Thank you! Thank you! Nice reviews! Do you want me to babble on? No? Okay, read on!
Legolas pushed a tree branch out of his path, his keen eyes surveying his surroundings, his ears alert to every sound. He was near the edge of the Mirkwood forest; his steps brought him nearer to the rocky terrain of Misty Mountain. He had been in the woods the whole day, and the sun was about to set down. I'll return home after I make sure there's no trap left, he vowed, and kept on walking.
A few hours ago, he'd encountered the woodland guards. They were surprised to see their prince all alone without any escorts while he was obviously still grieving. "Your highness! We never expect to se you here."
"How's your patrol? Find anything?" Legolas asked, hoping that the guards had found any clues of the traps' owners.
"Not yet, your highness. No one comes to claim the traps, though we've waited for two days now. But we have destroyed every trap that we could find," one of the guards informed him. Yet Legolas was still not satisfied; not until he had searched the area himself. He had never expected Foolish and Idiot would venture this far into the woods, and no one knew what would happen if any of the Mirkwood elves come across a deadly trap unsuspected.
When he reached the foot of the mountain, it was nearly dark. Legolas looked up. He can't even see the summit. As he started to turn around towards Mirkwood though, his sharp eyes caught something unusual. A thin line of thread was strung taut about one inch above the ground. Cautiously, he approached it. He didn't dare touched the line, knowing that he'd found one of the hunting traps.
Picking up a long stick, he crouched down and poked at the thin line with it. The thread snapped and with a loud whoosh, a wooden spike rose up from the bushes. If Legolas had stepped onto the thread just now, he would end up with the spike buried deep in his ribs.
He stared at it in puzzle. The contraption looked quite large to be a mere hunting trap. From the wounds on Foolish and Idiot, he'd deduced that the traps would be much smaller than this. What are the hunters hunting anyway?
He found several more similar traps and destroyed it. Most of them were situated near the foot of the mountain. Legolas took a different path on his way back, making sure he would not miss any one of them. He encountered the last one under a big oak tree, the thread running taut between two bushes. Like before, he used the stick to disarm the trap. But instead of a spike came rising up from the bushes, a spear came flying towards him from the front!
Legolas realized his error a little too late. He jumped out of the way, but not fast enough. The spear hit him in the thigh, plunging through the skin and muscle. The sudden force slammed him to the tree trunk. He was dazed and confused for a few moments, before the agony crept over him.
Gritting his teeth and cursing himself for his own stupidity, he grabbed the spear and pulled. When the spear came out, his blood flowed heavily like waterfall. Again he cursed himself for being so careless. Tearing his sleeve, he wrapped the cloth around the wound tightly, staunching the bleeding. Ironically, it was the same thigh that Arulin had stabbed six months ago.
Pulling out the chain that held the stone of Manya from under his shirt, he whipped his head about, looking for any water source. The healing stone only worked with natural water, the way his own blood had flourished its magical power while he was still a manyan. He remembered coming across a stream on his way here. Grabbing his bow that had been thrown away earlier and using it as a crutch, Legolas limped painfully forward.
He must have been stumbling not more than half a league when suddenly, his sense picked on something strange. Frowning, he stilled himself and tried to determine the direction it had came from. He heard nothing although he can feel the presence coming nearer and nearer. Nicking an arrow to his bow, he stood at ready for any threat and danger. He was alarmed though when he felt himself getting more and more lightheaded due to the blood lost.
He forced himself to stand upright, yet can't stop himself from swaying as waves of nausea washed over him, signaling his ever weakening body. To his horror, he lost his balance and went face forward to the earth; the arrow in his bow flew aimlessly into the dark. He lay there unmoving, slowly losing his consciousness.
The last thing he saw before he passed out was the fierce expression on the face of the approaching short and stout figures…the dwarves.
***************
Arwen smiled when she read the markings on the headstone. "Here lies Foolish and Idiot. Pests, Friends, and Heroes. May the Valar protect them." She turned to Keldarion. "Very nicely put, Kel."
Keldarion looked at the still fresh mound of earth and grinned. "It was the king's idea. They loved to hit on his nerves, but my father adores them anyway."
The four of them stood silently in the royal graveyard, paying respects to the two small creatures that had brought much joy (or chaos, whichever you prefer) to the Mirkwood realm.
A sudden gust of wind rustled through the trees above. Keldarion looked up, suddenly uneasy. Arwen and the twins exchanged glances with one another, noticing the way the wind sighed and whimpered. "Kel?" Arwen called out, knowing that the Mirkwood crown prince could understand the message of the wind.
"It's telling us something." Kel turned to his friends. "Something bad had happened to Legolas!"
**************
When he came to, Legolas was instantly aware of the painful jostling against his injured thigh. He then realized he was flung carelessly over a shoulder of a very stout dwarf. Because of the dwarf's short build, Legolas's own legs nearly brushed the ground.
In retaliation, the elf yanked at the dwarf's hair while at the same time his uninjured leg lashed out and hit the dwarf in the groin. With a loud "Oof!!", the dwarf released his hold on Legolas, and the elf prince tumbled to the ground. He instantly got to his feet, and took up a defending stance. He eyed them warily. They were ten in all, armed with axes and blades, looking very strong despite their height.
"Seize him!" One of them, obviously the leader, ordered. They attacked him all at once, diminishing Legolas's attempt to escape. He punched one dwarf in the nose, elbowed another in the chest. He'd managed to knee the next one in the stomach when they kicked his wounded thigh. Legolas cried out in pain before he tumbled to the ground once more.
The dwarves were onto him immediately, sitting on his back and legs, holding him immobile. Legolas would not stop struggling. With his free hand, he yanked hard onto the beard of a nearest dwarf. The dwarf howled in pain. Grabbing his axe, the dwarf slammed the blunt edge at the back of the axe against the prince's temple. Legolas saw stars before his world turned black.
"Tie him up! We cannot have him escape!" The leader yelled. The other dwarves followed his orders. They bound Legolas's wrists and ankles before they carried him away.
In their haste, they did not saw the broken chain still attached to the stone of Manya, which glowed faintly in the dark under some brambles…
TBC….
New pets for Legolas? Hmmm…I'll see what I can do…