Chapter twelve – locked in the darkness

Legolas felt as though he had been trampled by an Oliphant while being shredded into pieces and then only slept for about five minutes when he was woken by the sound of someone once more trying to take the door to their cell off its hinges. It was weird really how these people seemed bent on destroying the very thing that kept them in their prison.

It was first when Left and Right stormed into the room – as they so liked to do – and hauled him up from the floor that he realized the situation. His vision wavered dangerously and he felt nauseous from the pain emanating from the lashes over the width of his back. It was a while before he was able to force himself to look away from the pain as best he could and focus on the situation.

The first thing he noticed was the amount of blood on the floor where he had been lying. That was no doubt the reason for his weakness and dizziness. Next he looked over to the bed and saw Elladan watching him fearfully and guiltily without doing anything to protest as the two 'punishers' started to drag him out of the room.

Legolas' mind cleared enough to give Elladan a small smile, to show that he was forgiven, before the door was shut in front of him once more and Left was locking it.

"What do you want?" Legolas asked, his voice finally coming back to him. He had refrained from voicing anything until he knew that he would be able to do it without even his voice sounding weak.

"Lord Armand wants to speak with you." Left answered, surprisingly enough standing on his right side. Odd. Not that they knew the names he had given them so they could act accordingly.

Armand? What did he want with him?

He was dragged outside of the slave quarters, over the courtyard where he had been whipped just… he looked towards the sky, five hours ago. It was still night and he was beginning to wonder if this plan of Turner's also involved not allowing him to sleep or rest. It probably did… Then they led him into the main house.

It was a richly decorated house, for a human. They walked into a dining hall first and thereafter the house was sectioned in rooms, no doubt to fit all the 'lords' that lived there. If he guessed correctly then Turner's apartment was located on the entire right side of the house, beside the dining hall.

He was dragged down the corridor to the left until they arrived at a wooden door. Right knocked on it surface while Left just looked at it apprehensively.

"Enter." Came the deep voice of Armand from inside.

They took hold of his arms and hauled him into the room and further into the sitting room where Armand was sitting with a glass of wine in his hand, his dark eyes already locked on his. Armand put the glass down and gestured for the directions to leave them, which they did after an inclination of the head.

Once they were out Armand leaned forward and rested his chin on his joined hands as he stared openly at him.

"Curious." He muttered, "Very curious indeed."

Legolas fought the urge to roll his eyes and settled for calling Armand a deranged lunatic inside his head. Like he had any idea what he was talking about and why he was staring so intently.

None of his inner dialogue showed inside his crystalized, now cerulean, blue eyes as he held Armand's gaze evenly. Despite the fact that his body was trembling with the strain of standing and that his back looked like a bloody massacre, his eyes were solid, unreachable and unreadable, especially to human eyes.

"What happened today down in the field?" Armand asked.

Legolas' expression showed none of his temporary panic at this question. "I do not know what you're talking about. Could you be a little more precise? It seems all I remember is hauling rocks down to a wall." He answered calmly.

Armand's eyes took a curious expression. "I have something strange about you since I first saw you." He stood up from his chair and slowly circled him. Legolas didn't even bother following him with his eyes. "Something I cannot understand at this moment; something that made you different from the other two elves, stronger somehow. Then you suddenly collapse at the same time as the heavens start rumbling, like some foul being was disturbing its peace. What do you want me to make of it?" Armand was once again standing before him.

Legolas mused for a second over the difference in their skin tones before forcing his muddled mind back on track.

"The heavens start rumbling? What are you? Some kind of physic?" Legolas asked, once more evading the questions with some of his own.

Armand stared at him evenly. Legolas could see the growing frustration in the dark man's eyes. "I will have my answers." Armand said, "Sooner or later once Captain Turner has broken you, you will tell me everything I want to know."

"Why does it interest you?" Legolas shot back, "I have better things to do than satisfy your curiosity."

"You are a demon, medium to the dark spirits of this world." Armand said in his rich, chanting voice, "I can sense something about you… something powerful. If my theory is indeed correct then it is my job to exterminate you, but I would never kill an innocent man."

Legolas' eyebrow twitched slightly in amusement. He thought he was a demon? What would he do? Curse him?

"I am no demon." Legolas answered.

"Then what happened?" Armand pressed.

"Classified information that involves none but the Kingdom of Mirkwood and my father." Legolas, "You will not gain answers to your questions human, but I am no demon."

Armand's eyes narrowed, "We shall see. Guards!"

