His lungs heaved and a mass of swallowed water exploded out to rejoin the lake. Yet air reached his lungs, and he slowly opened his eyes, wanting to know what kind of creature had taken him…
He blinked frantically, trying to clear his mind of the illusion that he beheld. But, no, it was not to be…
The air in his lungs, the creature before him, and the tentacles that held him tightly, they were all too real…
Who are you? What are you?
The voice in his mind stunned him. It sounded like a gruff man's voice, one who was frightened and angry, You are not like the short creatures.
Legolas tried to speak back, but his mouth was blocked.
Answer me! The voice sounded frantic.
The elven prince struggled in his grip.
You cannot speak underwater…He must have realized, Your mind is clouded with a drug…but it is not your own doing, is it? They hate you, like they hate me. The short creatures…
Legolas finally pulled one hand free and tried to get a hold on the tentacle in his mouth. Pain shot through his chest as the creature began to pull out of his lungs. Once it was out, he gasped for air and got only a mouthful of water.
The tentacles that held him exploded from the water, holding him above the lake like a drowned puppet.
"Who…are you?" The elven prince gasped for air and clutched at the binds that held him.
You speak strangely, a language I do not understand, The creature's voice quivered, Why do you not speak to me?
Legolas realized what he meant. If this creature could speak in another's mind, he wanted him to think what he wished to say. His eyes closed as he concentrated, trying to put what he wanted into thoughts.
You are one of the Firstborn, those that roamed the world above when I was banished down here, The voice became angry, Like the short people, you feared me, as you should have.
Legolas struggled in the ever crushing grip. The dagger that Adunólae had given him shone from where it was embedded in one of the roaming tentacles. The elven prince fell limp, hoping the creature would loosen its hold.
Suddenly, he exploded forward, pushing himself out of the creature's crushing grasp. Tentacles flailed for him, as did the one that he was aiming for. The slim bladed dagger slipped from the slimy flesh and flew across the room as Legolas fell.
One powerful muscle smashed into his side.
He flew through the air, then hit the wall of the cavern with such force that his breath emptied from his lungs. When he landed on the floor, bruised and stiff, the dagger lay only a few feet away.
It was just out of his reach.
He sagged, laying his head on the cold ground. He was so tired…
When he raised his head, he saw the bloodied bodies of his friends lying on the ground. Their blood ran across the floor in torrents…
Corgan was the only one still alive, but the light in his eyes was fading quickly as the gash in his throat drained his life. Aragorn was lying face down, his eyes closed, with his face pure white…
"NO!"
Legolas tried to stand. He could not let his friends die…
Then he blinked and the vision faded, but the sounds of Aragorn and the others approaching became so much louder. The elven prince snatched the dagger from the ground as he stumbled to his feet. He cried in a loud voice, "Aragorn! Stay! Do not enter here!"
Aragorn ran in, the others following him closely.
The last thing Legolas saw before he collapsed to the cave floor was a tentacle going for Corgan's throat…
"Legolas, you are a fool. It was your fault that your friends all died!" Thranduil shook his head, "I am very disappointed in you. It was your ignorance that caused the death of the King of Gondor."
"It was not my fault!" Legolas insisted, dressed in a long white robe, like his father, "Gimli would have died had I not saved him."
"So you trade the life of one friend for another?" The Elf-king turned to look at his son. Instead of Thranduil's face, it was the face of the cave creature.
"You are a fool," The creature hissed, "You allowed yourself to be poisoned. You allowed the other dwarves to be killed. You allowed Aragorn to die, all because you are a sniveling, whining parasite."
"No…" The elf prince whispered.
The creature laughed, his roar rippling the air around them. Instantly, the pure white surroundings morphed into a grim repetition of the cave…
"I will not give in to your deception!" Legolas cried.
And his world shattered.
"Legolas!" Hands were shaking him, "It is the plant! It is affecting him worse than I thought! Come, Prince Legolas, awaken! We must run!"
Legolas groaned. His eyes slowly slid open, and he saw the wet face of the bard above him. Groaning, he turned onto his side and coughed water and blood from his lungs, his entire body heaving with the effort.
"He is alive!" Corgan reached down and pulled the elf to his feet. Another pair of human hands grasped Legolas' shoulder and arm as he was half-drug from the cave.
There was a loud, otherworldly cry from the cave behind them. The elf refused to look, for there were memories and demons there that he did not want to face ever again.
Corgan and Aragorn laid him in the hall outside. The king of Gondor leaned over his and wiped the blood and water from his cheek.
"I—I am all right…" Legolas coughed again. There was more water, still tinted pink with blood, "This is not a—illusion, is it?"
"No, you are alive, elf," Nori spoke from a few feet away, where he and the other dwarves tended to Gimli, who was awake and grumbling about over-protectiveness.
"You survived the caeleb-cened plant," Corgan laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, "Congratulations."
"There is still the matter of getting out of here, and the matter of which dwarf it was that poisoned him in the first place," Aragorn grumbled, "This feuding has gone on long enough!"
Nori snapped, "What is done is done!"
