The fellowship was progressing under the safe guidance of Aragorn the human, Legolas the elf, Gimli the dwarf, Sam, Pippin, Frodo, and Merry the hobbits. All were on a journey with one goal: to destroy the ring which resided under close watch by Frodo the hobbit. Dangling on a chain on his neck, the ring waited….

Legolas volunteered to stay at the back of the group and make sure that none of the hobbits were left behind. With their short legs and child-like appearances any predators would sense them as easy targets.

“How far are we? Will we have to set up camp or can we make it by nightfall?” Aragorn looked back at Legolas who thought for a moment.

“No. We’ll never make it by nightfall, the hobbits wouldn’t be able to.”

Looking offended, Pippin jumped up from a stump he had been sitting on. “Of course we can handle it! We hobbits can handle anything right guys…? Guys?” He looked back at his own kind and frowned. Frodo was clutching his chest. “The ring is getting heavier, there’s no way… not tonight.” Pippin looked at Sam and Merry who were sleeping against each other’s backs. He then looked back up at Legolas who smiled.

“No need to worry my friends, if you like, I will take first watch.” The elf then stood up and surveyed the land around them.

Frodo seemed to be growing more weary with each step he took. Silently, he stood up and looked at his friends. With only the whites of his eyes visible, he clutched the ring and slowly tried to put it on his finger.

“No Frodo!” Legolas sensed his actions and made a flying leap at the hobbit. He landed with a thud and began to roll down a hill. Frodo was screaming and Legolas rolled over near him and clutched his cloak. They were quickly headed into a river. Legolas threw Frodo’s cloak at a log, where it snagged and held Frodo, keeping him from falling into the river. Legolas didn’t have enough time to prevent himself from falling into the river, only from preventing his head from hitting a large boulder.

<> The Elf landed in the running river. He clutched onto a log on the shore and slowly dragged himself out of the cold waters. Kneeling on the shore, and coughing profusely, the elf looked up to see Aragorn above him, patting his back to help him get all of the water out of his system.

“Legolas are you all right?” Aragorn squatted beside him and continued. “Frodo is all right thanks to you.” He gestured back to Frodo who was visibly shaken, but all right nonetheless. The man held out his hand and helped Legolas stand. Together, everyone headed back to the clearing, Frodo leaning on Sam and Legolas leaning on Aragorn. Merry and Pippin followed quietly.

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“Ahhheeeechhsskoo!” Legolas sneezed into his fist. His nose had gotten stuffy while they were waiting for the fire to rise. By the time the fire had spread, the cold had seeped into his bones and chilled him thoroughly.

“You should take off those wet clothes, you’re going to catch a cold.” Aragorn patted Legolas who just shook his head.

“I thought that elves don’t get sick,” Merry called from behind the group of quiet hobbits.

Legolas shook his head and tried to stop his teeth from chattering. “We… we… ha-ave heighttt… ttenned healing powers… bb-but w-we… ca-can still catch… cccattch..”

“Catch cold or get sick,” Aragorn finished for him, as the shivering elf just nodded in agreement. “We should all get to sleep. Legolas, you may sleep next to the fire. I’ll keep first watch. You’ve had enough for one day.” Aragorn patted the man’s back and met with less resistance from the elf than he thought he would.

The hobbits all remained close to the fire as well, each sleeping or leaning on top of one another. Legolas leaned his head against his arm and Gimli just plopped down and started to snore. Aragorn on the other hand sat on a log and surveyed the distance, staring into the darkness that had permeated through the land.

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Legolas was jarred awake. He wasn’t sure what had woken him, that is until he swallowed. His throat felt raw and painful. The elf sat up and was met with a dizzy feeling in his head. It seemed to have spread to his chest and everything was achy. He sniffed and met a sharp pain in his sinuses. “Aaahetchoo! ahh… aaasschhkkooo!” The pain intensified and the stuffiness was only gone for a moment.

Hearing the Elf’s pitiful sneezes, Aragorn was soon by his side. “Legolas what’s wrong, it’s not time to wake yet, and I will keep watch for the rest of the night.” The human brushed a hand through his friend’s damp hair and frowned. “Are you feeling all right?”

Legolas nodded somberly but quickly ducked his head into his lap to sneeze. “Achooo! Ah… hessckoo!” He only lifted his head back up when he felt cool hands on his forehead. They moved and cupped themselves around his flushed cheeks.

“I think that you have a fever my friend. Here, rest closer to the fire.” Aragorn removed his cape and made it into a pillow for his friend. He snatched the cape that Gimli was using as a makeshift pillow and covered Legolas with it. Gimli only snorted, rolled over and resumed his snoring.

