Fan Fiction ❯ Tên Mûel ❯ Between order and blackmail ( Chapter 9 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: Tên Mûel
Authors: Makiko Igami (makikoigami@yahoo.de) & My-chan (My-chan@gmx.de)
Archive: http://www.yaoi.rulestheweb.com
http://www.geocities.com/lirimaer8/inde x.html
http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/src.php?auth=58906
http://w ww.geocities.com/alslashfics/
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyi d=1231150
http://www.efanfiction.net/authors.php?no=2916
*works on the library of moria*
And any archives of the lists we're on. ^_^
Category: AU, RPG
Rating: this chapter... PG? May go up soon... *is getting poked by My-chan: "NC-17!"* *sweatdrops*
Pairings: Aragorn/Legolas, others as well *glances over to Elladan & Elrohir*
Warnings: Slash, OOC (of Arwen mostly), slavery, angst...
Spoilers: A few... not really as I don't remember much of the book, just that Aragorn became King of Gondor in the end and that Arwen was his Queen.
Summary: After seven years of marriage, the excitement of being together has vanished from Aragorn's and Arwen's marriage... maybe a present might change this.
Disclaimer: You know the deal don't you? J.R.R. Tolkien invented them, and if we owned them, we would be related to him, but since neither I nor My-chan are... we just play around with them, toy with their minds and use them for fun only. <insert evil laughter here>
Notes&Comments: This was written by me and My-chan as a rpg and ever since Pretending And Being, a wild mix of German and English, we have this nearly "exhibitionistic" need for feedback from various places. ^^;; So please be gentle.
Now on to the story itself. I know that this may look like a serious Arwen-bashing story, but please be reassured that we don't mean to cause any harm to anybody who likes her. She is just for causes of story-telling such a bitch here. ^^;
The Sindarin we used (and transformed for ourselves) comes from a little program called Dragon Flame (which I always think that it is this game I don't want to play unless I know I am on my own), but since it didn't have all the words we needed, we had to make them up. If you have any questions feel free to send an email to any of us... and hope that we still know what we wanted to say. ^^;;;;
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After the very much needed hot bath, that relaxed a few of Aragorn's tense muscles, and a good breakfast, the King of Gondor finally went to his study and continued with his never-ending duties of paperwork. This day he also wanted to talk with Arwen, apologize for his harsh words, but because of his meal with Gimli the previous day, there was more paperwork to do than usual even though he had worked for so long the other day.

"I need somebody who does this kind of stuff for me," he sighed more than once as he opened another envelope in the shine of a candle. He didn't remember lightening it, but it was burning, so somebody had to have done it, probably one of the servants.

He stared at the burning candle for a few heartbeats and then decided that he had worked long enough for one day and his back congratulated him to this decision with a serious loud cracking sound as he straightened from his hunched over position. He gave a low groan, being immobile for another heartbeat before he stood up and quenched the candle.

On his way back to his chambers he caught the glimpse of Arwen crossing a corner but she was gone so fast that he didn't even have the chance of following her. He shook his head and continued his way back towards his chambers.

Opening the door he found that the servants had brought him supper and that Legolas was still asleep. He frowned and wondered why and how an Elf could possibly sleep so long, but since this Elf didn't show any signs to awaken whenever he nudged him he saw his only option in sleeping on the floor again. Or - after a heartbeat of reconsideration - the armchair.

It took him some time, but he finally fell into a light sleep in front of the fireplace.

Meanwhile Ban waited in front of his Lady's chambers for her to return. He knew that she was down at the stables, but what she was doing there was none of his concern. He knew that the number her visits had increased when the new groom arrived, and he wasn't so dumb to not draw conclusions out of that, but as long as nobody asked him about it, he would say that she loved horses and visited them as often as she could. What else could she do when her husband was too busy?

He stopped pondering as he saw her ethereal body float over the ground around the corner to this corridor and smiled at her. In fact he was delighted to see her smiling back at him as he spotted his presence. Elves may be rare in Middle-Earth at these times, but they were nevertheless magical to him, especially the females. But on the other hand they were lower beings as well, beings so enclosed in their own realm that they needed Humans to show them the ways of the world nowadays. Like elderly people, who were so much like babies.

"Ban, it's always a pleasure to see you," Arwen said, opening the door to her chambers and waving the man inside. Then she sat down in one her comfortable chairs, waving for him to do the same opposite to her. "What do you have to report today?"

"I simply want to state that I completed the task you set upon me, my Queen."

"Is the slave back in his chains?"

"Yes, milady. And he will never again try to break free."

"Very well." The woman stared into the flames of her fireplace, obviously deep in thoughts. Ban looked quite curious at her and fidgeted a little in his seat, not whether he should tell her about the incidence with the King or not, but he guessed it would be better.

