Disclaimer: I own nothing Tolkien created.

*~*~*~~**~*~*~*~*~*~

Mirkwood's Plague

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 22 ~ The Fate of the Prince

~*~

Elrond and Gandalf were sitting in Elrond's healing room making as much of the cure as they possibly could, knowing there was a lot of patients to treat. Luckily, the Elven healer kept meticulous records when he was working so it wasn't difficult to replicate it and the herbs it required were fairly common and they still had a large enough supply of them in Mirkwood. Elrond couldn't help but feel a huge amount of relief as he mixed the herb leaves into the liquid. Finally, they were having some luck with this.

"Is that it?" Gandalf asked when Elrond handed him a large pitcher of the healing liquid.

"That's it," Elrond said. "Just a couple of sips per person should do it. If the King's reaction is anything to go by once it's administered it will only take a couple of hours to work. Hopefully we should be able to treat everyone in Mirkwood fairly quickly."

"Good work," Gandalf congratulated with a pat on Elrond's back.

"Thank you, mellon nin. I'll start in the Great Hall. You go through all the other rooms and administer it. Make sure you treat everyone, including the healers. Even those who aren't visibly sick might be carrying the disease. This will kill it; hopefully stop it from spreading further. I'll go and treat Frodo and the other Hobbits while I'm there."

"Good luck," Gandalf smiled before Elrond left the room. The Elven Lord went straight to Legolas' private rooms where Frodo and the other Hobbits remained. He went straight in to find the healer he had left with them trying to reassure a worried Merry, Pippin and Sam but they all looked up when Elrond entered and Sam dashed forward.

"Elrond, thank goodness you've come. I think he's getting worse," Sam said urgently.

Elrond merely smiled and said, "Worry not, Sam. I have found the cure." He walked up to the bed and lifted Frodo's head off the pillow. The Hobbit, like Thranduil, had been in a deep sleep but luckily he could still swallow. He took the medication without fuss and the healer laid him back down gently. "There. He should be alright in a few hours, although don't expect miracles, it could be some time before everything returns completely to normal. For now just watch him and come and find me if you need me. Oh, and you all need to take this." Elrond handed each of the Hobbits and the healer a small vial of the cure. "Thranduil complained it made him feel a little 'strange' so I recommend you all sit down and take it easy for a while."

"Thank you, Elrond," Sam grinned, looking happily at Frodo, who was already stirring in his sleep.

"You are very welcome. Now, all of you get some proper rest. It's been a long few days for you all." Elrond turned to the healer and said, "When you feel ready I would appreciate your help in the Great Hall. Sit down for a while though before you come." The healer nodded and bowed to his Lord. "Right, I had better start handing this out." Elrond left the three Hobbits to again look after their companion.

Elrond approached the Great Hall with much less trepidation than he had done before. In fact, a smile graced his lips when he pulled open the doors to reveal all the people he had been trying to help for so long. Now he could finally do that and honestly he was rather proud of himself.

He stood at the doors and addressed the entire hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news for you. We have found the cure." A wild cheer of relief went up amongst the people and Elrond smiled. "I realise you have all suffered greatly but I must ask you to be patient a little longer. The healers will treat the sickest first then those of you who remain will be given the cure. I must stress that there is more than enough for everyone and you will all be seen to eventually, you have my word." This seemed to go down remarkably well. Apparently, now there was some hope, the people of Mirkwood were satisfied to wait their turn, for which Elrond was extremely grateful. A riot would have helped no one right then. Things began happening immediately. The healers took Elrond's cure and began distributing it according to his instructions. Those patients who were well enough also started helping, eager to get the task done. Elrond suddenly felt rather redundant. Sensing he had nothing to do he left the healers to it and walked back to the Royal healing room to check on the prince.

Aragorn and Gimli were still sitting patiently outside the door.

"Is everything alright in there?" Elrond asked as he reached the two self-appointed guards, who both stood as he approached.

"I checked on them a minute ago but Legolas was still…He needed some more time," Aragorn said carefully.

"Well, he'll come out when he's ready." In a moment of perfect timing, the door slowly opened, revealing a tired, teary-eyed Legolas. He smiled weakly when he saw his friends. "Legolas how are you? How is Thranduil?" Elrond asked, placing his hand on the prince's arm.

"He is sleeping again. Have you given the cure out?"

"The healers are currently treating everyone in the Great Hall and Gandalf is working through the other healing halls. Everything is going well. Right now though, I want to make sure you are alright. I'll feel much better once I have also given you the cure and I know that you are out of danger."

