@szhismine : WAKE UP!! New chapter is here!!!
@LegolasLover2003 : Let go of Imrahil! Now! Can't you see, that poor man can't even breathe! Okay, you can hug him later. (I love it when you lost your dignity in the review. LOL!) Oh. Kiss LegolasTM for me!
@Lady Lenna, BonBon88 & Hp-Azn: Imrahil is Faramir's maternal uncle. I've used him in 'Trouble In Telcontar'.
@Young Storyteller : Amrothos is definitely not mine. He is Tolkien's. He is one of Imrahil's three sons, but I'm not sure if he is really the youngest. Yes, girl. He is absolutely one to drool, in my series at least. Remember. Amrothos has elven-blood like his father. Oh, I won't tell Nara about your hot cocoa and blanket thing, I swear! Your parents cast their votes in Jelebu? Which area? Klawang or Jelebu itself? And don't worry. We are going to be able to see F1 for many years to come. I got the hint. ;) But, blast it, Kimi's car blew up again! Grr! I'm going to burn the McLaren car to the ground!
@AbbiCat14 : I love the gift! Huggle!
@Irish QT : Thank you for the sympathies. I so need it.
@Kayo : You and your obsession with that part of human anatomy! Ha! Ha!
@tbiris : You got that right. 'A picture is a thousand words'. But in your case, your word is a thousand pictures! Wow!
@NessaThrnaduiliel : You'll see what happens next.
@Musicstarlover : Legolas has the most rotten luck and amazing fortune combined, that's for sure. How does he manage that? Oh. I've finished the chocolate again.
@Dur En Thurin Naur : How everyone knows Leggy? That's because he's the most search person in the net! Like Orli! He is that famous! Nara pregnant? Err…work in progress. They are trying very hard. He! He!
@Princess Arwen Of Smirkwood : My English is a bit too modern, isn't it? I'm glad you find it fun, though!
@Brazgirl : Go women, go!
@Sarwenaletari Elanese : Glad to see you back, mellon!
@Fire Breathing Ferret : I want to suggest a good therapy hospital for you. It's called the 'Healing House of Mordor'.
@Aranel of Mirkwood : No. Kimi didn't win. He didn't even finish! The car broke down in the middle of the race! Stupid MP4-19!! (Did you see the way Kimi pushed the marshal out of his way? That was hilarious! The cool Iceman loses his cool! For the second time! Such a temper he has developed, don't you think? LOL!)
@amber eyed wolf : He is definitely the hottest and most well-known elf in M.E and Hollywood!
@Snow-Glory : Ahoy! Oh, yes. He is saved. For now.
I'm so sorry for the delay. Finally, the auditors have left the building! Good riddance!
NOTE : This chapter has not been beta-ed yet due to some technical difficulty. Please excuse any error in grammar or tenses.
*****************************************************
"What is it, father?" Amrothos voiced out as he also knelt down beside the body. "Legolas? Did you just say that this is…My goodness! It is him!"
The rest of the warriors went into another round of excitement, whispering and murmuring among themselves in curiosity and wonder. They all knew who Legolas was; the elf prince from Mirkwood, one of the famous Nine Walkers during the War of the Ring, now lord of Ithilien and also a sworn brother to the king of Gondor.
"How did he come to be here?"
"What do you think happened to him?"
"Is he dead?"
"Get back to your posts!" Imrahil snapped at his men, annoyed at their keen interest. The warriors of Dol Amroth instantly complied, but they kept glancing towards the poor elf now and again.
"He is barely breathing, father. And he feels so cold," Amrothos commented, touching the pulsing point at Legolas' neck. "I wonder what had befallen him. How did he get those terrible marks on his side?"
"And he also has a broken shoulder from the look of it," Imrahil responded with a shake of his head, feeling both worried and a little amused at the same time. "Well, this is indeed Legolas. He always lands into trouble. We will get the whole story from him when he awakens. But now, we better get him down and treat his injuries."
Balen returned with a warm cloak and they bundled the elf in it before carrying him below deck. Legolas remained unconscious during all this, unaware that he was finally safe and among friends.
*******************************
It was early morn. The riders were seen riding at high speed for the great gate of Minas Tirith. The guards there took one look at the formidable face of the tall figure who led the troop, and had not enough courage to do anything else but let them all through.
Aragorn and the others meanwhile were gathered in the council hall, going through the last minute detail of their mission to rescue Legolas. They had planned to board the ships from Osgiliath and headed to sea from there.
"Any words from Imrahil?" Aragorn asked Faramir.
"Our messenger has returned just this morning," the other man replied. "My uncle is not home. He has gone sailing since a week ago with my cousin, Amrothos."
"Has he taken his entire fleet?"
"No, my lord. Only one ship." Faramir then smiled in amusement. "From what I heard, Amrothos has this sudden desire to see the creatures of the sea…and turn his father's hair gray along the way."
"Ai! He reminds me a lot of Legolas!" laughed Aragorn, thinking about Imrahil's twenty year old son. "Now, will the rest of his fleet be here?"
"They are coming even as we speak. They will meet us at sea at the appointed location. Our own fleet is ready at Osgiliath."
