@beginning-end-314 : HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! As a birthday present, I give Leggy more trouble!

@NessaThranduiliel : Who is that lady? God, even I do not know! Ha! Ha!

@lady evenstar : Thank you, girl! About the incident when Leggy jumped into the lake buck-naked while he was a child, I already have the storyline. Wait and see!

@Snow-Glory : Now everyone knows Tasqamaran is in the ocean.

@szhismine : Hey! Wake up! Don't faint! There's still more to come!

@Young Storyteller : Yep. The plot thickens! Oh, I'd love to have Kel rowing from Valinor to get his brother out of trouble like usual, but that would be too easy for Leggy. He! He! And yes, I'm going to the race; for three straight days! Yay! I'll go to the Sunday race after I cast my vote. Rakyat contoh la katakan. (Whoever suggested that day as the voting day was truly and idiot! Macam tak ada tarikh lain!)

@namarie2legolas : You definitely said that!

@Kayo : The height that Leggy fall from was around a few hundred feet. He didn't splinter into pieces because his body is quite immune. Remember the time he jumped off the palace roof? LOL! And yes, he would get REALLY tired, believe me. I'm not going to send him a motorboat to save his drowning butt! Na-ah. No way!

@Nikki1 : His negotiation for freedom might have worked if he had offered his body to the shraqs. Err…nope. Bad idea.

@Hp-Azn : Let us sing! Leggy is crazy, Leggy is crazy. (Chibi-Legolas jumping into the lake is in progress! I just need the right title. Okay, then! I named it 'That Silly Boy!'.

@tbiris : You know what? I'm beginning to like your one letter reviews. They speak louder than everything. Wow indeed. Thank you, mellon.

@Dur En Thurin Naur : Whaley and Flipper! Ha! Ha! So like Legolas to name those animals that way!

@AbbiCat14 : Where have you been? I'm begging to worry. Huggle! Huggle! (The title will not going to be 'Time For A Bath' but 'Two In A Tub'.)

@IrishQT : Yes. Your reviews have been showing up. Thanks! If Legolas stumbles upon Keldarion in Valinor, that won't be a bad thing. But then Trhanduil would be left all alone.

@Sailor Elf : Yes. I did it! You'll know who the girl is, but later.

@Teh Fire Breathing Ferret : Hey, Ferret, you better told your master to keep her enthusiasm under control before she kill herself!

@Brazgirl : Thranduil told me to reply the kiss to you! Mmm-wah!

@Manders1953 : I'm so jealous that you are in the swim team. To tell you the truth, I don't know how to swim!

@Joee1 : You are very correct! I finally noticed the slip too! It was actually Leggy's left shoulder that got hurt, not the right one. I guess I'll fix it later. Thank you for telling me!

@Aranel of Mirkwood : Your strange feeling is right. Kylea is who you think she is. Oh, yes! I'm so lucky! (Try to find me on TV! On Friday I'll be in the corporate box, while on Saturday and Sunday I'll be sitting in K1 Grandstand, right in front of the 1st corner where the actions really are! Let's see if MS's car will bang into the wall there! LOL!)

@Dalia : Sorry. You are going to see TBC at the end of this chapter too.

Am I late? Sorry. The auditors are already here. I've been interrogated since this early morning. God, I need room to breath! HELP!

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

Arwen stepped into the nursery and saw Narasene sitting by the window in a comfortable rocking chair, little Eldarion cradled lovingly in her arms. The queen of Gondor smiled at the tender scene. She stepped forward and gazed down at her sleeping son. "He looks a lot like his father, doesn't he?"

Narasene nodded as he ran a fingertip down the baby's smooth skin. "That he does."

Arwen stared deeply into her friend's eyes and saw how miserable Narasene looked right then. She reached over to cup the other lady's slightly quivering chin. "Nara, they will find him," Arwen gently said.

Narasene nodded again, albeit weakly this time. A single tear spilled and ran down her pale marble cheek. "I know. I hope so. But the waiting is too much for me to bear."

With a soft sigh, Arwen gathered her friend into her consoling arms. "This waiting is not for you to bear alone. We are worried about Legolas too. Aragorn and the rest of them are doing everything they can to get him back."

Narasene sobbed in response.