Left and Right came back into the room and immediately grabbed Legolas' arms. Legolas didn't struggle; in fact he leaned slightly against their grips. His back was throbbing with each beat of his heart and the moving about was not helping him. For it to heal he needed sleep and lots of it.

"Take him to Captain Turner." Armand commanded before turning around and moving back to his seat.

Legolas didn't bother protesting or struggling as they dragged him to Captain Turner; he was barely keeping his feet under him. The attack had been directed at him personally from Dol Guldur and had sapped so much of his strength that he had barely been aware when they had whipped him.

The shields around his mind had made the attack easier to resist so he had successfully been able to push the presence away, but it had still left him with a mind-shattering headache. He could still feel it actually; his back was just overshadowing it in terms of pain.

They arrived at a door and Left took his hand off his arm to knock on it. Turner's voice granted them permission to enter, so he pushed the door up and Legolas soon found himself in the middle of an office. Turner was sitting behind the desk, reading an old book, it was first a minute after they had entered that he looked up and smiled.

Captain Turner set the book down on his desk and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk and resting his chin on his hands.

"You look a bit pale." He said grinning, "Feels bad to have your friends betray you like that, doesn't it? Hurts more than a whiplash to the back, being betrayed by some who had the opportunity of offering you protection."

"He did not betray me." Legolas answered calmly. "I would never ask him to choose me over his own twin. You should not have spoken to him."

Turner slowly stood up and walked over to him while saying, "But now I don't have to worry about him protesting every time I separate you, and even you have to admit that is so much easier." He walked around Legolas so he could study his back.

There were twenty-three whip marks reaching over the length of his back, some of them crisscrossing. After being allowed to bleed freely, some of his back was covered in blood and some of it had even soaked his long silver-white hair.

Turner clicked his tongue almost regretfully, but Legolas knew that it was no more than an act. He jerked forward and bit his lower lip as the Captain reached out and ran his hand down the length of his back, followed by brushing his hair slightly aside.

"Well we can't have this now, can we?" Turner said and Legolas heard him unsheathe his knife. "Your hair is touching the wounds. Get him on his knees."

It took a minimal amount of strength for Left and Right to force him to his knees. Legolas immediately felt Turner take hold of his hair and closed his eyes, promising himself that it didn't matter. When Turner cut the first lock off Legolas felt temporary embarrassment but then buried the feeling and turned his eyes into steel. If Turner thought that this was enough to affect him then he would be made wrong.

Lock by lock Legolas saw his hair fall down onto the ground. He could feel that it was being cut so it could only just rest on the tips of his shoulders.

"So tell me. How much older are you than them to make you want to protect them so much." Turner asked as he began undoing the braids in his hair.

Legolas felt like an angry beast being contained only by the calm demeanor he had to put forth, as the man ran his filthy hands through his hair almost like a caress his wife would do. His now released hair swung forward and framed his face as well, longer than the rest because it hadn't been cut yet.

Turner walked forward and made short business in shortening those locks as well. Once he had he reached out to brush Legolas' hair behind his pointed ears but Legolas jerked back, baring his teeth in warning.

His eyes cut into Turner's as he answered his question, "I'm not."

Turner's eyebrows raised in surprise, it was clear that he had estimated him as being older than the twins, perhaps even a lot older. There were many who commented on that when he was together with the twins, especially when they had been younger.

Turner burst out laughing, and reached out boldly to entangle his hands into Legolas' shortened hair on both sides. He did it so quickly that Legolas didn't have the time to jerk his head far enough away. Legolas struggled to get away from his hands but one of the directions slapped him over the back, causing him to momentarily freeze in pain and screw his eyes shut. He could feel Turner's hand brushing his hair behind his ears and caressing his cheeks, it revolted him.

With a snarl Legolas forced his arms out of their grips and tightened them around Turner's neck. Turner's eyes widened and his hands jerked up to Legolas as he attempted to claw away what was hindering the air from reaching his lungs.

Abruptly Legolas felt something slam into his back and force him to let go of his grip and fall to the floor. Pain blast out in his back and blackened his vision, a groan left his lips before he could do anything to stop it.

Through the mind-numbing pain he was able to hear Turner coughing and gasping. "Oh God he's strong… Do you have him?"

"Yes." They answered.

"Are you sure?" Turner asked, clearly angered over the fact that they had allowed him to get out of their grips in the first place.

As the two of them got off him and pulled him up from the floor, Legolas' shortened hair cascaded in front of his face and blocked view of his closed eyes.

