The Differance

by Leafy

Rating: PG-13 for violence, bad attitudes, and tense situations.

Author's Note: This fanfic is loosely inspired by an episode of the television show "Deep Space Nine", and is much more drawn from the movie of FOTR, than the book.

I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing Tolkien or DS9.

PS: Thank you, everyone who reviewed my last story! It was wonderful of you! :o) I'll respond more in-depth laer, just want to get this up now. :o)

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Chapter 1

'By Sheer Accident'

"Why?" the savage demand bit through the cold foggy air of the morning.

Legolas turned around abruptly at his seat by the fire, looking through the trees for the source of the alarming sound. He was alone in the camp, the others having gone off on various morning errands; finding more firewood, fetching the water, or hunting something for breakfast likely to sustain them all until night. Legolas had been told to relax and wait for the others, that his only job at present was to remain by the fire. He had been doing all of these things, and willingly, up until now. Now, he stood up and, stepping over the rock he'd been sitting on, gazed intently at the trees, waiting to here the noise again.

"Why?" the same brutal voice persisted after a pause. It sounded far off, but not too far off. There was another pause, during which Legolas thought he heard another voice trying to respond, though he couldn't be sure, for if it was there, it was interrupted by a strange dull thud, from the same spot, by the sound of it.

Legolas tentatively made his way to the edge of the clearing, his senses alert, straining to hear more. He peered between the trunks, but could see no forms, close by or far away.

"Tell me!" the voice continued, and Legolas heard leaves rustling, and then definitely a smaller, somewhat frightened voice. It was stammering and faltering, trying to mount a response to these terrifying commands.

"I--I--" it attempted, but was cut off by another thud, though this one sounded alarmingly like a blow being landed on a vulnerable body.

Without giving a thought to what the fellowship might think if they came back and he wasn't there, Legolas took off in pursuit of the source of the noise. He didn't know who was involved in this fearsome quarrel, but there was a chance that it was one or more of the fellowship, and he felt that he had to help.

Legolas stopped just behind a thin layer of trees outside of the clearing, which proved to be rather far off indeed, where the sounds had been coming from. He could see two males, tall and of obvious Elven build. They were dressed much the same, in dark robes that looked very old. One of them seemed a bit taller than the other, although that might merely have been an illusion caused by his evidently vehement anger, as he backed slightly away in disgust from the other. The other, shorter, elf was leaning against a tree and had turned his head away, indicating to the watchful Legolas that he had, indeed, been struck, right across the face. Legolas frowned. He had obviously stumbled upon a very serious argument, but it was also obviously a private one. As much as he might want to intervene, he didn't know the circumstances of the quarrel, so it was not his place. And yet, he remained where he stood. He sensed some dangerous element in the angry elf, which made him rather uneasy, for the other one's sake.

"How could you?" the taller elf demanded ferociously. "How could you allow this to happen?"

The other elf straightened up from his wounded posture, his face set with animosity and determination. He seemed to be less shocked now, and more angered by the blow, and was evidently determined not to offer the other elf any answers to his fiery questions.

"Tell me!" the taller elf barked again, as if he sensed the uselessness his demands had acquired. He gritted his teeth as he stared hatefully at the other elf, waiting for a response but receiving none.

"Speak!" he leaped forward without warning, knocking the shorter elf in the side of the head with his fist so hard that the recipient fell to the ground.

"Stop!" Legolas exclaimed in spite of himself, bounding into the clearing, alarm in his face.

The tall elf looked up, startled at the sound of another voice. His face melded confusion and anger on spotting Legolas, and he lowered the hand he'd attacked the other elf with.

"Who are you?" he demanded, then his eyes fell on Legolas' bow and quiver, which Legolas had hung on his back and forgotten about long ago. The weapons obviously made the new elf fearful, for some of the anger disappeared from his face, and, almost imperceptibly, he drew a wide, short, flat blade from inside his own robes, holding it just out of sight, or so he thought. "Go away," he continued, a bit unsteadily now, coming over slowly to stand in front of Legolas. "This doesn't concern you."

Of course, Legolas meant to do no such thing at this point. Ignoring the supposedly-hidden weapon he'd pulled out, Legolas glared at the new elf for his presumptuousness, then moved past him and bent down beside the fallen elf, whom, he could now see, was unconscious from the last blow and an old, bulging root that was located just where his head had struck the ground, when he fell. This elf was rather smaller than the other, and no more muscular, and did not seem to have any weapons. Physically speaking, the now-unconscious elf would never have proved to be much of a threat to the bigger elf, unless he had been armed and ready. Legolas straightened up, looking back at the other elf. He didn't like the look of things…

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"Go--," the elf began again, fiercely this time, but then started looking at Legolas in a strange way, as if he was just seeing him for the first time. He looked him up and down slowly, the beginnings of a smile of enlightenment forming on his face. His eyes met the prince's.

