Disclaimer, I do not owe any LOTR or Hobbit characters. Please check Deana Misfortune of an Elf since she came up with the orignale idear in the story Mercy I have just made a long version over it.
Legolas was riding through his beloved forest and enjoyed the welcoming that the trees was giving him.
Highness good to see you back many of them said.
Legolas smiled as his hors Astarly walked to the road and he was happy just to be alone and enjoying only the company of his beloved hors and trees. It was not often that he as a son of king Thranduil was allowed this so he was happy when it happened. His hors Astarly seemed happy to but suddenly he looked up
A sound made him look around and he grabbed his bow and was about to ready an arrow when something heavy was hitting him in the left side and he fell down from Astarly and gasped for air while he felt the pain in his left side. Astarly turned to left and stood and protest strongly and seemed ready to protect Legolas. Two men jumped out and tried to grab Legolas as he was trying to get up but as the man in front was walking towards him Astarly was stepping up and back and punched her hors shoe into his head and he felt lifeless to the ground. Legolas ignored the pain and stood up and took and arrow and shout it but because of the pain and he lack of air it only hit the next man in the arm.
Another hid to his left side this time it was an arrow, he felt the pain and collapsed, and Astarly knelt by stepping down at her front legs and then putting her head down to his shoulder and gently tried to push him back up. He once again tried to get back up but someone grabbed him but Astarly tried to push them away.
"Stop that hors or shout it" a human voice yelled.
When the other human didn't do anything he launched and arrow and pointed towards Astarly.
´´Run Astarly´´ Legolas yelled to his hors in sindarin and kicked to the bow so he shout the arrow into the tree who made a yell of pain over it.
Astarly turned around and galloped all she could into the forest, while Legolas was grabbed by two man as the third who had been hit by Astarly came to stand and pinned Legolas down to the ground. His hands was forced behind his bag and tied with robs before he was forced to stand up again with two man holding a firm grasp on his shoulders and elbows he felt a strong pain in his left side of his stomach.
"Why are you attacking me humans, what have I done to you?" he yelled to the men.
"You killed my brother elf" the man who had almost shut his hors answered.
"I did not human, I have not killed any human only orcs has found the death by my hand" he answered the man.
"I saw you with my own eyes" he yelled angry.
"Then there is clearly something wrong with your eyes" Legolas replied smoothly.
"In a minute your eyes will not work at all" the man yelled even angrier and took an arrow and pointing at his hard.
Legolas did not replay or make a move he knew he could not do anything, they held him to tight and his hands was bound and the pain from the wound did not allow him to manoeuvre that much.
"No Caldir don't do it, Dion will not allow it" one of the men who hold Legolas said.
"Caldir we don't know if it really is him we have to let Dion decide said the other one.
Caldir looked at the two men and angrily nodded before he put the arrow back in its place and took a robe. When the two men was letting go Legolas saw his opportunity to run from them and he sprinted as fast as he could but one of the men jumped forward and grabbed his right foot and by suddenly having only on foot to hold the balance with he felt and landed on the left side. He maid a cry of pain and struggled for breath and went into a blur as the pain was about to take over and let his mind away. While he lay still gasping he felt someone putting a robe around his neck and forced him up even though it made the pain explode. He was forced to walk with the three persons to wherever they wanted.
It was afternoon and a man named Dion who was a little older than the rest of the man in the clearing was about to start the fire as three man was coming into the clearing. He was rather surprised when the three men he had sent out returned with a fourth. When he looked closer, he saw it was an elf with long blond hair and bound while he looked, as he was ready to faint any minute. He stood up and looked at them awaiting an explanation while the four of them made it into the camp.
Caldir, Leorn and Beril what is this, why do you bring an elf who is close to faint" he said and stood up.
"I have found my brothers murder, but Leorn and Beril would not let me kill him before we talked to you" Caldir said angrily.
"I … did … not …. kill …. him" the elf gasped as the pain clearly made it difficult for him to speak.
"Let me have a look at him, we can't let him die before we even have found out if he did it" he said and pointed to a place near the fire and they put him down.