Turner reached forward and twisted one of his hands into Legolas' hair to pull it away from his face. Legolas opened his eyes just as the Captain slapped him over the cheek. He let go of his hair once more and let it fall down in front of his eyes. Legolas immediately shook his head and glared at the man.

Turner's eyes had turned cold with hatred and Legolas knew that his actions had seriously angered him. Without a word Turner turned around and walked back to the desk, letting his finger trail over the leader cover of the book he had been reading.

"It's extraordinary how deep my father's hatred for your kind was." Turner said slowly, "Even in his diary he discussed the best ways to toture you for the pain you had caused him. I found one entry interesting to start with. It says that elves live in coexistence with nature and to take them away from that would them more than humans could even try to perceive. Leaving them in complete darkness."

Legolas felt himself grow cold at those words. He wasn't weak, he knew that he could handle being left in the dark, but with his memories it wouldn't be pleasant…

Turner looked up at Left and Right and said, "Get him up. I prepared a room in the basement."

Legolas was immediately hauled to his feet and the two of them resumed their positions with their hands restraining his arms. They followed Turner's lead out the door and down the corridor.

Each step Legolas took was harder than the next. He knew what he was walking towards and he couldn't do anything to stop the panic from welling up inside his chest. The forest of Mirkwood was dark yes, but he never lost sight of the stars. The only times he had been in complete darkness were not happy or joyful memories, they were full of pain and suffering.

They reached a narrow wooden staircase, which led them down into the dark basement. There was a dim light from a lantern, but other than that no light lit up the dark and dank space.

Turner led them towards the door in the far side of the room; it was solid with a heavy lock he knew would trap him inside the room once locked. More panic welled up inside his chest at the mere thought of this cage, nonetheless he kept it restrained inside himself just as his countless other emotions, letting his face fall into an expressionless mask. He would not let them have the pleasure of seeing him weak.

Once they were before the door Turner pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Then he pulled open the door to reveal the room inside. The faint light in the basement enabled him to see that the room was small and empty. He doubted he would be able to lie outstretched inside it.

Turner stepped aside and cleared his pathway to the door, motioning for Left and Right to drag him towards the room. They started moving so Legolas could do nothing but follow, panic and claustrophobia squeezing inside his chest despite the clear calmness in his eyes.

He knew that he could not escape now, no matter what he did there was no way for him to escape alive and with the twins at this moment. Therefore he couldn't escape going into this dark room either. Fighting fruitlessly wouldn't accomplish anything more than to amuse his captors and show his weakness, so he would enter the room now with the dignity expected of the Crown Prince of Mirkwood, despite the feelings in his heart.

A hard shove in the back sent Legolas crashing into the room and onto the floor. Before even having time to realize what was going to happen and take in the last rays of light, the door was slammed shut and the lock turned.

Legolas' breathing immediately speed up and he spread out his arms and legs to feel where the walls were. He was barely able to stretch his arms completely and his legs were a bit bent as well. Claustrophobia hit him once more and his breathing continued to speed as he crept away from the center of the room to lie on his side with his back against one of the walls. At least here he couldn't feel the bounds of his prison and thereby he could force himself to think that it was larger than reality.

The darkness was oppressing, squeezing in on him from all sides without any shape or form only a vast ocean of nothingness. It settled on his chest and made his breathing quick and strained, as if a great weight was upon him. He trembled, the pain and exhaustion his body was prey to was already draining away his strength, but the darkness seemed to take whatever was left.

He needed light and life around him to counter the dark memories inside his mind. Here in the dark he couldn't even imagine his daughter's face before him because she didn't belong there. She didn't belong in the darkness; orcs did …orcs, spiders, humans, Dol Guldur, pain and suffering. That was all darkness contained. His daughter was in the stars of the night and in the sun of the day. Not here.

Legolas reached up and entangled his shaking hand in his shortened hair, feeling it's length and pushing it away from his face.

The darkness was only a passing time; it never prevailed. He needed to be stronger than it.

Legolas released a shuddering breath and slowly worked his way up to breathing normally once more. When this had been achieved he gradually felt himself fall into an exhausted sleep, his body's need winning over his panic.

O

Elladan lifted a rock from the pile and over the grass to the still unfinished wall between the field and the river. He hadn't been able to sleep since they had taken Legolas away in the middle of the night, couldn't get the image of his disorientated and pained eyes out of his mind. It had been ten hours since he had been taken and Elladan had neither seen nor heard from him.

