New Dawn

Chapter 36

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L U M O R N E L

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"Stop twitching!"

Legolas stilled, but wouldn't meet my eyes. His shirt lay discarded behind him on the bed while his day old bandages covered his torso, leaving his chest bare.

I chuckled, more for his benefit than mine. "It's not like I haven't seen you bare-chested before."

Though not very much...

He shook his head. "It's not that, it's..."

Right. I gripped the fresh bandages in my hand harder. Silently, I recalled the steps to changing his wrappings that Aragorn had shown me.

"I can change my own bandages, Lumornel. I've had to many times before."

I scowled. "Because you're too reckless, meleth. You shouldn't need wounds to bandage."

His lips twitched in an almost smile before falling back down. His eyes fell and focused on some pattern on the floor's rug.

Would he even tell me if he had any other wounds?

I raked my eyes up and down his body, checked his posture for any weakness, tested if he was leaning more than usual on one side more than the other. Everything, other than the thick bandage around his middle, seemed normal. But he had hidden that from me for so long...

He shifted. "What are you doing?"

He didn't seem hurt anywhere else, but... "I'm wondering if I need to undress you."

Fire consumed my cheeks, all the way down my neck.

"To see if you're hiding any wounds!"

If he felt offended at my lack of trust, he didn't show it. Instead, he smirked and raked his eyes around the room before landing on me.

"Are you sure that's the only reason?"

Swallowing past the burning mortification, I ducked closer and began to unwind his bandages. "You're insufferable."

"Oh, but you so enjoy it."

I bit my tongue, then quickly kissed his hairy head. "You're right. I do. But that doesn't make it any less suffering." I patted his cheek and then solemnly began to wrap his wound, trying—and failing—to ignore the black spider web wound that was ever so slightly larger than the day before.

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I stopped short as Legolas led me into a room. Well, more like a rough and heavily nature-filled cave. Cool sunlight filtered through natural breaks in the ceiling, scintillating on the dew clinging to the earthen walls. Brown, spindly plants dangled down from above, thread-like roots piercing through the dirt ceiling to reach their wisp roots towards our heads. The ground, though it was winter, was sparsely populated by green moss, the dirt floor dark with dampness. And... and I could hear the trickling of water, somewhere. It was as if this section of the caves was too serene to transform into a proper room.

We couldn't safely go outside—we couldn't risk being spotted by the enemy—but... Legolas had brought me to a place where the outside came indoors. Warmth pricked my eyes.

I held onto Legolas's arm, leaning into his side. "This is wonderful," I whispered. I did my best to ignore the guards Command had forced upon me, watching silently from the door.

His smile was a force of its own, I didn't have to feel it through my abilities, I could simply feel its joyful radiance.

I blinked away the unexpected warmth in my eyes and recovered, glancing around at the beautiful area—devoid of any objects of use. "What are we going to do?"