Author's Note: Yes, yes, I am aware of the dreadful wait for the update
and I am truly sorry!!! Please don't worry, school is over with for the
semester and I have seen The Two Towers, twice by now actually, and my Lord
of the Rings obsession is in full gear again! This story will prevail and
updates will not lag! Mwahahaha! Um, anyways, I don't own Tolkien's stuff
by the way.
Chapter 11
The dark elf-lord was speaking again, and Legolas had to snap himself out of his despairing thoughts in order to make sense of what he was saying. "I hope you will cooperate and get along with Lord Glorfindel, it will only make things that much easier for all of us, young prince." The dark elf- lord's smile was never ceasing.
Legolas strained to find some sort of reply, but his mind suddenly refused to work. He was too much in awe of the legendary elf to speak, and at the same time he was terrified to learn that Glorfindel was an ally of the dark elf-lord. As far as he had been able to gather, the dark elf-lord did not hold good intentions for him or for Mirkwood, despite what he said. Matching Glorfindel along with him was too much for the young elf to grasp.
Legolas stared at Glorfindel, only to find that his gaze was being returned by the fair being. Legolas knew his confusion was clearly written upon his face, and he looked for some sort of sign from Glorfindel that there was something Legolas was not aware of. Some inner plan that would aid Legolas and get him away from this mad elf. But Glorfindel stood placidly, his features carefully smoothed over. Absolutely nothing was revealed upon his face, and the only sign Legolas could pick up on was the relaxed state he was in. He had absolutely no fear of the dark elf lord.
The dark elf lord was still speaking to Legolas, and the raised pitch in his tone made Legolas pay attention. "Seeing as how you are not going to answer any of my questions or even show proper respect to my friend, you will be escorted back to your room now. I must say I am continually displeased with your lack of courtesy towards those in a position higher than you. I will see to you personally about that later."
With those as his final words, he turned his back and the she-elf immediately materialized at Legolas' side. She reached out and tugged on the sleeve of Legolas' tunic briefly. Legolas promptly snatched his arm away from her and turned to follow on his own will. The she-elf fumed at his display of arrogance and she looked as though she wanted to punish him for it. But one glance from the dark elf lord stopped her and she only turned to lead the way back to his room.
Once back in the room that Legolas was quickly beginning to hate, the she-elf locked the heavy door and Legolas was once again left alone. The elf prince went to the bed and sat down heavily, his head in his hands. His mind could not even begin to put the new pieces of the puzzle together and he did not even bother to try. He was tired and wearied from his plight and only wanted to be able to return home and out of this hell.
Sleep was upon Legolas before he knew it and he found himself in the halls of his home again. He watched as his father led a large group of elves to the outskirts of Mirkwood. They were setting off to the great ships that would take them to the Grey Havens, Legolas knew. As in his dreams before, Legolas felt as though he was there but unable to do anything about it. He watched his father and the other elves silently as they ventured out into the forests of Mirkwood to the shoreline.
"May your trip be fare and well," Thranduil called out to the departing group. "It will not be long before the rest of us join you in the undying lands. Be well and may the Valar guide you along a safe and true path."
Legolas watched the elves go, and he realized the need for his father's words. The woods looked darker than he remembered and the air was full of unclear intentions. Ropes of mist hid the ground and the dark leaves of the tree hid whatever may be lurking in them.
The elves passed through quickly and quietly, their lights burning brightly to show the way in the darkness. Before the group of departing elves were even out of eyesight, King Thranduil turned back with two soldiers and went back to the palace. Legolas followed silently, only watching and nothing more.
From the corner of his eye, Legolas saw a shadow leap out of the trees in the direction of his father. Legolas tried to shout a warning, but his voice failed in his throat. He then tried to lift his bow and kill whatever was advancing, but he could not do that either. He was paralyzed, and could do nothing.
The elf soldier on Thranduil's right flank was the first to be aware of the danger. He pivoted and pulled up his bow with an arrow fitted to it in one swift motion. But before he could release the arrow, the large creature crashed into him and sent him to the ground. Legolas could finally see that it was a spider from the woods. The spiders had been especially bothersome to the elves during the darkest times of the woods, but hardly did they dare to come so close to the palace.
The other elf soldier drew his bow with an arrow and stepped in front of Thranduil. He shot at the spider and hit his mark, but the arrow only stuck into the spiders rough hide and did nothing except to anger it. The spider lifted itself off of the original elf and launched itself at the other, crashing into and consequently bringing down both the soldier and Thranduil.
