Chapter Six: Fevers and Realizations
Out of the dim fog surrounding his brain, the grey haze that lingered before his eyes, and the faint muffled sounds that spread through his ears, he could make out small feet standing in front of his face. Wrinkling his brow he lifted his head tiredly, looking up into the small face that looked down on him in fear and- pity?
The little child turned and shouted something across the field and the rushing sounds almost sounding like rushing water reached his ears. He sighed shakily and closed his eyes. He had been found at least. He felt a hot hand touch his forehead and he bit back a cry. He did however writhe out of reach of that hand.
Strong arms picked him up and carried him. Elladan opened his eyes and noticed the small house come closer, however it was now upside down. Frowning he shifted his eyes and glanced at the man who carried him. A wave of nausea caused him to groan.
His eyes registered the door opening, but no sounds reached his ears. Curiously he did smell. The smells over powered his senses and he gagged reflexively. Smoke, sweat, salt, and broth lingered in his nostrils and he wrinkled his nose again. He felt himself being placed onto a hard mattress of sorts. It felt foreign. Elladan felt his hands twitch and he again remembered how hot he was.
He was pulled into a sitting position and felt his tunic come off his fevered body. The elf was then pushed back and a surprisingly soft pillow was placed under his head. He sighed and smiled hoping the smile reached his lips. It was his way of saying thanks and he hoped the man took notice. Closing his eyes he felt himself drift away, almost as though he were lying inside the bowl of a boat.
Cire settled himself under his tree again. Daylight had once again approached, but signalled no response from the elf. He watched the prone form huddled under the blankets and wondered to himself what had caused the elf's strange seizures. Throwing his book down with a grunt, Cire stood and wandered back to the elf's side. He knelt beside the bundled blankets and pushed them back a little to check the elf's progress.
He smiled seeing the eyes closed now in sleep. A glimmer of sweat shone on the exposed skin and gently shook the elf. Immediately the elf's eyes opened revealing their grey colour once again. They were slightly glazed over as though from a fever.
"You have no idea how glad I am to see those eyes of yours again, Elrohir." Cire smiled gently.
The elf's face scrunched up in confusion and he opened his mouth to speak. A croak issued instead, causing a look of horror to pass across the fine features. Cire chuckled and reached for the water flask that sat nearby. The elf drank all that the man would allow him and Elrohir tried once again to speak.
"What-happened?" He whispered. He swallowed and shook his head.
"You gave us quite a scare. How's that tongue?"
The elf frowned and smacked his lips a few times before answering. "I feel the taste of iron, and the faint swelling."
Cire nodded. "You are lucky you didn't bite it off completely."
Elrohir groaned and touched his chest gingerly. His fingers felt the wild beating of his heart.
"Now none of that." Cire grasped the elf's hand and lowered it to his side. "Last time you did that you went into a fit."
Elrohir sat up quickly. "What kind of fit?"
Cire shook his head and pushed the elf gently back onto his makeshift bed. "I am not sure, but you twitched and cried out almost from a fevered dream."
Elrohir shivered and nodded. "It-" His face scrunched up in confusion. Understanding passed across his fair features and he felt his eyes widen. "It's the connection with my brother." He whispered so softly that Cire was not sure if he had heard them at all.
"I beg your pardon?" Cire asked.
"Has my brother been found yet?" Elrohir sat up again quite forcefully. He pushed aside the protesting hands and stood up for the first time in days. His ankle sent sparks of pain shooting up his leg.
Cire stood up and steadied the elf, who was to his surprise quite a bit taller then himself. "He has not and you should not be standing on that ankle of yours."
Elrohir wrinkled his nose in distaste. "I will be fine. I need a horse."
Cire choked on his next words and forcefully shook his head. "You are not planning on searching for him yourself are you?"
Elrohir glared at the man. "I am. I must find him."
"I have men out searching for him." Cire said following the limping elf over to the horses.
Elrohir stopped and whirled around. "I thank you for your kindness in aiding my injuries, and tending to me while I was twitching. However, I must find my brother. He is injured and is out there alone."
Cire nodded in understanding. He had a younger brother back home; he knew he would do anything for him. "I will go with you." Cire said.
Elrohir frowned but nodded his head. He lifted his hand to a tan coloured mare and allowed her to sniff his hand. The mare snorted and nudged his shoulder causing him to smile briefly.
Both elf and man gathered a few items for their search, which included food, water, bedding and a tunic to cover the elf's bare chest. Elrohir pulled the tunic over his head and pulled it down. To his dismay it only reached the top of his leggings. Raising an eyebrow amused he turned to the man waving his hands over the tunic.
"I do not suppose you have something a bit longer?" Elrohir smiled.
Cire stopped saddling his horse and glanced at the elf. He laughed shaking his head. "I am sorry, but you seem to be quite a bit taller then the men here."
The mounted their horses, the elf having a bit of difficulty with his ankle, but finally mounted they set out in search of his brother.
He groaned sniffing the air about him. Smoke filled his nostrils and he gingerly opened his eyes. He allowed them to wander around the room. The walls were bare, wood beams and planks tightly wound together. He was in a corner of the small house. A fireplace stood at the other end, a long wooden table to his right, a few wooden chairs scattered about. There was a flat surface above him, he assumed to be another bed, and to his left another slightly larger bed sat. A sheet of cloth separated the beds from each other's view.
