A/N: The idea for this story came to me when I was sitting bored at work just listening to the phones ring as no one picked up. I thought to myself, "What if the reason that Legolas seems so distant in the Fellowship is because he has recently been through a tragedy?" So this is what turned out. Please Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story.

Even the Leaves Fall

Chapter One

The sun shone brightly down through the green leaved boughs of the Elven kingdom of Eryn Lasgalyn giving the day a happy tone, even though something of great sadness had just been discovered beneath the branches of a noble pine tree. This particular tree had become known as the favorite tree of the creature Gollum to climb when his guards allowed him out of the cavern that was his prison amongst the Elves, as requested by Mithrandir. The discoverers of the creature's guards lying cold in death beneath one of their beloved trees were appalled at the sight of death that had come amongst their people who were unfortunately becoming more used to the horror that is dying.

"Run and alert the King," one of the elves whispered harshly as he knelt down next to one of the rapidly stiffening bodies. He reached out a hand to feel the coolness of the skin of the elf in front of him. "Valar help us," he muttered before commanding in a louder voice, "Check the area for any sign of what occurred here. Both the King and Prince will be even more upset if we are unable to tell them any details of what happened."

The three elves with him fanned out to search the area while he took the time to examine the bodies. He took the time to respectfully lay their bodies and limbs straight from the akimbo position they had gained when they fell in death, after moving them carefully out of the pools of blood that had run from their multiple wounds. He took note of their the multiple arrows and slit throats as he listened carefully to the forest around him so as not to be caught off guard by anything. Quickly, he became aware of the pounding of equine hooves as someone approached at what sounded like a break-neck speed. He rose to his feet and turned to see the Crown Prince of Mirkwood, Legolas Greenleaf, riding towards him bare back on his brown horse, a look of worry upon his fair features.

Legolas slowed the horse's pace as he reached his destination and leaped off before it had come to a complete stop, allowing it to stop a few yards away keeping any evidence of events safe from his spoiling. "What have you discovered, Captain Luinaelin?" the Prince's voice came clear and quiet as all emotion drained from his fair features at the recognition of the body of his son Faelion lying dead on the forest floor.

"My scouts are out searching for clues at the moment," the Captain answered promptly. "From what we know right now, it seems they were attacked at some point during the night and now there is no sign of the creature Gollum. It has the appearance to me of a coordinated attack in order to free him from captivity."

Legolas's eyes grew hard at the speculation as he felt in his heart that the captain's guess was true. "The question now is who aided him and where have they taken him now." He then turned his attention to the ground surrounding the pine tree where his sharp eyes caught sight of faint prints that had been over looked by the scouts that had already scoured the area. He looked up, eyes following the almost non-existent trail, quietly commanding, "Stay here and wait to report to the king, I will follow this trail that leads from the tree, most likely left by Gollum as he fled the scene. I will return with my findings." He then took off at a quick pace into the shadows of Mirkwood.

Captain Luinaelin silently sent a prayer to the Valar for his prince before he turned back to examining the scene. His scouts returned to report that there were signs of at least one party of Orcs passing through the area within the hours of the night. The sound of a second horse's hooves came pounding down the path at a more reasonable pace than that set by Legolas. King Thranduil's figure came into view on his pure white horse, his face worried when he saw the scene, especially at the recognition of the identities of the guards lying fallen on the ground. He pulled to a stop in front of the captain of the guards, and dismounted as the captain and the three scouts bowed to him respectfully.

"What have you found?" he asked, voice steady through the sadness that was apparent in his gray eyes.

"We have found signs of an orc partying the area last night and my guess is that last night when the creature Gollum refused to come down out of the tree, they attacked the guards that we posted at the base of the trunk. We found no signs of the creature's passing, but Prince Legolas seemed to find something. He ran off a few minutes ago, instructing us to wait here to report our findings to you, Highness."

Thranduil seemed to withdraw on himself for a moment before answering, "I see. Thank you, Captain. I am sorry for the loss of your men."

The small group of elves jumped at the sound of a branch breaking behind them, and they turned swiftly, all on guard, only to see the calm figure of Legolas standing behind them. King Thranduil raised an eyebrow in skepticism at his son, knowing that his golden haired only son was capable at moving through the forest in complete silence even when moving at a full out sprint.

"I followed Gollum's trail until it meets up with that of the orc party about a mile from here. At that point the trail is about four hours old. It seems to lead towards Dol Goldur," Legolas shared his findings with the others in a voice devoid of any audible emotion before turning to the Captain. "You may want to sent a group of trackers to follow the trail of the orcs to make sure that it where they were headed." His attention then turned to his father, whom he formally greeted with a bow, placing his hand over his heart in a sign of fealty and respect. "I will fulfill my duty to the crown by carrying this news to Elrond at Rivendell for you my king. When would you like me to leave?"

"We will speak of this on our way back to the palace my son," the king said in a soft voice to his son before turning to the Captain and the three scouts commanding in the same tone and volume of voice, "Please Captain Luinaelin, if you could bring the bodies back with you before sending out trackers to follow the trail of the orcs. I will await your report after their return." He then moved to his horse and mounted, leading his son slowly back down the trail they had so quickly rode down only a little bit earlier.

The two elves were silent for a few moments before Thranduil broke the silence, carefully asking, "Why are you in such a rush to leave us, my child? Surely you do not need to be the one to carry the message of Gollum's escape to Rivendell, and if you do insist on being the messenger, you can at least wait until your son has had a proper funeral."

"It has been my duty for many years to be the diplomat for Eryn Lasgalyn to the other elven kingdoms and it is not a task that I take lightly, Adar," Legolas answered, his musical voice remaining emotionless, "I fear that this attack on our home is just an omen of dark days that are to come for not only our people, but all those in Arda. I believe that the sooner we take news to both Elrond and Mithrandir, the sooner we can prepare for what is to come."

The golden haired king was silent for several moments, thinking over the reasoning of his son, before coming to the same conclusions that were logically presented to him. "You are correct, my son, but I cannot allow you to leave before morning. Also I believe that your wife's opinion should weigh in your decision of leaving. It is not fair of you to leave her alone with her grief."

"I will consult with her when we return to the palace, Adar," the prince returned without sounding as if he doubted that his wife, Inwë, would object to his leaving. "I will prepare to leave at dawn."

A/N: Alright, so how is it? Please let me know what you think of it, any criticism is much appreciated. If you would like me to continue the story, please let me know! Thanks for reading 