Aragorn was surprised to suddenly hear running footsteps, and he looked up as Faramir shot through the door. When he saw what the Steward held, he stood.

"This was in your chamber!" Faramir exclaimed.

That was something that the King did not expect to hear.

Faramir told him what he'd learned from the kitchen staff, as Aragorn inspected the pastry.

Smelling it, the King detected no odd scent, and as he was about to break it apart, they heard a sound come from the bed.

"Legolas?" said Aragorn, rushing to his friend.

The elf groaned loudly, looking paler than seemed possible, with a bright red spot on both cheeks.

Aragorn felt his forehead, finding that his fever had spiked. Legolas' eyes were closed tightly and he was muttering too softly for the words to be understood. His pulse was beating so weakly that the human could barely feel it. "No, Legolas!" he exclaimed, tears filling his eyes. "You cannot leave me; I will not let you go!"

Faramir watched, stricken, his chest tight with fear for their friend.

"We need more cold water and towels," the King told him.

Faramir rushed to retrieve them and Aragorn rolled the elf onto his back, gently pulling the shirt over his head, leaving him clad only in his leggings.

Faramir returned, and they laid the wet towels on Legolas' chest, under his neck, and on his stomach and arms.

Legolas lay completely limp, his body giving an occasional shudder. It was obvious that the elf was dying.

Aragorn couldn't prevent the tears that slipped down his cheeks, and he didn't try. He ran back to the pastry that sat on the table, and when he broke it apart he was shocked to see purple streaks inside; the poison that Legolas had ingested was the very one that he had mentioned to Faramir.

"It was the Purple Weed!" he exclaimed.

Faramir looked up from where he sat rewetting the cloths on Legolas' body.

Aragorn grabbed the books that lay open in a pile, trying to find the one that spoke of the Purple Weed plant. He found it and read the cure's ingredients before rushing to the door with the book. He suddenly stopped, though, looking at Faramir.

"What is it?" the Steward asked.

"How can I ask anyone to retrieve these ingredients for me when I know not who poisoned him! We cannot trust anyone!"

Faramir stood. "Let me," he said, taking the book. "I will enlist the help of my old nursemaid. She will know the herbs well, and I can state with certainty that she was not the person who tried to kill him."

Aragorn smiled slightly. "Thank you…I think I need not express how quickly I need these ingredients?"

Faramir shook his head. "I will return immediately," he said, again rushing from the room.

Aragorn sighed as he sat on the bed beside the elf. He was so relieved to have discovered the poison responsible, but as he watched his dying friend, he wondered if it was already too late to save him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was almost an hour before Faramir came back.

The flower that Aragorn had earlier mentioned to the Steward had been very hard to find, for autumn was descending on Gondor, and he literally had to raid resident's gardens until he found it.

Faramir ran down the hall for the third time that day, bursting through the door and nearly throwing the book and bag of herbs at Aragorn.

The King took them and ran to the table, separating the herbs and following the book's directions.

"Forgive me," said Faramir, catching his breath. "I could not quickly find the flower."

Aragorn waved away his apology, knowing that the Steward had gone as fast as he could.

Without needing to be told, Faramir sat on the bed and rewet the towels on Legolas' body, who lay as still as death. He felt his friend's pulse and found it not only weak, but irregular. He looked at Aragorn, wondering if the King knew. "His heart…"

"I know," said Aragorn, grabbing the pot of water that he'd already sat on the fire. He was trying to hurry so fast that he spilled some, exclaiming something in elvish that Faramir didn't understand.

It took a few minutes more before the antidote was ready, and Aragorn brought it to the bed, slowly feeding it to the elf as Faramir held him up.

"How long does it take to work?" he asked.

"It depends on the length of time between ingesting the poison and receiving the cure," Aragorn told him, not voicing the fact that it might already be too late.

Faramir sighed, gently laying Legolas down again. For a minute, both men simply stared at their friend, both of them earnestly praying that Legolas would recover.

It was hours before they knew if he would.

The elf's fever raged on until the middle of the night before it began to fall. After that, Legolas' heartbeat lost most of its irregularity, though it remained weak.

By mid-morning, Legolas was still unconscious and still had a fever, but the fact that it had lowered was encouraging.

"According to this book," said Aragorn. "Recovery is not swift from this particular poison, especially with how long it was before Legolas received the antidote."

Faramir nodded, as he rewet the cloths on their friend's body. "We still do not know who has done this; they also tried to kill you! You both remain in great danger."

Aragorn nodded, saying nothing.

"We know that it is someone who has access to the palace," said Faramir.

Aragorn shook his head. "I cannot fathom who it could be." He looked down at the book again, lifting his arm from it. He made a sound of dismay to see that strawberry paste had gotten on his sleeve and soiled one of the pages. A thought suddenly struck him, and he looked at Faramir to see that he was thinking the same thing.

Wordlessly, the Steward jumped to his feet and left the room, again running down the hall. He went down to the palace's lowest level and opened the door, having to step back when he nearly got slapped in the face by flying garments.

"Forgive me, my lord!" a woman exclaimed.

Faramir looked around the palace laundry room, at the piles of clothes that lay about. "Stop!" he yelled. "Do not wash anything else! I require everyone's assistance on an urgent matter!"

TBC

Faramir should've been a detective, LOL!