Sickness

By: Alilacia

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: or

Spoilers: None that I can think of.

Disclaimer:

I do not own the Lord of the Rings, or anything to do with the film or books. That honour goes to Peter Jackson (et all) and J.R.R Tolkien. I have no permission what so ever to use these characters, will not receive any money for this, and am doing this for my own enjoyment. And to get away from doing my college assignments

Series:

Mortality

Lessons

Wandering

Learning Curve

Sickness

Summary:

News of a disease spreading from village to village reaches Imladris. Estel, his brothers and Legolas decide to help. But can a human with Númenorian blood survive when all other humans are fading?

Mae govannen!

This is the fifth instalment in The Lennath Series. According to the site I found on the internet 'Lennath' is apparently journey's in Sindarin. I apologise if it isn't, my elvish skills are not the best in the world.

So in English it is basically 'The Journey's Series'. I decided to call it The Journey's Series, because that is basically what all the stories are about: Legolas' and Aragorn's journey's though life, and the paths it takes them on.

This is the seventh chapter of Sickness, and I hope you all enjoy it.

First I am going to make it clear that this is a NON-SLASH, so you won't be finding any relationship between Legolas and Aragorn that is any closer than brothers. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but I'm not going to make it any different.

I've decided to take a leaf out of Cassia and Siobhan's book and put all the answers to the reviews before the story rather than after it as I have done in previous chapters. If anyone does not want to read them simply bypass all the bold print. And unless you want to read them, they are quite long. The story will start though when you skip past all the bold print :sweatdrops:

Ooo, baby sitting. I feel for you. I hope that the kid(s) you were looking after were easier than it was for me to look after my step brother. I had to console Callum and try to get him to stop crying because he was convinced that there was something missing from the end of his Thomas The Tank Engine video. I brought him downstairs, and he fell asleep in my arms after a while. For someone who is such a chipmunk on a sugar rush when he is awake, he's so sweet when he is asleep. ;

:chuckles: your review wasn't strange at all. Okay, so maybe it was a little bit, but I like strange reviews. They always make me laugh without fail.

I love the Matrix! I'm thinking of going to see the sequel, but I have no money, so I'll wait until I get a job or something. With my luck in getting them, I'll be waiting for a while.

Kill Estel? Aside from annoying all of you to no end, he's kinda needed for the Quest. Can't have a series detailing his life before the Quest only to kill him off. Or can I………::ponders: lol ;-p

And……… :winces: I apologise in advance for the cliffie :plans escape route and place to hide until things die down…:

I have not read the Silmarillion, or any of the other history/information books published regarding the Lord of the Rings. So I apologise if there are any mistakes in these stories. Feel free to let me know if there are. I am learning new things each day, and I owe quite a few people major thanks for some of that information.

This story isn't actually beta'd (in fact none of them have been so far) so there are probably quite a few mistakes in them.

Namárië nin mellyn

Alilacia

Sickness

Chapter 7 - Cuil ú-brona ui (Life does not last forever)

Legolas tensed his muscles, and gritted his teeth as Aragorn bucked underneath them. Elrohir was holding down Estel on his left side, and Elladan was trying to get Estel to calm down.

Aragorn's eyes were open, but was not really seeing anything as he tried to shake the strong grip of his brother and Legolas. The look in his eyes shocked Legolas to the core, and Elladan stepped in next to Legolas to help in restraining their brother.

"Estel! We are trying to help you!"

"Please, calm down!" cried Elrohir from the other side of the bed.

From the other side of the room, a keening cry spilled from the mouths of one of people lying in the corner, and Elladan quickly moved to press this person down onto the bed.

Legolas felt tears come to his eyes, and pressed down harder. As soon as he had run in through the door, he had seen Elrohir trying to restrain Aragorn while Elladan prepared something to knock him out. As soon as Elladan had gotten close enough though, Aragorn had pulled out of Elrohir's grip and tried to attack Elladan. The elf hadn't been able to get out of the way fast enough, and now a bruise darkened his cheekbone. Then, Legolas had stepped in. Aragorn had immediately tried to attack him, and Legolas had been forced to restrain his friend.

Aragorn had quieted down somewhat, but he still didn't accept the restraining hands that held him down. Legolas tried to lean down and whisper calming words into Aragorn's ears, but was forced to pull back when Aragorn tried to hit him.

