Disclaimer and Acknowledgement:  As in Chapter 1

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Chapter 20 – Inner Fear

Elrond drew Legolas against him allowing the elf’s chin to rest on his shoulder. Wrapping one hand behind the prince’s head, his other hand stroked the elf on his back in an up-down motion.

"Relax my child. Let go of your fear and I will help you breathe," the Lord of Imladris spoke soothingly despite the maddening fear that ran rampant through his chest and threatened to burst through his chest. He felt the young elf’s heart hammering loudly against his chest and the beat was way too fast for his liking.

*Too fast!* his mind screamed out at him. He knew he would need to slow the furious pace of the elf’s heart before it stopped completely.

Closing his eyes, Elrond allowed himself to fall into a healing trance, infusing his strength and tranquillity into Legolas. "Calm down little one. Don’t fight it." The elf lord’s soft words filled the room. "Breathe slowly..." he trailed off as he felt Legolas’ heart rate dropped gradually and the elf’s chest expanded allowing the much needed air to enter his body. 

Legolas gasped as cool air flooded into his lungs but the pain sent him into another spasm. He coughed and gagged, a thin trail of blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, soaking into the elf lord’s tunic.

"It’s alright," Elrond comforted the young elf prince as he continued to rub soothing circles in his back, "it’s over now." The older elf let out a deep weary sigh. "Rest and feel my strength in you," the healer murmured. "Use it to mend your body."

Feeling the prince relax in his embrace, Elrond eased Legolas back onto the floor without breaking his link with the elf. Picking up the abandoned bandage, the elf lord cleaned the blood off the younger elf’s chin and proceeded to bath the wound on his chest with the athelas water that the twins had prepared earlier. After re-stitching the wound and bandaging it tightly, the dark haired elf brushed a lock of golden hair away from the pale face and pressed his palm on Legolas’ forehead. His temperature was slightly elevated but nothing to be overly concerned about. Satisfied with the progress of things, the older elf severed his link with the elf prince but remained beside the woodland being just in case he made a turn for the worse. He was exhausted, having spent much of his strength to heal his son and the elven prince but he could not afford to rest. They needed him to be close, to be there at the first sign of trouble. Elrond buried his face in his hands and pressed the heel of his palms into his eyes, trying to ease the burning sensation that had crept into them. He would rest after they return home, after he knew that all of them were safe.

*****

Elladan and Elrohir watched their father work from a distance while keeping an eye on their little brother. Aragorn shifted restlessly in his sleep mumbling something unintelligible in his dreams. Removing the damp bandage from the human’s forehead, Elrohir dipped the cloth into the bowl of water and wiped the cold sweat from the feverish human’s face and neck while stealing worried glances at his father and Legolas. Turning back to his foster brother, Elrohir ran the back of his fingers lightly over Aragorn’s cheek. As the cool fingers brushed pass his face, the ranger recoiled involuntarily and trashed wildly against an invisible foe. Stunned by his brother’s reaction, Elrohir gripped the human by his wrists and pinned his hands firmly beside his body to prevent him from hurting himself. Not wanting to distract their father, Elladan tried to rouse the human from his nightmare, patting him non-too gently on the face. 

"Estel! Wake up!" the older twin spoke with a loud whisper attempting to pull the ranger back into consciousness.

Aragorn struggled against his brother, still trapped in whatever nightmare that had intruded his sleep. "No...please stop..." the human pleaded pathetically. "...didn’t do it..."

"What is he talking about?!" Elrohir asked, knowing that his twin would not have an answer for him.

Elladan shrugged with a frown. "I wish I knew," he said as he watched the young man continue his battle with the inner demon.

"If he doesn’t stop, he is going to rip the stitches again!"

"Come on Estel! Wake up!" Elladan called out again and this time he received a reaction but not exactly what he was expecting.

Without warning, Aragorn eyes flew open and he bolted upright throwing Elrohir off balance as he yanked his hands free. Dazed and confused from the fever and dream, the human’s eyes darted around wildly as if searching for something. The pain in his side was momentarily forgotten as the frantic human scrambled backwards and rammed into the cave wall before neither of the twins could stop him. Hot fiery pain bolted through his body and the sensation pulled him back to reality. Squeezing his eyes shut, the man pressed his hand on his side with a loud groan. When he opened his eyes again, two pairs of identical grey eyes were staring at him with concern.

"What is it Estel?" Elrohir pulled his brother’s hand away from the bandage and inspected the damage. He was relieved when the wound did not appear to be bleeding.

Aragorn shook his head to clear the remnants of the dream that still lingered in his head. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest and his breathing was coming in short rasps. The nightmare had scared him half to death but he could not remember what it was about.

"Estel?" Elladan touched Aragorn’s arm lightly to gain his attention and the human swallowed hard to contain his fear before turning to his brother. 

"I can’t remember. It was..." The ranger’s sentence was cut off by a sharp gasp when he saw the blood stains on Elladan’s tunic. "Elladan! Are you injured?!" the human’s mouth fell open, his bloodshot eyes widened in dread.

"Huh?" The older twin looked at Aragorn in confusion before realization hit him. "Oh... no. It’s not mine." Knowing that he should not have said that, the elf tried to change the subject but it was too late.

Aragorn’s searching gaze fell on his father and Legolas several feet away, locked in a healing trance. He turned back slowly to face his brothers. "It’s Legolas isn’t it?" A chill flooded through the human’s heart, a sharp contrast to the burning heat emanating from his body. "It’s his blood!"

The older twin nodded with apprehension knowing that there was no way he could cover up the truth. "He coughed all over me," the dark haired elf said and flinched at his words.

"How bad?" Aragorn tried to push back the anxiety to no avail. His heart continued to hammer ferociously in his chest.

"Not too good... but I’m sure father will be able to help him," Elrohir reassured his human brother.

Aragorn shifted stiffly and groaned as his movement disturbed his healing wounds. Cursing softly under his breath, the human pressed his eyes shut trying to ward off the throbbing pain behind them. All the joints in his body ached and he felt like he was falling apart. He was nauseated and had to swallow hard to suppress the bile that threatened to rise from his throat. Taking a few moments to calm his nerves, Aragorn opened his eyes and regretted immediately. The world before his eyes whirled sickeningly and a loud ringing exploded in his ears. The human pitched forward, head first into his brother and consciousness fled him once again.

*****

To Be Continued...

A/N: Okay, this is the last installment until Nov 10 when I return from my training. Please stay alive until then and don't attempt to hunt me down because you will never be able to find me! Muahahaha!!! Aragorn and Legolas can take a break from being tortured while I'm away. They will be grateful. :P