228Ok ok…. I know it's been a while since I last updated. And I am VERY sorry! From the deepest depths of my soul! First I had family problems, then computer problems, and I lost ALL my writing on the computer! Arg! So, I am just now getting back top writing again and I can't apologize enough! To top it off, I am leaving on the 17th for 2 weeks of Bible camp. I'm looking forward to it…but I wont be able to post up the next chapter as soon as I hoped. I'm very sorry! Thank you all so much, my loyal reviewers! I will do better, I promise! Enjoy!
-BabeyRachey
Oh yeah, there is angst in this chapter, but not as much as I planned. More humor, actually. And you finally get to hear Elladan's story! Lol. The angst, I decided, fit better in the next chapter. Please Read and Review!
Two Left Feet
By: BabeyRachey
Chapter 9
One Week later…
"Ada..."
"No."
"But," Estel put a little whine into his voice. "No, Ion Nin." Elrond chided, rewrapping the healing wounds on the child's back. "You are far from healed! You couldn't make it to the washroom and back without aid."
Estel pouted a little, doing his best to send his father a wounded look. He had been confined to his bed for the past week, and though he was just recently feeling better, he saw no reason for staying in bed ALL day. "I don't want to stay in bed, Adar! It's boring." He emphasized. Elrond sighed, pulling the boy's sleep shirt back into place.
"I know, Estel. But there is nothing I can do. You have a broken leg, a broken arm, and extreme muscle damage. To let you out of bed would be like having a bird fly with broken wings." Elrond explained, ignoring the tug on his heart as he said so. "But it wouldn't be able to fly…" Estel said, his little face screwed up in confusion.
Elrond sent him a pointed look. "Exactly. So I do not want to see you out of this bed, until I give you full permission to do so. Is that understood?" Estel bowed his head, glaring at the heavy bandages around his torso, leg, and arm. "Yes, Ada." He muttered. Elrond sat carefully on the edges of the bed. Despite the protest, he knew that Estel's wounds pained him if jostled too much.
Ruffling the boy's hair, Elrond bent down and kissed his forehead. "Now, I have some duties I must see to that can no longer be put off." Elrond grimaced, thinking of the pile of work waiting for him. "So you rest, and I will send your brothers in when I see them."
"All right." Estel said, perking up a little. Any time with his brothers was cherished, especially when he was confined like such. "Behave." Elrond said as a final warning, before exiting.
Carefully leaning back against his pillows, Estel whimpered softly as his injuries protested to the movement. He tried his hardest not to have his family see how much he was hurting. He didn't want them to worry more than they already were. When they thought he was sleeping, he had heard them talking in soft, concerned voices.
He had caught his name, along with words like 'permanent', 'handicapped', and 'excessive harm'. Being as young as he was, he didn't know what these words meant, but they didn't sound good. Not the way they were saying them. It scared him whenever they talked like this. What was happening? Had he done something wrong?
Feeling thirsty, Estel looked at the cup of water on his bed side table. Using his undamaged arm, Estel carefully reached for it. It was awkward, the table being on his right side, and it pulled his other wounds. But he was thirsty! Ignoring the pain, Estel nearly had it when the door suddenly slammed open. It startled him, making him tip over the glass, spilling water onto the floor and some of the bedding.
Elladan, who had thrown open the door, and immediately discerning the situation hurried over. "Here, gwador nin." He said, picking up the glass and filling it with water from the near-by pitcher. Elrohir, who had entered behind his twin, grabbed a towel from the washroom and began wiping up the mess.
"Sorry." Estel muttered, after taking a sip of water. Taking the cup back, Elladan settled himself beside the boy. "No need to apologize, tithen pen. Now, what can we do for you?" Estel scowled. "I'm bored." He exclaimed, looking at his brother with pleading eyes.
Elladan gasped in mock horror. "We can't have that now, can we?" He sent Elrohir a grin. "What do you suppose we do to cure such a deadly disease?" Elrohir scratched his chin in thought, his face morose, though he was barely holding back a grin. "I do not know, brother dear. It is very dire indeed!" Estel giggled at their antics, the water incident all but forgotten.
"Tell me a story!" He demanded. Elrohir pounced on the opportunity, grinning malevolently at Elladan, who gulped. Elrohir always looked that way when he was about to have revenge…
"That is a fine idea, gwador nin." Elrohir exclaimed. "I seem to remember a promise to tell you a story about Elladan, here. And his encounter with the horror of…" He lowered his voice to a whisper. "stitches." At this Estel gasped and giggled at the same time, and Elladan turned a bright red. "I don't know, Ro…" He said, hoping to dissuade them.
Estel, however, looked at him with puppy dog eyes, and he knew he would have to deal with it. "Please, Dan! I heard Ro's!" Knowing his twin was stuck, Elrohir chuckled.
"Well, it all started when we turned, oh, about 15 compared to human years. Elladan and I were allowed to go on our first hunting trip alone. We were both very excited, and eager to prove ourselves. We weren't going very far, only about a mile or two outside of Imladris, but it was a big step for us." Elladan and Estel both settled in for the story, the elf unconsciously putting an arm around Estel.
"The beginning of the trip was relatively easy. We set up camp that night in a small clearing, thinking this trip was going to be a piece of cake if things kept up they way they were. And it would have, if it wasn't for the clumsy one over here." Elrohir nodded at Elladan, making the elf blush and Estel stare at them in fascination.
