Author's Note: I'm mad at ff.net. I would have had this chapter up sooner,
but ff.net's being dumb, so don't blame me! And oh yeah, I need to mention
that I shamelessly stole the Legolas plushie idea from Elentari Manwe, so
she is entitled to 20% of all proceedings from our future production line.
And yes, we will take over the world with it! Lady Tremere, I sent you an
e-mail, but I'm not sure if you got it or not, so let me know. As for the
rest of you, did I ever mention I truly love you guys? I mean, seriously,
I get all emotional just thinking about it, or maybe not. Okay, well, even
though it took longer than I had anticipated, this chapter's kind of long
so it makes up for it. Enjoy!
P.S. I'm not Tolkien.
Chapter 22
Darkness began to recede as the sun started to climb over the horizon. Legolas lifted his face towards it expectantly, it had been a long time since he had actually seen the sun and he hungered for its comforting warmth. Yet the sun was not to be enjoyed.
As soon as enough of the sun was made clear to start to light the landscape, Maeglin banked his horse to the right and urged his animal even faster. The entire contingent followed suit, Legolas grudgingly included. Legolas wondered at the sudden change in direction, but the reasons were soon made clear. A large stone outcropping stood at the edge of the plain and Maeglin was heading straight for it.
Apparently he is not too fond of the sun, Legolas thought dimly. And then a new thought gripped him, it was as if they were a caravan of traveling orcs. And since orcs hardly held good intentions when traveling, Legolas could only assume that Maeglin did not have the best of plans in regard to Mirkwood.
The large stones were reached quickly and Maeglin was the first to ride in, pushing as far into the depths as he could. Legolas saw Glorfindel wheel away from the entrance and pull his horse to a stop next to it. He faced the sun directly, making it clear that he had no such aversion to it. As much as Legolas wanted to be left out with him, he was hardly surprised when his small group of guards and he sped right past the entrance into the hollow made by the rocks and then pressed down into the depths.
The appearance of the rocks from the outside were deceptive, it was not merely a random collection of stones on the plain. As Legolas rode deeper inside, he strained his eyes to see in the enclosing darkness. The ground began to slope down underneath the protection of the stones, creating almost a cave. Yet it was not a true cave and Legolas had the impression that it was hand-made, not a natural part of the earth. Perhaps Maeglin had known of his dislike for traveling in the sun for quite some time and had made some preparations in order to accommodate his excursions.
Legolas lamented to himself on having to miss out on the sun again. He longed so much for a few moments out in the sun and fresh air. Ever since being held by the Moriquendi all he knew were the darkness along with cold iron and stones. Legolas hardly knew anything of his appearance at the moment as it had been some time since he had seen a looking glass, but he knew that his skin was losing its coloring and he was beginning to resemble the pallor of these elves. His hair was no longer vibrant and golden but dull and flat and he definitely knew that he had lost weight. Even his eyes felt dim and listless. Legolas wondered briefly if his father would even recognize him when they reached Mirkwood.
His horse was suddenly pulled to a stop, the cruel hand holding the reins being more harsh than was necessary. The horse skittered to a standstill and reacted violently against the callous treatment and reared halfway off of the ground to show its displeasure. Legolas was forced to grip the horse even more tightly with the use of his legs only to avoid being thrown to the ground. The added pressure only angered the horse more and Legolas tried to placate the animal by speaking softly to it in elvish. At the sound of his soothing voice, the animal immediately calmed and stood in place.
Legolas heard a small snicker from his right. He glanced over at Eirien, annoyance clearly written on his face. "It seems there is hardly anything that you cannot master," she told him in a voice dripping with disdain. "Except of course for civil mannerism. Yet I suppose that is not enough to alarm you."
Legolas completely ignored her comments and stared straight ahead at the back of the elf that sat in front of him. He heard her soft laughter ring in his sensitive ears and he fumed on the inside at having to repeatedly suffer such indignation, yet he knew that this was not the time nor the place to do anything about his discomfort. The other elves would be upon him in a moment's breath. He would merely have to bide his time.
And he might not even have to wait that long.
It was soon made clear that the elvish army planned to rest where they were before continuing. Legolas turned once in his seat to see behind him once his eyes adjusted to the dimness around him. The great number of elves had not allowed all of them to cram inside of the makeshift cave and Legolas could hear those who remained outside scattering to the few surrounding trees or other places to settle. The purpose was clear, they could not risk being openly spotted by any other elves. Such a large gathering would raise suspicion.
