Blood-Stained

Ch. 5: Battlefields

A/N: Hey ppl! Thank you so much for reviewing this!! ^_^ I was worried that it would come out too much like a Mary-Sue, but I rather liked how it came out! And now, to thank my reviewers! To Shannara Harper and Cat-Chan, thank you for your encouragement! And to D45: This story is Pre-Rings, but there are small things written into it from the original books, like when Legolas goes to Rivendell to tell Elrond of Gollum's escape, but the events don't follow like the book. Thanks so much, and here's chapter 5! Oh, and sorry if this chapter sucks; I just went through major writer's block and some things may not make sense or the flowing quality of the writing might not be at my best right at the moment.

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The King watched with pained eyes as one of the outer walls of the palace came tumbling down. As evidenced by the gruesome actions of the invading Orcs, and of the fact that his servants and pages kept yelling different suggestions in his ears constantly, he knew that the palace was no longer safe.

"Sire, you must leave immediately!" One of the returned Stewards yelled to him, running up amongst all the soldiers that were lining themselves up in the hallway, prepared to protect their king from any kind of oncoming attack. Thranduil looked at him; he was still sporting a few gashes and cuts from his terrified ride back to Mirkwood, and the story he had brought with him had nearly devastated the king's heart. He had told of how his other fellows had fallen against the swarming packs of Orcs, and of how Legolas had thrust full speed into the strongest legions, bearing his bow and taking down as many of them as he could. Thranduil hoped for his son's safety, and all he could hope now was that he had made it to Rivendell safely.

"Yes, yes. Is the passage out secure?" He asked. There was no way he would leave until he was sure that he would be safe. The Steward nodded slightly, beckoning for his king to follow him. Thranduil got up slowly from his throne, unwilling to leave yet knowing he had to for his own life. It may be the last time he would sit inside the palace itself, so he enjoyed it while the moments ticked away.

There came a thrashing at the door. Orcs screamed at the doorway, and Thranduil could hear their armour and weapons clanging together and against the door in their vain attempt to get in. He involuntarily shuddered; Orcs had been elves once, true nature-loving elves, but they had been corrupted by the Dark Lord himself and set forth to breed new strains and variations as they pleased. There was no end to their ruthlessness, though they may have been lacking a little in the brains department. The king could remember a story that he had heard once, before he had become King; it was thought that Orcs were as smart and could be as stealthy as regular elves, but the pain they had been put through - emotional and physical - stayed with them, and it warped and twisted their minds.

"Your Lordship!" One of the servants yelled above the straining wood of the creaking doors. The Orcs would be on them any moment now. The King got up and followed his servant, and this time he ran.

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Luthiena couldn't help but pace about her room. This elf, calling himself her father, had just locked her in! She couldn't help now but wonder what her life had been like before she lost her memory. Perhaps she was this foul creature's daughter, and she had escaped when she had seen a chance to leave this dreary, dismal place? That would explain why she had visions of herself running hard and long from a place such as this. It was making more and more sense of why she would want to run away, and she found herself thinking that it was glad she did.

A little while later, a knock came at her door, and she found herself fearing it. Nevertheless, the door opened and two very ugly Orcs came through, grabbing her almost silently and leading her forcefully through the black hallways. She struggled against them, but to no avail; they were much stronger than her and she could not hope to break free. Luthiena was convinced on her way down the hall that the man she called father was indeed evil, if he could manage to come into an alliance with dirty, ugly Orcs. She voiced this to one of her captors, and he growled threateningly at her but surprisingly did not harm her. She smirked; perhaps she would get out of this after all.

"Ah, my little girl. How was your first day home?" Rotan asked her gently, arriving before her and gesturing for the Orcs to let her go. She kicked at the beasts as they left, but apparently they were used to such behaviour. Luthiena noticed now how dark he seemed; dark and mysterious, and definitely full of anger.

"I do not call you father." She said defiantly, standing up as tall as she could. "I do not remember you. How do I know that you are not lying to me in order to get me to trust you?" She said. Rotan looked at her, his eyes suddenly turning steely.

"I did not say I wanted your trust, dear child. I do not care if you believe me or not, but what I say is the truth." He said softly, as if trying to restrain his voice from doing otherwise. She was surprised to note how soft his tones became when he spoke to her, but she knew that he was evil nonetheless and would not give into his false mask of the grieving parent. Rotan considered her as she stood before him in defiance.

"Why have you brought me here? I'm sure I had a good reason for running away, whether I am your daughter or not." Luthiena said defiantly, and instantly she knew she had hit a soft spot. The older elf seemed to cringe slightly, but he shook it off quickly.

"Because, my dear, you are essential to my plans." Apparently having enough of this odd reunion, he gestured to the air and the two Orcs came in again, taking her by the arms and forcefully removing her from the room. She screamed and howled several curses at him on her way out, and though they touched him on the inside he made no show of it on the outside. He sighed, turning once again to his window.

