Ok, also for those who have not read the books: Sharku Saruman. Well I suppose you should actually read the chapter now so here you go! BTW elvish translations are at the bottom of the chapter ok.


Chapter 7: Escape?

Many hours had passed and the Moon and had long been up by the time the group of Elves saw the Istar leaving the caves with a large amount of Uruks and Orcs. They were making an extensive amount of noise, considering they were trying to leave in secret. Saruman kept turning his head as though he suspected something was afoot. Suddenly, even though the group was far from the Elves, one of the large Orcs, presumably the chieftain turned his head and started sniffing. Saruman asked it, "What do you smell?"

The Uruk sniffed a few more moments before responding hatefully, "Elves."

Now he started coming closer and closer to where they were hiding and they held their breath. Finally, after standing there for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only a few seconds, he walked back toward the other Orcs. Saruman, seeing he came back with nothing, hissed "Fool! You probably just smelled the Elves from earlier! We do not have time to waste! We must hurry and get to Isengard before Gandalf the Grey arrives! Otherwise he may realize something is stirring. That fool was always more trouble than he was worth. Always prying, he is. I think he may already suspect something; that is why I must eradicate him."

Thranduil and Elrond turned to look at each other fearfully. Now what were they going to do about Gandalf?! They could not be in two places at once, and yet Gandalf was probably already riding towards Isengard. They had not counted on this obstacle; they had enough to do with saving Legolas. The last signs of Saruman and his Orcs had passed, and they were now even out of the earshot of the Elves.

They all silently stood and made for the entrance to the cave. As expected, there were about ten Orcs patrolling the front, which made them wonder how many were guarding Legolas. They all pulled out of their bows and arrows, except for Elrond, and aimed carefully. Then they let loose and saw four Orcs go down. Now the other Orcs were aware but before they could make a sound, the Elves shot more arrows and Elrond let a dagger fly.

The rest of the Orcs went down and they all stepped over them, looking at them in silent disgust. Then they all started moving forward once again, constantly looking around for any Orcs lurking in the shadows. As Elrond passed by the Orcs he pulled his dagger out of one of their throats and wiped the blade on its clothes.

They continued to expect more attacks from within the shadows but none came. This took them by surprise and they began to wonder if they were walking straight into a trap. After a few hours of silence, they came to the concealed door and began to push it open wondering if an army awaited them inside.

They stepped inside and heard many battle cries. Apparently, what was left of the Orcs from before, were still waiting for them. The elves that had bows and arrows began shooting rapidly; taking down Orcs quicker than the eye could see. Elrond was engaged in full battle and began slashing at Orcs.

They had taken down about twenty and now there were only about fifteen left. All the elves were using daggers and swords now, as even the ones with bows had run out of arrows. Finally, they took down the last one and rested for a few moments while checking the extent of their wounds. They had fared well considering they had just taken down about roughly thirty five Orcs.

After making sure none of them were mortally wounded they resumed their search. They went through the door that Legolas had been taken through before and were at once presented with a labyrinth of passage ways. One led to the left, one led to the right, and the last led straight, through a series of winding stairs.

They chose the latter to go through and began at once, stopping in every room along the way. As they passed the room that Legolas had been tortured in, Thranduil stifled a cry as he looked inside. He saw the blood and smelled it even more as soon as he stuck his head inside the room. The light was very dim but he could see the cruel devices they had used on his youngest. He felt as though his heart might break.

Elrond placed his hand firmly on Thranduil's shoulders and led him further on in the passage, and far away from the room. The King kept walking forward as Elrond urged him on, though his usual sense of equanimity was gone. His normally regal and proud shoulders were slumped and he seemed to be in a daze, yet, at the same time, the full impact of everything that was happening was hitting him.

Suddenly and quite abruptly, the tunnel ended. There was a heavy stone door before them. They pushed it open and stepped soundlessly inside. There was no light whatsoever in there, though they could dimly make out the cells that lined the walls on the left and right side. The elves moved forward with Thranduil in the front, and Elrond right behind him. They peered into each cell hoping for some sign of Legolas. Suddenly they became aware of a ragged breathing sound close to them. They moved towards the sound and saw a single isolated cell far in the back corner. Thranduil caught a glimpse of golden hair and immediately ran towards the cell.

"Legolas? To le?"

The figure stirred and looked up. He saw a dark figure standing in front of the cell door and immediately his thoughts went to the wizard. "Saruman, you snake!" he hissed with all the strength he could muster. "My family and friends better still be safe, you coward!" His voice started cracking towards the end and he broke into a coughing fit which hurt with every breath. "No... No, Legolas," Thranduil said painfully as he heard his son raggedly breathing. "It is I. Your father and Brannon Elrond. We are here to get you out of here. Come, where are the keys?"

Legolas stared at his father, at first not believing his eyes. Upon realizing that his eyes were not deceiving him, he said, "They are not here. The Orc, Oknag, had them. I am sorry Father. You should not have come here to help me, you are putting your life in danger!" Legolas began to have an even harder time breathing. Every breath he took was a battle of pain. He heard Elrond ask him something else but he was beginning to lose consciousness with every breath he took in. His head was throbbing and he saw black dots dancing before his eyes. The last thing he heard before he fell into darkness was "We shall have to break the door somehow!"


Thranduil called out "Legolas! Mani Marte?" when he saw Legolas slump forward onto the cold, stone floor. It only took him a second to realize that Legolas had fallen unconscious. Elrond, who had also realized what had happened, merely said, "Good. Now it will be easier to break the door. If he was awake he might have accidentally gotten in the way. Now all we need to do is find some way of prying or breaking this door down. Any ideas?"

