Artemis dried her hands on a clean cloth and pulled the coverlet off the bed, she shoved it in a corner and then had Kili help her get Tauriel undressed to her underwear, He flushed a little but when Artemis handed him a bowl of hot water and a rag and instructed him to help her clean the cuts he nodded. Artemis knew the cuts had been cleaned previously but there were scabs and pus from infection on most of them now and they needed to be cleaned again. Once they were cleaned she started probing Tauriel's skin gently checking the worst bruises looking for broken bones or internal bleeding. She shook her head at the fever raging in Tauriel but there were no broken bones or hemorrhaging. She ran her fingers along Tauriels skull and winced at the swollen lump at the back and one she found on the right side. "Well that changes what I can give her…"
Kili opened his mouth to ask a question but the intense focus in Artemis's eyes was all on Tauriel, he was a little surprised, Artemis had always seemed a kind woman, a little stern but he han't expected such intensity from her, she lifted the cloth off her tools and started using the odd things, he watched her place a strange device in her ears then wrap a band around Tauriels arm. A small hand pump inflated the band and he watched as a needle on a dial jumped and hovered. She took the band off and used the strange device in her ears pressing a flat disc above Tauriels heart then took it off and grimace. "Erratic heart rate but her blood pressure is good so she's not bleeding into her skull so why is she unconscious still?"
She handed him the packets of powders. "What are these?"
He opened them. "This one is Feverbane." He handed it to her and she pulled out a strange pen and wrote it on the paper.
He opened another one. "Arifael Root, It's for pain relief." He handed it to her and she wrote that down too.
He opened the last and blinked. "Athelas." He said. "The elves use it with their magic to stop evil magic and enhance good."
She nodded and marked it as well before she rummaged in her satchel and brought out bottles, she read the tiny writing on one of the bottles and shook her head. "Blood thinner, nope," Another bottle and she shook her head again, she went through all of the bottles before settling on one and shook several fat pills out into her palm.
She set him to grinding them up while she brewed an infusion of Feverbane and Arifael. When he handed her the mortar with the ground pills she added some of that to the infusion and mixed it. "Help me hold her up."
He helped her hold Tauriel up and Artemis got her to swallow the brew. She pulled the whitest bandages he'd ever seen out of her bag and a strange sharp smelling salve and dressed Tauriel's wounds then covered her with a sheet. "We'll have to feed her this brew every three hours for the next day or so, until the fever breaks."
He sat by the bed and held Tauriel's hand while Artemis gathered up her tools and cleaned them before putting them all away and walked down to the common room. She saw Tracey and sat next to her. Looking up from her food, Tracey watched Artemis entire the common room and sit with them. She didn't immediately prod her for information on Tauriel's condition, but pushed a plate containing a variety of foods and a goblet of wine toward her and allowed her to eat first. Tracey took Legolas hand and gave him a smile before returning to her fruit.
"How is she doing Artemis?"
Artemis sipped her wine and leaned back in the chair her plate empty. "She has a fever and a pretty serious infection but nothing is broken or punctured. She's got two pretty serious knots on her skull though but I don't think she's bleeding into her skull. I can't risk any of the anti-inflammatories I have though since they're all blood thinners and if she has even a small bleed in the brain it could kill her. We've dosed her with fever reducers, pain killers and antibiotics, once the fever breaks we'll see what else can be done."
Tracey nodded and rested her chin in her palm after she rested her elbow on top of the table.
"That's as well as we can do for now I suppose." Tracey said after a moment and sighed tiredly. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Kili will be staying with Tauriel all night. Fili, why don't you bring him up something to eat and give him whatever support he needs right now."
Fili needed no further encouragement and picked up an empty plate from the table, loaded it up with food, and grabbed a mug of ale before vanishing up the stairs to his brother. She glanced at Legolas and tilted her head to study him, he hadn't said much since they arrived and it slightly worried her.
"Are you alright my love?" She asked, speaking softly in the Elven speech of his people. "You've been quiet."
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and replied in Elven. "Tauriel and I were friends for many years. I have seen her take hurts far worse and not be laid low by them. To see one so strong so… helpless unnerves me."
"I know of your friendship, my love, and you know as well as I that she is stronger than we would give her credit for." Tracey replied, giving him a comforting smile. "She has someone to live for so I doubt greatly that she would just give up and die. That would be far too easy and you know how stubborn she is, almost equally is the Dwarf she has come to love."
Leaning over, she kissed Legolas on the cheek before resting her head on his shoulder.
He rested his hand on her head and ran fingers through her dark hair. "Aye but does she know he is here? She believed him dead and I doubt Artemis's letter would have revealed the whole truth."
"You're right about that, but if she hears him speaking to her it will help." Said said, eyes closing as she savored his touch. "We shall keep a close eye on her in the meantime and hope for the best. Artemis and I will check on her periodically to make sure she's okay, but I think for now we should rest. I don't know about you but a hot bath and warm bed are calling to me."
Reverting back to English after looking and Artemis and finding her expression to be on of amusement, Tracey smiled and cleared her throat. A maid came to their table and handed them a key to their room and Tracey told her that their Dwarven friend had gone up to see the She-Elf and his brother so she was politely asked to take the last key to him. With the girl gone to deliver the key and get back to work, Tracey stifled a yawn behind her hand and blinked tiredly.
"Bed time I think. You should take the wine up to your room Artemis and relax, you've done enough for the day."
Artemis smiled. "I'll get to bed soon enough. I think a musician is about to start and I'd like to hear it."
She motioned towards a youngish man who was tuning a harp by the fire and sipped her wine. "Very well, when you do decide to sleep, I hope you have pleasant dreams and I will try to do the same." Tracey answered with a smile, standing up from her chair and wrapping her arms around Artemis from behind. "Excellent performance today, good night."
Pushing her chair under the table again, Tracey held onto Legolas's hand and together they vanished up to their room. Conveniently all their rooms were on the top floor with Tauriel's being at the end of the hall, making it perfect to check on her as they needed too. Tracey unlocked their room and deposited her saddlebags, which she had retrieved from Tauriel's room after she had gone to check on her, Fili and Kili, in a nearby chair and let out a tired breath. She drew herself a bath and undressed behind the reed screen, using a cloth to wash away the dirt and grime of her travels. The hot water chased away the chill of the night and warmed her to her bones. With a delighted smile, Tracey quickly finished her bath and pulled on clean undergarments and a night shift. She unfolded her wings and gave them several soft flaps, stretching them out happily, glad to have them out in the open again instead of concealed under her cloak. Taking the still damp garment, she hung it up on one of the pegs in the room to let it dry before falling face first onto the bed and lying there unmoving, her wings opening and closing lazily.
"So tired..." Came her muffled voice from the fabric followed by another sigh.
Legolas sat beside her turned slightly and started massaging her back. "Rest my heart. We made it here and if fate is kind Tauriel will live." He kissed the skin where her wings met her back .
A visible shudder ran through Tracey and her wings suddenly standing up straight, stopping their movement completely. Slowly she rolled over and scooted closer, cupping his cheek gently and drawing him into her awaiting lips. Tracey kissed him tenderly and letting out a content sigh as she started to sit up further and nearly crawled into his lap. She loved being this close, feeling his body heat surround her and being put at ease. He was right, they had acquired Tauriel and helped her to the best of their abilities, now it was only a matter of time to see how she would hold it together. If fate was kind, she would be alright in a few days and they could return to Lothlorien.
"I will love you forever Legolas." She whispered, giving him a loving smile and resting her forehead against his own.
"Forever and a day." He replied cupping her face.