Chapter 6

Darks clouds hung over Imladris for days, but it was nothing compared to the mood inside the Last Homely House. After he resumed breathing, the Mirkwood prince had fallen into a deep sleep from which no one, not even Elrond, could rouse him. Aragorn's father had called it a coma; Aragorn did not care what it was called, only the effects it would have on his friend.

Elrond had other concerns. He loathed thinking about it, but there was always the possibility that Legolas would never wake up. He was concerned about the emotional damage it would do to all of his sons, but particularly the effects it would have on his youngest. He asked Elladan and Elrohir to leave the room, giving him a few minutes with his human son. "Estel, there is something we need to discuss."

"Can it wait until later, Ada?" Aragorn was close to tears and he did not feel he could take any more bad news. He could tell by the tone in his father's voice that Elrond was not going to give him false hope.

"I'm sorry, but we all have to accept the possibility that Legolas may never wake up."

Aragorn turned fiery eyes on his father, silencing the elf lord. "Never say anything like that. Legolas will wake up."

"But if he doesn't, he will not be the only one who is lost." Elrond could tell Aragorn was confused. "Under normal circumstances, Legolas would never be ill. He is in your body, so if...," he gave the man a compassionate glance, hesitating before he spoke. "If he does not survive this his soul and mind will be lost, but so will your body."

Estel was an apt name for Aragorn, for he would not accept his father's words. "This discussion is pointless, for Legolas will survive. He will wake up, we will be switched back, and we will both suffer no ill affects from this." Aragorn would hold to that illusion as long as possible. Elrond could see that there was no way to get through to the ranger, so he quietly left the room to talk to his two other distraught sons.

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Aragorn's hope was well placed, for Legolas regained consciousness within a few weeks.

"Ada?" Legolas questioned softly in his slumber. The twins, who still did not know that it was Legolas, and not their brother, was the one who was near death, jumped out of their seats and shouted for joy. Elladan went to get Elrond. While he was gone Elrohir and Aragorn tried to keep Legolas alert enough to talk to them.

"Estel, how are you feeling?" There was no reply to Elrohir's question.

"Estel, please say something!" Again there was silence. The twin panicked in his fear for his brother's health. He gently shook Legolas' shoulder, begging him to say anything.

"Why do you keep addressing me as Estel?" Legolas groggily questioned.

"There's something wrong. He does not remember who he is!" Elrohir shouted as Aragorn tried to form a plan to get the younger twin out of the room.

He was still thinking when Elrond entered.

"Ada, Estel doesn't remember who he is!"

Elrond threw a quick look at Aragorn, who shook his head at what his brother had said. "Elladan. Elrohir, please give me a few minutes to examine Estel."

The two started to leave, but Elladan threw a quizzical glance at Aragorn. "How come Legolas gets to stay?"

"I may need his help."

"Why can't one of us stay. We are his brothers, and both of us are much more skilled at healing than Legolas."

"You two are not thinking clearly at the present time. I fear you would make a mistake in your hastiness to save your brother. Please, just leave for a couple of minutes. I promise I will come get you when I am finished." The two stepped out of the room, pouting in the hallway.

Aragorn leaned over the bed, whispering softly to his friend. "Legolas, can you hear me?"

"Yes. What happened?"

"You have been asleep for a long time. You stopped breathing for a while."

"Why?"

"What do you remember, young one?" asked Elrond.

"All I remember is not being able to breathe." The prince shuddered at the thought. It was one feeling he hoped to never feel again. "Why would that happen to me?"

Elrond picked up a mirror and handed it to Legolas. When he saw himself as a man, not a wood elf, the memory came crashing back on him. "Estel and I switched places, didn't we?"

"Yes."

"I thought it was all a horrible nightmare."

Aragorn opened his mouth to reply when he heard shouts from behind the door.

"Are you finished yet, Ada?"

"Please let us come in!"

"It's not fair!"

"Please open the door!"

"Are you ready to receive visitors yet?" Elrond questioned Legolas.

The prince felt extremely tired, and only wanted to go back to sleep. Contrary to what he had thought before, he could feel worse than he did a before he blacked out. The pain was still there. The only difference was the crushing feeling that had wrapped itself around his lungs was no longer present. Instead there was a sharp pain that struck when he inhaled, and a dull throbbing the rest of the time. He shook his head no.

"Then I'm extremely sorry."

The twins burst through the doors. "We don't care what you said, we want to see Estel." Elladan wasn't going to take no for an answer. They looked onto the bed, paling at what they saw.

"What did you do to him, father?" they questioned softly. Elrond was surprised at their reaction and turned to toward the bed. He saw Legolas lying perfectly still, in feigned sleep. The only thing that gave him away was the small grimace of pain that he wore and the tension in his muscles.

"I gave him something for the pain, and he fell fast asleep," Elrond lied. If Legolas didn't have the energy to talk to anyone, he wasn't going to force him.

The two were not dissuaded. They sat beside the bed and patiently waited for their little brother to wake up.

Author's note: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. As soon as I posted that cliffhanger a major writer's block hit me. I have been struggling with this chapter and I really don't like it, but I thought it was unfair to leave you hanging for any longer. So, please do not flame me.

Marbienl: Thank you for your review. It means a lot to me. I kept pushing myself to post this weekend so I would have at least one more chapter for you to read.

Deana: I'm sorry that I didn't post more last weekend, but at least I posted more this weekend? Gets on her knees and begs for forgiveness.

LOTRFaith: Thank you for reading this story despite your reservations. I was a little concerned that the summery would keep people from reading it.

Elfmage: Can I call this slow updating? lol. Thank you for your reviews.

Grumpy: Don't worry, I plan to let Aragorn have fun with his new elven body.

OBStar20: I hate cliffies too. I hope you're not too mad at me.

Jazi: Thank you for your review.

Saihitei Seishuku: I had a friend ask me to do the same thing. However, I have never read one of those fics before and I do not think I could do the genre justice. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but thank you for becoming my new loyal reader.

Starnight: Thank you.

NekoMegami-chan: Thank you for your suggestion. I looked at the thesaurus my computer came with and decided it wasn't good enough. I bought a new one, so hopefully the next chapters will have a broader vocabulary.

Websterans: If only I could answer your questions now. Don't worry, the next few chapters will. Thanks for reading and for your review.

Once'been burned: Thanks for your review.

Va: Very intuitive. I guess you'll just have to wait and see.

Evenstar: Thank you so much. I'm sorry I didn't post sooner.

Shauna: The entire time I wrote this your death threat was in the back of my mind. Thank you (I think) for being the first to give me one.

Elvensong: Thank you.

Stormsaiyan: Don't worry. I couldn't live with myself if Legolas died. Thank you for your review.