Welcome back to the story! I've been totally excited all week. I just got the Fellowship of the Ring, Collector's Edition. Of course, I already own the EE, so…anyone want a new movie?

And of course…STAR WARS TODAY! YAY! YAY YAY YAY! I am a total Star Wars fan, even though I'm not obsessed (evil grin)…yet.

Anyway, back to the story…here's some more angst, and maybe we will find out what happened to Legolas! Maybe…oh, and more angst!

"Aragorn!" Eowyn cried and instantly knelt at his side. To her relief, he was still breathing, but whatever was the poison was, it seemed to be taking effect. He was awake, but his breathing had become labored and his eyes were frantically darting from side to side.

"Help me…" he whispered in a pained breath. Eowyn was seriously scared. She tried to lift him, but he was too heavy. If only someone else was there…

"Hold on," she told him. "I need to get help." Aragorn just nodded. Before she left, Eowyn pulled him into a sitting position against a pillar. Suddenly he gasped for breath, his hand coming to his chest. Eowyn panicked. "Just take deep breaths…it'll be alright…deep breaths." Slowly his breathing returned, but it was even more labored than before.

"Get…Gandalf…should be with…ha-halflings." Aragorn panted, his eyes meeting hers. Eowyn quickly nodded and left him. She dashed through the corridors of the Houses, sticking her head in every other room. When she finally got to Merry's, she paused, regaining her breath. She pushed open the door, finding Gandalf laughing merrily with Pippin, obviously about a joke. Merry looked up and saw her.

"Good morning, my lady! Wait, is something wrong?" he asked, concern dawning in his eyes.

"Aragorn," she managed to gasp. Gandalf stood up.

"What has happened to him? Tell me!" he asked in a thundering voice, grasping her shoulders.

"He has been attacked…poisoned." She said quickly, trying to make up for lost time.

Gandalf's face visibly turned white. "Take me to him! Hurry!" Eowyn nodded, tearing once more down the corridors with Gandalf, Pippin close on his heels. At last, they came to where Aragorn was sitting, one hand pressed to his face and the other supporting his chest. Eowyn sighed, glad that he was no worse. But Gandalf and Pippin were distraught.

"Strider! What's wrong? Can you hear me?" asked Pippin finally, trying to look into his eyes.

"I'll be...alright…Pippin. Where is…Gandalf?" Aragorn stammered, craning his head and looking around.

"I'm here, my lad. Now come on, we're getting you inside." Gandalf knelt and easily scooped Aragorn into his arms, sword and all. But Aragorn clutched at his chest and cried out in pain.

"Gandalf, he has been severely injured on his chest, arms, legs, and face. He has to lie down!" Eowyn said worriedly. She led the way into the Houses, and opened the first door she got to.

"Wait," said Pippin, who was hovering nervously beside Gandalf. "Can we put him in Merry's room? I'm sure he's terribly worried…"

"No, Pippin," said Gandalf while carefully placing Aragorn on the bed. "But you can bring Merry here. I am also sure he will want to see what's wrong." Pippin nodded and left. Gandalf turned to Eowyn. "Now, milady, were you infected with this?" Eowyn dumbly shook her head. "Do you know what he has been infected with?" She shook her head again miserably.

"I do." Said an unexpected voice from the bed. Aragorn had regained himself, partly. "Gandalf…it was…Naiceleanar…on…the knife." At these words, Gandalf visibly paled, and for a moment his face matched his robes.

"Alright," he said, color returning a bit. "Aragorn, do you know what stage you are in?" Aragorn slumped, and mumbled, "Two."
"Oh Valar…My lady, fetch the Warden. And some…well, erm, oak leaves for the pain. Hurry!" Gandalf directed, instantly starting a roaring fire in the grate.

"But wait! What's Naicelenar? Will he live?" Eowyn questioned, frightened of the seriousness of his gaze.

"My lady, it all depends on what herbs Gondor has. Now run! Fetch the Warden!" Eowyn obeyed, sprinting out of the door. But she came to a screeching halt as she passed her room. The Warden was there, along with two healers.

"…now are you sure you don't know how she left? Because there is a guard missing a sword as well, and if you know who's behind this…" the Warden was saying, gesturing to the staw-filled bed. Eowyn ran up to him, fully aware that she was still in the armor and wearing a sword.

"My lord, I need your help! The lord Ar-"

"Now what were you doing! You had strict orders to stay in that bed!"

"Please, my lord-"

"And why are you wearing armor?"

"MY LORD, ARAGORN IS DYING!" the words left her mouth before she could think. Sure, Gandalf hadn't said so, but she could read it in his eyes. The Warden froze, mouth ajar.