"Milady..."

"Did you punish him in my husband's place?"

"Yes, milady, and that's what I need to tell you about as well," the man said firmly. "The slave told your husband about what I did to him and to say it mildly, he wasn't at all amused. I think that maybe it was a mistake... He downright threatened me."

The Elven woman looked at him with wide eyes. "He did? That's... unusual..." Again she stared into the flames as if she could see something in there, some hidden mystery nobody else could see. He looked at her with some concern in his eyes.

"Milady?"

Looking up from the flames to fix her mystifying blue eyes onto his face, he could see that her features had hardened. "What did you do then? Estel is a calm man, he knows of rights and wrongs."

"I did what one should do to a disobedient slave," Ban said, openly surprised by the coldness. "He did not submit to what he was ordered, so I used force to make him understand what was expected of him."

"You hit him?"

It was a simple question, almost innocent. But it was worse than what the servant had done to Legolas. "Basically, yes. But you make it sound like it is a bad thing."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to tell me, it isn't?" she asked, but didn't wait for an answer and simply sighed. "My husband did not approve of it, right?"

"No, my Queen. He told me never to touch his property again."

Arwen nodded as she looked back into the flames, where she seemed to find some comfort. "Then I wish you never to do it again. Make sure the slave obeys the King's order, but do as my husband wishes."

"Very well, milady."

Ban was astounded. He didn't expect that his Queen would despise his actions, even though she had commanded him to do so and had even asked him to find new restraints. Slowly he stood up, nodded and was about to make his exit, when her silent voice called him back.

"How is his condition?" she asked and as the servant looked at her with an incredulous look, she added, "The slave. How is he?"

The man blinked, surprised that she would care for a slave. "The last time I saw him, he was sleeping in the King's bed. After he was bathed by the King last night, I might add. Nobody was able to wake him."

Arwen nodded, her features hardening even more. So Estel was having fun with his little slave? While she was alone in her chambers, after she hurt the only one that seemed to have been able to endure her during the past few months. Was she really such a bad person? Only Ban seemed to like her anymore.

"Then his condition is weakened. He will probably sleep all day," the Elf said calmly, almost like a medical statement and sighed. "Thank you. You may go now."

Ban bowed low before her. "Very well, milady."

Then he was out of the room without another word.

Legolas had indeed slept the whole day. But once Aragorn was gone his sleep lightened and he woke up each time a servant entered the room. They left him alone though, and didn't even look at him twice, so the Elf decided to almost ignore them as well and as soon as they were gone, he fell back asleep.

Finally his body decided that it was enough, or rather his growling stomach said that it was time to wake up and eat something. Slowly his senses returned to him and Legolas stirred. Then he stretched before he lifted his eyelids and blinked several times, until he managed to open his eyes completely.

The Elf sat up and lifted his arms to rub his face, the dried blood crumbling from his already healed injuries as if it was dried mud. Done that, Legolas caught sight of his master sitting in the armchair, apparently sleeping.

The slave bit his lower lip. His master was sitting in this chair because of him. Because he occupied the bed. And this was just wrong. Legolas grabbed the blanket and lifted it up, ready to leave the bed when he noticed that he was naked. He stopped and lowered the sheets, whilst his thoughts were racing.

Why was he naked? Did he Human do anything to him while he was asleep? Not likely, he would have surely woken up from any touch. But on the other hand, Legolas didn't really remember what happened after he drank the milk, and maybe Aragorn drugged him...

Then again, the Human looked too peaceful in his sleep, like he couldn't hurt a fly, and the Elf's body felt normal and healed.

Legolas shoved the thoughts away and lowly cleared his throat.

"Master?" he peeped quietly, trying to wake him up without being too rough.

The low growl of a stomach disturbed his light sleep, but he didn't want to open his eyes just because of that. But a few moments later he knew he had to. Aragorn turned his head towards the direction from which he heard a silent voice, probably talking to him. Blinking his eyes open, the man turned his head to see the Elf in his bed awake finally and looking at him with puzzlement in his eyes.

He groaned as he straightened in his seat, feeling his joints crack as he did so and then turned to look at Legolas, forcing a smile on his anguished face.

"Hello there..." he said and then groaned again as his back protested from another movement.

Legolas winced slightly when he heard the cracking sound coming from his master's back and bit down on his lip again. Now he had caused him a bad backache as well. Once again the slave wondered how his master could be this nice to him although he caused him that much trouble.

"Naá em hell?" he asked quietly, fixing his master's gaze since he didn't want to miss anything displayed in those steel blue eyes.