"You are protecting him?" Corgan's eyes widened.
"He is a dwarf! I will protect the dwarves over the Elf!" The old dwarf snarled, his hand going to his axe. Legolas sat up quickly, his strength already returning, his lungs still aching.
"He tried to kill a Prince of Elves!" Aragorn went for his sword.
"Stop this," Legolas cried out, and then fell back with a groan of pain as his head throbbed mightily, "Ugh…"
Nori yelled, "It was his own stupid fault!"
"You will regret those words!" The king of Gondor leapt forward.
Corgan was the one that received the blow of the man's attack…
The human bard stumbled backward and fell to his rear, his cloak torn from shoulder to waist. Dark navy blue and golden armor was revealed to the torchlight as he breathed heavily from the blow.
"What are you?" Aragorn snapped, sheathing his sword.
"I am…whew…Corgan, of the Noble Guard…" He stripped the remnants of the cloak off, "We are a small band of warriors sworn to protect the rulers of Middle-Earth. When I heard that you planned to enter Moria a second time, I followed you."
"Where were you during the War of the Ring?" Gimli slapped a dwarf's healing hands away, "You have done enough damage. Leave me be!"
"We were cut to ribbons by Sauron's first attack out of Mordor," Corgan narrowed his eyes, "There are few of us left, but we still fulfill our duties."
"Then, to protect Legolas, you must arrest the dwarf that poisoned Legolas!"
"Let us get out of here!" Corgan snapped, his hands going to his head, "Else we all end up dead! This matter is between Legolas and the dwarf who poisoned him, not you, not Nori, not I."
Aragorn and Nori exchanged hateful looks, and then continued on getting Gimli and Legolas to the shaft they descended.
The hours stretched on…
Legolas gained strength while Gimli fell into a deep sleep of healing. The trip up the shaft so many hours later was arduous for the elven prince, but he managed to climb up nonetheless.
He was the first to the top, and Bofir met him there. It was strange that he was alone…
"Bofir, I need blankets to send down to the others," He said, "We have recovered Gimli, and he lives."
"Ah, but you will not," Bofir lunged forward, his knife flashing.
Legolas spun to avoid the blade, but it clipped his arm as the dwarf charged. He used that same arm to catch the dwarf as he began to topple forward over the edge of the pit, "Foolish dwarf!"
He tossed him back. Bofir's unprotected head connected solidly with a column, but the thick-skulled being leaped forward again, hate in his eyes. Weakened as he was, Legolas could not stand long against such a ferocious attack.
"Legolas!"
Aragorn and Corgan leapt onto the surface just as the elf heaved his attacker over the edge of the crevice…
…But held onto him tightly, unwilling to even let his would-be murderer die. Aragorn helped him pull the dwarf back to the flat ground. Corgan called to the human warriors that scaled the rope to help him bind the deadly dwarf.
"Legolas, you and I must go for help."
Legolas clutched his arm tightly, stopping the small amount of blood that seeped between his fingers. Then, he and Aragorn headed towards the gateway that seemed to stand so very far away…
Ten Days Later…
Legolas stepped past the stunned guards as if there was nothing different about him. But he had changed. The second trip to Moria had almost shattered his grip on reality, but he had managed to keep his hold on the real world.
His father was conversing with another elf about some matter of importance, Legolas did not know what. Instead, he stood, dressed in his traveling tunic, waiting for his father to notice him standing at the back of his council hall.
Thranduil did see him, but ignored him. He continued his conversation, eventually turning his back on his son.
Legolas waited.
The elf that Thranduil had been talking with bowed slightly and left, his business with the King finished. He passed by the prince with an inquisitive glance, and then retreated from the room, leaving father and son alone with two guards.
"What are you doing here?" Thranduil said bluntly, his back still to his son.
"I have finished my mission, and I have returned alive," The elven prince said quietly, "My friends are all alive. None were lost in the dark of Moria."
"You are wrong, my son was lost there," The elven king looked into the fireplace where a blaze roared, "I have pronounced the offspring of my blood to be dead. You are an imposter."
"What? Father, have you gone mad?" Legolas was taken aback, and took a step forward, "I stand before you, alive and well! I have lost none of my light, of this I assure you!"
"My son died the moment he refused to obey me!" Thranduil thundered, "You will leave Mirkwood! If I see your face here again, I will imprison you! To this I swear!"
Legolas was aghast. He stepped forward again, until he had reached his father's side, "This is madness! I have done no wrong to hurt you, father! Is it possible that you disown me over a matter that is over and done with?"
"Guards!" Thranduil yelled and stepped away from the elf that had been his son. The two guards surged forward and took Legolas by the arms. The elven prince did not struggle.
Thranduil met his son's eyes.
"Take this elf and his belongings to the edge of Mirkwood," He commanded, his gaze still locked with his son's, "Be sure he does not enter the forest again."
"Father!" Legolas cried. The guards began pulling him towards the door, but he struggled, "I should have died from the caeleb-cened plant! Would have been a happier death than exile from my own home!"
His pleads fell on deaf ears as he was taken from the room.