Chapter Seven: The Sun Still Rises

Gimli did not think he could breathe. Surely he had heard wrong. He blinked. The look on Aragorn’s face told him he had heard the man correctly, and as it sunk in, the dwarf felt great fear rise up in his chest. It felt like his heart had stopped. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, Gimli told himself he needed to remain calm. He also needed to know exactly what Aragorn had said meant for his friend.

“What does that mean, Aragorn? Is he...is he going t-to...to..d-die?” How it hurt to ask that question! But he had to know. The look of uncertainty on the man’s face was not reassuring.

“To be honest, Gimli, I do not know. It depends on the extent of the damage done. This explains why he has not regained consciousness.” The man paused as if he were unsure of his next words. “If he lives, he will remain unconscious for quite a while, I imagine. There is also a chance that permanent damage has been done. I need to get him to the houses of healing as soon as I can.”

In a matter of seconds, the dwarf’s heart had gone from stopping, to beating frantically, which made his leg pound all the more. “What do you mean IF he lives? What kind of permanent damage? Explain, Aragorn,” the dwarf asked fearfully. He felt he was going to be ill. This could not be happening!

“This is a very serious head injury, Gimli. I do not know if he will survive it; though the fact that he was not killed instantly and still lingers, gives me hope. I cannot say for sure.” Aragorn took a deep breath and continued. “If he survives, there could be permanent injury to his brain. He may never wake up or if he does, he may not be the same Legolas we know. There is no way to say for sure, only time will answer these things.”

The dwarf assumed Aragorn’s detached healer side was back in control. How else could he say all of that so calmly? The pain in his leg was becoming unbearable as his heart raced. Aragorn looked at him for a moment then pulled out a couple of leaves from his pack and told Gimli to chew them slowly. Knowing these would help alleviate his pain, he took them without protest. They tasted terrible.

Captain Arnein soon returned with several men, and they quietly discussed how to remove the boulder without causing Gimli's leg further damage. As the men eyed the large stone, debating whether it should be lifted or rolled off the dwarf, Aragorn quickly splinted Legolas’ broken arm to keep it from jostling, and called one man over and instructed him to bring a litter to carry Legolas out. They had been prepared for this possibility, so it did not take long before the man returned. Carefully lifting the elven prince, they slid the litter underneath him and then lowered Legolas back down onto it. Two men cautiously hoisted the ends and started to carry it out, being very careful not to jar the injured elf. Aragorn turned to follow, but stopped and looked back at the dwarf.

“Go with him, Aragorn. He needs you far more than I do. Another healer can care for this leg of mine, but only you should tend to Legolas. I trust you, lad. If anyone can pull him through this, you can. Just make sure you put him in a room that has two beds. Prince or not, he is going to have a dwarf for company when he wakes up.” Gimli sounded more confident then he felt, for he did not want to be separated from Legolas with the elf in such a condition. What if his friend died, and he was not there to say goodbye...No, Gimli would not think about that. Aragorn could do nothing for Legolas here! And he personally would not be going anywhere just yet. “Take care of him, I will be there as soon as I can.”

Aragorn gave him a nod, turned and followed the litter out of the room, back through the now large opening in the fallen rock. Gimli watched until he was out of sight. Suddenly, he yawned, feeling unexpectedly very tired. Tired? Oh no! He had taken herbs from Aragorn without thinking. He should have known the man would give him something to knock him out. A muttered curse started to leave his lips, but was cut short as another yawn overtook him.

ooo

Captain Arnien and the other men in the cavern worked for several minutes arranging a couple of boards for leverage under the boulder they needed to move. While placing them, the man was very relieved to discover that the boulder was resting not only on Lord Gimli’s leg, but there were a couple of rocks under it as well, keeping the dwarf’s leg from being crushed.

As they prepared to move the boulder, Arnien looked down at the dwarf to tell him they were ready and to brace himself. As it was, he smiled when he realized what had happened. The dwarf was deep in a drugged sleep. The man was relieved, for it would make this process so much easier if Lord Gimli was unconscious, and Arnien appreciated the king’s foresight.

Once the boulder had been cautiously moved out of the way, Arnien prepared to splint the dwarf's leg. Thankfully, the bone was not protruding as he had feared; rather there was a deep cut from another rock that had caused the bleeding he had seen. Lord Gimli had been blessed in this mishap, for earlier, the man had been sure the dwarf would lose his leg. Carefully, he wrapped bandages around the limb and boards to stabilize it, then using the same care they had used on Lord Legolas, they lifted the dwarf onto a litter and proceeded to carry him out of the cavern.

Oblivious to the world around him, Gimli was on his way to joining his best friend in the houses of healing. As they lifted him into a waiting wagon, the sun peeked over the horizon, offering its warm rays as a beacon of hope.

ooo

Arwen was a little at a loss for she could not find her husband anywhere. Nor could she find anyone who knew where he was. When she had returned last night with her guards, she had expected a warm reunion with her heart's love, as she had been away for two weeks and had missed him terribly. But he was not there to meet her.

The guard who had taken the queen's horse had just come on duty and did not know where the king was at the moment, so she headed to their rooms, only to find them empty. The king’s office was also unoccupied, as well as the private gardens. Knowing Gimli was visiting, she had given up on finding her missing husband; she had gone to bed alone.