“Thank you Aragorn,” Legolas wearily answered from inside the cloak. He curled up into a ball when a coughing fit started. It burned the elf’s chest and caused him to quietly whimper in his sleep. Aragorn was aware of his friend’s condition and took a damp cloth and mopped the elf’s forehead with it. While Legolas slept, his fever continued to rise.

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The hobbits all seemed to sense one another’s awakening, since they all woke up within two minutes of each other. They were greeted by the sight of Gimli waking up. Sam however came to a halt when he spied the sleeping elf.

Legolas’s cheeks were red and his skin was more pale than usual. His hair was tangled and Gimli’s cape was being utilized as a blanket. Legolas was shivering and Sam frowned. The man never slept with a blanket and was fine, he should be sweating under the cape. Another thing bothered him. Legolas was usually the first one up. He had informed the rest of the group that elves didn’t need as much sleep as the rest of them. Supposedly, neither did Dwarfs, but Gimli seemed to be the exception to the rule. The plump dwarf slept more than anyone else in the fellowship.

“Aragorn, I think that Legolas is ill.” Sam put his hand on Legolas’s forehead and gasped. “He’s burning up! We should do something.” Aragorn nodded and called out to Merry and Pippin. “Can you two get some water and herbs? We should make some sort of healing tea. Frodo?” he called to the reserved little hobbit. “Can you get us some water to mop Legolas’s forehead with?” Frodo nodded and stood up. “And Gimli? Can you please wake Legolas? Talk to him, I want him to stay awake. With a fever so high, we should keep him awake and conscious.”

Gimli jumped up. “Yessir.” He saluted Aragorn and began to wake the sleeping Elf. “Legolas? Wake up. It’s your good ol’ friend Gimli! Remember me? GIMLI!”

Legolas flashed his eyes open and sat up. Everyone was staring at him. He stared at Gimli and smiled. “Yes my friend I know who you are, and I’m sick not deaf.”

Gimli chuckled and patted his friend on the back. “Good to hear. So how are you feeling? Are you sorry you saved Frodo? It could have been him laying here instead of you, ya know.”

Legolas smiled. “Of course not. I would do it again.” He stopped to sniff and took a deep breath. This triggered a coughing fit and he curled up and coughed into the crook of his elbow. “Achoo! Aschhkkoooo!”

“Be slow Legolas, you are quickly making yourself weary.” Gimli handed him a handkerchief, which Legolas gladly accepted and thanked him.

Aragorn walked up to him. “Gimli, can you make the tea? The hobbits have everything for it. Frodo also did his task.” Gimli nodded and stood up, smiling at Legolas.

“So do you feel any better my friend?” Aragorn patted Legolas on the back and smiled. The elf’s nose was bright red and he seemed to be sleepily leaning toward Aragorn who provided a sense of warmth.

“No… not really… we must go on. The ring… and Frodo! It’s much more im… impo… achoooo! Ah… hessckkooo!”

Aragorn finished for the elf. “No Legolas. My friend, Frodo will be fine. We have all agreed that it would be better for you to recover. This area is safe and there are no Orcs near us. You need to rest.”

Legolas looked as if he would try and argue. The truth was, that the elf had no strength to do so. He only nodded and sneezed into the handkerchief that Gimli had given him. “Ahhh… hechooo!” His head felt heavy and his ribs ached. He closed his eyes and tried hard to open them again. He couldn’t do it. He felt heavy weights leaning on his eyes, preventing him from opening them. Legolas whimpered when he felt a cold cloth on his forehead.

“Be still, don’t worry my friend, you will be fine.” The elf recognized the calming voice as Frodo’s. He welcomed the Hobbit’s good intentions and let sleep claim him. The fellowship was depending on a speedy recovery. The elf figured that he would do all he could to help the fellowship along. His thoughts became fuzzy as darkness claimed his thoughts.

Aragorn and Gimli looked at each other and sighed. Frodo smiled and Sam, Merry, and Pippin were silent. All were happy that Legolas was resting. They decided to build another fire, to help the Elf warm up. Frodo worked the hardest. Trying hard to not let guilt set in, he silently rubbed the heavy piece of metal that was leaning against his chest.

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“Achooo! Ah… heschkoo!” Legolas awoke to the sound of hobbits squealing. He watched them playing with some marbles beside the fire. “That was excellent Frodo!” squealed Pippin. They were all having fun until Sam shushed them.

“Shhh… we must be more considerate. Legolas is ill and resting.” They all nodded and silently kept on playing. Frodo was still smiling, but he sensed some eyes on him and turned in Legolas’s direction. “How are you feeling?” he asked the groggy elf.

“The same unfortunately.” Legolas broke off with a coughing fit and Pippin was instantly at his side with a cup of tea. The Elf accepted it gratefully and began to slowly drink the warm liquid. He sniffed it and felt the soothing effects it had on his stuffy nose. “Ah… ahee… aheeesschhooo!”

