Legolas and Aragorn rode hard, wanting to get as far as they could as fast as they could. They knew that their fathers wouldn't just sit idle and wait for them, so they were sure to put as much distance between Imladris and themselves as possible.

Legolas was quiet, unable to accept the fact that he was only able to fire a few arrows before his left arm grew unable to hold the bow. It bothered him greatly, but he was slightly comforted by the fact that if his left arm became useless, he would still be able to fight one-handed with one of his knives.

Aragorn knew his friend's thoughts, but he said nothing, recognizing Legolas' mind at work. He quietly studied his friend, noticing how strange it was to see pinkness in the elf's cheeks from the chilly weather. Further proof of his mortal health, he thought, sadly. "Are you warm enough, Legolas?" he suddenly blurted.

The look that Legolas gave Aragorn made the human inwardly wince at how pathetic his question had sounded.

"Aye," Legolas said. "I am fine."

Aragorn could see that it was a lie; the elf's voice had sounded strangely choked, as if he were trying to hold back from coughing.

The human's suspicion was proved correct when Legolas suddenly started to cough. He rode closer to the elf's horse, reaching out to force Gwaeren to halt.

"No, I'm all right," Legolas wheezed.

Aragorn shook his head. "We'll stop for a short rest. You may be 'all right', but I am hungry."

Knowing that Aragorn was using that as an excuse, Legolas sighed, but it started him off coughing again.

Aragorn dismounted, reaching up to grab his friend's arm. "Come down."

"I am!" Legolas exclaimed, irritated. "I am…not a…weak elfling…" he said, in between coughs.

The human wisely said nothing, sympathizing with his friend's understandable frustration.

Legolas dismounted, trying to stop coughing as he sat on a fallen log.

"Don't suppress it," said Aragorn, handing him the canteen of cherry-bark tea.

Legolas said nothing, drinking the tea. He watched as Aragorn searched for firewood, the human looking at him every few seconds to be sure that he was all right.

"How is your breathing?" the human called out.

"Fine," Legolas lied, the shout worsening his coughing fit.

Aragorn came back with some wood, frowning at the sight of his friend holding his head with one hand as if the coughing was making him dizzy. The waterskin rested in the elf's left hand, which stuck out of the sling, and the angle in which he held it suggested that there was no more tea left.

Aragorn crossed to their horses and quickly removed the packs.

Legolas' eyes were closed when he felt something bump his arm, and he opened them to see another waterskin in his friend's hand. He took it, gratefully, as Aragorn sat a bottle of juniper oil beside him on the log.

The human crossed back to the pile of wood and set it ablaze before returning to Legolas and sitting beside him.

The elf tried to control the wheezing in his breath as he looked at his friend. "We need not stop," he said.

Aragorn gestured to their east. "We approach the mountains. I thought it wise to refresh ourselves before we begin to cross them."

Legolas gave no reply, drinking more of the tea before setting the waterskin in his lap and rubbing his eyes with one hand. He was tired and cold, and hated the feeling.

A hand suddenly touched his forehead and he opened his eyes to see Aragorn's worried face.

"The fever has not returned," the human said, answering his friend's questioning gaze. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," Legolas said.

Aragorn shook his head at the obvious lie. Saying nothing, he took in the sight of his friend for a minute, before standing and moving towards their packs again.

Legolas watched, wondering what he was doing.

Aragorn removed a cloak from his own pack, knowing that his would be thicker than Legolas' own. He walked back to his friend and proceeded to put it on him.

"I don't need that," Legolas protested. "The coat is adequate. Besides, I have my own cloak should I require it."

"Mine is warmer," Aragorn said, pinning the cloak at Legolas' throat. "You shiver."

Legolas inwardly sighed, though he was grateful for the added warmth. He blinked when Aragorn pulled the hood over his head, frowning at the amused expression on the human's face.