When she had awakened at dawn, he was still not there and Arwen realized something was not right. She had been expected back last night, yet her husband was no where to be found in the palace. Continuing to search for anyone who had information on the missing king, she found that unfortunately, most were still asleep at this hour. Resigned, the lady went back to their rooms to wait. If something was wrong, someone would come to tell her…she hoped.

A short while later, when still no word had come, Arwen ventured out to look again. She did not have to look far, for coming down the hall towards her was one of the king’s captains, Arnien. He stopped before her and she felt her stomach drop. “Where is the king? What has happened?” Arwen was sure something terrible must have befallen him, for surely nothing else would cause such a grim expression on this man’s face.

“Fear not, my lady, the king is hale. He is in the houses of healing with Lord Legolas and Lord Gimli. Both were severely injured when the ceiling collapsed in one of the new caverns yesterday afternoon. We only managed to get them out about an hour ago. The king is working on Lord Legolas; he fears the prince may not survive. He took a severe blow to the head, my lady.” Arnien explained. “I only recently remembered you were returning and knew you would want to know.”

Arwen felt horrified. Legolas on the brink of death? She would go to him. They had been friends since she had met the prince at his coming of age so long ago. She would make herself useful, she determined. After all, she had been trained in healing as well as her husband. Moreover, she was the daughter of Elrond.

“Thank you for coming for me, Arnien. I will join the king. He will need my help.” She turned and hastily made her way out of the palace. As she hurried to the houses of healing, she was unaware the captain had followed her.

ooo

Aragorn had not been in the houses of healing for very long, for they had taken the trip very slowly to avoid jarring the injured elf. In the brighter light of morning, he took a second look at the terrible head injury and felt his stomach turn over in dismay. As the door opened, the king looked up, finding his wife entering the room. Aragorn could not remember the last time he had been so glad to see his wife’s face. He needed someone as skilled as the daughter of Elrond to assist him. Her face turned pale as she took in their friend’s injuries, but she looked up and determination was in her face. Without a word between them, they set to work.

Another healer entered the room with a bowl of warm water and clean cloths. Seeing the queen working alongside the king, he put them on a table and stood back, watching the pair. He had seen these two work before and knew if he was needed, they would ask. Lord Legolas was in the best of hands.

Aragorn found it took all the skill both he and Arwen had to keep their friend with them. At one point, he feared it was a hopeless battle, but Legolas was strong; he was not going to go out without a fight. Finally, there was nothing else they could do, other than to stitch up the gash and bind the elf’s head. He was concerned about the internal bleeding, but he had done all he could do for now.

Throughout the procedures, the king took care not to cut more of the elf’s hair than was necessary…only enough so that he could see what he was doing. Legolas was obsessive when it came to his hair! Thankfully, all that had needed to be cut would be covered and hardly noticeable, for the man did not want to be on the receiving end of Legolas’ vanity! When he realized just where his thoughts had taken him and he smiled. It was good to be thinking about his friend recovered enough to complain about his hair. Once the gash had been stitched shut, he cleaned the blood from the long, silky blond hair and then carefully wrapped bandages firmly around the elf’s head, to hold the broken skull bones in place.

While Aragorn finished stitching and bandaging Legolas’ head, Arwen removed the elf’s filthy clothing and washed the dirt from the battered body, taking care to thoroughly cleanse the numerous abrasions and scratches. Once that was done, she proceeded to stitch the gash in Legolas’ leg before lastly, probing the terribly bruised and swollen hip to determine if it was indeed broken. Looking up, she found her husband's inquiring eyes focused on her efforts.

For the first time in over an hour, one of them broke the silence of the room. “I do not believe it is fractured,” she spoke softly. “Cracked perhaps, but that will heal on its own with rest. I do not believe he will be going anywhere anytime soon.”

Aragorn nodded. He was having trouble finding his voice so he cleared his throat. “No, I do not expect him to awaken for some time. He still has a broken arm and two broken ribs that need tending.” He finally managed to give a small smile to his wife.

“Ever the healer, my husband. Let us set them then, afterward you can eat something and rest. You look dead on your feet.” She was worried about him, he could tell, and she was right, he was exhausted in more ways than one. But there was still much to do before he could rest.

Together, they set the prince’s arm and wrapped the cracked ribs. Lastly they dressed him in a long loose shirt and covered him lightly. Having done all they could do, they stepped back and observed the comatose elf. Only time and Legolas’ own healing abilities could do any more now…that and the grace of the Valar. Aragorn said another silent prayer, asking Ilúvatar to work on the elf's behalf.

It had taken most of the day without stopping for food or rest to tend to the Prince of Eryn Lasgalen. Aragorn finally took his wife in his arms and held her as the tension started to drain away. For now, Legolas was alive and stable, and for this the man was truly thankful.

“I need to check on Gimli.” Aragorn told his wife after releasing her. For now, the dwarf was in another room having his injuries tended, but they would move Gimli into this room, as the dwarf had requested, as soon as it was possible to do so. “I trust the other healers, but I will not rest well until I have seen with my own eyes that his leg is set properly. We have heard nothing, and I fear his leg was crushed under that boulder.” His eyes pleaded with Arwen to understand.

She nodded. “I will stay with Legolas until you are finished. He should not be left alone.”

Aragorn agreed. He would find a healer to stay with Legolas after he had checked on Gimli and then he would take some rest so he might be of more use later. As he walked quietly out the door, only the soft sound of elven breathing remained as the door clicked shut. Behind the silent, still figure on the bed, the sun shone brightly through the window, its beams gently caressing the motionless elf's face.

TBC

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