Briefly, Legolas wondered if Glorfindel was still in the position he had halted in or if he too had wandered off in search of cover. The thought of the legendary Glorfindel creeping about like a common thief was disquieting to Legolas.
Legolas shook his head free of the thoughts of Glorfindel. He had more pressing matters to think about. Now would be a prime time to free himself and race off to Mirkwood to warn his father. He would merely have to wait until enough of the elves had relaxed and were wandering in their dreams.
Legolas should have known better that his tormentors had thought ahead of him.
Without any type of warning, his two elven guards were at the left side of his horse. Before Legolas could even think of what they were going to do, four strong hands seized him and he was pulled unceremoniously from the horse.
Legolas reacted instantly and landed lightly on his feet despite their rough handling. As much as Legolas wanted to punish them for treating him thus, he was forced to check himself. Even though he might have been able to get a few good licks on them even with his hands bound, he knew that the elves standing idly around would not hesitate in aiding their kin. Legolas would have to continue to wait.
One guard each took a hold on one of his arms and pulled him harshly towards the farthest corner of the cave. In the corner Legolas could make out a long post imbedded into the ground. At first he assumed it was wood, but then chided himself as he was brought closer and saw that it was the same type of harsh metal that was so frequently used by these elves. Of course it was the iron, Maeglin would never permit the use of wood over his precious metals.
Legolas was turned so that his back was facing the post and then pushed down forcefully into a sitting position on the ground. Legolas complied physically though he was raging on the inside. He kept his outward appearance calm and unfazed, refusing to let these elves think that they could get a rise out of him. He could tell that the two elves were confused at his cooperativeness thus far and were waiting for any type of sign to give him a sound trouncing for 'misbehaviour'.
Legolas was held firmly against the iron post as another rough piece of rope was produced and hastily wrapped around him at the waist, securing him to the post. Legolas closed his eyes and leaned back into the post as the elves tied him down. He started to hum softly to himself, an old Sindarin song that reminded him of better days in Mirkwood.
One of the guards stopped in tying the rope around him. "Stop that," he commanded Legolas impatiently.
Legolas opened his eyes, "Stop what?"
"That humming, we will have none of that here," the elf told him coldly. Obviously, he was waiting for a defiant reply from Legolas, and Legolas knew this, so he gave him none. The elf held himself tightly over Legolas, watching him tensely, waiting for him to defy his commands. Legolas merely closed his eyes again.
He heard the elf grunt and then return to his task. The other elf had halted in his administrations to the rope as well, waiting to see what would happen. He started up again with the other elf and soon Legolas was tied securely in a fashion to their liking and they stepped back.
Though Legolas had his eyes closed, he extended his other senses and knew that the two elves were standing not that far off and were watching him. Presently, they slowly lowered themselves to the ground, one on either side of Legolas, forming a triangular form with Legolas at the apex. Apparently, Legolas was not to be let out of their sight.
Keeping his eyes closed so that he would not be telegraphing any sort of signals to the elves, Legolas began to slowly move his hands behind his back. Since his hands were still bound as they had been originally the elves had not bothered to bind them to the post, only tying him down at the waist. As a result, he could move his hands somewhat and Legolas worked on them now, stretching the rope and allowing himself more give.
Even as Legolas moved his hands behind his back, he kept the rest of his body solid, moving only the muscles that were necessary. From the outside, he knew it looked as though none of his body was moving. He had leaned far back as they tied him, and now he straightened imperceptibly, creating a gap between the post and himself. It was only a tiny gap, but it was enough for him to have room to move his hands without jarring anything else.
Legolas knew the guards were still watching him, but he hoped that they would soon grow bored of doing so. It would be when they looked around at other things that he would commit a more drastic move. Once he had worked enough slack into the rope, he would try to reach the knife that was still buried underneath his makeshift bandages.
In no time at all, Legolas had created enough slack in the rope to try for what he wanted to do. Legolas stopped moving his hands and opened his eyes a slit. As he had assumed, his two guards were sitting a few feet away in front of him. And also as he had assumed, his lack of productivity had caused their alertness to fade away. They sat easily and languidly, their attentions not fully with Legolas. In fact, one of them already held the blank gaze of a sleeping elf. The other was not far from joining him.
