I've decided, after this chapter, that I should definitely NOT become a
speech writer. Anyway, I think this chapter is a bit longer than the last,
so enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Legolas turned a sharp corner into bright daylight. He skidded on the tile until his feet met the lush grass of the courtyard. He stumbled briefly before regaining his composure.
Two thirds of the people of Mirkwood were there that morning. They looked up from their morning meals, and all conversation ceased. Legolas, for the second time since he had been home, was greeted with stunned silence.
He regained his dignity and looked each elf in the eye. At once, they all bowed to their knees.
"Lord Legolas," the murmur arose quietly. "He is alive!"
"Rise, my friends! It is I, Laegolas, son of Thranduil, who is the rightful king of Mirkwood!"
The elves did as they were ordered. "My lord, you have returned to us."
"Yes, Elendur. I have returned. Now, you must listen to me, all of you. I haven't much time. You have all noticed ill befalling these woods, have you not?"
They murmured in agreement. At that moment, Oropher strode gracefully into the courtyard. "I must have a word with those guards," he whispered in Legolas' ear.
Legolas ignored him. "Now is your chance to take a new king! To rid your land of tyranny! I ask now for a legal vote."
"I second that."
Legolas turned, surprised by his grandfather's words. He said nothing.
"We will vote. It is as you requested," one elf said. The others nodded in agreement.
"You may plead first, young one."
Legolas did not want to go first, but he had no choice. He only had one chance to speak, so he needed to speak well. He chose his words carefully.
"Good people of Mirkwood- I feel such sorrow for the times you are living in now. Small was the realm of my father when I left, due to the growing evil in this world. Smaller still was it when I returned to it under my grandfather's rule. Tell me, what has he done to better your lives? What has he done to improve Mirkwood? He has done nothing; I can see that from less one day of being home. Grief pulled at my heart when I arrived. I was ashamed. Not ashamed of my home, no, but ashamed that I may have been the cause for my grandfather to gain power of the throne. He is feeding you lies. It is my hope that you all know this. He told you I was dead. Answer me now, do I look dead to you? He told you that my father went searching for me. If you knew Lord Thranduil, you would know that would be unlike him. Did none of you wonder why my father went to search for me, as this man says, if I was dead? Make me your king and I will be bring Lord Thranduil back. You know he was the greatest king Mirkwood ever saw, and you all know what he did to make it great. I will not waste time explaining it to you. Together, my people, we will make Mirkwood great once again."
The elves nodded, or spoke agreement to each other, but quieted as soon as Oropher held up his hand. "Good people of Mirkwood. if Thranduil was the greatest king you ever had, why am I not addressing the people of Greenwood the Great?"
Legolas frowned. Mirkwood was falling to darkness before Thranduil ever took the throne.
"I only told you Legolas was dead because I believed him to be! I sent for him as soon as I thought I knew where he was. For three months I received no response. Wouldn't you have also expected him dead, if he had not returned your message for so long? My son, Thranduil, went searching for Legolas before I caught word of him in Rivendell. Did you know that? For three months while chaos surrounded us, he was in Rivendell, never giving a thought to Mirkwood!"
The prince's fists balled. He hadn't even heard of his grandfather's message until two days before his departure form Rivendell. He had to admit, he did not think of Mirkwood, but up until then, he hadn't needed to. With his father in rule, there was no reason to think anything wrong in the great forest.
"Do you want a lord like that? One who would always think of himself before you? If so, then please, make Legolas your king. You would see the fall of Mirkwood before your end."
No one said a word.
Legolas finally spoke, very quietly. "Please make your decision. Neither of us will think anything less of you."
Each elf slowly walked onto one half of the courtyard. Not one elf remained on the other.
Lord Oropher looked at Legolas. He exited the courtyard, smiling triumphantly.
Legolas felt betrayed. He searched for something to say, but only his friend's name escaped his lips. "Elendur?"
No one met his gaze. They knew the wrong they had done, but fear drove them to it.
