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 eighth 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:

:grins: that's the good thing about knowing something that they do not. More angst scenes.

Hey Cathy! Have to say that I was so not expecting to hear from you here. And… :grins: you're not the only one I've heard complaining about the nasty cliffie :evil grin:

But, to be fair, I think this is the first evil one in this story, so Cassia and Siobhan can't have had that much influence on me. There still is enough influence there to warrant posting evil cliffies though :evil grin returns:

:glances at Estel who is looking rather overwhelmed at the number of people who called him 'baby' and 'my Aragorn': I so know how he feels. Well, except for the 'my Aragorn' thing. That doesn't stop me from gloating though. Note to self: sudden cliffhangers are a good thing. For the author anyway. And until irate readers catch up with me. :looks nervous:

Mmm hmmm, you need to review each and EVERY chapter otherwise I post an awful cliffie to get you back. J/k. I wouldn't do that, and you don't need to review every chapter. Anyway, welcome back Lina! It's nice to see you back again. And just in time to see 'your Estel' really hurt. :winces: Just don't kill me yet okay, there's still two chapters to go yet.

:laughs: Orc Slapper? Oh my, I'm going to have to remember that one.

:runs away from Firondoiel's arrows: I'm writing, I'm writing! Here's the next chapter::breathes a sigh of relief as bow and arrows are put away::grins despite rapidly beating heart: enjoy the story.

'Keep up the excellent work!' awwwwwwww::blushes: gee thanks. And here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

:looks horrified: okay, despite the real evilness of that cliffie, I could NEVER kill off Aragorn. He's too cute to do that::pinches a mortified Aragorn's cheeks: Isn't he just the cutest::grins as Legolas and the twins start laughing:

I know….. :sniffs: I love the movies too much to kill him off now. If I did, I wouldn't be able to cry over the scene where he fell off the cliff. At risk of sounding like a sap here, but I've seen that scene over and over again, but it still gets me each and every time. :rubs eyes on sleeve: Not to mention that Legolas, the twins and Elrond would come after me for killing their brother/son/mellon. I may not be the sharpest arrow in the quiver, but even I don't have a death wish.

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

Uich gwennen na 'wanath ah na dhín.
An uich gwennen na ringyrn ambar hen.
Boe naid bain gwannathar,
Boe cuil ban firitha.

Breath of Life by Howard Shore, sung by Shelia Chandra

His mouth opened and closed a few times as Elrohir turned to face the two elves working in the corner. As the stuttered words left his mouth, both elves spun around and paled when they realised that Elrohir was right. Turning back around, both started to speed up their efforts, and as Elladan started to add the herb to the boiling water, Legolas grabbed the pitcher of water and poured some of the cold water in as well.

Elladan moved over to the bed and gently grasped Estel's head with his hands, and tilted it back slightly. All three were ignoring the stillness of Estel's chest as Legolas sat down next to the ranger and gently poured the tea into Estel's parted lips. After a few seconds, Legolas pulled the cup away, and Elrohir reached over with his hand. The elf gently pressed down over Aragorn's mouth and nose, in case he started breathing and spat out the medicine.

Legolas poured the tea in again, the liquid easily sliding down Estel's throat as his body automatically swallowed. Elrohir once again pressed his hand over the human's mouth and nose until he was sure it had all been swallowed.

The three elves kept this up until at least half of the mixture had been swallowed.

Legolas pulled the mug away for the last time, and placed it onto the table by his side. Half of a mug should have been more than enough to help Estel.

The seconds that passed were the longest that the elves had ever experienced, and each second seemed like an eternity. Still, Estel's chest refused to rise, and each elf felt tears start to prick at their eyes.

Elrohir grasped Estel's hand again, and started to whisper into his ear. Broken words in elvish spilled from his mouth, and sobs started to shake the younger twins frame.

Legolas watched with distressed eyes as Elrohir's hands started to shake, and sobs trembled along his slender frame.