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Legolas stopped dead in his tracks, his ears suddenly pricked up. Though he was far off and he wasn't entirely sure what the noise was, his heart whispered the same word all the same; Orc. Immediately his mind filled with fear; it was in the direction of his home! Wasting no time, he tore off through the brush towards the glistening city, hoping now that he was not too late.

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The ugly creatures were everywhere, climbing over all the buildings and breaking nearly everything in sight, looking for elven prisoners to take and mutilate at their will. Luthiena travelled in the middle of this ugly pack of Orcs, handed down through the ranks to the very middle, where no warrior was sure to rescue her. She shrieked whenever she came into contact with the beasts, but was very relieved when they seemingly wanted nothing to do with her. She couldn't help but wonder, however, where they were going. As she looked around her, she suddenly became aware of the look - and feel - of the brush around her. It seemed that she had been here before; perhaps she was close to the Mirkwood palace and would be reunited with Legolas.

Legolas. The mere thought of the prince left doubt in her mind; he had seemed so angry with her when they had parted, and the look in his eyes was frightening all in itself. Those eyes, normally so warm and filled with laughter, had been frozen over and had turned rock solid. As the Orcs took her down another faceless hill, bumping her a good deal on the way down, she couldn't help but wonder if Legolas would come and rescue her. The way they had parted, it certainly didn't seem so; she felt a tear roll down the side of her cheek involuntarily, taking eternity to carve it's small passage down the creases in her face. What would he say to her now, should he look upon her once more? Would she simply be looked on as another elven female of Mirkwood, and not worth any of the Prince's time? She sighed, suddenly feeling quite weak as she walked.

"Faster, elf!" One of the huge Orcs roared at her, pushing his hand into the middle of her back. She felt the wind being knocked out of her, but managed to stay on her feet. She turned and glared at the ugly creature, but walked all the same. The Orcs didn't want to harm her, it seemed, and she wanted it to remain that way. When the Orc that had pushed her came up to her side and walked beside her, she took a chance by asking him - or, she assumed that it was a him - where they were taking her. He simply looked on her with disgust, the way someone may have looked upon a leech or fly.

"You shall know when we arrive, your majesty." He said, his voice full of sarcasm. At that moment Luthiena nearly spit on his shoes, but decided that in her situation that wouldn't exactly be the safest thing to do. She simply grumbled something in elvish - most likely curses, the commander thought with a smirk on his face - and walked forward, not lifting her head again.

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Legolas grumbled as he ran; the blazing pain in his forehead had not stopped, and it nearly came close to slowing him down. Being the stubborn elf that he was, however, he did not let the pain slow him, not even for a moment. His eyes and ears constantly searched the area he tread through for Orcs, or the dangerously toxic smell of Orcs, but he was relieved to find nothing. He could not, however, shake the feeling that something was drastically wrong, and it only helped to speed his journey. He wondered how long it would be to the city at his pace; on a horse he went nearly doubly as fast, and he had been just over half way to Rivendell, so that should have meant that it would take him double the time to get back. Then he had to consider the route that he had backtracked when he and Luthiena had been attacked by the Orcs, and finally reasoned that it was not much longer. Not much longer, he told himself stubbornly, so just shut up and run. It was this frame of mind that he took with him for the next few miles, and so his other senses were momentarily let down at certain times. If he had been at full alert and not bothered by his own aching head, he probably would have noticed the suspicious-looking bulge in the trees to the right. Legolas did not, however, and passed it as though it were nothing more than brush. Seeing that such a ploy would not work, the bulge stepped intentionally on a stick, making a loud cracking noise in the quiet forest. This got Legolas' attention, and he stopped dead in his tracks, mentally beating himself up for being so careless. There was nothing more for a few moments, and then the creature broke out into a run. Acting on his instincts, Legolas took off after it into the thorns. He saw from the brief snatches of it as it darted in between the trees that it was a small creature, bent over so it's hands were nearly touching the ground. He grumbled to himself; Gollum was leading him somewhere.

Trying his best to ignore his headache, Legolas drew his bow and held an arrow to it, prepared to fight off anything he encountered. So it was that the creature Gollum led the Prince into the darker areas of Mirkwood, making it plainly obvious where he was at all times. Legolas felt something stirring in his stomach, and it twisted almost painfully when he concentrated on it. He tried to shrug it off, knowing something big was about to happen.

Finally, there came a break in the trees; Legolas' eyes opened wide almost immediately, for he saw Luthiena standing in the middle, surrounded by at least twenty Orcs. They looked out from all sides, and he had to stop himself from crashing into the clearing and revealing that he had come. Instead, Legolas stopped and darted behind a tree, taking no time at all in climbing up it and surveying the area. Luthiena looked scared, but she seemed to be unhurt and unmolested - and he was glad for that. There seemed to be no one else in the area except for the Orcs, but he had a strange feeling that someone else was watching and listening from some place that no one could see. He crept forward on the branch, straining his eyes to see every detail of the clearing...

