Chapter 15 – Escape From Lanorial

The sunrays were thinning into blood crimson when Legolas finished his tale. Narla insisted that she was fully recovered and could sleep no more, and asked him to tell her what had happened. Though he was reluctant to stay in this city any longer, Legolas told Narla everything, including his plans of leaving.

"Ah! You just reminded me of a dream I had!" said Narla as she recalled the frozen old man and his warning. Feeling that Legolas ought to know about her dream, Narla mentioned the words he said to her.

Legolas found it odd that someone could speak to Narla in her dream, but he considered it nevertheless. That old man knew of Narla, but he knew more of this place. No more hesitating, Legolas stood up and headed to the door.

"Stay here, Narla," he said. "But be prepared to leave. I shall go and find our horse and the way out."

"Legolas?"

He turned swiftly from the door as he heard Narla's small and somewhat scared voice. She was sitting up now, recovering her strength every moment, but the thought of being left alone unarmed frightened her. However, she knew that he had to go and find an escape route so she lifted her head and tried to show none of her fear,

"Take caution and do not get caught."

Legolas' lips twitched slightly as he opened the door silently, "You are forgetting that I am an Elf."

And he vanished through the door. Narla felt smaller and insecure. The moon had appeared and it lit the room dimly. Legolas had told her to be prepared to leave, but her cloak and Gaildryn were not with her. She would have felt safer with a weapon at hand, so she clambered out of bed and searched around, tumbling here and there as she was still weak. Realizing that the room was round, Narla ended up back beside her bed empty handed. Where did they take my weapon? thought Narla as she moved towards the door. Legolas told her to stay, but she felt it necessary that she retrieve the sword given by King Thranduil. So she plucked out her courage and opened the door.

Narla gasped. A bright glowing figure was floating in front of her looking really fierce, like a mother when her child had done something wrong. This must be the Princess of the Pixies that Legolas mentioned, and warned of. The Lady then smiled menacingly,

"I see that you have waken, my guest. Surely you mean not to leave before greeting you savior?"

Narla stepped back as she squinted against the radiance around the being.

"Oh no, my lady. I was just looking for – for my belongings. And I am ever grateful to you for saving me, m-my lady."

Sensing fear from the child, Lanorial knew it was time to use her power to get what she wanted. So she unleashed her power and Narla could feel her mind becoming dim and focused only on the glowing beauty in front of her. Lanorial smiled triumphantly and said,

"Now, child, your belongings are safe with me. Come, tell me all about you, and your gem."

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Legolas stepped into the darkness but he managed to find his way towards the dining hall. One of the pathways he passed must be leading to the outside, for he could feel the wind coming from it. As he made his way towards the path, he heard soft whisperings from behind a door near him. Moving towards it, he noticed the door was not closed and the room was lit. Peering in, Legolas found two small figures cuddled together.

Both were pixies, but their features not as fair and their glow not as bright as Lanorial's. In fact, they looked quite intimidating. They seemed to be quarreling over a long object that they held and it tumbled out of their hands. With his sharp eyesight, Legolas stared in horror as Gaildryn dropped to the ground with a loud clang. The two pixies turned to force and started to attack. They looked like two fireflies bombarding each other and did not notice when Legolas sneaked in and hid in the shadows. One of the pixies was clearly the stronger as the other slowed down in its attacks and it finally fell, bruised and exhausted. The other was exhausted as well, but it moved towards the prize and picked it up. At that moment Legolas hit the pixie's neck hard from the back and it fell unconscious, dropping Gaildryn once again. This time, Legolas caught it before it reached the ground and swiftly left the room. He had wasted enough time.

Moving cautiously up the pathway Legolas ended outside in a courtyard. It was empty in the middle and was surrounded by tall bushes. He hid in the bushes when he heard giggles and whisperings. No guards were to be seen, but a few pixie children gathered around a corner of the yard. They seemed to be fascinated by something that was moving. As the children moved away, Legolas saw that the horse he sought had been caged in a magic prism. The glowing prism of sorcery held a crystal at the top which seemed to be the source of energy. The children were fluttering around the horse, examining it from all angles. It neighed in confusion at seeing such odd creatures and being trapped in an unseen jail. They started poking at the poor beast with twigs and sticks, but it couldn't move, thus it neighed louder, hoping that would scare them away. Legolas decided to approach them, when he saw figures emerging from the entrance he came from.

The Lady appeared and behind her came Narla...but Narla did not seem quite herself. Her eyes were soulless and she was staring into empty space. Horrified as the truth hit him, Legolas froze, watching the hypnotized Narla moving towards the center of the now empty courtyard. The Princess' royal guards followed suit and surrounded the Lady and her prisoner. Though Legolas was mentally scolding himself for leaving Narla alone, he noticed that she still bore the gem, which glowed dimly, as though it too, had been mesmerized.

