Disclaimer: No, I do not own Lord of the Rings or any characters involved with it. If I did own them, I would not be sitting here writing this, believe me.
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He gulped deeply, struggling to get his arms free of the hands that were wrapped tightly around his slender wrists. This wasn't what he had in mind when he thought of fun, and it certainly wasn't a situation he wanted to be stuck in. But, with his luck, he was placed into this predicament. And, it wasn't going to be easy to get out of. Was there even a way to get out of this situation?
The sharp blade that was pressed against his neck seemed like it would be plunged into his skin if he dared move even the slightest bit. He had stopped his struggling; realizing that it would do him no good, and his eyes frantically searched the area for anything that seemed familiar to him. That task was being put to the test to no avail; he had lost nearly all sight of things that looked familiar to him. These mortal men had dragged him along for at least forty miles before stopping to look him over.
The man that had a tight grip on his wrists suddenly let his hands fall away from his skin. He thought they were letting him go, but when he went to move his hands, they would not budge. Now it was obvious that they were bound with thick rope. "This situation keeps on getting better and better" he mumbled under his breath, not caring if any of the seven men around him heard his sarcastic words.
"What did you say, Elf?" one of the dirty young men asked, taking hold of the handle of his sword in his hand as he did so. Staring at him long and hard, the man didn't bother asking his question again, knowing that no answer would follow no matter how many times he tried.
The sword that was pressed to his skin had been pulled away from his neck, leaving him unscathed for the moment. His wrists would be sore in a day or so, but that was pain he would come to live with when it started. "I am the son of the Mirkwood King, you will not get away with this treachery" he spat, his hands trying to reach the tied ropes behind his back.
"Son of a king? Bah, you shall learn to keep your mouth shut, Elf. Or would you like it more if I merely cut it off myself?" the tallest of the men answered in reply, a smug look on his face, which was smeared with dirt. "What name do you go by, then?"
He wondered if he should answer this thief, but took note that there wasn't much that he needed to hide from these thieves that had somehow managed to grab a hold of him when he had walked right by them. He raised his head up in a very high and mighty way, and stated evenly, "Legolas Greenleaf. May I presume that you are thief number one of this clan you have with you here?"
The man chuckled slightly, obviously a bit amused by his captive's words. Legolas did not see what was so humorous, and scoffed at the thief's laughing so wholeheartedly. "Are you frightened, Elf?" the leader of the group questioned him again, watching the Elf intently for a bit.
Legolas shook his head, "No, I am not frightened of you or any of your comrades" he stated flatly, staring right back at the leader of the thieves. "If any one of us here is frightened, it would have to be you. For you are the one who had to bind me with this rope. Are you frightened of an Elf?"
The man in front of him scowled, a dark shadow creeping onto his face quickly. He drew out his sword in one swift motion, waving it back and forth in the air. The man walked toward Legolas, his sword clear out in front of him. He placed the tip of the blade on his captive's neck, threatening to slash right across the fair skin there.
Suddenly, before anyone could do anything else, all seven of the mortal men had sharp weapons at their own throats. Legolas knew of the weapons well, sharp arrows. He glanced up and saw at least ten other Elves positioned high on mighty horses, seven of them drawing back arrows on their long bows and the rest standing as still as beautiful statues. How joyous Legolas was to see a group of his own kind, and he knew that several of these Elves before him were commonly known around Mirkwood.
"Put your weapon on the ground, tell you men here to do the same" the Elf with his arrow to the thief leader's neck spoke first, directing his orders to the leader of the thieves. After a second of hesitation from the man, he spoke again, "do it as I say, I promise that my aim is very trustworthy."
The group of the mortal men placed their weapons on the ground slowly, obviously not very pleased with the fact that they had arrows aimed at their throats. The leader of the Elf group spoke again, this time to the Elves that did not draw back their arrows, "pick them up" he said, instructing them to dismount from their horses and collect the weapons that had been carried by the men.
The Elves did as they were instructed to do, quickly climbing off the backs of their horses and gathering the swords, daggers, and other weapons that were scattered by the men's feet. "Go down to the river, depart from them there. Keep your keen eyes on the weapons as they float down stream, do not allow them to get entwined between rocks and become stuck. Go" the head Elf instructed them further and nodded as the four Elves swiftly took off running toward the river.
The Elf directed his attention to Legolas now, and, with a smile, said, "I am Haewethion, My Lord. I was instructed to ride out from Mirkwood and seek out you as swiftly as our horses would allow. That is Mithfennasion," he pointed to another tall, blonde Elf, who nodded in his direction, "and that is Vecristion," the Elf pointed to another, who looked as if he could have been the brother of first that had been pointed to.
Legolas nodded to all three of the Elves, showing his gratitude to them silently. His eyes scanned the rest of the Elves that surrounded the men, surveying their distinct features. When he came upon the fourth Elf, he stopped. That was a female Elf, a female archer. There were many in Mirkwood, but this one seemed a bit different.
The female archer had blazing blue eyes, as did most Elves, and flowing blonde hair, much like his own, only it seemed that it would be softer to the touch. She was fit, and seemed to be comforted as she held her bow, the graceful arrow nearly grazing the rough skin on man's neck. Legolas shook his head, laughed slightly to himself, and tried to move his hands to rub his eyes.
"Your wrists are still bound, My Lord. Mithfennasion, cut the ropes from him, don't worry about that one" the leader of the group spoke again, motioning to the man on the ground that Mithfennasion's arrow had been pointed at. "He will not be faltering his footing."
Mithfennasion nodded, put the arrow drawn back on his bow back into his quiver quickly, and dismounted from his horse. He took one dagger from the side of his quiver out and sliced through the thick ropes around Legolas' wrists.
Legolas turned and nodded gratefully toward the Elf, feeling his own wrists with his hands. It was good to have full motion of his hands and arms again, even if he had been disabled to use them for such a short period of time. He looked about again, his eyes falling of the Elf maiden once again. He did not know her name, maybe he did not wish to know it, but she was almost enchanting in a small way.
The Elves that had been instructed to get rid of the men's weapons returned then, their hands only holding their own bows at this time. They had succeeded in their task, all of the men's swords and weapons were long gone by now. "Haewethion, we are ready to ride out," Vecristion said, motioning to the returning Elves as they mounted their horses once again.
"Indeed, we are" Haewethion stated, he then turned to the leader of the thieves. "You will not move until dawn, you will not try to follow us, and you will not do anything of this sort again." The leader nodded his head, careful not to pierce his own skin with the arrow that was still aimed at his neck. "Good, withdraw your weapons. If they move, do not hesitate to strike them."
All of the Elves nodded and did as instructed; pulling their arrows off of their bows and placing them gently back into the quivers on their backs. Haewethion motioned for Legolas to mount the horse that Vecristion was riding, the two would ride the rest of the way together. He did as Haewethion asked of him to do and swiftly mounted the mighty white horse.
"To Mirkwood!" Mithfennasion called out to the group, pointing forward with his bow. Their was a round of yells of joy from the Elves as they all began raising their bows and starting toward home at a gallop on their horses.