@szhismine : Sorry. No fun for them both until Leggy has his angst!
@Lady Lenna : Actually, he wears only his leggings. Grrr…Delicious!
@Kayo : Yes. It is a BIG FAT lie but I LOVE YOU TOO! Err…Leggy and Gallard in a mud pit? Fully clothed or fully naked? Whichever it is, I want to join them!
@Dur En Thurin Naur : I'm drooling too! Yes, you're correct. Leggy has had the same flying experience in 'Through The Eyes Of Hawkeye'.
@Jamie : I know the cliffie was terrible. I guess I have to give you more! LOL! Oh, the gang will come to Leggy's rescue…sort of.
@namarie2legolas : You are not getting your work done because of this fic? O-oh. I better go hide before your teacher come and kill me!
@Kitty : I just found out Leggy's full name; Legolas 'Trouble-come-follow-me' Thranduilion.
@Princess of Smirkwood : Thank you, girl. And yes, that's exactly what the ravens had thought. Silly ravens!
@popcorn : Sorry to make you worried. Angst will come, but might not be as wild as you think.
@MusicStarLover : Evil it is! He! He! But I've finished the chocolate. Can I have some more?
@Aranel of Mirkwood : I know how you feel about the Australian GP. Dang that Rhino-Brain 'somebody'!
@Hp-Azn : Yes, you are rather calm, aren't you. Okay. More cliffies then!
@Lisseyelen aka Lady V : Leggy doing a striptease for you? Dream on, mellon! Me first!
@Dalia : Thank you for the support! I'll keep on writing! (I know I'm too cruel on Leggy. He is being paid for it! LOL!)
A new chap for a new day!
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Legolas was angry. He was so furious that he couldn't stop cursing himself to Mordor and back.
Great. I just can't believe this! This is becoming a habit, you stupid idiot! Abducted. Again. By ugly giant ravens of all creatures! Well, I wanted adventure, didn't I? But this is bloody too much!
Glancing up, Legolas glared at the two large birds that had him in their strong grasp. They had both his arms between the clamp of their vicious claws, gripping him firmly, giving the elf no chance for escape. Legolas had stopped struggling a long while ago after realizing that his attempt was futile. The ravens were stronger than him and his effort would only give him more pain and discomfort. Besides, the earth was more than a thousand feet below him. He would not survive the fall anyway, so Legolas reluctantly accepted his captivity. For now, that is.
He also couldn't help but think of his wife. Nara must be worried sick by now, he mused. I hope she got home safely…and figures out how to get me out of this bloody mess!
A shiver of dread ran down his spine when he caught sight of a vast spread of water in the horizon. He blanched in great dismay. Valar! They are taking me to the sea!
Legolas struggled anew as the sea loomed closer. He will not let them take him there. He will not!
The ravens looked down at their struggling captive and squawked. Legolas glowered back at them and yelled a string of obscenities, demanding for immediate release. Without warning, the third raven moved behind him and viciously struck the back of the elf's neck using its beak.
Legolas jerked and cried out in pain. His vision colored and swam out of focus, making him dizzy and disoriented. For a while, he lost sense of his surroundings, barely aware of the wind that blew hard against his face. When he slowly came to, the sea was already below them—blue-green, mysterious, majestic…and beckoning.
Legolas could already feel the fingers of sea-longing grasping around his heart. It had been a long while since he last caught the affliction that he thought he had gotten over it. But he now realized it hadn't completely gone away. It had been lingering at the corner of his soul all the while, waiting expectantly to be unleashed once more.
Just not now, blast it! Legolas fumed inside, willing the affliction to disappear with all his might. I don't have time for this! Come back later when I'm back on my own two feet!
Closing his eyes against the sea, Legolas trained himself to breath steadily—in and out, in and out. It was a trick that had helped pull himself out of the affliction countless of times before, and he was using it now.
But his eyes snapped back open a long while later when the ravens suddenly squawked in exhilaration. He looked up and his jaw dropped. "Ai Elbereth and all the stars above…" he muttered in wonder. "Tasqamaran…"
They were now flying among the clouds. He could see a half-moon shaped island below them, blanketed by a thin layer of mist. But it was the tall great tower that amazed him the most. It lay on top of the highest hill of the island, a strong stone-based fortress surrounding it. A large statue of a bronze eagle perched atop the tower, its wings spread wide and its beak spread open in a squawk.