Legolas watched horrified as the spider began to wrap its rough silk around the two elves. The original soldier was lying motionless on the ground. With a crude covering around them, he began to drag them off into the woods, undoubtedly to its nest so that he could devour the elves later. Legolas tried once more to move, and found that he could not. He could finally make a sound, however, and Legolas cried out his frustration and anguish.
With a jolt, Legolas jerked himself out of sleep. He was still sitting on the edge of the bed, and he looked about the dark room with large eyes, frantically convincing himself that what he had just witnessed had not been real. However he could not shake the feeling that his father was in danger, and he stood from off of the bed. If his father was in danger, then that meant all of Mirkwood was in danger. He had to get home.
Legolas strode to the iron door and pressed on it. He had tested it before and knew it was strong, but that did not stop the hope in him. He pressed and then pulled on it without the door giving an inch. Legolas wasted little time on the door and instead strode to the single window. He drew back his arm and smashed his fist into the clear crystal. Not a crack appeared in it even as blood immediately sprang from Legolas' knuckles. He would not try another blow, for he knew that he would break his hand before the window.
Feeling frustrated and anxious, Legolas strode around the whole of the room, searching for any give in the structure. There was nothing. Legolas gritted his teeth and kicked out at a small endtable. It upturned and smashed and Legolas had a small feeling of triumph. At least not everything was unbreakable in this place.
Legolas stood still in the center of the room and dropped his head. Even if he did break out of the room, what then? He had no idea where to go to exit and there were many elves in the castle. He would undoubtedly be caught and punished.
Legolas jerked his head up in surprise when he heard somebody at the door. It was pulled open a moment later and the dark elf lord strode in. The door was closed immediately behind him and he regarded Legolas with his cold look. His glance turned and his eyes fell upon the recently destroyed endtable. He looked back at Legolas.
"Is this another sign of your disrespect for our hospitality? I have had all I can handle with this."
Legolas snapped before thinking, "Then let me free and worry no more about it."
The dark elf lord looked taken aback. "You will hold your tongue for your own good," he said quietly, "and one day you will realize what good I have done for you and most likely have only kind regards for me."
Legolas was brazen in his defiance, "I hardly think so. I will never have kind thoughts for one who keeps me imprisoned against my will and has me beaten regularly."
"Most learn from their painful experiences," the elf lord informed Legolas darkly.
"I learn nothing from an unfair fight, except to know that it is unfair," Legolas shot back. He was well aware that he was bordering on unsafe boundaries, but there was only the single elf lord. He might be able to at least give him something to think about.
The elf lord gestured to the faint sign of the wound that still lingered from his split lip the night before. Legolas often healed fairly quickly, but it had been a deep cut. "I can see that even the tokens of last night demonstration were not enough to encourage you to keep your tongue. Perhaps not only will your lip have to be split but your tongue removed. Then we will see what respect you have learned."
Before Legolas could say anything, the dark elf lord had covered the distance between them and smashed his fist into Legolas' mouth, reopening the previous cut. Legolas stumbled back and brought a hand to his jaw. He waited for the elf lord to come at him again so that he might block the blow and then cut his own lip, but the elf lord started to back away.
"You will come to dinner again tonight and act like a respectable prince should, especially in front of Glorfindel. Afterwards, Glorfindel and I will be discussing on what is to be done about Mirkwood. If you behave well, you might be allowed to join in the discussion. If not, you will have a worse night than the last one. Think hard about my proposal and I will have Eirien come see to you when dinner is ready." The elf lord paused and smiled, "but I suggest that you clean yourself up some. Blood does not seem suitable for a young prince."
Legolas kept his silence and watched balefully as the elf lord knocked twice on the door and it was pulled open from the outside. The elf lord stepped out of the room and the door was firmly pushed shut and locked once again.
Slowly, Legolas walked to the small wash basin and put a handful of water to his mouth. As he cleaned it he thought over the elf lord's last remarks. He had mentioned the name Eirien. Was that the name of the elf maiden then? He would wait to see as she had not considered him fit to know. A small smile came to Legolas as he knew it would anger her to know that he knew her name. Legolas finished carefully cleaning his lip until he was sure all the blood was gone. There was no looking glass in the room, but he was sure that his lip would carry the mark for at least a few days. It was painful to the touch from the repeated abuse.
