That night, all slept peacefully, though Thranduil continued his vigil over Legolas. But that was not who Legolas found sitting by his bedside when he awoke in the morning. For Aragorn sat there, quietly smoking his pipe.
"Good morning," Aragorn smiled when he saw that Legolas was awake.
"Good morning. Did
you stay here all night?"
"No, your father did."
"I suppose then that you did not stay here just to be the first to say good morning," Legolas teased at the old ranger.
Aragorn laughed. "No, not quite. But I was anxious to check on your condition. You gave us all quite a scare," he added thoughtfully.
Legolas nodded. "I know and I am sorry that I put you all through that."
"There was nothing that you could have done, my friend."
"Perhaps, but I did want to thank you for everything you have done."
"Do not mention it. You are like a brother to me. I would not dream of doing anything less."
At that, a light knocking at the door took the attention of the two and Gandalf entered the room.
"How are you feeling today?" he asked as he took another seat and pulled it over to the bedside and next to Aragorn.
"Much stronger," the elf replied, "though I will not venture to say that I am quite my old self."
"I should think not," laughed the wizard. "But you do look considerably better," he said, noting that Legolas' color had returned from its' previously ashen state. "I think you should be strong enough for me to cast one more spell. Yes, I will cast it."
"What will this spell do?"
"It is a healing spell…for your ribs. Though you are elven and will heal fast, this spell will speed up that process and take away a lot of the pain that you are in. I will warn you, however, that in the beginning, you may experience a slightly higher degree of pain and discomfort. Do you want me to continue and cast the spell?"
A wry smile passed over Legolas' lips. "I have experienced pain and discomfort beyond that which I had ever imagined. I do not think that one spell can cause such pain as that. I would greatly appreciate it if you would cast your spell."
"Alright then."
Gandalf nodded his head and rolled his sleeves up just a bit. Stretching his arms before him, palms downward, he began to cast his spell, speaking in a language neither Aragorn nor Legolas knew. A warm feeling flooded over Legolas as an orange glow covered him, settling over all of his chest. The pleasant heat lasted for a minute or two before fading away.
"Now then," said Gandalf, "how do
you feel?"
"Fine," Legolas smiled, though after another few minutes, small flinches of pain that crossed his face let the others know that the spell had begun its' work.
For all that day, Legolas remained in pain, which was not unexpected. But Gandalf was still worried, for the elven prince began to feel weak again. His condition would improve of course, but the wizard was uneasy nonetheless, for Legolas was weak as it was after fighting the living poison of Mordor. He spoke of this concern only to Aragorn, for Gandalf did not wish to needlessly alarm King Thranduil.
Yet weak though Legolas was, that did not stop him from receiving his friends into his room all throughout the day. Gimli in particular stayed by his side, and the two friends spent much time in discussion, light ribbing, and playing strategy games, for Legolas was quite alert mentally. Gimli found it difficult to keep up with his friend, as was often the case when they played such games, and though he would not admit it, he was glad, for it meant to him that his friend would soon be back to normal.
Boromir too had stayed by the elf's side, feeling both lightened by Legolas' words to him the night before and yet still ashamed of his actions. But Gandalf had been right, and slowly, the man was working through all that had happened. Already he felt as if he could truly talk to Legolas with some degree of ease.
Day slowly faded into night, which settled over Gondor like a cool, thick blanket. But it was not until long after the lamps had been lit, that Legolas finally admitted his tiredness. He took a quiet supper with his father, Gimli, Arwen and Aragorn, for Faramir and Boromir had business to attend to, whilst Gandalf insisted that he see to Shadowfax. It was after this the young elf finally let sleep take him.
It was in the dark hours just after the moon had left its' peak that Legolas awoke. At first he felt a little dazed and disoriented, and could not right away decide what it was that had awoken him. His keen eyes scanned the room. Nothing looked out of place. And then, he saw it. A strong length of rope tied to a grappling hook was tightly gasping at the window sill. And from outside he heard it; the low hissing of multiple voices.
"Orcs!" he gasped.
