Maybe this wasn't as long as I thought, lol. This is the last chapter! I
will be uploading a new story, the sequel to this, in a couple of days.
Read the summary and an excerpt below, after my notes to my reviewers. And
feedback, please!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
They made wonderful time; by nightfall the had entered the edges of the forest of Mirkwood.
Elrohir let his eyes grow accustomed to the darkness. The woods were near pitch black, for even the moon did not penetrate through. The Rivendell elf shuddered as yellow eyes followed them down the trail. Forgetting everything he had once known about his friend's home, he suggested a fire, and that they stop until morning.
Legolas reluctantly agreed to the stop, but he refused to light a fire. When Elrohir questioned this, he simply answered, "The eyes."
"Oh." Elrohir and Elladan said at once, remember how the light of a fire seemed to attract every creature in the forest.
A few minutes passed in uneasy silence. It was too silent for Legolas' taste. He knew the were still very far west of where they needed to be, so he tried not to think too much of it.
"Take your ease, Legolas. This is your home, no harm will fall unto you."
Legolas looked sideways at Elrohir. He knew the Noldor elf felt the tension in the woods as well.
"I can't sleep, Elrohir. It's no use."
Elrohir nodded. "Me either." They shared a meaningful glance.
"I found a river," Elladan said, walking back towards their campsite.
"You fool," Elrohir muttered.
Legolas laughed at this, then turned back to the twin. "I can see you didn't drink from it."
Elladan raised his eyebrows.
"Have you forgotten everything about my home?"
"I was only here once. And that was how many centuries ago?" Elladan began to get a little defensive. He hated being laughed at and not knowing why.
"The river is magic, you idiot. It puts you to sleep." Elrohir explain. Legolas only smiled at the bantering.
"Forgive me, all knowing one."
"Shhh," Legolas hissed suddenly, fully alert of his surroundings. The other two elves fell silent. "I hear voices."
Indeed he had. The voices were too far away however for even elven ears to hear what was being said.
"I'm going to investigate." He paused. He knew it wasn't smart to separate from the other two in this forest. "Are you two coming?"
They both nodded, following the prince closely. After a few seconds hesitation, the three strayed from the path. Legolas knew his way well enough that he could get them back to the path if needed.
Before long, they could see warm lights in the next clearing. At first, Legolas was relieved, but worry overtook him again when he heard no singing.
"Follow me," Legolas mouthed. He straightened himself, and walked into the circle of lights. In an instant, the lights went out, but Legolas was already speaking. Only a second later, the lights re-lit themselves.
There were a few seconds of stunned silence before the small group of elves dropped to their knees in a show of respect.
"Meletyalda, my lord," one elf said. "Where have you been?"
"Rise, please." Legolas said to the elves. Elrohir and Elladan stood behind Legolas, watching the exchange between the Mirkwood natives. Legolas turned to the elf that addressed him. "Aldarion, it is good to see you again."
"My lord," another elf interrupted, "now is not the time for talk."
Legolas studied him. There was fear behind his eyes. "I think this is the best time for talk, Telemnar. It may be the only time we have for it."
"My lord, where have you been?" The elf called Aldarion repeated himself.
"My grandfather did not give you the message?"
Telemnar replied. "Your grandfather hasn't given us much good news. He told us you were dead."
Elrohir and Elladan exchanged glances. That didn't make sense. He had requested that Legolas should be sent home immediately, and yet he told the people of Mirkwood that their prince was dead?
Legolas was amazingly calm under the circumstances. "Tell me what he has done."
The elves were silent.
"Dar," Legolas addressed Aldarion. If they wouldn't answer him as their prince, Aldarion would answer him as his friend. "Tell me what he has done to my father. To my people."
Aldarion looked very uncomfortable, but he answered Legolas just the same. "Lord Oropher told us that your father went with a search party to find you."
Legolas shook his head. "My father would not leave Mirkwood in the care of another. Especially not my grandfather."