Thranduil suddenly thought of the torture room and he remembered seeing a scimitar that looked strong enough to pry the door open. He exclaimed, "Yes! The room that we saw earlier! It had many weapons that looked strong enough to pry the cell door open!" Elrond also remembered this and thought it an excellent idea. They left the other elves to stay with Legolas while they went to the other room.

They quickly headed back to the room in which they had seen the scimitar. They reached the room considerably faster than it had taken them earlier to go from there to the dungeons. When they got there, Thranduil cautiously stepped inside and made for the weapon. He took it and quickly walked back out of the room, trying not to look at all the blood and torture devices.

Elrond and Thranduil headed back for the dungeons with great haste. Within twenty minutes they arrived and hurried over to Legolas. Thranduil then asked one of the elves who had stayed behind with Legolas, "Did he awaken?" The Elf answered, "Nay, though he has been tossing and turning and speaking in his sleep." Thranduil looked inside the cell and indeed Legolas was tossing and turning.

"We must be quick!" Elrond whispered. He stuck the scimitar near the hinges. He and Thranduil began pushing. After about 10 seconds the door gave a loud groan and broke, falling towards the two Elves. They jumped out of the way just as the door landed with a loud crash. Immediately after it hit the ground, Thranduil rushed inside the cell.

Elrond cried, "We must hurry! Someone is sure to have heard that!" Thranduil scooped Legolas up in his arms, trying not to touch any of his wounds, which he found impossible. Legolas immediately began mumbling in his sleep again, clawing at an invisible figure. Thranduil held down his sons hands and kissed him tenderly upon his brow. "Garo bo, ion-nin."

Just as they got to the door, they heard Orcs coming toward them. They slipped behind on of the cells and hid, away from view. No sooner had they done this, than the Orcs came running into the dungeon, arguing loudly.

"Uklug! I know I heard something! Don't call me a liar! You probably couldn't hear it because of that thick skull of yours!"

"I would have heard something Oknag! Besides, if I was you I wouldn't be insulting me unless you feel like dying a very painful death!"

"If that Elf pulled something, I swear I am going to give him a very painful death!"

"Not If I get to him first!"

This arguing went on for quite some time as they moved slowly towards Legolas' cell. Then suddenly what they were arguing about was interrupted by a loud shriek.

"HE'S GONE! Ush bub-gosh ug oish nog gush! Where are the guards?! Ish nob buish drush furg ful drusdul dush!"

"I knew he was going to do something! Sharku should have let me kill him when I had the chance!"

"Sound the alarm! Search everywhere!"

Suddenly a loud Orc horn sounded, reverberating off the walls and creating an echo. More Orc cries sounded back. Both Oknag and Uklug began searching the dungeon. All of a sudden Uklug cried out, "Oknag! It smells like Elf over here!" Oknag came over and together they began advancing on the Elves.

Just as the Orcs were getting close to them, more Orcs burst in, distracting Uklug and Oknag . They both began giving orders, clearly enjoying being in charge.

"We've already searched the dungeon!"

"Maybe if you hadn't been so slow..."

"Search everywhere else!"

"Do you think he could have found the hidden passage out?" asked one of the lesser Orcs.

"Search!"

Finally, the Orcs dispersed and the elves followed silently, hoping to find the way out. In the dim light, the saw a group of about four Orcs go through a concealed door. After waiting about ten minutes to make sure it was safe, the Elves followed. They made sure they could hear the Orcs, while carefully keeping their distance. It was pitch black and they had resolved to keep their hands in front of them, groping to make sure they did not run into the walls. Only Thranduil did not do this, as he had Legolas in his arms, but instead, made sure he was directly behind Elrond.

All of a sudden they heard the Orcs stop walking. "Do we need to go all the way?" complained one of them. "No," said another, "I doubt the elf could have made it even this far. Especially with the poison Sharku gave him."

"Let's just tell Uklug we checked the whole tunnel," a different one said. This was greeted by various acquiescing and soon the elves heard a door opening noisily and being slammed shut.

The group of elves now made great haste forwards in the tunnel, praying it led them out of this endless labyrinth. Finally, after about thirty minutes, it began growing lighter. Soon they were presented with a door, which they pushed open cautiously. As soon as they stepped outside they realized it was early morning and Legolas' eyes fluttered open.


To le—is that you?

Mani marte?—what happened?

Garo bo ion nin—Hold on my son

Ok, my last sentence says Legolas' eyes fluttered open, which obviously means they were shut before. I know, as well as anyone should know had they read the Two Towers, that elves sleep with their eyes open. Well in this case 1: Legolas was unconscious and 2: he has been through a terrible ideal and has now gone into sleeping like a human. Ok? Right..... replies to reviews:

Sabrina: Thanx for the reviews and telling me I had some elvish missing. Which btw is spelled Elvish with a v not an f. Glad you like my story! Sorry about the anonymous review thing I got it fixed I hope! Umm what does 'sil' mean?

Irishancest: Sorry you didn't like the chapter. It is a tragedy really. We Irish people really must stick together! Thanks for the review anyway!

Lady Lenna: Thank you! I am abiding the wishes of your last review: getting him out... hee hee... or am I?

Kimi: Eh heh heh heh.

Dark Angel60: Finishing as quick as I can! Thanks for the review! It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Gilraen3: Thank you for saying you will stick with me to the end. That means a lot to me. It really does. I give you thanks from the bottom of my heart. Hmm, people seem to say I leave cliffies... and I don't know why, LOL!.

MoroTheWolfGod: Short and sweet. I look forward to your reviews, Moro! Thank you for taking the time!

Orlibloomsgirl: Thank you for the compliment! ::blushes:: Please finish your story! I like yours better than mine!