Title: "Revenge"
Author: LegolasLover2003 aka Ashley
Category: Book - "The Lord of the Rings"
Genre: Angst/Adventure
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do not own any right to "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit". I just adore them to pieces! Legede, Tileng, Morlan, and Morfind are characters of my own invention. However, you may use them, but please ask permission to do so first.
NOTE: This story takes place after "Savior & Destroyer". You MUST read that story first for this one to make sense. It might also help to read "The Breaking Point" first as well as both "Secrets or A Six Year Old's Wisdom" and the Thranduil-centric story, "I Know It's Wrath".

REVENGE

"STOP!" Aragorn shouted, struggling against the two men who held him, his hands bound behind his own back.
Tileng smirked, "Ah... such pain... I can almost feel if flowing off of you. Shall I kill another to watch you writhe at my feet?" his gaze was singularly focused on the kneeling form of Thranduil, watching as drips of blood continued to run from untreated wounds... taking in the defeated slump of those once proud shoulders.

For his part, the Elvenking's blue eyes were closed as he tried desperately to keep the tears at bay.
His people... were being murdered in front of him... and for what?

His vanity?

This human?

Chapter IX
Those Beautiful Blue Eyes...

"Alam..." Thranduil whispered. His hands, which had been clenched into fists, releasing their tension in their bonds. "Alam, Tileng... No more... I beg..." ~{[No more...]}~
Aragorn's grey eyes closed as he heard the defeat in the voice of the Elvenking. Such a sound broke his own heart.
Blue eyes lifted as Thranduil looked up to his captor then, pride and dignity forgotten. "What must I do to stay your hand from spilling more blood?" he asked in the common tongue. "What else must I give up? You have taken my dignity, vanquished my pride and vanity... tell me, what more do you want?"
The human stepped forward, taking the Elvenking's chin in hand and smirking. "Your son."
Thranduil's eyes slipped closed... that was something his heart could not give.
"See... you are not quite broken yet... are you?" Tileng asked, studying the myriad of wounds upon that once fair face. "Kill the Ranger."
A sudden spike of fear and horror went through Thranduil and he looked up at Tileng, shaking his head in the man's grasp. "No... I chose! I made a choice! Tileng! I made a choice! Spare him!"
"Why?" the man asked then, focusing on Thranduil intently. "Why do you and your son choose this man time and again over your own kin? Over your own hides?"
Thranduil's jaw clenched but the man's grip was painful.
"Why?!"
"My true name is Aragorn." Estel spoke suddenly, revealing the truth.
When that did nothing, or seemingly did nothing, the Ranger explained.
"I am the son of Arathorn... heir to Gondor's throne."
Tileng released Thranduil and turned, looking at the human with an expression of mild shock and bewildered surprise. But then he smirked. Oh it all made sense now... The man laughed, doubling over in amusement at the absurdity of it.
"Heir to Gondor's throne... my my... I certainly did catch something big in my net, hmm?" he finally said, looking back to Thranduil. "One king sacrificing himself for another? How sentimental. Still, Gondor's next king or not... for Elves to let themselves die for a mere mortal man... a shame really. You lot truly are more stupid than I took you for." His gaze moved back to the Ranger. "Take him back to his cell. I think we have another piece to negotiate with. I am certain the Elvenking's new master would... greatly desire this Ranger."
The men dragged Aragorn out of the room, leaving Tileng and Thranduil alone with but one other guard now. Walking around the bound king, Tileng seemed to be considering his options. If Legolas returned with a small army, it would certainly be hard to get both prizes out of this place and to the rendezvous spot. He stopped behind the blond then, crouching down and looking over the Elf's fair skin from behind. It was beautiful... like his son's... and just thinking about destroying that prince made Tileng excited inside. Oh he would have the last laugh... he would watch life drain from those eyes this time. Make no mistake...
Thranduil felt a hand on his back, causing his body to shiver in revulsion. Nothing happened for a moment... until suddenly there was the sensation of the very tip of a blade slicing into his flesh, just around his rib cage. No... it was not a blade... it was something else, though no less sharp. It pushed in deeper, past those ribs until it hit...
The Elf gasped as he felt something prick inside, making it uncomfortable to breathe. He struggled then, trying to move but finding it hurt far worse the more his body jerked.
"Shhh... just sit still." Tileng smirked as Thranduil tried to look behind him and see what was happening.
The Elvenking blinked, his mind feeling a bit light headed. "What... are you doing?" Thranduil finally asked.
"Insurance." the man replied as he removed the metal from the Elf's back. "Take a deep breath."
Thranduil tried... but it hurt and the breath caught in his throat.
With a smirk, Tileng walked back around to look down at his captive. "I can not have you run off now... can I? That tiny hole should keep you winded... even an Elf must draw breath. I'll have it repaired before your new master arrives... once your son is dead at my feet, of course."
Blue eyes closed as the blond tried to focus on just taking one breath after the other. The pain in his body was taking a toll... and for the first time since stepping out his gates, Thranduil was rather unsure that he would survive this encounter.

