Glorfindel swept Elrond up in his arms and carried his friend to Elladan's bed, laying him down as gently as he could. Elrond moaned and curled up on his stomach as tightly as he could, drawing his knees up almost to his chin. He trembled with both pain and chills.
"Ada what's happened to him", Legolas exclaimed.
"He is sick as well, ion nin", Thranduil said. "Most likely with the same thing that Elrohir has."
Legolas stared in shock at the elder elf who lay upon the bed, feeling concern and anger rising within him simultaneously. Why would someone be doing this?
"Thranduil, go get Elre", Glorfindel ordered. "I shall try to get him to speak to me."
The king nodded and immediately raced to find his master healer.
"Elrond", Glorfindel called. "Elrond, please look at me."
Elrond whimpered in pain and managed to pry his open slightly and look at Glorfindel.
"I…I have it too, d…don't I", he gasped.
"Yes, my friend, you do", Glorfindel said sadly. "I need to know what you have consumed. Did you have anything that might seem suspicious now that you look back on it?"
Elrond closed his eyes and thought about everything he had had recently, which wasn't much.
"The tea", he said finally.
"What tea", Glorfindel asked.
"A…An apprentice healer b…brought me a tea", Elrond explained. "S…Said it was from Elre t…to keep my strength up."
"I ordered no such thing", Elre declared, having arrived with Thranduil just in time to hear the information. "Forgive me, my lord, but I was not of the mind to encourage you to continue pushing your mind and body to such extremes. If I had sent you a tea it would have had a sleeping herb in it."
"Someone has now impersonated one of my servants and one of my apprentices just to poison my friends", Thranduil growled angrily. "How is one person escaping the watch of my staff and guards?!"
"N…No", Elrond said. "N…Not the same one who harmed m…my son. I would have recognized him."
"Then what did this apprentice look like", Elre asked.
Elrond described him as best he could remember but it seemed enough for Elre. The healer stormed from the room and returned minutes later dragging a very terrified apprentice behind him.
"Was this the one, my lord", Elre asked.
Elrond squinted up at the healer's face for a long moment before letting his head fall back onto the pillow. He nodded.
"Explain yourself, NOW", Elre demanded.
"I…I only knew what the senior healer instructed me to do", the apprentice stammered. "He gave me a cup of tea to deliver to Lord Elrond saying he had made it in line with your orders and he gave me the exact message I passed onto Lord Elrond."
"What did this senior healer look like", Elre asked. "What was his name?"
The apprentice's description of the healer matched exactly with the one Elrohir and the librarian had given of the servant who had brought him the poisoned milk.
"I do not know his name", the apprentice finished. "I have only been an apprentice for two days now."
"Turn and look at me", Thranduil ordered, sternly.
The apprentice lifted his eyes up to Thranduil's, visibly shaking at his king's fierce gaze. Finally, Thranduil's eyes softened and he nodded.
"I believe this healer to be telling the truth", he told Elre. "He did not bring harm to Elrond on purpose. He was merely following orders and intended to only help."
"Very well, you are dismissed", Elre told the apprentice.
The young healer looked relieved beyond measure and started to leave but stopped and turned to Elrond.
"I am so sorry for my part in causing you this pain, my lord", he said. "I only ever wanted to help others, not hurt them."
Elrond cracked his eyes open again and managed a small smile for the healer.
"It was…not your fault", he said. "Thank you…for the information you provided."
The healer nodded, bowed, and left the room. Elrond groaned and gripped his stomach tighter as another wave of pain washed over him. His insides suddenly rolled violently and he gagged, feeling the bile rise quickly up his throat. Glorfindel grabbed the basin off the table and held it before Elrond's face as the sick elf began retching violently again. Elre rushed to the fire and threw in some athelas before setting some herbs on to boil. Elrond finally stopped vomiting and took many deep breaths of the athelas infused air, feeling the calming herb fill his body and soothe him a bit. He laid still while Glorfindel and Thranduil removed his heavy outer robes, belt, and boots, then bent his legs under the covers and tucked the blankets around him. Thranduil grabbed an unused cloth and soaked it in the bowl of icy water that sat by the close beds, wringing out the excess. He gently pressed it to Elrond's cheeks, neck, and forehead, trying to bring his friend's temperature down. Elrond moaned at the cold. He already felt like he was freezing.