Aragorn smiled at his friend, knowing how Legolas hated to be fussed over. His smile widened as he grabbed the elf's hand and started to shove it into a glove.

"Estel!" Legolas exclaimed. "I can at least do that on my own."

"With only one usable arm?" said Aragorn, not letting go. "An amazing feat, mellon-nin!"

Legolas sighed, catching himself from breathing too deeply, lest he cough again.

Finished, Aragorn stood, smiling down at his friend. Smirking, he reached out and tugged the cloak's hood over Legolas' eyes before walking back towards the fire.

Legolas pushed it up and glared at his friend's back, though it quickly melted into a slight smile.

They stayed there for over an hour, eating and using the fire to warm their chilly bodies, before once more mounting their horses and riding into the mountains.

The weather seemed to get even colder the further they rode, and Aragorn wondered if an early winter was coming to Middle Earth.

Legolas wondered the same thing. He'd been blessed with elven endurance to temperature for so long that he couldn't be sure if the current chill was normal for this time of year. He suspected that was not actually as cold as he thought, but that his body was exaggerating the feeling because it was not accustomed to it.

A sudden wind blew past them, and Aragorn frowned at the sight of dark clouds. They hung low but were well ahead of them, perhaps over Mirkwood itself. Aragorn sincerely hoped that they wouldn't ride into a rainstorm.

Legolas held onto his horse's mane tightly as they ascended the mountains, shocked to realize that his balance seemed to be off. He'd had no idea that the vanwacoi would affect him in this manner, and he wondered if it would hinder his fighting ability.

Aragorn pushed hair from his face when the wind blew again, and he looked at Legolas. The elf had obediently kept his hood up, perhaps realizing that it helped to hold in his body heat.

Legolas noticed his friend looking at him, and smiled slightly. "I am fine, you need not ask."

Aragorn nodded. "You should be made aware that the air gets thinner the higher we ascend," he said. "You likely never noticed it before, but now…"

Legolas lowered his eyes. "Aye, now…"

"It might affect your breathing, because of your lung condition," Aragorn continued, with a sigh.

"And you wish for me to inform you if it does," Legolas stated.

The human nodded.

Legolas returned the nod. "All right."

Aragorn was slightly surprised at his friend's quick acquiescence. Studying the elf, he wondered if perhaps it was already affecting him, but he couldn't see any evidence to testify to the fact.

It took them an hour to reach the correct path, and they rode quietly, ascending higher and higher.

Aragorn kept looking at Legolas, soundlessly assessing his friend's condition. He deliberately avoided conversation, as he didn't want the elf to waste precious breath.

The thinner air was becoming noticeable to Legolas, and he wondered how he hadn't noticed it when they'd ridden through the mountains on their way to Rivendell. He opened his mouth to ask Aragorn, but closed it, not wanting the conversation to give away his growing breathlessness. He realized that his lung condition hadn't developed until well after they'd arrived in Imladris, and assumed that to be the answer.

Before another hour had passed, Aragorn forced Legolas to stop. The elf had grown paler, and was having obvious difficulty breathing.

"Why did you not say anything?" the human demanded.

"I was about to," Legolas said, his voice soft and halting. "It was…bearable…until now."

Aragorn quickly dug out the juniper oil, alarmed at the slightly bluish tinge to his friend's lips.

Legolas closed his eyes, hanging his head as he clutched Gwaeren's mane. The horse could hear her master's gasps, and neighed with concern.

Juniper oil in hand, Aragorn jumped down from his horse, standing beside Gwaeren as the mare knelt, seemingly knowing the human's intentions.

Legolas tightened his fist in his horse's mane as she moved, and suddenly Aragorn was pulling him off the mare's back.

Aragorn sat his friend against the still-kneeling horse, pushing the elf's hood back and the hair out of his face. A stab of fear shot through Aragorn's stomach at the sight of the elf's closed eyes and blue lips. "Breathe the vapors, Legolas!" he exclaimed, desperately, holding the bottle of juniper oil before his friend's face, keeping his other hand against Legolas' cheek to hold his head up.