Aragorn scratched his head and yawned soundly. "Huh? Oh. Your loincloth was soaked and didn't dry fast enough... so... I took the liberty to remove it." He tried to remember if he had seen it earlier that day, but somehow... it wasn't there. "I wonder where it is..."

Slowly he moved to stand up and retrieved a candle-holder so he could look around in the darkness of his chambers, all the while rubbing the small of his aching back.

The Elf blinked a few times at the explanation, but his doubts were soon gone. His master had removed his clothes only because he didn't want him to get sick and it sounded logical as well.

"Hinead", he said lowly in case not to disturb his master. He seemed very tired and exhausted from the day and loud sounds might only hurt his head as well, like his back already did.

Aragorn ignored the last word as he looked around. To him it seemed as if the servants had thrown the loincloth away as they might have thought it looked too ragged as if anyone could possibly ever wear it again. And then there was this gown from Arwen that he wanted to be resewn. People probably thought that this would be enough for a slave.

The man sighed and walked over to his drawer, retrieving new leggings as the ones he gave Legolas earlier were almost shredded and had to be repaired before anybody could wear it again. Also he found another shirt he could give to the Elf.

He returned to the bed and stood in front of Legolas, remembering what he had almost done the other day... and was happy that it was dark enough that his blush couldn't be seen.

Offering the clothes to the Elf, he held on to them a little longer than needed as they were taken from his hand.

Legolas looked up to his master as he didn't let go of the clothes. When he looked into the Human's face, the Elf was almost sure that he saw a red shade on his cheeks, but maybe it was just because of the candle light. Then Aragorn finally let go of the leggings and shirt and took one step back.

The slave put the shirt next to him on the bed and unfolded the leggings, before he shifted a little so his legs hung out of the bed. Legolas slipped on the trousers and stood up in the same swift motion, pulling the leggings over his hips. He didn't even bother to see if his master was watching him or not. To say he didn't care would be a lie, but he'd gotten used to it.

The Elf made a tight knot into the waistband of the leggings, before he grabbed the shirt and put it on as well.

Aragorn was not only watching, he was downright staring, but was not aware of it as he tried to make out what exactly the Elf was doing. In fact he was staring so intensely at the waistline of Legolas that he would have hit himself very hard if he had caught himself.

But he didn't and even if he had he wouldn't have done it, as that would have made the Elf notice what he was doing. As it was now, he could still pretend he was checking if Legolas was putting on his clothes correctly. A lame excuse, but it was an excuse.

All of a sudden the man noticed what he was doing and shook his head, turning away quite embarrassed.

After Legolas had put on the shirt he looked up at his master, only to see him looking somewhere to the side. For a moment the Elf wondered if he was that ugly, that his master couldn't even bear to look at him.

But the thought was soon dismissed as his stomach started to rumble like a hungry wolf's growl.

Aragorn was just trying to make up an excuse why he was staring at Legolas' hips when his thoughts were disturbed by the sound of somebody being hungry. Very hungry.

He turned his head back to look at the Elf and wasn't sure if he should just smile or look embarrassed. In the end it was a rather embarrassed smile. "It seems you're hungry, aren't you?"

Not waiting for an answer though, he turned and lit the candles on the table where he usually ate. He had measured the length of the chain with his eyes some time ago and had decided that it was long enough so that Legolas could sit on one side of the table... although Aragorn would have preferred if the Elf was free of his neck-chain. But he didn't want his servants to notice and treat him like they did earlier again, even though he thought he had frightened them enough to ever do so again.

He waved for the Elf to come closer and get a seat.

Legolas followed the enticing motion and approached the table slowly. He knew it was well in reach of the chain, since he knew pretty exactly how long it was. The Elf sat down with an elegant movement and looked up at his master, waiting for him to do the same. Somehow the thought that the Human stood next to him and only watched him eat made him feel awkward.

Aragorn looked down at the Elf, his eyebrows moving up until he understood what he wanted him to do. So he pulled a chair next to Legolas and then opened his arms as if he wanted to say, "Eat, it's all yours." He had eaten shortly before he went to sleep and he was actually full. So he just poured himself some wine before he raised the bottle to do so for Legolas as well.

The Elf held up his hand to stop the Human from filling his chalice with wine as well. He had had enough of the sweet liquid two nights ago. He already spotted a jug of milk on the table and he preferred that over the wine.

"Not?" Aragorn asked. He then looked over the table and spotted the milk as well. "Okay..." He made a grab for the jug and started to pour it into the still empty chalice. Then he raised his wine and said, "To us!" before he took a quite deep sip.

