Thank you for all reviews. This is the second to last chapter.

Chapter Six: The Final Hour

Laerwen sat on the edge of the bed, ignoring the being in her lap for the first time that night. After her mother had left, she felt absolutely ashamed of her actions. Who was she to directly disobey the command of her father and lord? The thought that she had damaged his reputation absolutely horrified her. She never meant to do that; she just wanted to keep Arloth safe.

She once more turned her attention to the small orc, who was happily unaware of the fate awaiting him. The young elf wondered what would happen to him once he was taken away; would someone take him to the borders and leave him there? Perhaps they would be kind enough to leave him near his kin, and not near the spiders. They wouldn't want to put him in any danger, would they...?

The elf remembered her father's look when he first saw her Arloth, and a terrible thought came to her. Certainly her father would not have the small orc put to death, would he? Would he kill him in cold blood? The thought made her shudder. All of them were so biased against orcs, and they would never see it as an evil act. However, Laerwen feared that the Powers across the Sea would, and that they all would be condemned for their evil. She could never let that happen!

She wondered if she should bring up her concerns with her father, but immediately dismissed the idea; he would never see it her way, and she had already caused enough damage in her arguments with him. Nonetheless, she had to do something to prevent her father from damning his soul.

After a moment of deep thought, Laerwen came up with a solution. Rather than hand off Arloth to another, she would take him out herself. It would not take that long; she knew that there was a relatively long distance between the sentries straight north of the halls. Of course the average elf was not privy to sentry details, but she, being the king's daughter, did not have a difficult time finding the information herself. And most elves would not pay attention to a young elf's curiosity. She never thought it would pay off, but was glad that she had listened and asked questions all these years.

With this plan set in her mind, she mapped an escape route in her mind. While Thranduil's halls were underground, many rooms on the side of the hills had windows and balconies. Her room was one of them. Outside of her balcony there was a large tree; she knew from experience that she could climb from her balcony to the ground using this tree. Once she made her way down, she could easily make her way north to the royal family's private gardens, and from there take a little-known exit out of the area that surrounded the king's halls.

However, she would need both hands climbing down the tree; what was she to do with Arloth? Bouncing the baby slightly in her lap, she looked around the room as if hoping it would present her with a solution. Eventually, it did. As she stared at a tapestry across the room, Laerwen came up with an idea. She stood, gently placed the young orc on a cushioned chair, and tore her bedding apart as she took a sheet from its covers. Folding it half, and in half again, she made it small enough so it would tie comfortably around her like a sling. The elf tied off two parts of the folded sheet to make a pouch, slung it around her shoulder, and then tied it so it would be secure to her. After adjusting it a bit, Laerwen was finally satisfied. She gently placed Arloth into the sling, and was happy to note that it did its job well enough. If he did not move around too much, it would work out fine.

"Now, my darling, listen to naneth. I need to take you home and out of danger, so we must leave my home. But you must be silent and still as we do, for otherwise this will not work. Do you understand?"

The orcling looked at her and squealed, reaching for her hair. Taking that as a 'yes', she walked out on her balcony. Once shutting the balcony doors behind her, she took a deep breath, exhaled, and walked towards the large branches that brushed against the balcony. She would get Arloth to safety, or die trying.

-

Aragorn and Legolas, once they had heard that Laerwen was giving up the orc, relaxed quite a bit; the news had taken a load off of their minds. They had headed to Legolas' room some time ago, and now both were deep in their own thoughts. The comfortable silence between the two lasted for a few moments; not even they could say how long. Legolas, however, broke the silence when he abruptly stood up from his bed. Aragorn, who was lounging in a chair, glanced at his friend.

"I should check up on Laerwen. My sister grew quite attached to that beast, and I don't think it will be easy for her to give it up. Maybe I can help her, somehow."

"How?" Aragorn asked, pushing himself up. "I am not sure if vivid stories of your battles would do the trick."

"Don't be ridiculous," Legolas said, rolling his eyes as he opened his door. "I'll just be there to comfort her- you don't have any younger siblings, so I suppose I cannot expect you to understand."

"I am wounded," Aragorn remarked sardonically, following the elf out the door. "You might as well teach me then, O Wise One."

"I shall be happy to," the elf shot back with a smirk. They made their way down a few doors to Laerwen's room, and Legolas knocked on the closed door. "It's Legolas. May I come in?" When there was no answer, Legolas sighed. "Laerwen, I am not here to scold you. Will you at least grace me with a response?" When silence met his inquiry, he rolled his eyes. "I am coming in, then!" With that, he opened the door.

The room was empty. They saw that half of her bed sheet was torn, but that otherwise the room was completely normal. Frowning, they entered the elf maiden's chambers and looked to see if there was anything out of the ordinary, but other than the sheets, all was well.

"Where is she?" Legolas frowned. "We would have heard her in the halls if she had left; that orc is louder than a battle."

"Perhaps..." Aragorn trailed off as he glanced from the bed sheet to the balcony. "She is still young enough to need both hands to climb a tree, yes?"

"Yes, but what-" Legolas cut himself off as he realized what conclusions his friend had made. They both ran to the balcony, looking at the tree accusingly.

"She's gone with that orc!" Legolas cried. "She must have climbed down; but wherever could she have gone?"

"We will not know unless we follow her," Aragorn said, grasping at the overhanging tree branch and pulling himself up on it. "I shall meet you at the bottom; look for any signs of her trail."

Legolas nodded, quickly jumping off the balcony and descending the tree. As the man made his way down a bit more slowly, Legolas looked at the surrounding area for signs of her. When Aragorn reached the bottom, the elf beckoned him over to the north side of the tree.

"I am not as skilled in tracking as you are, Estel, but I believe these are her prints; they are small, and she is not yet old enough to know how to walk with no print."

"I agree," Aragorn said. "Shall we inform your father?"

"Unfortunately there is no time," the elf grimaced. "We do not know where she is going with that creature, and knowing her she is planning something devious. We must hurry and catch up with her; she cannot be too far ahead."

The man nodded in agreement, and without another word they followed her trail north. They came across no one as they tracked her, which was unsurprising; the elfling was trying to avoid detection and sneak with her charge to some unknown destination. Within minutes the two were in the private royal garden that they were in not so long ago.

"Oh no," Legolas muttered as they entered the garden. "I know where she is going."

"Where?" Aragorn frowned as Legolas made his way to the northern end of the garden without bothering to check her trail.

"There is a little known gate here in this garden, hidden by the vines and bushes that surround this area. While it is always locked the key is in the keeping of my family. Laerwen has her own copy, just in case anything ever happened to our home, or to us. That clever, sly child."

They soon found the gate, and also found the gate to be unlocked. "Fortunate for us; my key is in my room," Legolas confessed as they exited. Once they exited the garden, they found themselves to be in a more wild part of Mirkwood. "These parts are not nearly as dangerous as the forests further away from my halls, but the sentries are only a mile north of here. Once Laerwen crosses those bounds- and knowing her, she'll manage to avoid the sentries- she will be in unguarded, unsafe territory. There are many orcs that roam near the northern border, though whether she knew that or not I cannot know."

"Perhaps she did," Aragorn said thoughtfully as they continued to follow her trail, though more slowly now that there were many ways that she could have turned. "Maybe she wants to return the orc to its own people."

"Elbereth save her if she comes across them," Legolas whispered. "That foolish child. We must find her before orcs find her first."