Wowweee! Thank you for the incredible reviews! Really lifted up my day! And yes, that song was mine! Ha! Ha!
*Kayo : The answer to your question is right here!
Now on to the story.
"What happened?" Thranduil had rushed forward, kneeling beside his sons. Gandalf was right behind him.
"I don't know, father. We were talking when suddenly he cried out and just…fainted," Keldarion replied.
The other remaining elves gathered around them, looking on with concern and dismay. They were also worried with this sudden turn of event. Gandalf noticed the fascinated crowd so he suggested, "We had better take him inside. He needs a place to lie down."
They quickly carried Legolas into the palace towards his chamber and gently placed him on the large bed.
"It must be this thing," Keldarion said, taking off the silver circlet from around Legolas' head. "He kept complaining it gave him a headache."
"Somehow I'm not sure that is the case, Keldarion," Gandalf stated as he stared intently at Legolas' angelic face. The prince's eyes were closed, his long dark lashes a stark contrast to his pale skin. "This is something else entirely."
"Maybe the manyan stone can heal him," Thranduil said.
Keldarion was already peeling the robe off his brother. He then unclasped the top catches of Legolas' tunic and pulled out the silver chain that had the magical healing stone attached to it. To their astonishment, instead of shining brightly white, the stone had turned to glaring red!
At first, the three of them were completely silent, totally horrified. Then Thranduil spoke softly in disbelief, "How did it come to this?"
"This is not correct," Keldarion said as he fingered the stone. "It was not red before. I saw it when Legolas got dressed!"
Gandalf reached forward to touch the stone but quickly pulled his hand away. Thranduil and Keldarion were puzzled. "What's wrong, Gandalf?"
The wizard was staring at the stone thoughtfully. "You don't feel it, Kel?"
"Feel what?"
"When you touch the stone, don't you feel the heat?"
"What are you talking about?" Thranduil asked as he also touched the stone. He yelped and snatched back his hand. "Ai! It's blazing hot!"
Keldarion was frowning. The stone lay on his palm without harming him in any way. "I don't feel a thing."
"I think that's because you have manyan blood in you from your mother," Gandalf stated. Then his eyes widened. "Take the stone off your brother, Kel. Now!"
Keldarion immediately complied. Lifting Legolas' head slightly, he pulled the chain off his still unconscious brother. Gandalf had already fetched a glass of water and he instructed Keldarion to put the stone inside. As soon as the stone hit the water, the liquid turned red—like blood—not translucent blue like it was supposed to.
"Valar! What is the meaning of all this? What is happening?" Thranduil gasped.
Gandalf took the glass further away from Legolas, saying, "Give me a minute. I need to think."
The wizard went outside onto the balcony and placed the glass on top of the wide marble rail. The night breeze brushed against his long gray hair and cloak. Soon after, he was very deep in thought as his eyes stared deeply into the glass.
Legolas was starting to writhe and moan on the bed, his eyes still closed. When Keldarion touched Legolas' forehead, he found that it was not feverish, perfectly normal. "Legolas? Can you hear me?"
The younger prince turned towards his brother's voice.
"That's it, Legolas. Come back to me. Wake up now," Keldarion kept urging. Thranduil stroked his son's head as he also called for Legolas to surface from oblivion.
Legolas eyes fluttered open then. He stared in confusion at his father and brother.
"Wha…?" he croaked, his throat a little raspy. "What happened?"
Keldarion chuckled in relief. "You fainted."
Legolas frowned in disbelief. "I never fainted."
Thranduil also laughed softly. "Well, Legolas, you just…hmm…did."
"That's preposterous!" Legolas grumbled, slightly embarrassed. He struggled to sit up. "Why would I…?"
He grabbed the back of his neck instantly, hissing in pain. Thranduil and Keldarion were alarmed. "What's wrong? Are you hurting?"
Legolas closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they saw the gleam of agony in the depth of his eyes.
"My neck. Something's wrong…so painful…" Legolas' voice was trembling slightly.
Supporting his brother against him, Keldarion swiped away Legolas' golden tresses to expose the white slender neck. Keldarion and the king gasped in horror when they saw the red and bluish bruise that throbbed against Legolas' skin at the nape.
It was the exact place where the manyan stone had been many years ago before an evil witch dug it out of him. When the stone was still within him, Legolas had had the ability to heal all kinds of malady and wounds just by the touch of his hand.
"What is it? What did you see? Can somebody tell me what's going on?" Legolas asked.
"It has begun," Gandalf suddenly said. He had walked in, carrying the glass before he placed it on the chest beside the bed. The wizard stared at the ailing prince. "It all clicks into place now. The terrible bruise on your neck, the bleeding stone. You are getting weaker, I believe?"
Legolas slowly nodded as he stared hard at the manyan stone in the glass. "My limbs feel so strange. I feel so weak, and my neck is killing me. What happened to the stone, Gandalf? What's going on?"
Gandalf softly sighed, taking a few moments to gather his thoughts. "The mystical power of the stone is coming to an end," the wizard finally stated. The three elves blinked back at him, not really understanding his words.
"Why is that?" Thranduil asked.
"We all know that the stone was taken out of Legolas' neck exactly at midnight one hundred years ago today," Gandalf continued. "Before that, it had fed on Legolas' inner energy and blood and gave back its healing power through the tips of Legolas' fingers. But ever since it was taken out, the stone relies wholly on its reserved energy, never replenished. Now, the one hundred years of reserve has completed and the time is up. The stone is no longer healing, for its power has diminished, gradually extinguished. Desperate for new energy, it feeds from the nearby source. And that is you, Legolas, because it only recognizes you. Unfortunately, it sucks your inner energy out of your being, making you weak and fading."
"We can't let this go on!" Keldarion exclaimed.
"No, we can't. Or Legolas will die. The stone must be destroyed," Gandalf concluded. He looked down at Legolas who had his head resting on the king's lap.
The prince's face was a myriad of emotions—disbelief, pain and sadness. Silent tears were already streaming down his cheeks.
"Now I'm truly no longer a manyan, am I?" Legolas said softly. "I can heal no more. Ever."
Thranduil stroked his son's golden hair. "Legolas, please do not despair so. The most important thing right now is for you to stay alive."
"But the stone is a part of me…since the day that I was born. How can I live without it?"
"It no longer heals, my son. Instead, it brings you harm. It can kill you."
"Part of my soul is already dead anyway…" Legolas whispered, closing his eyes. Soon after, he drifted into exhausted sleep. The others exchanged sad looks afterwards, lost for better things to say.
Thranduil was very sad to see his youngest child this way. Why must Legolas keeps on suffering so? Wasn't it enough with all those horrible things that have happened to him all these years? How many more times should he suffer?
His eyes glistening with unshed tears, Keldarion asked, "What must we do now, Gandalf? How do we destroy the stone?"
"This is not an ordinary stone, so it won't break under the heaviest hammer or the sharpest sword. It originated from water, so to the water it shall return," Gandalf replied.
"What do you suggest, my friend?" Thranduil inquired as he pulled the coverlet over his sleeping son and tucked him to his chin.
"We must cast it into the sea."
TBC…