Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews! :) Here's chapter 11! :)

Conversation was limited as the small party approached the Misty Mountains. Legolas could feel everyone's eyes on him, as they probably worried that he would further injure his shoulder if his mare faltered on the uneven ground.

They quickly sought out a path through the mountain and slowed their pace, out of concern for the younger elf. Legolas wished to go faster but he didn't bother saying anything, knowing that they would refuse.

The day passed without incident as they navigated the uneven terrain. Legolas found that his headache refused to completely go away—sometimes growing worse, sometimes getting better. It proved to be a huge annoyance, but as usual he said nothing, suffering in silence.

"Are you all right, ion-nin?"

Slightly startled, Legolas looked at his father, seeing concern written plainly on his face. "Of course, ada."

"You are quiet," Thranduil pressed.

Legolas had no answer that wouldn't worry his father. "Yes."

Thranduil said nothing for a minute, silently watching his son.

More than once Legolas saw his father start to say something, but change his mind. The elf-king probably didn't want to say anything that would weigh heavily on Legolas' mind, as he had more than enough to think about.

The conversation was never continued, for Elrond suddenly called a stop.

"Why so early?" Legolas asked.

Elrond rode his horse towards them, gesturing behind himself. "The heavy rain caused some flooding," he said. "I would rather not travel downhill on such soft ground."

Legolas saw the wisdom in his words and nodded, riding forward to peer down the hill. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, and he quickly rode back.

Without a command from neither man nor elf, the horse knelt to allow her master to dismount.

Legolas couldn't disguise his surprise at the amazing perception of his steed. Patting her mane, he stepped off, ignoring Aragorn's sudden grin.

Supper was mostly conversation-free, as Legolas' appetite had returned this night and they were too engrossed in watching him eat to bother speaking.

Legolas knew of course that they were watching him. He was hungry, tired, and his head hurt, so he ignored their stares.

When the sun started to set, he leaned back against a large boulder, watching it silently…as the others continued to watch him.

"What ails my son?" Thranduil whispered to Elrond, sounding nervous. "Has he fallen into melancholy?"

"His head still hurts," said Aragorn, able to read the signs in his friend's face.

Elrond nodded. "Aye…he does not look well. I fear that he shall soon fall ill."

Thranduil frowned deeply, looking at the healer. "What can we do?"

Elrond shook his head. "Nothing, yet. Unfortunately, we have to wait to see what develops."

Thranduil sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair. "Tomorrow is day four of our journey, with two remaining after that. Do you think that his illness will wait until we have arrived?"

Elrond studied Legolas from where they sat. He could see fatigue in his features, but it was being joined by paleness and an all-around unhealthy look. "I do not think that it will wait."

He was right.

The next morning, Legolas woke up feeling as if a cave troll had stepped on him.

He remembered Elrond giving him some herb-laden tea the night before, and remembered going to sleep, but he felt as if he'd gotten no rest whatsoever; his eyes felt glued shut and his head felt strange, as if he'd drank too much wine.

Rolling onto his back, he winced when seemingly all the muscles in his body protested. He tried to force his eyes open, and saw that no one had noticed yet that he'd woken.

Quickly re-closing his eyes, Legolas figured that he'd pretend to still be asleep, hoping that he would start to feel better. I don't want to delay our arrival at Imladris! he thought.

Quietly rolling back onto his side, Legolas winced when his head responded with a throb. Resisting the urge to raise a hand to grasp it, he tried to listen when the others started to whisper.

Elrond stood at the top of the hill, looking down the slope. "The ground is dry enough to continue," he said, walking back to the others. Looking at Legolas, he saw the elf's body suddenly grow tense and he frowned, crossing over to him. "Penneth?" he said, placing a hand on his back. "Are you awake?"

Legolas inwardly sighed. He knew that he could never fool the healer, so he opened his eyes. "Aye."

Elrond smiled gently, as Aragorn and Thranduil rushed over. "How do you feel today?"

"Fine," he answered, too quickly. He frowned at the unsteady sound of his voice.

"Ai, Legolas," said Aragorn. "You are anything but!"

