A/N: Set two years after the LOTR trilogy I did with my characters Remla the hobbit and Sathien the Elf.

1

Today seems so long without Legolas around, Sathien thought glumly. She sat on a wooden bench overlooking the tops of the trees of Southern Mirkwood, watching the setting sun as she rested peacefully in the dwelling of Dol Guldur, which had been renamed to Amon Lanc by Lord Celebron once the armies of Sauron had been driven out.

It had been two years since the end of the Fellowship. Sathien and Legolas had moved into Mirkwood in Rhovanion and had been living together under command of the remaining Elves of Mirkwood.

Sam had moved back to the Shire. A heartbroken Remla now resided in Rohan under Eowyn's rule, and worked at the stables there. Merry and Pippin were somewhere in Gondor, along with Aragorn and Arwen. Gimli resided in the Glittering Caves of Helm's Deep.

Sathien sighed at everything that had changed. She missed Remla sorely, and she wished there was some way to contact her as she worried about her Halfling friend every day.

She herself was living in Amon Lanc, one of the few safe sanctuaries for Elves left in Mirkwood, and was now one of the few remaining Elves left in Middle Earth. Legolas had gone to visit King Aragorn and Sathien wished she had chosen to go with him. But she knew she was soon to be Lady of Mirkwood, and she would need to keep the Council of Mirkwood active in his absence.

But as of late, Sathien felt that she was not herself. Almost as if some part of her had been missing ever since she had left the Fellowship and realized how much Middle Earth, and her life, had changed.

"Milady?"

Sathien spun around to see Anarion, one of Legolas' many Elf followers in Mirkwood.

"Anarion? What is it?" Sathien got to her feet, regaining her Elvish composure and smoothing her pale white dress that billowed around her. Anarion's presence did not usually cause her to worry, but she was worried as Legolas kept in close contact with the Elf, and if Anarion was here it was not of good news.

"I am sorry to say that Prince Legolas has been ambushed." Anarion announced bluntly, the soft wind throwing his long black hair around his chiseled features and dark brown eyes.

"Ambushed?" Sathien gasped, almost feeling a pressure against her heart. She reached up and clutched the silver tree necklace against her skin; the one Legolas had given to her.

"By Free Orcs," Anarion continued, ignoring her distressed state. "Nerdanel and Cirdan managed to fight them off, but Prince Legolas had gone."

"Gone? What do you mean?" Sathien asked, blinking back tears.

"He could have been captured, or his horse could have reared up from the battle and fled." Anarion cast his eyes to the ground.

"How many Free Orcs?" Sathien enquired, keeping her pained feelings away from her as she tried to focus on the next course of action.

"Less than twelve, more than six." Anarion confirmed.

"Send some Elves to find him!" Sathien ordered, her fear for Legolas' safety urging her into action.

"I'm afraid that can't be done." Anarion said slowly. Sathien blinked and frowned at his impassive face.

"Excuse me?"

"You see, many of us Elves have been wanting Prince Legolas to be gone for some time," Anarion took a step towards her and Sathien reactively stepped back. "For the past few months that he has been Prince of Mirkwood, things have gone out of order."

"Out of order?" Sathien echoed in disbelief.

"His lust-"

"Lust?" Sathien interrupted in anger. "Legolas and I love one another, it is not lust! And what would you know of it?"

"It has clouded his judgement," Anarion gave her a dark look. "During the monthly Council, he makes decisions that the fool Elf Daeron could have made. He does not care for the future of Elves, only for his time with you. Does he not see that we are close to death? There are too few of us now, and Prince Legolas does not make better decisions for our future!"

"What sort of thinking is this?" Sathien cried in anger, feeling like Anarion had gone mad.

"The thinking of Lord Maglor." Anarion smiled grimly and Sathien sensed two more Elves walking at her from behind.

"Maglor…" Sathien frowned, shaking her head as everything Anarion had said sunk in. How could he act this way? He has gone mad; he should have left to the Grey Havens when he had the chance! She felt firm hands grasp her shoulders and glanced behind her to see the blank faces of Nerdanel and Cirdan.

"What has truly happened to Legolas?" Sathien demanded, trying to shake the hands of the other Elves off her shoulders. The Elves were not even answering her, and she dreaded of what had happened to her love. Sathien had never heard of Maglor, but she had a queasy feeling, a feeling that these Elves were not going to let her off easily. They were going to dispose of her, Sathien could see it.

No! Legolas' voice echoed through the trees and Sathien could see herself lying on the rocks, her body broken and bloody, the river water flowing over her lifeless body.

The sudden image flooded out of her mind and Sathien gasped from the intense imagery, the fact that she had seen herself dead.

The gift of foresight inherited from Lord Elrond, Sathien remembered with shock. She had not had such a vision since the Fellowship. Is that what will become of me?

Now she felt fear as she noticed Anarion, Nerdanel and Cirdan had moved in front of her and were now backing her towards the balcony.

"Who is Maglor?" Sathien asked, trying to buy herself time, time to escape, find Legolas and a way to stop the insane Elves.

Can there be any other Elves corrupted by this madness? Sathien thought fervently.

"He is an Elf, an Elf corrupted by the powers of darkness that he will share with us once we bring him the soon-to-be Lady of Mirkwood." Nerdanel grinned.

Sathien felt her hands shaking with fear, wondering how she could escape. The wars she had fought in seemed like so long ago and she felt as though she had been reduced to the strength of a woman of Rohan, unable to use the nimble gracefulness and fighting accuracy she had once possessed all those years ago.

How could I not know how to fight once again? Sathien thought, feeling her back hit the balcony railing and seeing the victorious grins of the mad Elves she had once trusted as her friends.

