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[wisherwell]

Safe Haven

Legolas was near collapse. He had traveled nonstop for nearly four days before he caught sight of Rivendell. During that time, Aragorn seemed to slowly worsen. His breathing became harsher and it took more of an effort for him to get any air at all. Legolas’ condition was also not ideal. He felt unusually weak and light headed. It was hard for him to concentrate on anything for long, and he knew why. During one of the calmer nights, the Elf had inspected the gash in his arm and found traces of the poison that was now devouring Aragorn from the inside out. Yet he had ignored it. To him, the young Ranger’s welfare was more important than his own. Aragorn might see differently, but he was not in a state to give his opinion at the moment. And besides, the prince of Mirkwood couldn’t care less if his friend had a death wish. He wouldn’t let him die.

Bursting through the gates and almost knocking one of the guards off his feet, Legolas did not waste time to even slow his horse before hopping off, Aragorn in his arms, taking a deep breath and using more of his strength, he gave of loud yell.

“LORD ELROND!!!!!” the elf hollered. He saw the lord of Rivendell and his twin son’s run around a bend and start for him. Getting to him in almost inelven time, they all started to talk at once, but Lord Elrond quickly took control of the dialogue.

“What happened?” the elven ruler said tersely as he examined the two travelers.

“We were ambushed by Orcs. They had poisoned they’re arrows.” Legolas said, trying to fight off Elladan and Elrohir at the same time. He was reluctant to trust Aragorn into even their able care.

“Legolas, let him go. You can do no more for him. Let us take over now.” Elladan said soothingly. Slowly and reluctantly, the tired and hurting elf released his friend and with out a second to spare, promptly passed out.

Lord Elrond pursed his lips as he examined his two new patients. He knew the poison that was eating away at his son and knew that the athelas the prince of Mirkwood had put on the wound was a big help. His son would not die. It was Legolas he was worried about. Not all the blood on him was the human’s and the older elf knew how Legolas would put his friends welfare before his own. And the poison needed to be treated within two hours of receiving it to be effective.

“Take them to the healing ward.” He ordered the twins, “And make haste. We have a lot of work to do



Elladan gently laid his human brother on the bed as though he were made of glass. Elrohir had entered the healing ward right behind him, carrying Legolas. The blond elf was laid on a bed several cots down from Aragorn’s and made comfortable, for his wound was not serious and he had most likely past out from exhaustion. Elrond was the last to come in, and the elf lord immediately rushed over to Estel. Tearing away his tunic, Elrond winced at the arrow wound and the obvious sign of poison. Ordering Elladan to fetch him a pitcher of water, the lord of Imladris ran his fingers along the edge of the wound, his fingers picking up some of the green liquid. Lifting it to his nose and sniffing, he scowled.

“A poison made from the moryave,” Elrond muttered. Moryave meant “dark flower” and it was aptly named. Almost black in color, it had a horrible stench and the nectar was fatal to humans and elves, if the remedy was not administrated in time. Not knowing for certain how long ago his son had received this wound, but being able to guess by the amount of crusted blood around it and the sign of infection. Judging by this, the wound would have been rendered about three to four days ago. But that was impossible! The poison took two days before it caused the lungs to start shutting down and for the poison to become ineffective. How was the mortal only on stage three out of nine: chills and difficulty breathing? ‘Legolas...’ Elrond thought, ‘Legolas must have done something. Athelas most likely. And that slows the poison!’ Thanking the Valar for this stroke of luck, the ancient elf set to work healing his son.



Hours later, the healer stepped back from the bed, tired and dirty. Blood from the arrow wound covered his hands and the smell of the herb, galadyave, which he had used to counteract the venom, was starting to smell sickly. But the good news was that Aragorn would survive. He might not be totally out of the woods, but he would live to see the next morning. Deciding that now was the time to check on Legolas, he walked over to the prone elf. Reaching the bedside, Elrond picked up the elf’s hand and gasped. It was ice cold. Putting a delicate ear to Legolas’ chest, his worst fears were realized when he heard a deep, nasty rasping.

“No...” he whispered, horrified at the fate that had labeled itself’s Legolas’. “No, no, no, no, no!” Elladan and Elrohir looked up from cleaning up supplies to glance at their father.

“What troubles you, ada?” Elrohir asked worriedly. Elrond looked up, startled, and a calm mask slid into place.