Distraught looks were visible in the light of their eyes as they watched their friend and brother fight against their holds. Suddenly Aragorn went limp in their grasp, and Legolas' hand shot out to the human's neck. Time seemed to still as the elf could feel nothing pulsing under his fingertips.

A breath spilled past Legolas' lips as the faint beat of life thrummed under his fingers. Elladan and Elrohir sagged in relief as Legolas nodded. Their hearts were thundering quickly in their chests, and Elrohir slumped into one of the chairs by the bed.

None knew what to say after that. And they could not think of anything to help to help these people. All the humans in this village were now under the effects of the disease, and the elves were the only people left who were walking under their own power.

The last to fall ill had been Miran, and the disease had tightened its hold just as the sun had started to rise into the sky.

The thoughts of the three elves in the room were split on Estel and the people of this village. But they always came back to Estel.

For all the herb-craft knowledge that the twins possessed, it was doing nothing to help the people from this village. The elves watched with aggrieved eyes as Aragorn slowly slipped further and further away from them.

Legolas sighed and turned away. Although Legolas dearly wanted to help his friend, he couldn't sit here and watch Aragorn die. He needed some air. He needed the stars.

Wordlessly, the elf prince stepped away from the bed where his friend lay, and walked out of the door. Elrohir stood as if to follow Legolas, but Elladan laid a restraining hand on his arm, and forced him back into the chair. His eyes telling Elrohir to let Legolas go.

The blond-haired elf walked swiftly out of the building, his thoughts jumbled. Images of his friend thrashing on the bed flashed before his eyes, the elf raised his eyes to the sky.

The silence that hung in the air was felt all too keenly by the elven prince, and he walked back to sit on the worn steps to the building he had just walked out of.

He could not ever remember feeling this helpless. Legolas was frustrated beyond measure, and the nagging thought that he should be remembering something continued to play at his mind.

Something important.

As Legolas continued to stare at the clouds a peculiar image came to him. In his minds eye he was back in his fathers library. He saw his hands reach up to get a heavy looking book, and pull it down. Legolas didn't know why he was remembering this now, but he didn't see any harm in letting it play out.

Small hands pulled the hefty tome onto a table and opened up the book. It was then that the image of the herb on the page started to blur and Legolas shook his head in frustration. If the elf was remembering the right time, then this was back when he was much younger.

Then, Legolas had not yet been allowed to use a bow and arrow, and had instead immersed himself in the healing arts. But this was only because his teachers told him that he had to, as did his father. The only problem was that Legolas hadn't really wanted to become a healer, and so had only listened half-heartedly to what he had been told.

Legolas smiled slightly as he forced the picture to sharpen. Legolas supposed that he couldn't properly remember what was written with the picture because he hadn't really wanted to learn it. But, Legolas had a photographic memory, and this helped him now as he coaxed the picture back into his mind.

Also the burning desire to help his friend fuelled Legolas' efforts, and the picture sharpened in his mind.

The last thing to come into focus was the picture of the herb, and Legolas frowned, struggling to remember what its purpose was. The elf closed his eyes in an effort to see the picture more clearly, and focussed his attention on the slightly blurred writing under the drawing.

Slowly, bit by bit, the writing cleared, and Legolas was pleased to be able to read what it said.

Cat's Claw

A herb that is found growing in amongst trees, and in elevated terrain. The herb is named as such because of the small thorns at the base of the leaves.

Use caution: use only the inner bark and the root when using this herb in a medicinal manner.

The main properties of this herb are strengthening of the immune system, and helping the body to fight off infections.

Hope blossomed in Legolas' eyes as he called up the drawing of the herb again and memorised it. This herb should be able to save everyone.

Legolas hope sank slightly as he remembered that the only place he had found the herb was in Mirkwood, and that was too far away for him to get to in time. The elf also remembered that the herb favoured hilly conditions. Legolas didn't know if the herb grew around here, but this was the best chance that the people had. And the best chance that Aragorn had.

With the image of the herb in his head, the elf stood and headed back into the temporary infirmary.

Elladan and Elrohir looked up as Legolas stormed into the room. The elven prince didn't say anything for a while, just paced back and forth across the room.

