Note: All unknown characters are mine, except for Miat! The rest belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. Miat = Legolas. = Different language (other than English and Elvish), " " = Basic English, and ' ' = Elvish. Yes, the other language is Japanese!

The Hour Of Need

Part 6

Miataru gasped. Nain!

Hai, Miat, Meiyuu said. A strange emotion flickered through his blue eyes. "You need to return to your room before he gets here."

Miat nodded slowly. "I…go…" The elf turned and looked at Aragorn. Adiousu, Aragorn.

"Goodbye," Aragorn said, before sighing. He watched Legolas leave to return to his room.

Frodo waved farewell.

Gimli said nothing, until he turned to the hooded figure, which still stood there.

Meiyuu turned to Aragorn. "You know who Miat truly is, do you not?"

Aragorn nodded. "He is my best friend, Legolas Greenleaf."

Meiyuu said, "He was brought here over three years ago by Shira, with no memory of who he is."

"So he is Legolas," Frodo said. "He should come with us and go home, where he belongs."

"It is not that simple, little one. No-one ever leaves this place, at least… not alive."

"Why are you helping us?" Aragorn questioned sharply.

Meiyuu turned to the suspicious human. "I have my reasons. I do not wish to see what happened to the other Elves happen to our friend."

Gimli grumbled, "What other Elves?"

"Don't bother looking for them. They all died. A new Elf comes here every three or four years. Miat was just the next one to come." A hint of bitterness was in Meiyuu's voice.

Frodo gasped. "How did they die?"

"I have not found that out yet- but I will. If Miat is your lost friend, you need to leave this place with him. It is three months before the time every few years, where one Elf mysteriously dies. Miat is the only elf left."

Aragorn frowned. "Elves can only die from grief."

Meiyuu turned a condescending look on him. "What's the one thing that humans and Elves have in common, stranger, which they cannot exist without?"

A sharp knock sounded on the door, interrupting them.

Meiyuu silently went over to the window. Noiselessly, he stepped onto the windowsill and then climbed onto the roof above. He then froze. Meiyuu accomplished his goal in less than two minutes.

The door burst open right after Meiyuu had hidden himself.

"Where is he?" a figure dressed entirely in black snarled.

"Who?" Aragorn questioned mildly. He sat on his bed, next to Frodo.

The figure narrowed his blue eyes. "Do not play games with me. Where is Miataru?"

Aragorn shrugged casually. "How would I know? I was told to stay away from him." He knew that the figure could not press him for more information, unless he was willing to admit that he had been spying on them.

The figure frowned menacingly at them. "Shira and Tsuku will not be pleased with this. Neither am I." He turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

Meiyuu swung through the window as soon as he was gone. He dusted off his robes, and looked at the three.

Frodo asked curiously, "Why do you not remove your hood? I can't even see your face." The question had been bothering him for some time, for he liked to look on the face of those he spoke to.

Meiyuu stiffened. "I would not wish to scare you, child. Do you think that they let those who question their authority go unpunished? Of course, it matters little to me if they punish me."

"Are you the only one who questions them?" Aragorn interjected, to defuse the tension.

"Yes. I was the only one who asked why only the Elves died, around the same time every year, of the same causes. I have seen much that makes me suspicious- but I have no proof. But I would that Miat be spared."

"So you are saying that if Legolas stays here, he will die?" Gimli muttered.

Meiyuu looked at the unknown little person. "All I'm saying is that many Elves have come here and died. And those that tried to escape all failed. They were killed, mutilated. Miat or Legolas, as you call him, may or may not be killed if he stays here. But the past is against him surviving."

"Who did they kill that made you so angry?" Aragorn asked bluntly.

"My only daughter. She was a half Elf and tried to escape, but was captured. I had to watch her die, and I can still hear her screaming for me. I tried to save her, but Shira and Tsuku turned on me and held me back. I did not wish to lose another friend to what my child went through. After that, I started questioning their procedures. I was warned to keep my mouth shut, but I refuse to be silenced. There are some things that need to be stopped."

Aragorn said quietly, "I'm sorry."

Meiyuu looked at him. "Being sorry does not help. It does not ease the pain or the screams in a memory." His voice was cold. "Save your sympathy for Miat, in case he does not survive. The best thing you could do is get him out of here, before it's too late and he is dead."

The hooded figure started walking towards the door, but Aragorn caught his arm.

"I suggest you release me, or I will make you."

Aragorn pulled the hood off, and gazed at the face of the one person who wanted Legolas to return to his life.

Scars marred the face, in X shapes. The blue eyes never met, as Meiyuu looked squarely at him. His face was gaunt, and he looked very, very young, scarcely beyond fifteen. And disillusioned.

"How old are you?" Aragorn asked suspiciously.

"How old do you think I am?" Meiyuu retorted.

Gimli said, "You couldn't have had a daughter. You're not old enough."

Meiyuu looked annoyed. "Not if my daughter was the child of my oldest and only sister, who died in childbirth. I raised her from the time that I was ten, until she turned was nearly six. Shira came to take her, and she ran instead. "

A sudden cry drew their attention. It came from further down, in the hallway.

"Miat!" Meiyuu gasped. He yanked free from Aragorn, and pulled his hood down. He then ran out of the room.

Aragorn was right behind him, followed by Gimli and Frodo.

Miat struggled physically with the person who had burst into his room. The figure dressed in black snarled when the elf managed to strike him across the face.

Shuushi soretomo, Miat, the figure hissed, as he twisted Miat's arm behind his back hard.

Miat lashed out with his feet, and tripped his attacker. The elf bolted to the door and flung it open. He ran down the hallway, until he was tackled from behind by the equally fast figure. He drew his sword and sliced at the figure. The one in black drew his short sword and deflected it.

The swords clanged and parried a few times, and Miat managed to slice the face of his assailant. But as he did so, the short sword cut into his hand, and the point was placed at the elf's throat.

To be continued

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Nain = No

Hai, Miat = Yes, Miat

Adiousu, Aragorn = Goodbye, Aragorn

Shuushi soretomo, Miat = Stop or else, Miat

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