“Nothing that you should worry yourself over, ion nin. I was just thinking out loud.” Elrohir frowned, but his twin touched his arm, shaking his head slightly. It was not good to interfere with their father when he was in a mood. Humphing, the younger twin went back to work. With one last glance to see that Legolas would not die as soon as he left, Elrond wasted no time in sweeping out of the hall to go see if it was possible to save the Mirkwood prince from this dreadful fate, leaving behind to confused sons and a sickly elf.



A/N: this is kinda short but I promise I’ll make up for it in the next chapter. Laters!


Healer's Discussion

Elrond sighed, putting his head in his hands. Legolas was not dong well. His body had had too much exposure to the poison to really heal. The Lord of Rivendell was afraid that he would loose the prince. That was not something that he was looking forward to telling Thranduil when the King of Mirkwood arrived in Imladris. Elrond had sent a messenger to Mirkood a day after the two travelers arrived seeking aid. The King had sent a messenger back saying that he, Remnul, and Cyro would come, leaving the King’s advisor in charge. That showed how much Thranduil really cared for his son, something he didn’t show often. Elrond knew what the consequences would be if he failed to save the prince. The relationship between Mirkwood and Rivendell was strained and weak. The death of one of the Greenwood’s princes might break it. That would be a costly mistake. Mirkwood was a powerful ally. If Rivendell was its enemy, they would do everything in their power to see Imladris destroyed. The ancient Elf sighed again. Then, without warning, his twin sons burst into his study, startling him out of his reverie.

“And to what do I owe this wonderfully rude intrusion?” his voice uncharacteristically harsh from exhaustion. The twins didn’t even notice.

“Ada, Legolas isn’t getting any better. Estel is worried and so are we. Tell us, what is wrong with our friend?” Elladan said in a rush. Elrohir just nodded fervently beside him, strain showing on his face. Elrond gave in, and motioned them to take seats. He was not looking forward to explaining this to two of Legolas’ closest friends anymore than he was his family.

“Legolas received the same poison Estel did. Though it was not in as big a dose, it went untreated for longer than was safe. For that reason, the poison had a chance to attack Legolas from the inside. It has done too much damage to heal. Unless we get a miracle in the next two weeks, Legolas will die.” His speech left the air thick with fear.

“Isn’t there anything that you could do? Any spell or medicine that has even the slimmest chance of working?” Elrohir queried. Elrond shook his head.

“I have looked and I will look again, but I do not think that there is anything that can save him.” It was with a heavy heart that he said this. Legolas had steadily grown on him every since his foster son had brought home the prince who he’d run into while on a hunting trip. This would be a devastating blow to everyone who had known the young prince. The master healer looked expectantly at his sons, who had been surprisingly quiet for several minutes. Both of their faces were drawn and pale.

“Two weeks?” Elladan said softly. Elrohir’s face mirrored his twins in anguish. This was like loosing a brother.

“Yes” Elrond answered sadly. He could do no more in comforting his sons, so he went to the infirmary to check on his patients. Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other with haunted eyes.

“How did it come to this?” Elrohir whispered, “What did Legolas do to deserve such a fate?” Elladan could only shake his head.

“The death is by poison, so it will be extremely painful. We must do whatever we can to dull the pain. He deserves that much.”

“What he deserves is a chance to live. Gandalf has not even had a chance to see them yet to discuss Gollum’s capture.” For some reason, Elladan felt anger rising in his chest as Elrohir mentioned the wizard.

“And he will continue to be kept away. It is his fault that they are in this mess, that Legolas will not survive the month. He needs to face the fact that his laziness was their downfall!”

Elrohir looked taken aback.

“Elladan, how could you say such a thing? Gandalf is wise beyond even Ada, and we must trust him. Do not unjustly place blame on Gandalf just because your mind is shrouded in grief. It was no ones fault except for the Orcs.” Elladan rightfully looked ashamed.

“You are right, my brother. I apologize, that was not fair.”

“Now just one problem remains,” Elrohir said thoughtfully.

"What?” Elladan questioned.

“How do we tell Estel?”



Return to the World of the Living

Aragorn slowly came to, his head pounding. The last thing he remembered was the pain. A lot of pain and orcs. He and Legolas were fighting them…Legolas! Fear invaded his mind, making rational thoughts impossible. Had something happened to his friend, was he all right? Was he even alive? The Ranger brutally forced down his panic. The last time he’d seen the elf, Legolas was fine. The human had no reason to think that he was otherwise now. For the first time since he had awoken, Estel took note of his surroundings. With a rising heart, he recognized the healing wards of Rivendell. Estel knew that there was no way that he could’ve gotten there by himself, so that must mean that Legolas was at least better off than him. The Man let out a sigh of relief. This caused something near him to stir.

