Disclaimer: I cannot apologise enough for all the delay in these chapters. My computer has stopped working completely now and I'm using a friend's machine. My PC is going back to the shop for a check-up and hopefully this will help. I'm not taking it back till Saturday however, so the next chapter could, again, take a while. Believe me, this is just as frustrating for me as it is for you. Thanks for all your patience, and as always, I only own Danuinel. Thanks again!

Chapter 10

When Legolas admitted to Danuinel that he was hungry, the dark-haired Elf could have laughed with relief. For days now, the prince had showed little sign of ever recovering, and his friends had begun to fear the worst.

Without a second thought, Danuinel excused himself and headed down towards the kitchens. He passed Elrond on his way down and explained the situation. The Elven Lord smiled and promised to go and see the prince.

Estel slept soundly in the chair beside his best friend's bed. Small snores echoed round the room and threatened to wake the rest of the household. Legolas lay back against the pillows and sighed softly.

His mind lingered on the effects of the poison and what had happened only a week ago. The memories of the past nightmares were still fresh in his mind. He could still see his best friend trying desperately to grab onto something to stop the horrific fate awaiting him below.

The prince shook his head to rid it of the thoughts. Estel let out a particularly loud snore and promptly woke himself with a fright. His instincts took over and he shot upright, eyes darting around the room searching for whatever woke him.

Legolas stayed quiet and still as his friend adjusted to his surroundings, not wishing to cause more confusion. Eventually, the Ranger realised where he was and instantly looked to the bed, fully expecting the Elf to be asleep.

"Legolas, you are awake!" Estel cried on seeing the Elf sitting up. A huge grin spread across the Ranger's weathered face and a look of great relief filled his grey eyes.

"Yes, Estel, I believe I am. You took your time in finding that out, mellon-nin!" Legolas replied sending Estel a smile of his own. Just at that moment, Elrond entered the room and walked over to the prince's bedside.

"Well, penneth. I hope you slept well." Elrond said, placing a hand on the prince's forehead. It was slightly hot to the touch, but nothing to worry about, the Elven Lord decided to himself, he would keep an eye on it though. "I understand that you are feeling slightly hungry this morning. Your friend is away preparing something light for you."

"Aye, it feels good to have that feeling again. I thought I had gone off food for the rest of my immortal life." Legolas smiled again. The Sun was blaring in through the window, creating a beam of light that warmed everything it touched.

"Hungry? I hope that Danuinel is bringing food for all of us. I certainly could use something to eat at this moment." Estel said, and just to prove this fact, his stomach grumbled loudly, making everyone laugh.

It was not long before Danuinel returned carrying two trays laden with food. He had indeed brought something for everyone. Estel happily tucked into his plate of eggs and ham, with some bread on the side. Elrond and Danuinel had the same, but ate theirs with more consideration to manners.

Legolas was given a plate of thin, watery broth which he looked at with disdain. It looked like puddle-water, but it did smell better than that. He put some onto the spoon and into his mouth with a shaky hand. It tasted like warm water with vegetables in it.

"I would advise that you eat slowly and with small spoonfuls." Elrond said to the prince. "Your stomach is not used to having something in it and will protest if you put too much into it at one time."

Legolas did as advised and after a while, the brown-looking substance was finished. He lay back again and placed a hand on his stomach. It had been painful to sit up for that long, but his Elven pride had prevented him from saying anything. Despite the fact that he was not said anything about the pain; the Elven Lord had not let it go unnoticed. He made a mental note about it and decided that he would have a word with the prince later.

The four friends sat and talked for a while, laughing at practical jokes made by the twins and indeed, by Estel and Legolas too. The prince did not say much, the queasy feeling had returned and the pain in his chest was lingering.

Throughout the conversation, these feelings became stronger and Legolas was feeling worse and worse. He did not say anything, of course. Elrond watched the prince closely, suspecting that something was wrong. The paleness on the Elf's face was discouraging and worried the Elven Lord.

"Legolas, you are paling again. Do you feel alright?" Elrond finally asked, sorry inside that he was pulling this up in front of everyone.

"I do not think that the broth is going to …" With this, the prince brought up everything he had just eaten onto the sheets. Legolas bent over, clutching his chest and stomach as they heaved. Elrond held the prince up so that he would not roll.

The pain finally became so bad that Legolas slipped quickly into unconsciousness once more. The last of the vomit was stained red, mixed with the prince's blood. Danuinel looked at the mess with fright. Never before had he seen anyone bring up blood before.

"He has torn his stomach lining. The mixture of the seizures and the effort of vomiting have done this, I fear." Elrond explained to the Elf and human.

"Ada, what can we do about it?" Estel asked, worried again for his friend. It just seemed to be one thing after another.

"There is nothing we can do, Estel. However, this is not a serious problem and it will heal itself. It will cause more pain though, but we can provide herbs to ease his discomfort." The Elven Lord replied. He moved Legolas into a flat position, after making sure that there was nothing left in his airway for him to choke on.

TBC

Replies:

Sindauviel: Happy half-birthday! What is a half-birthday? It was my birthday a few days ago, I was 18! Yeah! My absences were strange. It was like your life was recorded on a video tape, then someone took a cut a chunk out of the tape and joined the ends together. I missed part of days and didn't know what happened. It was very weird and I hated them. The worst part was when I found out that some of my friends didn't believe me and thought I was faking it!

Irish Anor: I hope you read Hidden Truth before this one. Otherwise, this story might not make much sense!

Elf771: Oh my god! Thanks so much for that review. As mentioned in the disclaimer (top) I have been having problems with my computer which has been very frustrating. Sorry about that and hopefully it will be fixed soon. Hidden Truth was my first ever story and this is my first sequel. When I started out, I never imagined writing this many chapters, or even having a sequel. Thank you so much for the wonderful review, and please do so again!

ashlyns: I loved how you thought it was cute. I suppose when you've just died and come back to life after suffering for so long, you forget what it's like to be hungry. Never mind, he is hungry now. Thanks for reviewing!

LanierShazar: Please read the disclaimer for more information about the computer problem. Not fixed yet unfortunately. There was a bit of hope at the end of the last chapter, but look what's happened now!

Nomad6: Hey, your promotion sounds … interesting. It's good that you no longer require supervision when milking cows or riding a quad bike. I wish I could ride a quad. That would be so cool. Thanks again for reviewing!

HarryEstel: Well, the computer problems continue. Hopefully, by next week everything might be fixed. If it's not, I'll throw the thing out of the window, think that will help? Thanks again for the review!

Moonyasha: Your birthday is on April 7th. Hmmm. This is the 4th. You never know! My birthday was the day before April Fools' Day and I was 18! Woo hoo! Everyone says thanks for their gifts, especially Estel who is happy not to have to wear pink any more. Legolas is complaining about the smell of the new clothes because Estel refuses to take them off to wash them. Oh wait, the twins have just thrown him in the lake. Perhaps that will help the situation. Thanks again!

BitterLee: I agree that Legolas cannot stay well. That would spoil everything. It is a good idea that he might be seeing things through his dreams. That one nightmare seems to be a recurring one and may have some significance in future stories or chapters. So look out for that. I have to go now and get some sleep. It's quite late. Thanks for reviewing!