When Left and Right had come to get him in the morning they had given him a small piece of stale bread, despite his beliefs that they weren't going to get anything to eat during their entire imprisonment. Elves could live for a long time without food, or even water, if they had to but they would lose strength over time so Elladan was thankful to know that they would be given some food periodically. With that thought in mind he had broken the piece in half and forced himself to choke down one of them before setting the other aside for Legolas.

His hands were bleeding once more, but he didn't complain neither to himself nor any others. Compared to what Legolas had suffered this was nothing. Not knowing what was happening to his friend set Elladan's mind into a frenzy of horrifying images, each one getting worse than the previous.

He remembered the first time Elrohir had really talked with the Prince of Mirkwood. When they had been the arrogant age of nigh on nine hundred and Legolas had been twenty.

The afternoon after the feast, the twin troublemakers stood just outside the door of the visiting Prince grinning smugly to each other. They had made it their mission to see the Prince laugh during his stay so this was the main reason for the presence at his room, trying to hold back their laughter while waiting for sounds from within.

They soon heard a yelp and the sound of a rope tightening from inside the room. Both the twins burst out laughing and quickly entered, wanting to see their catch. They immediately saw Legolas suspended upside-down in the air by a rope around his ankle.

Not even a second after entering Legolas swung his body upwards, grabbing onto the rope with his right hand and holding himself up while he pulled a knife from his boot with his left hand and reach up to cut the rope just under where he was gripping it. With a gasp both of them saw the bandages around his left wrist, bulging out slightly to show the splints underneath. Then the rope snapped and his body was slung downward, held by the grip he had with his right hand. Legolas let go and dropped lithely to the ground.

The grip he had one his knife slackened with a wince and the knife clattered to the floor before he turned around to look at them, there was not even a hint of amusement in his expression and the twins felt their cheeks redden with embarrassment.

Before anyone got the chance to say anything the door beside Legolas' room was thrown open and only a second later King Thranduil stepped into the room with a worried expression on his face. His eyebrows rose when he took in the scene before him. The twins were looking at him in a mixture of fear and shame and Legolas was standing beside a dangling rope with a knife on the floor under his injured left hand.

Thranduil was no stranger to such traps and immediately guessed what had happened prior to his arrival. His worried frown deepened and after a scathing look in the twins' direction he walked over to his son and gently took hold of his wrist, inspecting it and carefully probing it.

"Has it worsened?" The king asked his son quietly, so the twins were only just able to hear it.

Legolas shook his head, causing his silvery-white locks to swirl around his hair. "It's fine Ada. I'm fine, they meant no harm."

"You need rest Legolas, if you were at full strength you would have noticed the trap." Thranduil admonished and clicked his tongue thoughtfully before turning to the twins. The king's eyes turned cold and hard as he gazed upon them instead of the warmth they had had for his son. Elladan and Elrohir felt dread settle inside their stomachs.

"We're so sorry, my King. We never meant to harm him, we had no knowledge of his injury." Elladan said, feeling obligated since he was the oldest.

"Meant no harm?" Thranduil said and touched the rope that was still hanging from where the twins had fastened the trap. "Do you think it is pleasant to be suspended by such a trap injured or not? What was this meant as? A joke?"

Elladan and Elrohir flushed more deeply red.

Legolas eyed them and then placed his hand on his father's arm, "Ada it's fine, just let me handle it."

Thranduil ignored his son and instead continued, "You do realize that you have just attacked the Prince of Mirkwood, you have forced him to draw a weapon. If I didn't know better I would think that Rivendell has chosen to harm my son in order to make me forgo this treaty. First his wrist is broken and now you try to snare him like game. You are trying my patience."

The twins paled where their cheeks weren't already covered in red.

"Ada, stop it." Legolas demanded almost wearily and gave his father a push towards the door. Of course he didn't have the strength to rock the King but nevertheless Thranduil moved at his insistence. "I told you to let me handle this. They did not mean any harm and Glorfindel did not mean any harm it is all just coincidences, nothing that has anything to do with the treaty. Now go and attend to the negotiations, lunch break is over and you're running late." He pushed Thranduil out the door.

Thranduil allowed for him to shove him out but nevertheless turned around once he was outside and said sternly, "When I come back I want to find you sleeping, understood?"

"Yes, yes." Legolas muttered unenthusiastically and closed the door is front of him. He then sighed and turned around to the twins, he couldn't stop a grin from tugging at his lips when he saw their terrified expressions.