Elladan was standing next to the bed, his face seemingly emotionless. His eyes told a different story, and they spoke of grief and sadness as they gazed down on the prone figure on the bed. A silver tear slowly gathered at the corner of his eyes, and stayed there for a moment before trailing down his cheek.

Legolas blinked as tears fell from his eyes and landed on his hands. If someone told him years ago that one day he would be crying over the death of a mortal, Legolas would not have believed them, but now...

No, Aragorn was not dead...

Legolas wiped his tears away with a quivering hand, and felt more come as he stared into his friends lifeless eyes.

But, if he wasn't dead... why did his chest refuse to rise? Were the herbs not working? or had he been too late to get them to his friend. The uncertainty was horrible, and Legolas felt a wave of guilt wash over him. If only he had been quicker...

After what seemed like forever, a shuddering breath was drawn in through cracked lips. Awareness slowly returned to the silver eyes, and they blinked, settling groggily on the crying elves above him.

Aragorn frowned slightly at the sight of the tears and forced himself to speak through a parched throat. "Are you all- alright?"

A choked laugh spilled past their lips, and Aragorn found himself in a three way hug. Estel was not fully sure why they were doing this, but he could feel the sobs that shook their frames, and wrapped weak arms to hug them back.

After a while, Elladan pulled away and discretely wiped the tears from his eyes. The elder twin smiled a small smile at Estel, and turned to make more of the tea.

Elrohir pulled his brother into a hug one more time, and leant down to whisper in his ear. "I'm glad that you're alright Estel. We all are."

Legolas had risen from his seat to give the brothers some privacy, and was wiping away tears of his own. Although in the past he would never have imagined himself caring this strongly for someone, and a human no less, Legolas could not argue that he would feel devastated if anything happened to this one.

Something almost did, this mind reminded cruelly, and he had to fight to stop tears from falling again.

"Sit down Legolas," Elrohir's voice brought Legolas out of his dark thought, and the elf saw Elrohir pointing at the chair nearest the bed. "Please, get some rest and take care of Estel. You fought some orcs to get this herb back so you need to let your injuries heal." Elrohir whispered into his ear when he had sat down. Legolas nodded. The elf didn't really feel like arguing with them, and he really want to stay with Estel, so he stayed in the chair and asked the twins if they were going to help the other humans.

Elrohir nodded, and said that they were going to give them the cat's claw tea now.

As the twins moved back out of the door, Elladan paused.

"Legolas, make sure Aragorn has some of that tea in a while." Legolas nodded, and grimaced as Elladan left the room. It hadn't been easy to give it to him last time, and Legolas had to admit he was not looking forward to trying again.

Aragorn was dozing lightly when he felt a hand softly brush against his forehead. He forced his eyes to open, and his vision slowly cleared to see Legolas looking down at him, concern shining in their blue depths.

"I've never been more afraid for someone in my life," Legolas admitted softly, "when you stopped breathing, it was the scariest thing in the world."

"I think you've probably seen something scarier, like me first thing in the morning" joked Aragorn. Legolas smiled weakly, and grasped Aragorn's hand in his own.

"I never want to see that again." Legolas ducked his head, and fought against tears. The sight of his friend lying on that bed, not drawing a single breath, continued to flash before his closed eyes.

A weak hand under his chin made Legolas open his eyes, and he looked up to see Aragorn staring into his eyes. "Hey, do not worry for me my friend. I have every faith in you and my brothers, and you did not let me down. I am alive am I not. I was foolish to think that I could escape falling ill. I should have known better. I do it enough." Aragorn smiled, and tugged on Legolas' hand. "I could never blame you for anything my friend, so do not blame yourself."

A small smile finally worked its way back onto Legolas' face, and Aragorn laid back on the bed. "See, you should smile more often. You look better when you do."

"Thank you my friend."

"I'm gonna be around for a while Legolas, so don't go thanking me yet." Aragorn smiled and glanced at Legolas, "I might find something to annoy you with yet."