"I'm sorry, mellon nin", Thranduil murmured, continuing his ministrations. "I know you feel cold, but your temperature is too high."
Elrond nodded that he understood. He opened his eyes and looked across at his sleeping sons, feeling pangs of sadness fill him that Elrohir had already endured this pain for nearly five days now. He suddenly remembered what he had been doing before coming to tend to Elrohir during his attack and Elrond tried to fight himself into a sitting position.
"Elrond what do you think you are doing", Glorfindel exclaimed, grabbing his friend's shoulders and pressing him back. "You are very ill and need to rest."
"No, n…no", I cannot", Elrond gasped, still trying to get out of bed. "I have to g…go back! I…I have to find a c…cure for my son!"
"Nay, my lord", Elre said sternly. "Forgive me, but what you have to do is lie back and rest. I promise you that I and my healers will search every corner for anything that will help you and Lord Elrohir. If a cure can be found, I will find it, hir nin, I promise. Now please drink this and then go to sleep."
Elrond looked like he wanted to protest, to continue fighting Glorfindel, but the spark in his eyes finally died and the elf lord slowly drank the medicine Elre brought him. When he finished, he allowed Glorfindel to press him back against the soft pillows. He was just so tired! It was like every ounce of possible strength had been sucked from his ailing body. Before he knew it, his eyes had closed and he had fallen fast asleep.
"What are we to do, Thranduil", Glorfindel sighed, sitting on the bed and taking Elrond's hand in his own. "Who could be doing this and why?"
"I do not know, mellon nin", the king said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I was not aware we had made any enemies else I would not have invited you until the threat was taken care of. This is all my fault."
"It most certainly is not", Glorfindel said firmly. "There was no possible way you could have known this would happen. Those in power always have enemies somewhere. But I am concerned for you and your son. Someone is watching us and knows exactly when to strike. They knew when Elrohir was alone. They knew when Elrond was weary and had his guard down. They even knew which apprentice was new and most unfamiliar with the situation. I fear they will also know the second one of you has a similar lapse and they will target you next."
Thranduil turned and locked his gaze on his son who still sat by his friends' bedside as the twins slept. No, he could not let this assassin harm his son. It was bad enough that he had to watch his friends suffer through the effects of this vile poison. He would not be able to bear seeing his child lying in a bed with the poison eating him apart as well.
"I shall hold a council meeting at once and see if a plan can be constructed", Thranduil decided, standing. "My advisors argue and bicker often, but they are loyal and trustworthy and they especially love Legolas with all their hearts. If something can be done to protect him, they will figure out a way to see it done. I know you will want to be with your friend, Glorfindel, but if you wish to attend the meeting as well, your input will be most welcome."
"More than anything, I just want to help my friends", Glorfindel said, rubbing Elrond's hands gently between his. "I think I can best do that by having as much information as possible. I will gladly accept your offer, mellon nin, and I thank you."
"Of course", Thranduil said. "Stay with Elrond for now. I will send for you when we are ready to begin."
Glorfindel nodded his thanks and turned back to Elrond's still form. I was so unnerving to see his friend's eyes closed in sleep. He heard the healers bustling in and out of the room but paid them no heed, staying focused on his friend's face only. Elre was across the room mixing herbs and Legolas was sitting on the twins bedside and stroking Elladan's long hair.
Everyone was laser focused on their tasks, so much so that they failed to see the new healer stride purposefully into the room like he completely belonged there. They didn't see him set down a fresh stack of cloths on the nightstand. They didn't see him discreetly pull a small vial from his sleeve and hesitantly pour half of the black liquid it contained into the water glass Legoals had been drinking from. They didn't see the black turn clear the moment it touched the water and disappear into the existing liquid, becoming completely undetectable. They didn't see the newcomer leave the room and disappear into the trees from a nearby balcony only to turn back and sit in the shadows, watching with a stony expression as Legolas picked up his water and took a long drink.
And they didn't see him flee from the tree a moment later, shaking like leaf in a fall breeze with tears streaming down his face.
Elvish Terms:
Mellon Nin – My Friend
Hir Nin – My Lord
Ion Nin – My Son
Ada – Dad
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