"The trees around the camp were large with wide boughs, so we thought we would save ourselves the trouble of pitching tents and sleep in the trees. We had done it a few times before, but we didn't do it very often. Elladan offered to take first watch, and I quickly fell asleep, assuming everything was fine. But 'Dan, so it seems, was more tired than he thought. And he fell asleep during his watch!"
Estel gave a little gasp, leaning in toward his brother. "What happened?" He asked, eyes wide with curiosity. Elrohir chuckled as he thought back on it. "Well, not soundly balanced he fell right out of the tree! Fortunately for him, we weren't very high up and there were some bushes beneath the tree that caught his fall. Unfortunately, they happened to be full of thorns!"
At Estel's burst of laughter, Elrohir couldn't hold back the chuckles. "Woken by his loud cursing, I immediately rushed down thinking something had gone horribly wrong. I imagined all sorts of things in the space of a few seconds. Wargs, orcs, a forest fire…I came down only to find my inelegant twin stuck in the thorn bushes. It took over an hour to get him out, and by then he had several large and deep scratches. Not deadly, but painful."
Estel looked up at the older twin, curiosity plain on his face. "Where did you get hurt?" He asked. To his surprise, Elladan turned an even deeper red, muttering about murdering a certain elf under his breath, and Elrohir burst out laughing.
"Oh, you should have seen it little brother. He had no other injuries, except for several long scratches along his backside." At this, Elrohir collapsed in laughter, leaving Estel to stare at Elladan, before breaking into a fit of giggles. "H-how did y-you ride home?" Estel got out through his giggles. Elladan, too embarrassed to speak, just shook his head.
"We had to walk all the way home, leading the horses and listening to him yelp and complain with every step!" Elrohir said, composing himself slightly. "And when we reached home, he had the indignity of having Ada stitch the wounds closed. He couldn't sit for days!"
Breaking into laughter once again, Estel leaned against his humiliated brother. He suddenly stopped, however, when his injuries made themselves known once more. Groaning, he buried his face into Elladan's side. The twins immediately quieted, and gazed at their brother n concern. Elladan gently pulled the boy into his lap, muttering soothing elvish.
Elrohir got up and began mixing the familiar draught for Estel's pain. Neither of them could stand seeing Estel like this. Any kind of movement seemed to take up too much energy, and it seemed he was in constant pain. But their father said there was nothing they could do but soothe and keep his spirits up for now. Elladan held the boy tight against him, albeit gently, wanting cause as little pain as possible.
The elder twin felt tears in his eyes as he thought of what the boy had still yet to go through. While Estel was sleeping, their father had filled them in on his condition. The words 'permanent damage' had echoed in his head as he tried to sleep, and he couldn't quite shake the sense of guilt and despair. Lord Elrond had elucidated that Estel may never fully recover, and could be handicapped for the rest of his life. And, for the next several months or even years, he would have to go through agonizing therapy sessions until it was determined he would recover no more.
Elrohir approached his brothers, offering Elladan the cup wordlessly.
"Here, gwador nin, this will help the pain." Elladan said, pulling the boy away slightly. Estel groaned and wrinkled his nose, using his good hand to push the cup away from his lips. "Estel…" Elladan said, a warning tone in his voice. "It tastes icky." Estel pouted, even as he grimaced. Elladan sighed, shifting slightly, making the boy gasp.
"I'm sorry. And I know it tastes icky, but you only have to taste it for a minute. And then it will make the pain go away. Don't you want that?"
Estel lay still for a moment, appearing to be thinking. "Ok." He muttered at last. With Elladan's help, he swallowed down the foul tasting potion, grimacing when the cup was lowered away. Estel yawned, making Elladan smile at him. "You should rest, tithen pen. Store up some energy."
"But I'm not sleepy!" Estel protested, even as he yawned once more. Elrohir snorted in disbelief, ruffling the boy's hair with one hand. "Then simply close your eyes, and pretend you are somewhere else having grand adventures." He said, moving his hand down to cover the boy's eyes. Estel giggled, but complied. A few moments later Elladan felt his breathing slow as he fell into sleep.
"Sleep well, tithen gwador." Elrohir whispered, placing a kiss on Estel's forehead. Elladan carefully placed the boy back under the covers, kissing him himself, before exiting quietly behind his twin. Once farther down the hall, Elladan leaned tiredly against the wall. It was hard to see Estel like that. He was usually so carefree and energetic.
Elrohir placed his hands on Elladan's shoulders, trying to soothe even though he was also in turmoil. "It'll be ok." He said softly, pulling his brother into an embrace. "He'll be ok. Just give him time."
Elladan let himself be held, barely holding his emotions in check. "I could have done something more. I should have done something more." He whispered brokenly. Elrohir tightened his hold. "You couldn't have done anything differently, 'Dan. I know that, Estel knows that, and so does Ada. You did everything you could have in this situation."
"But I should have protected him. I promised Arathorn I would, now look at him! He's held together with linen and stitches." Elladan's voice rose, even as he clung to his brother. Elrohir couldn't find himself to say anything, and simply help his brother. They would get through this, and everything would get back to normal. It had to.
Didn't it?
Haha there ya go! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! I beg of you! Lol. Anyway, I'll have the next post sometime after I get back from camp, which isn't until the beginning of August. Thank you all so much! I hope you liked this chapter! Please review! Love you all!
Namarie,
RacheyBabey