It had been two days since Legolas had been abducted. The whole troop had returned to Minas Tirith to prepare for their next action. Béregund had stayed behind in Ithilien to look over the keep during his lord and lady's absence, a little disappointed that he couldn't join the rescue operation.

 They had finally decided to send a fleet out to sea after Gallard had pointed out the exact location of Tasqamaran. "The island is here," Gallard had said during the discreet council held in the king's parlor the moment they arrived at the white city. He had his finger stabbed on a certain point on the map of Middle-earth that Faramir had hastily spread open on a table.

"There is no island there," Aragorn had responded skeptically. He had had vast experience in sailing during his ranger days and never had he encountered such an island as Gallard had described.

"Believe me. There is. I live there, remember?"

"How far is it?" Elladan had asked.

"Only a full day's flight."

"But we can't fly!" Elrohir had interrupted, rolling his eyes. "How long will it take to get there by ship?"

"How should I know? I never sail. I have wings." His easy response had caused the others to groan.

"Ai, you are worse than Legolas!" exclaimed Lord Celeborn who had also joined in the discussion. "Can't you just estimate the distance?"

 "Well…maybe three to four days, depends on the wind and tide."

"Three to four days? But that's too long…" Narasene had whispered in horror, already imagining the worst of Legolas' fate within the enemy's clutches. The longer the time they took to find him, the more frightened she was for his safety.

Gallard had moved away from the table. Favoring his injured side, he gingerly knelt by her seat and took her cold hand. "Don't worry, my lady. Legolas is strong. He has the will to survive. Still, I believe that I should head there myself before the fleet. It will be much faster if I fly."

Narasene had lifted her gaze and stared at the draq. Gallard was wearing Legolas' soft tunic and doublet.  The clothes fitted him perfectly. Looking so like Legolas that way, for one odd moment, Narasene thought that she was actually looking at her own husband that her heart ached from it. 

"But you are still on the mend," she finally said quietly.

"I'm getting better. I believe I can fly now."

Gallard, like the rest of them, had ridden to Minas Tirith. Even though he rarely rode on horseback, so used he was to flying, Gallard was quite an excellent rider himself. Yet Narasene had seen him grasping his side repeatedly during the fast ride.

The lady of Ithilien suddenly stood up and glared down at him. "Stubborn draq! You are not flying!" she cried out, and promptly burst into tears. Mortified, she whirled around and ran for the door.

Lady Arwen who had been sitting silently beside her also stood and told her husband, "Estel, make sure Gallard stays as she says. Clip his wings if you have to!" Then she gracefully walked out of the room after her friend, leaving the males staring with stunned expression on their faces.

And that was how she found the distraught Narasene in the nursery.

"There, there," Arwen crooned as she stroked Narasene's hair. "Everything will turn out fine."

"Poor Gallard," Narasene said between sobs. "I yelled at him for no reason."

The queen chuckled. "And poor Estel. I yelled at him too."

Narasene looked up, stared and broke up laughing. "You did? Ai, now they all are going to think we're both mad!"

"Actually, I think they'll blame our behavior just now simply on us being females, having post-natal nerves or monthly flow or something."

"Males! They are so typical, right?"

"Exactly. They think they are so strong and that we females are weak. But put them at a spot during childbirth, and they will slump over like a dead fish!"

The two friends giggled and grinned at each other. Narasene put up a hand and touched Arwen's glowing face. "Thank you," she said softly as her laughter died down.

Arwen clasped her friend's hand and nodded. Without further words, the two ladies turned to gaze out of the window, staring at the dusk scenery outside while the tiny infant dozed peacefully between them.

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

Legolas slipped under water for the umpteenth times. He instantly jerked awake, coughing and choking. Then he gradually resumed swimming—his strokes growing weaker and slower.

"Don't fall asleep," he told himself over and over, feebly treading water like a half-dead otter. "You sleep and you die. Keep swimming."

And that was exactly what he had been doing since the ravens had dropped him that day—swimming without stop. He wasn't sure how long he had been adrift in the water. All he knew was that he had seen two sunrises and two sunsets. For directions, he had been following the stars during the night and the sun during the day. But now, he wasn't even sure if he was going the right way.

His injured shoulder was killing him, while the wound in his left side couldn't stop screaming like a banshee. Still he held on, praying all the while that his elven stamina would not fail him.