"We are so sorry!" Both of them exclaimed, talking simultaneously. "We didn't know you were injured or else we would never have done anything like this! We did not even have the treaty in mind when we did, we don't want it compromised! Please forgive us!"

"Why did you do it?" Legolas asked genuine confusion showing in his eyes and in the way he had his head tilted slightly to the left.

The twins blushed even more and said sheepishly, "We just… wanted you to laugh."

Legolas stared at them incredulously for a second but then bell-like laughter rang through the room. The twins looked mortified.

"And it never occurred to you to try something more …I don't know, normal?" Legolas chuckled.

Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other and then cracked a grin as well. "It worked, didn't it?" Elrohir said.

Not even five minutes later Legolas found himself carefully placed on the couch watching the twins take down the remainder of the trap. They had apparently caught up on his father's talk about weakness and had ordered him to rest and let them take care of everything as an apology for what they had done.

When Thranduil had come in later he had narrowed his eyes at the sight of Legolas still up talking to the two brothers like they had been friends for a decade. He had ordered them out immediately and the twins had no doubt that he had thrown Legolas into bed just afterwards, although they had seen no signs of tiredness or pain in the younger elf. In fact they were convinced that Thranduil had been overreacting. This had been proved wrong though when they had snuck into Legolas' room later that night to talk to him, but had found him sleeping with his eyes halfway closed and twitching his head slightly from side to side.

Elladan dragged more rocks towards the wall. Nightfall was nearing hastily but still there was no sign of Legolas… He knew that before long he would be brought back to the cell so he could only hope to find Legolas there, waiting for him.

O

He didn't how long time he had been there… in the darkness. It could be minutes, or hours, or days, or weeks, he didn't know and he had no way of finding out. Since the door to his cage had been closed there had been no sound or any sign of food or water. Thirst had clawed its way through his throat and inhaling the dust inside the room was making his tongue feel like dry sand.

He felt weary beyond all belief, drifting in and out of a state of sleep as the pain in his wounds slowly lowered but darkness stayed the same, as always. He was beginning to forget things, forget how nature looked and felt almost like the darkness was absorbing everything inside him until there was nothing left but an empty body.

Was he dead?

No… no he was not, the dust still entered his lungs every time he drew breath from where he was lying with his cheek against the cold stone floor of his prison. He was able to perceive the coldness in the room but being an elf, it didn't really bother him.

This endless darkness was continuously filled with horrifying images of his past as he had predicted it would be. The amount of memories he had that fit the space was unimaginable to any human. You could experience many things in the span of over fifteen hundred years walking Middle Earth and being the Crown Prince of Mirkwood. He had been sent to the battlefield early on and had therefore come to treasure the memories without a tint of darkness.

Legolas coughed in attempt to expel some of the dust from his lungs but it only made his breathing shakier. He was beginning to think that they had forgotten him in this Valar-forsaken room. He could feel from the degree of healing of the wounds on his back that he had been there at least one day, maybe two.

The darkness washed over his mind and doused some of his remaining strength; it sucked the life from him. Wearily Legolas closed his eyes and turned his head slightly up from the floor. His wheezing breathing sounded throughout the prison and was the only sound available to his ears.

He found himself tumbling into another memory without having means to stop it.

He and Aewon were standing back to back inside a ring of orcs. He had lost view of his father and the other elves some time ago as his whole concentration went on trying to defend himself. He had started out with only a dagger, but had some time into the fight he had taken the time to grab one of the orcs' swords. It was completely different from anything he had tried fighting with before but better than just his dagger. Aewon had done likewise.

Suddenly a gasp sounded from behind him and Legolas after making sure that no orcs were about to attack him in the next minute turned around. His eyes widened and a choked no left his throat when he saw Aewon collapsing onto his knees completely pale with a sword through his chest. As soon as his knees touched the ground Aewon fell to the side and as Legolas watched the light around him snuffed and his form went completely limp. Time seemed to stand completely still… All sounds around him dimmed…

Aewon!

"NO!" Legolas roared and was about to run to him when the orcs started closing in around him once more. Slowly Aewon's body disappeared in the crowd and Legolas forced himself to start moving and breathing once more. With an angered cry he threw himself into the battle once more this time more ferocious than ever.

Aewon!

Images started running through Legolas' mind as he continued to kill orc after orc after orc and tears started running down his cheeks as the world turned to the color of blackish orc blood around him.

Aewon!