"But I need to go to the Great Hall and…"

"Trust me, I've just come from there and everything is fine. At the moment I fear we will only be in the way. Come, let us go to your father's chambers and you can lie down for a while."

"I…"

"Legolas, we have already been through this. You can take some time to look after yourself now everything's going back to normal," Aragorn said.

"Normal? Do you really think we can ever go back to normal?" Legolas shouted, suddenly losing control of his fear and anger. "Half of my people are dead, more could yet die. My father is sick and my own brother is dead. How can we ever go back to normal?" This stunned everyone into guilty silence. Legolas was right. Nothing would ever be the same again. Mirkwood was in ruins, Legolas' own family was left in tatters and who were they to deceive Legolas about the true impact of this disease? The Prince knew better than all of them the horror and pain of what had happened in his own kingdom.

"I'm sorry, Legolas. I didn't mean…"

"No it's not your…I'm sorry. I just…" He cut himself off with a sigh of frustration, not having the words to continue. Aragorn nodded understandingly.

"Come on, Legolas. Let's get you somewhere warm and quiet so you can lie down for a while. You're absolutely exhausted and you really need to rest," Elrond said softly, interrupting the friends' moment. "Come on," he repeated gently to Legolas, taking his arm and leading him towards Thranduil's rooms – the only place in the palace still completely free from the sick.

Suddenly, the corridor seemed to dim before Legolas' eyes and the floor seemed to shrink away from him as though it no longer wanted him to stand upright. In blind panic, the prince grabbed for the first thing he could get hold of, which just happened to be a slightly startled Elrond. The Elven Lord dashed to catch him in his arms when he felt Legolas grab at him. Carefully, he lowered the prince to the floor and in an instant everyone was gathered around Legolas, who was now lying only semi-conscious in the corridor. He was trembling violently and clutching his stomach in pain. His vision was blurry and darkness was creeping up on him despite his best efforts to concentrate on the voices of his friends and keep it at bay.

"Legolas, can you hear me?" Elrond asked urgently, kneeling down and undoing the prince's collar in a hope to ease his increasingly strained breathing. "Legolas?" Elrond could see the younger Elf was beginning to lose consciousness and tried to bring him back from the darkness. "Legolas, come on, stay with me. Legolas." Elrond shook him lightly; he wanted to keep him conscious if he possibly could, he didn't want Legolas falling into a coma as his father had done before. The prince may well have been too far gone to come back from it.

"Cold," Legolas gasped, shivering slightly.

"We'll get you warm soon, I promise," Aragorn assured him, kneeling down on the opposite side of Legolas. "Just stay with us, mellon nin."

"So cold."

"I know. Just hold on, alright? Let's get you to a room and out of this corridor," he said more to Elrond than Legolas. Elrond nodded his agreement. "Do you think you can stand, Legolas?" he asked softly.

"Cold," Legolas repeated and Aragorn got the distinct impression that he wasn't really with them.

"Alright, mellon nin," Aragorn reassured, placing a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"Gimli, run back to the healing room and get a blanket," Elrond requested and Gimli immediately ran into Thranduil's healing room and snatched a blanket from one of the shelves, ignoring the King's questions when he was abruptly woken by the speeding Dwarf. In a minute he was back at Legolas' side, placing the thick blanket gently over his friend. The prince immediately gripped it, pulling it tightly around himself for warmth. "Alright, let's get you out of the corridor, Legolas. Come on, stay with me. Stay awake," Elrond prompted when Legolas started to drift off again.

"Here." Aragorn moved Elrond aside and very carefully picked Legolas up off the floor in strong arms. The prince just lay in Aragorn's arms as he was carried down the corridor, not having the strength or will to protest.

In no time they were at Thranduil's rooms and Elrond opened the door for Aragorn to carry Legolas inside. He entered the bedroom and went to place his precious load on the bed but was stopped short when he saw the healer that had helped Legolas earlier lying still on the bed. He remembered then that he had given her Legolas' keys when she had needed to rest. Elrond wasted no time in walking over to her to wake her. He shook her gently but didn't get any response. Rather cautiously Elrond reached for the healer's wrist and felt for a pulse. He found nothing. The healer was dead. He turned to Aragorn and shook his head.

"Get her off the bed," the man instructed, pushing his sadness aside for the time being, knowing he had more important things to worry about. Elrond lifted the dead healer into his arms and allowed Aragorn to carefully place a half-conscious Legolas on the bed in her place. Elrond moved the healer to the divan in the sitting room and then returned to find Aragorn removing Legolas' thick tunic. The Elf was a little more alert now and was looking up blearily at his friends. Upon removing the tunic Aragorn, Elrond and Gimli got a proper look at what Legolas was suffering. His skin was covered in sores, which had gotten far worse since Aragorn had last seen him. His body was also covered in bruises and he was obviously in a lot of pain and it now showed on his face and body as he was trembling violently – a combination of the pain and the fever the disease caused.

