"Hundred!"
"Hundred and twenty!"
"Any more bids? Sold!"
Legolas watched as the next slave took the place of the one just bought. The weight of the stock bore heavily down on his own shoulders, and the elf was more annoyed with it than angry. To be honest, none of this was new to him. Well, maybe the fact that he was on a stage, instead of being left in a dark cellar with medicine that made him lose his mind (and a medicated Legolas means spouting a lot of nonsense and raving about how stupid people are).
The other thing included that this village had heard none of the rumors other small towns had come up with over the years. This was the only time Legolas wished these people were scared out of their pants begging for mercy from the Vine-Fairy. Unfortunately, at the time, Legolas was not in his leafy garb and looked more like a traveler. His captors were fascinated with him and completely unafraid when they came from the dry grass and tackled him.
And that is how he got here.
Wrong place at the wrong time.
The prince was not concerned too much. He was not tormented brutally, and he bided his time up to this point. Once the auction was over and he was with his new "master", he would make a break for it. And if that failed, would bide his time again. And if that failed after another escape attempt, then desperate measures needed to be taken. Legolas smiled to himself as he thought of going all creepy and frightening to these people. It would not help with having better relations with these towns, but the prince could care less.
If he was also honest with himself, he loved playing with people's minds.
As long as there was no torture involved or some sadistic plot to overthrow some other kingdom or the forest, these kidnappings were menial and the source for many songs spun around the campfire.
"What are you smirking about?" The overseer questioned darkly as he caught the look on the elf's face.
Legolas turned his head as best he could to the side, casually raising a brow. "Hmm?"
The man shifted a little at the intense gaze and the sheer oddness coming from this person. The mortal hardened his face. "You shouldn't be looking so happy where you are going."
Legolas looked pleasantly surprised. "I should not? Forgive me for trying to be positive about this. I am sure you would love to know what is going on in there." He turned his head, having a brief sense of satisfaction detecting the increased uneasiness from the overseer. A couple of others were becoming uncomfortable too.
The elf was shoved up to the stand and the bids started, and Legolas looked bored and uninterested. All the other unfortunate persons lined up to be sold were forlorn and a little afraid. Legolas managed to free some of them, but it was not enough to satisfy him. He mourned briefly over this lower standard of society, yet he could do little about it that did not mean storming every place that practices the trade and setting them ablaze.
The prince half listened to the bids, and every person that bid higher he shot an unnerving stare toward them; some even dropping away because they were unsettled by this creature's unusual ways and habits. Legolas studied each potential buyer, and did not hold back his smirk hearing the auctioneer sound angrily disappointed.
Three figures caught his attention and Legolas narrowed his eyes briefly at them to study them. They were cloaked in black and their hoods drawn up and…were those masquerade masks?
The last time Legolas saw such masks was when Dale was still inhabited; long since destroyed by Smaug the dragon. He began to feel uneasy himself but did not understand why.
"Would this be enough?" one of the dark figures said lowly, and a hand came out from the cloak. Lo, a decently sized crystal rested in their hand.
Legolas did not pay attention to the murmurs and gasps from the crowd as they finally took note of these strangers. After hearing the voice, Legolas felt his brain go numb and his face warm. The yoke now made his normally strong arms tremble. Legolas also had to suppress the sudden desire to whine.
The auctioneer was not aware of what was happening to the elf-slave, entranced by the jewel the masked person presented. "Well get up here and let me see that!" He demanded.
The overseers and other slaves were staring at the prince as his normally strong and unnerving bearing was starting to crumble. They wondered who it was that managed to break him finally. They saw the black-draped figure walk up to the podium, holding out the fair gem. The auctioneer gave the man a strange glance, staring at the mask before he studied the gem.
Legolas felt himself trying to bow without even thinking of doing so, and he had to stop himself from completing the action. He wanted to give his gratitude and respect, but it was not here and now. And right before a crowd too! The embarrassment was far too strong, and a small noise did escape his throat.
"W-w-well, m-my lord, y-you…What an honor to have such a rich man come to our humble abode. But this…this is enough to buy the entire line!"
"That is my intention," came the smooth reply.
The auctioneer stared at the person's face again. "Where are you from? Are you a king?"
"I and my men are some ways west of here-near Laketown."
That answer satisfied the mortal and he started shouting at the overseers to get the rest of the slaves in line. They were afraid of what was to come, and they were taken away to the outskirts of the town.