"How could you have done this? He is feeding you lies. Did none of you wonder what happened to either my father or myself? Did none of you wonder why I left you for so long? Nay, I don't care if you wondered. How many of you asked? Not one of you, I can tell you that. Look around you: where are those that did ask? In the dungeons, I would presume." He thought about Aldarion and Telemnar, and the small group of elves in the forest with them. "Exiled? Just for being loyal. One was even killed! He met his end because of his loyalty to my father! Why aren't you among those who asked? You could be considered traitors. I am ashamed of you, my people." He shook his head, and left the bright sun.
"That was touching," a cold voice greeted him as he walked back inside.
"I do not wish to speak to you right now."
There was a chuckle. Still, Legolas did not look up. "That's no way to treat your grandfather. I must say, I am most appalled by your show of manners in the last day alone."
"Forgive me," his voice dripped with sarcasm. "I am angry not at you, but at my people."
"You forget, they are not your people anymore."
"Where is Elrohir?"
"Done away with."
The prince's head shot up. "What have you done with him?" He demanded.
"Nothing. Yet. But that could change if you don't obey me."
Legolas let his shoulders fall. "What would you have me do?"
"How does serving dinner to my friends sound?"
Rage boiled inside the prince, but he held his peace. Now that Elrohir was captive, he didn't have a choice to how he would act. "I wish to return to my room."
"It is granted. I will send for you later."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Legolas paced his room. If his grandfather went by the same schedule his father did, he had a little over an hour until dinner. What could he accomplish in an hour?
He opened his door quietly, checking to see if the coast was clear. He slipped into the hallway, moving as quietly as possible. He navigated his way towards the dungeons, keeping his ears open to any advance from the enemy.
"Legolas!"
The prince started. "Oh by the Valar, Minastir, you scared me. Where were you earlier?"
"I stayed behind to keep them from going after you, my lord."
"I don't understand," Legolas shook his head. "You said they would kill you."
The elf smiled. "I changed their minds. You have 20 guards on your side, Legolas. We have not yet spoken to the rest of your father's army. However, we can only help you once before Lord Oropher punishes us. Don't call on us until you have no other hope."
"Thank you, mellon. I owe you my life."
"Yes, but you've been saying that since you were a mere 100 years old."
Legolas smiled. "Oropher hasn't punished you yet? For protecting me?"
"He hasn't found me yet."
"I see. Do you know where he might have put Elrohir?"
Minastir gave him a puzzled look.
"My friend. The Noldor elf."
The guard shook his head. "If I get caught helping you again, my lord-"
"Never mind, I will find it on my own." Legolas continued down to the dungeons.
Before long, Legolas has passed out of the warm, well-lit hallways. The air was growing colder, and older. If Legolas had not been used to Tarduain's dungeons, the air in his own home would have made him ill. He began to pass cells. None were empty, much to the prince's dismay. The elves within them looked at him as he passed, and bowed their heads in respect. They said nothing to the prince, and he in turn said nothing to them.
"Elrohir!" He hissed quietly, coming to the last cell in the row.
"Legolas? I'm so sorry!"
"Shhh," Legolas said, smiling to calm his friend. "Haven't we been in this situation before?"
"Yes, only I believe the tables have turned a bit."
Elrohir watched as Legolas was looking for a way to release his friend from the bars he was held behind.
"You should learn to hold your temper better."
"Yes, well, it does seem to run in the family," Legolas commented, rather distractedly. Elrohir couldn't help it- he laughed. It was so true. his grandfather was a madman, his father had a very hot temper, and Legolas too was endowed with that trait. His seemed to be the tamest, only showing in Legolas' wit. The prince had never gotten to the point of being physical, like both of his forefathers had.
"You shouldn't be here. If you get caught."
"If I get caught, I get punished. That is a risk I am willing to take. If I were to leave you here, I would have to search for my father on my own, among other things."
Elrohir's eyes narrowed. "What other things?"
"I refuse to be a slave in my own home." Legolas' cryptic words were completed with a triumphant smile as the cell door swung open.
"Let go of your pride, Legolas."
"I have heard those words many times in the last few months."
