Chapter Seven
"He's not getting better" Elladan almost yelled as he struggled from Elrond's grasp. He knew his Adar just wanted to comfort him, but he did not want it at the moment. He just wanted his brother back.
Days had passed since their arrival back into Imladris and Elrohir's condition had not changed. He had shown little improvement and had not yet awoken. Elladan could not stand it, seeing his brother so still and helpless. Over the previous days he had watched as his father and the other healers carefully coaxed Elrohir to swallow food and medicine, bath him and even reposition him every few hours to help prevent bed sores from occurring. He hated it, seeing his brother like this.
"Elladan, it has only been a few days. It may take some time, but we must not lose hope that Elrohir will recover" he heard his Adar say. He knew that Elrond was just as worried about Elrohir as he was, but the elf lord seemed so calm and assure that it just made Elladan fear and frustration at everything even worst.
"Please, ion nin, you must rest" his father pleaded as he once again tried to grab hold of Elladan's arm. However Elladan swiftly moved away from him, not wanting comfort.
"I do not want to sleep" he said, even though he knew that he was tried. He was exhausted but his mind just would not stop.
"Then at least go out into the garden, get away from here, just for a little while. You have been in this one room for days" replied Elrond, trying to herd Elladan towards the door. However the Elladan slipped passed him again and sat down upon Elrohir's bed.
"No I do not want to leave him" said Elladan defiantly as he looked up at his Adar. He knew that he sounded like a disobeying child but he could not help it. He was tried, frustrated, angry and above all frighten. He did not want to feel this way but he knew that talking to his brother would be the only thing that would help him. He wished that Elrohir would wake up and everything would be as it was before.
Elrond looked down at his two sons, one in a dreamless sleep, the other weary and frighten. It frustrated him that he was unable to help his eldest son. He had tried for days to get Elladan to speak to him of what had happened, of his worries, of anything that would help him to recover. But Elladan refused to speak, only speaking one word answers when questioned and never saying anything of how he was feeling or any of his worries. He would only speak to his sleeping twin and refused to leave his brothers' side.
"Elladan" he began, hoping to try one more time to convince his son to seek rest. However he stopped abruptly when his attention was suddenly drawn to movement on the bed where Elrohir lay. Elladan who had been looking up at him, ready to begin the argument again, quickly turned to see what had captured his father's attention.
Lying on the white linen of the bed, Elrohir's hand twitched ever so slightly. As the two elves watched in ever growing hope, more movement became noticeable. Pale fingers curled and uncurled clutching at the sheets and beneath the blanket a foot move. Elrohir's head twisted slightly to the side, away from where his brother sat next to him.
"Ro" Elladan called out to his twin, quickly taking up the twitching hand and squeezing it, hoping to get a response in return. Elrond rushed to the other side of the bed and knelt down by Elrohir's head, reaching out to stoke his youngest son's brow. He was glad that previous day he had been able to remove the bandage had had lain across Elrohir's eyes. He did not want Elrohir to wake to darkness.
"Elrohir, open your eyes" he spoke softly, letting his healing powers flow into his son. His ears picked up a small moan from his ill son as Elrohir's head turned once more and his eyes begin to flicker open. "Yes Elrohir, you must wake. You have been asleep for a long time". Hope rose in his heart as Elrohir's eyes finally fully opened. The whites of his eyes were still tinted a pale yellow with a hint of red flecks as blood was still slowly dispersing and they were not fully clear.
"No" he heard Elladan almost sob. His heart seized as he heard the despair that laced his son's voice. Slowly raising himself up so that he could sit on the bed beside his sons, Elrond peered down into his youngest son's eyes, and saw nothing. Elrohir's eyes were empty of everything that made Elrohir who he was. He focused on the deep bond shared with his sons, but only felt the presence of Elladan beside him, Elrohir's essence was not as it usually was. It was diminished and changed. The hope that had been slowly growing within his heart vanished abruptly as he realised that their deepest fear had come to pass. The seizures had caused damaged in Elrohir's mind. He was not who he once was.
