Healing: Part I
by Narevane
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Legolas didn’t see the arrow. One second he was firing arrows as fast as he could at the band of orcs he and his scouting party had stumbled upon, the next he was pinned to the tree he stood beside by an arrow through his right shoulder. His arrow dropped from suddenly numb fingers. He dropped his bow and wrapped his left hand around the arrow, tugged at it, but it wouldn’t come free. Blackness was closing in on the edges of his vision.

Just as Legolas lost consciousness, two of his companions reached him, one catching him. The other cut the arrow loose from the tree and Legolas was lifted into his elder brother's arms and then the elves were vanishing into the shadows of Mirkwood.

Legolas brother, Vandacalimon, eased him to the ground. The younger elf was still unconscious. Vandacalimon grabbed his nearest companion, Eruanno. "Run ahead as fast as you can and tell the healers to be waiting." He broke off the haft of the arrow, causing Legolas to moan, but he didn’t regain consciousness. "Give them this. Go!" Eruanno took the broken arrow and ran.

Vandacalimon turned back to his brother. "Legolas?" He checked the wound. There wasn’t much blood, with the rest of the arrow haft still in place, but that wasn’t what worried Vandacalimon. It was the fact that orc arrows were often poisoned. These arrows were also barbed down the haft, to make them very difficult to remove. He picked his brother up and signaled the rest of the party they were moving on.

"Hold on, Legolas. Please, hold on." But his brother lay silent and still in his arms, head on Vandacalimon’s shoulder.


| Part II |
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