A/N: This story conatins references to the story "Traitor" by Cassia and Soibhan, wich is part of the Mellon Chronicles: www.aragorn-legolas. Many of the references made in this story will make more sense if you have read that story first.

Chapter One: A Friendly Visit

Legolas slipped quietly into the large city, praying he would go undetected by the gateway guards. He looked up, pulling the dark hood closer about his face, and smiled as they failed to find any reason to stop him. Good. Now all that he had to do was find his way through the giant maze of streets and he would be there. He stifled a sigh as he continued, not knowing even where to begin.

He hoped to see his friend again, after so long an absence to the Hall of Mirkwood; he would not see Aragorn as a ranger this time though, but as the king of Gondor. It was the first of many visits he knew he would pay, if in fact he left much at all. He laughed slightly, wondering how long he would stay this time, and how much trouble he could get his long-time friend into within that time period.

Aragorn did not actually know he was coming. He hoped to surprise the man this time, and had sent no messenger to foil his plans. As he pushed through the crowd he pondered what the best way to go about it was, to walk in unannounced before the king, or to simply find his own way in and find his old friend somewhere among his private rooms. The latter quickly proved the better idea, and Legolas, before even arriving on the second level, was already thinking of the fun he would have eluding the guards. A broad smile spread across his face as he continued down the streets.

At last! He pushed through the final gate to the top level; he could go through without problems with the guards. The final gate was the one right under Aragorn's palace. It was strange, he thought, to know that the ranger owned this whole city. He could not imagine the ranger knowing the insane street maps, even having been here for several months now.

He looked up, scanning the uppermost part of the city, spying what passageways he could and seeing where the guards were posted. He racked his memory to recall what he could of the floor plan from the last time he had been here, at Aragorn's coronation. It seemed that Aragorn's rooms were to the south of the main hall. Yes, he could see them now, as he walked around, closer to where he thought the private rooms were. It seemed, yes, there was a small courtyard, and he remembered he and the ranger having an impromptu archery contest there. Legolas laughed at the memory, recalling that Estel, not he, had been the one to shoot the captain of the guard in the helm, and that he himself had hit their target, the young tree by which he stood. He looked up to the palace above him. Perhaps he could sneak in there. If he remembered correctly, Aragorn's sleeping quarters were not far from there, which was most likely where he would be headed at this hour. r

The sun teased the horizon behind him as Legolas reached the far southwest corner of the city, hugging the mountainside; it was the part of the sixth level that was the closest to the seventh anywhere save for the main gate. His smooth hands played over the rough surface of the mountainside, contrasting sharply against the shining smooth stone of the city itself. He stayed wary of everyone else around him, waiting until he was practically alone before beginning his accent.

His strong fingers found hold in the many crevices and uneven surfaces of the white rock, and his skilled feet followed swiftly. Only after he was a good way up did he consider that it may not have been the safest thing to do, but by then it was far too late. Even as the sun was far past set his own glow and that of the rising moon and early stars were all he needed to keep his footing, and it did not take long for him to reach the top. By now, it was far too late to surprise his friend, but Legolas could wait until morning. As he came to the top of the wall, he looked around, spotting the small guard station not too far off, he slowed his movements to observe them. The two men stationed there were alert, but did not find a need to watch the mountainside, and Legolas safely finished his way up, slipping over the top of the wall he hid for a moment in its shadow.

"What was that?" He heard from the guards.

"What?" The other answered, standing to his feet, he looked around for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. Legolas concealed a smile as he crouched in the darkness, his cloak pulled about him and his hood hiding his light blond hair. He watched the two men sit back down into their familiar positions, quietly watching for a little while more.

At that moment Legolas heard footsteps behind him. But there was nothing behind him. They grew louder and the elf found their source only after it was too late. The stone of the wall beside him opened up to reveal a small concealed passageway that the soldiers used; the opening allowed the elf to fall down the passage accidently. And he fell right into the Second Captain's feet.

"What th-" Legolas heard the man say; grabbing his shoulder and hood, the man pulled Legolas upright and quickly revealed his face. Within a moment the two guards on duty were at the scene, along with the three other guards that followed the captain. All were ready to capture or kill whatever new threat came upon them.

Legolas smiled meekly up at them, a bit embarrassed by the whole turn of events, and wondering what Aragorn would say that he got caught. The men quickly pulled him completely upright, holding his arms behind him.

"What are you doing here?" The captain asked spotting the full quiver, bow, and pair of knives on his captive's back. Not waiting for a response, he noticed something that, to him, was more important. "Why... You're an elf!" He started, grabbing Legolas' pointed ear.