"You listened to them once."
"Quiet. I heard voices."
The two elves crept back down the long hallway. Legolas peered around the corner, his eyes landing on his uncle in deep conversation with- no, his eyes were mistaken.
"Go back, it's him!" Legolas panicked. He was trapped in a dead end. There was no way out. His only hope was that his grandfather was not coming to Elrohir's cell.
He pushed the elf back inside, holding the door shut with his hand.
"You're bleeding, Legolas."
"What?"
"You are. Your shoulder, where Tarduain stabbed you. It's bleeding."
Legolas looked down. Elrohir was right. The emerald cloth of his tunic was stained dark red. He hadn't noticed it earlier, and he wondered how long it had been bleeding.
His worst nightmare came true at that moment. His grandfather turned down their hallway. "I'm dead, Elrohir."
"We'll get out of this. We did once, didn't we?"
"Father was there to help us last time."
"After he found us. We were on our own in the beginning. We can handle this."
Legolas waited in silence as the two approached Elrohir's cell.
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Uhm, guys? Where did you all run off to? None of my regulars reviewed! A HUGE thanks to the four of you that did:
Helena: I'm so sorry! I just missed you before I posted chapter three! Thanks for the review!
Fire Eagle: Man, I just missed you too! Darn it! I was thinking, "no one else is gonna review, so here, I'll post." And poof! You two reviewed! Lol, wow. Anyway, to answer your questions, yes, Oropher will torture Legolas, though I'll admit I'm right in the middle of rewriting it. Hm, now what would these "other things" be that he could resort to? Lol, honestly though, any ideas, please feel free to let me know! And yay! I was your first signed review! I feel so special! Lol, really, thank you so much for your review. I love the really kind words, and as much as I say that authors don't write for the public, they do enjoy the little ego boosts! Thanks again. PS. Update your story!
Coolio02: Haha, thank you! Much appreciated!
LPI 3: Ah, thank you! That so made my day. Of course, I hope you read this soon, lol. Oh, wait, you did! Lol, sorry. Ah, thank you so much! You really have no idea how nice it is hearing stuff like that!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Legolas turned a sharp corner into bright daylight. He skidded on the tile until his feet met the lush grass of the courtyard. He stumbled briefly before regaining his composure.
Two thirds of the people of Mirkwood were there that morning. They looked up from their morning meals, and all conversation ceased. Legolas, for the second time since he had been home, was greeted with stunned silence.
He regained his dignity and looked each elf in the eye. At once, they all bowed to their knees.
"Lord Legolas," the murmur arose quietly. "He is alive!"
"Rise, my friends! It is I, Laegolas, son of Thranduil, who is the rightful king of Mirkwood!"
The elves did as they were ordered. "My lord, you have returned to us."
"Yes, Elendur. I have returned. Now, you must listen to me, all of you. I haven't much time. You have all noticed ill befalling these woods, have you not?"
They murmured in agreement. At that moment, Oropher strode gracefully into the courtyard. "I must have a word with those guards," he whispered in Legolas' ear.
Legolas ignored him. "Now is your chance to take a new king! To rid your land of tyranny! I ask now for a legal vote."
"I second that."
Legolas turned, surprised by his grandfather's words. He said nothing.
"We will vote. It is as you requested," one elf said. The others nodded in agreement.
"You may plead first, young one."
Legolas did not want to go first, but he had no choice. He only had one chance to speak, so he needed to speak well. He chose his words carefully.
"Good people of Mirkwood- I feel such sorrow for the times you are living in now. Small was the realm of my father when I left, due to the growing evil in this world. Smaller still was it when I returned to it under my grandfather's rule. Tell me, what has he done to better your lives? What has he done to improve Mirkwood? He has done nothing; I can see that from less one day of being home. Grief pulled at my heart when I arrived. I was ashamed. Not ashamed of my home, no, but ashamed that I may have been the cause for my grandfather to gain power of the throne. He is feeding you lies. It is my hope that you all know this. He told you I was dead. Answer me now, do I look dead to you? He told you that my father went searching for me. If you knew Lord Thranduil, you would know that would be unlike him. Did none of you wonder why my father went to search for me, as this man says, if I was dead? Make me your king and I will be bring Lord Thranduil back. You know he was the greatest king Mirkwood ever saw, and you all know what he did to make it great. I will not waste time explaining it to you. Together, my people, we will make Mirkwood great once again."