"Show me." He said. Eowyn at once complied and the Warden followed, leaving two very confused women behind. Once they arrived at the room, they nearly tripped over Pippin, who was guarding the door. As soon as he saw it was them, he stood aside and let them in without a word. Eowyn instantly saddened at the sight before her.

Merry was sitting on the bed, whispering softly into Aragorn's ear. Aragorn was still panting, but whatever Merry was saying was calming him and there was a small, painful smile on his face. Eowyn was touched. Aragorn was clearly smiling to ease Merry's worrying. Gandalf, however, had removed his shirt, and the gashes looked even more terrible that Eowyn had remembered. They had looked bad before, but now, surrounding the cuts an inflamed red border. Gandalf looked up and hurried to them.

"Master Healer, the lord Aragorn has been infected with a rare poison known only among the elves as Naiceleanar. It causes instant death if inflicted on an elf, but on a man it causes very high fever, weakness, and shortness of breath. Eventually, though it brings a fatal lung infection. We must work as fast as we can." The Warden swallowed and came to Aragorn's bedside. He felt his forehead, and almost withdrew his hand. It was blazing hot, dangerously high.

"Master Gandalf, before we do anything we must stop, or at least slow the bleeding and get his fever down. My lady, you know where the herbs are. Fetch me dandelion root, marigold leaves, and the leaf called feverfew. Hurry!" Eowyn quickly complied and hurried down the corridor, wondering how many times today she would do this. She selected the correct herbs and rushed back.

The healer had already put a damp washcloth on Aragorn's forehead, and was busily putting pressure on his chest to stop the bleeding. Aragorn's teeth were gritted. Sweat poured down his forehead. And above all, he was still gasping for breath. The Warden saw Eowyn had returned and quickly said, "Quickly now, give me the dandelion. Good, good. Now make him a tea with the marigold. There is boiling water over there. And Master Gandalf, could you please break up the feverfew? He needs to eat them to bring down the fever. Hurry!"

They instantly complied. While Eowyn made the tea, the Warden was busily crushing the marigold and mixing it with water. Once he had a thick paste, he smeared lengthy amounts all over Aragorn's chest. Aragorn arched his back and cried out in pain. The Warden took no notice and went on to apply it to the cuts on his arms. Aragorn managed it a little better, but his teeth were gritted again and his eyes were squeezed shut, trying to block out the pain. Merry was starting to worry and grasped Aragorn's hand, whispering into his ear. Aragorn did not relax, but a small smile returned to his face. But when Gandalf approached with the leaves, he moaned and turned his head away. Gandalf lost patience.

"Aragorn, you are going to eat this! I need not count how many times you received it from Lord Elrond!" At this Aragorn truly smiled, as if remembering old times with his friends and brothers. But his smile instantly disappeared as the Warden added the poultice to his arms. He hissed through his teeth, his last attempt to get the pain under control. But when Gandalf shoved the leaves into his mouth, he did not refuse. Seeing that Aragorn was in tremendous pain, Eowyn added the oak leaves she had found to the tea. But as soon as he drank it (with a grimace), his eyes closed and he slumped back onto the pillow.

"Aragorn!" she cried, nearly strangling him in an attempt to check his pulse. But he was alive and seemed to have passed into a deep unconsciousness.

"Enough!" the Warden told her. "I saw you add the oak to the tea. No, you did no wrong, but without the pain anchoring him here, he drifted away. Hopefully, he will awake after a while. But Gandalf, tell me: Is there a cure to this deadly poison? The fever will go down, and the bleeding has stopped, but will he recover?" Gandalf turned sadly to Aragorn's face.

"I know not. Aragorn is the only one who has any experience with the poison, which is how he knew what it was. And what I know came from him. And as far as I know, only he knows the cure, if there is one. We must wake him."

"We can help!" came a small voice from the bed. Merry was hunched over Aragorn's still form, grasping his hand. And Pippin, who had rushed in when he heard the shouts, grabbed Aragorn's other hand. "Wake up, Strider!" he said, trying to sound as energetic as possible. "Come on! We need you! Wake up!" But to his and Merry's displeasure, Aragorn showed no signs of hearing them and his breathing became even more labored.

"Here, Merry, let me try." Gandalf said. He leaned forward and grasped Aragorn's hand and chanted in a strange tongue, "Aragorn, coiv, coiv! Hotule' ello mornie!" Then, to the others' surprise, Aragorn's eyelids fluttered.

"Ada?" he whispered uncertainly.

"No, Aragorn. But you must tell us. How can we cure the poison Naicelenar?" Gandalf pressed, coming out of his trance. Aragorn did not reply. In his face, besides the pain, there was a look of deep concentration.

"You must…take t-the herb aseanen…put in bloodstream…affected area." He paused and took several deep breaths, despite the pain wracking in his system. "Reapply…every two hours." His eyes closed and for a moment they thought he would reawaken, but he slumped and resumed his heavy breathing. Gandalf turned to the Warden.