"We know, Legolas." It was the first time the prince had been addressed informally. Dar continued. "Lord Oorpher has put all of Mirkwood into a terrible fright. No one dares speak against him. He had someone killed for asking where Lord Thranduil was."
Legolas grimaced. "Who?"
"Cadeyrn, my lord. Lord Oorpher-"
Legolas raised a hand to stop his friend. "You will not call my grandfather lord while in my presence. Is that understood?"
"Yes, my lord." The elves replied as one.
"Legolas," Aldarion said, his voice low, "you should get home. Things are really bad there."
"Will you come with me, Dar? All of you? I may need you."
"We will follow you, my lord, but a respectful distance. If your grandfather knew that we were helping you, it would mean certain death for us all."
"Thank you, Dar." Legolas turned back to his Rivendell friends. "Elladan, go home. Tell your father what has transpired." He paused, turning to Elrohir. "I do not ask you to come with me. Indeed, I rather ask you to return with your brother."
"I know Legolas. Let's hurry and get this over with. Lead the way."
The prince couldn't help but smile. "Thank you." And the two elves they were on their way.
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To my reviewers: thanks to everyone who stuck with me through the story! It was much appreciated, and I hope to see your names again through my next story. Big hugs to all of my faithful reviewers! I can't say thank you enough!
Nikki: *Blushing.* Ah, thank you so much. You know, I wasn't going tp put the numb thing in, but then I started thinking about it, and how helpless a warrior would feel if he couldn't feel the left side of his body. It was good torture fodder. This ending wasn't very, well, endish, was it? Thank you so much for reading and being one of my faithful reviewers! You have no idea how much I really appreciate it!
Nina: Yes, I can assure you that Oorpher (resurrected for my purposes, lol,) will aid Legolas in finding Thranduil, but perhaps not the way you're thinking. Man, poor Thranduil! What happened to him? *Bites nails.* Thank you for sticking with me through my first story. I looked forward to your reviews so much!
Littlesaiyangirl: Yes, my sixth "poor Legolas!" (I am having way too much fun counting those. Haha, I think five of those six came from you, lol.) This is my last chapter of my first story, so I feel all sentimental and sappy. Thanks for hangin' in there with me while I battled out the rapids of FF.net. Hope this last chapter fit well with you.
Sky: Absolutely no problem. (Of course, I will have already read it by the time I post this.) And thank you to you too for stickin' it through with me!! And yeah, absolutely just like his father. Sheesh. runs in the family, huh?
Tamara: I updated, lol, but it's the last chapter.
Wilwarin: Did I make you wait long enough? Lol. So, what did you think of it? And thanks to you for all the reviews.
Bec: Hm, perhaps he is on his way to normality, but then, he is going to meet Estel in the near future, so that's not likely, is it? What with all the trouble Aragorn is likely to land him in, lol. You too, hm, I should have waited AGES to post this just for you and Wilwarin. (So evil, but I like it that way.) Thanks for all the kind reviews!
Elf of Mirkwood: Have you read past four yet? You will see how Legolas and Arwen end up. Let's just say, for when you are asking, yes, they are in love.
Blume: Ah, thanks for pointing that out. I read somewhere that it was Oropher, probably The Hobbit or some background book that I read, but then I saw it somewhere as Orophir and well, I just got confused! (Blonde is more than a hair colour, it's a state of mind.) Thank you. Uhm, what else? A hint, where is Thranduil? Well, Oropher says that Thranduil is leading a search party for Legolas. But can you trust Oropher? (See people, always asking me where he is. All you gotta do is ask for a hint!!! I can't refuse you that.) Don't apologize! Sheesh, if anything, you should be apologizing for not taking me with you! Lol, just kidding. Sunburns hurt something awful, don't they? Cocoa Butter and Aloe Vera make it feel better though. I know from experience! And another sappy thanks to you too!