The elves nodded, or spoke agreement to each other, but quieted as soon as Oropher held up his hand. "Good people of Mirkwood. if Thranduil was the greatest king you ever had, why am I not addressing the people of Greenwood the Great?"
Legolas frowned. Mirkwood was falling to darkness before Thranduil ever took the throne.
"I only told you Legolas was dead because I believed him to be! I sent for him as soon as I thought I knew where he was. For three months I received no response. Wouldn't you have also expected him dead, if he had not returned your message for so long? My son, Thranduil, went searching for Legolas before I caught word of him in Rivendell. Did you know that? For three months while chaos surrounded us, he was in Rivendell, never giving a thought to Mirkwood!"
The prince's fists balled. He hadn't even heard of his grandfather's message until two days before his departure form Rivendell. He had to admit, he did not think of Mirkwood, but up until then, he hadn't needed to. With his father in rule, there was no reason to think anything wrong in the great forest.
"Do you want a lord like that? One who would always think of himself before you? If so, then please, make Legolas your king. You would see the fall of Mirkwood before your end."
No one said a word.
Legolas finally spoke, very quietly. "Please make your decision. Neither of us will think anything less of you."
Each elf slowly walked onto one half of the courtyard. Not one elf remained on the other.
Lord Oropher looked at Legolas. He exited the courtyard, smiling triumphantly.
Legolas felt betrayed. He searched for something to say, but only his friend's name escaped his lips. "Elendur?"
No one met his gaze. They knew the wrong they had done, but fear drove them to it.
"How could you have done this? He is feeding you lies. Did none of you wonder what happened to either my father or myself? Did none of you wonder why I left you for so long? Nay, I don't care if you wondered. How many of you asked? Not one of you, I can tell you that. Look around you: where are those that did ask? In the dungeons, I would presume." He thought about Aldarion and Telemnar, and the small group of elves in the forest with them. "Exiled? Just for being loyal. One was even killed! He met his end because of his loyalty to my father! Why aren't you among those who asked? You could be considered traitors. I am ashamed of you, my people." He shook his head, and left the bright sun.
"That was touching," a cold voice greeted him as he walked back inside.
"I do not wish to speak to you right now."
There was a chuckle. Still, Legolas did not look up. "That's no way to treat your grandfather. I must say, I am most appalled by your show of manners in the last day alone."
"Forgive me," his voice dripped with sarcasm. "I am angry not at you, but at my people."
"You forget, they are not your people anymore."
"Where is Elrohir?"
"Done away with."
The prince's head shot up. "What have you done with him?" He demanded.
"Nothing. Yet. But that could change if you don't obey me."
Legolas let his shoulders fall. "What would you have me do?"
"How does serving dinner to my friends sound?"
Rage boiled inside the prince, but he held his peace. Now that Elrohir was captive, he didn't have a choice to how he would act. "I wish to return to my room."
"It is granted. I will send for you later."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Legolas paced his room. If his grandfather went by the same schedule his father did, he had a little over an hour until dinner. What could he accomplish in an hour?
He opened his door quietly, checking to see if the coast was clear. He slipped into the hallway, moving as quietly as possible. He navigated his way towards the dungeons, keeping his ears open to any advance from the enemy.
"Legolas!"
The prince started. "Oh by the Valar, Minastir, you scared me. Where were you earlier?"
"I stayed behind to keep them from going after you, my lord."
"I don't understand," Legolas shook his head. "You said they would kill you."
The elf smiled. "I changed their minds. You have 20 guards on your side, Legolas. We have not yet spoken to the rest of your father's army. However, we can only help you once before Lord Oropher punishes us. Don't call on us until you have no other hope."
"Thank you, mellon. I owe you my life."