As Legolas waited for both of them to fall asleep, he looked around at the rest of his surroundings. There were other elves about, yet none were paying him any attention. There was no sight of Maeglin or Eirien, and Legolas was thankful for that.
Legolas allowed the passage of a few hours before moving another muscle. He wanted his actions to be completely unexpected. When he knew that his two guards were indeed sleeping, he twisted his wrists and started to try to grab his knife. He could not keep his arms from moving somewhat as he did this, so he carefully kept his full attention on the gaze of his guards, searching for any sign that they might be waking.
Legolas had his knife with less difficulty than he had previously imagined. Once he had the hilt firmly in his palm, Legolas worked on angling it so that he might be able to cut the coarse rope that held his hands together. This took some work, and he had to position his wrists in a most unfavorable position in order to even touch the blade to the rope. It was even more painful to move his wrists so that he may be able to cut the sinews of the rope apart, but Legolas clenched his jaw and persisted.
His hands were free. Legolas grasped the rope in one hand, not even wanting to risk the soft sound of it hitting the floor. Before moving anymore, Legolas surveyed every detail of the two guards before him. They had not moved at all and their eyes were blank, but Legolas was wary of a trick. It was possible that they were faking being asleep in order to spring up and seize him if he tried anything. Yet Legolas knew from personal experience that it was extremely difficult to appear to be asleep when being scrutinized by another elf. Eventually, Legolas came to the conclusion that they were indeed still asleep.
Now would come the most difficult part. Difficult only in the sense that it would be virtually impossible to hide what he was doing. His guards may have been asleep, but Legolas could not be sure if there was some elf hiding in the shadows of the cave watching him. Legolas could only hope to Valar that the arrogance of these elves made them less cautious.
Still working behind his back with the knife, Legolas began to work on the rope tying him down at the waist. No amount of effort would be able to let his arms appear to be still as he did this, so he worked carefully and slowly, making his way painstakingly through each coil of the rope. His efforts were expanded upon due to the fact that the rope had been wrapped around so many times. He had many layers to work through.
Even though it took more time than Legolas would have liked, the rope was eventually cut all the way through. He was still holding it with one hand so that it at least looked as though it was still intact. As before, Legolas halted all action and peered warily about his surroundings. It still seemed as though he had gone unnoticed, and this was just as unnerving to him as if he had been caught. In fact, half of him had expected himself to get caught, but nothing had happened, and now he had to go through with his plan.
Now he had one of two options. He could try to sneak quietly out of the cave, or make a mad dash for the exit. Legolas actually favored the latter, knowing how sensitive the hearing of the elves were and not knowing if all of them were actually asleep, it would only be a matter of time before he was caught if he tried to sneak out. If he simply made a run for it, he would undoubtedly alert those around him, but he at least had the hope that it would take the elves by surprise, giving him enough time to get past them. Legolas knew that once he was out of the cave he might have an advantage over them. If they all shared their lord's dislike for the sun that would favor Legolas, and he knew for a fact that if he was able to reach the trees he would be able to lose them. No elf could move as swift as a wood-elf in the tops of the trees.
Both options had their faults, Legolas was painfully aware of this, and chances of escape were slim, but Legolas knew he had to try something and the last option seemed to have a slightly broader chance of freedom.
Legolas sat completely still and stretched his hearing as far as it would go in the cave. He picked up on the easy breathing of the elves, all were resting and off of a heightened sense of alert. Legolas assumed that they were saving their strength and energy for the real battle that was to come, the one with his homeland. After another quick survey of the state of the elves immediately surrounding him, Legolas made his decision.
Legolas took a deep breath. He bunched his muscles together, and letting the breath out slowly, he launched himself up out of his seated position in one fluid, graceful movement.
His guards were immediately awake, but Legolas was already past them and out of their reach. They sprang up as well and called out, but Legolas was throwing all caution to the wind and focusing every conscious thought on that of speed. He was moving faster than he ever had in his life, adrenaline surging through every limb.
Around him, Legolas could dimly make out the movements of other elves springing up or coming towards him to intercept him. But each time they moved for him, they missed him by a hair's breadth. As much as Legolas wanted to keep a straight path for the exit as it was the shortest way, he was forced to dodge to the side at times to avoid another elf. His movements and side-steps were short and only as long as they had to be, but they were eating up precious seconds. Elves were still between him and the entrance, and each second more they had to prepare themselves was a mark against Legolas.