"Hinead," the Elf murmured before he took the cup and slowly drank the white liquid. Then he put it down again, and viewed the food on the table. Once again he grabbed a few fruits and started to eat them, while he inspected the other stuff on the plates. He found that most of the food was very good, except for the awful tasting bread, and he ate pretty much of the stuff he liked, more than anyone thought he was able to eat.

But he ate slowly, and his manners were completely different from the first time Aragorn had watched him eat. Nothing of him reminded of the scared, dirty little slave he'd been only two days ago. His looks and his movements were those of an Elf now, smooth, graceful, elegant and calm.

While he ate though, Legolas eyed his master and his way to drink the wine with concern in his eyes. There was no way that this could be good for his body, or mind. But he didn't say anything. He was just a slave after all, and it wasn't his right to tell his master what to do.

Aragorn took another sip from his wine, partly to forget the shame he felt for staring at Legolas when he was changing. But another part of him didn't want to forget, wanted to see more, to feel more of this lithe pale body underneath his hands, his...

He stared down into his chalice and glared at his reflection in the liquid. How could he possibly let himself get this far in his thoughts? He would never let this get outside his mind though if he could... if he wanted to, he would undermine this as well.

Feeling quite dizzy already he raised the chalice to his lips once again and emptied it in one go and then moved to refill it once again.

It was just then when Legolas decided that he'd been watching this long enough. Whatever his master wanted to drown in the wine, he was sure that there was another solution to the problem then getting drunk on purpose.

So the Elf slightly rose in his chair and put his hand over Aragorn's when he was just about to lift the bottle again to fill his chalice.

"Don't," he whispered and fixed the Human's gaze as he looked up. Legolas had finally figured out the difference between his version of elfish and the one of his master and it actually wasn't too different to begin with.

The man wasn't sure if he should stare at the Elf in surprise for talking directly to him and saying something else than "sorry" or glare at him for interrupting his movement. But then he did nothing of these two options.

Instead he slowly set the almost empty bottle down and sighed. He was furious, but he knew he had been drinking too much. His cheeks were red and hot and he felt a very comforting tiredness in his bones. All he wanted to do right now was to go to bed and sleep long and relaxing, with the smell of soft hair tickling his nose when he woke up...

Squeezing his eyes shut to get the picture out of his head; Aragorn sighed and locked gazes with Legolas, smiling wearily. "The only fun I have after a hard day's work... and my slave tells me to stop."

Legolas smiled a bit sheepishly at those words, but he was glad that his master agreed with him, and didn't get mad, because of his rudeness.

"You look very tired, master. You should get to sleep..." he suggested softly and rose from his seat, waiting for Aragorn to do the same.

The king chuckled slightly as the Elf was giving him orders again, hidden underneath suggestions but orders still. And of course he looked tired, he had spent two and a half nights outside his bed and worked harder than usual, plus the stress with his wife and everything else...

Aragorn just wished in that moment to be a ranger again. The problems he had back then seemed little to him now, compared with a raging Boromir or stupid requests.

"Yes, sir," he murmured as quiet as he could and walked over to the armchair again.

When Aragorn walked past him Legolas realized that he was about to spend another night in the armchair. He frowned slightly. Why would he do that if he could sleep in his bed? Or was he probably leaving his bed to him, his slave?

The Elf scowled slightly and grabbed the Human's arm, stopping him from moving towards the chair and pointed towards the bed.

Blinking his tired eyes, Aragorn looked at Legolas who was holding his arm. His first thought was that it was a pity that he was wearing a long-sleeved leather-shirt, but shook it away quickly. Instead he stared at his bed as if it was something he had never seen before in his whole life.

"You want me to sleep in the bed? And where do you sleep then?"

Legolas nodded to the first question, and one moment later he looked at his master with puzzlement written on his features. But maybe the Human was just too tired and already half asleep...

The Elf looked around to see where he could lie down on the floor. Now that he was chained to the wall again, he couldn't curl up in the corner since the chain didn't reach that far. So he pointed to the carpet in front of the bed. The wooden board would have to do for now.

"You want to sleep on the floor? Oh, no, I won't let this happen."

He put his hand over Legolas' and led him towards the bed, making him sit down there and went back to take his place in the armchair in front of the fire. He was just about to make one step when a stinging pain shot through his back, stopping him dead in his movements as he let out a deep groan.

The Elf was too startled to do anything when Aragorn pulled him towards the bed and pushed him down. But when that nasty sound was heard again he winced and almost growled after that. He rose to his feet and grabbed his master's wrist. While putting his other hand on the Human's back, he gave slight pressure to it, causing the pain to subside.

Legolas gently pulled Aragorn towards the bed again, pointing him to sit down.

"Lie down, master. I'll help you with your back."

