@Sparrow Greenleaf : Welcome back, mellon. Actually, I've put a tracking device on Leggy. And only I am allowed to know where he is!

@Snow-Glory : I'm really glad you've caught up with the series. More is coming!

@Young Storyteller : Yeah. Some angst is coming, but not too heavy like before. And I'm so happy my fic is becoming a distraction! He! He!

@Nikki1 : Right. Let's leave Thranduil out of this. Things might get ugly with him around. But wait. Actually, that would be nice, wouldn't it?

@Julia Moore : Thank you for liking this story! And, okay, I promise I won't make Hawkeye squawk anymore. Leggy and Nara also need to play it easy for a while.

@Amber eyed wolf : Leggy can swim? Can he, really? God, I wish he could. I never thought of it before I wrote that last chapter. Ha! Ha! (Don't worry. For your information, Leggy had completed his training with the US Navy SEALS before I recruited him. And he has passed many obstacles, including swimming in the Artic Ocean.)

@namarie2legolas : Will Thranduil get involve? Mm, let's see…

@LegolasLover2003 : Yes. THROW HIM INTO THE SEA. And I wish I could be Nara, the only one who can throw Leggy onto bed! LOL!!

@Terrenis-sama : Yes. They will get a bunch of kids. But that's another story altogether.

@Dur In Therin Naur : I got your hint. I'm thinking of a way to make it happen again. Yes. Evil me!

@Kayo : YES! The mud pit party! Let's get the party started!

@Sarwenaletari Elanese : Thank you, thank you! Stay tuned, mellon!

@MusicStarLover : No. giving Leggy more trouble won't hurt at all.

@Hp-Azn : So, you're still calm, I see. I guess I have to come out with cliffies more evil! Muahahaha! (I miss Kel too. I'll see what I can do.)

@Aranel of Mirkwood : I can't wait for the Malaysian GP! I got a free pass for the corporate box on Friday practice, and I hope I would see Kimi from there!

@Gwyn : Yes. I. Am. So. Mean.

Sorry for the delay, everyone. My life is a whole mess with the auditors coming in. Yikes! My works is killing me! I just hope I come out from all this unscathed.

*****************************************

"Now wait just a minute!" Legolas protested as they grabbed his arms and started to tow him away. Throw me into the sea? Now this is getting highly serious!

Kalden only sent the elf a desultory glance. He focused his gaze on a doorway where two figures had appeared. A tall dark-haired man with a haughty expression walked closer towards Kalden, a beautiful young lady with her eyes downcast walking timidly beside him.

"Ah, lovely Kylea. Gafar, why did you have to bring your daughter in here?" Kalden spoke to the man. "The scene could be too harsh for her lovely eyes."

"Don't mind that," Gafar responded, waving the comment off. He didn't see the way the young lady flinched. He also didn't see when she raised her eyes, met Legolas' interested gaze, and when stock stilled with shock.

"They told me that Gallard has returned," Gafar said, staring at the elf that the shraqs were dragging towards the opened terrace. "Wait, where are they taking him? Isn't he supposed to be killed?"

"That's not Gallard, just someone who looks quite like him. Your people have caught the wrong person!" Kalden spat.

"Look, my people have helped you claim the throne from your brother!" Gafar replied hotly. "And I even promised Kylea to you to be your queen. Now don't blame me for things that even you can not control!"

As her father and Kalden glared at each other over their troubled plan, Kylea kept staring at the golden-haired figure within the shraqs' grip. He was also looking back at her and could clearly see the way her lips moved. It was just the tiniest of a whisper, but the prince's keen ears heard the one word that came out of her mouth.

"Legolas…?"

Legolas blinked in confusion. She knows my name?

Before he could dwell more on it, the shraqs had taken their raven form and flew off, taking him along with them.

***********************************

Gallard tried not to squirm under the sharp gaze of Aragorn. The king of Gondor had been giving the draq close scrutiny the moment they were introduced to each other.

The guest chamber felt a little crowded with tension even though there were only five other people present; Prince Faramir of Emyn Arnen, Béregund, Lady Narasene, and Aragorn's foster brothers, Elladan and Elrohir. The twins had just arrived in Minas Tirith with their grandfather when the urgent missive from Narasene reached the king. After taking turns kissing their sister and newborn nephew, the twins had rushed for Ithilien with Aragorn, leaving Lord Celeborn staying behind with his granddaughter.

"So, Gallard…or Hawkeye…or whatever it is you want us to call you, your secret is out. You are not the simple eagle you seemed to be," Aragorn finally stated. "How smart you were in hiding this knowledge from us. I don't know whether to hug you or hit you."

Narasene glared at the king. "Don't you dare hit any guests residing under my roof, my lord."

The tension broke as the others dissolved into stifled laughter. Aragorn rolled his eyes. "I beg your pardon, my lady. I was just kidding."

"Good," Narasene responded with her head held high, every inch the lady of the keep. "Now hug him.'

"Eh?" Aragorn was perplexed, as were Faramir, Béregund and the twins.

"Well, why not? He has been your good and loyal friend for many years, hasn't he? You have shared with him countless adventures."

When she saw the males kept blinking and gazing stupidly back at her, Narasene threw up her hands in exasperation. "Shame on you and your blasted pride! Oh, all right! I'll leave you all to your male talk! But when I get back, I want to have the plan to save my husband completely mapped out, do you understand me?"