"Oh I am sure you will human." Legolas settled into the easy banter and allowed himself to relax. "Here," the elf reached over and grabbed the mug containing the cat's claw tea. "Elladan told me to make sure you drink this."

"Elladan would." the human groused, eyeing the mug with suspicion. Legolas grinned, but raised his eyebrow. He held the cup closer, and turned the mug around so the handle was facing Aragorn. The human scowled, and sighed. In all truth, he was feeling awful, and would have taken anything at that moment. Even the stuff in Legolas' hand.

The ranger grabbed the mug, and downed the contents before he could change his mind. Scrunching his nose up against the smell and the after-taste, the ranger felt a deep lethargy descend over him.

Legolas was pleased when Aragorn's eyes slowly slipped shut, and his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.

The Mirkwood prince settled back into the chair and contented himself with watching Aragorn sleep. The gentle rising and falling of Aragorn's chest was doing more to reassure the elven prince than any of Aragorn's words ever could, and Legolas rubbed his eyes.

The events of the day were catching up to him, and sleep tugged at his mind. Taking care not to lie on Estel, Legolas let his head fall to the bed, his eyes glazing over in reverie.

About two hours later, Elladan and Elrohir walked in through the open doorway. Both exchanged smiles as they found Legolas asleep on the bed, and quietly walked into the room.

Aragorn's fingers were lightly entwined in Legolas' blond hair, and Legolas' hand was lying on Aragorn's left hand.

Elrohir walked up to the sleeping pair, and gently disengaged Aragorn's fingers from Legolas' hair. Once Elrohir placed Aragorn's hand back on the bed, Elladan gently grabbed Legolas by the forearms, and pulled him back to rest fully in the chair. Each twin pulled out a blanket from one of the beds and draped them over the slumbering forms.

With their friend and brother taken care of, the elves started administering the tea to the humans in this room. Like Estel, they had responded immediately to the cure, and looked a lot better than before.

Elladan poured the last drop of the tea into Miran's mouth. The elder twin moved over to the table, and placed the mug down next to Aragorn's pack.

Both their shoulders sagged in weariness, and Elrohir moved to one of the spare beds in the far corner. They had been working for hours, and both felt sleep easily descend over them. The stars in the night sky twinkled down on their forms through the open window, and spoke of brighter things.

It was warmth and light that first registered in Aragorn's groggy mind, and the ranger shifted slightly in his bed. Muddled silver eyes blinked open, and Aragorn scrunched them shut as the full force of the suns light caught him in the eyes. Opening them more cautiously, the ranger glanced around the room. His gaze fell on the huddled form in the chair. A smile tugged at his lips as he watched Legolas' chest rise and fall.

The ranger was deeply touched by all that they had done for him, and reminded himself to thank them all as soon as they woke up. Especially Legolas. Aragorn remembered hearing that the elven prince had fought some orcs to bring the cure back, and made a note to thanks Legolas personally later.

Aragorn sat up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. Taking a deep breath, the ranger pushed himself off and had to fight a brief moment of dizziness.

Once the light-headedness had passed, Aragorn established that he could walk by taking a few experimental steps forward. Glancing at the sleeping elves to make sure that they had not awoken, Aragorn slipped out of the door.

Soft footfalls alerted Aragorn to the presence of someone behind him, and Aragorn turned to see Elrohir walking out from the door.

A displeased expression was on his face, and the frown increased as Elrohir stepped up next to the ranger.

"What are you doing out here Estel? You are still unwell."

"I needed to get some air," Aragorn replied quietly, his gaze still resting on the fluffy clouds in the morning sky.

Elrohir nodded, but let his hands rest on Aragorn's shoulders. "Come on Estel, let's get you inside." Aragorn glanced back over his shoulder at his elven brother, and nodded. Elrohir tightened his grip briefly, and started to lead Aragorn back into the warm.

The heat from the stoked fire seeped into Aragorn's skin, and he settled down in the chair nearest to its warmth. The ranger still felt weak from his illness, but could not imagine lying in that bed for a moment longer.

