Alasse sprang to her feet the second first light hit the sky. "Come! Wake up, Gimli!" She shouted, shaking his shoulder. "It's morning. We must go!"
"Eh?" Gimli grunted.
"Food is hot, my friend. Better come and get it before it goes cold." Aragorn told the dwarf.
"Ohhh..." Gimli yawned hard.
As soon as they'd eaten the last bite of breakfast, the three riders mounted and once again hit the trail. About mid-morning, they came upon a clearing that had been occupied during the night or at least the day before! A lanky wooden stake lay on the ground. Aragorn cautiously examined it. "This stake was thrust in the ground, then jerked back out, and dragged across the ground." He explained. They noticed a broken rope blowing in the wind, tied to the wood.
"What do you suppose..." Gimli gulped.
"Either they were making an ugly example of one of their own kind..." Aragorn spoke grimly.
"Or torturing Legolas." Alasse finished for him sadly. Aragorn sighed and nodded. Alasse's heart sank as they surveyed the area. "Aragorn! There is blood on the ground! Red blood!" She cried.
"Orcs don't bleed red." Gimli pointed out.
"No, they do not. Which can only mean one thing." Aragorn groaned. Alasse shed silent tears as she hated to imagine what had become of her brother. Was Legolas even alive? What had they done to him? Aragorn rubbed her arm and she leaned her head sadly on his shoulder. He just stood there for a moment, letting her whimper. "We must move on." He said after a few silent moments.
"I found this." Gimli mentioned, holding up a small scrap of green cloth, stripped with blood on it. More tears, of sadness and fiery anger filled Alasse's eyes as she recognized Legolas's traditional green coat. She looked up at Aragorn pleadingly.
"Let's go after him!" He told them.
The afternoon was a repeat of the previous day. But nightfall, they again had to rest. Aragorn and Gimli were trying to eat only to keep their strength up, but Alasse ate nothing. She kept staring down at the scrap of cloth Gimli had found. Her elf ears picked up on approaching footsteps. She jumped to her feet and prepared to fire with Legolas's bow. "Alasse? What has gotten your attention?" Aragorn asked.
"Shhh!" She whispered loudly. "Someone is coming! Very slow, staggering footsteps, as if being dragged across the ground."
"An Orc!" Gimli exclaimed and held his ax up. Aragorn stepped forward between his two friends and drew his sword. They all waited and prepared to kill the beast. The trees moaned to Alasse anxiously and she furrowed her brows.
What? It can't be! She thought. But surely the trees wouldn't lie to her about something like that!
A tall, thin figure appeared out of the shadows, leaning heavily against a tree for support. He slowly made his way to the campfire light. "Isn't that..." Aragorn's eyes widened.
"Sister...I believe that is mine!" The worn elf spoke up tiredly, wearily eying the bow in her hands.
"Legolas!" Alasse's face lit up. She dropped his bow and flew to him, with Gimli and Aragorn in tow. Legolas silently winced hard as she embraced him tightly. Aragorn frowned, knowing his friend was hurt and could barely stand on his own. But Legolas did not push his sister away. He'd thought he'd never see her again!
"I'm...here..." Legolas panted, fighting to remain on his feet.
"Oh, Legolas. Thank the Valar you're alive!" Alasse declared on him with happy tears of incredible joy and relief.
"We'd just about given up hope on ya rejoining us!" Gimli smiled, clapping his shoulder. Legolas flinched painfully.
"You look terrible." Aragorn said. Legolas glanced at him dryly as if to say, I feel terrible.
"How did you escape?" Gimli asked what they all wanted to know.
"Yes." Alasse agreed, as she walked him to the fire. "Almost no one has ever escaped those foul demons...alive!" Legolas gingerly sat down. Alasse noticed his hands were badly scraped open. "Oh, your hands are raw." She said sadly. And in the firelight, they could see that he was very pale, more than usual.
"They're...nothing, after what I've seen them do for sport." Legolas said flatly. Aragorn handed him a tumbler of herbal painkiller medicine. Legolas sighed and took it.
"You're not in good shape, my friend." Aragorn said. "You need tending. Let me have a look." Legolas rolled his eyes but did not protest. He just waved his hand in resignation, too exhausted and battered to argue. He looked so beat. Aragorn first applied some oil to Legolas's hands then wrapped them. "How badly do you feel?" Aragorn asked. Legolas puffed in physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion.
"As if I've been dragged across rocks and under iron boots." Legolas groaned hoarsely.
"You were dragged across rocks and iron boots." Gimli said sarcastically.
"I'm all right, really." Legolas protested weakly. "I just want to sleep."
"First, let me tend your injuries. Then I will let you rest." Aragorn insisted.
Is that the end? Uh, no! We'll have to post the next chapters to find out how he escaped and what he went through!