c b Chapter 4 /c /b

Legolas had not been aware of all the attention his friend was giving him, nor the care of his wounds. The combination of his head wound, and the fever of infected wounds made his sleep deep and he was not aware of his surroundings.
Only when a soft voice called out to him, he stirred, frowning. He needed time to refocus, to see where he was and who he was with. Silivrinath he realized, as he blinked and opened his eyes. He had his eyes closed? That was even stranger.

"I am awake," he said, as he gazed up at her.

Silivrinath smiled her relief as Legolas opened his eyes and looked up at her. She gently laid her hand on his forehead and tried to hide the frown that came to her face. He was still feverish.

"I am glad to see you wakeful," she told him carefully easing him to a sitting position. "I have made a drink for you--it will probably taste as vile as the food at the camp, but it will strengthen you. We still have a fairly long journey ahead of us."

As she helped Legolas to drink, she asked gently, "I heard you moaning in your sleep Legolas. Do you wish to talk about it?"

She was right, the drink was as vile as the food she had given him in the
slave camp, if not even worse. But he knew it would help and so he drank without commenting, only wincing slightly as he quickly downed the brew. He had seen her frown, though she had tried to hide it. She was worried for him, that much he could tell. And that made him worried as well. He did not know head wounds could be that serious, it seemed so little, Such a small injury.

He glanced at her briefly at the mention of his dream, but did not want to
tell her. What was there to tell? It had not happened, It was only a dream
after all, There was no need to shock her with what he had seen.

"Nay, it is not of importance. How is your wound?"

Silivrinath couldn't help but smile as Legolas forced himself to drink the healing potion she had made. She knew that it tasted horrible, given the herbs she had to use but she had none of the sweet herbs she
normally used to hide the taste.

She offered him a cup of water from the stream saying, "This will help with the foul taste." and smiled again as her friend eagerly drank.
She suppressed a sigh as Legolas avoided speaking of his dream. She had expected no less and she would respect his wishes.

"I will not press you about it then," she told him, "But I ask that if you have the same dream again that you tell me. It could have a meaning other than being a product of your injury. And, as far as my wound is concerned, it seems to be healing well--try not to worry." She eased Legolas down on the bed of ferns that she had made. "Try to rest a while. We must leave this place soon."

Legolas was indeed grateful of the offered water, that cleansed away most of the taste the brew had left. He sighed now when she urged him to tell her about his dreams should he have the same one again. What good would it do? He dreamt of the past, and an altered one as well, what would they learn from that? Though he would of course humor her and comply, as they both knew very well.
He lay back down on the soft makeshift bed, as he knew she was right, they needed to be on the move soon, Rivendell was still a day or so of travel. And they would be safe there, and not here in the woods. He soon drifted off to sleep, his body being to tired to object.

"Thank you," he said quietly, before his eyes drifted shut, a result of the
injury

Silivrinath smiled broadly as Legolas eagerly drank the water she had offered. It was a good sign. If the head injury were as serious as she feared, he would be able to keep nothing in his stomach--or so she had been told--and he was able to keep down both the potion and the water. In spite of her fears, she was encouraged.
Silivrinath read Legolas's expression as she asked him about his dream and realized that something about it disturbed him deeply and it was something that he had no wish to speak of. She hoped he would tell her if he had the dream again. There was a slight chance that it foretold something--what she did not know.

As Legolas drifted back into an exhausted sleep and thanked her, Silivrinath bit her lip, then replied softly, "You are very welcome mellon. All will be well, You will see."

Silivrinath huddled beside Legolas and waited out the night. She feared the forest as she never had in the past--feared that some of the men had survived and were hunting them, feared marauding Orcs. She could not sleep and sat beside Legolas, waiting for morning's light.

Legolas awoke before the first light as nausea threatened to overwhelm him. He blindly sat up, ignoring his swimming head as he stumbled to some overgrowth and emptied his stomach of what little he had to give, since it was water and the meal Silivrinath had given him at camp. This was not good he realized, his vision slightly blurred, and he did not understand it. Normally an injury would be better after a night full of
healing sleep. But alas, it was not meant to be.
He stifled a groan as he sat back, knowing Sili was somewhere around here, and he did not want to worry her even more. No doubt she was already worried enough.

