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A Moment´s Respite
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Aragorn fell silent and did not speak anymore; he seemed weary beyond the physical exertion, weighed down with grief.
Slowly, Legolas approached him, taking in his friend´s bloodied face and the gash on his arm, and laid his hand on Aragorn´s shoulder.
To his surprise, the Ranger leaned into his grip for a moment, as if seeking support, before he straightened up again: “We cannot leave him lying here”, he murmured.
Legolas´ gaze dropped down on their fallen comrade; he was still bereft of words, and although he had not even been remotely close to Boromir, he felt the sadness which had been dwelling in his heart ever since Gandalf´s fall deepen considerably.
When the elf finally looked back at Aragorn, their gazes met; mutual understanding passed between them even though neither of them spoke.
Gimli now approached them as well, and with an awkward movement, knelt down next to Boromir´s body.
It seemed to Legolas as if the dwarf had broken a spell; the world around them suddenly had voices and smells again, and after taking a deep breath, Legolas knew what to do. “We cannot linger to bury him here”, he said, quietly. “More Orcs will come, and soon.”
Aragorn nodded; they did not have any time to spare, if they hoped to catch up with the hobbits at all.
Gimli looked at the dead warrior: “What will we do if we cannot bury him?”, he asked, his voice unusually quiet. “We cannot burn him either!” The elf and Ranger knew what he meant, since the smoke would give away their whereabouts too easily.
“What about the sea?”, Legolas inquired softly.
Aragorn looked up, his eyes curious, whereas Gimli showed surprise: “The sea? We are nowhere near it, laddie!”
Legolas smiled sadly: “Indeed we are not, master dwarf, but the Anduin flows into the sea. It would bear the body thither.”
“It seems to me that this is indeed a good solution under these circumstances, and worthy of a warrior such as Boromir”, Aragorn said.
Gimli nodded: “Aye”, he murmured, his gaze returning to the lifeless man.
Thus it was agreed; Aragorn removed the arrows which had claimed the Gondorian´s life, and, breaking them, tossed them on the ground.
They carried the body to the shore; they could see Frodo and Sam, struggling to cross the river in the too big boat, and knew they would have to make haste in order not to lose the hobbits.
Legolas was taking pity on them, thinking that they must have been severely frightened to flee across the water in such fashion; he was distracted from these thoughts by Aragorn, who pulled one of the boats further up on the shore and started to empty it of everything that had been left in it.
Quickly comprehending what the Ranger had in mind, Legolas and Gimli went to help him.
-
Half an hour later, the three remaining companions stood on the shore and looked after the boat which carried Boromir´s body until it vanished over the edge of the falls of Rauros.
All of them had a heavy heart, but time was pressing, and so Aragorn was the first to turn back to the shore in order to gather their belongings. He closed his eyes for a moment, as a dull, throbbing headache had set in a while ago, an ungentle reminder of the fight with the Uruk-Hai. He remembered the uncanny force behind the foul creature´s punches and involuntarily shivered; he had never met such unconditional evil, such a will to maim and kill.
The hobbits meanwhile had made good progress and were advancing the eastern shore, but the Ranger did not intend to follow them; he had realized that Frodo would have to face the task which lay ahead of him alone. Aragorn was not inclined to give up on Merry and Pippin, however, and thus had already decided to follow the Uruk-Hai which had captured them.
While Aragorn was looking about their former resting place in order to assess which of their supplies would have to be left behind, Legolas stepped up to his friend: “Aragorn”, he said. “I know we shall have to make haste, but before we go, let me see to your wounds.” Aragorn frowned: “´Tis nothing to worry about”, he said dismissively. The elf shook his head: “´Tis enough to make you look savage”, he replied, obviously amused. Aragorn hesitated: “We do not have the time”, he insisted. Legolas turned serious again, and his gaze was so stern now that the Ranger could not evade him. He knew the elf well enough to know that arguing would be pointless, as Legolas could be surprisingly persistent.
They stared at each other for a while longer, until, sighing, Aragorn shrugged: “Very well then, go ahead.”
Legolas´ face remained unmoved, but the Ranger thought he could see a glint of smugness in his eyes.
“Sit down”, he said, and Aragorn complied, while Legolas went to get a waterskin; he could feel every aching bone in his body, and desperately wished to rest, but knew it was impossible. He watched Legolas, who was ripping a piece of cloth apart to produce a bandage, and suddenly felt grateful to have the elf with him.
Legolas knelt down in front of his friend and started to carefully wash the blood off his face: “How did this happen?”, he asked, curiously. He had not seen Aragorn fighting Lurtz, and thus had no way of knowing how the Ranger had sustained a bloody nose and mouth.
The man did his best not to wince when the wet cloth touched the tender skin, even though Legolas´ ministrations were very gentle, and shortly recounted what had transpired. Both their minds wandered back to Boromir at this, and they fell silent again.
After Legolas had also cleaned and bound the cut on Aragorn´s upper arm, they looked at each other, painfully aware that the day was far from over yet. Legolas rested his hand on Aragorn´s knee for a few seconds, as if to reassure him, and got to his feet. The Ranger got up as well: “Thank you”, said, softly.
Legolas assessed him and nodded, knowing that the Ranger rather meant to thank him for being there than for seeing to the wounds.
“I had not expected I would need to help you wash your face ever again”, he then replied lightly, “not since you were grown-up, anyway.”
A smile spread on Aragorn´s tired face: “So now I am grown-up again?”, he teased. “I distinctly remember you calling me a child not so long ago.”
Legolas could not but chuckle: “I must have had a good reason for it”, he said.
Aragorn inclined his head good-naturedly: “Aye”, he said, equally amused.
-
Gimli, who had been gathering together the most necessary supplies he deemed they were to take with them while pursuing Frodo and Sam, looked at the two and smiled into his beard; whatever Legolas and Aragorn had been talking about, it seemed to have restored their spirits. The dwarf glanced over to the edge of the falls, where the boat with Boromir´s body had disappeared: he felt that this was only a beginning, and he was glad to have two such hardy companions, even if one of them was an elf.
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