The sun was slowly climbing up the sky, and Legolas prepared for another dreadful sunny day. Even then, he could feel his skin began to burn under the blazing sunlight. If the night was cold and biting, then the day was hot and baking. And things were going to get even worse when the sun would stand directly upon his head.

Great thirst also added to his miserable plight. His throat felt so dry, and his lips were chapped and started to bleed. In desperation, and against his own good judgment, Legolas had taken a gulp of the seawater…and immediately regretted it. He had become so violently sick that he nearly drowned, struggling to stay afloat as he retched and retched. He promptly vowed to himself to never drink the seawater, even if his throat were on fire.

Legolas started to feel himself nodding off. He vigorously shook his head, trying to keep the drowsiness and exhaustion at bay. He began counting his strokes out loud to stay awake.

"….nine...ten…eleven…twelve…Come on, Legolas! Swim! …thirteen…fourteen…fifteen…sixt…Ai Elbereth…!"

Legolas instantly stopped when a dark shape in the horizon suddenly caught his eyes. Is that a ship? He blinked repeatedly, thinking that what he was seeing was only a mirage. But no, the ship was still there. By the Valar, it is indeed a ship!

With renewed energy, he began to swim towards it, completely ignoring his weakening limbs and injured body.

The ship could be his only chance to get out of the sea…and his only chance to survive.

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

The warrior ran down the stairs and burst into his lord's cabin without knocking. "My lord! I think you better see this!"

Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth looked up from the chart he was studying and frowned. "What are you speaking of, Balen?" he asked in a harsh tone, annoyed to be disturbed so rudely.

"You won't believe this, but there is a man in the water!"

Without waiting for Imrahil's further response, the warrior called Balen spun and ran back the way he had come from. With a heavy sigh, the prince proceeded to follow the man, grumbling hotly about the intrusion.

Above deck, things were in chaos. The sailors that were suppose to keep the ship running were crowding at the ship's portside instead, staring and pointing at something in the water with great excitement.

"What in Arda is going on here? Don't you all have anything better to do?!" Imrahil barked, so displeased he was to see his warriors behaving like a group of little children.

"It's like I've told you just now, my lord," said Balen, suddenly reappearing beside the prince. "There is a man in the water, adrift!"

Imrahil's frown deepened. "A man in the water? How could that be possible?"

"See for yourself, my lord. Prince Amrothos has just jumped in to save him!"

"WHAT?!" Imrahil roared in great shock. Immediately, he rushed to join the rest of his men leaning against the ship rail. But he could see no sign of his son or the so-called drifted man either.

Muttering under his breath about his youngest child's impulsive nature, Imrahil rounded on Balen and growled, "Where is my son?"

"He is under there, somewhere, my lord. The man suddenly sank and Prince Amrothos went diving after him."

Rolling his eyes at the sky, Imrahil muttered, "That silly boy!"

The prince began to regret bringing his son onboard. But Amrothos had strongly pleaded to join his father in one of his patrol sailings, saying that he was bored sitting alone at home with his elder siblings now all married and living somewhere else. "Furthermore, I want to see the whales and dolphins!" the young prince had added enthusiastically.

Glaring at the warriors, Imrahil cried out, "Well, don't just stand there! Do something for crying out loud! Lend my son a hand!"

Even before he finished his orders, Amrothos suddenly broke the surface, bearing a limp form over one shoulder. "Quick! Help me get him up!" the young prince called out with a gasp, shaking water out of his eyes.

The warriors scrambled to do as the he asked, throwing over a ladder made of coarse rope. Some of them even climbed down and reached for the unconscious figure. After much hustle, they all managed to get both him and Amrothos safely aboard.

"That was not so smart, young man," Imrahil told his son. "You could have drowned."

Amrothos just shrugged at his father's rebuke. "No, I wouldn't. You know I'm a good swimmer." He jerked his head towards the lifeless form lying unmoving at their feet. "Besides, there was no time for thinking when I saw him went under."

"Is he still breathing?" one of the gathering warriors suddenly asked.

Imrahil knelt by the body, staring hard at the figure's drenched state, clad in a pair of soiled leggings and nothing else. The stranger's face was partly covered by his sodden golden hair, looking so pale and unresponsive.

And he also had delicately pointed ears.

His heart beating a little faster, Imrahil quickly brushed the hair away from the face and went stock still with amazement. "By God…this can't be," he gasped. "Legolas…?"

TBC…