Legolas' senses heightened like he had never known they could. His muscle-eye coordination worked perfectly in sync, creating virtually no delay between assessing a danger and then adjusting accordingly to avoid it. His speed seemed to increase with each step, and Legolas could only accredit this to a source of adrenaline he had never had to use like this before. This was a desperate and final rush, and every fiber in his body knew this. He either got away from them now or would never be able to reach his father and save Mirkwood.
The light from the exit was beginning to grow. Legolas was almost there. Yet he did not allow the knowledge of the closeness of it to slow him down. He could not let relief flood through him just yet. Legolas urged his legs even faster, trying to eat up as much ground between his strides as possible.
An elf was suddenly directly in his path. Legolas veered to the side almost immediately, but it was not enough to avoid the elf entirely. Legolas felt a hand grab the top of his arm, but Legolas' momentum carried him forward and he spun and tore away from the elf. His course was severely altered by the action and Legolas had to bank hard to the left to correct his direction.
Light exploded in his sensitive eyes. Legolas almost stopped moving, but then realized what had happened. He had reached the outside of the cave. The feel of the soft earth underneath his feet was refreshing to him and gave him another burst of energy. He was out in the open, he had a wide expanse of green in front of him, but he could not allow himself to stop just yet. Though he dared not look behind him, he could hear that his pursuers were not that far behind him. Legolas went on a straightaway path towards the fringes of a forest across the plain. He was not entirely sure what forest it was, but he would much rather take his chances with the trees.
Though his pursuers were right with him, Legolas was at least thankful that they were behind him. Nothing stood between him and the trees. All he had to do was hold his own for a little while longer, than he would be safe.
Legolas noted a blur coming at him in his peripheral vision. He did not have time to move out of its way or even to meet it and the only thing he could do was ascertain that it was an elf seated atop of a large white horse before he found himself suddenly on the bottom of a painful pile.
Legolas crashed down to the ground with another body on top of him. Before a stunned Legolas could even make sense out of what had happened, the pressure on top of him eased and he found himself on his feet again, yet held immobile. The first sight to his dazed eyes was that of his pursuers coming to a sharp halt in front of him as they gave up the chase that had ended so quickly. Feeling as though time had slowed to a crawl after his desperate rush, Legolas' head slowly turned to the side to see what was now holding his arms so painfully down at his sides. It was Glorfindel.
.
Chapter 22
Darkness began to recede as the sun started to climb over the horizon. Legolas lifted his face towards it expectantly, it had been a long time since he had actually seen the sun and he hungered for its comforting warmth. Yet the sun was not to be enjoyed.
As soon as enough of the sun was made clear to start to light the landscape, Maeglin banked his horse to the right and urged his animal even faster. The entire contingent followed suit, Legolas grudgingly included. Legolas wondered at the sudden change in direction, but the reasons were soon made clear. A large stone outcropping stood at the edge of the plain and Maeglin was heading straight for it.
Apparently he is not too fond of the sun, Legolas thought dimly. And then a new thought gripped him, it was as if they were a caravan of traveling orcs. And since orcs hardly held good intentions when traveling, Legolas could only assume that Maeglin did not have the best of plans in regard to Mirkwood.
The large stones were reached quickly and Maeglin was the first to ride in, pushing as far into the depths as he could. Legolas saw Glorfindel wheel away from the entrance and pull his horse to a stop next to it. He faced the sun directly, making it clear that he had no such aversion to it. As much as Legolas wanted to be left out with him, he was hardly surprised when his small group of guards and he sped right past the entrance into the hollow made by the rocks and then pressed down into the depths.
The appearance of the rocks from the outside were deceptive, it was not merely a random collection of stones on the plain. As Legolas rode deeper inside, he strained his eyes to see in the enclosing darkness. The ground began to slope down underneath the protection of the stones, creating almost a cave. Yet it was not a true cave and Legolas had the impression that it was hand-made, not a natural part of the earth. Perhaps Maeglin had known of his dislike for traveling in the sun for quite some time and had made some preparations in order to accommodate his excursions.
