A/N Again another late night update! But at least this time I have the excuse of having family over. :)

Disclaimer: not mine.

Chapter Twelve

"What, exactly, is wrong with Legolas?" Elrohir asked as they rode towards Imladris. Aragorn saw his father's back straighten, and knew that he was listening as well.

"Venom. And it isn't just Legolas."

"What do you mean?" Elrohir's eyes were wide. Thranduil's note hadn't been very precise, just a very desperate plea for Elrond's help.

"I mean that almost all of Mirkwood's warriors have been inflected."

"What?!" Elladan and Elrohir exclaimed at the same time, horror coating their voices. It was a noteworthy task to poison one Mirkwood warrior but to be able to get all of them…

"I'll explain later," Aragorn said briskly, kicking Elrond's fresh horse faster. Aragorn last track of how long they had been riding, but it couldn't have been more than ten mintues before Elrond abruptly dropped the reins, allowing the horse to pull to a stop.

"Ada?" Elladan asked in a yell as he also yanked on his horse, but Elrond wasn't paying any attention. His face was one of panic as he heaved Legolas into a more upright position. The rain was still pelting them and within instant of Aragorn pulling up his horse next to them, the fresh blood on the elf's face was beginning to run in streams once more.

"Ada!" Elladan repeated louder when Elrond did not answer. Their father flicked his fear filled eyes on him, before turning back to Legolas. Though Aragorn's mortal eyes could not pick it up through the storm, he swore he saw his father's lips shape the words,

"You will not forsake me now, young elf. Not if I have anything to say about it," and felt his stomach sink to his feet. This wasn't happening, not again, he couldn't handle it happening again.

"Legolas!" he yelled in terror, but Elrond was already swinging off the horse and dragging the prince's still form to the ground. "Legolas!"

Aragorn jumped off his horse before she had pulled to a full halt and lunged forward to reach Legolas' side, but an arm flung out and caught him across the chest.

"Ada has this under control," Elrohir said loudly over a clap of thunder followed by a flash of lightening.

"But—" Aragorn tried to protest but Elladan only shook his head. Elrond laid Legolas flat on the ground and leaned over him, leaning over him as his hands sought the pulse point in his neck. Aragorn shook free of Elrohir's hold and dropped down to his knees next to Elrond, his own breath catching as he saw that Legolas was struggling to take in a minimal amount air.

"Ada?" Terror made his voice crack and Elrond glanced up at him. Today, there was no comfort in those deep, thoughtful, eyes, only fear.

"He doesn't have the strength, Estel. He is one the verge of—"

"NO!" Aragorn didn't even recognize that he was shouting, or that he was moving forward again until the twins had each grabbed one of his arms, holding him back. "HE IS NOT GOING TO DIE!" They had traveled to far for this ending. Legolas had been strong though out the whole thing, surely, surely, he could find a little more. If only he had done as Thranduil had asked and left Legolas in Mirkwood, then maybe he wouldn't be dying. If he hadn't—

Elrond's voice broke into his reeling thoughts.

"No, Estel, not if I have a choice. But we have no time, you must listen to me and obey." Aragorn stopped struggling against his brothers, gazing at his father with an unreadable expression. Elladan dropped his youngest sibling's arm, but paused quickly to squeeze his shoulder.

"What must we do, Ada?"

"I'm going to give Legolas at least enough strength to last tell we reach Imladris. You three keep him as warm and dry as possible. Be prepared to leave at a moment's notice." The three siblings nodded and turned back to the suffering elf. Rolling back his sleeves, the healer of Imladris placed one large hand on Legolas' brow and the other on his chest. His eyes slid out of focus and the bright glow that surrounded all elves brightened noticeably. Legolas' almost none existent one sparked briefly.

"We should cover them," Elrohir whisper and together the three of them created a human tent. Separating into a tringle, they lifted their cloaks and touched their arms together. It worked fairly well and the down pour of rain that everything else was experiencing became a mere sprinkling for Elrond and Legolas.

"Aragorn?" The human raised his eyes from Legolas' face and looked up at Elrohir. "What happened?" Elladan nodded, looking expectantly at his brother. Aragorn sighed heavily, wondering where to start. After his tale was told, the twins smiling faces were serious and their usual laughing eyes hard.

"Orcs are growing too smart. They must be destroyed," Elladan whispered vehemently.