"Tell me, lord," he said softly. "Do you have the herb Aseanan, known to Men as the water-leaf? For if you don't, all is lost." The Warden was locked in deep thought, pondering the contents of his medicines. But suddenly his face lit up in a grin Eowyn thought lit up the room.

"Yes!" he cried. "Yes, we most definitely stock the water-leaf! Valar be praised! Now the House can hope to redeem itself for not having the previously needed herbs! I will fetch them! Valar be praised!" He ran out of the room, leaving behind four very shocked but joyful beings. Eowyn grabbed Merry and swept him into a trembling hug, while Pippin embraced Gandalf, who remained still with shock on his face. About a minute later the Warden returned, beaming and carrying several leaves of aseanan. He quickly unwrapped the bandages and placed generous amounts of the leaf on each cut, finishing with the one on Aragorn's face. This last one generated a reaction, even though it was only a shudder running through his body.

"What do we do now?" Eowyn asked impatiently. Gandalf chuckled and sat in a chair he had drawn by Aragorn's bedside.

"We wait, my lady! But you might want to take off that rather bloody armor, hmm?" Eowyn looked down at herself and blushed. There was indeed a large amount of Aragorn's blood staining the chest plate. When she was halfway out the door, she called back,

"It he awakens, one of you had better come fetch me!"

"We definitely will, my lady!" called Merry, who had jumped back on the bed and was now sitting next to Pippin, opposite Aragorn's head. "Now what was I saying? Oh right! So a man, an elf, and a goblin walk into a bar..." Eowyn smiled to herself and walked back to her room.

About half an hour later, Aragorn began to stir. Eowyn, Merry, and Pippin all leaned expectantly over the bed. At last, his eyes opened.

"Merry? Pippin?...Eowyn? Where am I?" he mumbled, looking around the room for something familiar. Eowyn pushed him back down with a grin.

"You are in the Houses of Healing, and it seems you have just recovered from a nasty infliction of Naicelenar. How do you feel?"

"Feel?" Aragorn said incredulously. "I feel fine!" Merry laughed.

"Okay, then. Looks like you just need to walk and you'll be ready to go" Aragorn nodded.

"I agree." With that he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"NO!" cried Gandalf, Eowyn, Merry, and Pippin together. Aragorn ignored them.

"I have to find Legolas." He said quickly. Merry frowned.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because the men who hurt me might have captured him already." Aragorn replied, not seeing the look of confusion across Merry's face. He got of the bed and unsteadily walked to the door. After pausing at the door handle, he regained his feet and left.

"Wait!" Eowyn cried, catching up behind him. "With you so vulnerable right now, the men might try to recapture you!" Aragorn nodded and drew his sword. Together they made their way to the small room that Aragorn had been sharing with Legolas and Gimli. But when they opened the door, a terrible sight greeted them.

There was no one there. But instead, there was a mess. Tables and chairs were overturned. A vase was smashed. And on the floor lay Gimli's favorite axe, with blood on the shaft. Aragorn sank to his knees and moaned sadly.

"Alas that my friends must suffer! Suffer for something that I didn't even do! I fear that they too have been captured. We must go after them! If one drop of that poison gets inside Legolas, he will surely die!" He rose unsteadily and leaned against a wall. Eowyn thought she could see tears sparkling in his eyes. She took his arm gently.

"We will save them. We just need a good disguise! But before we go, we have to tell Gandalf what's going on so he can protect Merry and Pippin." Aragorn nodded sadly. Before he left the room, though, he retrieved Gimli's axe.

"I will return this to him." He said quietly. And together, Aragorn and Eowyn left the room, ready to risk all odds- again.

TBC

Well there's the next chapter! Sorry I was so late putting it up, but since it's the end of the year EVERY SINGLE ONE of my teachers decided to give out a 300 point or more assignment. But next chapter up around the…27th? Oh, and my birthday is June 1. See if you can guess how old I am going to be! IN A REVIEW!

Please?

Answers to reviews:

viggomaniac: Thanks for the awesome feedback! I love writing about, or just imagining Aragorn torture (gets dreamy look). And yes, I have read Timmy2's Castle. I totally love it! ATTENTION PEOPLE READING THIS: READ CASTLE BY TIMMY2

Leela74: Thanks for the support- and the review. I hate signing in too- why do I have to type out my entire email address anyway?

Ainu Laire: Yay! Support! And you're right! Working for Sauron? rolls eyes I think Aragorn may have to teach these guys a lesson for messing with his friends. Hopefully, nothing will happen to Legolas…evil grin

Thanks for reviewing everyone! Keep it up!

-QueenofFlarmphgal