Elladan raised an eyebrow in amusement as Elrohir shook his head, both watching the elf prince walk from corner to corner.

"Sit down Legolas, before you wear a groove in the floor." said Elladan with a small smile.

"I know how to heal these people." The words came out in a rush, and Legolas ran a hand over his face before continuing. "I remembered something from when I was a child, something I read in one of my fathers books." The twins exchanged a glance, and turned to face Legolas, "we had a lot of books on herbs and healing aids because of the spiders in the woods. This book mentioned something about a herb called Cat's Claw. I remember that there is a lot of it in Mirkwood, but I don't know about around here. I think I know where I could find it here though. If I could find it here." Legolas finished and turned to look at the twins. Twin expressions of hope were on their faces, and both went to rise out of their seats. Elladan opened his mouth to speak when a gravelly voice spoke up from one of the beds.

"Did I hear you mention Cat's Claw?"

The elves turned to face the man as he coughed. Legolas stepped up next to him, and poured a glass of water from the tumbler on the table. "Yes I did. Would you know where I could find some?"

"I'm a gardener here," the man rasped as Legolas pulled the glass away from his lips, "I go looking for herbs to grow. Most of 'em are found in yonder hills." The man coughed again and weakly pointed in a northwards direction. "But it's rare, even for 'round 'ere. You might not find it."

Legolas nodded slightly and thought over the mans words. The elf remembered seeing a large group of hills a few miles away, and those conditions looked near enough to what Cat's Claw favoured. "I'm going to go out there anyway, I'm going to try those hills I saw before we entered here." Legolas nodded again, in agreement of his idea, and started to head out of the door.

"Legolas..." the elf turned back around at Elladan's voice. "Be careful..."

"And hurry back." Added Elrohir.

Legolas nodded and offered a small smile, before turning and running out of the door.

Swift feet made light work of the rough terrain, and Legolas ran faster. Legolas was heading deep into the Ettenmoors, searching for some Cat's Claw. But the fact that the Ettenmoors are very large was working against the elven prince, and his eyes quickly scanned the ground as he ran. Legolas knew that he had until the sun started to set to find this herb and get back to the village. This knowledge fuelled his steps and his determination. He was not going to let Aragorn die.

And with an hours walking time back to the village, he was going to have to hurry.

Legolas grew more anxious as the time slipped by, and he realised that he only had about an hour and a half before the sun would reach the ground. Legolas had not yet found any of the herb, and he sighed. The elf stopped, and turned in a circle. Running to find it obviously wasn't working, and so the elf tried something else. The elf took a deep breath, and despite the drumming of his heart, the prince of Mirkwood closed his eyes. His senses seemed more heightened that usual when his eyes slipped shut, and the wind rattled loudly in his ears. His nose picked up each and every blade of grass, and the elf slowly moved forward, allowing his senses to guide him. As he walked Legolas picked up a scent he hadn't before. Pausing to smell it more closely, the elven prince turned slightly to the left and knelt down a few feet later.

His hand gently fell down, and his eyes opened. His fingers curled gently around the white mottled leaves, and the prince smiled. The prince pinched the herb at the base, and gathered it into his left hand. His eyes spied another bush about a meter away, and Legolas knelt next to it. Working swiftly, he started to pick all the Cat's Claw he could. Only moving away to find some more when he realised that this would not be enough to treat all the people in the village.

Back in Ettenmóras, things were taking a turn for the worst. Each and every person in the room was showing the same thing, only with varying degrees of intensity. The fits were getting worse, and more than one person had to be restrained as they thrashed in their beds.

The twins were constantly moving, each travelling to someone else as a fit took hold of their bodies.

In the corner, Elrohir was holding down the man that had helped them earlier, but had to move to another bed as someone else started to fit.

Elladan could not help his brother, because he was having trouble of his own. His strong hands were wrapped around Aragorn's forearms, and the corded strength in them was trying to push Elladan off.

Although Elladan was an elf, and was stronger than most humans, Aragorn too was stronger than most, and this helped the ranger in his delirious state.

As Elladan tensed his muscles and pressed Estel further down onto the bed, he prayed for Legolas to hurry.

Deft fingers plucked at the last sprig of cat's claw, and Legolas smiled. There was lots of the herb around, and they looked to be in good condition. The elf gathered all that he had collected together, and gently placed them into his pack.