It was towards the opened beak that the ravens were taking him, Legolas realized, seeing the entrance into the tower there. As fear and trepidation shook his nerves, he prepared himself for the troubling inevitable…whatever that was.
********************************
"You didn't say that the ravens were huge!" Narasene blurted outright soon after she burst through the door of the guest chamber.
Leaning against the mound of pillows on the bed, Gallard was incredibly startled at this announcement. He blinked, staring dazedly at Narasene's disheveled appearance. Her hair was in wild disarray around her shoulders, the long silken tresses almost reaching her slender hips. Her once pristine pale blue gown was now spotted with dirt and was damp at the hem. Still, she looked beautiful even when her face was flushing red with excitement.
She also looked very angry.
"M…my lady?" Gallard sat up straighter, both nervous and curious at the same time. He glanced questioningly at Béregund who quickly entered right behind the lady of Ithilien. Béregund shrugged in reply. He was also in the dark of what had been going on. The elven warrior had been alarmed when he saw Narasene arrive at the keep on Legolas' mount—alone. He was even more worried when she did not acknowledge or speak a word to anyone but rushed inside and headed directly for the guest room instead.
Narasene closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose and willed herself to calm down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way it sounded."
"What happened, my lady? Where is Lord Legolas?" Béregund asked as he stepped closer.
Narasene ruefully glanced at the warrior before replying, "My husband's bad luck strikes again." Sighing, she sat on the edge of the bed and gazed fixedly upon Gallard's stricken face. "Some ravens, the shraqs I believe, took him away," she added.
Gallard's sharp intake of breath filled the room. It took Béregund several seconds later to cry out, "What?!"
Narasene flinched at Béregund's loud exclamation. The elven warrior started to curse but stopped himself when he saw the lady's pale face. Her big green eyes were swimming with tears, but her shoulders were square and her back was straight as a ramrod. She looked strong and steady, even though her worries for her husband's safety were so overwhelming that she nearly screamed with it.
"My lady, what exactly happen?" Gallard gently asked. In a slightly trembling voice, Narasene told them both the entire story. While doing so, she repeatedly threw her glance out the window, as if expecting to see Legolas come flying back home on magical wings.
"This is definitely not good," Béregund remarked after Narasene had finished explaining. "The ravens must have taken Lord Legolas by mistake, thinking that he was Gallard here because the two look quite alike."
Narasene was slightly blushing even though she had left out the part where Legolas was seducing her by the lake. "I feel so helpless," she stated and got to her feet, wringing her hands in misery. "What are we going to do?"
"We will attack them and get Lord Legolas back, that's for sure!" Béregund said enthusiastically, already making plans in his head. Then his shoulders slumped. "But, blast it, where are they taking him?"
"Tasqamaran Tower," Gallard finally said, breaking his silence.
Béregund's eyebrows lifted. "Good. You know the place. Just tell us where it is and we will…"
"No. I will," said Gallard softly as he flung the coverlet of him and got off the bed. He gazed back at the two elves, his eyes filled with guilt. "Besides, you would not want to go there."
"What do you mean?" Narasene asked. Her hands automatically reached up to hold Gallard steady. He was slightly swaying on his feet, obviously still weak and in pain from his wound.
"Tasqmaran lay on an island, far into the sea," the draq replied. "You need to be able to fly or sail to get there."
Béregund and Narsene looked at each other. They understood of the other thing that Gallard did not mention—the sea-longing affliction.
"We'll find the means and risk it anyway," Narasene said determinedly, looking as stubborn as her husband would. Béregund also nodded in agreement.
Gallard shook his head. "Nay, my lady. I've caused you and Legolas enough harm. I should never have come here and brought this trouble along with me. So, I will go and save him."
The two elves watched in stupefied silence as Gallard limped towards the balcony and crouched. They watched in amazement when a pair of wings steadily sprouted out of his back.
Narasene snapped out of her daze and quickly grabbed the coverlet. She threw it over Gallard's shoulders, causing him to stop transforming completely. He looked back at her, puzzled and a little angry. "What are you doing, my lady?"
"You are not going anywhere, my lord, not in this condition." She hauled him to his feet. "Now, get back into bed. You still have a lot of recovery to do."