Silivrinath had gone in the gray predawn light to gather some herbs and perhaps find some berries or roots to sustain them. She was returning when she heard a rustle in the bushes She froze, listening intently.
What she heard caused tears to well in her eyes, though she did not permit them to fall. Legolas had lost the small amount of food he'd eaten. This was definitely not good. Silivrinath knew, however, that she could not let Legolas know that she had heard him--she knew he worried for her as she worried for him and he needed to concentrate on fighting the effects of this
injury.

"May all Orcs be sent to the place that they most fear!" Silivrinath thought in a sudden flash of rage. And the cruel men who had imprisoned them were also given a similar wish. Carefully composing her features, Silivrinath returned to the clearing. Seeing Legolas sitting on the makeshift bed, she feigned surprise and said, "Why are you wakeful, Legolas? You should be sleeping. I hope I did not disturb you."

Since she got no immediate reply, Silivrinath continued, "I went out searching for herbs and I found some berries and some other things we can eat that will be much better than that horrid food we had in the camp. Are you hungry?" She asked hopefully.

He smiled at her, relieved she had not found out he had turned for the worse, knowing it would only worry her more. This was not stubbornness, or trying to ignore his injury, this was protection, to protect his friend from more grief, and she had already been through enough of that. He looked at the berries in her hand, his stomach immediately protesting but he ignored it completely.

"Aye, I can eat."

It was of course a lie, but he would rather eat and empty it later than say no and make her even more worried. Sometimes it was a pure bliss to care for another the way he cared for Silivrinath. After all, he had grown up with her, but now it was an annoyance, for she knew him too well. He could only hope he would lie well enough for her to not see through it.

Silivrinath smiled as she brought the berries to Legolas. She knew full well that his stomach was probably protesting this new outrage, but she also knew Legolas well enough to know that she must not let him know that she had heard him in the bushes earlier

Legolas took some of the berries, eating slowly. Silivrinath ate some as well, wrapping the rest in some leaves. She called the horse, who came promptly. She stroked his neck and checked him carefully, giving herself time to compose her features--she knew that Legolas knew her well and she didn't know how long she could pretend with him.

Turning to her friend, Silivrinath said, "Come Legolas. We must leave this place. We haven't much further to go."

Legolas nodded and arose slowly, swaying on his legs as he did so. But he swatted away the help Sili wanted to offer him, he did not want to be treated like a mere babe. He was, after all, an Elven warrior, and as long as he was awake, he would see to himself.
When his friend was not watching, he dropped the berries he had managed to keep hidden, knowing she would only worry. He did not want to deceive her, but they needed to reach Rivendell safely, without worrying over each other.

Silivrinath watched worriedly as Legolas rose unsteadily but in an odd way was reassured by his somewhat petulant refusal of her help. She stayed as close as she could to him, just in case. She hoped the berries wouldn't make him nauseous. He needed strength to continue this journey. After making sure that Legolas was safely mounted, Silivrinath mounted behind him and urged the horse away, telling her friend, "I cannot explain it, but I feel we must leave here quickly." She sighed as she thought, "Soon we will be in Imladris and all will be well."

Normally Legolas would have felt it as well if there was something amiss, but somehow his head was too clouded to even notice his surroundings well. So if Sili felt that there could be danger here, he did not even hesitate, but trusted her completely

"Then let us be on our way."

At first he made sure he was not leaning against her, knowing she was injured, but as they traveled, and the day moved on, he felt himself sag
backwards tiredly, soothed by the rocking motions the horse made

"I am sorry I am such a burden to you," "he finally said, something that had been bothering since he had been injured.

Silivrinath smiled gently at Legolas as he sagged against her. His worry about burdening her touched her heart and she told him, "You are not a burden, Legolas. Seeing you again--even under these horrid circumstances--is a blessing. I don't think my courage would have lasted much longer in that camp if you hadn't come."

As Legolas drifted toward sleep, Silivrinath brushed a lock of blond hair from his eyes and in so doing felt his forehead. He was still feverish, but it appeared to the elf-woman that the fever was somewhat less. She held on to that fragile hope as she urged the horse to a slightly greater speed, her sense of unease growing.