The two brothers sat in companiable silence, and Elrohir glanced at Aragorn from the corner of his eyes. Slowly, the image of his brother lying still on that bed was being replaced with the picture before him now, and Elrohir silently thanked the Valar in his mind for not taking Estel yet.

Elrohir silently rose from his seat to stoke the flames. Earlier yesterday morning, Elrohir had placed some wood into the hearth, and started a fire going. The elf had kept the fire going all through the day, and tended to it before coming to look for Estel. Elrohir smiled slightly and returned to his seat. That was his job really. Whenever anybody fell ill, and it was usually Estel, Elrond healed them, Elladan worried, and Elrohir stoked the fireplaces. Once he stopped doing his own worrying though.

Estel now had someone who worried for him just as much as they did. Elrohir had never dreamt for a moment that Estel would come back from a journey with the Elven prince by his side.

They had surprised most people with how quickly their friendship had bloomed into something that would last for a long time to come.

"We shall stay here at this village for a little while longer Estel. To leave now would not be beneficial for your health."

Aragorn scowled at Elrohir's words, and continued to stare into the fire. Aside from a little feeling of weakness in his limbs, the human felt fine. He didn't want to stay here any longer than he had to, and he was certainly not going to be kept in bed for another few days.

Elrohir knew that if Estel had decided to leave before he was ready, both Elladan and Legolas would have made him stay. If Estel's health was called into question, both acted the same way. Elrohir reflected that it would probably be quite amusing to see those two team up together.

It would probably be another week before Estel was up to even half of his strength, and Elrohir was not looking forward to reinforcing their stay here.

"I disagree Elrohir." Elrohir almost groaned, and turned to look at his youngest brother, who had that stubborn look in his eyes. "I feel fine. The herbs that you gave me worked perfectly. I know my own limits Elrohir. And besides," Aragorn added, turning his gaze back to the flickering flames, but glancing at his brother out of the strands of his hair, "do you not agree that I will heal better in Imladris? With ada around, I will heal much faster than if I am staying here."

Aragorn was pleased to see that Elrohir seemed to be considering his words. Aragorn's heart sank slightly as Elrohir nodded, and turned to face him. A familiar expression was on his face, and Aragorn threw any chances of leaving here soon out of his mind.

"Do not think to tempt me into letting you leave before you are ready Aragorn, let alone with words of home. I do not deny that I long to see Imladris again, but I will not be the one who agrees to let you go. You will have to take it up with Elladan and Legolas first. I can tell you now though, the only way they will ever agree to this is if you were rising on horseback for the entire journey, and did nothing strenuous during the whole journey. The whole journey Estel." Elrohir turned to face Aragorn fully, and crossed his arms over his chest. "That means no fighting, no attracting orcs, no nothing."

Aragorn rolled his eyes and was about to retort when Elladan and Legolas walked in through the open doorway.

"Who will be attracting some orcs?" Elladan asked. Aragorn nearly groaned when he saw the slight narrowing of Elladan's eyes, and knew that the answer to that question would have to be thought up quickly.

"Estel."

Legolas and Elladan immediately glared at Estel, and Estel turned to glare at Elrohir who simply smiled. Both Elladan and Legolas opened their mouths to speak, and Aragorn held up a hand, asking them not to say a word.

"I meant nothing of the sort." Aragorn said softly and looked into the eyes of his friend and his brother, "I only wish to be back home."

The soft admission made Elladan's expression soften slightly, and he laid a gentle hand on Estel's shoulder. "Ú-achas Estel, fear not Estel, we will get home."

Estel was stopped from answering by Miran's hesitant entrance into the firelit room. Elladan straightened and smiled at him. "What can we do for you Miran?"