Aragorn needed a moment to recover from his sudden recovery and just stared at the Elf before he nodded and did as he was told. But then he remembered he was still wearing all his clothes and sat up again.

"Give me one moment," he murmured and started to undo the knots of his clothes, again fighting with the ones on his shirt. He was definitely tying them too tightly.

Legolas smiled as he witnessed his master's struggle with his knots once again. His movements were so clumsy, just like a little child. Well compared to him, this Human was nothing more than a baby, but yet the feeling was different.

The Elf put his hands on Aragorn's and softly pulled them away from the shirt. He kneeled down in front of him and worked through the knots as if they weren't even there. Then he got up again and peeled the cloth from the Human's tense shoulders, throwing it over the waist high wall next to the end of the bed.

The man had stared at the blond head of Legolas as the Elf had worked on his knots, kneeling between his legs, moving his fingers over his chest, not really touching him, but freeing him efficiently of his garments. Aragorn sighed as the shirt left his shoulders. His pants were soft enough and he chose to leave them on as he slipped off his boots and swung his legs back over the edge of the bed. There he turned to lie on his stomach, hugging a pillow and sighing into it.

Again the Elf smiled into the safety of the darkness in the room, before he walked to the other side of the bed and crawled over it to sit next to his master. He gently ran his hand over the bare back, feeling the tense muscles under his fingers.

He shifted a little bit so he could put both of his hands on the Human's back and carefully let them run over his spine. The Elf could feel several bumps under his fingers and grimaced. Hovering over the lying body he gave a quick pressure to each of them once he felt them and pushed the vertebras back in place.

Aragorn shivered at the sudden light touch on his bare back and buried his head deeper into the pillow, muffling a low moan. But when he felt both hands on his back, pushing at his spine he almost ate the pillow as a sharp pain went through his back. Whatever Legolas was doing to his back hurt like hell, but the man chose to give him a bit of time to prove that it was helping.

The Elf worked his way up the Human's spine setting every bone back into place as fast and as carefully as he could, since he knew it wasn't painless.

"Forgive me… It'll subside soon," he murmured and moved his fingers back down after he finished pushing in the vertebras, kneading the reddened flesh gently. On his way down he pressed a few spots on his master's back, close to his spine, which made the tense muscles relax in an instant, thus taking the pain away immediately. This treatment left a rather comfortable feeling in the tired body. A warm prickling feeling dispread from those spots, slightly relaxing the other muscles as well.

But merely slightly and so Legolas continued to move his hands over the bare back, kneading Aragorn's shoulders down to his waistline.

Aragorn's expression changed from a very tense distortion to a very relaxed and sleepy face as the pain faded away with a silent sigh falling from his lips into the pillow. He relaxed underneath the working fingers of Legolas and felt how sleep wrapped its foggy arms around his mind. Purring slightly he slowly fell asleep.

Legolas smiled again, wider this time, when he more felt than heard his master's soft purring and his body relaxing under his hands. He continued to work his magic on the tense muscles until he decided that they were relaxed enough to provide his master a long, peaceful and restful sleep.

Soundless as usual, the Elf crawled off the bed and rose to a stand after he was done. He turned towards his sleeping master once more, grabbing the blanket to pull it over the bare upper body. Done that, Legolas moved to the root end, and sat down on the soft carpet, but not without blowing the candles out first.

He lay down and moved into a comfortable position, so he could look out of the window to watch the rising moon. Listening to his master's even breath he also fell asleep pretty soon. But his sleep wasn't as peacefully as Aragorn's. Nightmares haunted the Elf, and not very much later he woke up again, with a low cry on his lips, sweating and panting.

Legolas shot up and stared into the darkness, with widened eyes. He lifted his hands to his head and slightly rubbed his face and finally he rested his forehead on his palm, his elbow on his knees and he leaned his back against the board of the bed.

Aragorn stirred in his most peaceful sleep ever since he remembered as he was king as a cry woke him up. He frowned and then blinked his eyes open, to see what it was. Into his droopy vision the picture of Legolas moving to sit with his back to the bed came along with the sound of him trying to catch his breath after what seemed like he had run from Rivendell to Gondor all night.

The man shifted to lie on his side, noting slightly satisfied that his back may feel a little sore from the treatment the previous days, but it didn't hurt anymore. He looked at the back of Legolas' head and cursed himself that he had let himself fall asleep and that the Elf had seen this as an invitation to sleep on the floor. There he probably wasn't able to find the sleep he needed... or wanted, Aragorn corrected himself as he remembered that it was the blond who had been sleeping in his bed all day and night.

He raised his voice, but what he said was not louder than a mere whisper. "Your teeth are chattering so loudly... I can't sleep with this kind of noise..." He shifted a little, to make some space for the Elf on the bed that was large enough for three people and lifted the covers a little.