"Ion nin" he said softly, hoping that what he saw and felt was a mistake, but Elrohir did not respond to his voice, his eyes moved but they did not focus on him, instead they followed the flicker of sunlight that streamed in through the open window.
Elrond's attention suddenly diverted to his other son, as Elladan abruptly stood up. His eldest son's face was pale and his eyes filled with frighten aguish. He slowly began to back away from his twin. Elrond called out to him, but Elladan quickly turned and fled from the room. Elrond was torn between his two sons; he wished to go after Elladan but knew that he also could not leave Elrohir. Hoping that Elladan would find help from Glorfindel or Erestor, he turned back to his youngest son, trying to rekindle the hope that had died within his heart. He could not give up on Elrohir yet, there must be something he could do to help, something that would bring his son back to them.
Elladan fled down the corridors of Imladris, not noting the calls and cries of those around him as they moved quickly out of his way. He could hardly see as tears ran from his eyes. He did not know which way he was going, he just knew that he had to get away. He did not want to think of his brother and his empty eyes. He slowed as he came to the stairs leading out into the courtyard where they had arrived into Imladris. He could not believe that only two days before everything had be fine, that his brother had been well, so much had changed since then.
As he descended the stair, wiping away his tears, Elladan heard the sound of hoofs upon stone, looking up he saw a party of elves cross the bridge and enter the courtyard. Each elf was cloaked in forest green and carried a bow, a quiver slung from their backs. They were not elves of Imladris, these were elves of Mirkwood.
At the head of the party rode an elf whose pale hair shimmed in the morning sunlight. He was the youngest elf within the small group, and his summer blonde locks made him stand out among the darker heads of the other elves that surrounded him. As he dismounted, the blonde elf looked up towards were Elladan stood motionless upon the lowest step of the staircase. The Imladris elf could see that the other elf was weary from his journey, but as the youngest son of Thranduil, smiled merrily in greeting, he knew that it had been a safe one, unlike that of him and his brother. Trying to push the thoughts of his brother to the side, Elladan moved to greet Legolas, his friend of many ages and one he had not seem for many seasons.
"Elladan, it is good to see you again, mellon nin" called the Mirkwood prince happily, as a stable hand saw to his weary horse. "I did not think we would make it here before the mid-summer festival. A landslip delayed our journey and we had to travel much harder than we expected to get here on time" he explained as the two elves met. "Where is Elrohir?" he continued, looking around expecting to see the other twin close by. Later Legolas would wonder how he had missed the distress that had shown on his friend's face at his question. He blamed his weariness, for it had been a long hard journey from Mirkwood to lmladris as they had needed to clear a path through the landslide at one point in order to continue their journey.
"He was bitten by a Dragon snake" Elladan blurted out, sounding strange as if he could not believe his own words.
Dragon snake were more common in Mirkwood than they were here to the west of the Misty Mountains so Legolas had often cared for elves that had fallen victim to their bite. In fact it was almost a rite of passage for a young warrior to be bitten during their training. Legolas, himself, had not yet fallen prey to a Dragon snake, but those that did was often ribbed for a while their peers on their clumsiness at having been bitten. It was all done good heartily and once the elf had recovered it was taken as just another event in the life of a Mirkwood warrior.
Therefore when Legolas heard the news that Elrohir had been bitten, he automatically replied with the common question that all Mirkwood warriors would say.
"Did he have a good nap?" he smirked, thinking of the other times he had seen elves recovering from their deep sleeps. Most had moaned and groaned about the aches that had plagued them in the hours after waking up.
He therefore was not expecting it when Elladan suddenly lashed out at him; knuckles collided with his jaw and sent him falling hard upon the ground. So shocked at he, with the sudden turn of events, he did not defend himself as he felt Elladan continue his punches, hitting him on both the head and body. Around him he could hear the cries of his fellow elves, but his eyes only took in the tears that streaked down Elladan's enraged face.
