Chapter 1
Enormous headaches were the first thing Legolas noticed when he regained consciousness. A soft groan of pain left the elf's lips and he tried to remember what had happened and where the pain in his head came from. But his head was empty.
The archer blinked laboriously, but it took a few seconds until his vision became clearer and he could no longer see everything blurred. The beautiful warrior quickly had to realize that he was in a cell. How the hell had he got here? And the even more interesting question was: Who had brought him here and what did the being want from him?
Since Legolas didn't intend to continue lying on the cold floor, he started the attempt to sit up, but immediately regretted it again. The pain in his head increased even more and the prince had to suppress another groan. What had happened to him? The elf gritted his teeth and brought himself into a sitting position.
The last thing he remembered was that he was on his way to Rivendell to visit Lord Elrond and his best friend Aragorn. But then everything was black.
With a resigned sigh, the archer let himself sink against the wall. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious and how much time had passed. Was it day or even night already? The beautiful warrior did not know. How he hated not knowing and having to wait for answers. What had he gotten into again?
In the courtyard, Aragorn walked nervously up and down. Where was Legolas? He should have been here by now! The Prince of Mirkwood had wanted to visit him and the ranger was really looking forward to it. They hadn't seen each other for a long time and the ranger had really missed his friend a lot.
The journey from Mirkwood to Rivendell took about three days and since his friend was an elf, he should be able to make the way easily at this time. But in the meantime, the fourth day had already dawned and still, nothing could be seen of the archer.
Slowly the man began to get really worried. Whether something had happened to the beautiful warrior? At that thought, Aragorn's heart contracted. Please don't do that as well. His gaze wandered back to the gate, but there was still nothing to see. The ranger frowned anxiously. Where was his friend?
In the next moment, the man heard a voice behind him. "Is there anything of him yet to be seen?" The ranger turned around and looked into the wise eyes of his foster father Elrond. The elder elf also seemed surprised at the prince's apparent lateness. Nervously, the man shook his head and looked out of the gate again.
Elrond put a hand on his son's shoulder. "He will come. Perhaps something came in his way and he could only leave later." Aragorn sighed. How much he hoped that this was the explanation for Legolas' delay. But what if the elf had been injured?
An uneasy feeling spread in the ranger's stomach. "I must look for him," he murmured to himself rather than to his father, who stood behind him. The Lord of Rivendell sighed. "What do you hope to find? There are several paths he may have taken." The Elven lord pressed the ranger's shoulder encouragingly. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
But the human was not so sure. Since the orcs were on the move, Middle-earth was no longer a safe place. The uneasy feeling in his stomach told him that something was wrong. If something had come up with Legolas regarding his duties as the prince, would he not have let Aragorn know that he would be late?
None of this really suited the archer. Something was wrong. The ranger was about to tell his father his suspicions when he heard the whinnying of a horse.