Aragorn rode through the woods; so fast that the scenery was nothing but a blur. He tried to keep himself from thinking of his suffering friend, searching the landscape for the first sign of the toxic trees.

He knew that he was almost there, having ridden the whole day and through the entire night, only stopping long enough to give his horse a brief rest. He hoped to get back home sooner than Elrond expected, not wanting Legolas to wake and have to suffer such horrible pain again. What if father can't make an antidote? Aragorn thought. What if it's already too late?

Shaking his head, he tried to banish the thoughts, forcing himself to concentrate on finding the silent trees. To his surprise, he saw a cluster of them straight ahead, and pulled his horse to a stop.

Quickly dismounting, he ran to the tree and began to walk around it, trying to locate the sap. He couldn't see any, and felt the bottom fall out of his stomach. Was I wrong, and it wasn't the sap?! No!

The sun peered over the horizon, and its rays glinted off something about five feet above Aragorn's head.

Going back to his horse, the human mounted and made the animal stand beside the tree. Carefully getting his feet under him, he stood in the saddle, trying to keep his balance without having to touch the tree for support; not wanting to be poisoned himself. He realized that he should've brought a pair of gloves, but he'd been so nervous over Legolas' condition that he wasn't thinking clearly.

His horse was trained well, and stood perfectly still while Aragorn took a knife and scraped the sticky substance off the tree, placing it in a jar. Not knowing how much his father would need, he filled the whole jar with the sap, before lowering himself to sit on the horse and kicking it into a fast gallop.

********************

Elrond had sworn to his son that he would not leave Legolas' side, and he kept his word. As light from the rising sun streamed in through the window, it cast an orange glow on the unconscious Elf, and Elrond sighed at the sight of the strain on Legolas' face. While Legolas was currently unaware of the pain, his body was still suffering, as was emphasized by his extremely pale features.

The quiet was unexpectedly interrupted when Legolas suddenly moved his head, moaning softly.

Elrond was shocked and quickly stood from his chair, thinking that the younger Elf was already waking. Legolas quickly became still, but suddenly stirred again, breathing faster than normal.

Elrond could see that he was still asleep, but wondered what was causing the younger Elf's sudden distress. Mayhap a nightmare. Placing a hand on Legolas' head, he began to softly sing an old Elvish lullaby that Legolas had enjoyed when he was an elfling.

Legolas' feeble stirrings stopped and he suddenly exhaled deeply, his breathing calmed.

Elrond continued the song, not stopping until it was finished. When he saw that Legolas had successfully been soothed, he sat back down in the chair with a sigh, checking the Elf's pulse. It had become erratic, Elrond found, and he closed his eyes in fear. Hurry, Aragorn…

********************

Aragorn paced as his horse grazed on the grass. He hadn't given the animal enough breaks, and felt guilty for it, but he was impatient to get back to Legolas' side.

Deciding to wait for only another minute or two, he stopped pacing, peering through the glass jar at the toxic sap. He saw nothing amiss, it appeared to be just like any other, and he wondered what strange properties it contained to make it so poisonous.

His horse suddenly nudged his back, and he saw that it was apparently finished eating. Patting its neck, he quickly mounted and kicked it back into a gallop.

********************

The day had given way to night, and still Elrond stayed with Legolas, in the chair beside his bed. He had been awake for over 48 hours and was starting to feel tired, but refused to give in to slumber; glad that Elves were able to withstand losing sleep. He knew that Aragorn had to be on his way back by now, and wondered at what hour he would return.

Legolas was still motionless, the drug thankfully still in effect.

As Elrond watched him, he wondered about the toxic sap, and whether or not it was meant to be deadly. Legolas was suffering horrible pain, but didn't have any other symptoms to indicate impending death…but then again, Elrond couldn't know what was going on in the Elf's body while he lay unconscious.

Sighing, Elrond suddenly recalled an incident that had occurred when Legolas was an elfling, equal in age to a three-year-old human. King Thranduil had come to Rivendell with little Legolas, and they'd only been there for two days before something strange befell the elfling that they'd never quite explained…

"Elrond!"

The door burst open, and Elrond jumped from his chair, alarmed by Thranduil's tone. "What is it?"

The King was carrying his son, who was audibly sobbing. "I do not know! He cries but will not talk to me!"

Elrond went around the desk separating them, and put a hand on the elfling's head. "Tithen Legolas, man na raeg?"

Legolas didn't answer as he continued to cry, arms wrapped tightly around himself.

Elrond looked at Thranduil, who looked extremely worried. "He appears to be in some kind of pain…"

"Pain?!" Thranduil exclaimed. "From what?!"

Elrond shook his head, motioning for the King to follow him as he headed for the door. "Take him to your room, I will be there in a moment."

Thranduil nodded, running down the hall.

Quickly heading in the opposite direction, Elrond went to his herb closet, looking for something gentle that would be appropriate for an elfling as young as Legolas.

Hurrying to Thranduil's room, Elrond could hear the young prince's sobs, and hastened his pace.

"Elrond! Hurry!" he heard, as he opened the door. "I think you are correct, something pains him!"

Frowning, Elrond saw that the tiny Elf was curled into a ball on the bed, eyes closed as tears slipped through them.

Thranduil looked close to tears himself as he watched his son suffer, gently smoothing his light blond hair and whispering soothingly.

Elrond worked fast, mixing herbs that would make the Elfling sleep as well as help whatever pain he was experiencing. He sighed, wishing that Legolas would tell them what had happened.

Bringing the cup to the bed, he laid a hand on the small Elf's face, using a finger to brush away his tears. "Soga, Legolas."

Legolas opened his eyes at Elrond's touch, and saw the cup that the Elf held. He knew that it would ease his suffering, and tried to sit up.

His father helped him, and held the cup as his son drank it. When he finished, Thranduil handed Elrond the empty cup and pulled his son into his lap, gently rocking him.

Legolas' tears soon stopped, and he fell asleep.

A sudden sound from the bed brought Elrond back to the present, and he saw Legolas move one of his arms, but thankfully not wake.  

Thinking back to the thousands-year-old incident with Legolas, Elrond remembered that the elfling had awoken the next morning apparently feeling fine. They never exactly found out what had happened; Legolas had immediately gone back to being his usual energetic self, and never answered their questions, as was usual for a child of that age.

Elrond decided to ask Legolas if he remembered the incident—though he doubted it—when he awoke. With a sigh, a part of his mind told him that Legolas might not wake, but he refused to listen to it. Legolas had become like a son to him—how could he not, after more than two thousand years?

Shaking his head, Elrond marveled at how many years had passed so quickly. During that odd incident with young Legolas, it had hurt to see the small elfling suffer pain…and it hurt to see it now.

***** 

"Tithen Legolas, man na raeg?" : "Little Legolas, what is wrong?"

'Soga' : 'drink'