The Elf's ears twitched when the Human behind him shifted in his bed and he bit his lower lip. He didn't mean to wake him up. And he wouldn't have if it wasn't for his slave to scream in his sleep. Still slightly out of breath he shook his head to clear his mind off the horrible images.

"I'm sorry for... waking you, master... Please pay me no mind... and go back to sleep", he murmured and wrapped his arms around his upper body. Drawing his legs closer to his body he curled up into a tight ball. Coldness was creeping into his body and maybe he could get warmer like this again.

But it didn't help as much as he had hoped it would, and one shiver after the other ran down his spine, leaving him with his teeth clattering from the cold. The slave clenched his jaws trying to suppress the sounds, in cause not to disturb his master any further.

Frowning at the back of the Elf's head, Aragorn shifted back so his head was next to an elegantly pointed ear. His mind still foggy, he paid careful attention though that he didn't touch it with his lips.

"I'm not going to bite," whispered and smiled although he knew that Legolas couldn't see it, if he didn't turn around. He could see that the other's jaws were clenched together so tightly that one could see them working, not showing that they was indeed chattering.

Legolas turned his head, startled because of the sudden proximity to the other man, and looked at him with slightly widened eyes. Still trying to calm down his breath and heartbeat, he blinked a few times and processed the words the Human had spoken. Bite? No, of course he wouldn't bite.

And the Elf's confusion was easy so see on his features as he finally parted his lips to speak.

"... man?" he asked lowly, frowning a little in misunderstanding.

"Just a speech..." Aragorn murmured slightly embarrassed all of a sudden as he hung his head over the edge of the bed. He took a deep breath, rearranging his words so that Legolas might understand what he wanted to say.

"You are freezing, this bed is too big for me alone and you didn't complain last night to lie here," he said sternly. "So if you want me to sleep in the bed, you will have to do so as well."

For a few moments, Legolas just looked at the other man, like he couldn't really believe what he heard. His master really wanted him to sleep in the bed as well? This had to be a joke, or maybe a test or something like that.

The Elf slowly shook his head. "No... I can't..." he whispered and lowered his gaze.

"No backtalk," the man said firmly and put a hand on the other's shoulder. "You are sick and your teeth chatter so loudly that I won't be surprised if the whole castle is here within a moment."

He took his hand from the slender shoulder and shifted a bit more to make some space for the shivering Elf.

Legolas squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, cursing himself, or rather his body for being so loud and disturbing the Human's sleep. He slowly stood up though, having finally managed to calm his body down, and moved around the bed to the right side.

He looked down at his master again, still now sure if he really should do this. But the way the other man held the blanket made very clear, that he expected him to join him in the bed. The Elf bit his lower lip.

Shifting some more Aragorn sat up and waved his hand to offer the space on the bed next to him. He looked up at the Elf, inviting him to sit down and use the space he needed on the bed. He didn't mean to look threatening, he just wanted some peace for both of them, so that they could sleep peacefully.

Legolas reminded himself that this Human had no intention in hurting him and clenched his fists for a second before he relaxed his hands again and crawled onto the bed. He lay down under the blanket and shifted until he was as close to the edge as he could be without falling out.

"I'm sorry for waking you, master," he murmured once again, feeling rather uncomfortable with the present situation.

"No problem..." murmured Aragorn and lay back down. He threw a bit of the blanket over Legolas' body and then retreated to his own corner of the bed. Hugging a pillow he buried his face deeper into the feather-bag and sighed as he closed his eyes. Maybe he was now able to find some undisturbed rest.

The Elf relaxed a little bit when the Human said that he didn't mind, but yet it didn't seem okay for him. It was his duty to make his master feel better after all, not to wake him up. He soon could hear Aragorn's even breathing again and knew he'd fallen asleep.

Carefully the Elf turned around and looked at the sleeping figure for a few moments, before he grabbed the blanket and pulled it over his master, making sure he was completely covered. He still wondered why he insisted on him sleeping in the bed as well. As a slave his place was on the floor, and his teeth didn't clatter that loud actually.

But he was ordered to sleep in the bed, no, actually he had been blackmailed. Legolas furrowed his brows. Why would his master blackmail him if he could simply order him? The Elf decided to solve this matter some other time and lay back down after he stuffed the blanket against his master's back, to make sure he didn't get cold.

Legolas curled up into a tight ball once more, wrapping his arms around his drawn up knees. He stared into the darkness in front of him, not really wanting to fall asleep again, since he was pretty sure those awful nightmares were waiting for him. But whether he wanted to or not, his still weakened body demanded sleep and he soon fell asleep again.