"Oh my…" Gimli exclaimed. He had not really thought Legolas was this bad. The Elf had never really mentioned it.

"Legolas, why didn't you say anything?" Elrond asked sympathetically, sitting on the bed and taking Legolas' shaky hand in his own.

"I don't…There were more important things…" Legolas defended himself weakly.

"What could be more important than your health, you stupid Elf?" Gimli said sternly from the end of the bed.

"My people," Legolas answered simply.

"Alright. It doesn't matter now. Let's get you cleaned up and then give you the cure." Elrond gently placed a hand on Legolas' forehead, finding it still uncomfortably hot. "Let's get you out of these clothes first. Gimli, perhaps you could give us a few moments alone."

"What? No way. I'm not going anywhere," he said, planting his feet firmly on the floor in defiance.

"Gimli, please," Elrond said softly, knowing that if the Dwarf stayed it would just be more uncomfortable for the already greatly distressed Elf. Gimli reluctantly relented and left the bedroom but stood right outside the living room door in case he was needed.

Elrond and Aragorn quickly but gently undressed the trembling Elf being extra careful not to cause him any more pain. Legolas just laid there passively, too tired to be embarrassed or uncomfortable with the closeness of the situation as his friends removed his clothes. Once he was undressed, Elrond pulled a sheet up over the trembling prince and Legolas clung to it, pulling it tight in the hope of keeping some of the warmth it offered. Elrond placed a blanket over him then went to mix together the cure. It didn't take long but Elrond took his time, making sure he got everything absolutely right.

"Alright Legolas, hold on," Elrond said over his shoulder when he heard the young Elf whimper softly and then heard Aragorn whispering reassurances to his friend. Finally, Elrond walked over to the bed, holding a cup containing the cure. "Legolas, I need you to drink this for me. It might make you feel worse for a little while but it will stop the other symptoms and make you feel better soon, alright?" Legolas nodded and tried to push himself into a sitting position but found his weak body simply wouldn't obey him any longer.

"It's alright, mellon nin. Let us help you," Aragorn reassured, sitting on the bed and slipping his arm under Legolas' shoulders and carefully easing him up.

"Here, drink this." Elrond held the cup up to Legolas' pale lips and the prince drank it slowly. When he had finished, Elrond placed the cup on the bedside table and helped Aragorn gently lower Legolas back down onto the bed. The Elf could do nothing but lie there tiredly as Elrond and Aragorn tucked blankets around his naked form, hoping to keep the cold at bay. "There we go. You just get some sleep now, alright?" Elrond soothed as he gently stroked hair, damp from the sweat of a fever, from his face. "Shout for me if you need anything. I'll go and check on your father and make sure everything's going smoothly in the Great Hall."

Elrond and Aragorn walked quietly to the door and looked back at Legolas. "I'm going to stay with him just in case," Aragorn said to his foster father, offering no room for argument or objection and the Elven Lord wisely offered none. "He will be alright, won't he?"

The Elven healer nodded gently. "I just hope we caught it in time." He opened the door to find Gimli impatiently tapping his foot, still waiting to be let back into the room to see his friend. "You can go in now, Gimli, but please try to keep the noise down. No shouting at him just yet, the lectures on his health can wait until he's feeling better. He needs to rest for a while now."

"And who says I'm going to shout at him?" Gimli asked in mock innocence as he stepped past the two Lords to stand next to the bed. "We're just going to have a little discussion, right, Elf?" Legolas smiled weakly, looking across at his Dwarven friend with glassy eyes, knowing he was just teasing Elrond.

The healer just smiled and left the room, silently closing the door behind him. Gimli and Aragorn pulled up chairs and sat down next to the bed. The prince was fighting off impending sleep but Aragorn could clearly see that he was losing the battle through his exhaustion.

"Sleep now," Aragorn commanded gently, reaching over and pulling Legolas' blanket further around him. Legolas nodded gently up at him with a grateful smile, knowing he couldn't have protested even if he had wanted to. He was just too tired now. Besides, things were more controlled and stable now. Elrond and Gandalf were working towards helping Mirkwood's people and his father was out of danger as far as he knew. Although technically he was still in charge of Mirkwood and didn't want to abandon his people he simply couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. He found Aragorn and Gimli slowly fading from his sight and he finally succumbed to a much-needed sleep with a gentle sigh of relief.

To Be Continued…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Translations:

Mellon nin – My friend