Sirnonenath--Ooooh, whatever shall poor Leggy do? :D You shall see..Oh, I'm sorry! I must not have made that extremely clear. It's not the third floor of where they were; they're not where he's supposed to do that yet. Sorry! Yeah, Traemire's trying to unnerve them :) Which would work if you think about it; everyone is expecting attacks and ambushes, perhaps even something blocking their paths. But, there isn't. So everyone figures something's bound to happen come that next curve in the path, keeping everyone efficiently tense. I had to put that in there between the twins, Estel, and Legolas. Some comic relief. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Deana--Lol, I had fun with that scene. I could picture everyone staring at Legolas like, "What is he on?" Lol. :) Glad you liked it! Yay, two chapters :D Hee, hee. Wish I could have seen you doing the "dance of joy" :D Hmmm.you'll just have to wait and see! :D

SilverKnight7--Yay, another one has found their way here! :D Thanks for reviewing! :)

Fog settled on the ground the next morning. Clouds obscured the sun's greeting, and rain was promised later. They refused to let this dampen their spirits. Today they would go into battle, and Traemire and his forces would be destroyed.

True to his word the small army came upon the forest before the next hour passed. The sun was about to climb over the horizon and splash everything in light. However, due to the thickness of the trees, not much light could filter in. 'A perfect place for one so evil to hide undisturbed for so long,' Thranduil thought grimly. No one paused; they continued to march forward, using their swords to hack away the dense undergrowth blocking their way.

Strangely enough, once they had gotten inside, a clear path waited for them. They glanced at each other and then their surroundings warily. Taking lead Lord Elrond and King Thranduil led them down the path. No one spoke, and no sound was heard. Elves make no sound when walking, and the horses seemed to sense the need for inaudible steps for they too emitted no noise. Birds were not about, nor deer or rabbits; the wind did not whistle, and the trees did not speak. Legolas wondered if they could. 'They all appear dead.'

Onward they moved, and still nothing. Up ahead a rise in the ground blocked the view. One particularly swift elf ran forward to act as a scout. The rest watched as the scout stopped dead in his tracks on the hill. Quickly he raced back, and with round eyes informed them, "Over that hill lies a valley. And in that valley lies a castle, old and black as coal and from within orcs run about. Smoke comes from the top as if they have a forgery and standing on the balcony on the fourth floor was a solitary figure overseeing it all."

They took this information in readily.

"How many, do you suppose?" Elrond inquired.

The scout shook his head. "They were running here and there; I could not give you an accurate number. But by no means nothing we cannot defeat."

"Then the battle begins."

Up the hill they marched in formation and peered down on their opposition. It did not take long for the orcs to take notice of them. One gave a loud battle cry and sped forward with more stepping in line.

"Hold!" Elrond shouted.

The growls of the orcs came closer, yet not one of the elves flinched. Then the signal to shoot was given. The rest definitely took notice of their visitors. Arrows rained down freely and in seemingly endless lines. Orcs fell left and right, but soon the group was forced to fight hand to hand as some managed to break their lines.

With the chaos of battle cloaking him, Legolas sneaked past as many orcs as he could, killing the ones that came upon him, until he reached the door of the black castle. He gazed up to where the scout had said the master had stood, but the balcony held no one. Without another thought the Mirkwood elf rushed inside.

Legolas tiptoed across the floor inside. He jumped when a bang announced the doors had closed. Paying that no heed, he proceeded forward. Legolas spied a staircase on the other side of the stone room and ran to it, going as fast as he could up them, taking three or four at a time. 'The third story,' he recalled Haldir's words. 'The room at the end with the locked door.'

The second floor greeted him, but he did not take the time to even look around. He planned to get in and out as quickly as possible. His feet hit the bare floor rapidly as he sought another stairway. His eyes took hold of one to the right, and he began to climb this one as well.

Finally, the prince came to stand at the top of the third floor. A window was directly to his right, and a view of the ongoing battle drew his attention momentarily. He attempted to find his friends and father, but with so many moving bodies it was near impossible. A clang brought him back to the task at hand. Fingering his sword, Legolas glided down the hallway, his blue eyes locked on the door at the end. He stood in front of it, sliding his slender hands across its smooth surface. In one fluid movement the door knob was severed, and the door cracked open.

"So you have come," a voice from behind him spoke.

Legolas spun around. An elf stood no more than six yards away, leaning on his shoulder against the cold wall. But this was no ordinary elf, which Legolas cold see at a longer glance. His eyes were ebony, and as the prince stared into their centers he felt as though at the edge of an abyss, spiraling into the inky void of which all things were broken down and forgotten. The prince actually jerked himself backwards to break himself of the entrapment created. Traemire smirked, and instantly Legolas pictured Haldir's smirk in his mind. A sense fell over him that told him he had been fooled.

"Poor Greenleaf. Your naivety really does amuse me. Or mayhap you are not naïve, but merely guilty over the death of your friend. Is that it? Sickening, really, that you are willing to sacrifice your life on account that your dead friend's spirit might be trapped here."

"Nay, you are the sickening one! You give jest to all beings, embodiment of evil. No more will your forked tongue move, for death reaches towards you and will have its prize before this battle is over."

"I tire of you, princeling. Your turn has come and gone, and now it is the other's times. Enjoy your fiery demise." Traemire waved a dismissive hand at Legolas. The blonde elf flew back by some unseen force and landed roughly inside. The doors shut with a click sounding horrifically final.

Aragorn twirled and sliced open another orc, ripped it back, turned and stabbed, and continued the dance of death. He, along with all the others, had been doing so for the last half hour, though it seemed so much longer to all. More orcs appeared out of where the man had no clue. But he was used to war and the clutches of tiredness was no where in sight. For the fifth time in the last ten minutes, Aragorn scanned the scene for blonde hair. And again, as with all the other times, Thranduil's was the only one's he saw. Elladan came near by chance, fending off two orcs.

"Elladan!" Aragorn took down one of the orcs, leaving him to the other. "I cannot find Legolas!"

Elladan decapitated the beast with a deft swing and then frowned at the human.

"I have not seen him, either," he panted.

Another exchange of words was cut off by more orcs charging them. The frenzied routine began again.

Legolas jumped up and pounded on the door. There was no door knob to pull on, and no chance of getting out that way, he knew; Traemire held the door shut by magic. Admitting defeat for the moment, the elf took notice of the room he was in. With a sinking heart he realized what Traemire's last words had meant, and that the scout had been practically right.

The room was one huge furnace, and, Legolas suspected, used to wield weapons and armor. Fire was breathed from throughout the room; smoke choked everything; and a large opening, half way covered, sat in the center. 'There has to be some way out.'

Legolas set about examining the room, trying to breathe as little of the smoke as could be helped. 'There!' he shouted in his head with delight as he sped to the back wall. Some feet up a small window was stationed. 'Surely I can fit!' Searching, he spied what he sought. To the side was a chest holding scrap metal. Using renewed strength Legolas drug it below the window and hopped on top. If he stood on his tiptoes, Legolas was able to grab hold of the ledge. He reached down and pulled up his sword, using the hilt to smash out the glass that covered half the window.

A/N: Sorry, all. I really am not able to write fighting scenes. I get repetitive and.well, sucky. :) Therefore, I try to avoid as much as possible.