Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay; here's chapter 5! :)
=============
The next morning, Legolas awoke with a groan that he couldn't hold back. His pain hadn't abated much and he wondered why, until he remembered the conversation that he'd heard the previous night.
An arm slipped under his shoulders, and a voice said, "Soga, Legolas."
Legolas obeyed, drinking the herbs that the cup contained, and he opened his eyes to find Elrond sitting on the bed beside him.
"How do you feel?" the healer asked, gently lowering Legolas back down again.
Instead of answering, Legolas said, "I heard it all."
Elrond frowned, wondering what he meant.
"The vanwacoi," Legolas told him, sounding tired.
Elrond's expression changed, and he quickly tried to remember what was said, hoping that none of their words had proved overly traumatic for the younger elf.
"Fear not," said Legolas, knowing what he was thinking. "I am well."
'Well'...Elrond thought, sighing inwardly. You shall not be well until you are cured of this atrocity!
"What do I need to expect?" Legolas asked, with a sigh.
Elrond took the hand on the younger elf's good arm, squeezing it gently. Before he had a chance to speak, the door opened as Aragorn walked in.
"Legolas!" the human exclaimed, rushing over.
Legolas smiled at him, tugging on Elrond's hand as he tried to sit up.
Elrond let go and took his arm instead, gently helping him.
"How do you feel?" Aragorn asked.
"Fine," Legolas answered, too quickly.
Aragorn made an incredulous face, shaking his head. "You lie terribly."
Legolas gave him a slight smile. "It matters not how I feel. I need to know what to expect in order to live with my new..." he paused, hating to admit or accept defeat. "...problem," he finished.
Aragorn looked at Elrond.
"He heard us speaking," Elrond told him.
Aragorn sighed, shaking his head. "Forgive us, mellon-nin," he said, sighing. "We'd hoped to break it to you more gently."
Legolas shook his head. "It matters not. I have heard of vanwacoi, but did not think that it still existed."
"It did not," said Elrond. "Until now."
Legolas and Aragorn listened quietly as Elrond explained, and Legolas was stunned when Elrond told him that all mention of vanwacoi—including its cure—was ordered to be destroyed.
"However, I did not heed the decree," said Elrond, smiling. "I kept the cure's details in my library." He looked away from Legolas, sighing. "I never dreamed that I would need it...especially for you..."
"Legolas!"
Everyone looked up as Thranduil entered the room. The king smiled, rushing to his son and taking his hand.
Legolas smiled back, and Thranduil sighed, reaching out to smooth his son's hair.
"Penneth," he said. "There is something that you need to know—"
"I already do, ada," Legolas said. "I heard it all, last night."
Thranduil closed his eyes with a sigh, still unable to accept that something of this magnitude had happened to his son.
"What I do not understand," said Legolas. "Is the purpose of the poison that you mentioned..."
Thranduil sighed, realizing that he needed to show his son the letter. Looking around the room, he realized that he was unsure of where it was, until he saw it lying on the nightstand.
Reaching over, he picked it up and wordlessly handed it to his son.
Legolas frowned as he took it, having no knowledge of what it contained.
Everyone watched as he read it, watching as he attempted to keep his expression neutral. When Legolas finished reading the letter, he lowered it to his lap, looking at his father.
"He told me that I would bring you a wordless message," Legolas said. "Obviously, he meant inflicting me with the vanwacoi. He told me to tell you that it was a gift from an old friend."
Thranduil clenched his fists at those words.
Legolas sighed, feeling tired. "He said that you had wronged him in some way, but he would not tell me what you had supposedly done. He told me to ask you."
Thranduil sighed, lowering his head. "You were newly born," he said. "Raenwe's son was a new warrior in our ranks, and he and others had accompanied me into the woods...I cannot recall the purpose of the journey."
Legolas listened, having an idea of what would come next.
"Orcs attacked us, and Raenwe's son took an arrow meant for me," the king continued. "He fell, and I had no chance to assess his injury before I was whisked away from the scene by my guards. The...the orcs took him...I was not even able to bring Raenwe his son's body."
Legolas squeezed his father's hand sympathetically.
Thranduil placed his other hand over his son's. "Raenwe had been my good friend since the two of us were elflings. After his son's death, he accused me of negligence, in not keeping his son alive."
Legolas' eyes widened. "But there was nothing that you could have done!"
Thranduil nodded. "I know, ion-nin, I know."
No one said anything for a minute, Aragorn and Elrond watching as Legolas digested everything.
"As for you, Legolas," said Elrond. "After you have recovered, we will take you to Imladris, so that I can give you the antidote to the vanwacoi."
Legolas nodded, pushing the covers back.
"What are you doing?!" Thranduil exclaimed.
"Getting out of bed," said Legolas. "A dislocated shoulder is not enough to keep me here!"
Aragorn restrained him. "Mellon-nin, that is not your only injury. You have some cracked ribs as well."
"Ribs that would have healed by now," Legolas said, pulling his arm free and standing. Immediately a jolt of pain shot through his body, as well as a wave of dizziness, and he fell back to sit on the bed again.
Aragorn caught him from behind. "Legolas..." he sighed.
Thranduil and Elrond likewise grabbed the injured elf, preventing him from standing again.
Legolas repeatedly blinked his eyes, not sure whether to grasp his aching ribs or his screaming shoulder. "It has been six days..." he whispered.
"Six days is nothing in the recovery of a mortal," said Elrond. "Legolas, you know that your elven healing ability is gone; that doesn't only make you susceptible to human illness, but it also makes your recovery time like that of a mortal."
Legolas closed his eyes, shaking his head with a sigh. "When do we leave for Imladris?" he asked, resisting against Aragorn's attempts to make him lie down.
"I am not sure yet," said Elrond. "We shall wait to see how soon you recover."
"I have traveled while injured before!" Legolas said. "Much worse than this!"
"But you were never lacking your elven healing ability," said Elrond. "I believe that having it ripped away has caused a shock to your body, penneth. You will find yourself to be quite limited in certain things. We should first see exactly how it has affected you."
Thranduil watched his son sadly.
Legolas sighed, fighting back a sudden yawn.
"You are tired, mellon-nin," said Aragorn. "Sleep."
Legolas shook his head. "I am fine. I need no more rest."
Thranduil took his son's good arm, gently but firmly pushing him back down to the bed. "Yes you do. The sooner that you recover, the sooner that we can travel to Imladris."
"We?" said Legolas, trying to suppress another yawn.
Thranduil smiled as he pulled the covers to his son's chin. "We."
Legolas returned the smile, before falling asleep.