A/N I cannot wait for summer and warmer weather, (it can still be really cold here) but until then I will use the happy feelings I get from reading your reviews to make me warm inside!
Disclaimer: not mine.
Chapter Eight
Aragorn was on his hands and knees, scrubbing the floor of Legolas's room. Only half-an-hour ago they had beenlaughing and talking with the twins…but then the poison had chosen to attack Legolas's system yet again. Unfortunately for all of them, Legolas was ill right where he had been at.
Currently though, Legolas was in the bathing chamber, cleaning up and taking a hot bath to sooth the shivers that would still his strength for next few hours. It had a little over six days since they had found out about the elf's heart and Legolas was dramatically worse.
It took a lot more effort than they had all realized to keep the prince's heart at the proper rate. Almost anything would set it off, especially as the days flashed past. It could be laughing, auguring, walking, and anything else the prince did is seemed. And the longer without the antidote, the length and intensity of the attacks increased.
It just isn't fair that Legolas has to suffer this much…" Aragorn thought angrily, throwing the rag into the bucket with more force than he met too, splashing some of the water out. Aragorn closed his eyes, still on his knees, and took a deep breath. Getting angry wouldn't do any good; it was not going to stop the poison.
I swear when I get my hands on both Rhavan and that man, they are going to wish they had never been born!
Getting to his feet, he opened the door and stuck the bucket out in the hallway. The maids would take care of it later. Finishing that, the human moved back to Legolas's bed, turning the covers down and rearranging the pillows.
Just then, Legolas reentered the room, holding tightly to the wall for support. In a flash both of the twins were at his side, supporting his light weight. Aragorn straightened, watching as the trio made their way towards the bed. Legolas was far too weak for comfort.
Elladan and Elrohir helped lower Legolas back against the silk pillows, while Aragorn hurried to cover up his friend with blankets. Legolas was never warm anymore, the poison chilling the blood that ran through his veins.
"I'm sorry…" Legolas whispered, rolling over onto his side and huddling up under the blankets.
"Don't be." Aragorn stated firmly, picking up a cup of hot tea and holding it up in question.
"Cleaning up after someone else can not be that enjoyable." The prince said pointedly, shaking his head at the offer.
"Well, no." the human consented, placing the mug down and sitting on the edge of the bed. One hand subconsciously moved down, lightly touching his friend's shoulder, before pulling the blanket up a little higher.
"I hate being ill." Legolas whispered suddenly, the vehemence in his voice surprising Aragorn. Quickly reaching out, he caught his friend's wrist, counting his pulse and making sure it stayed where it was suppose to.
"I know you do, mellon-nin, but keep your emotions in check." Aragorn cautioned, rubbing the elf's arm in a soothing pattern. Legolas let out a heavy sigh closing his eyes and pressing his head back against the pillows.
The human smiled sadly, still holding his friend's wrist, not that there was much he could do if Legolas's pulse did speed up.
The door opened behind him and Aragorn glanced over his father.
"Ada?" he asked, not surprised to see him. Elrond spent most of his time laboring over the antidote, but also came to check on the elf quite frenetically. Suddenly the human caught sight of the bottle in his father's hand. Jumping to his feet, the man's eyes light up
"Is that it?!" He said excitedly. At his words, Elladan and Elrohir looked up expectedly, also making their way towards their father. Legolas worked up the effort to push himself up on his elbows, watching Elrond with an expression of hope on his own face.
"No…" Elrond said softly, watching as all their faces fell. "But it is something that I think could help a great deal, that is if Legolas is willing to try it."
"Willing? I am willing to try anything that will help." Legolas assured the lord, sinking back to lie flat.
"There is some risk to taking this medicine, though, I will warn you." Elrond warned moving over so he stood next to his patiently. "This drug will slow your heart beat, almost within seconds. However, too much of it and your heart will stop."
The sons of Elrond frowned at that, giving each other worried looks. Legolas, however, just shrugged.
"I trust you, Hir Elrond." /lord/
"You may trust him, but do you trust us?" Elladan teased, only half-joking. What if one of them really did accidently give the elf too much? Normally, the elf would be able to fight a small overdose, but in his weakened condition…it wouldn't take much.
