Blood-Stained

Ch. 4: To Set a Snare

The next morning was bright and cheery, but Luthiena hardly felt that way. Legolas had hardly spoken to her since those few words last evening, and she couldn't help but feel that it was her fault that he was so mad, cranky, irritable or perhaps all three. She found that he had risen before her and had already packed the horse; he was waiting beside it, his foot tapping irritably.

"Could your Ladyship hurry it up a tad, please?" He asked her, clearly angry with her. Luthiena simply stared at him, wondering what brought on this sudden change. Now, suddenly feeling very clumsy under his angry stare, she nearly tripped and fell on her face, but she managed to avoid that. Hotly blushing at her mistake, she mounted the horse and found Legolas doing the same right behind her. He was not warm and relaxed as he had been yesterday; rather, he was cold, hard and tight when she happened to brush against any part of him as they rode. She felt much like a child that had been scorned, and wanted to know desperately what she had done to upset him. Asking, however, seemed out of the question; she feared that she would get her head bitten off if she so much as uttered one word.

She was about to open her mouth when she heard a sound; it was faint, but unmistakable: drum beats. Doom, doom, doom... It rang in her ears faintly but clearly, and she turned half in the saddle to partially face Legolas. He was not looking at her, but at the landscape around him, seemingly finding anywhere else to look but her.

"Legolas." She whispered, hoping to get his attention. He seemed to ignore her the first time, but when she asked a second time he did look down at her. His face was curled down in a slight frown, but when he saw the slight fear in her eyes his gaze softened. Instead of speaking, however, he simply looked at her to tell her he was listening.

"I hear something..." She whispered. No sooner had she done so did the drumming come again, and this time the Prince heard it. He stopped the horse, who's eyes were doing near perfect circles all the way around, looking for the same noise as them. Luthiena watched as Legolas' hands tightened around the reins, pulling slowly tighter.

"Orcs." He whispered, eyes narrowing. Then, looking at Luthiena, he said, "We must run now. I feared that they had not gone for good." She simply nodded, and he kicked at the horse's sides, forcing it on suddenly. The beast was eager to comply, thrusting forward with it's neck moving in motion to its legs. Behind them, a few of the ugly beasts had already appeared, atop horses this time, and she feared that this time they would not escape.

`-`-`-`-`-`-`

Galadriel sighed, nearly swaying atop her horse. She had not been able to concentrate since the night before in the garden, and was getting suspicious looks from everyone in her party, especially her husband. He kept asking her if she was alright with that look in his eye, and half the time she blanked out to somewhere else. All she kept thinking of was that tender moment in the gardens, and what the king had meant when he had done what he did. I must consult the mirror when I return home, She thought to herself, I must have these questions answered.

`-`-`-`-`-`-`

The battle was joined once more, though this time Legolas and Luthiena were fleeing rather than attacking. The Orcs seemed to know their general direction, and several of the ugly creatures blocked their path when they could. Since he was controlling the horse once more, Legolas had no choice than to veer the beast away and look for another way out, but despite his swiftness he found the two of them generally being herded backwards. He pulled on the horse once more, and the beast turned a practically impossible, tight turn and ran off in the other direction.

Unfortunately, luck did not last out for long. An Orc, bigger than the rest of them, came flying out of the crowd of them and whipped out at them with his hand, managing to grab Legolas by the collar of his clothes and throwing him off the horse. Luthiena screamed and tried to reach back to him, but soon the Prince found himself slammed against the hard ground, dirt grinding into his face. He closed his eyes and covered them with his hands, but was surprised to see that the Orcs paid no attention to him at all, instead chasing after the horse and Luthiena, who was still atop it. The beasts sailed over his head as they jumped, leaving him completely untouched. Feeling the pain in the back of his head suddenly blossom, Legolas felt his eyes rolling up and he fell back to the dirt carpet, unconscious.

Luthiena felt like screaming, but she kept her head about her. When she looked back and saw that they did not harm Legolas, she was relieved, but was also frightened when she realised that they were after her. She took up the reins of the beast, but found that she was quickly trapped. Orcs had made a small circle around her, and since she had no weapon she was effectively trapped. She screamed out, the horse raising up to it's hindquarters when she did so.

"LEGOLAS!!!" She cried, before one of the nearest creatures grabbed her and slapped a hand over her mouth.

`-`-`-`-`-`

King Thranduil was musing, sitting on his throne absently as several assistants came up to him and presented him with things that needed his 'urgent attention'. He sighed, feeling his eyes droop.

"Lord Mirkwood!" A messenger arrived, looking quite out of breath. The king immediately straightened; this looked to be important. The servant stopped in front of him, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"Sire, there have been Orcs reported moving into the city! They're swarming the hills!" He said, clearly afraid. Thranduil felt a fear suddenly grip his heart; he had sent Legolas out there by himself, with nearly no protection. Who knew how many legions of Orcs were out there between Rivendell and Mirkwood? Forcing himself to keep his head, he ordered that all arms come to the palace and prepare to protect the city. The page nodded and ran away, to tell the guards resting in the adjoining guardhouse that they were needed, and to rally any volunteer soldiers that could be found.

