Chapter 14

Faelwen made her way silently down the corridor which led to the healing ward. It was nearly dusk and she was praying for Thranduil to be awake. It had taken her hours to convince herself to go and talk to Thranduil. She closed her eyes and sighed to herself as she opened the door to the healing ward.

She nodded at Iauron who passed by her swiftly, obviously in a hurry. Faelwen kept walking until she reached Thranduil's bed and was slightly disappointed to find him still asleep. She shook her head in dismay and decided to check upon Legolas instead. As she drew nearer to where Legolas was resting, she could hear voices whispering or talking softly. When she walked around the corner, she saw all of Legolas' friends sitting around his bed while Calanon and Hirion were whispering something to each other in the far corner of the room. She, then, turned her head toward Legolas and was suddenly taken aback to find him awake with Ionwë bending over him.

"Legolas! You're awake!" she exclaimed happily. All eyes turned to her direction and heads bowed instantly in respect. She nodded politely and walked to Legolas' bed. The prince smiled weakly at Faelwen as she came to stand beside his bed. The advisor had never seen Legolas this pale before.

"You're awake." She repeated softly this time.

"Aye… I… think…" Legolas said in a mere whisper.

"Did you find the antidote?" She asked Ionwë who was standing beside her. The healer shook his head. "Unfortunately… No. but I managed to delay the effects of the poison for a while." Faelwen smiled at him thankfully and turned back to Legolas.

"How do you feel, Legolas?" she asked and put her hand on his forehead. He was burning with fever.

"H-hurts… burns…" he croaked as he pressed his eyes closed.

"You will be fine, Legolas." Said Maerwen and sat on the other side of the bed. She took Legolas' hot hand in her own and caressed it kindly. She didn't know what to say. Finding speaking extremely tiring, Legolas just smiled at her and took in a shuddering breath. Maerwen turned her teary eyes toward Amonost who was standing silently in the corner of the room. Amonost shook his head at her in dismay.

"Here, Legolas. You need to eat." Said Sadron as he walked toward the bed with a bowl of hot light soup in his hand. Maerwen moved out of the way hastily and gave her place to Sadron.

"No…" Legolas moaned and turned his head away. The last thing he needed at that moment was to eat something.

"Please Legolas! You have to eat something." Sadron insisted.

Arandur sighed and bent over Legolas. "Mellon nin, you need your strength to fight the poison. Please… just a little bit."

Legolas shook his head again. He couldn't think properly at that moment. All he knew was he was feeling nauseous. Even thinking of food made him feel sick.

"Legolas… you can't make it if you don't eat." Said Silima desperately, her blue eyes already full of tears waiting to be shed.

"You are strong Legolas. I'm sure you can do this." Said Raina in the happiest voice she could manage. Amonost sighed and walked toward Sadron and took the bowl from him. He sat on the edge of the bed.

"Legolas, you eat it now or I'll force it down your throat." He said and held a spoon full of soup to Legolas' lips. Everyone fell silent and looked at Amonost in shock. To everyone's surprise Legolas opened his mouth and obediently swallowed the spoon's content.

"Good job." Tauriel whispered.

Legolas didn't know why but something in Amonost's voice made him obey. Faelwen smiled and watched in amazement as Legolas managed to eat half of the bowl of soup. Amonost nodded in approval and put the bowl on the bedside table.

"Everything will be fine Legolas, you will be fine. I promise you." He whispered in Legolas' ear. Legolas nodded slightly in return and closed his eyes.

"Is he asleep?" Asked Meldiron in an alarmed tone.

"Yes, there's no need to worry." Said Ionwë as he pulled up the blanket to cover Legolas' body.

"By the way, Lady Faelwen…" he said as he straightened his back and turned to Faelwen.

"What was with all the shouting and chaos earlier this afternoon?"

Faelwen paled at the mention of the earlier events. She'd completely forgotten about Ionwë.

"What is he talking about?" Calanon exclaimed as he turned his searching eyes to Faelwen.

"It was nothing of importance." Hirion came to Faelwen's aid. Ionwë raised an eyebrow at that.

"Is that why you were trying to kill captain Glandur?" he said in a mocking tone and walked back to his desk.

"You were trying to kill Glandur?!" Calanon's jaw dropped open.