Legolas lamented to himself on having to miss out on the sun again. He longed so much for a few moments out in the sun and fresh air. Ever since being held by the Moriquendi all he knew were the darkness along with cold iron and stones. Legolas hardly knew anything of his appearance at the moment as it had been some time since he had seen a looking glass, but he knew that his skin was losing its coloring and he was beginning to resemble the pallor of these elves. His hair was no longer vibrant and golden but dull and flat and he definitely knew that he had lost weight. Even his eyes felt dim and listless. Legolas wondered briefly if his father would even recognize him when they reached Mirkwood.
His horse was suddenly pulled to a stop, the cruel hand holding the reins being more harsh than was necessary. The horse skittered to a standstill and reacted violently against the callous treatment and reared halfway off of the ground to show its displeasure. Legolas was forced to grip the horse even more tightly with the use of his legs only to avoid being thrown to the ground. The added pressure only angered the horse more and Legolas tried to placate the animal by speaking softly to it in elvish. At the sound of his soothing voice, the animal immediately calmed and stood in place.
Legolas heard a small snicker from his right. He glanced over at Eirien, annoyance clearly written on his face. "It seems there is hardly anything that you cannot master," she told him in a voice dripping with disdain. "Except of course for civil mannerism. Yet I suppose that is not enough to alarm you."
Legolas completely ignored her comments and stared straight ahead at the back of the elf that sat in front of him. He heard her soft laughter ring in his sensitive ears and he fumed on the inside at having to repeatedly suffer such indignation, yet he knew that this was not the time nor the place to do anything about his discomfort. The other elves would be upon him in a moment's breath. He would merely have to bide his time.
And he might not even have to wait that long.
It was soon made clear that the elvish army planned to rest where they were before continuing. Legolas turned once in his seat to see behind him once his eyes adjusted to the dimness around him. The great number of elves had not allowed all of them to cram inside of the makeshift cave and Legolas could hear those who remained outside scattering to the few surrounding trees or other places to settle. The purpose was clear, they could not risk being openly spotted by any other elves. Such a large gathering would raise suspicion.
Briefly, Legolas wondered if Glorfindel was still in the position he had halted in or if he too had wandered off in search of cover. The thought of the legendary Glorfindel creeping about like a common thief was disquieting to Legolas.
Legolas shook his head free of the thoughts of Glorfindel. He had more pressing matters to think about. Now would be a prime time to free himself and race off to Mirkwood to warn his father. He would merely have to wait until enough of the elves had relaxed and were wandering in their dreams.
Legolas should have known better that his tormentors had thought ahead of him.
Without any type of warning, his two elven guards were at the left side of his horse. Before Legolas could even think of what they were going to do, four strong hands seized him and he was pulled unceremoniously from the horse.
Legolas reacted instantly and landed lightly on his feet despite their rough handling. As much as Legolas wanted to punish them for treating him thus, he was forced to check himself. Even though he might have been able to get a few good licks on them even with his hands bound, he knew that the elves standing idly around would not hesitate in aiding their kin. Legolas would have to continue to wait.
One guard each took a hold on one of his arms and pulled him harshly towards the farthest corner of the cave. In the corner Legolas could make out a long post imbedded into the ground. At first he assumed it was wood, but then chided himself as he was brought closer and saw that it was the same type of harsh metal that was so frequently used by these elves. Of course it was the iron, Maeglin would never permit the use of wood over his precious metals.
Legolas was turned so that his back was facing the post and then pushed down forcefully into a sitting position on the ground. Legolas complied physically though he was raging on the inside. He kept his outward appearance calm and unfazed, refusing to let these elves think that they could get a rise out of him. He could tell that the two elves were confused at his cooperativeness thus far and were waiting for any type of sign to give him a sound trouncing for 'misbehaviour'.
Legolas was held firmly against the iron post as another rough piece of rope was produced and hastily wrapped around him at the waist, securing him to the post. Legolas closed his eyes and leaned back into the post as the elves tied him down. He started to hum softly to himself, an old Sindarin song that reminded him of better days in Mirkwood.
One of the guards stopped in tying the rope around him. "Stop that," he commanded Legolas impatiently.
Legolas opened his eyes, "Stop what?"
"That humming, we will have none of that here," the elf told him coldly. Obviously, he was waiting for a defiant reply from Legolas, and Legolas knew this, so he gave him none. The elf held himself tightly over Legolas, watching him tensely, waiting for him to defy his commands. Legolas merely closed his eyes again.