"Mm, yes, because not even the great elves of the first age were able to blot them out completely," Elrohir reminded sarcastically. He rolled his shoulders and shifted a little to the left. Aragorn was silent as his brothers discussed the orcs, there would be time for that later. Right now, his eyes were trained on the pulsing light that surrounded Legolas' still form that was growing steadily, if slowly, brighter.

"When did Ada get back?" he asked breaking into their conversation mid-sentence. His eyes flickered to them before back at Legolas.

Elladan smiled grimly. "This afternoon. As soon as Ada heard that Mirkwood was in desperate need and that you had gone ahead, he gathered what he thought was needed and we were out the door within the hour."

"Valar bless Ada," Aragorn murmured fondly. Elrond never turned away a person in need and because of his speed Legolas' life just might be saved.

"I'm going to go gather some blankets," Aragorn said and waited until the twins had shifted to cover his positon before slipping out. Slugging through the mud to the horses, he began to gather whatever dry articles of material he could and held them carefully under his cloak. Slipping and sliding back the others, he ducked under their makeshift tent.

He was just in time to witness Elrond blink back to reality and lean back. Legolas moaned breathlessly, his hand twitching in the mud.

"Ada?" Elladan asked anxiously as he dropped his part of the tent and knelt next to his lightly swaying father. Aragorn hurried to stripe Legolas of his wet clothes and wrap him in dry cloth, but spared a second to glance worriedly at his father.

"I am alright," Elrond said, leaning momentarily against Elladan. "Just weary. Legolas, however, is riding on borrowed time, we must go." The twins hesitated, clearly worried about their father, but Aragorn had seen the full effects of the venom and knew exactly the numbers they faced. So he simply finished wrapping Legolas and lifted his limp body into his arms. He shifted his own cloak to cover the elf as much as possible from the pounding rain and turned expectantly to his father.

"Ada should rest first," Elrohir said softly and in concern as he touched the healer's shoulder.

"NO!" the vehemence in which Elrond shouted the phrase made both twins jump and stare at their father. "I am fine. Elladan take Legolas on your horse."

"But—"

"No, Estel, we don't have time for arguments. My word is law," Elrond snapped, excepting Elrohir's hand in rising. His weakness was shoved aside as Legolas let out a choked cough and he crossed over to Aragorn. Elrohir hovered behind him, one arm outstretched just in case his father had overestimated his strength. Elrond pulled back the edge of Aragorn's cloak that covering the elf's face. Legolas' skin was no longer translucent, though still deathly pale and blood continued to seep out of the corner of his mouth. Elrond shook his head. "He is stronger, but we must not waste a single drop of strength."

Marching purposefully towards the horses, Elrond motioned for Aragorn to hand Legolas over to Elladan once he mounted. Aragorn bowed his head, resting his face against the elf's head in one final act of comfort, both for himself and the prince.

Elrond, meanwhile, swung rather clumsily atop his own horse.

"Elrohir," he said softly, beckoning him forward. "Estel looks exhausted. Keep an eye on him, aright? Don't let him push himself too far." Elrohir nodded.

"Don't you do the same, though," he cautioned pointedly, and Elrond smiled briefly.

"I am not your brother or Legolas. I know my limitations." As soon as the elf lord saw that Legolas was safely in front of Elladan, he kicked his horse into action.

The other three followed as swiftly as their bodies wold let them, but before they want fare it was clear it became clear that the horses that had travled from Mirkwood were worn out. They had pushed themselves to the limit for their elf master, but now the sense of urgency was no longer hung over them and their steps slowed.

"Go ahead and ride on," Aragorn shouted over the rain at Elrohir, who merely shook his head. Elladan, Elrond and Legolas had already left them far behind and the man would be lying if he wasn't annoyed that Elrohir hadn't done likewise. "It is not like I can't find my way home. " He was well past his childhood, even if his brothers might not see it sometimes. Elrohir only smiled, shaking his head. The upward curve of his lips slowly pulled down, the weight of Leoglas' condition hanging over both of them.

THEHANDSOFAHEALER

It was morning by time that Aragorn and Elrohir hobbled their way past the gates. Elrond's and Elladan's steads were nowhere in sight and Aragorn concluded that they had been beaten back to Rivendell by half-an-hour at least, he hoped more.