Legolas soon lost any feeling of how much time had passed and how many orcs he had killed, but there was no end to them. He was completely alone in the sea of orcs without any idea how the fight had turned out for his father.

Legolas trembled and shuddered from the memory, even now fifteen years after the event he still felt the pain just as deeply. He had lost a brother that day and that was not something easily replaced.

He soon swirled deeper into the abyss of his memories, retreating further and further away from the light every second he was in the darkness.

"WHO ARE YOU?" The orc roared at him, despite standing right in front of the place where he had been forced to his knees by two equally hideous creatures. Húron was restrained beside him as well.

"I am just a simple emissary of the King of Mirkwood." Legolas answered calmly, burying all fear and hatred inside himself for the simple purpose of keeping himself and Húron alive until the team could locate them.

"I think he needs more persuasion boys!" The orc screeched and took hold of Legolas, only to drag him to his feet and drag him over the camp to the fire. Legolas already weak from blood loss and lack of food and rest therefore he could do nothing to fight it.

Once by the fire the orc took hold of his arms and held them over the fire so the flames licked at them. Legolas gasped for breath and immediately tried to pull his arms back but he was held tightly.

When the orc asked again Legolas gasped, "I am an …emissary of the King… of Mirkwood."

"More punishment!"

Legolas wasn't even sure what this was about any longer. The orcs had no reason to believe that he was anyone other than who he said he was. With anger settling in his stomach Legolas realized that they didn't care what he said, they didn't need an excuse to torture him, they just found this more entertaining.

Legolas turned his whole body so he was facing the wall and pressed his forehead against the cool surface. Harsh coughs soon racked his body and he hugged his arms over his chest.

Legolas ran as if the very devil was behind him. His young blue eyes were wide with lasting panic and horror over the nightmare that had just wracked his mind. Anunir had appeared before him in his dream still alive, only to be torn roughly from the world once more. He had seen the sword pierce him again, and again, and again.

Legolas kept running blindly through the trees, he couldn't do this anymore… Every night, every single damned night it was the same horror all over again. This one had been even more violent and had therefore sent him into this frenzied run.

The screams of pain and horror that had rung through the clearing that night, now rung through the forest as his memories mingled with reality. He felt the fire of the whip against his unprotected back.

He felt nausea well up inside him and braced himself against the nearest tree as he emptied the contents of his stomach, what little there had been in there to begin with.

It hurt so bad… he just wanted to forget. He didn't want to see it every night.

Only a second after he had started another person crashed into the clearing. His father immediately swept his hair back and held him against his strong chest while muttering reassurances.

He could hear the screams around him now as well, all the screams he had heard in his lifetime, which were countless. He had seen so much pain and war…

Legolas was on his knees in the clearing. It was still floating with ashes and the blackened ground was littered with blood and half-burnt corpses of both orcs and elves. There were others around him, others that were still alive but not even a third of the original number. He could still hear sounds of the pained screams and roaring fire ringing in his ears. He could see the fire coming closer and closer while his men died around him.

"My Prince Legolas!" One of the surviving elves gasped and he soon found hands pressed on top of his over the leaking wound in his side. Blood has already flowed through his fingers and was currently staining the ground beside him with even more blood. Additionally to that wound he had burns randomly around his body.

Legolas looked up at the elf through glazed eyes; suddenly the pain came back to him and dispersed the shock. It was Aewon. He gasped as the elf pressed more firmly onto his hands. He could see the unbarred worry in Aewon's eyes through his dimming sight.

Blood continued to seep through their fingers and Legolas started swaying slightly. It wasn't long before he collapsed forward, onto Aewon. Aewon called his name sharply before taking hold of him and gently lowered him down to lie on the ground. His hands were pulled off the wound and replaced by not only Aewon's, but also another elf's that had come limping over to them.

So much pain… So much death…

He stared into the black sky with its twinkling stars and slowly found the corners of his vision darkening. He could still feel the blood flowing down his side, still hear Aewon and the other elf's frantic voices but his vision was falling into darkness, complete and utter darkness…

O

"Please wake up, Elrohir…" Elladan choked, from where his face was buried in the mattress, "Please… it's not natural for you to be asleep this long… Come on, Ro… Your wound is already healing… Why won't you wake up?"

Although his face was pressed into the hard mattress Elladan could still see his twin's pale face before his eyes. There were dark shadows underneath his eyes despite the fact that he had slept for nearly five days. His condition seemed to be worsening instead of improving despite the state of his injury.