“Estel?” a groggy voice of said, “Estel! Oh thank the Valar! We were so worried, even though Ada told us that you would be all right.” The future king of Gondor was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug. Unable to see anything except raven hair, Aragorn took a deep sniff of the locks and recognized Elladan’s unique scent of pine and saddle polish. He awkwardly patted his older brother in the back.

“I am fine, ‘Dan, so long as you don’t break any of my bones! Loosen up, you’re squeezing out all of my air!” The elder twin quickly let go. Eyeing his adoptive brother suspiciously for a moment, the Elf frowned in concern. “What is it?” his younger brother questioned.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Elladan queried. “You looked like Mordor had chewed you up and spit you out when you arrived in here.” Aragorn smiled reassuringly.

“Do not fear, I am well,” he said soothingly. Finally, the young man asked the question which had come to him as soon as he had awoken. “Elladan, where’s Legolas? He was actually the one I’d expected to be here. Not that I’m disappointed.” he said quickly to his adoptive brother. Elladan’s face fell, but he desperately tried to hide it.

“Gwador, this is not the time for you to be worrying. Legolas is fine, do not trouble yourself.” Aragorn’s level of concern rose with every word from Elrond’s oldest son’s mouth.

“Elladan, please, do not lie to me! Legolas is the brother of my heart, just as you are, and I need to know how he fairs! Do not keep something so important from me!” Elladan sighed, giving in to the tortured look in Aragorn’s eyes.

“Estel…” he said slowly, “Estel, Legolas does not fair well. He was infected by the poison as well, and even though it wasn’t in as much quantity as yours, he wasn’t treated and has fallen ill.” The elf moved aside to show Aragorn the rest of the ward. Looking down a few beds, Aragorn caught sight of his friend. Elrohir was beside the prince, making sure that his wound was not getting infected any worse than it already was. But Estel couldn’t tell if it was doing any good. The blonde-haired prince was as white as snow and unmoving. Estel let out a small gasp, and Elladan quickly shielded him from the sight again. The young Ranger looked up at his adoptive brother with haunted eyes.

“How bad?” he asked hoarsely. Elladan looked at him sadly.

“Pretty bad.” he answered softly, “But Legolas is strong. You know this. He will make it through.”

“May I go see him?” Estel asked.

“No.” the older elf said firmly. “You are not completely out of the woods yet either, and you could have a relapse anytime. You are not to go anywhere until you are two hundred percent clear. Understand?” Elladan gazed sternly at the injured human. Aragorn was not the best patient and he was notorious for driving any healer he had to drink.

“Yes.” his younger brother said glumly. Aragorn felt slightly guilty, despite Elladan’s words of comfort. He knew that the elven prince had ignored his own welfare to get him to Rivendell. This was not something that he was incredibly pleased about. He would have to talk to Legolas as soon as he awoke. Again, he looked at his older brother.

“Is there anything to eat?” the recently revived human asked, “I’m starving!” Elladan smiled.

“I’ll have the cook make some soup and cider to have brought up to you.” the elf said cheerfully. As he walked away, Elrohir came over.

“Welcome back.” the younger twin commented, smiling softly. Aragorn smiled back.

“It’s good to be back,” he answered truthfully. Then he said, “So how is Legolas? All Elladan would tell me was that he wasn’t well and that I couldn’t go to see him.” Elrohir looked uneasy.

“I will say the same thing as he did. Legolas is very sick. It will take a long time to recover from the poison, if he recovers at all.”

“Of course he will recover! What on earth makes you think otherwise?” Estel was now feeling dread creep up on him as he awaited the answer.

“Estel, you need to receive the cure within two days for it to be effective. We are not certain when you were attacked so we o not know how his body will react. You were treated with athelas so you are responding well. He did not have any treatment.” Elrohir glanced sadly down at the injured man. He felt it best if he took his leave now. As the younger twin of Elrond passed through the door, the older one reentered, now carrying a tray laden with food. Elladan took the food to a now solemn Estel. Placing the tray on his lap, the elf sighed softly.

“Have hope, Estel.” he whispered, watching the traveler eat his food. When he was finished, Aragorn’s eyes began to droop. As he fell into sleeps waiting arms he sent a prayer to the Valar for Legolas’ safe return.