"Yes, but you've been saying that since you were a mere 100 years old."
Legolas smiled. "Oropher hasn't punished you yet? For protecting me?"
"He hasn't found me yet."
"I see. Do you know where he might have put Elrohir?"
Minastir gave him a puzzled look.
"My friend. The Noldor elf."
The guard shook his head. "If I get caught helping you again, my lord-"
"Never mind, I will find it on my own." Legolas continued down to the dungeons.
Before long, Legolas has passed out of the warm, well-lit hallways. The air was growing colder, and older. If Legolas had not been used to Tarduain's dungeons, the air in his own home would have made him ill. He began to pass cells. None were empty, much to the prince's dismay. The elves within them looked at him as he passed, and bowed their heads in respect. They said nothing to the prince, and he in turn said nothing to them.
"Elrohir!" He hissed quietly, coming to the last cell in the row.
"Legolas? I'm so sorry!"
"Shhh," Legolas said, smiling to calm his friend. "Haven't we been in this situation before?"
"Yes, only I believe the tables have turned a bit."
Elrohir watched as Legolas was looking for a way to release his friend from the bars he was held behind.
"You should learn to hold your temper better."
"Yes, well, it does seem to run in the family," Legolas commented, rather distractedly. Elrohir couldn't help it- he laughed. It was so true. his grandfather was a madman, his father had a very hot temper, and Legolas too was endowed with that trait. His seemed to be the tamest, only showing in Legolas' wit. The prince had never gotten to the point of being physical, like both of his forefathers had.
"You shouldn't be here. If you get caught."
"If I get caught, I get punished. That is a risk I am willing to take. If I were to leave you here, I would have to search for my father on my own, among other things."
Elrohir's eyes narrowed. "What other things?"
"I refuse to be a slave in my own home." Legolas' cryptic words were completed with a triumphant smile as the cell door swung open.
"Let go of your pride, Legolas."
"I have heard those words many times in the last few months."
"You listened to them once."
"Quiet. I heard voices."
The two elves crept back down the long hallway. Legolas peered around the corner, his eyes landing on his uncle in deep conversation with- no, his eyes were mistaken.
"Go back, it's him!" Legolas panicked. He was trapped in a dead end. There was no way out. His only hope was that his grandfather was not coming to Elrohir's cell.
He pushed the elf back inside, holding the door shut with his hand.
"You're bleeding, Legolas."
"What?"
"You are. Your shoulder, where Tarduain stabbed you. It's bleeding."
Legolas looked down. Elrohir was right. The emerald cloth of his tunic was stained dark red. He hadn't noticed it earlier, and he wondered how long it had been bleeding.
His worst nightmare came true at that moment. His grandfather turned down their hallway. "I'm dead, Elrohir."
"We'll get out of this. We did once, didn't we?"
"Father was there to help us last time."
"After he found us. We were on our own in the beginning. We can handle this."
Legolas waited in silence as the two approached Elrohir's cell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Uhm, guys? Where did you all run off to? None of my regulars reviewed! A HUGE thanks to the four of you that did:
Helena: I'm so sorry! I just missed you before I posted chapter three! Thanks for the review!
Fire Eagle: Man, I just missed you too! Darn it! I was thinking, "no one else is gonna review, so here, I'll post." And poof! You two reviewed! Lol, wow. Anyway, to answer your questions, yes, Oropher will torture Legolas, though I'll admit I'm right in the middle of rewriting it. Hm, now what would these "other things" be that he could resort to? Lol, honestly though, any ideas, please feel free to let me know! And yay! I was your first signed review! I feel so special! Lol, really, thank you so much for your review. I love the really kind words, and as much as I say that authors don't write for the public, they do enjoy the little ego boosts! Thanks again. PS. Update your story!
Coolio02: Haha, thank you! Much appreciated!
LPI 3: Ah, thank you! That so made my day. Of course, I hope you read this soon, lol. Oh, wait, you did! Lol, sorry. Ah, thank you so much! You really have no idea how nice it is hearing stuff like that!