Legolas then perched on top of the bed in the favored lotus position and tried to think of all the possible scenarios that would happen tonight. He had a feeling that the elf lord would make it hard for him to 'act respectful' as he had offered a reward that would be of interest to Legolas. He longed to know what the elf lord had in store for Mirkwood. No matter what happened, the prince vowed that he would find out what was going on tonight.
Chapter 11
The dark elf-lord was speaking again, and Legolas had to snap himself out of his despairing thoughts in order to make sense of what he was saying. "I hope you will cooperate and get along with Lord Glorfindel, it will only make things that much easier for all of us, young prince." The dark elf- lord's smile was never ceasing.
Legolas strained to find some sort of reply, but his mind suddenly refused to work. He was too much in awe of the legendary elf to speak, and at the same time he was terrified to learn that Glorfindel was an ally of the dark elf-lord. As far as he had been able to gather, the dark elf-lord did not hold good intentions for him or for Mirkwood, despite what he said. Matching Glorfindel along with him was too much for the young elf to grasp.
Legolas stared at Glorfindel, only to find that his gaze was being returned by the fair being. Legolas knew his confusion was clearly written upon his face, and he looked for some sort of sign from Glorfindel that there was something Legolas was not aware of. Some inner plan that would aid Legolas and get him away from this mad elf. But Glorfindel stood placidly, his features carefully smoothed over. Absolutely nothing was revealed upon his face, and the only sign Legolas could pick up on was the relaxed state he was in. He had absolutely no fear of the dark elf lord.
The dark elf lord was still speaking to Legolas, and the raised pitch in his tone made Legolas pay attention. "Seeing as how you are not going to answer any of my questions or even show proper respect to my friend, you will be escorted back to your room now. I must say I am continually displeased with your lack of courtesy towards those in a position higher than you. I will see to you personally about that later."
With those as his final words, he turned his back and the she-elf immediately materialized at Legolas' side. She reached out and tugged on the sleeve of Legolas' tunic briefly. Legolas promptly snatched his arm away from her and turned to follow on his own will. The she-elf fumed at his display of arrogance and she looked as though she wanted to punish him for it. But one glance from the dark elf lord stopped her and she only turned to lead the way back to his room.
Once back in the room that Legolas was quickly beginning to hate, the she-elf locked the heavy door and Legolas was once again left alone. The elf prince went to the bed and sat down heavily, his head in his hands. His mind could not even begin to put the new pieces of the puzzle together and he did not even bother to try. He was tired and wearied from his plight and only wanted to be able to return home and out of this hell.
Sleep was upon Legolas before he knew it and he found himself in the halls of his home again. He watched as his father led a large group of elves to the outskirts of Mirkwood. They were setting off to the great ships that would take them to the Grey Havens, Legolas knew. As in his dreams before, Legolas felt as though he was there but unable to do anything about it. He watched his father and the other elves silently as they ventured out into the forests of Mirkwood to the shoreline.
"May your trip be fare and well," Thranduil called out to the departing group. "It will not be long before the rest of us join you in the undying lands. Be well and may the Valar guide you along a safe and true path."
Legolas watched the elves go, and he realized the need for his father's words. The woods looked darker than he remembered and the air was full of unclear intentions. Ropes of mist hid the ground and the dark leaves of the tree hid whatever may be lurking in them.
The elves passed through quickly and quietly, their lights burning brightly to show the way in the darkness. Before the group of departing elves were even out of eyesight, King Thranduil turned back with two soldiers and went back to the palace. Legolas followed silently, only watching and nothing more.
From the corner of his eye, Legolas saw a shadow leap out of the trees in the direction of his father. Legolas tried to shout a warning, but his voice failed in his throat. He then tried to lift his bow and kill whatever was advancing, but he could not do that either. He was paralyzed, and could do nothing.
The elf soldier on Thranduil's right flank was the first to be aware of the danger. He pivoted and pulled up his bow with an arrow fitted to it in one swift motion. But before he could release the arrow, the large creature crashed into him and sent him to the ground. Legolas could finally see that it was a spider from the woods. The spiders had been especially bothersome to the elves during the darkest times of the woods, but hardly did they dare to come so close to the palace.
The other elf soldier drew his bow with an arrow and stepped in front of Thranduil. He shot at the spider and hit his mark, but the arrow only stuck into the spiders rough hide and did nothing except to anger it. The spider lifted itself off of the original elf and launched itself at the other, crashing into and consequently bringing down both the soldier and Thranduil.