Elladan pushed himself up onto his elbows and his head swam causing him to fall back against the soft pillow. Swallowing against the wave of nausea he drew in a shaky breath. He turned his head towards the sounds of feet by a door, and he wrinkled his forehead remembering through fevers and dreams, lying in the field.
The door opened revealing a woman, the man who had carried him, and two small children. They spoke loudly amongst themselves, almost as though not remembering their charge in the corner. Elladan groaned as the loud sounds bombarded his slightly stuffed ears. They felt as though cotton was stuffed in them causing the sounds to almost be muffled. He closed his eyes and drew another shaky breath.
He felt a cool hand on his brow and he felt his eyes snap open; the woman jumped back startled then smiled kindly wiping his forehead with a cool cloth. He felt the roughness of the cloth she used and let his mind wander back to his father's healing rooms. The cloths the elves used were softer, almost velvet like.
He watched her silently as she dabbed his chest with the same cloth, once in awhile rinsing it in some water out of his line of sight. He swallowed closing his eyes at her tender touch.
He felt a smile grace his lips and he opened his eyes again. She smiled down at him and softly spoke for the first time.
"Welcome to my home."
He wrinkled his brow, knowing that he should know the language, but it lingered on his brain.
"Do you understand me?" She asked seeing his look of confusion.
He nodded briefly, and licked his lips. "Water?" His parched throat tightened with the effort of the simple spoken word. She nodded and brought a rough looking cup to his mouth allowing a few drops to pass into his parched throat.
"How-" He coughed with the effort of speaking. "Long?"
She shook her head not understanding. "How long what, young one?" She asked mistaking his youthful appearance as one of a boy.
"Have I been here?" He whispered.
"Two days." She said wiping his brow again. "You were found in our field. You had a ragging fever, and you are very lucky to be alive. The wound on your leg had become infected."
He nodded listening to her soft voice, surprised that a mortal could speak so softly.
"The fever broke early this morning. Are you hungry?" She asked bringing the cup to his lips once more.
He nodded again allowing more of the cool liquid to trickle down his throat. "I still feel odd." He said frowning.
She nodded. "With a fever of such magnitude, you will be lucky to completely recover."
He wrinkled his forehead confused.
"The fever almost killed you. Children have been known to die with such ailments." Her face grew distant, and she shook her head. "Can you sit up?" She asked.
He took a deep breath, and raised himself to his elbows again. This time he felt his body ache with the effort. His arms shook slightly under the pressure and he felt her hand on his back helping him up. Sitting, he swung his legs over the side and he cried out in surprise discovering he was naked under the blankets.
She laughed and pulled the blankets around, covering his indecency.
Startled he glanced around looking for his clothing. His eyes met hers in question and she waved her hand to the end of the bed. There folded, were his cloths, clean. He reached over and gathered them in his hands staring at them strangely. The woman stood and drew a cloth curtain around the bed giving him some privacy, and he quickly dressed himself. He then stood shakily. Drawing the curtain aside he wandered into the sitting room. The man and children were beside the fire quietly laughing at something on the floor in front of them. The man looked up and nodded his head in greeting.
Elladan walked around the room noticing the woman at the long table cutting up vegetables. Ah so this was their kitchen, he though to himself. She waved to a small chair by the fire and he took it gratefully. The children had stopped what they were doing and glanced at him curiously.
The man stood and stretched sitting in a chair to his left. "What is your name, stranger?" The man asked looking at him.
Elladan smiled noticing the warning in the man's voice. This man was worried for his family, the elf thought. "I am Elladan Elrondion."
The man frowned and wrapped the strange name around his tongue. "How is it you came here?"
Elladan nodded his head, knowing a certain amount of information would be needed before being completely welcomed in this family's house. "I was searching for my brother. I grew fevered and knew I needed help. I stumbled across your small house by pure chance. I do not remember all the events that lead to me being here, but the feeling of floating is quite vivid."
The man chuckled at the elf's tale. "I am known as Kuyrd. My children, and my wife, Telianna." The waved around the room smiling.
Elladan nodded his head. "You have my thanks and gratitude for aiding me. I apologize for stumbling upon your family."
Kuyrd shook his head. "It is nothing, we are glad that we could help."
Telianna handed them each a plate with fresh bread, cheese, fruits and vegetables. Surprised, Elladan took the plate without question and held it in his hand and watched as the man began eating, then the children. He sat there waiting until the woman had seated herself on a chair then began to eat his food.
Elrohir dismounted his horse and walked over to the large tree covering the dirt path. He spotted a piece of green cloth hanging off one of the broken branches, and he pulled it fingering it between his thumb and index.
"It is my brother's." He stated. He got back on the horse and saw Cire nod out of the corner of his eye.
Elrohir called out to the horse and galloped down the path quickly. His senses were perked searching not only with eyes, but also down the golden strands of he and his brother's bond. He felt strands lighten and waver as Cire and him entered a field. It was midday, and Elrohir pulled the horse to a halt. He glanced around, and noticed a small house. Elrohir urged the horse into a trot and approached the house cautiously. He felt strength and pride issuing from the small house and he pursed his lips in a small loon call.