Shortly after checking on Thranduil, Elrond returned to Legolas' chambers. He was weary, he noticed, torn with grief for Aragorn and Legolas and filled with fear for Thranduil. There was no peace of mind within him. Still, he would not allow himself rest as of yet. He needed to reapply the healing salve to the wounds of the two injured warriors as well as change their bandages. Though Legolas was of elven blood, he could not risk any infection settling within the wounds. The elf was simply not strong enough to fight off anything at the moment and infection would most likely lead to his death. As for Aragorn, it was true that he was doing well, but he was still a mortal man. Elrond feared infection within his wounds as well.

Tiredly, he opened the door to the prince's room and was met with a sight he had not expected to see. Aragorn was sitting up in bed, listening as Gimli recounted all of the events since the man had lost consciousness during the battle in the throne room. But upon hearing the elf lord enter the room, both turned their attention from their own conversation.

"My lord Elrond," Aragorn said respectfully.

"Estel! You are awake! I am glad to see you looking so well."

"I am told that I had a great healer tending my wounds," came the reply. "But surely the dwarf must exaggerate."

The banter was light-hearted and well intentioned, and despite the fear and fatigue that had settled over his body, Elrond found himself laughing. His heart was greatly eased at seeing the man awake and in such good spirits. A great burden seemed lifted from the elf's shoulders, but still the fear of losing Legolas smote his heart.

"And what else has the dwarf told you?" he asked as he began to undo Aragorn's bandages to check and cleanse his wounds.

"All that has happened, or so he says. My lord, is there any hope for Legolas and Thranduil?"

The worry that Elrond had let fall from his face returned and Aragorn's heart dropped. Then Elrond began his tale, telling the man how severely the prince was wounded and of the progress that was being made with the king. He kept his voice steady and calm, despite what emotions he was having, and yet it broke his heart to see the reaction of the man he proudly called his son. Immediately, Aragorn began a tirade of questions concerning the finer points of the methods and herbs the elven lord had used in treating Legolas. Elrond had to smile.

"It seems I have taught you too well, Estel," he said finally, in mock self reproach for having taught the man all that he knew.

Aragorn laughed, though in his heart, he wished for nothing more than to be able to help his father tend to Legolas. It was not that he did not trust Elrond; in truth there were not many that he did trust so well. But laying in bed made him feel helpless, which in turn gave way to frustration. He wasn't sure what he would do if Legolas did not survive.

Elrond seemed able to read Estel's heart and gave him a reassuring smile. "There is nothing you can do for him. As I told Gimli, what hope remains for him lays with Legolas alone. We must watch and wait to see what shall happen."

As Elrond spoke, he finished tying new bandages around Aragorn's arrow wound and turned his attention to Legolas. The elf was still ashen in color and Elrond could still see that his breathing was labored. Despite being unconscious and the virtue of the salve, he must have been in great pain. Elrond sighed softly. With such wounds as Legolas bore, that fact did not much surprise him. Now he checked the prince's other vital signs. It seemed to him that Legolas' pulse had grown faintly stronger. Of this, he said nothing, for he could not be certain of this. It could well be that perhaps in his desire to see Legolas pull through such a rough time, he was mistaken, though Elrond knew this to be an extremely rare case. And if it were indeed true, the prince could still take a turn for the worse. He did not want to kindle false hope in the hearts of Gimli and Aragorn.

When his work was completed, he took a quite supper with the others whilst they continued their vigil over Legolas. Legolas too, was fed by Elrond, who helped the prince consume a thin, nourishing soup and some water. He would need all of the strength that he could get. All the while, the three spoke with one another, and Elrond soon learned the true story behind Aragorn's adventures on the hidden paths within the palace walls. Several times he nodded with approval as Aragorn recounted the decisions that he had made, mostly in reference to his decision not to command Legolas to give Thranduil and Alandor the pills. Had he done so, Alandor, or rather Celebloki, would have been alerted to the unraveling of his carefully laid plans far too early.

"Your decision to wait probably saved the lives of Thranduil and Legolas, as well as all of Mirkwood from falling into hands tainted by Sauron's evil," Elrond said at length.

"And yet my decision still proved ill. There is a chance that Thranduil shall not come out from under the serum's influence and the commands of Kyno. And Legolas…I may yet have cost my best friend his very life."

"He may yet live," Elrond argued.

"And if he does not? If his wounds prove too great? I shall never forgive myself, knowing that I had a chance to get Thranduil the anti-venom. Then perhaps he would not have drawn weapon against his son and Legolas would never have had need to suffer so."

Elrond shook his head. "Nay, do not think that way. This plot against Mirkwood's royal family stretches back far too many years. Any sign of cracks forming in its' foundation would likely have caused Celebloki and Kyno to make a rash judgment. By not giving Legolas the antidote for his father and his supposed brother, you allowed the cracks in the plot to go unnoticed and that is often the most disastrous kind of wound to a foundation."

Whether or not Aragorn was placated by Elrond's words, he allowed the conversation to drop. He knew he could never win an argument against his father. Instead, he turned the conversation to other topics, asking about the state of affairs in Rivendell and the like. The moon rose higher in the sky, now past the midnight mark. At last, exhausted from the past two days, the three fell into a deep sleep.