They all nodded in compliance and she walked briskly yet gracefully out of the chamber. When the door quietly closed behind her, the elves and the men looked at one another and broke up chuckling.

"I believe Legolas has just found his match," Elladan remarked with a grin. "Their stubbornness is equal!"

"Poor guy," Faramir said, smiling in amusement, fully understanding. He instantly thought of his own wife, Éowyn, who was also quite thickheaded and emotional.

"No. Poor us!" Elrohir exclaimed. "We are missing the marital bliss you are clearly enjoying. Look at the both of us, a pair of old rejected bachelors!"

"Careful there, my lord," Béregund said, grinning. "I'm a bachelor myself."

That caused them to break into another round of laughter. Aragorn saw as Gallard grabbed his injured side, grimacing.

"Are you well?" the king asked in concern.

Gallard smiled wanly. "I'll be fine. It's Legolas I'm worried about."

They instantly sobered, nodding at one another in agreement.

Aragorn reached down and clasped Gallard's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "We will think of the way to get our friend back, this I promise you. No one should mess with any one of us and get away with it," he said, smiling gently. "But first, let's take Lady Narasene's advice. You are indeed our loyal friend, and it is so nice to see you again, in eagle or human form. We've missed you. "

Soon, Gallard was enveloped by Aragorn and the twins' warm embrace. Gallard nearly broke down in tears, so touched he was with their gesture. He knew he had always been one of them, ever since the day Legolas had healed his broken wings. But to feel completely belonging with them, this way in his real form, was totally incredible.

He wished that they would manage to save Legolas. Without the prince, their circle of friendship would not be complete.

******************************************

"Look, let's forget this whole thing and get me home, all right?" Legolas said, trying to reason with the ravens that kept him captive. "You don't have to throw me into the sea. Whatever for? I'm not going to tell anyone about this entire mishap. Your secret is safe with me."

Yeah, right.

Like before, his captors just ignored him without response. The elf had used all the cajoling words he knew to get the ravens not to dump him into the sea, but the shraqs seemed to be taking their job very seriously after the embarrassing mistake they had made earlier.

They had been flying for quite a long while and Legolas had started to wonder if they were actually heading back for Gondor. He hoped they really were. But the vast sea below them spread wide as far as the eyes could see with no sign of dry land whatsoever.

He also started to wonder in great anxiety when they were going to drop him.

As if on cue, one of the ravens squawked suddenly, followed by the other two. Legolas looked up in alarm, knowing what was going to happen next. "Wait! You don't have to do this…Ahhhhh!!!"

Legolas screamed in fright when the huge ravens finally released him. He plummeted through space at an uncontrollable speed, his arms flailing and legs flapping.

Where is Gwaihir when I need him the most?! Legolas thought as he resumed his wild descent of several hundred feet towards the sea below.

The fall seemed like forever to him. So it came as a shock when he finally hit the water—hard. He heard something snap but couldn't tell what it was. Momentarily disoriented, he didn't fight it when the momentum dragged him deeper under water. A while later—as his lungs began to burst—he slowly clawed himself upwards. That was when he became aware of the pain in his left shoulder.

He broke the surface gasping and grimacing and cursing. As he weakly treaded water, he took stock of his injuries and couldn't stop himself from swearing all over again. His right shoulder was indeed badly injured. Either it had been broken or dislocated upon impact, he was not sure, but it surely hurt like the very devil. The bleeding claw marks on his side were screaming with agony, and the seawater only gave aid to its stinging pain.

Legolas looked around him. Everything he saw was the sea, and nothing but the sea. The shraqs were long gone now, leaving him all alone with his misery. There was no other sound hitting his ears except for the stirring waves and the sighing zephyr.

"Great! I'm in the middle of nowhere!" he yelled at no one in particular, angry at his rotten luck. Inside, he was actually quaking with fear. He used to have dreams like this; those that had woken him up in shivers and cold sweat. He had been badly plagued by the sea-longing affliction then, torn and confused in choosing between Valinor and Middle-earth. And now, he realized that all those terrible dreams were actually coming true.

And the affliction started to attack him once again.

He heard the sea begin to whisper to him. Begging him. Cajoling him. Without his consent, the longing burst and squeezed his heart from within.

But he held on, pushing it valiantly against the back of his mind. You have not defeated me before, and you will not defeat me now. So go away! I've had enough 'fun' for one day!

The feeling gradually receded after some time as Legolas floated aimlessly in the water. The setting sun was burning bright in the horizon behind him. The stars started to show themselves. The evening breeze began to blow, yanking at his sodden hair and kissing his drenched body, making him shudder involuntarily.

Legolas blinked and raised his gaze upwards. The rest of the universe above could help show him directions towards home. When he was still an elfling, his father had taught him to study the stars. Legolas was very thankful that he had taken the lessons very seriously.

If father only knew that it now becomes my only way to survive, the prince ruefully thought with a shake of his head.

As the sun disappeared, the stars grew more pronounced in the darkening sky. Legolas studied the constellations, trying to determine the direction towards Northwest where he knew Gondor lay. Then, with a half-hearted sigh, he started swimming, stroking against the water using only one good arm.

It was a slow and painful process but he never stopped. Even if it would take him months to reach Gondor, by the Valar, he would still do it!

His family and friends were counting on him, and he would not fail them.

TBC……….