"I was not trying to kill him! It was just a simple misunderstanding." Hirion reasoned.

"Right." Said Calanon in an unconvinced tone. "If you don't want to tell me then don't. But do not lie to me." He said before turning around and walking away with a frown.

"Great." Hirion grumbled and sat down on a nearby chair.

"Aren't you going to tell us?" Asked Tauriel cautiously.

"Tell you what?" Hirion snapped.

Tauriel took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. She knew how difficult it would be to handle an angry Hirion.

"I have a feeling that you're hiding something from us and…" She paused for a moment trying to choose her words wisely. "And if it concerns Legolas I think… we should know. Because Legolas is our friend."

Hirion took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves but before he could breathe a word Faelwen cut him off.

"It's for the king to decide. We can't tell you anything until he gives us his permission." Then she stood up swiftly and turned to the direction of Thranduil's bed. "I hope you don't mind if I wake him up master Ionwë. I really need to talk to him… and I would appreciate some privacy so…" She gave a meaningful glance to Ionwë who nodded obediently.

"I think it's time for you to go, I'm sure you have lots of work to do." He said as he turned to the younger elves sitting around Legolas' bed.

"But…" Meldiron tried to protest but Ionwë cut him off by raising his hand. "Legolas won't wake up any time soon and you staying here wouldn't help it so I think you should go." He said as he shot a warning glare at Meldiron. Meldiron rolled his eyes and stood up. Faelwen didn't wait to watch them leave. She turned around gracefully and walked toward Thranduil's bed.

Her heart was pounding in her throat with every step she took. She was afraid of Thranduil's reaction. She knew it'd be fierce but was she brave enough to face it?

She paced the last steps to Thranduil's bed and stood there hesitating. Informing him didn't seem to be a good idea after all. Faelwen knew he was still struggling with the fact that he might lose his son and now to be told that he'd been betrayed by one of his closest allies… it would drive anybody mad. 'No.' she told herself as she stared down at Thranduil's peaceful face. She didn't have the heart to make it more difficult for him. He was already dealing with too much troubles. She'd keep it from him until he was ready… yes. That seemed more logical. She took in deep breath and turned around to leave just to be rooted to the ground by hearing Thranduil's soft voice.

"Did you want something, Faelwen?" Faelwen felt her mouth go dry as she slowly turned around to meet the icy blue eyes of her king.

"I thought you were asleep." She said with a forced smile and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I sensed your presence. I might not have gone on patrols in a very long time but still… I'm a warrior." He said as he slowly sat up.

"Of course you are." Said Faelwen, unable to keep sarcasm from her voice. "How are you feeling?"

Thranduil held her gaze for a moment as if analyzing her every movement. "Fine, but I don't think that's the reason you are here, is it?"

Faelwen sighed. "Why do you speak in a way as if I'm not expected to come and see how my king is faring?" She asked with a sly smile. Hoping to distract Thranduil from the main subject.

"No, but as far as I know my chief advisor has much more important matters at hand." He said softly. "For instance, the interrogations you and my captains are supposed to be dealing with." His voice suddenly turned serious. "How is it going?"

Faelwen blinked several times not expecting the subject to come up so soon.

"It's going well… I guess." She suddenly said before she could stop herself. Thranduil raised an eyebrow at that and kept silent, waiting for her to explain further. Faelwen growled silently. She hated how he could read her like an open book. There was no way out.

"Alright." She said. "I've come here to tell you…the traitor has been found." She uttered every single word carefully without taking her eyes off Thranduil, observing him closely.

"Who is it?" Asked Thranduil in an emotionless tone. His face was as hard as stone and his eyes were blank. Faelwen couldn't read anything and she cursed herself for that. "I'm listening Faelwen." Thranduil fixed her with his famous icy glare.

"I'm going to tell you the name of the traitor but please just don't interrupt me and let me finish." Said Faelwen gently, trying to prepare her king for what was about to come. Thranduil didn't reply and Faelwen knew she couldn't push him further.

