Starting Anew

Winter Sickness

Pulling up a seat, Legolas sat down beside the bed. Having Strider ill had meant it had fallen mostly to him to keep the household running, and it actually hadn't been an unpleasant morning spent watching over the cook-pot and drying the laundry above the hearth. It was yet another aspect of living simply as opposed to royally that the prince was adjusting to. Although folk from the village would occasionally share meals with their chief, Legolas had been surprised to learn that Strider did most of his own domestic work. Or at least, he had until he had woken with a headache so vicious it demanded he stay abed. Not for the last time Legolas thanked the Valar that elves were immune to mortal sicknesses.

"Elladan and Elrohir went out this morning to go have a look around the valley." He offered, knowing that despite Strider's earlier words to his people it sat ill with him not to be able to send out patrols. "They said before they left that they planned to go up to the ridge, the better to make sure you were right about orcs not being able to be abroad in the snow."

"Good, aldough I'd be amazed if anythig was able to walk aboud out dere besides ad elf." With a heavy, congested sigh, Strider gave up trying to breathe through his nose and eat at the same time. "Thag you Legolas, it's been good habing someone else here to helb."

Legolas couldn't help but smile at the noble man's cold-muddled words. "I'm only too happy to do so, mellon-nin. I would rather be sharing quarters with you than cooped up with both Peredhil twins in that little cabin!"

At that Strider laughed, the steam from the soup seeming to brighten him up. "Dere are few brave enough to share quarders with dhose two a...at...aachoo!"

The sneeze nearly upset the soup bowl in Strider's lap, and Legolas very seriously considered going to see if Kailin had any herb she could part with. The village herbalist had been in high demand ever since the sickness began to make the rounds, and more than once Legolas had been asked to ferry a prescribed packet of ginger and hyssop from the older woman's home to the home of a sufferer. Even after the men had managed to get something of a path cleared to her front door through the snowdrifts, Kailin still insisted on the elves doing her couriering on account of the cold making her knees ache.

A thumping came at the door. Leaving Strider to do battle with his sinuses over soup, Legolas rose and went to go see who it was. Showing the resilience to the elements typical of his people, the elf answered the door in only his light tunic and leggings even as the icy air poured in.

Standing stamping and chattering on the doorstep was Andris, his nose as red as a tulip. Seeing Legolas, the young ranger grinned even as his breath poured from him in small clouds.

"Legolas! May I come in?"

Glancing over his shoulder and deciding that Strider was in rather too rough a condition to be caring about who dripped on his entrance rug, Legolas nodded and held the door open. "Yes of course. Come inside and warm yourself by the fire."

Andris was only too happy to oblige, and hurried past Legolas into the warm glow of the small main chamber. It had perhaps been a bit too long since last Legolas had put a log on the fire, and he had to remind himself that mortals were a tad more sensitive to the cold than he was. As Andris dropped his hood and unwound the long scarf from around his lower face the elf grabbed another few pieces of wood and dropped them into the embers.

"What can I do for you Andris? I'm afraid Strider is rather...indisposed at the moment." It was an accurate statement, considering that the sound of another sneeze was reverberating off the walls from the bedchamber.

Furs and cloak already sodden with melting snow, Andris sagged visibly when he heard as much. "He is?"

"Yes. Why, what do you need him for?"

For the first time that Legolas had ever seen, the tall, charismatic young ranger looked worried. "It's my grandmother. She's been ill for the past few days, like so many of the rest of the village. Over the past day or so she's taken a turn though...I was wondering if perhaps Strider could do anything for her? Kailin sent over Elrohir with a bundle of the usual herbs last night, but it just hasn't seemed to help much."

Legolas had heard bits and pieces of Strider's reputation as a healer as well as a ranger, and so small wonder that people would turn to him for dire cases. Still, there was no way the man was going anywhere anytime soon in his condition. More than likely he would faint as soon as he stood up, Legolas thought.

A sudden idea seemed to occur to Andris. "Perhaps you might be able to see if there's anything you can do, Legolas?" Before Legolas could answer, he rattled on. "Strider learned the healing arts from the elves, he says, and so maybe you might know something that would help?"

Legolas was taken aback. Casting about for a way to explain that he knew little to nothing about healing, he went with a default instead. "What about Elladan or Elrohir? They are the sons of one of Middle-Earth's most famous healers, after all."

The look of disappointment on Andris's face was quite wrenching. "I would, but they left this morning to go scouting out the area." Worry was etched deeply into his expression. "My Gran is doing so poorly, I just don't know if she'll be able to wait for them to return."

'Of course not Elladan and Elrohir, Greenleaf, you said yourself they had left to scout the valley' Legolas admonished himself silently. Looking now at Andris, so clearly afraid for his ailing grandmother, the prince didn't know what to do. He supposed he might know a few things about healing, but his knowledge of human illness was scant compared to triage and battlefield injuries. Still, here was someone standing before him in need of help...

"Let me get my cloak." Legolas sighed. "I will see what I can do."

oOo