The elf's gasps were shallow in the thin air, but he was still conscious, if only barely. He dimly heard his friend, and tried to take deeper breaths.

"Good, mellon-nin, keep breathing," Aragorn said, his heart racing as he watched the elf's struggle. It would take longer than usual for Legolas' breathing to ease up, for the fumes worked faster when the oil was heated. He refused to leave Legolas alone though, until the elf regained at least some control over his breathing.

It was another agonizing minute or two before Legolas finally felt the juniper oil doing its job, and he became aware of Aragorn's hand on the side of his face. Opening his eyes, he tried to hold his head up under his own power, wanting to abate some of his friend's worry.

Aragorn's concern grew, however, when he saw the dazed look in his friend's eyes. He could see that the elf's breathing had slightly improved, and transferred his hand to the elf's shoulder. "I need to start a fire," he said, enunciating each word to be sure that his friend understood.

Legolas nodded, licking dry lips.

Aragorn didn't like the glazed look that his friend displayed, and his nervousness grew. "Legolas," he said. "Where are we?"

"Mountains," Legolas said, not wasting breath on unnecessary words.

"On our way to find…?"

"Raenwe."

Aragorn nodded, relieved. He picked up the elf's hand and wrapped his fingers around the juniper oil.

The elf held onto it tightly, closing his eyes again as he listened to his friend retrieve the wood that he'd brought with them into the mountains.

Aragorn turned to look at Legolas, relieved to see that his lips were no longer blue, but his friend was still struggling to breathe properly. He hurried back, throwing the wood to the ground and attempting to set it aflame.

Legolas' eyes were still shut, and he didn't realize that he had slowly drifted sideways until his head suddenly made contact with his horse's shoulder, who nickered with anxiety where she knelt, turning her head and nudging her master's face. "I'm…all right…" he whispered to his faithful mare.

The horse neighed, apparently not agreeing.

Aragorn looked up at the sound. The human had fished out another bottle of juniper oil and had poured it into a pot, holding it over the fire. "Legolas!" he called, when he saw his friend slumped against his steed.

Legolas opened his eyes, trying to give his friend a reassuring look.

Aragorn sighed, holding the pot lower in the flames, not caring that he wasn't far from getting burned.

Legolas suddenly started coughing, inwardly groaning at having failed to prevent it. The breath that he'd regained fled, and he was left desperately gasping once more.

Aragorn's heart did a flip when he saw Legolas tilt closer to the ground, holding himself up with his good arm, his golden head hanging as he coughed and gasped.

I hope that this oil has heated long enough! the human thought as he stood and rushed back to his friend. Sitting the pot on the ground, he grabbed the elf by the front of his coat and sat him up straighter, holding him up with one hand while he held the pot of oil in the other.

Legolas inhaled as deeply as he could, trying not to cough. When he smelled the thick-scented fumes enter the air, he inwardly sighed with relief.

Aragorn watched worriedly as Legolas breathed in the healing fumes. The elf's face was so pale…

Gwaeren neighed softly again, wondering what was causing her master to suffer so.

Legolas held out his arm to ward off his mare's wandering nose, but instead placed his hand on her head, drawing comfort from the animal.

Aragorn was relieved at his friend's action, as it showed that he was mentally aware of his surroundings.

Legolas was soon able to take in more air, and he reopened his eyes, breathing heavily now rather than gasping.

Aragorn took a deep breath himself, smiling at his friend. "Are you all right?" he asked. He knew what the elf's answer would be, and that it would be a lie, but he needed to hear it.

"Aye," the elf whispered, re-closing his eyes as he attempted to compose himself.

Aragorn clasped his friend's shoulder, offering his support.

Gwaeren neighed again, but it sounded happy, if that was possible. She nudged his face again, and Legolas couldn't help but smile.

