Due to A LOT of requests, I posted two chapters today!! Enjoy!!!

"Is there any lock that you can't pick, Estel?" Legolas asked as the lock to the dungeon gate snapped free after Aragorn's nearly half an hour of painstaking trying.

The ranger only grinned, brushing the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. "Only one; my father's room. He went ballistic when he found out that I can pick the lock to Arwen's chamber, though."

Legolas rolled his eyes. "This is the most high quality lock we've installed here. I guess we need to put on new one now that it's not really doing a great job."

"But if it were doing a great job, we might not have been able to get out of here!" Aragorn protested.

Legolas pushed the gate opened and turned to his warriors. "I want only the five of you to come with me. The rest must stay here, wait for the signal."

********************

Cayel was lying on Thranduil's great bed with his arms behind his head, smiling in pure bliss. Nice bed. Nice chamber. I should have done this millenniums ago! Then his smile faded when he thought of his family. His sons totally disagreed with him. They didn't like what he had done. How dare they refuse all this! I did this for them! All for them!! Very well. I have lots of time to persuade them to join me…

A knock came at the door and one of the Redwood warriors hastily stepped in. "My lord! You need to get to the courtyard now!"

Cayel had jerked upright. "What's going on?!"

"The prince…he…he's alive! He's in the courtyard right now with a ranger and several Mirkwood warriors!"

Cayel was struck dumb for a full minute. "What did you say?"

"Prince Legolas is alive! And he's calling for you!"

Cayel could not believe it. Fuming in displeasure, he stormed out of the chamber and headed towards the palace courtyard. How can the brat still be alive?!! He halted at the top step that led to the courtyard and stared in fury and astonishment to see the Mirkwood prince stood tall, flanked by his fellow companions. Several Redwood elves were already dead at their feet, obviously slain by the bloodied swords in their grips. The Redwood warriors were surrounding them, calculating anxiously to launch any attack with their swords, but the small troop seemed oblivious to it all.

"Well, well. The brat prince returned," Cayel muttered, smirking. He saw the abrasion around Legolas's neck and couldn't help but laugh. "How did you enjoy it? The hanging, I mean."

Legolas was calm as he stared directly into Cayel's eyes. "It was…educational. What's all this, Cayel? Why must you betray us? Why did you kill my father?"

Feeling confident with the Redwood elves around him, Cayel stepped forward. "Oh, poor little prince. All alone in this world now that everyone has left him."

"He is not alone…" Aragorn growled and would have pounced upon Cayel if Legolas didn't put out a restraining arm.

"We've treated you kind, Cayel," Legolas continued. "What had caused you to do this? What have we done to you? Or was it just pure greed…or are you just simply crazy?"

Cayel's face changed abruptly, flushing red and murderous. "I'm not crazy!!! I'm taking back what's ours! Mirkwood belongs to the Silvans, not the Sindarins!! You should know better than to leave us high and dry in the mountains. I would have inherited this realm if your grandfather didn't come here and drive us away!!!"

Legolas was stunned. "This is what it's all about?" The prince shook his head in disbelief. "You kill my father because of…our origin? Cayel, need I remind you that my mother was a Silvan, just like you."

"Then that makes you a half breed! You are not qualified to rule this woodland realm!!" Cayel was actually screaming by now.

Legolas shook his head sadly. "You are mad."

Cayel was trembling with great wrath. "I'm not mad!!!" He grabbed a sword from a Redwood elf nearby and shouted, "I'm going to kill you!! I should have slit your throat when I had had the chance, but I swear I'll kill you now!"

"You can try, Cayel. Look behind you," Aragorn interrupted. The elder elf immediately swiveled around. His eyes bulged as he saw the group of Mirkwood elves that had stormed out from the dungeon and silently took position behind Cayel and his supporters, aiming their bows and arrows steadily, waiting for Legolas's next command.

"And look up there," Aragorn added, pointing at the top of the wall surrounding the palace. Cayel whirled around once more, and stared open mouthed.

Sir Jaden had led his troop out of the tunnel into the woods and came out front to the great gate. It seemed that they managed to overpower the Redwood warriors that stood guard there, and then had climbed up the side stairs onto the narrow walkway above the wall. The Mirkwood warriors now appeared one by one, aiming their bows and arrows towards Cayel and the Redwood elves. The Rivendell twins were among them, sending signals to their friends below.

Cayel began to panic, knowing that he and the Redwood elves were trapped. "Curse you!!" he screamed at Legolas. "I'll definitely kill you!" He then ordered the Redwood elves, "Kill them all!!!"

The Redwood elves began to move and raising their swords, but they were stopped short by the flying arrows that hit them on their backs and fronts. The Mirkwood elves kept on shooting until all their enemies lay dead on the ground. None was left standing…except for Cayel, whose panic mounted even more now that his plan had crumbled to dust.

Legolas had stood unmoving through the whole shooting, letting the arrows fly over his shoulders; staring unwaveringly at his father's murderer, his blood boiling over with anger and revenge. "Now it's just between me and you, Cayel," Legolas spoke softly, taking the quiver off his back and giving it to Aragorn, along with his bow. He held up the old great sword, the one that used to belong to his grandfather Oropher, tightly in his grip. "An eye for an eye."

The others looked on as Cayel and the prince glared challengingly at each other, ready to strike. Aragorn was a little worried as he knew that Legolas was still weak from his recent ordeal. The bandage around his head was already taken off, but the terrible abrasion on Legolas's neck still looked red and painful. The prince must be hurting but he didn't show it.

