Chapter Fifteen

A howling wind hugged the rock walls, as it swirled around the huge  depression high up in the mountains.  Nothing and no one was spared from its blustery wrath, not even the tiny cave embedded in the rock face.  It was as if someone with large, powerful lungs was taking deep breaths of the frigid air and  blowing straight into the shelter where Legolas and Aragorn slept. 

Aragorn, in an involuntary gesture, wrinkled his nose, as both his hair and strands from Legolas were whipped across his face, stinging his cold skin.

While still not fully awake, the ranger tried to reach up with his right hand and scratch the itch that the wayward hair was creating.  He was unable to move his arm.  When he tried with his left, he got the same result.  This brought him to full wakefulness in a flash.  Too many times in the past he had awoken to discover himself bound up, and the fear of finding himself  unable to move was one he could never quite shake.

His fear mounted when he also could not see his surroundings.  He tried once again to move his arms, thinking he needed to remove the blindfold he believed must be across his eyes. The gesture produced no more success this time than his initial efforts had.  When Aragorn tried to sit up, he felt something lying against his chest. 

His mind whirled, desperate to find out what was going on.  He didn’t panic often, but finding himself unable to move his arms, unable to see where he was and feeling he was being pinned down by something was coming close to causing just that reaction.

He was well aware that, no matter how bad things seemed at the moment, the situation was not going to resolve itself until he got hold of his emotions and settled down.  He had to clear his mind of its paralyzing fears.  Taking deep breaths to counter his alarm, Aragorn forced himself to calm his nerves, so he could take stock of the current state of affairs.

Once the man felt more in control, it didn’t take him long before he had worked his hands free and realized that his arms were not tied down at all but  instead had merely tangled inside his cloak.  Reaching up to his face, he also discovered that his eyes were not covered with a blindfold.  The relief he felt was enormous.  He was not a  prisoner, not a bound, blindfolded one, at any rate.

When he sat up, the weight on his chest shifted slightly.  It only took a few seconds of exploration before he knew what was resting against him.  “Legolas.”  The elf’s name was followed by a flood of memories.  Aragorn understood immediately where he was and what had happened.

It was a different kind of fear that now gripped his heart, as he thought about the condition Legolas was in.  The elf’s body was still radiating high heat, but at least he was asleep.  Not only would he not be feeling the physical pain his wounds were causing, but as long as he slept, his elven healing ability would be at work.

There was nothing the ranger could do to help his friend’s condition at this point, so he turned his attention toward the cave entrance.  His eyes had become more accustomed to the dark, and the opening he stared at visually emerged from the blackness of the rock that surrounded it, becoming a round patch of midnight blue.

As he watched, the sky beyond began to lighten slightly. 

After a few moments, Aragorn realized the change in color was not due to the coming of dawn.  It was a bank of dark gray clouds that had moved overhead.  This recognition was followed swiftly by snowflakes falling past the entrance. 

The howling wind had vanished as quickly as the snow had appeared.  There remained only a breeze, just  enough of one to send the large, white flakes swirling inside.

Aragorn tried to pull both his legs and Legolas’s back, but, to his consternation,  they were already as far from the entrance as he could get them. 

Soon the snow was falling so hard it resembled  a flowing curtain, and in minutes, both pairs of feet were covered with a thin blanket of white.

Their body heat, especially Legolas’s, quickly melted the bottom layer of snow.  The boots they wore were of fine, hand-worked leather, which made them waterproof. 

“At least, we won’t have wet feet,” the ranger muttered.  “Only cold ones,” he added with a grumble.  In truth, he was grateful he wouldn‘t have to contend with soaked socks.

Before he had gone to sleep earlier, Aragorn had put his cloak behind him while laying Legolas’s cloak over the elf’s body and then wrapped his own around both of them.  That had worked for a while, but now, with their feet too near the cave entrance, the arrangement needed to be changed. 