With a glance into the sky, the elf quickly stood and started to leave.

A shudder passed down his spine, and Legolas stopped cold. He was constantly looking around him to find out what he caused him to stop. It was when an unnatural sound reached his ears that Legolas knew why. Legolas closed his eyes briefly and glanced back at the town. Orcs and wargs would soon be upon him.

Making up his mind, the elf secured his pack onto his shoulder and started running.

Legolas cursed as one of the wargs caught his scent, and growled into the air. The orcs that were holding them jeered as one, and Legolas heard and felt their feet running after him. Muttering a few choice dwarvish curses under his breath, the elf picked up his speed.

As the elf cleared one of the hills, the warg neared his position and jumped for his neck. Legolas heard the wargs path through the air, and neatly turned, his hands reaching for his daggers. A groan nearly escaped his lips as his hands met air, and Legolas realised that in his haste to leave, he had left all his weapons behind.

The furry body of the warg hit the elven prince hard and forced him to the ground. Legolas noticed that this was giving the other orcs and wargs time to get closer, but at that time he was more preoccupied with keeping the snarling jaws away from his face. Legolas growled under his breath, and tensed his feet on the ground. Forcing all his strength into his arms, the elf gripped the wargs head more tightly and threw the warg quickly away.

It landed with a smack into an orc, and both fell back a few yards. The leash of the warg that he was holding fell out of his grip and darted straight for Legolas. Legolas forced himself not to panic, and ran straight for the fallen orc. The path he was running would lead him straight to the snapping jaws of the warg, but Legolas focussed on the orc that was trying to rise from the ground.

The other orcs started jeering and shouting again, and with a guttural cry they all ran for the elf. But Legolas had reached the fallen orc, and wrenched the broadsword out of the evil grip. Wasting no time, the elf thrust his hands next to his ribs, and heard the crunch and cry of pain as the orcish broadsword impaled the warg as it leapt to attack.

He then made quick work of the orc that was still trying to rise to his feet, and turned to face the masses. Legolas noted that there were too many of them to take on by himself, but then again, it wasn't as though he had any choice in the matter.

Even armed with only an orcish broadsword in hand, the elven warrior was a formidable opponent. His blond hair whipped around him as he spun, parried and slashed at his opponents. The elf did not relish in the cries of pain, and tuned out the cries as the sword easily cut through bone and flesh. Detached eyes watched body after body fall to the ground, and as the numbers started to thin, Legolas started to run again for the town.

The sword easily stopped any of the orcs or wargs that tried to follow him, and Legolas was forced to impale one through the snout. Small, fine slashes bled on Legolas' arms, but he ignored this as the placement of the sun caught his eyes. The sun was nearly setting. Pressing himself harder, the elf hoped he wasn't out of time.

Elrohir glanced down at his mortal brother, and tightened his grip. Right now, Elrohir didn't know what he could do for his brother, but he held on to his hand with all the strength he could muster. It was like the elf thought that he could keep Estel here with his touch alone.

Elladan paced the path that Legolas had walked before, and occasionally glanced out of the window. As the sun had gotten lower and lower in the sky, Elladan had gotten more worried, and had taken to pacing the room.

Both heads snapped up as a figure suddenly ran into the room, and they were overjoyed to see that it was Legolas.

The elven prince was breathing heavily, and various cuts adorned his arms. "I ran into a little orc trouble," he told them breathlessly as he walked quickly into the room. "I hope I wasn't too late." Both twins saw the orcish weapon held in Legolas' grip, and decided not to ask.

Elrohir assured him that he wasn't while Elladan moved to Legolas side. Relief swamped both of the twins faces as Legolas reached over to his pack and pulled out a large supply of cat's claw.

It was a little crushed, but otherwise still intact.

Elladan saw that Legolas was starting to pull the roots of the plant away, and started to do the same when Legolas handed him some of the plant. Elladan paused only once to start some water boiling. There was a small grate in the corner of the room, and while Legolas had been gone, Elladan had gone out to find some wood for it.

While Elladan and Legolas started working quickly to make a tea from the herb, Elrohir leant down to whisper into Estel's ear. Words of encouragement died on his tongue as his face paled. His breath failed him as he realised that Estel's chest was still.

He was not breathing.

TBC…