Aragorn: 17 years old

Aragorn woke up the next morning to feeling completely sick and drained of life. His head hurt, along with his stomach, he could tell he was on the threat level of a fever, and he was coughing crazily. He groaned as he sat up from his resting spot. He had used his brown shirt as a pillow and his chainmail as a hard blanket that acually kept him somewhat warm.

Making his way to the bars of the cell, he noticed that there were no Elves in sight.

"Legolas!" Aragorn shouted as loud as he could, although his throat was dry and sounded crackly.

Nothing happened as he waited a moment and then a moment longer. He called out again,

"Legolas! Please come here! Legolas!"

Nothing happened again except for an Elf popping up out of nowhere making Aragorn jump back. The Elf kicked Aragorn's bars of the cell and said,

"Be quiet," as he walked by.

"Legolas!" Aragorn shouted again.

"What did I just say?" the Elf turned around and looked down to Aragorn.

"Can you please go get, Legolas sir?" Aragorn asked, "Please, I need him this instant,"

"He won't want to talk to you. Now be silent and don't speak at all," the Elf said rudely.

Aragorn frowned and continued the argument,

"Please, I need Legolas. I am sick and need to talk to the king, please," Aragorn pleaded.

The Elf grabbed Aragorn by the shirt and pulled him against the bars roughly making Aragorn yelp. He got close to his face and said,

"If you talk again, I will..."

"Let him go, Mellonin," it was Legolas' voice, Aragorn recognized.

The Elf pushed Aragorn back hard and he fell and started coughing again uncontrollably.

"Sorry, sir," the Elf said and bowed to Legolas, "I believe the prisoner wishes to speak with you,"

"Thank you, you may leave," Legolas said and stood in front of Aragorn.

The Elf bowed again and left the dungeon area.

"What do you want?" Legolas asked.

"Please, I must speak to Thranduil. I am sick and I need to get to Elrond, please," Aragorn begged as he stood up shakily, "He is the only one who knows how to take care of a human. He is my father,"

Legolas almost laughed,

"He isn't your father," he snickered, "As I said before, you are a..."

"Human I know," Aragorn said the word in the way that Legolas always said it in, "Please, I need Elrond. I need my family. I can't stay here," Aragorn explained and coughed again.

Know that Legolas looked at Aragorn better he could tell something was wrong with him. His face was flushed and his eyes were becoming red around the whites.

"Please," Aragorn whispered again, "You have to trust me. I know Elves don't get sick so I know you don't understand. I need Elrond,"

Legolas only looked at Aragorn a little longer before saying,

"Alright, but no tricks,"

"Yes, thank you, thank you. Please, may I talk to Thranduil?"

Legolas unlocked Aragorn's door and took him by the arm again, but gently this time. He nodded and said,

"Just don't lie to him. He doesn't like it,"

"I don't lie, ever,"

-----

"Why is he here?" Thranduil asked rudely to his son as he brought Aragorn close.

Legolas let Aragorn go and he moved to stand in front of the king.

"He claims he needs Lord Elrond," Legolas explained to his father.

"And why? You have no business with him," Thranduil said.

"Please I need him," Aragorn said, "I am sick and he is the only Elf that has what I need to get better,"

Thranduil narrowed his eyes at Aragorn just as Legolas had the other night. He said,

"For the hundredth time, human, Lord Elrond does not want you. He doesn't even know who you are I am sure of it," Thranduil said.

"He is my father!" Aragorn said loudly, which made him cough again.

Legolas saw the pleading look in Aragorn's eyes and how it looked as if the boy was about to cry. He looked so young. He felt awfully bad for taking him in the woods when he probably just should have left him. Then a new thought occurred to him. There had been that Elf in the woods that was Aragorn's friend.

"Father?" Legolas said.

"What?"

"I forgot to mention this before, but there was another Elf in the woods. He was familiar to this human. I left him in the woods half alive,"

"Hmmm... more spies I believe," was what the Elf king said smoothly, "Should have killed him,"

Aragorn looked down to try and hold the tears from showing on his face. It took all courage to stand still and not run. Legolas wasn't holding him anymore, in which he could run, but he wasn't sure he could get away.

"I have a deal for you," Thranduil said loudly.

Aragorn and Legolas both looked up to the king. He continued,

"If Lord Elrond appears on my door step and asks about a lost child, then we will see if I can let you go. But, if he does not come, you are a liar and a spy of Sauron,"

Everybody was silent. Aragorn coughed again and wiped his nose.

"You are an Elf," Aragorn began, "I know Galadriel and Elrond talk to one another by their minds. Can you please talk to Elrond? I don't know how that all works, but..."

Thranduil smiled and his ears twitched as he interrupted Aragorn,

"You are quite a good spy to know all that information,"

"Father..." Legolas said seeing Aragorn's disappointed face once more.

Aragorn bowed and turned away as his eyes started watering once more. The Elves from behind him started arguing and neither one of them had seen him leave yet. He turned a corner and sat down at the edge of one of the bridge paths. Looking down, he saw beautiful water rushing below.

Picking up a rock that he saw next to him, he dropped it off the bridge and watched it fall. He never saw it land in the water due to how far the drop was. Aragorn turned away from the bridge and back to where he had come from. He could still hear the Elves bickering back and forth at one another.

Taking a deep breath, Aragorn cleared his mind and thought about Elrond and his brothers. He thought back to the day Arwen had showed him the beautiful moon a couple nights before the Trials.

Arwen. The Trials.

That's what had got him into this mess, but he thought it was his own fault for leaving Rivendell even when Elrond had told him not to. Maybe he wouldn't even come after him since he had disobeyed him. Maybe he would spend the rest of his life in the horrible Woodland Realm. All the many thoughts where rushing through his mind as Legolas appeared from behind him.

"You didn't run?" the Elf said confused.

Aragorn stood up and shook his head.

"Are you okay?" Legolas asked as he reached out for Aragorn's arm again.

Aragorn backed up not wanting to be pulled along. His stomach suddenly felt horrible and his head started spinning again. He was looking at the Elf in front of him, but saw two instead of one of him. The fever was setting in.

"I have a fever," Aragorn said queasily.

"What's that?"

Aragorn stayed quiet trying to fight the urge to be sick. He stayed very still and looked to the ground staring. Not feeling a thing, the Elf had grabbed his wrist and started pulling him along. This time it was a lot gentler. Back to the dungeon cell it was and Aragorn sat down fast and lay his head on the stone wall.

"Do you need something?" Legolas asked looking concerned at Aragorn.

Aragorn didn't response as he stayed still looking at the wall in front of him.

"I will go get you water," and Legolas was off again.

Feeling terrible, Aragorn lay on his side, his back to the cell door, and closed his eyes. Soon he was asleep hoping that when he woke up, he would be in his own bed in Rivendell.