"Stop. Don't move." The voice came nearly next to his ear, and Legolas felt his heart stop in reaction. He slowly turned his head, but it was forced forwards again by the shaft of an arrow, which happened to be pointed directly at his head. He sighed, sitting up into a more comfortable position.

"Climb down. Slowly." The person instructed him, and the voice immediately branded the male voice as elven. He wondered if he had come across bounty hunters of some sort, but he did not question the elf's orders as he slowly climbed down. He felt the arrow prick his backside gently, 'encouraging' him to walk forward into the clearing. He did so, his hands up in surrender, and felt his weapons being removed from his backside with a small snap of the leather holster they were kept in. His back immediately felt lighter, but it did not suddenly ease the pressure on his heart. He was now weapon less and probably defenceless, unless he could somehow kill and Orc with his bare hands.

"Legolas!" Luthiena called to him, sighting him coming out of the trees. She gasped when she saw none other than her assumed father Rotan pointing a deadly-looking arrow directly at the Prince's back, gesturing for him to come forward to where the Orcs could get their hands on him. Legolas looked up at her, and for a moment she thought she saw joy in his eyes, but it was quickly squashed by something else. She frowned, unable to look him directly in the eyes when her father had brought him up to the line of Orcs and they had shackled his feet and hands together to prevent escape. The Orcs immediately stopped surrounding her, and instead brought their attention to Legolas, who was now staring at the whole lot rather warily. She realised with anger in her heart that she had been used as bait, though she had really known it all along in her heart.

"What do you want with Legolas?!?" She asked her father angrily, after he had put down his bow and replaced it at his backside. Rotan watched her approach with something that she could not identify dancing in his eyes, and it frightened her slightly.

"Why, my dear daughter, I plan to kill him. Of course, you should have already assumed that." Her father said casually, waving his hand. At this Legolas struggled, but only resulted in him getting backhanded and tossed nearly to the ground, and getting his eardrums nearly blasted out by the harsh voice of the Orc captain yelling at him to be still. Luthiena bit her lip, trying to be still; she knew now why she had run away from him. This elf before her was a monster, and she was sure that his plan somehow involved Mirkwood palace, and King Thranduil. She just knew it. As if to voice her fears, her father spoke again of his plans.

"Yes, I was happy to have you back my dear, but even happier to know that you had befriended the Prince Legolas." He said, shooting a glance at the struggling elf, "It all worked to my advantage, of course. I used you as bait - though I suppose you know that by now - to capture the prince, and with him I can control that damned King Thranduil, for his only son Legolas is his weakness, you see." Rotan laughed, backhanding Legolas once more and causing much laughter amongst the Orcs. Luthiena burned; this elf was truly the most evil creature ever to exist, with the exception of Sauron himself!

"My father will not give in to you." Legolas said defiantly, doing what Luthiena could not and spitting on his shoes. Rotan's face twisted into a frown, and he backhanded the prince once more, but that did not shut him up.

"You will never win! Mirkwood is stronger than a singular elf wishing to change everything it believes in!" At this he received another punch, and he finally took it upon himself to become silent for the time being. While this happened, a question surfaced in her mind, one that had been plaguing her for a while now. She turned to her father.

"Why? Why do this?" She asked suddenly, causing Rotan to stare directly at her. She thought she could see a smile on his face, but it was quickly masked by an evil smirk, one that made her shudder.

"Ah, I was waiting for someone to ask! For, you see my daughter, I plan to take over Mirkwood by eliminating the king. Once he is out of the way, I can claim the throne as my own!" He erupted into laughter. When he had calmed himself, he spoke again, "For I, Rotan of Mirkwood, should have been it's ruler." At this Legolas gasped, and the older elf turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "You have heard of me, then?" He asked, the humour evident in his voice. It was clear that he thought he was in complete control now, and that his plans had been cemented into place.

"Yes, I have heard of you. I have heard tales around the city of an elf who was of equal power to my father at the time that my Grandfather died, and that you two struggled for power. I also know," Legolas said with a grin, "That my father fought you, and won. He said you disappeared into the darker parts of the forest, and we all presumed you dead."

"But you were wrong!" Rotan hissed, pacing despite himself. "I lived, and after I made an alliance with these travelling packs of Orcs I began plotting my revenge!" Rotan gestured, sweeping his hands over the Orcs that had packed around Legolas and Luthiena, preventing them both from escaping. And then, almost as an afterthought, the Lord approached Legolas and looked him in the eye.

"I will win this time. My armies have already marched on Mirkwood Palace, and the king has been unseated. It is only a matter of time now." Legolas was left staring after the maniacal former Steward of Mirkwood as he stalked away, feeling a deep weight settle on his heart for fear of his father's life.