"If it is your wish, then I will keep this here." Elrond said quietly, placing the bottle down. Reaching over he picked of strand of wet hair away from Legolas's pale face, "We will pull you through this." He whispered, giving the elf an encouraging smile.
In the background, Aragorn frowned. His thoughts lately had been straying very close to the fact that Elrond might not be able to create an antidote. If that was to happen, then there would only be one option. One that Aragorn would take without hesitation.
"I'm fine, Hir-nin."/my lord/ Legolas assured, his face dropping in concern as he looked around at everyone else. They all looked tired and ruffled, shadows under their eyes. They had cared for him, night and day for the last week, no wonder they were exhausted.
"You all really should get some sleep." He suggested.
"We are." Elrohir insisted and it was true, they took turns staying up with the elf while others got some sleep.
"Not enough, though." Legolas insisted.
"You get some rest." Aragorn ordered firmly.
BYYOURSIDE
It was a few nights later, when Aragorn was found sitting in a chair and reading a book by the light of the moon and a small candle. In one hand he held Legolas's wrist, subconsciously counting the beat. It was his turn to stay up with the prince, though Elladan would take over a little before dawn. The long hours were dragging by without anything happening, just the way he liked it.
Suddenly, that all changed. He was alerted that something was wrong when Legolas pulse skipped a beat before beginning to speed up. Instantly the man was in action, dropping his book and shaking Legolas's shoulders. Aragorn placed a comforting hand on the elf's brow, pressing down lightly.
"Legolas?" he called, groping behind him for the bottle of medicine that Elrond had brought by a few days ago. It worked wonders and had been a great relief to Legolas, as well as the others, to have a break.
Wrapping his fingers around the bottle, Aragorn pried the top off with his teeth, still keeping a calming hand on his friend. Pouring a spoonful, the man was forced to return most of his attention back to the elf in his charge as Legolas began to thrash around, strangled streams escaping his throat.
Placing firm hands the prince, Aragorn called his name. Legolas let out a cry, sitting bolt upright before clasping into a ball.
At least there will be no vomiting this time…Aragorn thought as he wrestled the prince back into a sitting position, trying to be gentle. It was either pain or vomiting, never both together…at least not yet.
Gripping the elf firmly with one arm, he trapped Legolas's hands between them, keeping them out of the way. Stretching the arm that was holding Legolas against him, he pinched the elf's cheeks, forcing his mouth open. With his other hand, Aragorn picked up the spoon and shoved it into the prince's mouth, tipping all the liquid off of it.
The elf gagged once, before allowing the herbs down his throat. Aragorn just held the prince tighter, waiting for the pain to subside. It didn't take too long and soon Legolas's pulse was almost normal again.
"Breath steady and deep mellon-nin," Aragorn soothed, holding the elf tightly for a few minutes until the elf's shaking had stopped somewhat. Squeezing the elf just a little tighter for a second, the man scooted back, slowly lowering the prince back down.
A low moan left Legolas's lips, his body still sore and Aragorn shushed him with a gently touch.
"Go back to sleep…" Estel whispered, leaning back in his own chair. One hand was still holding Legolas's wrist, lightly monitoring the speed of the archer's heart. He thought Legolas had drifted off again till the elf suddenly spoke.
"Estel." His voice was quiet and if it had been any softer the man would have missed it.
"Yes, Legolas?" he asked, his voice gentle.
"Estel…" Legolas began again, his breathing slightly labored. "I need to know something." He continued, keeping his sentence short. Aragorn froze, his eyes suddenly glued to the bedspread. He thought he knew what was coming and he could not give the elf what he wanted.
"Please, Aragorn, promise me you won't….trade your life for mine…" Legolas begged, slowly and painstakingly rolling over so he was looking directly into the man's grey eyes.
"Legolas…" Aragorn whispered, his voice cracking slightly. "I cannot…cannot give you what you ask." Tears silently slipped down his cheeks and a soft sob left his lips. Legolas face was heart-breaking sorrowful, pleading him to do this one thing.
"No, please, Estel, this is all I ask." The prince rasped, using his friend like a crutch until he was sitting up right.
"I can't, Legolas, don't you understand, I can't!" Aragorn cried, and would have pulled away from the elf if not for the fact that Legolas probably would have fallen flat on his face. Instead he wrapped his arms around Legolas, pulling him into a hug at the same time as holding him upright.