Thranduil knelt closer. "What ails you, ion-nin?!" he exclaimed, sounding very nervous.

"Nothing," Legolas lied, trying to make his voice sound stronger. "My headache simply comes and goes. Worry not, it has left once more."

No one looked like they believed him.

"When do we leave?" Legolas asked.

"After you have eaten," said Elrond, critically studying him.

Legolas carefully shook his head. "I do not hunger. We can leave now."

Everyone moved back as Legolas sat up with Aragorn's help. He moved his bad arm up and down, holding in a wince. "My shoulder has further improved," he lied, hoping to divert their attention.

Thranduil smiled at that, and he and Elrond stood and moved off to finish packing up the campsite.

Unknown to Legolas, they used that as an excuse to observe him.

Aragorn folded his friend's bedroll, gathering his waterskin and supplies as Legolas donned a fresh tunic, purposely using his bad shoulder to make it seem improved.

Aragorn moved off to tie Legolas' things to his horse, and Thranduil and Elrond did the same with their own packs, not wanting the younger elf to know that he was being studied.

Legolas finished dressing, turning his face away from the others as if looking at the sky, but he closed his eyes with a wince, as his shoulder and head throbbed. He ran a hand through his hair, wishing to feel his familiar warrior braids. There was no way that he'd be able to fashion them himself and he didn't want to ask for help, so he left his hair the way it was, smoothing it down and pushing it behind his ears.

Elrond, Thranduil, and Aragorn watched him, but they quickly turned back to their horses when Legolas turned in their direction.

Taking a deep breath, Legolas pushed himself up from the ground, but when he was only halfway there, an unexpected dizzy spell assaulted him and he fell back, landing on his rear.

Aragorn saw him fall from the corner of his eye, and turned around, rushing to his friend. "Legolas? What happened?"

Legolas furiously blinked the dizziness back. "I…my leg fell asleep," he lied.

Aragorn wasn't sure whether or not to believe him, but he realized that he could be telling the truth. Taking his friend's good arm, he carefully helped him to his feet.

Legolas smiled his thanks, shaking out his right leg to keep up with his ruse.

Elrond and Thranduil looked at him when Aragorn and Legolas walked over to the horses, and Legolas was slightly dismayed to find his horse already kneeling.

"Are you making her do that?" he asked the human.

Aragorn shook his head, smiling. "No, I swear! Gwaeren is a very intelligent horse, mellon-nin."

Legolas nodded, scratching her behind the ears. "Aye, she is."

Gwaeren neighed softly, tossing her head as if to say, 'I know what you are hiding!'

Legolas mounted, whispering something in her ear that no one else was able to hear.

Elrond lead the group down the hill, finding the ground still soft from the flooding, but not dangerously so. They eventually reached the bottom without mishap, easing the horses onto more flat and stable ground.

Legolas was immensely relieved to be down from the hill. Another dizzy spell had attacked him when they were halfway down, and his limbs were growing heavy. He'd prayed that the strange dizziness wouldn't strike again before reaching the bottom, for he was afraid that if it did, he wouldn't be able to stay on the horse.

The day passed similarly to the one before, quiet and uneventful. Everyone could see that something was not right with Legolas, but every time they asked he denied it.

By mid afternoon, Legolas was thoroughly miserable. It was very sunny that day, and the sun's brightness was making his headache worse. It had become an incessant throbbing, and he felt terribly weak, the dizzy spells coming more and more often. He sighed, forgetting for a minute that he was hiding his condition.

Aragorn heard and looked at him, seeing Legolas' true state, for the few seconds that the elf had his guard down.

Legolas suddenly realized what he'd done and changed his expression, putting on his fake mask of health.

"Oh, Legolas…" Aragorn started.

Legolas whipped his head around to look at him, ready to tell his friend that he was fine, but a dizzy spell worse than the others suddenly attacked him.

Aragorn gasped when his friend's eyes closed as he abruptly started to slide off the horse. "Ada!" Aragorn shouted.

Elrond and Thranduil turned around, seeing the human holding Legolas up on his steed. The young elf's head was bowed, his eyes closed.