He looked at the elf, took some supplies, walked over to him, and knelt to examine the elf after having removed the robe around the neck. He found a large wound in the left side where a lot of blood had coloured his beautiful blouse and he ripped a piece of his shirt and press it to the wound. As a man who had spent most of his life on the road, he had tended his fair share of injuries and therefor he could handle most of these types of wounds.
"Hold out, this will take time to stop the bleeding but you must not fall asleep then you will not wake up" he said to the elf.
The elf looked incredibly in pain and did not answer but the blue eyes told him that he understood and that he would fight for it. After some time in silent the blood has stopped and Dion took a bandage and put it around the elf's wound.
"Can I rest for a little while?" the elf asked to him.
He nodded and the elf closed his eyes and he could see that the elf drifted away to sleep or unconscious. He returned to the five other members of the group and looked at them.
Why did you waste our supplies on a murder?" asked Caldir angrily to Dion.
"I wont to know what happen and I will not have the elf dead before I am sure that he really did it. We will have to wait until he is waken before we can ask him in the meantime get the meal ready" he ordered.
"No I want to see the elf dad now then I can eat" Caldir said angrily.
"No you will not do him any harm until I have found the truth, I will not see an innocent dead for a crime he did not do" he said steadily.
"As soon as we have eaten we will bury the body of your brother, then you might get some peace" Dion said and Caldir nodded.
While Cladir and the other had started to work he walked over, examined the elf weapon, and find a beautiful bow, quiver and two deadly knife, which made him think.
Legolas woke up and started too looked around and noted that the darkness has started to fall and the man was about to leave. They carried a body and he understood that they would bury their fallen friend and he looked at their sad faces. He too knew how it pained to lose fallen friends and family and he had taken his share of burying some of his people that he had promised to protect. However, one thing worried him and that was that Caldir did not look the least bit sorrowful or unhappy. Oh, he had a sad face expression but his eyes betrayed him they seemed overly happy to look at the dead person.
"Are you ready Caldir?" the man who had helped him and he guessed that it was Dion who spoke.
"No, I am sorry I can't do that, my brother should be lead to rest by my since he deserve one to lead the ceremony who is ready to grief which I am not right know" he answered and looked sad and sorrowful.
"If that is what you wish" answered Dion and nodded and he and the group left.
Caldir looked at him with a wild smile and he grabbed a robe and started to move to him. Legolas could not get away with his hands bound and as he still suffered from the wound who only had started to heal. Even so, he tried to get to stand and tried to run away but the wound slowed him down and he could feel Caldir grab him from behind and dragged him towards the tree. Caldir took him by the hair where he felt too high a pain to stop him when he slammed him right into the tree, he felt more pain as his body ached and he gasped.
Highness are you all right, that evil man how dare he tread you this way, the tree angrily shouted.
Legolas tried not to lose consignees as he focused on his breathing, leaned to the tree for support, and therefore could not do anything when the man started to tie him to the tree who was so thick that he had to walk around it. As Caldir started to tie him, he cut the robe around his arms so he could have his arms by his side
I am sorry for this highness the tree said sadly and seemed very unhappy.
It is not your fault he answered.
When Caldir was finished, he took his dagger and seemed ready to finish what he had started and he couldn't escape.
"You killed him if I am not mistaken" he said to gain more time but also to see if he was right in his expectations.
"I do not know how you find out, yes I did it, but don't try to tell them they will not believe you. Even if you would tell them, which is not to happen since I will put an end to this hear and know, then they would not believe you" he said and sliced a cut over his face so more blood started dripping.
He moved uncomfortable and felt an explosion in the side and he could not hold back a cry of pain when his wound in the left side touched the robes.
Dion heard the cry as they made their way back towards the camp and he started to run nervously that he would find Caldir trying to kill the elf. He should have foreseen that this could happen but he had focused on saying goodbye to one who had been his friend for five years. When he entered the camp he saw the elf tied to a tree as Caldir holding a dagger and used it to cut in the beautiful face of the elf. He ran over to Caldir and forced him away from the elf and over to the others.
