What Used To Be

Disclaimer: Well we all know who I do and don't own by now I'm sure

Yup I told you AU would stand for something completely obvious but I got one word right at least! Thanks to everyone who told me!

FemaleSpock: Yeah I guess it is out of character but I couldn't resist. Besides, I needed a title :)

Nosterineth: Did you know that laughing for 15 minutes is the same as cycling for 15 minutes? Laughing is good :)

Crazy1: Thank you so much for you your review it so nice to know you're out there! So many people told me they found that chapter really sad too :)

Chapter 9

Legolas looked at the group of men standing before him and tried to think up something useful to answer. His mind drew a blank except to think - how in Arda had everything gone wrong so quickly?

"I said," The man who had first spoken said, stepping forward threateningly, "Who - are - you?"

Should I tell them my real name or not? Legolas wondered. Finally deciding that it wouldn't make any difference either way, as it was extremely unlikely they knew who he was, he replied, "I am Legolas, of the Woodland realm."

The man smirked. "Are you, now?"

"What's all this about?" Demanded a voice Legolas could recognise all too well. The Captain.

Immediately, three men stepped forward and grabbed Legolas, not that he was about to go anywhere.

"Intruder, sir."

"I can see that." The Captain snapped. Then he looked at Legolas and smirked. "An Elf no less."

"Says 'is name's Legolas, sir."

The Captain paused. An icy weight settled in Legolas's stomach. Just what did this man know about him?

"Legolas, you say?"

"Of the Woodland realm, sir."

"I see." The Captain looked Legolas up and down evilly. Legolas had a very bad feeling about all of this. "There is only one place I've heard the name Legolas before, and that is the story of the War of the Ring. Coincidence, isn't it?" Now he approached the Elf carefully. He circled him slowly finally ending a breath away from his ear. Legolas tensed, held his breath, but refused to move despite wanting to pull away. The Captain then whispered into Legolas's ear, "Come to rescue the brat, have you?"

His breath against Legolas's bare skin tickled and pungent, vaguely alcoholic smell drifted away from the man. Legolas felt more than sick, and could take it no longer. He tried pulling away from the man - all this got him was a punch in the side of the face.

"Don't pull away from me." The Captain hissed. "Answer me!"

"No," Legolas improvised. "I haven't come to rescue the brat. Despite what it may seem, I hate him. Hate Aragorn. Surely you know that I haven't spoken to that man in seventeen years?"

The Captain regarded Legolas carefully. "What are you doing here, then?"

"I saw you taking Eldarion into the cave." Legolas replied truthfully.

"Continue."

"I...wanted to have a part in what you were doing. To...pay Aragorn back." Legolas hoped he would be forgiven for the lies he was telling.

"Why would you do that?"

This was his chance...the one that would decide what they were going to do to him. This was the point where he spilled the truth.

"After Aragorn's coronation," he began quietly. "I went travelling for a while. When I came back...everything had changed. The friend I knew had gone to be replaced by...by a King." Legolas gazed at one spot on the wall, looking at nobody. None of them realised how hard this was for him. "I didn't know him anymore, he was a different person. I tried to understand, but I could hear the sea calling. To stay here with someone who didn't acknowledge me anymore was a kind of torture I'd never been through before. So I left."

"And now you've come to seek revenge by hurting his son." The Captain said with a smirk. "The brat certainly deserves it."

"Yes."

"Do you want to know why I'm doing this?" The Captain demanded. Without waiting he continued anyway. "I had a wife once. A wife, Falas, and two children. My daughter, Serindë , and my son, Tathar. Happy family, we were. Lived in a little village in Gondor. Not much money. Enough to get by on."

Legolas waited, a feeling of dread in his stomach now. He remembered what he had heard earlier.

Shoulda heard my Falas scream, you should have. Trapped, she was.

"There had been orc attacks on nearby villages, and we wrote to the King. Asked for help. Weren't many of us, not enough for a whole orc attack. Defence was all we wanted. Never came, not in time anyway. The orcs attacked. I was at the inn when it happened and I got out fine. So did they." He motioned to the men around him. "Went round to our houses, tried to get our family. The orcs were setting the houses alight, and I ran inside, tried to get to them in time. Falas begged me to get the children out first, none of them could walk. So I took Serindë and Tathar out. But I couldn't get back into Falas. I stood outside and listened to my wife's dying screams - think there was an orc in there with her."

He glared at Legolas dangerously and continued. "Orcs took my little girl and Tather died in my arms later. Too much smoke. I lost my entire family. So did most of them." His eyes glinted menacingly. "You know why they didn't send help right away?" The Captain jerked his head in the direction of Dari's cell. "It was that brats first birthday and everyone had to be in the city for the celebrations."

There was silence as everyone digested this. Legolas felt...sympathy when he looked at the men now.

