Aragorn
The days resolved themselves into a pattern. They would wake in the morning, bathe, and Aragorn would do Legolas' hair. Then breakfast, followed Legolas' time with Elrond. The two of them would talk, usually for about an hour or two, about how the prince was doing, but also about Legolas' childhood.
Aragorn knew his father was still trying to find the source of Legolas' bizarre thoughts of perfection. They were narrowing down the time range, and Elrond was hopeful that they'd be able to pick out the specific incident before long.
Legolas was always exhausted after his talk with Elrond. He'd come back to his room, usually cry for an hour or so while Aragorn held him, then drift off. Once he woke from the nap, they'd walk in the gardens, or sometimes simply sit in the trees, which was a comfort to the prince.
Nights were the worst. Sometimes, after dinner – which was always harder to get down than breakfast or lunch – Legolas would be too worn out to do anything but fall into bed. Other times, he'd be up half the night sobbing while Estel or sometimes Thranduil sang to him. At other times, Aragorn would force Elrond's calming tonic on him if the prince's panic got too bad.
His Ada had a potion that could help Legolas sleep, but he didn't like to use it too often, worried he would become dependent on it, so for the most part, Aragorn did his best to ensure his friend managed to sleep naturally.
Elrond spent over a week researching and creating a tea that he had Legolas take each morning and evening. He said it was to help with the obsessive need for perfection and purification. Aragorn couldn't tell if it was working or not, but he trusted his Ada.
When Legolas had the energy, they'd spend time with the twins, though they still didn't allow him near weapons. There had been several slips and near misses that clearly showed that Legolas was far from well. He was putting on weight and his arms were healing, but there were still days when he'd snatch anything sharp to relieve his own internal turmoil, or when he'd try to stick his hand down his throat after eating.
Several times, he hyperventilated himself into unconsciousness over meals before Ada could get the calming tea into him.
On the other hand, they were making progress with the actual food. Legolas had been mortified when he found out that his father now had dedicated servants whose sole purpose in life was to ensure that all of the prince's fruit was de-seeded and peeled.
Aragorn and the twins found it hilarious, and their gentle teasing had slowly won Legolas over, so that even he would chuckle about it sometimes. One particularly memorable incident involved a piece of skin being left on a grape and Legolas nearly choking on it, not expecting the skin and almost inhaling the grape, then having to drink two cups of Elrond's tea before he was calm again.
Thranduil's rage was almost comical and Aragorn had no doubt that the poor grape peeler would have been flogged had Elrond not interceded on her behalf. To make Legolas feel less self-conscious about needing his food so specifically prepared, Elladan and Elrohir took to eating theirs the same way, and throwing theatrical, over the top fits at the servants if they found anything wrong with their peeled and de-seeded fruit.
Fortunately, the servants knew that the twins were only playing with them and wouldn't hurt them. The same couldn't be said for Thranduil. He took Legolas' health and happiness seriously, and anything that upset his son was enough to send trembling servants fleeing from the king's glare.
They started to expand Legolas' diet to other types of fruit, which he struggled with, but they all knew that couldn't survive on grapes alone forever. Eventually, they'd work on bread, nuts and meat, but that was a long way off.
Aragorn couldn't say things were good, exactly, but they were going as well as could be expected. His family had been in Greenwood for a month when Legolas stumbled out of the study he and Elrond had claimed as their own with a dazed, confused look.
"Mellon nin?" As always, Aragorn was waiting in the corridor outside, far enough to give Legolas privacy to speak without being overheard, but still within sight of the door. He hurried over. "Tell me."
Legolas shook his head, not in denial, but as though to clear it. Aragorn was already leading him to his chambers – their chambers, really; he'd barely used the rooms Thranduil had assigned to him.
Aragorn sat Legolas down on the bed, taking his hands and waiting. He'd give the prince a chance to speak before he prompted.
Several minutes later, Legolas did. "I'm confused," the elf mumbled.
"I can see that, gwador. What are you confused about?"
"I don't know… it's images. It's not clear. Why not? It's not like other memories, things I don't recall…"
Aragorn surreptitiously brushed the hair back from the prince's forehead, checking for a fever. There was none, which didn't entirely allay his worries. "I don't understand, mellon nin. Can you explain it to me?"
Legolas' gaze met his, and the prince seemed to gather his thoughts. "Elrond has been taking me through some early memories, trying to figure out where my ideas of perfection started. Of course, there are some things I don't remember, and some I only vaguely remember. Ada has been able to help fill in some of the blanks.