"But…"
"No buts." Narasene's tone was firm. "You would only kill yourself going there alone. And that would not do you or Legolas any good. It's better if you wait while we gather help from Minas Tirith and Emyn Arnen. Even from Eryn Lasgalen if need be."
She turned to Béregund. "Send missives to King Elessar and Prince Faramir. Tell them of this unfortunate incident, and request for an urgent council with them. Then we shall decide what to do to get our lord back."
Béregund bowed respectfully. "As you command, my lady. But…what of…err…Lord Thranduil?"
Narasene winced as she thought of her father-in-law. The elven king was famously known for his high temper, the one that Legolas had inherited. Thranduil was quick to react whenever harm fall onto his child. She could already imagine the rage on his face if he found out about the current situation.
"Don't tell him just yet. We should avoid open war if we can. Knowing him, that will be the first thing he decides upon. And that is not what we need."
Her voice broke as tears started to clog her throat. "I just want my husband back…"
**************************************
Legolas grunted when he was sent sprawling hard on his hands and knees onto the marble floor of the Tasqamaran great hall. The ravens had dropped him without warning, squawking excitedly in amusement before they gradually changed into human forms.
The elf painfully pulled himself up to a sitting position, grimacing as he flexed his strained arms, swearing and cursing all the while. Blasted shraqs! If I could just get my hands on a blade I would…
He cried out suddenly when both his arms were twisted viciously behind him. Someone grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face against the floor, pinning him there to keep him immobile.
"What in the world…!" Legolas yelled. "Let go! Ai! This is getting ridiculous!"
The shraqs ignored his complaints. One of them walked out of the hall, saying that he would inform Lord Kalden of their captive. Legolas meanwhile was beyond angry. He was growling deep in his throat as he struggled to get free, but the hands that were holding him were strong and would not give an inch.
It was not long after when the sound of approaching footsteps hit Legolas' ears. He tried to turn to see but they wouldn't let him. The footsteps came closer and then stopped.
"Who the blazes is this?!" a voice thundered in a loud roar.
The hands that hold the back of his head immediately loosened. Legolas jerked away and turned to look at the newcomer. A tall man with a pair of piercing black eyes was staring back at him in fury and disbelief. Legolas instantly knew who he was, seeing the great authority and power that the man wielded without effort.
This was Kalden, Gallard's evil uncle.
The shraqs warriors looked at one another, puzzled at the question. "Well, this is Prince Gallard, my lord," one of them answered. "The one you told us to capture."
Kalden's face grew redder. "I know exactly what my nephew looks like! And I can tell you that this is not him!"
"But…but he is Gallard, my lord. I…I mean, h…how can't it be?" the warrior stuttered. "We found him in Gondor, the place we saw him last several nights ago…"
"Look carefully, you idiots! Yes, his hair is golden and his face is fair, but he is not Gallard! Look at his pointed ears! This one here is an elf! An elf, for heaven's sake! What am I to do with an elf?!"
Long silence ensued after Kalden's vehement announcement. The three warriors stared at one another in embarrassment as they realized that they had caught the wrong person. Kalden threw his hands in the air in exasperation, loudly spewing out vile words of curses that would have made an orc blush.
Legolas couldn't help adding salt to the wound. "What a 'polite' society you have, my lord," the elf said sarcastically. "I was abducted while I was…uh...bathing, minding my own business. Do your 'smart' warriors make this kind of mistake often?"
Kalden froze and stood glaring at the elf. He strode forward and snatched a fistful of Legolas' hair, yanking the elf's head backward. "I must admit, you look quite like him," Kalden remarked as he studied Legolas' magnificent features. "But clearly, you are not the one we are looking for. Mistakes do happen, unfortunately. I guess we have to fix that."
"Fine," said Legolas, shrugging easily. "Apology accepted." Miraculously, he managed to swallow the growing hatred he felt towards this person who had caused such misery to his good friend. If given different situation, Kalden would already be dead, struck by an elven arrow through his black heart.
Legolas added, "Now that you are not in need of me, you are going to send me back home, right?"
Wrong.
Kalden released the elf and barked at the shraqs, "Get rid of him! Throw him into the sea! Keep searching for Gallard, and make no mistake this time!"
TBC….
I might not be here tomorrow and the day after. Something's came up. I know, I leave you all at a cliffie. So, hang on!