He heard the elf grunt and then return to his task. The other elf had halted in his administrations to the rope as well, waiting to see what would happen. He started up again with the other elf and soon Legolas was tied securely in a fashion to their liking and they stepped back.
Though Legolas had his eyes closed, he extended his other senses and knew that the two elves were standing not that far off and were watching him. Presently, they slowly lowered themselves to the ground, one on either side of Legolas, forming a triangular form with Legolas at the apex. Apparently, Legolas was not to be let out of their sight.
Keeping his eyes closed so that he would not be telegraphing any sort of signals to the elves, Legolas began to slowly move his hands behind his back. Since his hands were still bound as they had been originally the elves had not bothered to bind them to the post, only tying him down at the waist. As a result, he could move his hands somewhat and Legolas worked on them now, stretching the rope and allowing himself more give.
Even as Legolas moved his hands behind his back, he kept the rest of his body solid, moving only the muscles that were necessary. From the outside, he knew it looked as though none of his body was moving. He had leaned far back as they tied him, and now he straightened imperceptibly, creating a gap between the post and himself. It was only a tiny gap, but it was enough for him to have room to move his hands without jarring anything else.
Legolas knew the guards were still watching him, but he hoped that they would soon grow bored of doing so. It would be when they looked around at other things that he would commit a more drastic move. Once he had worked enough slack into the rope, he would try to reach the knife that was still buried underneath his makeshift bandages.
In no time at all, Legolas had created enough slack in the rope to try for what he wanted to do. Legolas stopped moving his hands and opened his eyes a slit. As he had assumed, his two guards were sitting a few feet away in front of him. And also as he had assumed, his lack of productivity had caused their alertness to fade away. They sat easily and languidly, their attentions not fully with Legolas. In fact, one of them already held the blank gaze of a sleeping elf. The other was not far from joining him.
As Legolas waited for both of them to fall asleep, he looked around at the rest of his surroundings. There were other elves about, yet none were paying him any attention. There was no sight of Maeglin or Eirien, and Legolas was thankful for that.
Legolas allowed the passage of a few hours before moving another muscle. He wanted his actions to be completely unexpected. When he knew that his two guards were indeed sleeping, he twisted his wrists and started to try to grab his knife. He could not keep his arms from moving somewhat as he did this, so he carefully kept his full attention on the gaze of his guards, searching for any sign that they might be waking.
Legolas had his knife with less difficulty than he had previously imagined. Once he had the hilt firmly in his palm, Legolas worked on angling it so that he might be able to cut the coarse rope that held his hands together. This took some work, and he had to position his wrists in a most unfavorable position in order to even touch the blade to the rope. It was even more painful to move his wrists so that he may be able to cut the sinews of the rope apart, but Legolas clenched his jaw and persisted.
His hands were free. Legolas grasped the rope in one hand, not even wanting to risk the soft sound of it hitting the floor. Before moving anymore, Legolas surveyed every detail of the two guards before him. They had not moved at all and their eyes were blank, but Legolas was wary of a trick. It was possible that they were faking being asleep in order to spring up and seize him if he tried anything. Yet Legolas knew from personal experience that it was extremely difficult to appear to be asleep when being scrutinized by another elf. Eventually, Legolas came to the conclusion that they were indeed still asleep.
Now would come the most difficult part. Difficult only in the sense that it would be virtually impossible to hide what he was doing. His guards may have been asleep, but Legolas could not be sure if there was some elf hiding in the shadows of the cave watching him. Legolas could only hope to Valar that the arrogance of these elves made them less cautious.
Still working behind his back with the knife, Legolas began to work on the rope tying him down at the waist. No amount of effort would be able to let his arms appear to be still as he did this, so he worked carefully and slowly, making his way painstakingly through each coil of the rope. His efforts were expanded upon due to the fact that the rope had been wrapped around so many times. He had many layers to work through.
Even though it took more time than Legolas would have liked, the rope was eventually cut all the way through. He was still holding it with one hand so that it at least looked as though it was still intact. As before, Legolas halted all action and peered warily about his surroundings. It still seemed as though he had gone unnoticed, and this was just as unnerving to him as if he had been caught. In fact, half of him had expected himself to get caught, but nothing had happened, and now he had to go through with his plan.