Without Legolas here to calm him Elladan felt himself spiral deeper and deeper into despair, the guilt of causing his brother's injury tearing him apart along with the possibility of him dying.

Three days… Legolas had been gone for three days… As he watched his brother dwindle before him the image of Legolas being dragged out barely conscious while he did nothing to stop it was stuck in his mind.

Elladan choked out a sob and tightened the grip he had one Elrohir's hand. "Please Ro… Please… I do not have father's power …or Legolas'… there is nothing I can do…"

O

Legolas thought it was a dream when the door slammed open, but then light flooded into his prison and blinded him. He closed his eyes tightly for a while but then squinted into the lantern and onwards to Turner's face behind it. Turner was smirking at him, and then came over to kneel beside where he was lying.

Reduced to his most natural instincts Legolas scampered away and bared his teeth at the man, a growl of warning coming out of his cracked lips. His eyes were dark and wild.

"You're not afraid of me now, are you beautiful?" Turner chuckled lowly. He inched closer and reached out and caressed Legolas' hair. "My untamable, wild Prince." Without moving his eyes from Legolas' he said to the guards outside the room, "Come in and hold him."

Left and Right stepped into the room.

"Hold him." He ordered.

Legolas struggled, but he was already backed into a corner and had no way to run with Turner blocking him and the directions coming at both sides of him. Moreover he was weak from lack of food, proper rest and water.

Without being able to stop it Legolas soon found his hands restrained and a hand caressing his hair and chest, moving all the way from his thigh to the tips of his pointed ears. His eyes widened and he struggled even harder against the men, but nothing worked.

Turner moved closer, and closer, by the time the man's lips grazed his, panic blast forward in Legolas' chest and gave him the strength to retaliate. Out of instinct Legolas jumped slightly and threw his legs forward so the connected with Turner's chest and sent him flying backwards.

Immediately Legolas felt himself being hauled to the floor and kicked within every inch of his body. He covered his head with his arms as best he could and screwed his eyes shut at the merciless attack. He felt some of his newly healed ribs crack or break and was contemplating the fact that no one would be able to see his natural skin color if it continued when the kicks stopped.

He lay there panting, without moving his arms from their position.

"Come." Turner said coldly, "I think he needs another day."

Legolas looked up startled and saw them head towards the door.

NO! No, no, no, no, no! No! No more!

The door slammed shut and with it the light faded into darkness once more. Legolas choked out a mixture of a sob and a groan and buried his face in his arms.

No more…

The screams started once more.

O

Legolas barely looked up the next time the door opened. Left and Right walked into the room and quickly took hold of his arms and forced him to his feet. His breathing was ragged and painful as it journeyed from his cracked lips and through his dry throat. In the period of his imprisonment not a single drop of water had been given him.

As they stepped out of the room light blinded Legolas and he was forced to squint, although he was aware that the lighting most like seemed dim to all others. He felt dizzy and weak on his feet, his ribs and bruises protested alongside the rest of him.

Left and Right dragged him up the stairs and out of the building without a sound. Legolas drew a shuddering breath as they stepped into the night air and he could see the stars high above him. He was free… He was out…

Immediately Legolas felt his mind strengthen from the sight of nature and the feel of the wind running through his hair and over his cheeks. He coughed harshly when he attempted to take a deeper breath but not even that could dampen his spirits.

The two men dragged him into the second building and towards the cell, he knew Elladan and Elrohir were occupying. He would see them soon… The thought made him realize that he had forgotten the sound of his own voice.

It was impossible for him to judge how long he had been down there. It could be a day or a week, but it certainly felt like a month to him.

Left put a key in the keyhole and opened the door. Legolas felt momentary panic at being shoved into a room and hearing the door shut behind him, but then he looked up and his eyes were caught in Elladan's horrified stormy eyes.

Elladan looked up as the door opened, dared he hope? His grey eyes locked on the door just as the one he prayed for was shoved inside. All emotion inside him died right there though, Legolas looked like he had been through hell. He was clearly dehydrated and his complexion was a sickly grey color partially because of dust but mostly because of health. He was also covered in bruises.

As the door closed behind him, Elladan could see a look of panic momentarily enter his eyes before he looked up and they locked eyes. Elladan noticed Legolas sway slightly and hurried up from where he was sitting by Elrohir's side to catch the elf just as his knees buckled. He locked his arms around Legolas and held him tightly, both taking and giving comfort.

"Oh Legolas." Elladan moaned and ran his hand through Legolas' shortened hair, dulled by dust. Legolas took a few shuddering breaths in his arms and then coughed. Elladan grimaced at the painful sound.