Aragorn tried to push her head away from the elf, but Gwaeren used her nose to knock his hand away.

"Hannon le," Legolas suddenly said.

"For what?"

Legolas reopened his eyes, taking another breath before speaking again. "Everything," he said.

Aragorn smiled.

"For your care," Legolas said. "For always being there—" he paused, taking another breath. "—when I need you…"

"I know, mellon-nin," said Aragorn, squeezing the elf's shoulder. "Don't speak, save your breath. You are my brother, Legolas, I will always be there."

Legolas smiled again, his breath suddenly hitching in his chest…but it wasn't due to his lung condition.

Aragorn pulled the hood back over his friend's head and sat the pot of juniper oil on the elf's lap, moving to sit beside him. Together, the two friends leaned against the horse, taking a few minutes to rest.

Legolas closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the sun on his face. He was so tired…

Aragorn watched his friend as he fell asleep. The elf's head lolled slowly to the side, stopping against the human's shoulder. Aragorn smiled, gently wrapping his arm around his friend's back, not wanting to risk Legolas losing his balance while sleeping and further injuring his shoulder.

When Legolas woke an hour later, he was slightly disoriented, not remembering having fallen asleep.

"Sleep well?" Aragorn asked.

Legolas blinked, realizing that his head was resting against his friend's shoulder. "Aye," he replied, groggily.

"Good," Aragorn said. "You needed the rest."

Legolas gave no reply, raising his good arm to push hair out of his face as he straightened up.

"How is your breathing?" Aragorn asked.

"Normal," Legolas answered, sounding relieved.

Aragorn smiled, standing and giving his friend a hand up.

Within minutes, they were again on their way, and the rest of the day's traveling was thankfully uneventful.

Aragorn decided to stop shortly after sunset, and quickly built a fire. He noticed with dismay that this night promised to be colder than the last.

Legolas was determined to assist his friend this time, and he one-handedly opened the packs and took out their supplies.

Aragorn heard him, and turned around. He opened his mouth to tell his friend that he would take care of it, but stopped, knowing that it was important to the elf to help out in any way that he was able.

Legolas brought Aragorn some of the things that he needed, and sat before the fire.

Aragorn watched his friend, able to see that something appeared to be bothering him. "Legolas?"

The elf looked up, knowing what his friend was asking. "I wonder what my father is doing at this moment. I cannot even imagine how upset he was when he found out that we left."

Aragorn nodded. "Aye. But somehow, I don't think that they were surprised."

Legolas smiled slightly.

Aragorn poured some cherry-bark tea into a pot, warming it over the fire. He watched as Legolas looked up at the darkening sky, squinting.

"I cannot see all of the stars," Legolas whispered.

Aragorn sighed. "You shall, soon," he promised.

Legolas looked back at Aragorn, smiling slightly. A strong wind suddenly blew, pushing the hood from his head.

Aragorn looked off into the distance, thankfully seeing no storm approaching. He watched as trees down below swayed in the breeze, and looked at Legolas again. "Can you still hear them?"

Legolas met his eyes, as he pulled the hood back over his head. "The trees? Aye," he said, sounding relieved. "The vanwacoi has not stolen that from me."

Aragorn smiled, feeling as relieved as Legolas did.

"They are saddened," Legolas suddenly said, looking down the mountains. "They know of my plight."

Aragorn removed the tea from the fire, pouring it into a cup and adding the miruvor. "Do they know where Raenwe is?" he asked.

Legolas shook his head. "They can only say that we are heading in the right direction."

Aragorn stood and sat beside his friend, handing him the cup. "That is good. As we get closer, we can use them as a guide."

Legolas nodded, sipping the tea.

Conversation was light that night, as they were both too plagued with thoughts to speak much. Legolas feel asleep not long after their supper, making Aragorn promise to wake him for a watch.