Against him Legolas drew in a shaky breath, tears slipping down his cheeks as well.
"I-I know, I ask a lot." Legolas whispered, stopping to as his breath hitched and more tears rolled down his cheeks. They were both shaking now, but Aragorn's hand moved to rest against the back of his head, holding it in place.
The only sound in the room for a while was both of their struggled breaths as they tried to still their tears and get their emotions back under control. Finally Aragorn spoke again, his words rough but he was once again in control.
"Legolas, you are the brother of my heart. You are my gwador. There is nothing I wouldn't give to you…including my life." /brother/ Legolas closed his eyes at the words, a few more tears making their way down his face. He felt extremely tired and weak, making his emotions even harder to control. He had a sense of foreboding, something was going to happen and he wanted that promise form Estel.
"Don't you think I feel exactly the same way? This is exactly why I need that promise from you, Estel." His body was began to tremble and sighed desperately. "Saes, Estel." /please/
Aragorn lost control of his emotions again and it was a few minutes before he could speak. He just sat there, clutching his friend close to him, afraid to let go. He gently placed a kiss on the top of the golden hair, beginning to rock slightly until he was back in control.
"Gwador-nin…" he began before cutting off. How could he honor such a request, yet how could he refuse it as well. "I promise…Legolas I can't! Please don't make me make a promise I cannot keep!" he begged.
Legolas gave no answer for a moment trying to convince his friend. "If you won't do it for me, then think of your heritage. You are Isildur's heir, you cannot die, because if you die, there will be no hope. Besides, I would die if you were killed for my sake"
Aragorn took a deep steadying breath, knowing that the elf meant what he said. "I promise not to trade my life for yours." He whispered, so low the prince could hardly hear him, even with elven hearing. As the words left his lips, Aragorn's heart broke because some way or another, he knew that is what it would come down to, his life or Legolas's. And in the end, he would be unable to keep the promise.
Legolas relaxed at the words, his breath escaping free of his lips with a quite sigh.
"Hannon le, gwador, hannon le." The elf whispered, wrapping his arms around the shoulders' of his long-time friend. Aragorn didn't say anything back, he didn't have to.
Aragorn and Legolas sat there in the dark, drawing comfort from each as they wept. Finally the human pulled back, wiping his eyes one his tunic.
"You need to get some sleep. I can tell you don't feel very good at the moment." Aragorn whispered, pushing the elf back to a flat position. Legolas don't protest, because the man was right. The elf felt weak and achy all over, and he didn't think he could handle any food even if he wanted too.
"Thank you." he said again, watching Aragorn intently as the man began to pull the blankets up and over him, tucking them in around his body. Aragorn looked up, smiling softly before brushing the remaining tears away from the pale face with the pad of his thumb.
"Sleep, now." he insisted, watching as Legolas drifted off into a peaceful sleep. On his tried face was a smile, peaceful and content.
"Just hang on, mellon-nin, you will not die." Aragorn whispered into the stillness, brushing the prince's long blond hair away from his face. Sitting back into his own chair, the man kept a silent watch over his friend.
TBC…
Well, Legolas finally got that promise form Aragorn….but what is going to happen next…what about that foreboding feeling that Legolas was having…
Oh and someone pointed out to me that we aren't suppose to reply to reviews anymore in the chapter itself, but which way do you guys prefer? Of course I will continue to reply to reviews here for those who login as guests.
Review Responses:
The Phantom Dragon: haha, yes! We will do all in our power to keep him in that bed!
Crystal di Angelo: I know, I wouldn't either…but I don't have a good excuse! I don't know what is going to happen yet, but maybe that will be in there!
DragonElf: I really should make a scene where he finds out….everyone is wanting one! I'll work on it! thanks!
World-classgeek: If only Legolas would listen to you! He is much too stubborn for his own good!
robinsmum: lol. I think they should have thought of that! and no, thank you!
AmazingWriter123: I'm glad I was able to surprise you! They really, really need a hug right now…the poor guys, we are so evil to them!
AnnabethPrimroseGranger: haha, he is! And now they also have the medicine to help!
LILEVILONE96: That's because you are my mellon! I hope so too! (I don't know exactly where my evil, evil brain is going to take him next!)
Guest: Thanks for telling me, I am now thinking about doing that.