The Forgotten One

Anguish

                               Aragorn

the shrieks of utter despair could be heard through all the land. they vibrated the very earth. the plants and animals could sense it, almost feel it.

and far from where legolas lay, in a land much happier than this, aragorn felt something in his heart. a slight break, and he had absolutely no clue why, but it made his heart race.

but not long after that he dismissed it and returned to his work. but his thoughts lingered on legolas greenleaf, for only a few moments.

he had planned to take some of his most trusted soldiers along the woodland, near the border that lead into rohan. he wanted to scout out the surviving bands of orcs and.... take care of them.

it wouldn't be too difficult, most of them were slaughtered after the ring was destroyed.

his mind drifted to those days, filled with so much pain and suffering and... death. but also compassion and loyalty. but the thing he missed most of all was the adventure and valor.

aragorn was born to be alone in the world. to roam and find peace in solitary adventure. but his past and his ancestors decided his fate,
and his responsibility was with his people.

....

aragorn saddled roheryn and set off with his soldiers. dawn had not yet reached his lands, which would give him enough time to reach the outskirts of gondor by tomorrow morning.

Legolas

he opened his eyes,

....

took in his surroundings.

....

he was laying on his stomach, in another drab tent. legolas tilted his head slightly to the right, where the tent flap was. it was closed.

the movement sent a shiver of pain through his too light body. how many days had he been out? he did not know. but he took a wild guess and figured two.

and if he was right, he hadn't eaten in a little over a week. the only ounce of nutrients he received was some murky water.

and it showed.

his once silky blonde hair was knotted and greasy. the tunic he wore was covered in filth and completely shredded in the back. the deep slashes on his back were severely infected.

all of a sudden, howls were heard from throughout the camp. and a heavily armed orc tore through the tent and grabbed legolas with one arm.

he screamed in pain, but had no strength to wriggle free. and he let himself be dragged out.

the camp was in panic. rain was pouring heavily, and what remained of his clothes was soaked in seconds. the once compacted dirt floor was now covered in thick mud that the orc plowed through, covering him head to toe in slick, dark mud.

suddenly, the hopeful sound of hoofs thrummed through the clearing and he could feel it vibrate through him with his cheek pressed to the ground.

soldiers of gondor, on sturdy horses crashed through the clearing.

Aragorn

him and his men flew through the clearing, quickly and neatly slaughtering the filth that lived there.

far to the right he saw an orc drag a person into the woods. roheryn rushed upon the orc and aragorn beheaded the thing before it even registered what happened.

he watched the being who had been dragged there with curiosity, they just lay there. as if they were dead. why did he recognize them? the physique was so familiar.

but a orc attacked him from behind and sliced a long slash through his arm. aragorn howled in pain and quickly killed the thing.

Legolas

legolas watched in anguish as the love of his life faded into the sheet of rain, his horse galloped on. he had recognized aragorn in an instant, he could sense his presence.

legolas tried to call out but his feeble voice was drowned out and overthrown by everything else.

instead he slowly crawled into the underbrush, curled into the fetal position, and wept.

Aragorn

the short skirmish was won, no surprise. but something in the back of his heart was begging him to look again to where he had seen that the being lying in the mud.

so he did.

and the figure was gone.

aragorn headed home.