It felt like hours... the pain in his lungs was excruciating as Thranduil focused just on breathing and nothing else. Tileng would talk but, in truth, the Elvenking paid him no mind. It hardly mattered now anyway. Aragorn wouldn't be slain by these men... he was worth too much. Legolas had escaped and was likely bringing Legede and their forces into the mountains but... to what end? How many more lives would have to bleed out upon these stones for Tileng to be satisfied?
"Kill me..."
Tileng blinked, "Beg your pardon?"
The Elvenking looked up at the man. "Kill me and be done with it."
But the human laughed, "You are worth too much for me to kill. Haven't we already had this discussion, hmm? Besides, I..."
He paused then, as if listening, and Thranduil could hear it too now... the sounds of a scuffle... Tileng motioned to the other guard in the room to hide, the man doing so. Moving across the chamber, Tileng got farther from the doorway...
"Bado! I dan feleg!" ~{[Go! The back of the cavern!]}~
The Elvenking's eyes widened... he knew that voice... it was his son... The door to the chamber burst open as Legolas appeared there, twin knives in his hands. From first glance, there were other Elves behind him in the corridor, scrambling this way and that... the sounds of fighting...
"Tira Estel!" ~{[I found (see) Estel!]}~
Legede's voice from further down the cavern came back to Legolas' ears as he swiftly charged across the room at Tileng, the human smirking at him. In fact, the prince only paid his father a passing glance as his rage boiled over into a murderous storm.
Suddenly the sound of stone grating upon stone was evident to the ears in the chamber, the door to the room blocked off tight with rock. Hidden near the door, the guard there with his pipe quickly had a dart blown at Legolas. The prince dodged, ducking the first dart and the second... but in the process, Tileng had been able to move about and was now standing behind Thranduil, sword beneath the king's chin.
There was pounding on the closed cavern door and Legede shouting Legolas' name could be heard, albeit muffled through the rock.
The Elvenking's breath wheezed from this position, the pain in his back and lungs intense as he tried to draw breath. Legolas paused, his gaze fixed fiercely on Tileng.
"Put the blades down." the human said, glancing to the other guard. "Put them down and surrender, or I kill your father."
Thranduil's eyes closed. "Noro..." ~{[Run...]}~
Shaking his head, Legolas laid his knives upon the stone. The guard came, binding the Elf's hands behind him and shoving Legolas to the stone on his knees before Thranduil.
Tileng however shook his head, motioning to those bound hands. "Do we need that now? And give him one of his knives back, hmm?"
The other guard was obviously confused by the order, but did as his boss instructed. He handed Legolas one of his white-handed knives after unbinding the blond's hands.
"Now... I give you a choice, Finnelmathen." Tileng smirked at the alias, his head nodding to the knife in the prince's fingers. "I will kill your father, because he has begged for his pain to stop, you know... and then take you... or you can kill the king... and leave this place freely, never to see me again."
Legolas' heart beat so hard he thought it might jump out of his chest. The prince shook his head, dumbfounded at the options given. "What choice is that?"
"Freedom or enslavement is your choice, prince. Either way... your king dies." Tileng smirked, enjoying watching the mere thought torment the Elf before him. Of course Tileng certainly wasn't about to kill Thranduil himself... if the prince refused then he would simply bind the younger Elf once more and be off with both of his prizes. After all, it seemed like the Elves had already gotten Gondor's heir free, so that was a loss. However, if the prince did kill Thranduil... he would have to return the money, or at least a portion of it, along with the king's head as proof.
Blue eyes winced as Legolas tried to think of something... anything... if he moved Tileng would slit the king's throat, he knew that... and from the sound of it, the chamber entrance was blocked... The prince bit his lip, unable to stop the tears which threatened him as he looked into the gaze of his father... his king...
Thranduil smiled softly, "Im meleth le, ion nin." ~{[I love you, my son.]}~
Blue eyes closed as Legolas shifted his body slightly, just enough to press his forehead against his father's own. "Diheno nin... adar..." the prince whispered, tears falling unbidden from closed eyes. ~{[Forgive me... father...]}~
Grinning, Tileng waited for that fatal blow...
But swiftly, Legolas' dexterous fingers moved, spinning the blade in his grasp just before plunging the tip into his own body.
Thranduil's eyes went wide... no words able to come from his lips as he watched Legolas smile softly... the very edge of his lips ticking upwards in that mischievous grin that the father loved so very much... Blood seeped over the prince's fingers, beginning to pool beneath him as he smiled, his gaze never leaving that of the Elvenking.
And then, the blond archer simply fell, his once beautiful eyes closed as he lay still upon the stone.

Tileng screamed in rage and... something else... Thranduil had no idea what was happening but the blade at his neck cut a thin line and then was just gone. The king could only stare in sorrowful horror at his son's still body.
There were sounds around him... footfalls... shouting... someone was untying him but he cared not...
His son... his beloved son...
"...uil... ...anduil... Thranduil!"
Blinking, the king looked up into Legede's eyes, confusion evident as the captain helped his liege to stand. His gaze fell back to Legolas, but Aragorn was there, taking bandages from another soldier and trying to stop the bleeding.
He could hear the human saying things... something... something about just holding on...

Thranduil knew nothing more after that.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Translations:
Alam = No more
Bado! = Go!
I dan feleg! = (to the) back of (the) cavern!
Tira Estel! = I found/see Estel!
Noro... = Run...
Im meleth le, ion nin. = I love you, my son.
Diheno nin... adar... = Forgive me... father...

Muse Moments:
Nil finds herself hiding in the closet with Paris. Luckily the evil muses decided to go have a pool party and thus had vacated the closet ahead of time.
"You sure he won't find us?" Paris whispered, glancing to Nil in the darkness.
She shook her head, "No. Thranduil and Legolas hate this closet."
"HOW DARE SHE KILL YOU!"
The sound reverberated in the closet from outside. Thranduil had obviously finally read the chapter.
"He is going to kill you, you know..." came a voice from just on the other side of the door.
Nil paled, "Please don't tell him, Leggy..."
"ADAR! I FOUND HER!"
"NO!"