Chapter 3

A Message to the Elven King

"Poor Thranduil. His most beloved and youngest son dead in his arms, without a head, without a tongue, what shall he do?" the leader mocks, letting go of Legolas's chin and roughly forces his jaw open. "Give me the draught," he says, holding a hand out and an orc hands him a small, leather bottle. He opens it and shoves it against the elf's mouth, tipping it downwards.

Legolas bites his hand, closing his mouth so the draught won't go in, but a bit of the hot liquid makes it in. His lips burn. The Uruk Hai grabs his hair and slams the front of his head into the pole; then pulls him back.

He forces more of the draught down the elf's throat until the latter chokes violently. Red liquid from Legolas's mouth mingled with saliva drips on the floor. Suddenly, his aching limbs burn like his throat and he feels enough energy to move, perhaps even enough to run.

The Uruk Hai hands the bottle back to the orc. "Untie his bonds from the pole, but keep his hands tied. I need him to make it back to camp alive," he orders.

Upon the emphasis 'alive', the two subordinates did as instructed and soon the elf is on his feet, still bound. The orcs know the routine on escorting captives and one picks up the whip that had been on the floor. With a crack the march back to the camp begins.

Legolas bides his time as they depart, blue eyes scanning the nearby forest for the opportune moment to bolt. However, his driver is quite alert and the cruel thongs of the whip almost constantly find their way into his back, arms, and legs.

The other foul creatures march in a tight circle around the elf, leaving him no way of escape. If only Gimli had been with him he would have had aid. Gimli…where was he? Legolas can only hope nothing ill has befallen his friend.


"Well? What can you make of it?" Gimli inquires, stooping over the human king. Aragorn is hunched over the dead orc, observing the wound while holding the arrow that had pierced the being's throat.

"Indeed, t'was Legolas who killed it, yet there is something about the entire layout I cannot make out."

"What?"

"There is a net with a red, blood stained rock beneath it, meaning most likely Legolas had stepped into a trap. On the other hand, there is elf blood in the bushes that seemed to have accumulated, meaning he could have been caught there as well.

"Another thing is that Legolas's blood is in a trail leading away from here. Either he came from there or he was injured here and left. The latter is highly probable. Let us follow the trail."

"Curse you! Then why are we waiting here?" Gimli mutters, picking up his ax and following the human.


"Curse you elf!" the driver lashes Legolas for the twenty-fifth time after the latter having attempted another escape. Now they have him the camp, away from the fire, on the leafy ground.

"Enough! I am the great Ugulk! I will do it," the leader growls and shoves the puny orc out of the way. "You are a hard one to break," he says, drawing a knife from his belt, "but I will make you scream."

Legolas struggles as his mouth is forced open again, and a laceration is made in the roof of his mouth. No sounds. "Curse the elf," Ugulk mutters, kicking his side and stalking back to the fire. "You! Don't even think about trying to escape, unless you want to end up like him!"

A gasp comes from next to Legolas. The elf turns his head and the shape of a child bound the same way, also on his back. He is not a young one. "Sam?" Legolas chokes, putting his hands against his mouth as blood pours forth.

"Legolas?" the hobbit exclaims, "Oh, my dear Gaffer! What happened to you?"

The elf shakes his head. "Oh, I better take a look at your mouth there. I don't want you no bleeding to death, Mr. Legolas. Pardon me if I hurt you." Sam gently takes the elf's hands off his mouth, his hands being tied in front of him. He rips off a bit of his waistcoat off and presses it to the laceration. Legolas winces from the pain.

"Oh, if only Mr. Aragorn was here, he could help you," Sam says, glancing around panicky.

"Hey!" an orc's voice makes Sam start and he sees a small one approaching.

"So Ugulk survived after all," the hobbit mutters through gritted teeth.

The orc grabs Sam's curly hair and drags him away from Legolas. "Get away from him, you Halfling!"

"Let him go!" Legolas manages to choke out, the cloth having fallen out of his mouth.

"You let go of me! I'll help if it's the last thing I do!" Sam yells, tearing away from the orc and running back.

"Run, Samwise! Get Agragorn!" Legolas shouts and the hobbit takes off into the gloom with a group of orcs in pursuit.

"Get him! He's the one to hang in front of the gate!" Ugulk screeches, cursing loudly. Sam is the message.