Aragorn sat  forward as far as he could, slid Legolas's cloak down, and then threw it over their legs and feet.  Leaning back against the cold stone at his back, he again wrapped his cloak around both of them.  

When a stronger blast of wind drove a snowflake into his left eye, Aragorn blinked and rubbed it.  If the wind picked up to the intensity it had been earlier, their entire bodies might end up under a blanket of snow.  Literally, a chilling thought.

Letting his mind drift once more beyond the cave, Aragorn suddenly thought of the snake outside.  Snakes were cold-blooded and could adjust their body temperature to match that of the  temperature around them.  However, there was a level of frigid air beyond which even a reptilian creature could not go without succumbing.

This snake was huge and could no doubt last much longer than normal-sized serpents, but eventually, even it would freeze.

That idea excited the ranger, that is, until he realized that he and Legolas would likely freeze to death long before the snake did.  Why did practical facts always seem to come along to dash a hopeful thought?  Still, the man couldn’t put the idea out of his mind.  If he and Legolas could endure a while longer here in the little cave, maybe, just maybe, the snake would have time to freeze, and they could escape with no worries about being pursued. 

Should an escape be attempted, he mused, it had to be before too much time passed.  Also against them was the fact that they had no water and no food.  And Aragorn couldn’t forget the reality that Legolas needed more help than he could give him. 

Just how he was going to get Legolas out of this cave, out of this depression and out of these mountains to get that help, was a complete mystery.  He just knew it had to be done, and it had to be done soon.

Like most wounded animals, It wanted to nurse It’s injury.  So, after initially raging over what had happened, It had curled up as much as It’s huge body would allow and sulked.

It knew that It’s prey had been in the little tunnel.  When It had flicked It’s tongue inside to try and dislodge the beings, the pain that had struck It was mind-numbing.  It had never experienced anything like it.   

Now, after some time had passed, It’s tongue had finally quit bleeding, and the intense pain It had experienced right after the wound had been inflicted had settled down to an aching throb, though it was still a most unpleasant sensation.

It raised It’s head and stared up at the dark spot that It knew was the hole the prey beings were in.  It had no intention of trying again to dislodge them.  Pain was a strong incentive to avoid what had caused that pain.  Instinctively, It knew to stay away from that little tunnel.  Yet, It still did not wish to leave and abandon the prey It had chased for so long and for such a lengthy distance.  Without making the conscious thought that It would wait them out, that is exactly what It was going to do.

Used to the hot, humid air of It’s home, this air was like nothing It had ever felt before.  It was uncomfortable and made It feel sluggish.  It wanted to close It’s eyes and forget about everything else.  It’s body was cooling down, though It didn’t understand exactly what was happening. 

As It blinked lethargically, strange little shapes began to float down from above.  Normally, It would have flicked It’s tongue out to try and discern what they were.  However, with It’s tongue injured the way it was, It could not do so.  Not knowing that the shapes would collect on It’s body, and so not realizing the threat they posed, It dismissed them, even when they began to fall in more profusion.

It also did not realize the danger that resting It’s head on a portion of It’s curled up body and closing It’s eyes would pose.

Morning dawned with a blizzard in full force.  The opening to the cave looked as if a white curtain had been drawn across it.

Aragorn knew it was time to go.  He was reluctant to wake Legolas, but it had to be done.  There simply wasn’t time enough to let the elf continue his healing sleep.  That would take many more hours  - hours they didn’t have.

The man softly called Legolas’s name, hoping not to startle the elf into wakefulness.  His effort was met with failure.  He knew that an elf‘s injured body, in an attempt to heal itself, went far deeper into that sleep than was involved in simply treading the paths of elven dreams.

“Legolas, you must awaken now,” the man said more forcefully. 

Not wanting to put any pressure on Legolas’s wounds, Aragorn gripped the elf’s chin and shook his head back and forth, while he also slapped at his face.  “Legolas, wake up.”