The only occasion Aragorn woke up was when he was sweating so much that he thought he would light up in flames any second. He groaned and kicked the blankets away, turning to the other side. Whoever lay there he wasn't able to process with his sleepy mind, but he knew that when he touched the lithe frame he almost burned his fingers on the cold.

Grunting in frustration he threw the blanket over the other body, but felt how it was thrown back, so he frowned and threw the blanket back over him. After the third time that happened, he sighed and rolled over, effectively wrapping his arm around the ice-block in his bed. That stopped any movement from the other one though, but he could feel the person in his arms warm up so he sighed and his body decided that he should sleep some more.

When he woke up the next time, he found himself hugging somebody close and his first thought was that it was Arwen, that they were talking again and that she had spent the night with him instead of them both being alone in their respective chambers. He smiled and snuggled closer, nuzzling the soft hair in front of him.

When the Human had hugged him all of a sudden, Legolas lay still and didn't dare to move anymore. He felt his master falling asleep again soon, but yet he didn't move away because he was afraid to wake him up again. On the other hand he wasn't able to sleep himself, since he was too tense and stiff.

So the Elf just lay there in his master's arms, feeling the warmth surrounding him, warming him up. He patiently waited for the new day to dawn, and for the other man to wake up and release him. Inwardly he kept wondering why Aragorn hugged him, and he came to the conclusion that he was mistaking him for somebody else.

And when his master finally stirred and woke up, he buried his nose in his hair, convincing Legolas that he was right. The Human most likely thought that he was his wife. The Elf bit his lip. He didn't want to think about how mad his master might be when he found out that it was his slave lying next to him. So he remained still, in case not to disturb the light slumber.

Something was different from hugging Arwen though, the man thought. The glimpse of hair he had seen was blond instead of ebony-colored and then there was the absence of two soft bumps right above where his hands were. He frowned and then blinked his droopy eyes open.

He was greeted by the sight of a mass of blond hair and he needed a moment to process why he saw his own clothes on the one he hugged until he found out that he was hugging Legolas.

And that was what he needed to be wide awake in an instant. His eyes snapped open, he detached his arms from around the Elf's waist and sat up bolt right and stammered a "Nícaer..."

After the hands were gone Legolas slid out of the bed and slowly rose to a stand. He didn't want it to look like a flight, but he needed to stretch his tense muscles badly. Once standing he turned back to Aragorn, flashing a shy smile at him.

"No need to be sorry, master. I'm sorry for I'm not being the one you wished me to be", he suggested softly and then made his way over to the window. The air inside the room had gotten rather stuffy, and Legolas lungs were in desperate need for the fresh morning air.

But he soon realized that the chain wasn't long enough and he couldn't reach the window. The Elf felt the pressure of the chain against his neck and stopped walking when he was about three steps away from the wall in front of him.

"It would be easier if you were the one I wanted to wake up with..." the man murmured as he rubbed his head and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He wondered how long he slept, because he felt relaxed like never before in his life as Elessar Telcontar, not considering the funny feeling he got from waking up with a man in his arms. Not that it was unpleasant... just... different.

Seeing the Woodelf being stopped short by the chain in his approach of the window, the man felt the need to clench his teeth. He knew he should set Legolas free as soon as he could, but there were his servants and then Arwen, who would be royally pissed upset that he didn't appreciate her present so he had to let pass at least a little time... and expand the little trust he had already gained... although that could backfire easily.

The man pulled on his boots and walked over to the slightly smaller man not making any sound and put his hands softly on the other's shoulders. "I'll find a longer chain for you soon..." he murmured and then patted the shoulders once before he strode over to open the shutters.

Legolas had of course heard the man approach, even though any other Human might not be able to notice the low sounds. He could tell that his master was moving a lot different than yesterday. His movements were smooth and even.

"It's fine," he said lowly as Aragorn mentioned the chain. The Elf didn't mean to bother his master anymore than he already had.

Once the window was open, Legolas inhaled the cool air flooding the room deeply. The Woodelf blinked when he heard a sound and made a high chirping sound, while extended his right arm. One moment later, a small bird flew through the window, drew a little circle in the room and then landed on the index finger of the Elf's right hand.

Aragorn's eyes widened at the whistling sound from the Elf, a sound that was as if he wanted to talk to a bird. He was even more surprised when a bird suddenly flew into his chambers and landed on Legolas' finger. Watching in awe he witnessed how Woodelf and Bird held a little conversation of song before the small animal flew off again. He stared at the trail of the little being for a moment, still enchanted by the scene he just witnessed.

During his years as a ranger, he had made friends with animals as well, but he had never had the time to learn the language of them. So he was stunned whenever somebody did, and this was quite seldom.