Lily: You're back! I thought I lost you to disinterest. Uhm, I shouldn't tell you this, but the break-up isn't quite over yet, and there's plenty of angst to come, savvy? Unfortunately, Arwen will not die. I considered it, but no. But trust me, it's not over yet.
Gilraen3: Thanks! Here's the last chapter, then.
The next story in this series is called Family Ties. It is AU, because Oorpher did die quite a while ago. Also, if any of you remember my disclaimer about sounding like Cassia and Sio's stories, this next one is why. There was no plagiarism, I promise. Like I said, I started writing mine before I read theirs. With that said, here is a summary and a small excerpt of it.
Family Ties
With the help of Elladan and Elrohir, Legolas finally returns home- to his worst nightmare. Elladan is sent back to Rivendell, leaving Elrohir and Legolas alone to face evils that have long haunted their memories. Entering Mirkwood, they plan on fighting for their lives. They don't plan on losing the forest.
The Excerpt:
The two guards made a grab for him, but he easily spun out of their reach. More guards sprang forward, sensing that they would be needed. Legolas reached for his daggers, twirling one in each hand, though his injured arm protested.
"Minastir! Mellon! Don't do this!" Legolas pleaded as one guard advanced on him slowly.
He looked sadly into the prince's eyes. "We don't serve you anymore, Legolas." Minastir replied.
Legolas hid his panic well. There were easily 20 guards nearby. If he were in a human realm, it would not matter. But he was not in a human realm. These were elven guards, all just as agile and quick as he was. Throw an injury into the matter? Legolas didn't have a chance.
His hope lay in the fact that he knew all these guards. He was friends with most of them. They wouldn't really imprison him, would they?
They advanced on him, each having drawn their own weapons. A horrible realization struck Legolas like a ton of stone. They would imprison him, if given the chance, and he was powerless to stop them. His one hope became his one downfall in a matter of seconds. They were his friends, and for that reason, he could not cause them injury. Now, it was 20 to 1, and he would not hurt them. It was impossible odds.
So, what do ya'll think? I'll post notes to reviewers of this chapter in the first chapter of Family Ties.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
They made wonderful time; by nightfall the had entered the edges of the forest of Mirkwood.
Elrohir let his eyes grow accustomed to the darkness. The woods were near pitch black, for even the moon did not penetrate through. The Rivendell elf shuddered as yellow eyes followed them down the trail. Forgetting everything he had once known about his friend's home, he suggested a fire, and that they stop until morning.
Legolas reluctantly agreed to the stop, but he refused to light a fire. When Elrohir questioned this, he simply answered, "The eyes."
"Oh." Elrohir and Elladan said at once, remember how the light of a fire seemed to attract every creature in the forest.
A few minutes passed in uneasy silence. It was too silent for Legolas' taste. He knew the were still very far west of where they needed to be, so he tried not to think too much of it.
"Take your ease, Legolas. This is your home, no harm will fall unto you."
Legolas looked sideways at Elrohir. He knew the Noldor elf felt the tension in the woods as well.
"I can't sleep, Elrohir. It's no use."
Elrohir nodded. "Me either." They shared a meaningful glance.
"I found a river," Elladan said, walking back towards their campsite.
"You fool," Elrohir muttered.
Legolas laughed at this, then turned back to the twin. "I can see you didn't drink from it."
Elladan raised his eyebrows.
"Have you forgotten everything about my home?"
"I was only here once. And that was how many centuries ago?" Elladan began to get a little defensive. He hated being laughed at and not knowing why.
"The river is magic, you idiot. It puts you to sleep." Elrohir explain. Legolas only smiled at the bantering.
"Forgive me, all knowing one."
"Shhh," Legolas hissed suddenly, fully alert of his surroundings. The other two elves fell silent. "I hear voices."
Indeed he had. The voices were too far away however for even elven ears to hear what was being said.
"I'm going to investigate." He paused. He knew it wasn't smart to separate from the other two in this forest. "Are you two coming?"