Today, though, we were talking about a hunting trip Ada took me on, a few years after my naming day. It was just the two of us and a couple of guards. I don't… it's blurred, but not like the other memories that I just can't recall. It feels different. There are shapes and noises that don't make sense to me."
This wasn't making sense to Aragorn either, but he held his tongue, letting Legolas talk.
"I remember the first day," Legolas said slowly. "We didn't catch anything. On the second day, it was hot and I wanted to swim in the lake. Ada was going to take me, but he spotted one of the rare white deer and wanted to bring it down. He had his head guard, Velil, take me and watch over me. I swam… then… I don't know… blurs and noise. I remember fear, I think. The next thing I remember, I'm lying down next to Velil; I think I'm taking a nap. Then I'm back at camp with Ada. He caught the deer. The rest of the trip was normal, as far as I can recall."
Aragorn didn't know what to make of this. "What does Ada say?"
"He spoke to my Ada to get the facts. Apparently, he nearly beheaded Velil for falling asleep while watching me before he found the bump on her head. She must have tripped and passed out. I don't know why I didn't notice, but I suppose I was having too much fun swimming and simply thought she was sleeping. But since there was no one else there, we don't know what happened."
"What happened? You think something else happened, that you're not remembering?"
"Elrond thinks so. He said that a person's mind can block out memories that cause great distress, and he thinks this might be the case here. He can make a potion for me, to release the memories, if I want. He warned me, though, that memories become blocked for a reason. Releasing them may make things worse… but then, it may make them better."
Legolas shrugged. "I don't know. What do I do, Estel?"
Aragorn felt hopelessly out of his depth here. "I don't know, mellon nin. Personally, I would trust Ada. What does he say?"
"He thinks we should try it."
"Then maybe you should."
"Maybe." Legolas yawned.
"You're tired. Do you want to sleep?"
"Maybe. No, but also yes."
By now, Aragorn knew how to interpret Legolas' confusingly honest answers. "You want to sleep, but you're not sure you should?"
"It still feels weak, to spend so much time sleeping."
"Remember what Elrond said, gwador. The work you are doing with him is every bit as taxing as fighting orcs or spiders. Of course you need your rest."
"I know." Legolas' lip was trembling. "I still feel weak, though."
Aragorn pulled him into a hug, his hands already wiping the tears away. "I know."
After a few shuddering breaths, Legolas pulled back. "You're right. I'm exhausted. I think I want to sleep, if I can." Sometimes, Legolas fell asleep at once, but at other times, he tossed and turned, tormented by his own mind, his body tense even as he tried to relax. Fortunately, Aragorn knew how to help him.
"Come on, then, off with this." He tugged at the prince's tunic and Legolas pulled it easily over his head, with no reticence toward Aragorn seeing his body; there were no secrets between them now. "Lie down," he instructed, but Legolas was already doing it, lying on his stomach with his arms around his pillow.
Aragorn pulled the scented oil they used from the bed stand and started spreading it over his friend's back and shoulders. Legolas moaned softly as Aragorn started kneading the tense muscles.
"I don't know how you do this, mellon nin," Aragorn chuckled. "Anyone who didn't know better would say you really have been fighting orcs, based on the state of your back. I massage out a dozen knots one day, and the next day, you manage to bring them all back. It's quite talented, I'll give you that."
"Sorry," Legolas murmured, but Aragorn could hear the smile in his voice. He knew the prince had a bad habit of tensing when he was assailed by difficult thoughts or emotions. More than once, Elrond had had to spend hours rubbing the bizarrely tight muscles just for Legolas to be able to get out of bed.
"Mmm, right there, Estel."
Aragorn obediently focused on a particularly tight spot just under the prince's left shoulder blade. Legolas tensed momentarily as his friend's sure fingers pressed down on the tender place. Aragorn eased up on the pressure, kneading slowly but firmly as Legolas made sleepy noises of pleasure.
He didn't know quite when Legolas fell asleep, but Aragorn kept massaging, working out every bit of tension he could find in his friend's muscles. When he was done, he used a warm cloth to wipe the excess oil from Legolas' back and pulled the blanket over him.
He knew the prince would strain his neck sleeping like that, so he gently turned Legolas over onto his side. Legolas mumbled something in his sleep, but didn't wake. Aragorn quietly washed his hands before slipping into bed with his friend. Even in sleep, Legolas reached for him, settling his head in the now familiar spot on Aragorn's shoulder.
Seeing Legolas so peaceful and content never failed to bring Aragorn relaxation too, and it wasn't long before he was joining his friend in sleep.