The Purging of Mirkwood
The dark lord had been defeated and life in Mirkwood was… dead dull. Samson sighed. Sure there were goblins in Mirkwood… but never on this watch. He had been assigned to take the young hunters out for there first watch. Boooorrring. They were all whimpering with fear in their tree and shushing each other hastily. It's really quite irritating. He thought to himself. He was just thinking about how the brat princeling would like to do this job and realizing that he was still only sixteen, when he heard a noise. The teenage hunters went silent.
He looked over the hill and to his astonishment saw a battalion of goblins. Why me? He cried out silently. He motioned to the young hunters to fire at will. Even though they were shaking so hard they could barely aim, they were doing quite well. But then the goblins brought fire.
The trees caught as quickly as dry firewood. He heard screams from the other tree. He leapt over just as his own tree fell. He ran over to a young elf lying on the platform. That one was dead. He whirled around to find one trapped behind a wall of flame. There was no helping him. Another had fallen to the ground, neck broken. Samson ran to the other side of the platform to find one that was perfectly alive, clutching at the tree. Samson gently picked up the frightened elfling in his arms, and found himself idly wondering who it was. He would know later. Dropping from the tree, he slew what goblins were in his path, feeling guilty he could not save the rest of the young warriors.
He was able to sneak into the bushes and run toward the palace. He was badly wounded, but he had to warn the king! He also was worried about the elfling he held, who had lost conscience. He stroked the shining hair of the child. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but he could not place it. His collar had fallen down slightly, and Samson saw something that almost made him fall over in shock. The elfling had the mark of the royal family! That could mean one thing, and one thing only. The child he held was Legolas Thranduillion, son of the king and heir to the throne of The Greenwood. Valar be with him.