A sudden voice rang out over the courtyard and looking up Legolas saw a hand grab Elladan's shoulder and pull him away.
"Elladan" the voice shouted again.
As Legolas slowly sat up, he saw Glorfindel shaking Elladan roughly. The golden warrior's face was filled more with worry than anger, as he tried to get through to the struggling elf. "What were you thinking? You must deal with your anger, not take it out on others".
"Let me go" cried Elladan, as he continued to struggle against the hand that held him. His eyes were now filled with fear and guilt, rather than the anger from only seconds before.
Legolas watched as Glorfindel quietly considered the elf he held captured in his gasp. After a moment, the warrior suddenly released his grip causing Elladan to stumble slightly in surprise. As Elladan recovered and turned to escape into the forest, Glorfindel said one last thing "Elrohir needs your support, Elladan. You cannot hide from what has happened. You must face your fears just like you would for any other battle". The retreating elf did not show any sign of having heard the statement and continued on his way, not looking back.
"Glorfindel" Legolas started to say, unable to comprehend anything of what just happened. Hithon, his protector and mentor, however interrupted "Are you alright, my lord?" he questioned worriedly as he helped him to stand. Legolas wobbled unsteady for a moment, before he regained his balance. Reaching up he touched his lip slightly and hissed as it stung. Moving his hand away he saw that there was blood on his fingers.
"I am fine, Hithon" he said briefly as he turned his attention back to Glorfindel. "What has happened?" he asked the warrior knowing that something must be wrong for Elladan to react like that. "Has something happened to Elrohir?"
"Elrohir was bitten by a Dragon snake" Glorfindel answered softly, his gazed fixed on the elf before him, searching him for other injuries.
"But Dragon snakes are harmless to elves" exclaimed Legolas in confusion, not understanding why everyone was so upset.
"You forget, young one, Elrohir, Elladan, their sister and father are not elves, they are Peredhil" replied Glorfindel, his eyes filling with sadness. "Elrohir reacted as a man would… He almost died".
For a moment Legolas was stunned into silence. He could not believe that something as simple as a Dragon snake could have nearly caused the death of his friend. Glancing at Glorfindel, he knew that there was more to the story than just what the warrior had told. Elrohir was alive, but something else had happened. Something that had caused the whole of Imladris to fall into despair. His first words to Elladan came rushing back to him, and guilt flooded through him. He spun around to rush after Elladan he needed to apologise, but Glorfindel caught his arm before he could do so.
"I have to apologise to Elladan" he imparted to Glorfindel. "I spoke words that I should not have done and have hurt him".
"You did not know, Legolas" replied Glorfindel. "It is not your fault. Elladan should not have taken his anger and frustration out on you. Let him be for now. You can apologise for your words later, once you understand what has happened and he has calmed down".
Sensing that he would not win the argument, Legolas nodded sadly. "May I see Elrohir?" he asked as the golden warrior released his arm.
"Elrond is with him at the moment. I will take you to see both of them as Elrond will want to see to the injuries his son has given you"
"It is not Elladan's fault" Legolas replied quickly. "It was my words that caused it".
"It does not matter those fault it was, but either way Elrond would want to see to them. Come" he as he began to walk towards the staircase leading away from the courtyard.
Looking back at the rest of the elves within his party, all who looked shocked at what had just occurred, Legolas gave orders for them to see to their horses and settle in. "I will return later and inform you what has happened" he told Hithon, "We might be staying here longer than we had expected".
"Do not worry, Legolas" replied Hithon. "Your father will understand your delay in returning".
Giving his protector and mentor a small smile, Legolas followed Glorfindel into the houses of Imladris, wondering how it was possible that in the few minutes of arriving, his joy at seeing his friends had descended into guilt and fear for them.