Now he had one of two options. He could try to sneak quietly out of the cave, or make a mad dash for the exit. Legolas actually favored the latter, knowing how sensitive the hearing of the elves were and not knowing if all of them were actually asleep, it would only be a matter of time before he was caught if he tried to sneak out. If he simply made a run for it, he would undoubtedly alert those around him, but he at least had the hope that it would take the elves by surprise, giving him enough time to get past them. Legolas knew that once he was out of the cave he might have an advantage over them. If they all shared their lord's dislike for the sun that would favor Legolas, and he knew for a fact that if he was able to reach the trees he would be able to lose them. No elf could move as swift as a wood-elf in the tops of the trees.
Both options had their faults, Legolas was painfully aware of this, and chances of escape were slim, but Legolas knew he had to try something and the last option seemed to have a slightly broader chance of freedom.
Legolas sat completely still and stretched his hearing as far as it would go in the cave. He picked up on the easy breathing of the elves, all were resting and off of a heightened sense of alert. Legolas assumed that they were saving their strength and energy for the real battle that was to come, the one with his homeland. After another quick survey of the state of the elves immediately surrounding him, Legolas made his decision.
Legolas took a deep breath. He bunched his muscles together, and letting the breath out slowly, he launched himself up out of his seated position in one fluid, graceful movement.
His guards were immediately awake, but Legolas was already past them and out of their reach. They sprang up as well and called out, but Legolas was throwing all caution to the wind and focusing every conscious thought on that of speed. He was moving faster than he ever had in his life, adrenaline surging through every limb.
Around him, Legolas could dimly make out the movements of other elves springing up or coming towards him to intercept him. But each time they moved for him, they missed him by a hair's breadth. As much as Legolas wanted to keep a straight path for the exit as it was the shortest way, he was forced to dodge to the side at times to avoid another elf. His movements and side-steps were short and only as long as they had to be, but they were eating up precious seconds. Elves were still between him and the entrance, and each second more they had to prepare themselves was a mark against Legolas.
Legolas' senses heightened like he had never known they could. His muscle-eye coordination worked perfectly in sync, creating virtually no delay between assessing a danger and then adjusting accordingly to avoid it. His speed seemed to increase with each step, and Legolas could only accredit this to a source of adrenaline he had never had to use like this before. This was a desperate and final rush, and every fiber in his body knew this. He either got away from them now or would never be able to reach his father and save Mirkwood.
The light from the exit was beginning to grow. Legolas was almost there. Yet he did not allow the knowledge of the closeness of it to slow him down. He could not let relief flood through him just yet. Legolas urged his legs even faster, trying to eat up as much ground between his strides as possible.
An elf was suddenly directly in his path. Legolas veered to the side almost immediately, but it was not enough to avoid the elf entirely. Legolas felt a hand grab the top of his arm, but Legolas' momentum carried him forward and he spun and tore away from the elf. His course was severely altered by the action and Legolas had to bank hard to the left to correct his direction.
Light exploded in his sensitive eyes. Legolas almost stopped moving, but then realized what had happened. He had reached the outside of the cave. The feel of the soft earth underneath his feet was refreshing to him and gave him another burst of energy. He was out in the open, he had a wide expanse of green in front of him, but he could not allow himself to stop just yet. Though he dared not look behind him, he could hear that his pursuers were not that far behind him. Legolas went on a straightaway path towards the fringes of a forest across the plain. He was not entirely sure what forest it was, but he would much rather take his chances with the trees.
Though his pursuers were right with him, Legolas was at least thankful that they were behind him. Nothing stood between him and the trees. All he had to do was hold his own for a little while longer, than he would be safe.
Legolas noted a blur coming at him in his peripheral vision. He did not have time to move out of its way or even to meet it and the only thing he could do was ascertain that it was an elf seated atop of a large white horse before he found himself suddenly on the bottom of a painful pile.
Legolas crashed down to the ground with another body on top of him. Before a stunned Legolas could even make sense out of what had happened, the pressure on top of him eased and he found himself on his feet again, yet held immobile. The first sight to his dazed eyes was that of his pursuers coming to a sharp halt in front of him as they gave up the chase that had ended so quickly. Feeling as though time had slowed to a crawl after his desperate rush, Legolas' head slowly turned to the side to see what was now holding his arms so painfully down at his sides. It was Glorfindel.
.