Legolas watched horrified as the spider began to wrap its rough silk around the two elves. The original soldier was lying motionless on the ground. With a crude covering around them, he began to drag them off into the woods, undoubtedly to its nest so that he could devour the elves later. Legolas tried once more to move, and found that he could not. He could finally make a sound, however, and Legolas cried out his frustration and anguish.
With a jolt, Legolas jerked himself out of sleep. He was still sitting on the edge of the bed, and he looked about the dark room with large eyes, frantically convincing himself that what he had just witnessed had not been real. However he could not shake the feeling that his father was in danger, and he stood from off of the bed. If his father was in danger, then that meant all of Mirkwood was in danger. He had to get home.
Legolas strode to the iron door and pressed on it. He had tested it before and knew it was strong, but that did not stop the hope in him. He pressed and then pulled on it without the door giving an inch. Legolas wasted little time on the door and instead strode to the single window. He drew back his arm and smashed his fist into the clear crystal. Not a crack appeared in it even as blood immediately sprang from Legolas' knuckles. He would not try another blow, for he knew that he would break his hand before the window.
Feeling frustrated and anxious, Legolas strode around the whole of the room, searching for any give in the structure. There was nothing. Legolas gritted his teeth and kicked out at a small endtable. It upturned and smashed and Legolas had a small feeling of triumph. At least not everything was unbreakable in this place.
Legolas stood still in the center of the room and dropped his head. Even if he did break out of the room, what then? He had no idea where to go to exit and there were many elves in the castle. He would undoubtedly be caught and punished.
Legolas jerked his head up in surprise when he heard somebody at the door. It was pulled open a moment later and the dark elf lord strode in. The door was closed immediately behind him and he regarded Legolas with his cold look. His glance turned and his eyes fell upon the recently destroyed endtable. He looked back at Legolas.
"Is this another sign of your disrespect for our hospitality? I have had all I can handle with this."
Legolas snapped before thinking, "Then let me free and worry no more about it."
The dark elf lord looked taken aback. "You will hold your tongue for your own good," he said quietly, "and one day you will realize what good I have done for you and most likely have only kind regards for me."
Legolas was brazen in his defiance, "I hardly think so. I will never have kind thoughts for one who keeps me imprisoned against my will and has me beaten regularly."
"Most learn from their painful experiences," the elf lord informed Legolas darkly.
"I learn nothing from an unfair fight, except to know that it is unfair," Legolas shot back. He was well aware that he was bordering on unsafe boundaries, but there was only the single elf lord. He might be able to at least give him something to think about.
The elf lord gestured to the faint sign of the wound that still lingered from his split lip the night before. Legolas often healed fairly quickly, but it had been a deep cut. "I can see that even the tokens of last night demonstration were not enough to encourage you to keep your tongue. Perhaps not only will your lip have to be split but your tongue removed. Then we will see what respect you have learned."
Before Legolas could say anything, the dark elf lord had covered the distance between them and smashed his fist into Legolas' mouth, reopening the previous cut. Legolas stumbled back and brought a hand to his jaw. He waited for the elf lord to come at him again so that he might block the blow and then cut his own lip, but the elf lord started to back away.
"You will come to dinner again tonight and act like a respectable prince should, especially in front of Glorfindel. Afterwards, Glorfindel and I will be discussing on what is to be done about Mirkwood. If you behave well, you might be allowed to join in the discussion. If not, you will have a worse night than the last one. Think hard about my proposal and I will have Eirien come see to you when dinner is ready." The elf lord paused and smiled, "but I suggest that you clean yourself up some. Blood does not seem suitable for a young prince."
Legolas kept his silence and watched balefully as the elf lord knocked twice on the door and it was pulled open from the outside. The elf lord stepped out of the room and the door was firmly pushed shut and locked once again.
Slowly, Legolas walked to the small wash basin and put a handful of water to his mouth. As he cleaned it he thought over the elf lord's last remarks. He had mentioned the name Eirien. Was that the name of the elf maiden then? He would wait to see as she had not considered him fit to know. A small smile came to Legolas as he knew it would anger her to know that he knew her name. Legolas finished carefully cleaning his lip until he was sure all the blood was gone. There was no looking glass in the room, but he was sure that his lip would carry the mark for at least a few days. It was painful to the touch from the repeated abuse.
Legolas then perched on top of the bed in the favored lotus position and tried to think of all the possible scenarios that would happen tonight. He had a feeling that the elf lord would make it hard for him to 'act respectful' as he had offered a reward that would be of interest to Legolas. He longed to know what the elf lord had in store for Mirkwood. No matter what happened, the prince vowed that he would find out what was going on tonight.