CHAPTER ELEVEN - COMATOSE

'The strongest must seek a way, say you? But I say: let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow - an Elf.'

Kyle lay flat on the ground, her breathing struggled and her heartbeat barely existent. The flowers still hung from the vase, withering away into a poisonous gas that had quickly engulfed the room in a cloud of toxic smoke. Blood trickled from Kyle's mouth as all her organs began to fail one by one. The poison was working its way through her body, devouring and consuming her. It was a painful way to die, she could feel everything, but she could not move or speak. She could only think and hope, trapped in a lifeless body. She was dying.

Legolas carefully approached Kyle's door, he rapped harshly against the wooden surface. It was strange, he hardly ever knocked, but it was early, and he had decided it would be best to give her some warning before he entered. He waited for a moment and received no answer. He knocked harshly again. "Kyle, It's me Legolas," Again no answer.

Kyle still lay. She heard Legolas. He had knocked. Why had he knocked? He never knocked. The one time she needed him not to knock he had knocked! If Kyle had not been in so much pain she might have laughed, instead she felt tears stream down her unmoving eyes whilst she hoped and prayed he would just enter.

Legolas sighed. Perhaps she was still asleep; mortals did tend to sleep for longer. Legolas turned his back and walked away from the door. He would come back later. Just as he was about to leave he looked inside the window. A large puff of black smoke, he couldn't help but wonder if she was cooking again.

Initially this had made his more eager to leave. Kyle's cooking wasn't the best and Legolas had been subjected to it more times than he cared to recount. After some thought Legolas shook his head. He wanted to see Kyle regardless of her cooking. He opened the door without knocking and a foul stench blew up his nostrils.

Apparently Kyle's cooking had gotten even worse. Legolas covered his nose with his sleeves and blew the smoke away with his hand. It was then he saw her. Lying on the floor with blood trailing from her mouth. Kyle. She was still and unmoving. The first thought that entered Legolas's mind was that she had poisoned herself with her own cooking, but then he noticed the flowers withering and dying on the table and his heart took a leap. He should have known.

In the mortal tongue they were known as the "Beautiful death" The flowers were greatly feared. They were beautiful when they were alive, but over a short period of time they would decay and emit a poisonous gas which corrupted the insides. The flowers only existed deep within the forest of Mirkwood. Some were sold by travelling traders, whom his father frequently caught and sent to the dungeons for dealing such harmful poison.

Legolas flew to Kyle's side and scooped her up into his arms carefully. Her head fell against his chest and Legolas stared down at her carefully. Who could have done such a thing to her? What wrong had she committed against anyone? He ran a finger down her lifeless cheek before heading toward the door. She needed to see a healer quick.

"Will she be okay?" Legolas asked, panic sweltering through him.

"I don't know," The healer spoke gently. Legolas' heart thudded against his chest. He couldn't lose her, not so shortly after he had lost Santiel. He could not take another death. "She has been subjected to the gas for a long time, it has corrupted her lungs, and every breath she takes is a struggle. If she wakes from this coma...and I stress the if, she will still be very ill Legolas. She is mortal, her wounds do not heal like ours do. We can only hope that she is strong enough,"

Legolas absorbed everything healer had said. He wore a mask of indifference, but the healer could see through it. She carefully placed her hand on his shoulder. "Stay with her. It is not proven, but it is said that a friend's presence is beneficial,"

Legolas nodded sitting beside her and wrapping his hand around Kyle's. She was still warm; he could feel the blood flow through her. He was engulfed by a rage, a rage directed at whoever had done this. He could not think of one soul who had reason to harm Kyle. Except...Legolas took a deep breath. Thranduil.

The elvenking had been worried his son was growing too close to the mortal. Perhaps in his fear of losing his son, he had...decided that disposing the subject of Legolas's attention was the only option. Legolas shook his head. Surely not.

But it seemed the only viable option. Thranduil was the only person with a cause. Legolas shook his head fighting back tears.

"Excuse me, Healer... Va..." Legolas searched his mind for the healer's name.

"Vanya, I'm Santiel's daughter. Don't you remember me?" She chuckled, "It is such a shame about Kyle, Naneth thought a lot of her. Such a dreadful way to die, she has to have done something dreadful to deserve such a fate,"

"She is not dead yet, there is still hope," Legolas snapped. "I was wondering though. If you could fetch my adar? I don't want to leave Kyle and I wish for a word with him,"

"Of course," Vanya bowed gracefully before leaving the room.

Legolas brought his attention back onto Kyle. She looked so peaceful, the scars on her face prominent under sunlight. Legolas wondered what she would look like without them. It was hard to tell if she would be beautiful, the scars were such a large part of her face. The elven prince sighed. She was still beautiful to him.

The door creaked open and Thranduil entered. Legolas stared up at him, anger filling his eyes. He dropped Kyle's hand and flew towards the king. "You!"

"'Las, calm," Thranduil sighed, grasping his son's hands. "What has happened? Vanya told me that the mortal- I mean Kyle, is ill,"

"You would know all about it, it was you who did it to her!" Legolas yelled, "She's dying adar! You poisoned her!"

"I did no such thing Las, I do not dislike the girl, I have not a cause in the world to hurt her," Thranduil replied, "I know you care for her. I have no desire to cause you pain,"

"No, you saw that myself and her were becoming close...and you were worried that I was in love with her- So you...so you...disposed of her," He explained,

"If I was under the impression that you loved her 'Las. Then I certainly wouldn't kill her. You are the only thing left that I care for. You are my everything and to cause you pain is unthinkable, so why then would I kill someone who makes you happy?" Thranduil argued. "Sit, and think for a moment. It wasn't me,"

Legolas thought. Of course it wasn't Thranduil. He felt his father's hand upon his shoulder. "I'm sorry I blamed you Adar,"

"You need not apologise," The elvenking sighed. "Now, who could have done this?"

Legolas watched as his father sat by his side. Vanya entered and cast the pair a glance, her eyes focusing on Kyle. They narrowed, there was no empathy, nor any form of care in her eyes. They were void of emotion. Legolas carefully watched as Vanya circled the room and begun to work at a station, unenthusiastically.

"So soon after Santiel," Thranduil considered, "How bad is it?"

"It does not look good adar," Legolas grasped Kyle's hand once more, "The poison has corrupted her lungs, every breath she takes is a miracle. She showed me the flowers Adar. I should have recognised them...I could have...I could have saved her,"

"It is not your fault," The king sighed pulling his son into his arms like he had done when he was just a child. "It will all be fine. Weak she may seem, but she is strong to have lasted this long."

Vanya carefully made her way to Kyle's side and Thranduil watched her carefully. She knelt down and took the mortal's temperature; she read it with ease before fluttering back to the workstation. "Vanya?"

"Yes," She turned around,

"What is that poultice?" Thranduil questioned.

Santiel thought for a moment. "It's-"

"It smells a lot like Belladonna, and if I'm not mistaken, Belladonna is rather poisonous and should not be used to treat someone who is already in a weak state of health," Thranduil spoke harshly. Vanya bit her lip as Legolas stared up ather with wide angry eyes.

It was Vanya, the daughter of Santiel who had poisoned Kyle, but why?