Legolas grimaced slightly as the man grabbed him roughly, attempting to nod at the question while the man still held him. He did not want trouble from the guards, and he hoped that the nature of their king would help him out of this one.

Instead, Legolas received a solid punch to his midsection.

"Treacherous scum." The captain said as Legolas curled in on himself after the punch. Legolas was shocked by the words, not knowing any of the residence of Minas Tirith to hate the elves, he wondered at this man, who so blatantly hated him for his race. "You two, return to your posts. We'll take this one down below. The King normally likes to see these things for himself, but I do not wish to wake him." He told the two that Legolas had evaded before. "Come." He turned next to his own men. "Bind his hands and follow me." The man turned quickly back down the passageway, he took a torch from the wall and led them down.

Legolas' hands were tied tightly behind him, as he tried to keep optimistic about the situation. Aragorn would have no end of teasing, true, but he doubted that he would come to any true harm at the hands of these guards. Although the reaction of the captain told him otherwise.

When they came to the end of the stairway, they walked quickly through a dark hallway, down to a series of old, obviously long unused passageways, that all the soldiers save the captain seemed unfamiliar with.

"In here." He led them down one last tunnel; he turned back to lock the wooden door behind them before he faced Legolas. "Now, elf...," he said, practically spitting the word. Legolas was held firmly between two of the other soldiers by his shoulders, the third holding the torch, the captain did the talking.

"Normally around here the king deals with the likes of you. But seeing the hour, and that I would hate to wake him just to see you, I believe there are other ways of going about this." He smiled in Legolas' face as the elf's brow knotted. The two men holding him only copied their officer's joy.

"Captain?" Legolas heard another voice. The small soldier that held the torch questioned what procedures the captain intended on taking.

"Yes, there are some old laws, still alright to use, I would say. Lord Denethor set them up, and I would say him a capable man." He informed the young soldier. For Legolas the name wrung perhaps even truer then to that of the soldiers, thinking back to the last time he saw Denethor. It was not a memory he relished. At all. A night filled with pain and shame, he never wished to see the man, or even hear his name, ever again.

Without warning, another solid punch slammed into Legolas' stomach, sending him to his knees as he gasped for breath, his shocked eyes locking onto the captain before him. The man laughed quietly at him.

"Who are you?" He began his interrogation. "A spy? An assassin? What?" He kicked Legolas roughly in the side.

"No." Legolas answered trying to keep calm. "I'm-"

"No?" The man cut him off. "Then what are you doing near my lord's house with these?" He drew his sword, resting it on Legolas' quiver strap. Within the next moment, his men had unstrapped it and taken it from him, as their captain went on. "It is our job to protect the king and punish those who oppose him." He said, half to the elf, half to his own troops.

"I don't, I-" Legolas tried to reason with the man, but was cut off again.

"You what?" The man crouched to be eye level with the elf before slapping him in the face.

"I'm his friend!" Legolas yelled, trying to get something out before he was cut off again.

"You expect me to believe that?" He laughed, raising an eyebrow. "No. I want the truth." He said, not caring if what he heard was the truth or not, he wove a deception to justify his actions before his men, creating a reason to do as he pleased with the elf. Standing, his foot made hard contact with Legolas' midsection, doubling the elf over; next he kicked Legolas in the ribs, sending him to the floor.

"What are elves but lying," -he slammed his foot into Legolas' side- "thieving," -his foot came down again- "scum!" He finished, landing a third hit; soon his 'interrogation' turned quickly to an outlet of anger. Legolas had never accepted this from any of the guards in Gondor, and the captain's words still shocked him. As the man's foot came down for a last hit, he lashed out at the two men holding him in place, rolling out of the way; he allowed the captain's foot to glide through the air unhindered. The force of his own kick almost sent him to the ground. "Why you!" He yelled.

Quickly, Legolas caught his foot; grabbing it, he made his case quickly before the man could harm him again. "I am Legolas Greenleaf, and I am Aragorn Elessar's friend." He said, in an attempt to convince if not the captain, at least the soldiers of his innocence. "I don't know what you've heard of elves but-" his sentence was cut off yet again as the captain grabbed a handful of his tunic and lifted him off the ground. He kept his face calm and slightly defiant as the captain held him inches from his own hard, angry face.

"What I've heard of you?" He turned around, slamming Legolas into the wall behind him. "I've heard how my father dealt with you. And how Lord Denethor dealt with you. If Lord Aragorn is half as good of a Gondorian man as they were then he would deal the same." His face was hard but strangely excited.

"Your father?" Legolas questioned quietly; he could feel the man's grip tighten on him, as his other hand came up in a fist, ready to knock him out.

"Yes. I barely met the man, but I've heard the stories." The captain began. "His name was Castamir."