"Legolas!" Thranduil shouted, quickly riding his horse over and grabbing his son. "Legolas!"

The young elf fought to stay conscious, opening his eyes and blinking away the grayness in his vision.

Elrond placed a hand on Legolas' back, waiting for the prince to compose himself.

Thranduil was near panic, hugging his son to his chest, gently smoothing the golden hair. "What was that, Legolas? Speak to me, ion-nin!"

"You're…crushing me…"

Thranduil abruptly loosened his grip, taking his son by the arms and pushing him back so that he could see his face.

Legolas was unable to hide his condition any longer and sighed, limp in his father's grasp.

"You are ill," Thranduil nervously stated, rather than asked. "Tell us what ails you!"

Legolas sighed again, blinking his eyes when the dizziness refused to completely go away. He suddenly felt cold, and couldn't prevent a shiver. "Can we get down first?"

Instead of answering, Thranduil pulled Legolas onto his own steed and scooped him into his arms, sliding off the horse and gently setting his son on the ground.

Elrond was immediately beside Legolas, pressing a hand to his forehead. "He has a fever."

Legolas sighed at the healer's words. Elrond's hand felt cool compared to his feverish skin, and he closed his eyes.

Elrond removed his hand, reaching for his healing pack. "Tell me your symptoms, penneth, and leave nothing out."

Legolas hesitated, hating to be the center of attention, but knowing that he had to be truthful. "My head, still," he finally said. "The pain is no longer confined to one side."

Elrond searched through his herbs as Aragorn opened a waterskin. "What else?"

"I feel weak," Legolas told him. "And I keep suffering dizzy spells."

Elrond looked at him. "Dizzy spells? Frequent?"

Legolas almost nodded, but stopped himself in time. "Aye."

"When did they start?" Elrond asked.

"This morning," Legolas told him.

Aragorn shook his head. "Leg fell asleep, indeed," he muttered.

Legolas looked at his friend, but only sympathy was on Aragorn's face, not anger.

Thranduil's expression was one of anxiety, as he tightly held onto his son's hand.

"I am fine, ada," Legolas told him, feeling guilty for worrying his father so.

"Hush," Thranduil said, brushing hair out of his son's face.

Aragorn handed the king a wet cloth, and Thranduil placed it on Legolas' forehead. "What is it that my son has contracted?" he asked Elrond.

"His symptoms are common in mortal sicknesses," the healer answered, leaving out the fact that the severity of the dizzy spells concerned him. "He should recover without trouble," he continued, stirring the herb-laden water.

Thranduil sighed in relief, sliding an arm under his son and pulling him into a sitting position.

Legolas drank the medicine without complaint, feeling too weak to resist.

Thranduil laid him back down, and started to remove his son's cloak and tunic.

"Ada," Legolas sighed. "There is no need to fuss over me."

"You have a fever!" Thranduil said, as if Legolas didn't know that. "We need to cool you off to help bring it down."

Legolas sighed again, reaching his own hands to do it himself, but his injured shoulder stopped him with a wince.

Thranduil placed a hand on his son's chest. "Rest, penneth. We will take care of you."

Legolas closed his eyes with an inward sigh. Being cared for like a cripple was what he hated most in the world.

Aragorn retrieved some firewood and started to unpack the horses. The sounds reached Legolas' ears and he opened his eyes. "We need not stop!"

Elrond took Legolas' cloak and folded it, gently placing it under the prince's head. "Yes we do. Your body will not heal itself as you ride; mortals only get sicker when they push themselves."

Legolas frowned. "I am not mortal."

Thranduil sighed. "You know what he means."

Echoing the sigh, Legolas closed his eyes again as his father finished removing his tunic and started undoing the top clasps on his shirt. He sincerely hoped that his father would leave that on him, and just when he was about to tell him so, Thranduil stopped, having only loosened it to make Legolas more comfortable.

"Are you hungry, Legolas?" Elrond asked.

"No," the prince tiredly answered, sounding as if he wasn't far from slumber.

"Sleep," Thranduil said, rewetting the cloth and patting his son's fever-hot face. "Sleep."

The king's voice was soothing, and Legolas was unable to prevent himself from obeying.