The ensuing moan told Aragorn that the archer was coming toward the surface of consciousness.

Aragorn put his lips near the elf’s ear.  “Legolas.”

Rousing gradually, Legolas moaned again, slowly opening his eyes.  But instead of focusing immediately, as was normal, his vision remained blurry.

“Estel?”

“Yes, Legolas.  It’s me.  I’m sorry to wake  you, mellon nin, but it’s time for us to leave.”

“Leave?”  That one word was filled with confusion.  “I thought we had to remain here to be safe from the snake.”

Aragorn had to smile.  It was good to know the elf’s mind was clear.  “I know, but circumstances have changed, and if we don‘t leave soon, we may not ever do so.”

“The snow,” Legolas said knowingly, as his vision finally  focused to reveal the heavy snow falling outside.

“Exactly.  Hopefully, the snake has frozen to death, so that we can get past it and get out of these mountains.  Unfortunately, besides dispatching the snake, which is good, the snow will also be a big problem for us.”

“We cannot have it all our way,” Legolas stated with a touch of mirth in his voice.

Aragorn just shook his head and laughed but said nothing.

“I fear I will be a burden to you,” Legolas said.  He was trying not to sound guilt-ridden, knowing full well he would be soundly chastised if he  did.  He also knew now was not the time for false bravado.

“You will be no more of a burden to me than I have been to you under similar circumstances,” the ranger declared firmly.

It was Legolas’s turn to laugh.  “When have we ever been in anything remotely resembling these circumstances?”

“Point taken,” the ranger admitted.  “If the snake isn’t dead yet, I don’t know how badly  it will be incapacitated, but we can probably slip past it in the heavy snowfall.”

“Are you ready to give it a go?”

Legolas turned his face up to look at his friend and smiled.
“I am ready.” 

It took over twenty minutes for Aragorn, with as much help as Legolas could give him, to maneuver them both around so their heads were near the cave entrance.

Legolas had to clench his teeth to keep from audibly reacting to the intense level of pain his wounds were causing him.  There was simply no way he would distract Aragorn by letting him know.

Aragorn knew.  He knew how badly Legolas was hurting and how hard he was trying not to let on.  For his part, Aragorn didn’t want to make the elf feel any worse by mentioning it. 

“There is only one way to get out of here, since we are up on the rock wall.”

“How did we get here in the first place?” Legolas asked, realizing that he was unconscious when they got here and had no idea how it had been accomplished.

“This way,” the man said, as he reached out and grabbed the rope that was still hanging from the rocky protrusion above the entrance. 

“You carried me up here on a rope?”

“I did,” Aragorn replied.  “And that’s how I’ll get you down.  No objections,” he warned, well aware of how proud and independent the elf was.  “It will hurt you, I’m afraid.”

“You do whatever it is you need to do.  I will do my best not to hinder you.”

There was no reason to wait any longer, since the snow could easily stop as suddenly as it had begun, thus exposing them to the snake should it still be nearby - and alive.

“Grip me tightly,“ Aragorn instructed.  “I’ll need both hands on the rope.  Tell me if you feel you may pass out.  I’ll have to grab onto you.”

When no reply was forthcoming, Aragorn stared at the elf.  “Legolas, I will not have you think you can slip out of my grasp without a word, so I can save myself.  I’m not leaving until you promise  you’ll tell me if you feel you can no longer hold on.”

The look on Aragorn’s face was so serious that Legolas said, “I am not suicidal, Estel.”

“You are very good at verbal sidestepping, though.  I want to hear the words.  Now promise me.”

“I promise I will tell you if I feel I might lose my grip.  Satisfied?”

“Yes, I‘m satisfied,” the man replied.  And, once he felt Legolas latch onto him tightly, he said, “Now, let us escape this place.”

With those words, Aragorn grabbed the rope with both hands and pulled  himself and Legolas out of the little safe haven and into the snowy dawn.

TBC

Merry Christmas, everyone!