Thranduil bit his lip; he could only hope that Legolas was alright.

`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`

Luthiena stood alone in the small room, looking around and noticing how dark and dreary it was. There was a throne, carved of cold black marble, but there was no one sitting on it. She looked around; this place looked eerily similar to her, but she could not place it. If she had only known where she was, she perhaps might have remembered.

"Hello, my dear daughter." Came a soft voice, and the image of a tall, dark-haired elf with dazzling green eyes like hers came into view from the shadows. Her jaw nearly dropped; it was someone important to her, she knew, but she knew not who. Could it be possible that this person was her father? He could be trying to trick you, her mind whispered, be careful.

"How do you know me?" She asked him immediately, backing up from him as he approached her. He looked hurt that she did this, but did not look angered. In fact, his eyes were full of something she could describe as sorrow and relief.

"Do you not know me, daughter? I am your father, Rotan." He said softly, holding his hand out to her once more. At the mention of the name Luthiena felt her mind buzz with memories, images, words and pictures that she could barely discern. It happened all at once, and she could not get a gain on anything, but somehow she did know that what he said was true.

"I woke up and found myself at Mirkwood castle, and that is all I know." She said softly, standing up straight. She suddenly realised that she must have looked much out of place in her green and gold-leaf dress, but she wore it with pride anyways. Despite his angry disposition earlier that morning, Luthiena took pride in knowing that Legolas thought it looked good on her. The elf Rotan seemed to take this new dress in as well, and looked her up and down.

"I never imagined that anything bright would look so nice on you, daughter. Do you miss the woollen dresses I had imprisoned you with?" He chuckled when she rapidly shook her head. Yes, he would have given his daughter such clothing had he known she wanted it, but she had not spoken of such things since...well, ever. Instead of commenting, he simply opened his arms to her.

"Come here, my child. Embrace your worried father." He asked her, and she found herself complying although she hadn't entirely made up her mind to. He sighed, breathing into her neck when she found herself against his body, which was actually very warm. She could tell that he was smiling, and she simply stood there and hugged him, not daring to move.

"I am sorry that I cannot remember you well, father. I fear my memory has left me for some reason." Luthiena explained to her now estranged parent, causing his eyebrow to raise. Clearly, he had not known of this beforehand. Still, the images of herself running, skirts held high, remained planted in her brain. She had run from this place, which she assumed was either her prison or her home. She had run from here, and with good reason. The only thing was, what was that reason? The edges of her memory threatened to come back, but she could not grasp them at that moment.

"Do not worry, child, I am sure that it will come back." Rotan assured her, taking her by the shoulder and leading her away from the throne room. She followed him, moved by something she could not describe, all thoughts of Legolas banished from her mind at the moment.

"Here, I will show you to your room. I have been very worried about you, Luthiena. When you went missing, I nearly died of sorrow. Promise not to break my heart again?" He asked her, looking her in the eyes when they had come to a pale grey door, somewhere down the hall. She nodded softly, and he smiled at her as he opened the door to her room. He bid her goodbye and walked off down the hall, and she entered her room and shut the door with a click. Though she did not hear it, the door itself locked behind her, shutting her in.

Looking around the room, she saw immediately why she would want to leave a place like this. Everything was either grey, black or white, and the walls were plain, unlike those of Mirkwood palace. Going over to the closet, she found several identical copies of the same dress that she had first been found by Legolas in. She wrinkled her nose in distaste at the huge woollen things and shut the door, happy that she could wear something so much more beautiful than those ugly things.

The thought struck her like a bolt of lightning; Legolas! She had completely forgotten about him in her dream-like state of trying to remember where she came from. She mentally cursed herself, walking to the door with the intent of asking her 'father' if she had seen Legolas when whatever picked her up and brought her here came. She took the handle of the door, but it would not open. Becoming alarmed, she struggled with it.

"Damn it!" She cursed herself for being so careless. She should have known better than to trust someone she barely even knew! Luthiena walked over and sat on the bed, the blankets of which alternated from black to grey. She could only hope now that Legolas would come back for her; and even then, it was probably a trap.

`-`-`-`-`-`-`

Legolas woke with a splitting headache. He groaned, sitting up. Just as he expected, he was lying in the same position in the same place as he had been when he and Luthiena were attacked. He had to assume that she had been captured now; no offence to her as a person, but she could not keep out of danger long. He stood up, ignoring his swimming head and terrible pounding that emanated from it, trying to concentrate on what he should do. As he saw it, he had a limited number of choices. One, he could go back to Mirkwood and being his search there for Luthiena; two, he could follow the tracks of the Orcs - which would probably get him nowhere, he realised - or three, he could go to Rivendell and carry out the mission that his father had assigned to him. Now all three looked like bad choices, but he would have to do something. He reasoned that Rivendell was too far away now, and without a horse he could not hope to make it there in speed. Following Orcs was like a death wish, so that left him only one option; to return to Mirkwood. He sighed, turning back in the direction of his home and beginning the painstaking journey back on foot.