Disclaimer: Please see chapter 1
Many, many thanks to my beta Katy, you are the best!
Chapter three
A stunned silence filled the air for long moments. It was Elrond who eventually broke the tableau by returning the cloth once more to the bowl of water, rinsing and ringing it once more. Unlike the mud on the right side of Legolas face, the blood was dry and very hard to remove. It took a while and a lot of gentle work, but finally the porcelain skin of the Elf's face was reviled. But not all o0f it was the colour of porcelain.
Without the mud and blood to conceal it, Legolas' right cheek was badly bruised. Black's and blue's standing out in stark contrast to the remaining pale skin. The skin on that side of the jaw was a continuation of the bruise. There was also a long, partially open graze.
Elrond's sharp eyes took in all of this, before reaching to brush the damp hair away from the high forehead. This, in turn, reviled a growing haematoma, previously hidden. "Ai, what have you been up to know? Two heads wounds, tinith pen? What other injuries do you….." He was cut off by Glorfindel.
"One very deep, nasty thigh wound. But that is not all. This is for you." He held out the parchment, the royal seal now obvious to all. No one noticed the brief look of shock that flitted across Faren's features before he looked away.
Elrond was distracted, brushing the parchment away. "I'll see to that later. We need to treat Legolas first. This head wound needs stitching. Glorfindel winced as he took in the long jagged cut.
"So does his leg wound, it's as nasty as that. I will check him to see if he has any other injuries. For once he can not hide them from us." Elrond smiled at this statement. Yes, young Legolas did have away of trying to hide when he was hurt. All who knew him wanted to run away when they heard the immortal words 'I'm fine' leave the Princes' lips. It always meant he was far from fine. Elrond sighed as he reached for the needle and thread he would need.
The two Lord's concentration was broken by Andechoriel. "I wonder what the Prince was doing in the forest last night." They had forgotten the patrol leader was still present.
"We will find that out later, Andechoriel. While we continue here, take Faren." The other Elf started, his expression becoming oddly blank. Elrond silently followed the trajectory of his sight. He had been watching Legolas. "Get cleaned up and eat. I will need to speak with you later; he was threading the needle with the speed of one long used to this.
Andechoriel nodded. "As you wish, Lord Elrond. Come, Faren." The two Elves quickly left the Hall's of Healing leaving behind one Lord puzzling over Faren's behaviour
Silence once more descended as Elrond and Glorfindel continued working on the younger Elf. "There is another deep wound on his right side. This is strange. All his injuries are solely on that side. His left is completely clear." Glorfindel met his old friends look. "How bad are the head injuries?" He watched as Elrond finished cutting the remainder of the thread.
Sighing once more, thinking that this was a habit he must stop himself from doing, he covered the wound with a clean, dry dressing. "Bad. This one is deep and bad enough. But the second one? On top of the first, it is not good. The two expertly changed positions with the ease of those of long practice. "Unfortunately we will have to wait for Legolas to wake up before we will be able to gauge the extent of any damage."
"Damage? You mean…? Glorfindel could not continue a look of shocked horror on his face once more.
"Aye, damage. The concussion is severe, but there may be more to it." He removed the dressing covering the thigh wound. "This looks like a sword wound."
"So does this." There was another wound on the back of Legolas' right arm.
More minutes passed in quiet concentration as; between them the wounds were cleaned, stitched and dressed. They both stood back with tires sighs. During all of this, all of the poking and probing Legolas had remained unresponsive. He did not even move when as Elrond was dressing the wound in his right side, he found broken ribs.
"I am very glad my son's are in Lothlorien. He should be well on the way to healing by the time they return." Elrond moved to a cupboard, removing a long white gown. With Glorfindel's help they redressed the limp form. Both frowning as they realised just how cold the Elf in their care was. Worry shot through them both, it was unusual for an Elf to feel cold. Glorfindel gently covered the limp form with blankets, careful to completely cover Legolas. Elrond meanwhile left the room.
He returned with two servants carrying a brazier, its coals glowing brightly. At Elrond's instructions it was set down at the foot of the pallet. The two servants left the room with a small bow. Returning to Legolas side once more, he noticed the two chairs that had been placed beside the bed.
"I knew you would want to stay near to him." Glorfindel simply stated with a brief smile. Elrond returned it sheepishly. His old friend knew him all too well. But then after the millennia they had known each other, was it surprising? He took the seat nearest to Legolas.
"You said there was a missive?"
"Yes, it is here." Elrond accepted the parchment from Glorfindel. Briefly taking in the Mirkwood seal before slipping a finger between the folds and breaking it. Glorfindel watched as he read, a frown appearing on the forehead of the ageless face before him.
Lord Elrond,
I hope this letter finds both you and your family well, Mellon Nin.
It is with a troubled heart that I must ask for your help. The past few weeks have been hard; the dark forces seem to be gaining on us daily. We have lost many warriors.