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Under the pale moonlight, Lanorial now no longer looked fair nor pleasing. She wore a scowl on her face and her glow was more menacing as ever. She had gotten the truth about the missing gems as well as the girl from her victim since she was spell bound, but she could not get hold of the gem. No matter how many times she commanded, the girl did not hand her the gem, so she resorted to grabbing it. It had the same effect as it previously did and her hands burnt even more painfully. Furious, Lanorial ordered her men to take it by force, but none could go near it as the gem glowed brightly and attacked their minds, as though it had its own will to counter her spell. However, the gem did not prevent its bearer from getting manipulated, so Lanorial took advantage of that. The elven prince would no longer succumb to her charm and she grew tired of playing games. She knew Legolas would be after the horse and he was missing from his room. She gathered all her force in that courtyard and she resorted to her final plan.

"Prince Elf, your companion had told me everything I needed to know. She is under my command. Show yourself!"

Legolas did not step forward. Instead, he silently took his bow and arrow and aimed it at Lanorial. But Lanorial did not come unprepared. She beckoned for a knife and gave it to Narla. Without speaking, she mentally controlled Narla to raise the knife to her throat. Legolas froze.

"Now you know what I can do, Legolas. Play no tricks and hide no more! I repeat, show yourself!"

A rustle of leaves came behind Lanorial and she turned to see Legolas appearing with his arrow aimed on her. He stared at her with cold fury and sent out such a frightful aura that none went near him. Lanorial sneered.

"So you have finally decided to quit playing games. I, too, shall get to my point. Think not low of my powers or your friend here shall return headless to her world. I want you to take the gem from her and give it to me."

Legolas remained silent and still. His arrow was still pointing dangerously at Lanorial. Lanorial grew mad at his insolence and made Narla sink the blade an inch up her throat. Blood flowed from neck to blade, and from blade to chest. Horror-struck, Legolas hesitated with his weapon. He began to loosen his arrow when suddenly a dazzling blue light flashed upon the courtyard.

Narla's blood had touched the gem and it reacted to the fluid. Dropping the knife, Narla's hands gripped her head as it ached with conflict. All the guards fell onto the ground rolling, hands over their heads like Narla. Lanorial however, acted quickly and picked the knife. She reached for Narla and held her captive.

"Look what you've done! Now take the gem off her!"

Just then, the neglected horse neighed loudly underneath the cries of the men. Lanorial turned to the chaos. Quick as lightning, Legolas took this opportunity to let fly his arrow and the crystal which held the magic prison shattered to pieces. Free again, the horse neighed in joy and stood on its rear to create more chaos as men were trying to run away from the stomping beast. Lanorial stepped back as the horse galloped towards her and she cried out in pain. Another arrow had pierced through her hand and she dropped the knife. Staggering, she cursed loudly.

Narla regained her senses but her head still hurt, as well as her throat. Legolas sped towards them, lifted Narla and jumped onto the horse almost all at once. With no further instructions needed, the horse directed itself towards the gate that connected the hidden city to the outside world. Legolas knew not how the beast knew of the portal, but he trusted it completely. Sure enough, the smell of real trees and voice of nature called to the horse and as Lanorial tried to close the portal, it had already jumped back into Middle-Earth, leaving her to curse loudly in mad fury.

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Once back in the real world Legolas suddenly felt his head lighter, as though a weight had been lifted. The horse was still bearing its load speedily without hesitation, as it was glad to be out of that hostile place. Legolas looked down at the injured girl in front of him. Narla still seemed shaken by the previous incident. Her wound was no longer bleeding as it had been a small cut, but it was partly healed with the help of the gem, unknown by any. However, regaining her senses made Narla realize that she had blurted everything about the quest to a dangerous being. The fact that she had not a strong will to fight against Lanorial disappointed Narla and that she nearly killed herself tore her apart. Ashamed, she kept her head down and did not speak. Legolas felt pity for the poor girl, but he remained silent as well.

The moon was returning to its abode and the sky was near total darkness. The ground was soft and the air was fresh, but it was the smell of wet grass that told Legolas it had rained. The horse had carried them a long way north and it seemed Lanorial did not pursue them. Narla was faint as she was not fully recovered. The horse too, was slowing down. Thus Legolas chose a dry area hidden under the shadows to camp. Placing Narla beside a large old tree, Legolas went to gather wood. However, though the area he chose was dry, there were no twigs around dry enough to light a fire. Noticing Narla shivering without a cloak, Legolas took off his and covered her up.

"I am afraid we shall have no fire for tonight, but I hope that this will be enough to keep you warm. Rest well, Narla. We have a long journey tomorrow."

Narla was too cold to reply, so she just nodded and curled up into a ball, with her head on her knees. Sitting beside her, Legolas stayed up to keep watch as the moon disappeared, thinking of what had happened in the Hidden City. Somewhere back south, Legolas knew nothing of the vengeance that Lady Lanorial is plotting.

Author's Notes: There! A sub-story completed! Along with the next chapter, this fic will be placed under action/adventure/romance instead, for I think my fic is more action than romance, neh? Anyway, Legolas is unharmed, as always. Thank you all for your reviews and comments and keep 'em coming~!