After what seemed like an eternity, Cayel then cried out and swung his sword. Legolas sidestepped and blocked Cayel's thrust with his blade. Cayel swung again, one after the other, pouring out all his skill into the fight. He had survived the Great War unscathed. No one could deny that he was a great swordsman, a strong and experienced warrior. He was confident he would win this one.

But Legolas was not a simple prince. He was also a warrior and a fighter, inside out. Highly skilled in swords play, Legolas was no novice as he gracefully dodged and parried away from Cayel's blade, while making his own charging moves. He managed to wound Cayel's left shoulder and right arm after ten minutes of sparring, leaving the elder elf enraged and in pain.

Still, weak as he was, Legolas suddenly stumbled and Cayel saw the opening to stab through Legolas's right side. The prince grunted but instantly regained his balance. He shook his head at Aragorn when the ranger made a move to reach forward. Aragorn reluctantly stepped back. Legolas quickly straightened and swung his blade again, ignoring the blood that came pouring out of his injured side.

Cayel's moves were getting more frenzied, but Legolas kept his cool. With his hands moving in a blur, Legolas stared deeply into Cayel's eyes, causing the elder elf to be more overwhelmed by mixed emotions. Legolas suddenly kicked Cayel's left foot, stumbling him. Legolas kicked again, now aiming for Cayel's right hand. The sword flew out of Cayel's grip as he fell to the ground.

Lying flat on his back, Cayel glared at the tip of Legolas's sword pointed directly at his face. "Finish it! Why do you stop?! Kill me now!"

"As you wish," Legolas said shortly, trembling in exhaustion and contained fury. The prince lifted his sword high above his head, and swung it down.

"No!! Your highness, we beg you. Please no!" A sudden cry came from the gate, halting Legolas in his swing. Cayel's sons came running towards their father, their two children followed closely behind them. They had joined the other Mirkwood people storming through the gate to see what was happening in the palace courtyard.

Firman and Fardeen collapsed down onto their knees right in front of the prince, begging for his mercy. Their children huddled over their fallen grandfather, crying silent tears. "Please, you highness. We know what our father had done is totally unforgivable," Firman pleaded. "He has done many good deeds to Mirkwood before this, but his actions now have been triggered by his unstable emotion due to his old age…"

"Silence, Firman! I'm not senile, if that what you're implying!" Cayel shouted, still lying immobile on the ground, glaring at his sons.

"Please, my lord. If you really have to kill our father, don't do it in front of his grandchildren. They are too young to understand all this," Fardeen added, ignoring his father's wild and angry curses.

Legolas lowered his sword, staring down at Cayel and his family with his steely silver eyes. With his fury still boiling hot in his veins, the prince placed the tip of his sword against Cayel's wounded shoulder, sinking it deeper and deeper. Cayel winced from the sheer pain while the others around them looked on with rapt attention.

"You are a traitor and a murderer," Legolas spoke clearly even though his voice was still raspy, his face a hard mask that devoid all emotions despite the war of feelings inside him. He had already guessed Cayel's greatest fear, which was to lose all kinds of power. "For your penance, you should be executed with no mercy. But that would only speed up your misery. No, I don't want you to die that fast. I want you to live forever and suffer the fruit of your evil deeds. I want you to rot in the dungeon where no children or grandchildren of yours are allowed to see you. Remember this, Cayel; you no longer have rights to your living heirs. I sever your ties with them."

Cayel blanched while the people around them gasped in astonishment. "No…" He couldn't accept this. His heirs and bloodlines meant everything to him! "You can't do this!"

Legolas pressed down his sword harder, making Cayel yelp. "I can and I will! They are no longer your sons. And your grandchildren no longer belong to you! They belong to me now. The children are now my wards. While you lay wasting your years underground beneath our feet, remember that I have the power to shape their fate…not you. Remember this."

Legolas straightened, pulling his sword away. "Put him in the dungeon…where he belongs. He'll stay there forever, never will he sail to the Undying Land."

The Mirkwood people murmured among themselves for it was a harsh punishment indeed. Valinor, the Undying Land, was every elf's great destiny. Not to be able to go there was a terrible fate, especially to an elf of Cayel's age.

Cayel started to scream in protest as the Mirkwood guards rushed forward to do Legolas's bidding. "Curse you, Legolas! You can't keep me in the dungeons! Just kill me and be done with it!! Curse you!!!"

Legolas only stared at the hysterical elf that was being led away. "Too late, Cayel. I'm already cursed," he said softly. He looked down at Cayel's sons and grandchildren. "I mean what I said. He's not your father anymore. I forbid all of you to see him. Understand?"

Hugging their sons to them, Firman and Fardeen nodded. "We understand. We thank you, my lord. And we are honored to let our sons be your wards. We swear to do anything for you to compensate what our father had done to you and the kingdom. We swear."

But it would not bring my father back, Legolas thought sadly. He then turned to face his people. They were all staring back at him in silent awe. Sir Jaden who had come down from the wall, stepped forward. In a loud voice, he announced, "Hail, King Legolas!"

The people of Mirkwood immediately responded, "Hail, King Legolas!!!" They all knelt down on one knee and bowed their head in respect towards the young new king. Aragorn and the twins had also done the same, gazing proudly at their friend.

Legolas seemed even more distracted and disturbed. All he wanted to do now was to see his father. "Where is my father's body?" he asked Jaden. Startled, Jaden took some time to answer. "Err…the chamber of the dead, my lord. He is yet to be buried."

Without any word, Legolas turned and strode towards the chamber situated at the far side of the palace near the royal graveyard. Looking at one another, Aragorn and the twins decided to follow.

TBC…

Last chapter tomorrow!!