A/N: wow...two chaps in one day! Amazing!...you guys better love me! Though I think when you get to the end of this chapter...you will not...lol...enjoy! ::smiles::











Chapter 25



Death And Evil



Days passed by long and slowly. No change had shown in Nurtaur, and Ami sensed Natalia fade into a deeper despair each day.

No other sign of Malfanion had been heard of, but that did not mean that he wasn't there.

Between that, Morfalath, her best friend in utter grief, and her frequent hungry stares from Haldir...Ami thought as if she were going to go mad.

But it was of course Legolas who always brought her back to sanity.

They continued on their archery practicing, and Ami still refused to shoot an arrow at him. But Legolas never gave up.

At each lesson he would try to convince her, and at each lesson she would again refused.

And today's practice was no different.

As soon as Legolas placed the apple on his head...Ami sighed and walked up to him. She grabbed the apple and took a bite out of it.

"Hey! That was my lunch." He said as he crossed his arms and made believe he was angry.

Ami smiled and tossed it back to him.

"Throw it in the air Legolas." She said as she turned her back on him and began to walk.

"And do not tell me when you have done so."

Legolas smiled and tossed the apple high into the air.

Instantly, Ami spun around, her bow bent and aimed high. She let loose the arrow and watched as it sung through the air.

Reaching its destination, it pierced through the apple and came falling back down to Middle-earth, hitting the ground at Legolas' feet.

Legolas crossed his arms and smiled proudly at her.

"You owe me an apple." He said.

Ami squealed and ran towards him.

"I can't believe I hit it!" She screeched as she flung herself into his arms.

Legolas laughed as he held her.

Then all at once his strong Elven senses came drawing in fast.

Every nerve in his body reacted to it.

Legolas stiffened.

Ami flet this and pulled back with a look of concern on her face.

"Legolas?"

But Legolas was not looking at her. His gaze was cast to the woods behind her.

"Neveth..." He said steadily as he slowly pushed her behind his body as to protect her.

"...Run." He said.

Ami stared at his back in confusion.

"Legolas what is it?" She questioned.

"Run!" He yelled.

Ami did not feel to question again. The tone he used was not angry, but fearful.

She took off running into the woods.

Legolas took slow, steady steps into the direction he knew he had seen something.

His bow was notched and all his senses were alert, ready to pounce on anything out of place.

He searched around, but could find nothing.

'Neveth must be back to our flet by now.' He thought to himself.

Then suddenly, Legolas felt something very wrong.

"LEGOLAS!" A piercing scream rang through the forest.

Legolas spun around in the direction of the scream, fear so very clear in his eyes.

"Neveth!" He said as he broke out into a dead run in the opposite direction.

What an ass he was to leave her alone.

~*~

Ami ran as fast as she could through the woods.

She didn't know what she was running from, but Legolas obviously did, and Ami feared the options that stood in that category.

The next thing Ami knew, she was grabbed from behind, and a hand clung over her mouth as she screamed in surprise.

She began to struggle and scream more, but the hand was clasped to tight for anyone to hear.

"Shh Neveth quiet! I am not going to hurt you."

Ami stilled herself at the voice, but then a deep anger filled her and she fought more.

She began mumbling into the hand furiously until he let her go.

"How dare you Morfalath!" She yelled at him.

"Neveth you must leave this place. Tis not safe for you here."

Ami glared at him.

"What do you mean?"

Morfalath looked most distressed and he rubbed his hands together in dismay.

"I have made a terrible mistake Neveth. One that I know you will never forgive me for."

Ami almost felt sorry for the Elf at the state he was in.

"Morfalath what are you talking about?" Ami questioned, her voice quivering from the fear of what the answer might be.

"Last season Neveth, when I came to you while you bathed, I meant it when I said I would do anything to get what I wanted. And to my never dying shame I did..."

"Morfalath what did you do?" Ami felt the fear gripping her harder as a great evil presence filled the woods and surrounded her.

"I...I made a pact with a black haired Elf named Mlafanion."

Ami went pale.

"He came to me in the woods that night. He knew of what happened and what I said to you. He promised me he would give me my desire if I helped him."

Ami's whole body began to shake.

"So I did. He knew he could never get to you, not so long as the lady was constantly praying your safety. He knew he needed to get you when you were alone, but even that was impossible with the prince around. And he knew that you would leave if you had no other excuse in staying here...that is where I came into the picture..."

"Morfalath...wh-what did you do?"

Morfalath looked shamed.

"I was keeping your friend Nurtaur sick."

Ami gasped.

"How?" She yelled.

Morfalath cringed at the loudness of her voice.

"The poison Malfanion used was only to make him sleep. The lady removed the spell from Nurtaur, but it would be a while before he could wake. Malfanion gave me another poison that I was to slip into the water his wife used to caress his brow. I did this and so he has not awakened."

Ami felt a great anger rise in her.

"You bastard!" She yelled.

She rushed forward in an attempt to strike at him any way she could, but he grabbed hold of her arms and stopped her.

"Please Neveth you must help..." But Malfanion's words faltered as a look of pure shock swept across his face.

Ami ceased her struggle and looked at him.

"...Me." He finished. The one word was full of pain. His complexion grew pail, and Ami felt his weight coming down on her.

"Morfalath?" She said, but he did not stop.

Ami fell to the ground, and Morfalath's lifeless body landed on top of her.

Ami landed with a thud that almost took the wind out of her.

But then her blood chilled and the color raced from her face.

In Morfalath's back stood a great knife. Deeply thrust into him.

Ami wanted to scream, but her voice left her.

Her eyes searched the woods around her, but she saw no one.

She tried to push Morfalath off of her, but it didn't work.

Devastated tears began to pour from her eyes as she used all her strength and tried again, only to fail.

She finally drew all the strength she had left in her and screamed as loud as she could.

"LEGOLAS!"

Now all she could do was wait.

She felt the presence of that evil begin to grow.

Fear struck her hard, until one voice chased it all away.

"Neveth!" It called.

Ami felt relief rush over her.

"Legolas! Legolas!..." She kept screaming his name from all the devastation. It seemed as if simply stating his name chased all the evil away.

Legolas rushed forward when he heard her call him again, and again, and again.

He burst into the clearing and saw her. She lay under a body that had an Elvish knife thrust into him.

Legolas quickly walked over to the body when he heard her tearful please for him.

He pulled the it off of her and immediately took her into his arms.

He soothed her as she sobbed into his shoulder, clinging to him like moss to a tree.

Legolas looked over at the body.

He sighed when he saw it was Morfalath.

"Shh pen-neth, all is well. I am here...you are safe."

"And so you would like her to think that...wouldn't you Legolas?"

Both Legolas and Ami froze.

Legolas felt Ami's body begin to tremble in his arms, and he slowly turned his head in the direction she was looking. In the direction the voice had come from.

Legolas' eye's widened and he gasped.

"Malfanion!" He said.



Muahaha! Aren't I evil? Just push that little purple botton down there and tell me hoe evil I am!...lol!...I promise to not take so long to post the next chap, if you promise to review like mad until I do! And after!...lol!