Aragorn sighed as he watched his friend sleep. He had again made Legolas recline against his pack, not wanting to take any chances with his breathing, as the elf was still recovering from his illness. He considered not waking Legolas for his watch, but knew that the elf would be very upset if he did that.

Sighing again, Aragorn rubbed his tired eyes, knowing that he had no choice but to give Legolas a watch, as he was exhausted from being awake the previous night. He suddenly realized with surprise that he had done the same thing the night before that, as they had left Rivendell late in the night and there had been only one watch to be had. He could not go a third night without sleep.

Legolas suddenly made a noise and inhaled sharply, shifting slightly. The quick breath caused him to cough slightly but he remained asleep, denying his lungs the chance to spasm.

Aragorn reached for the bottle of juniper oil that he had nearby, and he poured it into a pot, warming it over the fire. When it was sufficiently heated, he brought it to his friend, kneeling beside him.

"Legolas," he whispered, gently touching his good shoulder. "Legolas?"

The elf opened his eyes, immediately starting to cough.

Aragorn held the pot before his friend's face, not wanting the elf to begin his watch on a breathless note.

The coughing fit didn't last too long, thankfully, and Legolas wiped his eyes. "All quiet?" he asked.

Aragorn nodded. "How do you feel? If you cannot last your entire watch, wake me, and I'll—"

"I will be fine," Legolas said, seeing by the position of the stars that Aragorn had kept watch longer that he needed to.

Aragorn nodded. "All right. Here," he said, holding out the pot of juniper oil. "In case you have need of it. If you begin to suffer another attack, wake me."

Legolas nodded, reaching for the pot. He was startled when the human suddenly grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up.

"Swear it," said Aragorn, looking very serious. "Swear that you will wake me if you suffer an attack."

"I swear," said Legolas, seeing how important it was to his friend.

Aragorn nodded, and his expression softened. Letting go of his friend, he patted his arm before crawling to his bedroll.

Legolas watched as his friend closed his eyes, but he suspected that Aragorn would remain awake for a while to ensure that he was all right. Sighing noiselessly, Legolas stood, placing the pot of juniper oil close to the fire to keep it warm. Going back to his bedroll, he picked up a blanket and wrapped it around himself as he sat on a fallen log, looking out into the night.

A cold breeze wafted by, and Legolas closed his eyes as it tickled his face. He found that his nose felt numb, and he tried to wiggle it to bring back some feeling. He felt Aragorn's gaze on him, but it disappeared quickly as the exhausted human fell asleep.

Legolas reopened his eyes and looked up at the blackened night. The stars twinkled in the sky and the trees swayed in the wind. Standing, he pulled the blanket closer around himself, trying to hold back a shiver as he walked to the nearest tree and leaned against it.

What has happened to you? he was startled to suddenly hear.

An evil affliction, he answered the tree.

It is an ancient one, the tree replied.

Aye, Legolas said. My friend and I go to reclaim what I have lost.

We wish you well, the tree said. It pains us to see one of your kind suffer so.

Legolas smiled. Hannon le. Your feelings warm my heart.

I wish that we could do something to warm your body, said the tree.

Legolas realized that his shivering had increased, and the tree could obviously sense it. I do not like the cold, he admitted.

You should not be forced to endure it! the tree exclaimed, sounding angry.

Legolas sighed, placing a hand on the bark. Peace, mellon-nin. We will find the elf who harmed me, and I shall be well. You will see.

The tree seemed to agree. Yes, Thranduilion, you will be victorious.

Legolas smiled, lowering himself to sit against the bark.

Rest, said the tree, sensing the elf's tiredness. I will alert you if danger nears.

Having entrusted his life to the trees countless times during his millennia of life, Legolas had no need to hesitate. The human…he said, even as his eyes began to close.

We will watch over him as we do you, said the faithful tree. Fear not; nothing shall harm either of you.

Hannon le, mellon-nin, Legolas said, as he fell into a doze. Hannon le…