A warm smile crossed Legolas features as he listened to the little fellow's chirping and he whispered something in return, before it flew off again. He watched the bird flying back to its friends, before he turned back to the other man.

"Are you feeling better this morning, master?" he asked lowly, not wanting to disturb his thoughts, but trying to call the Human back from where his thoughts had been drifting off to.

Adding to his awe over Legolas talking to a bird came the stunning of seeing the Elf smile, which almost managed to take the man's breath away. Silently he added another point to his list of what he wanted to help Legolas to regain... he wanted to see him smile like that again and more often.

Aragorn shook his head as he heard the voice of the Woodelf addressing him silently. He sorted his thoughts for a moment before he answered with a soft smile, "Yes, I do, thank you very much. Your hands are able to achieve miracles."

Legolas smiled slightly at the praise and nodded.

"I'm glad it helped." Then he swallowed and his gaze left his master's face, wandering over the floor for a few moments, before it returned to the other man's face. A shade of something indefinable darkening his eyes.

"Is there something else you want me to help you with, master?" he asked lowly and swallowed tightly again.

Legolas had felt the Human's hard-on against his butt when the other man was still asleep. It wasn't that big, but it was there, and it was his duty as a slave to help his master with whatever was needed.

Aragorn blinked and followed the Elf's look down to his own crotch. His eyes widened in shock and shame and out of sudden reflex his hands wandered to cover the bulge in his leggings. He was so embarrassed that Legolas had to feel his problem that he would have liked to disappear in a hole right now, but something inside of him didn't like that idea.

He almost groaned when his hands came in contact with the hidden flesh in his pants that twitched eagerly as he did so. Feeling his cheeks heat up so that they were able to warm the room although the window was open, he gingerly lifted his hands a bit, making a step towards the bathroom.

"Er... no... Thank you..." he stammered, a very sheepish grin gracing his features.

Legolas nodded slowly as he watched his master retreating towards the bathroom. Inwardly he sighed with relief. It wasn't that he had a problem in touching other men in an intimate manner, or being touched by them, but he was a slave now and that put him into a forced condition, whether it was combined with the use of violence or not.

And this, the fact that he couldn't choose or say no made him rather tense. He believed his master saying that he didn't want to hurt him, yes, but there was still a difference between not being forced to do something and wanting to do something.

Even though he didn't really fear his master anymore, he was still frightened of Humans in general. He only knew them as violent, brutal creatures that didn't care about others' feelings, pain and needs.

The Woodelf slightly shook his head to get rid of the thoughts and turned back to the window to watch the rising sun.

Aragorn retreated to the bathroom and stared at the ground, thinking of thousands of Orcs trying to kiss him or even worse, just to force his erection away. He didn't want to relieve himself, because every moment he thought about doing so, the picture of Legolas looking up to him came to his mind. Those fine features, the ivory skin, the pale strands and the dark eyes of an impossible shade of violet...

He squeezed his eyes shut to get the picture out of his mind and then snapped them open again, as he remembered that there were no more wounds on his face where there had been blood-crusts over his golden brow. This made him forget about his problem a little lower and sigh in relief, remembering the incredible speed with which Elves were able to heal their injuries if they wanted to. He had seen it often enough when he and his brothers were part of the Fellowship of the One Ring.

A few steadying breaths later, Aragorn dared to get out of the bathroom again and saw that breakfast had been prepared some while ago, probably when he was still asleep. He stopped his thought right there, not wanting to have another problem and he was sure he would if he let himself trail off. Sighing he walked out of the bath and towards the table, waving to Legolas to do the same.

The Elf had been standing by the window until his master left the bathroom and walked towards the table. He turned his head slightly, and caught sight of Aragorn motioning him to sit down as well. So Legolas walked over to the table and pulled out the chair he'd been sitting on the other day to take a seat after his master sat down as well.

Aragorn nodded as he saw the Elf sit down and started to eat in silence, pouring some milk into their chalices, like he did the day before. He didn't talk a word since he was still too embarrassed that Legolas had pointed out he needed some help and that he hadn't really been reluctant to let him do it, just his sense of moral stopped him from accepting the unspoken offer. So he rather kept silent than some unnecessary chatter that would have been even more embarrassing.

Having finished his meal, the man stood up and started to dress, getting ready for his daily chores. He nodded to the Elf and left the room, facing another day of paperwork.

'The day started so good...' he thought to himself as he heard the door closing behind him.

To be continued...
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We could write thousands of scenes like this... where they pace around each other and do nothing... but that wouldn't be good story telling... just imagine that Aragorn and Legolas behave like that EVERY time they get together... alone... *sweatdrops* ^^;