"Caldir what are you doing, at this rate you will kill the elf through blood lose in less than a day, I told you that I whish to find out the truth before anything happens" he said.
"I have told you what happened let me avenge my brothers murder, do you think I would mistake him for another? How many others in this group or in the nearby country do you know has long blond hair and pointy ears?" Caldir asked angrily.
"If you can't contain yourself then take a walk a blow of some steam but let me talk to the elf before you do anything else" he said.
Caldir glared at him angrily and stormed out of the camp.
Dion went over to the elf and saw that he had fainted and he took his dagger and carefully cut the robe where it touched the wound. Even unconscious the elf body sighted with relief freed from the pain and he pressed towards the wound with another part of close he had cut out from earlier. He waited until the elf regained consciousness and he let him have a moment before he started to talk.
"He strongly claims that you killed his brother" he said to the elf.
"I did not but that you will never believe me" he answered steady.
He had been wondering why the man was so sure that it was the elf since he himself knew elves did not killed without reason. The reaction he had gotten from Caldir over the dead of his brother had surprised him it had been very strong was it just anger or was there more to it.
"How old are you?" he asked the elf.
"Well last I had my becoming day I was 2500 years old and that is nearly 500 years ago" the elf answered and his eyes grow wide for he had heard about the immortality of the elves but this one looked like at the age of 25. He went back to the fire, grabbed some food, and walked towards him and cut the food into small bits and then started feed him with it.
"I have this feeling that you talk with someone but I can't find another person nearby. The elf did not respond and just continued eating.
Legolas looked at the human in truth he was actually talking with someone the tree had been worried for him since Caldir had knocked him into it and the tied him to it.
I do not like that they use me to hold you captive and tread you like this highness, I wish I could free you, I am sorry the tree said.
I know my friend and it is not your fault, but you can help in another way, pleas pas word to my father, he must have send people out to search for me and you can help them find me that way. Please also pass my apologies to the poor tree that Caldir shoot I did not intend harm on it but I had save Astarly he answered.
I will your highness said the tree.
"What is your name?" asked Dion.
Legolas looked at him and was thinking quickly it did not seem wise to tell them who he was and therefor he chose a name that would be elvish but not his own.
"My name is Estel" he chose and answered so fast and steady that the man did not noticed the thoughts that has just run through his head.
"That means hope if I am not mistaken" he said.
Legolas looked at the man in surprise over that the man knew about the elvish language and he looked at the man.
"How comes it that I find a man who possess knowledge of the tongs of elves?" he asked surprised.
"My grandmother once had an elven friend from this forest and he told her about this forest and taught her a few things about the elves.
"Who was your friend I might know of him" he answered surprised and looked at the man while he wondered what remarkable woman his grandmother had been.
"His name was Anaris he found my grandmother lost in the forest" he said.
Legolas gasped, as he indeed knew Anaris he had been one of the few children who had dared to play with him even though he was the prince of Mirkwood and later he had started to lead some of the patrols send out by the elven king.
"It seems that you know him Estel" Dion said and looked at him waiting to explain.
"I played with him as a child and know he leads some of the patrols send out by the king, but I am a bit surprised he normally isn't one of those around humans" he said.
"I see, well my grandmother did say he was not that happy to find her" he answered.
"Estel why did you kill Caldirs brother?" Dion asked.
"I did not, I have no desire to take a humans life some of my friends are very fund of humans and often ride and fight with theme" he said while thinking of Elrohir and Elladan.
Dion looked at him for a long time.
"Which weapon do you use?" Dion asked.
"My bow and arrows" he responded.
"And the knifes?" came the next question.
"I only use theme when I run out of arrows" he said.
"Do you mainly attack from forth or behind?" Dion asked.
"I attack from the ankle that suits best but it is mainly from forth, I am not much from sneak up behind and kill without people seeing" he answered.
Dion looked at him and it seemed that he was thinking a lot over this before he raised and started to walk back towards the others. As he was walking back Legolas could hear him saying ''Get some sleep'' before he reached the others.