Sathien took a breath, recalling the adrenaline, the rush of battle as she used her sword, cutting through Orcs, hearing the screams of dying Men around her, focusing only on the thought to survive.

Anarion sensed her hesitation and moved quickly to grab her. Sathien felt her adrenaline react and she dove into a roll, feeling her muscles strain from easy living. She rolled to her feet as Nerdanel and Cirdan grabbed at her arms to try and hold her down.

Cirdan grasped her arm and pulled viciously. Sathien used the momentum to pull Cirdan toward her then she spun and forced his grip from her arm.

Hands grabbed at her mouth and waist from behind, trying to drag her inside. Sathien raised her elbows and forced them deep into the chest of Anarion who let out a pained breath and released his grip.

Sathien dove into a roll to avoid Nerdanel and found herself at the balcony again, slightly exhausted, and yet the Elves had only become aggravated.

"I'm sorry that we must do this." Cirdan rushed at her and Sathien crouched to avoid his swing and slammed her shoulder into his chest, delivering a swift punch to his face and then grabbing the graceful folds of his clothes and throwing him at the direction of the balcony without a thought.

There was a scream and Sathien looked back to see Cirdan had lost his balance and fallen over the railing to his death.

The other Elves seemed to freeze in shock and Sathien recovered from the momentary hesitation of having killed Cirdan. She glared at the other two, waiting, feeling her heart pounding with fear and adrenaline.

Nerdanel rushed at her and managed to grab her arms and twist them back. Sathien winced in pain and Anarion swung his fist into her face. The world seemed to black out for a moment and Sathien felt the throbbing pain and the warmth of her blood across her cheek.

She blinked groggily as Anarion swung again and again. Sathien could feel the world swaying and could faintly hear Anarion's angry cries. She could feel the pain lessening as she begun to slip into unconsciousness.

What am I doing? I can fight! Sathien forced herself to focus and broke free of Nerdanel's grasp, swinging her knee into his chest, pushing him back. She dodged a swing from Anarion and punched him in the face, feeling slightly joyous in watching him recoil in pain.

She went back to Nerdanel who was getting to his feet and kicked him hard, then again. And again for good measure. Nerdanel slumped to the ground and did not rise.

Suddenly remembering Anarion behind her, Sathien spun around and felt a sharp, sudden pain on her shoulder. Anarion had hit her old wound and the pain flared up again, the torn muscles throbbed in agony from the arrow that had once pierced her at Helm's Deep. Sathien stumbled, and tried to maneuver away from him but the Elf was fueled by rage and he pushed her hard over the railing.

Sathien let out a terrified cry, swinging her hands to find a grip as she fell over the balcony to her death.

Her hands grabbed the bottom railing and she clung for her life, swinging precariously in the air, tears in her eyes at how she had become so useless at fighting.

I had been a warrior, I fought many battles that many men died in, Sathien thought angrily, throwing her other hand up to hold onto the railing and keeping her eyes away from the ground.

Anarion's face stared down at her.

'You can't hang on forever, get up here and you'll be taken to Maglor immediately.' Anarion ordered.

Sathien glared at him, but she could feel her grip loosening. If she let go, she would fall to her death, and the only other choice was to go up and be captured. Anarion was a much better fighter than Nerdanel and Cirdan, and she was already in pain and exhausted. She could not risk being captured, that would lead to torture and death, and possibly the chance of never seeing Legolas or any of the Fellowship again.

I have to find Legolas, I have to tell Remla and the others, Sathien told herself, glancing down to the ground below, the tops of the trees brushing against her dress. If she dropped there was a chance she could hit a tree and land bruised but alive. And there was the chance she would fall straight to the ground and die painfully as Cirdan had.

"I'll be seeing you again soon." Sathien spat at Anarion, feeling slightly less brave than she sounded. Then she released her grip.

Unable to twist her head to see where she was falling, Sathien could only feel the wind blowing around her and hear Anarion's anguished scream. Then the leaves and the branches surrounded her and she was falling through the tops of the trees, the branches cutting deep gashes across her arms and legs. Sathien raised her hands to cover her face, flailing around for a grip on a branch with no idea how close to the ground she was.

I'm dead, I'm dead.

Sathien threw out her arm and her dress snagged against a branch. Sathien caught her breath in shock as she looked down at the ground, her dress caught in the tangle of branches around her.

I have been blessed to have survived.

Sathien stayed still, willing herself not to move in case her dress tore and she would fall. She glanced around, seeing a medium sized branch that looked like it could hold her weight.

Sathien swung up and grabbed at it, pulling herself up to the branch gracefully and straddling onto it. She maneuvered across the branch to the trunk of the tree where she could regain her balance and recover from what had happened. Her hands were chafed and she was bruised and bleeding from the many grazes and gashes, and her head throbbed with pain.

Sathien could hear distant shouting from Amon Lanc and quickly decided to flee before Anarion sent any Elves after her.

Sathien aimed for a branch below her, released her grip and felt herself falling again. Then she reached out and grabbed the branch, hitting the wood with such force that her breath was knocked from her but she quickly regained her balance and drew in air. She maintained her hold and saw that the ground was not too far down. So Sathien let go and fell for a second, bracing for the impact. She hit the ground feeling her head crash against the dirt, her muscles and bones shake from the impact and for a second she almost lost consciousness.

Barely conscious, Sathien forced herself to her feet and looked at the body of Cirdan, mangled from the force in which he had hit the ground. She felt herself limping, the pain from her wounds and the exhaustion and lack of adrenaline made her actions slower but she did not dawdle, and ran through the woods as fast as she could go.