Disclaimer and Acknowledgement: As in Chapter 1

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Chapter 18 – The Beginning of the End

Elrond pushed his horse to go faster despite the heavy rain and the reduced visibility. Anxiety ate at his heart and the elf lord feared that he might never see his son or the prince of Mirkwood alive again. It was difficult to travel under such conditions but he could not afford to lose precious time by taking shelter. Wiping at his eyes, he didn’t know if it was the rain or tears that had blurred his vision.

Elladan and Elrohir urged their horses to match their father’s, their hearts pounded heavily in their chests at the apprehension. They felt and shared their father’s distress and prayed that they would find their brother and friend in time before all was too late. Squinting through the darkness and fog, the twins searched for signs of their missing comrades.

The rain abated slowly as they continued their search and finally came to a complete stop after approximately two hours. Elladan and Elrohir threw back their hoods and unclasped their cloaks. A soft glow escaped from behind the soft fabric and illuminated the path ahead of them. They wrung out their wet hair, and looked over at their father. Elrond had already removed his cloak and draped it over his arm, his own glow contributed to the collective brightness.

"We are close…" Elrond muttered quietly. "I can feel it." The elf lord slowed his mount and scanned the surrounding carefully not wanting to miss out any details.

Elladan rode slightly ahead scouting the area while his younger brother trailed behind their father making sure that they hadn’t overlooked anything.

"There!" Elrond cried and swung his leg over his horse, sliding off in one swift movement and dropping lightly onto the wet grass. "Over there!"

The elf lord ran towards a mound of grey mass next to a large tree and dropped to his knees beside the bundle. Elladan and Elrohir joined their father on the ground within seconds and blood drained from their faces at the sight. Elrond reached out and removed the cloak only to be greeted with two deathly pale figures. Unable to suppress the fear, the elf lord’s fingers trembled as he searched frantically for a pulse on the side of Aragorn’s neck and let out a sigh of relief when he found a slow but steady rhythm.

Elladan on the other hand was looking for some signs of life in the elven prince. He turned to his father and gave him a small nod indicating that the elf too was alive. The twins tried to separate the two friends and were amazed that even unconscious, the elf still managed to keep his arm wrapped tightly around their brother’s shoulder. Easing the human slowly away from Legolas, Elrohir lowered Aragorn to the ground while Elladan did the same to the prince.

Moving immediately to the prone bodies, Elrond did a quick assessment, checking their various injuries. Their body temperature had dropped beyond normal and the elf lord feared that they had gone into shock.

"We need to warm them up, hurry!" the older elf’s voice held much urgency as he pulled Aragorn against his chest and wrapped the human in his arms.

"Estel, don’t leave us," Elrond murmured softly as he closed his eyes, silver tears rolled down his face and dripped off his chin.

The elf glowed brightly in the night and the light slowly grew and enveloped the human in his arms as he poured forth his strength into his near dead son. "Feel my strength, my son and come back to me..."

As Elrond was locked in his healing trance, Elladan and Elrohir combined their healing abilities and directed their energy into Legolas. Cradling the prince in his arm, Elladan touched his forehead on the blond elf’s head while Elrohir placed one hand on Legolas’ chest and the other gripping his right hand tightly. The brothers chanted softly under the midnight sky.

"Legolas, you have come too far to let go now," Elladan pleaded desperately. "Do not give up! Fight it! Come back to the light."

"Feel our presence and return to us," Elrohir continued after his brother.

For the longest moment, none of the two friends responded but suddenly, Elrohir’s head snapped up.

"What?" Elladan asked, his twin brother’s movement alerted him and he lifted his head, staring at Elrohir.

"I felt his fingers twitch..." Elrohir said incredulously not sure if it had actually happened or if it was just a figment of his imagination. He looked down at the slender fingers in his hand but they were still. Elrohir sighed and hung his head dejectedly thinking that it was probably his imagination when the fingers tightened around his hand.

"He’s responding!" Elrohir shouted and turned to the elf prince. "Legolas?" he squeezed the elf’s hand in return and shook him lightly.

"Legolas, open your eyes," Elladan urged.

The wood-elf let out a small moan but his eyes remained closed. "Ada...?" he murmured.

"No, it’s Elladan," the older twin answered and disoriented elf.

"Elladan?" Legolas echoed the name.

"Yes, and Elrohir," the younger twin added with a smile. The young one was back among the living.

"Estel...?" the elven prince asked, still not sure what was happening, whether he was dreaming or the twins were really here.

"Father is with him. He will be fine." Elrohir answered. "Rest now little one. You are safe."

Elladan felt the prince go limp in his arms as he finally let go of the burden that he was carrying. Legolas’ head lolled sideways and fell against his chest and the prince drifted off into unconsciousness once again.

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To Be Continued...

A/N: Okay, I know it's a bit short. Don't kill me. LOL! Next chapter will be a littttle longer and a little gruesome. So don't say I didn't warn you. :P