"It's Glandur." She whispered the name as if it was something forbidden to talk about. Thranduil's face didn't change but Faelwen could see his hand turn into a fist, clenching at the bed sheets so hard that she was afraid he might draw blood out of his palm. Thranduil closed his eyes and let the newly found information sink in. He could feel his heartbeat grow fast. Rage was the first thing to hit him but he refused to let it show on his face. 'Why Glandur?' the question was ringing in his head. He shook his head slightly and bent it. He couldn't bear to look into Faelwen's eyes. He couldn't let her see how weak and exposed he felt at the moment. He didn't want her to know how this betrayal was crashing his soul. After the hot wave of anger, a sheer coldness started to envelope his very being.

"But he was made to do it. Against his will." Faelwen's voice broke through his thoughts. 'Against his will?' he repeated to himself.

"He tried to kill my son against his will?" He whispered in a cold tone. Faelwen paled. She knew that tone and it wasn't good.

"But-" She tried to speak but Thranduil was already on his feet.

"Where are you going?! You shouldn't be out of bed!" Faelwen said in a shaky voice as she started following her king and to her surprise, Thranduil didn't made for the door. He turned to the direction of Legolas' bed instead and walked in steady steps.

"Please…" Faelwen didn't know what was she begging for but Thranduil didn't hid her anyway. She threw a warning glance at Ionwë who walked toward them as they came into his sight. He was about to protest but the message in Faelwen's eyes were clear. 'He is in one of those moods again, stay away.' He went to the back of the room to bring a chair for Thranduil but the king simply sat on the edge of the bed and stared down at his son's deathly pale face. Legolas hadn't moved an inch since Faelwen had left and that made her worried.

"Faelwen?" Falewen jumped at hearing Thranduil's voice. She bent down to catch his words easier.

"Summon Glandur. Tell him I shall see him in my office in a few minutes." His voice was normal but Faelwen froze to her bone. She knew what was about to come. It wasn't a good idea.

"Thranduil…" She tried to reason but Thranduil silenced her with an icy glare.

"For once in your life do as I tell you without questioning me." He said harshly from between his clenched teeth. Faelwen nodded and walked away stiffly. It was going to be a long night.

Some minutes passed in silence before Thranduil spoke again.

"Did he wake up?" He asked without looking away.

"Yes sire, he was awake for a couple of minutes. Amonost managed to make him eat a light soup before going back to sleep." Ionwë replied as he came to stand in front of his king.

"And how is your research about the antidote going?"

"Well it's getting interesting. It seems the Noldor have attempted several times to find an antidote too… but I couldn't find anything about them finding it."

Thranduil sighed and took his head in his hands. Why did all the evil in the world hat to happen to his family?

"My king?" Thranduil rose his head at hearing Ionwë's worried voice.

"I'm fine." He said briefly before standing up and making for the door but he was stopped by Ionwë's light hand on his arm. He turned his head and glared at the healer daring him to confront him. But all he saw in Ionwë's eyes was fear. Thranduil's face softened at seeing that.

"I promise I'll be back as soon as I'm done." He said in the calmest voice he could manage. Ionwë hesitated briefly before letting go of the king's arm. Thranduil opened the door and turned to Ionwë again. "Look after him." He said before closing the door behind him. As soon as he stepped into the corridor he regretted leaving his bed as a wave of dizziness hit him. He held on to the wall trying to keep himself up. He closed his eyes and waited for the wave to pass and he opened them as soon as it was gone. He tried to keep his back straight as he walked down the corridor passing by elves and servants who were looking at him in confusion.

'Well they should.' The king reminded himself sarcastically. He wasn't supposed to be wondering around after just two days.

'And I'm not dressed properly!' He reminded himself. But he couldn't care less about those searching eyes around him. His mind was blank. He didn't know what he was doing. He had no idea what to do about Glandur. He didn't even know what to tell him. All he wanted at that moment was to hear it from his captain's mouth. He couldn't still believe it. Glandur had always proven to be a faithful and loyal friend. Why would he do such a thing to him… or to Legolas?

'Because Legolas is your weakness.' A voice in his head screamed. Thranduil's eyes turned dark.

They could kill him.

They could torture him.

They could burn him alive.

But they had no right to put a finger Legolas.

Glandur had no right to put his filthy finger on HIS SON.

'I'll kill him with my own hands.' The words were burning in his mind as he opened the door to his office.

*End of chapter 14*

A/N: You guys must be hating me for not updating in such a long time and I have no excuse! So sorry about that.

Please review!