"Nothing much my lords, I only wished to thank you all on behalf of this village. We knew naught of the cure, and you brought it to us. Thank you for showing us that there is nothing to fear from the elves. I fear that if Strider here hadn't vouched for you, and convinced us of your sincerity, we would have turned you away and doomed us all." Miran hung his head, and stared at his hands. Elrohir looked at the man compassionately, and walked up next to him. Kneeling down in front of the human, the elf let his hands rest on the slumped shoulders.

"It was our pleasure to help you and your people Lord Miran. Do not take any blame on your shoulders, t'was not your fault that the relations between out two species have been somewhat lacking in recent times."

Miran did not look totally convinced, but nodded slowly. "Is there anything we can do for you my lords? Your kindness towards us deserves to be repaid."

Elrohir considered this for a moment, and looked Miran in the eyes. "If it is not too much trouble, could we borrow three horses from you. We will send them back as soon as we reach our home."

Miran nodded, and finally smiled. "Do not bother with sending them back. I know that you will treat them well. Consider them a gift as thanks for helping." Miran slowly moved away from Elrohir, and walked back towards the door. "I will go and find someone to prepare the horses. If you should need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask me." That said, the elderly man walked slowly out of the door.

"I am going to go and see if I can help at all. These people should not be doing anything strenuous, not yet." Elladan said as he started to walk for the door.

"I'm coming as well brother." Informed Elrohir as he stepped into line just behind his brother. Aragorn shook his head and moved to follow when a strong hand gripped his elbow.

"Don't you think that you are forgetting something Strider?"

Aragorn turned around and groaned as he saw the mug of tea in Legolas' hand. The human had never seen Legolas go and get it, and didn't want to take it. He turned to Legolas with pleading eyes, which got a curling of the princes' lips in response. "That may work on your ada mellon nin, but it will not work on me. Now, are you going to drink it or do I have to go and find some help?"

Legolas knew that Aragorn would take the drink, if only to not have anyone else force it down his throat. A smile tugged more forcefully at the elf's lips as Aragorn grabbed the mug out of Legolas' outstretched grip, grimacing at the smell.

The grimace came back with force as the human tipped his head back and downed the contents in one gulp.

"There, that wasn't so hard was it." Legolas grinned as Aragorn weakly swatted for his head. Legolas easily dodged the blow and grabbed Aragorn's arm. He wasn't sure if the tea had had any sleeping herbs in them, and he didn't want Aragorn collapsing on him.

As Aragorn started walking slowly for the door again, Legolas grabbed his pack and pulled out his blanket. The elf draped it over Aragorn's shoulders as they neared the door, and said, "I don't want you getting any worse."

Aragorn almost rolled his eyes, but wrapped the cloak tighter around his form. He was starting to feel a little cold now that he was moving out of the warmth of the fire.

Legolas reached the outside first, and stepped up gracefully into the one horse with a saddle. Elladan and Elrohir nodded from where they were talking with Miran, and Legolas swung in his saddle slightly to face Aragorn. Although Legolas did not need a saddle to ride a horse, it would keep Aragorn on the horse easier.

Aragorn saw that Legolas was holding his hand out, and realised that the elf meant for him to take it. Some part of Aragorn balked at needing help to ride a horse, something which the ranger had been doing for years, but he pushed it away and grasped Legolas' sure grip.

The elf tightened his hand, and pulled Aragorn up in front of him. Slender hands slipped around Aragorn's waist, and one hand came up to rest on Aragorn's chest. Ignoring the slight frown, Legolas gently pulled Aragorn back so he was resting fully against his chest, and tapped the muscled chest twice to let Aragorn know that he shouldn't move. As soon as Legolas felt Aragorn relax against his chest, the elf reached over and grasped the reins with one hand. Legolas looked over to the other two horses, and saw that Elladan and Elrohir had already mounted their saddle-less steeds, and were waiting for him to join them.

Legolas leant slightly around Aragorn and let his lilting elvish voice whisper into the horses ear. Her ears pricked up, and slowly she moved into a gentle trot. As he neared the twins, Legolas heard them do the same and soon they were on their way out of Ettenmóras.

TBC…