They both nodded, following the prince closely. After a few seconds hesitation, the three strayed from the path. Legolas knew his way well enough that he could get them back to the path if needed.
Before long, they could see warm lights in the next clearing. At first, Legolas was relieved, but worry overtook him again when he heard no singing.
"Follow me," Legolas mouthed. He straightened himself, and walked into the circle of lights. In an instant, the lights went out, but Legolas was already speaking. Only a second later, the lights re-lit themselves.
There were a few seconds of stunned silence before the small group of elves dropped to their knees in a show of respect.
"Meletyalda, my lord," one elf said. "Where have you been?"
"Rise, please." Legolas said to the elves. Elrohir and Elladan stood behind Legolas, watching the exchange between the Mirkwood natives. Legolas turned to the elf that addressed him. "Aldarion, it is good to see you again."
"My lord," another elf interrupted, "now is not the time for talk."
Legolas studied him. There was fear behind his eyes. "I think this is the best time for talk, Telemnar. It may be the only time we have for it."
"My lord, where have you been?" The elf called Aldarion repeated himself.
"My grandfather did not give you the message?"
Telemnar replied. "Your grandfather hasn't given us much good news. He told us you were dead."
Elrohir and Elladan exchanged glances. That didn't make sense. He had requested that Legolas should be sent home immediately, and yet he told the people of Mirkwood that their prince was dead?
Legolas was amazingly calm under the circumstances. "Tell me what he has done."
The elves were silent.
"Dar," Legolas addressed Aldarion. If they wouldn't answer him as their prince, Aldarion would answer him as his friend. "Tell me what he has done to my father. To my people."
Aldarion looked very uncomfortable, but he answered Legolas just the same. "Lord Oropher told us that your father went with a search party to find you."
Legolas shook his head. "My father would not leave Mirkwood in the care of another. Especially not my grandfather."
"We know, Legolas." It was the first time the prince had been addressed informally. Dar continued. "Lord Oorpher has put all of Mirkwood into a terrible fright. No one dares speak against him. He had someone killed for asking where Lord Thranduil was."
Legolas grimaced. "Who?"
"Cadeyrn, my lord. Lord Oorpher-"
Legolas raised a hand to stop his friend. "You will not call my grandfather lord while in my presence. Is that understood?"
"Yes, my lord." The elves replied as one.
"Legolas," Aldarion said, his voice low, "you should get home. Things are really bad there."
"Will you come with me, Dar? All of you? I may need you."
"We will follow you, my lord, but a respectful distance. If your grandfather knew that we were helping you, it would mean certain death for us all."
"Thank you, Dar." Legolas turned back to his Rivendell friends. "Elladan, go home. Tell your father what has transpired." He paused, turning to Elrohir. "I do not ask you to come with me. Indeed, I rather ask you to return with your brother."
"I know Legolas. Let's hurry and get this over with. Lead the way."
The prince couldn't help but smile. "Thank you." And the two elves they were on their way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
To my reviewers: thanks to everyone who stuck with me through the story! It was much appreciated, and I hope to see your names again through my next story. Big hugs to all of my faithful reviewers! I can't say thank you enough!
Nikki: *Blushing.* Ah, thank you so much. You know, I wasn't going tp put the numb thing in, but then I started thinking about it, and how helpless a warrior would feel if he couldn't feel the left side of his body. It was good torture fodder. This ending wasn't very, well, endish, was it? Thank you so much for reading and being one of my faithful reviewers! You have no idea how much I really appreciate it!
Nina: Yes, I can assure you that Oorpher (resurrected for my purposes, lol,) will aid Legolas in finding Thranduil, but perhaps not the way you're thinking. Man, poor Thranduil! What happened to him? *Bites nails.* Thank you for sticking with me through my first story. I looked forward to your reviews so much!