Legolas briefly noted that the crowd had dispersed, and the two other masked figures walked with the overseers and the line. Legolas was roughly shoved toward the line as well, and he about fell on his face due to the trembling. Although he could not see, he heard what transpired.
The overseer let out a gasp and his breaths increased briefly. The wood of the podium creaked briefly, and the prince assume the man was cowed.
"You will cease this trade immediately," the other person hissed severely. "And this shall be measured by the value of your economy: and you will disperse its value to every resident here."
"Y-yes, I-I'll stop," the mortal whimpered.
Legolas only then realized that none of the men who were pushing him along were present. He felt like he was in a haze when he felt a hand be gently pressed into his upper back, prodding him forward. Legolas closed his eyes and started feeling hot again.
"You do not need to feel shame," the voice said softly.
"I feel it regardless," Legolas responded with held-back frustration. "And I had a whole plan I wanted to try out!" he sounded like a petulant child, and more often than not: that is what he ended up sounding like when something did not go his way or irritated him.
The hand brushed his hair briefly. "We will have you out of this soon. Have they fed you?"
"They gave mediocre care," Legolas muttered. "Could have been worse."
They approached a group, and the prince felt a little relieved seeing his people once more. They freed each of the slaves from their shackles: the mortals looking shocked and immensely grateful by this act. Some were being led to horses and carts, and Legolas heard his kin ask the mortals where their former homes were or where they were headed prior to their capture.
Legolas eventually tuned the activity out, satisfied that his quest was finished (although he did not finish it), but his humiliation still burned inside. He felt the jostling of the yoke as the lock was turned. The hinges creaked as it was raised, and Legolas slowly and stiffly removed himself from the contraption. But he did not stretch, instead he let himself fall into the earth face first.
"Legolas," said a stern voice. "You know better to not being doing that."
The prince acquiesced to the command, but he kept his head bowed.
There was a sigh and some of the grass crunched beneath the other person. "Look up. I have not seen you these past months, and I want to see your face up close."
Legolas slowly looked up at Thranduil. The elf-king had discarded the mask and he had nothing adorning his head. His gold hair ran free as the hood had been removed. Thranduil's expression was that of fatherly concern: gentle.
Legolas sighed. "I should have seen it coming," he grumbled, referring to his initial capture. He had been rather inattentive that day: daydreaming about big trees and Nimrodel, and what it would feel like to be a nomad like the Avari. "Atta," he began with real confusion and concern of his own. "Why are you here? Should you not be protecting Greenwood?"
"I needed a break," Thranduil answered like they were just discussing the weather. These kidnappings were too trivial and frequent to be much of a bother, aside from inconvenience. "And I had a hunch that something was wrong when your mother and brothers said you were last seen two months ago."
Legolas made a face. "I would have expected them or Orod at least. But-" he whined finally. The whole thing was stupid and had been a waste of time. "How did you know?"
"You tend to figure out things when you are a father." Thranduil was smirking slyly.
Legolas faced planted again. He was not hurt or upset by his father's response; in fact, he was glad for it. It meant things were still normal in his life.
Thranduil sighed and pulled Legolas up so his son's head rested in his lap. "What am I going to do with you, Greenleaf?"
"Why do these things happen to me all the time?" Legolas groaned. "People must hate me."
"I think it is the exact opposite," Thranduil began brushing his hair again. "But know that no price is too high to pay: for you, for your mother, and your brothers. You are all priceless."
Legolas relaxed a little at the words and his fingers wrapped around his father's. The prince admitted he needed to hear words filled with love, after the ordeal he had went through, no matter how trivial and harmless it had turned out to be.
An image of a festival in the summertime came to his mind: one that occurred when he was a small elfling. Legolas smiled happily and mischievously of memories of wrapping his arms around Thranduil's feet and never letting go during those festivals, mainly just to annoy him.
The prince then wondered if this was payback for those times.
A/N Well, this is the first time I have done anything from Legolas' point of view. I don't think he has the same "wildness" he does when it's from someone else's view. :p This was meant to be a somewhat humorous story, because I wanted to have Legolas basically go: "Daaaaaadddddd whyyyyyyyyyyy?!" Kind of turned into a somewhat fuzzy thing in the end, and it's kind of nice for me to show Father-Thranduil in my universe.