Three elves came running down the stairs to great them. Their faces were calm but Aragorn could sense their internal panic as they took the horse and began to lead them towards the stable. There was an overwhelming cloud of anxiety that was filling the normally calm and peaceful place he could home. Aragorn took the stairs three at a time with Elrohir right behind him and together they raced through the hallways and up to Legolas' room. They were hazarding a guess that Elrond would take the elf there. Sure enough, when they skidded to a stop and pulled open the doors to the prince's personal rooms, they found a flurry of activity.

Elrond was talking to several other healers, directing them with sure commands which they hastened to obey but Aragorn's eyes were drawn to the figure over which Elladan was bending. Legolas' top half was obscured from view, but Aragorn could tell that the prince's condition was not good. Taking a step forward towards the bed he jumped when a hand caught his arm, pulling him back around.

"Ada…" he protested as his father pulled him to the crowd of elves.

"Aragorn, you must tell us everything you know about the venom and cure. What have the Mirkwood elves tried? Do we have anything to go by?" The lord asked feverishly as he began to pace, his hands behind his back. The fire light caught on his clothes, highlighting the weary lines under his eyes but otherwise, there was no sign of the energy he had used to help Legolas.

Aragorn glanced over at the bed once more, and his set his jaw. Launching into speech, he began to talk clearly and simply. He put all his energy and emotion into it, not leaving out a single detail. Only once did he stop speaking, and that was when the sounds of retching and coughing suddenly sounded behind him. Spinning around, startled, he had just enough time to see Elrohir crouched, holding what appeared to be a towel beneath the prince's lips while Elladan lifted his head. Red was rapidly staining the cloth, but that was all he saw as Elrond turned him back to face the front.

"This is how you can help him," he said gently, and the human threw himself back in. He tuned out any sounds that might have been coming from behind him, staying determinedly on task.

After he had finished, he dropped exhaustedly into a chair, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. The others immediately took off in a million different directions, but Elrond paused next to him

"Estel, I want you to go to bed. You also have been through quite a bit these past few weeks." His gentle eyes were concerned and Aragorn met them easily.

"I will, Ada. Trust me," he assured, but Elrond raised a disbelieving eyebrow before calling the same instructions over to the twins, whom he knew would require Aragorn to follow through. They nodded, and he left.

Aragorn slouched in his chair, heaving a heavy sigh, and then pried himself up and moved sluggishly to the side of the bed. He was so tired, he didn't know the last time he had slept for more than a few hours was. The desperate need to get Legolas here and help to Mirkwood had acted as his energy, but now that it was gone, every fiber of his being was complaining.

"Go get some rest, Estel, we will watch over Legolas," Elladan said softly from his position by the head of the bed.

"I know," Aragorn sank to sit on the bed. "Just give me a minute." Not waiting for agreement, the human reached out and clasped one of Legolas' icy hands in his. "He was burning before," he whispered more to himself than to the others. He brought the hand to his lips momentarily, and then went back to rubbing feeling into it. His eyes were locked on the lax, almost empty face.

"Go to bed, Estel," Elrohir insisted, crossing to him, and prying free his hold on Legolas' hand. "I promise to wake you at any change, for better or for worse, but you are about to keel over." He pulled Aragorn up and brought the half resisting man towards the door.

"You hold on, you hear me, Legolas," Aragorn called back over his shoulder giving in at last to Elrohir.

The elf brought him to his room, and after insisting that he eat something and wash (the later which Aragorn viewed as unnecessary) he was put to bed like he was five again. But despite his complaints that he was fine, as soon as his head hit the pillow he was sound asleep.

TBC...

No cliffie! Aren't you guys proud of me! :)

Review Replies

ElvenChicken: Haha, yes! We have put Legolas through rather a lot... us evil fangirls. Well, I hope this relived your pain...at least for a moment. And well...I can't promise anything but I don't know if I could kill him off. :) Oh, and you deserve the recognition! Without readers and reviews, then there is no point in writing. Thanks you!

Guest: Thanks!

ARRRRGH: Was this soon enough? Well, probably not but at least it an update! *hands over a tissue* Thanks so much!

Bellasiel: You might be right to be wary...this is us fangirls that we are talking about! Haha, yes, the ending to chapter 10 for sure wouldn't have been your favorite. I don't think most people enjoyed it. :) Ah, I'm glad you think so! Thanks so much!

Lord Illyren: Oh! I am so glad that you took the time to read my other stories. :) Haha, I don't know myself, but I do know that I still have a lot more ideas. I spend waaaay to much time thinking of new ways to hurt poor Legolas. :) Thanks!