For Years to Come

Chaper 3

Aragorn cut the webs away from the mystery person's face first, so they could breath more easily.  It wasn't easy, for the webs were strong, tough, and sticky.  Using his dagger alone took him a couple of minutes.  And after, there was the matter of waking this unconscious person up and tending to any other wounds they might have.  Right now, he certainly was thankful for Lord Elrond teaching him the very useful art of healing.

It turned out though, that he didn't need to bother waking the person up.  Once Estel finished cutting the webs away from their face, the person let out a pained groan and blearily opened their eyes.  "Adasser...?" the spoken word/name was said very quietly, and the voice saying it sounded sort of hoarse.  Aragorn's guess was that the spider bit him with some sort of venom or something, but he couldn't be sure yet.  He glanced at the now half-conscious person before him. 

"Are you alright?" Aragorn questioned back.

"Na- i cin...mellon-nin?"

Aragorn blinked.  Alright, so this person spoke elvish.  It made sense.  They were probably an elf; he was in an elven realm afterall.  And right now, they must have been confused, because they apparently thought Aragorn was their friend.He cut a little more of the web away just to be sure, and then he really got his first look at the fair being in front of him.  "You're a Silvan elf!" he exclaimed more excitedly than he planned to come out. 

The elf squinted his eyes, then seemed to realise what was going on, and his expression changed from one of confusion, to one of annoyance.  "It would seem so," came their sarcastic reply, once they switched to western.  "Now would you mind helping me out of these webs?"  His voice was still weak.

"Yes, yes!" Aragorn said in a sort of frantic way.  Okay, so maybe he was a little nervous about meeting a Silvan elf for the first time.  "Are you alright? What happened?!"  He started making a long cut through the webs.  Now that he didn't have to be careful of the elf's face, it was going much faster. 

"Urh... One question at a time, please."  he attempted to move one of his arms, but it did little more than nudge."My apologies, my western is a little... rusty.  But I was on patrol... We got attacked by the spiders... I stayed behind to make sure everyone else escaped."  He spoke slowly.  His western was good, but it was clear to Aragorn that he probably hadn't spoken it in some time.  And why would he, when the elves' dealings with men were so short-lived?

Aragorn nodded, and then smiled slightly.  "Your western is fine.  Though, elvish works also."  His last three words were spoken in the language of the elves, which seemed to surprise his new acquaintance. 
"You can speak elvish?" he asked, his voice raised a tone.

"Aye," Aragorn replied, grinning now.  "For I have lived with the elves of Rivendell for many years."

"Rivendell?  Why, how?  You must know-"

"Any questions you may have can wait for later.  Your well-being is my top priority right now.  Did you get bitten? By a spider, I mean?"

The elf frowned, as if thinking, and then gave a single nod.  "I don't remember getting bit, but it would explain how I got captured and why I'm having trouble moving.  Some of their venom is more dangerous and deadly, and some just have paralyzing venom.  I must have gotten lucky, for I am still alive."

Aragorn let out a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding.  "That's good then, at least.  And you have no other injuries I should know about?"

The elf suddenly glared at him,surprising Aragorn by his sudden anger or annoyance.  "No, but explain to me why I should answer you at all.  Who are you to speak to me this way?  You are a man, and a strange one at that."

Despite the rude comment, Aragorn almost laughed.  It wasn't the first time he'd been called 'strange'.  "Well, I suppose I am," he replied, smiling. "And I know not of the dealings you've had with men in the past, but I can tell you that there's much more to me than meets the eye."

To that, the elf raised an eyebrow suspiciously at Aragorn, though this time, he could tell his interest was peaked. "And what is your name, human?"

There was a slight pause. Aragorn thought of which name to give him.  Perhaps his Elvish name would be best. Afterall, that was the name he grew up using. "Estel. And you are?"

The elf looked hesitant to so readily share his name with this near stranger. He did, afterall, just meet Aragorn, so he couldn't blame him. But then again, he did save him from that spider.... Whilst waiting for a reply, Estel dragged the now-free elf over to a tree, since he was still unable to move much.

"Legolas," cane his reply at last.

Aragorn's eyes widened. "Legolas? As in prince Legolas? Of Mirkwood?"

Legolas smiled ever so slightly, though it looked weak. "The one and only. Pleasure to meet you then, Estel. Please forgive my initial rudeness. It's just...not many humans venture into our woods. What are you doing here anyway?"

Estel still looked a bit shocked that the elf he had saved was none other than the prince of Mirkwood. This was the elf that his foster brothers had told him so much about.  "I was coming to meet you and your father, actually. My brothers sent me—Elladan and Elrohir of Rivendell."

Legolas' mouth fell open. "Elladan and Elrohir...Are your brothers?"  His eyes looked over Aragorn.  "They told me Lord Elrond took a young human in with them, but they never gave me your name or any other details.  Why, it couldn't have been that long ago they sent me the letter about you!" 

"It would have been about 24 years ago."  It felt like ages to Estel, but he knew those years were almost nothing in the eyes of an elf.

"Hm."

"Well, the twins certainly told me a lot about you, prince Legolas. They spoke very highly of you. It truly is an honor to meet you."  He smiled at the elf, who returned the smile.

"Just Legolas is fine, please. And that's good to hear.  The adventures we shared together make quite good tales. Perhaps later, I can share with you some you've never heard.  Knowing them, they skipped the embarrassing parts."

Estel laughed. "I don't doubt you."  He dug through his travel pack until he found his healing supplies, and then took them out. "Can you move at all yet? I don't know much about giant-spider venom."

Legolas concentrated hard, and was able to lift his arms for a split second, but then dropped them and tilted his head back against the bark of the tree. He wore a frustrated look on his face. "No, not really."  He glanced at Estel's healing supplies. "And I cannot remember how to make the cure. We may just have to wait it out." 

Aragorn could tell that Legolas didn't want to merely 'wait this out'.  "It wouldn't be the first time I'd have to make a cure from scratch. I could try, if you'd like."

"Really?" Legolas looked Aragorn in the eyes. "You don't have to."  There was a few seconds of silence.  "Though I asked the other elves on patrol to leave without me, if I don't return home soon, they'll come back to both search for me and finish killing off that large nest of spiders."  He sighed. "Even if you do manage to create the cure, returning to the palace may prove to be a challenge."

Aragorn shook his head. "Then we'll get to that matter when the time comes. For now, stay here. I may not know the cure for the spider's venom, but I have worked with cures for paralyzing position before. This should be relatively the same thing, since they have the same effect."  He stood. "If you need me while I search for the ingredients, send a bird's whistle three times in a row. I won't be far."

Legolas nodded. "Alright. Good luck then."  He stared at the round for a moment before looking back at Aragorn. "And... I thank you."

Aragorn smiled. "It's no problem, really.  It's the least I could do for a friend of Elladan and Elrohir's.  Now I shouldn't be long." 

Legolas watched as his new acquaintance walked away through the trees.  An interesting day this had been indeed.