Disclaimer: I own nobody in this chapter, it all belongs to Tolkien. He is a genius. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and please review if you have the time, it would be very appreciated. Have a great holiday!!!

Chapter 35

The metal-clad company stopped outside the cave and the leader peered inside. To his surprise and delight, an Elf lay with his back against one of the walls in the cave. With his eyes closed and his skin pale, he could have been mistaken as being dead if it were not for the rising and falling of his chest.

"What have we here, boys? An Elf!" The leader turned to the rest of the Orcs who cheered and grunted with anticipation. The noise pulled the Elf from his sleep and he moaned slightly as he woke fully. By this time, Arod was scraping at the floor with one front hoof in a threatening manner.

Legolas opened his eyes, inwardly dismayed at not hearing the enemy coming, to find a battered looking scimitar pointed at his face. Determined not to let his senses fail him for a second time, he calculated how many of the foul beasts stood around the cave. There were roughly nine or ten, and Legolas decided that when he got the chance, he could lessen that number.

"Come on Elf, time to get up!" The leader called pulling his weapon upwards at the same time. The archer rose to his feet as gracefully as he could; if the Orcs realised he was injured, they would take advantage of that.

He reached behind himself to grasp the rocky wall as an aid. While doing this, Legolas slid one hand further up and took hold of one of his twin knives before lunging at the unsuspecting leader. With one swipe, the large Orc was on the floor, blood pooling beneath his dead body. Legolas inwardly smiled, Orcs can be so stupid sometimes…

By this time, the others in the company had realised that they were being attacked and had drawn their own weapons and the Elf had retrieved his other knife. Swinging them in both hands, the battle was almost graceful in terms of the blonde prince. He danced to one side and gutted one Orc before twisting to slash another.

Coming to the last four beasts, Legolas was beginning to tire quickly. Spots danced in his vision, threatening to pull him into unconsciousness once more. One Orc managed to take advantage of a time where the Elf faltered and slashed the prince's chest, creating a deep, long cut.

Legolas did not falter again after that. It was enough to show him that he was weakening and he knew that an encounter with an Orc company and being taken to Sauron or Saruman was definitely not what he needed right now.

Within another minute and a half, all the others had joined their already fallen comrades. The archer decided that it was not a good idea to stay where he was in case of wolves picking up the smell of blood. He grasped Arod's reigns and led the horse out of the cave. After mounting, they rode together towards Rivendell, with only one more day to go before they would arrive.

In Rivendell

Elrond sat at his desk, a blank piece of parchment lay before him and a quill rested in one hand. The Elven Lord looked out of the window, wishing the words to come to him. After a short while, he began writing.

Dear King Thranduil,

During my last visit, it came to my attention that Prince Legolas has not been behaving, as a prince should. I have thought hard about this and come up with an idea. If you agree to my proposal, I would have Legolas here in Rivendell for a while to see if he cannot behave a little better.

I understand that this may cause a little disruption to your Kingdom but in the long run it may indeed be beneficial.

Yours,

Elrond Peredhil, Lord of Rivendell

The Lord of Rivendell folded the parchment and sealed it with some wax before stamping it with the Rivendell emblem. The Elf rose from his chair and opened the door to his study. Giving the letter to a passing servant, he gave the younger Elf instructions that it was to be sent to Mirkwood immediately.

The servant attached the letter to one of the mailing birds and let it go outside. The bird flew straight towards the Kingdom of Mirkwood. It would take about half a day to reach its destination, so with any luck, he would have a reply by this time the next day.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Last Homely House, Estel had also written a letter. He had folded it and stamped as his foster-father had done and it was now on its way by bird. As he had let the bird go, his eyes had remained on the beating wings until he could no longer see them.

In his letter, the Ranger had apologised for not being there, as a friend should have done. He apologised for not helping the prince when he knew that his best friend was in pain and needed someone. He had asked for forgiveness and hoped that they would meet again soon.

The Ranger headed outside to find something to keep him occupied until he received a reply. He wandered to the archery field where the two friends had spent many a good time together. He and Legolas had had many competitions of archery and the Elf had won every time, no matter the difficulty of the aim.

While wandering in his thoughts, Estel failed to hear his twin brothers coming up behind him.

"Well, little brother, what are you up to?" Elladan asked, his expression matching perfectly that of Elrohir's.

"I was just thinking about the many times that Legolas has challenged me to a competition in archery and beaten me every time." Estel replied, smiling. The brothers looked at each other, knowing what the other was thinking.

"Fancy a competition with us, I guarantee that you will not win against us either!" Elrohir challenged. Estel could not refuse such an offer.

TBC

Replies:

Nomad6: Thanks for all your advice, and have a fantastic Christmas!!!

silverleaf: I thank you for your compliments and criticism. I would like to say on my defence however, when you read the further chapters, I have incorporated my own characters and the chapters do run more smoothly. I find that in putting in my own characters, people do not picture them the same way and so I decided to use Tolkien's characters as people can get a better idea of what they would be feeling. Thanks again!

Happyface 72: Hey, there could be! I might be revealing a few things later on in the story.

orlandochick05: This is not going to be one of those Legolas-gets-captured-by-orcs-and-Aragorn-comes-and-saves-him fics, as you will see after reading this chapter. Have a nice Christmas!!!

Glorfindel34: Thanks and have a good Christmas!

kel: Ah, so you would like to see Legolas being taken care of by the twins and Elrond and Estel take a backseat and watch the proceedings? Lol, great plot. Might even think about having it that way. No-one's tried that yet!

56798765189: Lol, some people really get carried away with themselves when they review – not that that's a bad thing. It's quite funny to read. Thanks anyway for reviewing and have a great Christmas!

Joslin: I just try to update as quickly as I can because then I won't develop a horrible habit of forgetting and then updating once a year or something! Thanks for reviewing!

Mornflower: Lol, I love these people who write long reviews, it's better than just the usual "please update soon", although I'm always grateful for those too. Anyway, about the syrup thing, you didn't really drink the stuff did you? That would have been funny. Thanks for reviewing and feel free to write another long one. I love them. Have a great holiday!

spanishgoddess86: I suppose you don't have much of a choice although I do take everyone's reviews into consideration and therefore Estel and Legolas should meet in the next chapter. That ok for you? Anyway, have a good holiday!