But this is not all. It has come to my attention, by Loromaire a junior Captain of my Guard, that there is a plot to remove Legolas, my heir. There have been two attempts at his assassination as I write this. Thank the Valor they have been unsuccessful.
I ask, nay I beg of you, to look after my son whilst we look for the [person's responsible/ His safety is paramount and he is not safe in Mirkwood at present, no matter how many guards are with him.
Only three of us know that Legolas has been sent to you. It would be beneficial to leave it like this unless he is in great peril.
Once Legolas is safely in your care, Loromaire will continue onto Lothlorien to ask Lady Galadriel for aid in this matter before returning once more to Mirkwood.
Mellon Nin, I beg you to keep Legolas safe. Danger is all around.
Hannon lle and namare. May the Valor keep you safe?
Thranduil
Elrond's frown deepened as he passed the parchment to Glorfindel. Question after question filled his thoughts. Who and why would any one want to kill Legolas? He was well loved by all in Mirkwood. Just what could be happening in Mirkwood?
"If Loromaire was travelling with Legolas where is he?" Glorfindel's voice was thoughtful.
"We need to find out. Send out patrols - search the woods and the surrounding vicinity. We will also need to put guards on the House of Healing. Until we know exactly what is happening I do not want to take any chances what so ever. Also send a messenger to Lothlorien. I want Elladan, Elrohir and Estel back here." Another weary, deep sigh slipped from his lips. "Go, we have no time to loose."
Glorfindel swiftly left the room, leaving Elrond to ponder questions that at present no one but Legolas and Loromaire could answer.
Late afternoon passed into early evening with no sign of Legolas regaining consciousness. Elrond had only left his side twice and even then he had stayed in the room, staying at his own self imposed post. Even knowing that guards now stood at the door he was reluctant to leave, indeed he had decided that until his son's returned home he and Glorfindel would be the only ones to tend Legolas. If Thranduil wanted Legolas safe then safe he would be.
The door opening brought his head around, fully alert. Only to relax as Glorfindel entered carrying a tray full of food. "I did not think you would leave, Mellon Nin. So your food comes to you!" The food was presented with a flourish by the golden haired Elda. "How is he?"
Elrond's voice was terse when he replied. "He has a fever. It's been rising since you left." A gesture of his head towards the small table showed Glorfindel the roots and herbs readied to be used. "I've given him a potion; so far it has not helped. The wound on his thigh is infected. I've taken samples." Taking a mouth full of food he continued. "Whilst you stay with him, I'll try and find out what is causing this infection. I'm worried about his head injury; he should have regained consciousness by now." Another mouth full of food. "I want one of us with him at all times. Somethi9ng is not right. I do not know what, but I am uneasy." He watched as the other Elf stood by Legolas' side.
Glorfindel reached for the cloth covering Legolas forehead. He soaked and rinsed it once more in the rapidly cooling water before returning it to the hot forehead.
Once Elrond had finished his meal, he left Glorfindel and taking the samples taken earlier he made his way to his study.
Time passed slowly, with Glorfindel continuing to work at reducing Legolas' fever with no effect. Just as the sun was setting in incredible pinks and reds did he rise and make his way to the herb table. Adding the herbs to the water already simmering in the kettle he made the potion to help Legolas' fever; setting aside some water in the bowl he had been using to sponge Legolas down.
Once the tea was ready, he gently trickled it into the unresponsive mouth. It took a while and a lot of patience, but he had had plenty practice, but he was eventually pleased with how much he had managed to spoon feed Legolas.
"Now, Penneth, we will just have to wait for you to decide to return to us. I will not be far." Saying that he moved once more to the table to prepare more herbs for use later on. Keeping a sharp ear out for any sound or movement from Legolas he began chopping and crushing the roots and herbs to replace those he had just used. Once he had finished he sat down once more beside Legolas and began his vigil once more.
Review responses:
Iccle fairy: My first ever review! Thank you for the kind words. I was really worried about this story. I haven't written in over ten years, unless you count essays and dissertations! I hope you continue to enjoy this as much as I am writing it!
Uineniel: Thank you. Good guess about the Elf!
Karri: Please let me know what you think. I'm glad you like the writing style. My Beta bullied me something rotten to write this! Only joking! But if it hadn't been for Katy I would never have dared try this again.
Narouki: Did you guess the identity? Don't worry I will finish this fic.
Shadow Fox777: Here's your update! More tomorrow!
Elanor8: Thank you. You made my day for me! I am so glad you feel that way about the descriptions; it means I'm getting it right. I hope!
Jopru: Thank you. Please let me know what you think? Please?
Author note. You all have Katy to thank for getting this chapter. FF.net decided it didn't want to work for me, and then I managed to delete the entire chapter. Thank God Katy had a copy. She posted it for me. So thank you once again Katy.
Shell