"Ringbearer," he hissed.

Before the full meaning of this word hit Legolas, the other elf lunged at him, the knife now in full view. Legolas dodged, but not fast enough, as he was quite surprised by the mostly-unprovoked attack. He felt the blade nick the side of his face near his chin, gliding into his hair, and, by the feel of, cutting into one of his braids.

**********

Aragorn frowned as he wiped the blade of his sword, looking down at the dead deer at his feet. This had been a lucky find, and would prove very nice for the breakfast the others were anticipating, yet Aragorn couldn't seem to focus on this. There was something very troubling in the air, like there was someone or something evil lurking. This had to be untrue, though, the ranger reasoned as he hoisted the deer off the ground. They had entered this forest last night, and had seen n sign of any living things here, save a few woodland creatures, harmless whether or not one had a weapon. This feeling that had overcome Aragorn must have been just that; a feeling. Nothing more.

Just then, as if the fates wished to contradict him, Aragorn heard an indiscernible, though loud, exclamation of anger, then what sounded like a punch. Then, as if this wasn't enough, he heard Legolas' voice, clear as day, yelling out "Stop!" Without another thought, Aragorn bolted after what he'd been anticipating. The fellowship might have to wait a bit for their breakfast…

**********

Legolas bridled at the unexpected success of the attack, his hand flying to his face. He could feel a shallow cut and a slight amount of warm blood there, as well as a much-shorter braid between the tips of his fingers. He looked at the other elf, repressing shock at this violent gesture, trying to process all of the new information now bombarding him.

He did not know who either of these elves were, where they'd come from, or what they'd been quarreling about, though three things became clear to Legolas, very quickly; this elf before him was evil, he wanted the ring, and he thought that Legolas was in exclusive possession of it.

"The ring…" the elf hissed, as if confirming Legolas' hurried speculations. The assailant lunged for him once more with the knife, but Legolas stepped back jerkily, dodging successfully, but stumbling on something hard and round just by his foot. He looked down to see what looked for all the world like a flask full of light. He noticed that the stopper seemed to have come out when he'd trod on it.

**********

Breaking through a ring of trees, Aragorn was confronted with three elves; two of them entangled in an obvious fight, one of them lying on the ground. Aragorn's eyes immediately went to the latter, noticing with relief that it wasn't Legolas, but a strange elf, one that Aragorn had never seen before, and who didn't look likely to be a native of these barren woods. One of the other two looked much like the first, apart, of course, from the aspect of unconsciousness, and the third was unmistakeably Legolas, his head turned to the side and his hand at his face, the glint of blood between his fingers. He was, despite the blade-wielding enemy in front of him, looking down at something beside his foot, which Aragorn could not see from where he was standing. The other elf could see it, though, and he backed away in alarm, as Aragorn observed a bright light to expanded from the ground next to Legolas, enveloping the oblivious elf and swelling out, then contracting inwards.

"Legolas--" he cried sharply, stepping forward, but not quickly enough, as Legolas only had time to look at up Aragorn with confusion, before both he and the light abruptly vanished.

**********

The light did not hurt Legolas at all. In fact, there was no sensation to it. He'd barely been able to register what had happened to him before the scene around him had changed so quickly that it disoriented him. He was still standing, but was now on leafless, stony ground, and none of the others were in sight. And, stranger still, as he felt his face, which had suddenly stopped stinging, he could find no trace of the facial wound. Even his braid had been restored to its original length, and was nicely plaited once more. Legolas looked about in surprise, trying to determine where he was and what had happened.

His strange new location still bore some foliage, and looked familiar, but was obviously not even at all close to the place in which he had done battle with the elf. As Legolas continued looking around, he realized suddenly from its appearance where he must be; the Misty Mountains.

How in Middle-earth had he gotten all the way to the Misty Mountains? Legolas began walking, trying to find the edge of the rock on which he stood, trying to find some landmark, somewhere. His mind wandered back to the last things he remembered. He remembered Aragorn's alarmed beckoning, but, more importantly at this point, he remembered the strange light that had enveloped him so surreptitiously that he hadn't noticed it until it was too late. Legolas thought about this agitatedly as he continued walking forward. It had seemed like some kind of magic, and this whole new situation seemed to confirm that it was strange, if not, evil, magic.

Just then, as he reached an incline in the side of the rocks, his eyes locked onto something startling and magnificent on the lower horizon. Down the mountain, and a short way from the base of it, was what looked like a castle. It didn't look very old, but, from where Legolas stood, he could tell that large parts of it had deteriorated into worthlessness and dangerousness, while other parts stood firm, looking pristine, almost untouched.

Legolas narrowed his eyes at the structure.

~~End of Part 1