"…How-" Legolas croaked and then broke off to cough once more. He took another shuddering breath and then made to continue.

Elladan placed his hand over Legolas' mouth. "Don't speak." He said sternly and pressed Legolas back so he was leaning against the door behind him. "You need to drink something first."

Elladan got up from where he was sitting and got the water bucket. It had been filled every second day. He tore a piece of his tunic and dipped it in the water, before handing it to Legolas trying to ignore the craving in Legolas' eyes as he looked to the bucket and the disappointment in his eyes when he saw the rag.

"You need to take it slowly or else you're going to be sick." Elladan said and pressed the wet cloth against Legolas' mouth.

Once feeling the coolness and wetness against his cracked lips, Legolas eagerly took the cloth out of his hands and pressed it against them while sucking at the water. He was barely able to swallow and he was forced to cough for a moment. While he did this Elladan took the cloth and dipped it once more before handing it back.

As Legolas brought it to his lips once more, Elladan ripped another piece off his tunic and dipped it into the water before wiping the dust off Legolas' face. A gentle smile appeared on his lips when a drop of water rolled into Legolas' eye, causing him to blink repeatedly.

Legolas moved the cloth away from his lips and rasped the question he had wanted to ask earlier. "How… long …have I…?"

Elladan's eyes widened in surprise over the realization that Legolas didn't know how long he had been gone. His mind ran in circles wondering what had happened to him. "You've been gone for six days Legolas." He answered as calmly as possible.

He couldn't read the expression that passed through Legolas' darkened eyes but only a second later they resumed their calm vibe and he moved the rag back to his lips. Elladan took it and wetted it again before handing it back.

As Legolas sucked on it he moved his eyes over to where Elrohir was lying, and concern entered his eyes. A strand of his shoulder-length hair bounced in front of his eyes, so Legolas absentmindedly brushed it behind his ear.

Elladan reached out and touched the shortened silvery-white hair. "What did they do to you?" He asked quietly.

Legolas' deep cerulean eyes moved from Elrohir's still form to look into Elladan's stormy eyes, effortlessly reading the horror and worry in his eyes.

Legolas cleared his throat that was finally gaining some moisture from the water in the cloth, but realized that it was not enough and waved for Elladan to give him the bucket. Elladan did so hesitantly with a look of caution in his eyes. Legolas cupped one of his hands and brought the water directly to his lips. His eyes closed in bliss as he swallowed the cool liquid and without realizing it his hand was already on the way down to take another. Elladan caught the hand and took the bucket back.

"You can have some more in a little while." Elladan promised.

Legolas closed his eyes and nodded before combing his still wet hand through his hair. Only a second went by before his eyes jerked open once more and sought the only source of light in the room, the spot of moonlight on the floor from the hole in the roof. For that one second before he had found it he had tensed, but then he relaxed once more and looked back at Elladan.

"He locked me up." Legolas said, still hoarse but not nearly as bad as in the beginning. "In a small room laid in complete darkness… Without food or water."

Sorrow and understanding flooded into the twin's eyes. From the way Legolas spaced out he could tell that he was reliving memories so he reached out to brush his hand over Legolas, not expecting the reaction he got. Legolas' eyes immediately sharpened and he tensed away from the touch, eyeing him wildly until he realized who it was.

Elladan brushed it off as stress and smiled gently to Legolas.

Legolas gave one halfheartedly in return, thankful that Elladan had shrugged it off and wasn't asking questions. He turned once more to look at Elrohir, he slowly got up from where he was sitting and walked over to him.

"Would you like some food?" Elladan asked, "It's not much, but I saved some bread for you."

"Later." Legolas answered, he felt nauseous.

"You need to build up your strength once more." Elladan argued.

"I can go a while without food, as all elves can. I do not yet feel starved and the water is enough." Legolas' lips curved into a small grin, "Best not throw up now eh?"

Elladan nodded, oddly looking quite the opposite of reluctant. He put the bread down once more and scampered onto the bed on Elrohir's other side and looked expectantly at him as if he had waited all along for him to come and check on Elrohir.

"He had not woken up once while you were gone." Elladan said hurried, worriedly. "His wound is healing fine, but I feel him getting further and further away from me."

Legolas' eyes saddened and he closed them shortly before moving his hand up to Elrohir's face and gently brushing his hand over his hair.

Elladan felt a cold weight of dread land in his stomach. "What?" He breathed.

"He is fading."