Thanks to everyone who commented and read the first chapter! It means a lot! Anyway, I was in a writing frenzy today and also published a new Lord of the Rings story (also about Legolas) so if you haven't, you should go check it out!

This one shot takes place when Legolas was a "teen" in the eyes of his people. Also, if you see a the name of a character you don't recognise, that's because I created them.

Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR

Chapter 2

Mirkwood's youngest prince was currently in the woods, hunting. Since he was still young (in the eyes of an elf, a teenager), his father, King Thranduil, wouldn't allow him to go alone. At first Legolas was angry, insisting that he could take care of himself, but he finally gave it. He didn't really blame his father. The spiders hidden in these woods proved dangerous. It was best to never go alone unless you were experienced. Because Legolas was still so young, he did not yet have that experience.

The prince was sure the short trip would be fun though. He was with his second oldest brother, Tanithil, who happened to be his favorite brother. Just like their father, he also had fair blonde hair and deep blue eyes. While Legolas wasn't completely keen on taking the life of an innocent animal, there were always people who could use the food from it, and hunting improved his hunting skills better than any still target could. Though he was indeed young, Legolas proved himself to be on of the best archers Mirkwood had to offer.

"Do you see or hear anything yet?" Legolas asked his brother. Tanithil shook his head.

"Not yet. The forest seems pretty quiet."

Legolas wasn't sure what to think of that. The forest was usually so full of life, not quiet like it was now. His brother nodded as though he knew what he was thinking. "The silence is eerie."

The two brothers continued walking through the deep forest, until they both heard something. Legolas stopped walking. "Hear that? I'm not sure, but it sounds like a deer to me."

Tanithil nodded. "Aye. We should hide. If it sees us with our bows, it will run away." The two wood elves each climbed into a tree silently, waiting for the deer to come out. They both held their bows ready, an arrow loaded in each. When it finally came out, Legolas made a clear, clean shot through it's eye, and the deer fell over, dead. Both princes hopped down from the trees they were in and looked at their kill.

"Not bad," Tanithil said, grinning at Legolas. "Though of course, I could have hit it sooner. Legolas gave his brother a playful shove.

"No way. I did it faster than you ever could have." They each laughed before walking over to the deer. Tanithil kneeled down by it, while Legolas turned around. Tanithil looked at his brother.

"What is it?" he asked. Legolas was silent for a moment before shaking his head and turning back around.

"Probably nothing. I just thought I heard something."

"Maybe it's another deer," the elder prince suggested. Legolas shook his head.

"It didn't sound like a deer. It-" he shook his head again. "Nevermind."

A few seconds later, there was a rustling noise that came from a large tree. The brothers both looked up. "You heard it too, right?" Legolas asked. The other elf nodded.

"Can you see what it is?" Legolas peered up into the tree, but there were so many leaves that he couldn't see much.

"No," he replied. "But I'll see what it is." He slung his bow over his shoulder, then began to climb the tree. Tanithil looked up at his younger brother in disbelief.

"What are you doing? Whatever it is, it could be dangerous."

"Or it could be a squirrel."

"Aye, but an elf- eating squirrel perhaps."

Legolas smirked at his brother's comment. "If it is, I'll kill it before it can do any damage," he retorted. Once his brother was up the tree, Tanithil heard a shriek as Legolas fell to the ground with a large thud. He immediately ran over to the now stunned elf. He had fallen about 14 feet, so Tanithil hoped he was okay.

"Legolas! Legolas can you hear me?" he asked as he helped him into a sitting position.

"Y-yes.. I am fine tÔr," he replied. A worried expression came to the older brother's face. Legolas' words were slightly slurred.

"How badly did you hit your head in the fall? How many fingers am I holding up?"

Legolas looked at his brother's hand. He started swaying, dizzy. "Seven?" he replied. Tanithil groaned. He had only been holding up two fingers. He looked into his brother's eyes, which were slightly dilated.

"You have a concussion Legolas. We should just leave the deer and get you back to the palace before your condition worsens." Realising that he was swaying, Tanithil helped Legolas lean against the trunk of the tree to keep him steady. He must

had hit his head hard in the fall. The young elf's eyes began to close before Tanithil gently shook him. "You must stay awake. Come, stand up. Do you think you can walk? It's not too far."

Before Legolas could answer, the thing that had been in the tree jumped out and crawled to where the young elf was. Tanithil had been so worried about his brother, that'd he'd forgotten about the things that made him fall out of the tree in the first place. Forgetting about Legolas, Tanithil picked his bow up and aimed it at the creature. He was unhappy to find that it was a giant spider, just one of the many that lived in Mirkwood. Tanithil shot an arrow at it, but it only hit one of the spider's legs.

"Rhaich!" he shouted. "Curses!" He had been slightly distracted and missed the shot. As he reached for another arrow, the spider hissed and crawled to Legolas before biting him. Tanithil's eyes widened as he realised what had just happened. He had been too slow and the vile creature bit his brother. As it did so, Legolas let out a whimper before going unconscious. Tanithil shot another arrow at the spider, this time killing it. He then ran over to the younger elf, shaking him gently again. "Legolas, you have to wake up. Come on, please tÔr.." No response.

Tanithil picked his younger brother up, carrying him back to the palace. He hoped his brother would be fine.. He had a fairly steady heartbeat, but the poison from the spider bite was slowing it down ever so slightly. Tanithil blamed himself.. If he had been more alert.. If he hadn't been so slow.. Any capable archer should have killed that spider easily.. He felt like such a failure.. And if Legolas ended up worse than simply injured.. Tanithil would never forgive himself. He shook that thought out of his head though. He would not let Legolas die.

The spiderbite alone would have been easy to treat if treated soon enough, but Legolas' head concussion certainly wasn't helping matters. After what seemed like forever, but was really only minutes, they arrived at the palace. Ignoring any questions asked by the guards, Tanithil quickly went up to the healer's ward, Legolas still in his arms.

The healers gasped when they saw their youngest prince. "Oh, what happened?" one of the younger healers asked. She quickly helped Tanithil put Legolas on a bed. He then explained to her what happened. The healer sighed. "Only Prince Legolas.. Don't worry though, you got here in enough time that he should be fine.."

Tanithil breathed a sigh of relief, then waited as the healer tended to his brother's wounds. He was glad the young elf would be fine.. He just wasn't sure if he'd be able to get rid of the guilt he felt. He should have stopped this from happening.. That's why Thranduil wanted someone to go with Legolas in the first place, so nothing like this would happen. He just hoped that Legolas would be able to forgive him when he woke up..

End

Welp, there's chapter two. I had fun writing this one. I wasn't expecting to get this chapter out so soon, but I just couldn't keep myself from writing. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it! Poor Tanithil though.. He feels really bad for what happened to his lil bro.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment! It would mean so much to me if you did :)

Until next time!