Littlesaiyangirl: Yes, my sixth "poor Legolas!" (I am having way too much fun counting those. Haha, I think five of those six came from you, lol.) This is my last chapter of my first story, so I feel all sentimental and sappy. Thanks for hangin' in there with me while I battled out the rapids of FF.net. Hope this last chapter fit well with you.
Sky: Absolutely no problem. (Of course, I will have already read it by the time I post this.) And thank you to you too for stickin' it through with me!! And yeah, absolutely just like his father. Sheesh. runs in the family, huh?
Tamara: I updated, lol, but it's the last chapter.
Wilwarin: Did I make you wait long enough? Lol. So, what did you think of it? And thanks to you for all the reviews.
Bec: Hm, perhaps he is on his way to normality, but then, he is going to meet Estel in the near future, so that's not likely, is it? What with all the trouble Aragorn is likely to land him in, lol. You too, hm, I should have waited AGES to post this just for you and Wilwarin. (So evil, but I like it that way.) Thanks for all the kind reviews!
Elf of Mirkwood: Have you read past four yet? You will see how Legolas and Arwen end up. Let's just say, for when you are asking, yes, they are in love.
Blume: Ah, thanks for pointing that out. I read somewhere that it was Oropher, probably The Hobbit or some background book that I read, but then I saw it somewhere as Orophir and well, I just got confused! (Blonde is more than a hair colour, it's a state of mind.) Thank you. Uhm, what else? A hint, where is Thranduil? Well, Oropher says that Thranduil is leading a search party for Legolas. But can you trust Oropher? (See people, always asking me where he is. All you gotta do is ask for a hint!!! I can't refuse you that.) Don't apologize! Sheesh, if anything, you should be apologizing for not taking me with you! Lol, just kidding. Sunburns hurt something awful, don't they? Cocoa Butter and Aloe Vera make it feel better though. I know from experience! And another sappy thanks to you too!
Lily: You're back! I thought I lost you to disinterest. Uhm, I shouldn't tell you this, but the break-up isn't quite over yet, and there's plenty of angst to come, savvy? Unfortunately, Arwen will not die. I considered it, but no. But trust me, it's not over yet.
Gilraen3: Thanks! Here's the last chapter, then.
The next story in this series is called Family Ties. It is AU, because Oorpher did die quite a while ago. Also, if any of you remember my disclaimer about sounding like Cassia and Sio's stories, this next one is why. There was no plagiarism, I promise. Like I said, I started writing mine before I read theirs. With that said, here is a summary and a small excerpt of it.
Family Ties
With the help of Elladan and Elrohir, Legolas finally returns home- to his worst nightmare. Elladan is sent back to Rivendell, leaving Elrohir and Legolas alone to face evils that have long haunted their memories. Entering Mirkwood, they plan on fighting for their lives. They don't plan on losing the forest.
The Excerpt:
The two guards made a grab for him, but he easily spun out of their reach. More guards sprang forward, sensing that they would be needed. Legolas reached for his daggers, twirling one in each hand, though his injured arm protested.
"Minastir! Mellon! Don't do this!" Legolas pleaded as one guard advanced on him slowly.
He looked sadly into the prince's eyes. "We don't serve you anymore, Legolas." Minastir replied.
Legolas hid his panic well. There were easily 20 guards nearby. If he were in a human realm, it would not matter. But he was not in a human realm. These were elven guards, all just as agile and quick as he was. Throw an injury into the matter? Legolas didn't have a chance.
His hope lay in the fact that he knew all these guards. He was friends with most of them. They wouldn't really imprison him, would they?
They advanced on him, each having drawn their own weapons. A horrible realization struck Legolas like a ton of stone. They would imprison him, if given the chance, and he was powerless to stop them. His one hope became his one downfall in a matter of seconds. They were his friends, and for that reason, he could not cause them injury. Now, it was 20 to 1, and he would not hurt them. It was impossible odds.
So, what do ya'll think? I'll post notes to reviewers of this chapter in the first chapter of Family Ties.