and hopeless-- except--

My keen ears caught a sound of a distant call. I sat straight and alert.

It's coming closer...

He came sooner than I had anticipated- why that man!

"Legolas!" He bellowed as his head popped on the hole, his shadows covering the light.

"Aragorn!" I called with my heart beating fast as I stared at my human friend, "Aragorn-?"

"Are you hurt!" he asked with his voice echoing around the cavern. The alarm in his voice made me realize how worried he had been.

"I support a sprained ankle, I cannot get myself out." I called out, trying to stand to lessen the burden in his eyes.

Aragorn nodded.

"Do not move too much. I will get you out!"

And he disappeared from the hole. I stared hopefully at the it, wishing that he, Aragorn, would do nothing stupid. Yes, he's tactics amazes me sometimes. It can also make my heart thunder often.

Noises from above made me nervous. What was he doing?

"Aragorn!" I called now, exerting my foot to stand. It was no good, my foot was swollen. Aragorn wasn't answering so my anxiety heightened. "Estel!" I bellowed.

Aragorn's head popped on the hole once more.

"What?" he asked with an alert look on his face.

"What are you doing?" I asked despite my own position.

The man frowned and looked around the cavern before turning to me once more.

"Do not move. Wait for me there."

"Wait for you-" I nearly exclaimed but he was gone. "Aragorn..."

That fellow...

It was decades ago when I had closed the open doors to my heart...

Until he came.

When I was determined never to ask for any help, Aragorn had bluntly shoved his hands onto my unexpecting ones.

A fool. A dirty stranger. A man.

He saved me without my consent.

Once wasn't enough for him, he had to save me almost everyday of our lives since the day we met.

Humiliation was something I had expected to feel- but the word seemed not to work on this man.

He had offered me more than his hands.

I was deeply moved.

I had learned to trust him deeply and had learned to always hope as his elven name, Estel, suggests.

And he is my friend. One I could ever ask for.

"I'm coming!" cried the man's voice from above. Coming? He- don't tell me-

I looked up and saw him hover before my eyes. It nearly killed me. My heart skipped a beat as I realized what he did.

He jumped!

I raised my hands to catch him but something stopped him from hitting the ground. He hanged in mid air and that's when I realized he had tied a couple of vines around his middle. I also realized I was holding my breath.

Aragorn cursed as he swung himself and struggled out of the vine. He fell swiftly on the ground and stood straight before me.

"What? You look pale." Aragorn said out loud as he approached me.

"I look pale?" my voice was constricted, "What's the matter with you throwing yourself in like that? What if the vine wasn't strong enough! You could have been killed!"

He shrugged it away and knelt on my foot.

"You said a 'sprain'! This is turning blue, mellon nin!" he accused quietly and then shook his head in resignation.

"It is just a sprain." I commented softly while looking at him.

"I'd love to see it broken." his voice was sarcastic.

"You should have called Elladan and Elrohir for help." I said as he stood straight to face me with a small crease on his eyebrow.

"Why?" he suddenly asked without looking up.

"Because they can provide more help for us."

It would be a wise decision after all...

Aragorn looked at me straight in the eye as if reading my mind and I hate to admit it but he had that incredible ability to read people's mind... Or probably my mind alone...

"Who in their right mind would leave you in a place like this?" he said, shaking his head in disbelief as if it all had been a joke.

I stared at him. The memories of my past flooded my vision. I will never be alone anywhere as long as he is here...

Thank the Valar you are here Estel...

"Let's go... I'm getting you up."

"I hope you can carry me well, adan." I teased him despite the moistening of my eyes which I never showed him.

"You are as heavy as a pile of flowers put together, elf." he said back with mirth in his voice and we both grinned. "Now let us be gone or else ada will wonder if I had abducted you once more."

"How did you know I was here?"

"Tracking. I was waiting for you outside the gate of Imladris when I suddenly felt like meeting you on the way. I saw your tracks going down this hill and you down this hall."

"I don't want to be reminded." I smiled. Too much memories for one day...

"Come, I'll lift you up!" Aragorn said as he assisted me to walk.

"It's not as bad as you think." I muttered.

"I won't take any chances."

We reached the vines and he tied a long one on to my waist.

"Hold still- I'll handle the pulling-"

And he started to heave with all his might. He was strong enough I'm like a child being carried upward.

As I looked up at the hole before us, the light from the outside showered my eyes and I felt delighted for no reason. Be it for the sun that once again blessed me with its light, or for the friend that I would always have wherever or whenever I slip or fall.

END

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