“Bless you.” Legolas turned around and thanked Aragorn for the blessing. His head was throbbing and his nose was extremely clogged up. Shivering, Legolas realized that he had sweated during his sleep, which meant that his fever had broken. He sighed, relieved and yet worried; they were now a day behind, a day which they could not afford.

“We will continue tomorrow?” Legolas questioned Aragorn. He rubbed his sinuses as he sniffed and looked back at Aragorn. He appeared to have grave thoughts on his mind.

“I’m afraid that we will have to.” He sighed. “Will you be all right?” He looked at the Elf. Legolas nodded. “Of… of… ahhcchoooo! Of course.”

Aragorn patted him on the back and stood up. “I’m going to talk to Gimli. He will be keeping watch tonight.” Aragorn chuckled. “Gimli!” The man headed towards the dwarf who appeared to be snoring by the fire.

Legolas sniffed. He felt terrible. His nose was all blocked up, he was achy, he had a headache, sinus ache, and he felt hot one minute, and cold the next. He got up and sat closer to the fire and buried his head in his hands.

The elf felt a warm hand on his back and looked up. Frodo was looking at him and smiling. In his hand was a handkerchief and a cup of tea. “Thanks.” Legolas accepted it and motioned for Frodo to sit beside him.

“I… I wanted to thank you… I’m really sorry for what happened, I… I couldn’t control myself. I… it wasn’t me it was the… well… I…” Frodo was obviously having a hard time saying what was on his mind so Legolas decided to take over.

Putting a hand on Frodo’s shoulder he shushed him. The hobbit looked grateful for the interruption. “I promised to help protect you and I am just doing my job. My friend, there is no need for any apologies.” Legolas paused and then sneezed. “Ahh… heesshkooo!”

Frodo blessed him and then hugged Legolas. The elf was shocked. Frodo was normally very shy. He smiled and hugged Frodo back. He knew that he had done the right thing.

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“All right, it’s dinner time,” Sam called as he served a creamy rabbit stew and handed everyone a piece of bread and some stew.

“Terrific.”

“Yum!”

“Food!”

Legolas listened and saw everyone very eager for the food that Sam had prepared. “Aren’t you hungry?” Aragorn asked the elf. Legolas shook his head.

Aragorn came up from behind Legolas and felt his forehead. “Yep. You’re still a little warm. Please try and eat something, you need to keep up your strength, we have a lot of ground to cover.” Each of the hobbits nodded in agreement and Gimli didn’t even look up, his face was still buried in the stew.

“Ahhh… heschkoo!” Legolas wiped his nose on his sleeve and picked at the food in front of him. As much as he wanted to eat, he just wasn’t at all hungry. He coughed and took another sip of his tea. Frodo appeared very pale and only picked at his food. The elf noticed this. Frodo would gaze at the ring for hours, sometimes at night and even when they were walking…

“More please.” Sam held out his plate for Aragorn to fill up.

“You Pig!” Pippin squealed. Pretty soon the hobbits were rolling around on the floor laughing hysterically. Legolas was wrapped up in a cloak and sitting by the fire sneezing. “Ah… heeesschkoo!” The tea had made him feel much better and he broke his fever by making himself sweat. The cloak and the fire had done the trick.

Merry and Pippin had agreed to take watch that night, on the condition that they would wake Aragorn if anything was the matter. Legolas yawned and tried to sleep, although when he put his head down he was unable to breathe. The elf finally decided that he would lean his back against a tree trunk and hope for the best. “Ahh… ahheessckkoo!” His nose was running uncontrollably. Legolas reached for a handkerchief and blew his nose. It was going to be a long night.

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“Wake up everyone,” Aragorn called. It appeared as though Sam and Merry had fallen asleep during the night and Aragorn had taken over the night watch. Legolas opened his eyes. His healing powers had seemed to kick in nicely; although his nose was still quite stuffy, he was no longer achy and feverish.

“Feeling better?” Gimli called to the elf.

“Much better.” He smiled and then took a sudden breath. “Ahhh… arghh… acchhooo! Ehsshhhkoooo! ‘Scuse me,” he mumbled into his tissue.

“Bless you Legolas,” called Gimli as he packed up the campsite.

Legolas made sure all of his things were packed away and held his bow and arrows close by. The archer should always have his weaponry on hand. He made the mental note to himself.

“Well, we’re off now. Off to destroy the ring,” Sam noted out loud. Frodo nodded sullenly. Everyone had grave thoughts on their minds. They would succeed. As long as they had the fellowship… nothing would be lost.

The fellowship headed out. Aragorn the leader, Legolas the archer, Gimli the dwarf, and Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Frodo, the hobbits.

The End

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Yea ok. The LOTR characters are not mine (although I wish Legolas was. *yum* lol), I make no money from them, and they belong to… iono the dude that thought up LOTR.

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