The Shadow Walker

59. Music in the Night

Legolas's POV

"Eda, no, please stay with me," I muttered, lifting the hem of her shirt up to reveal the wound. The orckish arrow had gone directly between two ribs, penetrating too deep.

Boromir, on his knees, gave a quiet sob as Gimli pulled the arrow out of his arm. We'd found the man kneeling beside Eda, crying like a child, with a massive bloody knot on his head. The orcs had, apparently, left them both for dead.

The halflings were nowhere to be seen.

"We can't take that out," Aragorn muttered, nodding at the arrow in Eda's side. "We would have to pry her ribs apart and cut it out, and the bleeding would never stop. Not on the road."

"In a boat, perhaps?" I insisted. "We must take her back to Lothlòrien. She needs Elvish medicine."

Aragorn gave a hard shake of his head. "And fight the Anduin the entire way? You'd make better time crawling."

"Then we rest here," I argued. "There are buildings, and we have supplies. There is wood here, and water. We could rest until she is well enough to travel."

Aragorn met my gaze, waiting for me to come to my senses. And he was right. This was no place to stay. The people that had once lived here had left the scent of evil behind, never to be erased. Even Eda had sensed it.

My gaze dropped to her wound. Some blood was seeping from where the arrowhead had cut it, but the wooden shaft blocked most of the blood flow. "What do we do?"

Aragorn sighed. "Her only chance is Rohan." His tone left little hope.

I gritted my teeth, but he was right. Again. Rohan's boarder was over a day's walk from Amon Hen, and it would be another day at least before we reached any kind of settlement. But that was the closest.

"Then let us start," I answered finally.

Aragorn clasped my shoulder tightly. "Gimli and I will gather supplies. Stay with Eda and Boromir."

I nodded silently, then Aragorn stood and jogged back to the beach.

Boromir came over and knelt at Eda's head. With his uninjured hand, he touched Eda's hair, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Eda...Eda, I'm so sorry..." He sobbed, and stringy discharge began to drip from his nose.

"Do not let your filth touch her," I said, my tone cold.

Boromir gave a sharp inhale, then wiped away the undignified moisture. He looked up and met my gaze, his red eyes betraying the rawness of his soul. "I have failed," he whispered brokenly. "I failed to protect Frodo from evil, but instead became the evil from which he needed protection. I failed to protect the halflings, instead jeapardizing an innocent girl's safety, which will probably result in her de—"

"Have you any socks?" I interrupted, not looking at the Man.

"I...yes, why?"

My nostrils flared, but that was the only outward indication of anger I allowed myself. In a calm tone, I answered, "Insert both into your mouth, and remove them only to take sustainence."

Boromir gazed at me for a long moment, and a leftover tear fell. Then he reached for his shoes.

"For Eru's sake," I snapped, "I only meant for you to shut up."

From the beach came Aragorn's call. "Ai, Legolas! Come here!"

I stood and glanced at Boromir. "If you touch her," I growled, "I will cut off your hands and feed them to the wargs."

Boromir backed away from Eda, and giving him a single nod of approval, I ran after Aragorn. What could be so important that he ask me to leave Eda's side?