But it still didn't excuse kidnapping Dari.

"That's...terrible. I'm sorry." Legolas said genuinely.

The Captain stepped away from the Elf. "We exiled ourselves. Ever since, we have seeked retribution for our lost family. Now's our chance and no-one is going to mess it up." He looked at the men who were still holding Legolas. "Take him to the cell." Then, looking Legolas straight in the eye he said, "It's just a shame I knew what the King was here for, isn't it?" With that, he stalked away.

"Sir, the attackers..." Called one brave man.

The Captain gave the man a scathing look. "Did you really think we were being attacked? It was this Elf. Now take him to the cell."

Dari stared up at Legolas fearfully as he was thrown into the cell. Legolas's weapons had been taken away from him and he felt extremely bare without them. Still, he mustered up a small smile for Dari as he seated himself next to the teenager.

Dari moved slowly and painfully away from the Elf.

"Dari, it's me. Legolas." Legolas said in surprise. "I won't hurt you. I'm trying to rescue you." Legolas was also a bit put out that his story hadn't been believed. For a moment there he'd thought he was getting away with it.

"But you- what you said out there wasn't true?"

"No, of course not." Legolas replied in surprise. He hadn't known he was such a good liar. "That was just to try and get us both out of here alive."

Dari studied Legolas, and then nodded to himself. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving you." Legolas replied as cheerfully as he could.
Eldarion looked at Legolas scathingly. "It doesn't look like it." He informed the Elf.

"That was the plan." Legolas smiled a little. "It went a bit wrong." Then he looked around the cell from where he was sitting. "I'll get us out though. I'll think of something, Dari."

The cell was dark, with a single source of light from a lantern sitting in a groove in the wall. The were no windows, and there was only a narrow slit in which to come out, but there was a clearly handmade, thick wooden door placed there temporarily. It didn't look promising.

"Let me see what they did to you." Legolas requested a few moments later. "There's not much I can do, especially since I'm not a healer but I'll do what I can."

Legolas moved closer to Eldarion and carefully inspected the wounds on the boy's back. They weren't nice - the whip the Captain used must of been awful. They criss-crossed all over Dari's back, and sides. Legolas counted about twelve of them. Blood was running down most of them and only two or three had even began healing. Legolas traced his finger lightly over one of the more healed wounds, but pulled away quickly when Dari moaned and winced.

"I'm sorry." Legolas said. Dari's shirt was in tatters, but the Elf pulled of his own tunic and shirt readily. He used his shirt to form an awkward bandage over the majority of the cuts and slipped the tunic on over the boy.

"But you need it." Dari protested feebly to this.

"But you need it more." Legolas replied firmly.

The two sat in relative silence for a few minutes after that. Neither of them really knew what to say.

"You know Gimli." Dari ventured finally. He had never really got much of a chance to talk to the Elf in their few days visit, so he saw this as his chance to find out all about him.

"Yes. He's a good friend."

"He's a Dwarf, though."

"What of it?" Legolas asked in surprise.

"Well, you're an Elf."

"Yes, I know."

Eldarion glared at Legolas. "Do you always talk like this?"

"Like what?"

Eldarion sighed and tried a knew subject. "You live in Mirkwood."

"I prefer Eryn Lasgalen. Or Greenwood, actually." Legolas smiled at the boy.

"What's it like there?"

Legolas carried on smiling at the boy. "When we get out of here, I'll take you there and you can see for yourself." He promised.

Eldarion looked at Legolas sharply. "What if we don't get out?"

"We will." Legolas said firmly, jumping up and moving over to the door. He began inspecting it but he could see that it was impossible to get through that way. Therefore he walked over to scan the walls, tapping them to see if they were hollow, if there were any cracks at all that might help them. He did this all the way around the small room. After he was done he went to sit back down next to Dari. There was nothing. Nothing at all.

Why hadn't he been more careful? Why had he got himself caught? Now look at the mess they were in.

Maybe Aragorn would come in time. Somehow, he doubted it.

"What are you going to do?" Dari asked unhelpfully.

"Get some sleep." Legolas suggested. "When we leave, we'll be travelling for a while so you'll need it."

Eldarion nodded. He didn't look as if he had much faith in the Elf as he drifted off. Legolas couldn't feel offended though, because he didn't have any faith in himself to get them out of here at this point.

For the next couple of hours he waited, occasionally getting up to look at the door or the walls, but mostly just watching Dari sleep. He's an awful lot like his father, Legolas thought to himself. After some time the lantern went out, leaving them in darkness, which made Legolas feel even more worried and, though he hated to admit it, vulnerable and scared.

They must of been sitting there together for nearly three hours when finally they heard something on the other side of the door. Eldarion woke up and looked at the door nervously as they waited for whoever was on the other side to open the door and come in.

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