The king nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to the twins and Lord Celeborn. "Are you sure you are coming along?"
Elladan and Elrohir looked at one another and shrugged. "Of course! This is Legolas' life we are talking about," said Elrohir.
"Yes. We are of Nordor elves from our father's bloodline. The sea does not affect us much," Elladan said before he glanced meaningfully at Celeborn. "I'm not so sure about grandfather, though. He has Sindarin blood in him. A kin to the woodland elves."
Celeborn chuckled. "I may be a Sindarin, but I have the sea-longing under control long before you two were even born. So, yes, I'm still coming with you."
"And don't even think of leaving me out of this," Gallard spoke as Aragorn's eyes fell on him. "I'm the reason of the entire bloody mess, and I'm going to fix it right. So I'm going too, wings or no wings."
"And so you shall," Aragorn replied, glad that the draq had finally recovered from his wound after taking the healing potion that he had prepared—the same potion that Legolas fully despised because of its foul taste.
One of the citadel guards suddenly appeared. "Forgive me, my lord. You have a guest waiting just right outside in the vestibule."
Aragorn slightly frowned in displeasure. "Can't it wait? We are having a meeting."
The guard hesitated, looking completely ill at ease. "But…I…I really think you should see him, my lord…"
"Indeed, you should," came that strong prominent voice as a tall distinguished figure brushed past the guard standing in the doorway. "Now tell me; WHERE IN ARDA IS MY SON?!"
Aragorn blanched. Gallard blinked. The twins stared in panic at each other while Faramir tried hard to be invisible. Celeborn was the only one left smiling in amusement. "By the Valar, Thranduil. That was fast," he remarked.
The elven king glared at his long-time friend and repeated his question, "Where is Legolas? What happened? Is it true he has been abducted? Again?"
Aragorn cleared his throat before answering, "Unfortunately yes, my lord."
"And you have not the decency to inform me?" Thranduil roared. "I only knew of this after I arrived in Ithilien yesterday to visit my son but found out instead that he has been missing for days!"
Aragorn and the twins visibly winced when Thranduil's voice grew higher.
"Forgive us, my lord," the king of Gondor said, a little chagrined to sound like a young man in trouble. "We did not want to upset you with such ill news."
"Really? Now that's the statement of the century!" Thranduil announced. He then closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm down. "How is Nara?" he suddenly asked in a soft voice.
There was a long silence before Gallard replied, "She is strong. She is holding well."
Thranduil reopened his eyes and gazed at the draq. "So, you are Hawkeye?"
"Yes, my lord. And I'm sorry for the harm that I've caused your son."
Thranduil nodded and continued to stare at Gallard's face. "Elbereth! They were right! You look quite like him. Not really alike, but the resemblance is still uncanny."
"That was why Legolas was taken in the first place, we think," Celeborn said. "They shraqs have taken the wrong person."
"And they have messed with the wrong person!" Thranduil's face hardened as his eyes glinted dangerously. "Now tell me the plan. No way am I going to be excluded from all this."
********************************
Legolas awoke to the sound of murmuring voices around him. He blinked open his eyes and stared. Two pair of eyes were staring right back at him.
"Welcome back from the dead," the prince of Dol Amroth said with a smile.
The elf scowled. "Who says I'm dead?"
Imrahil laughed. "Well, you sure looked like it when my son here pulled you out of the water!"
Legolas rolled his eyes and grinned feebly at the young prince. "Thank you, Amrothos," he said, his voice hoarse. "You are a savior. When I saw your ship…I thought I was dreaming."
"And when I saw you bobbing in the water, I thought you were a mermaid!" Amrothos responded in amusement.
"Amro," Imrahil admonished as he smacked the back of his son's head. "Watch your manners. This is Lord Legolas you are speaking to."
"Oops. Sorry," Amrothos responded, still grinning.
Shaking his head and chuckling, Legolas moved to sit up, pushing weakly against the layers of blanket draped over him. He instantly gasped in pain. Looking down, he saw that his left arm was in a makeshift sling. He sighed. "I totally broke it, didn't I?"
"Not surprisingly, yes, you did." Imrahil nodded, helping Legolas sat upright by piling some pillows behind the elf's back. "I wonder what had happened to you."
Legolas stared hard at Imrahil's face. The man's left eye looked slightly bruised and swelling. "What happened to you?"
Imrahil laughed. "You socked me square with your right hook when we were setting your broken bones! Ai! You are still dangerous even when you're unconscious!"
The elf looked horrified. "I…I did that? Valar, I'm so sorry…"
"Never mind," Imrahil replied with a wave of his hand. He then frowned when Legolas broke up coughing heavily. "Get Lord Legolas a glass of water, will you?" the man told his son.
As Amrothos reached for the water jug placed on the side table, Imrahil turned back to Legolas whose coughing had subsided. He saw the way the elf glanced under the blanket and went scarlet with embarrassment. Imrahil smiled understandingly. "We had to undress you. You were shivering so hard in your soaked leggings. Amrothos will give you some of his clothes for you to wear later."
Legolas smiled back. "And you've treated the hideous cuts on my side. Thank you. It feels less painful now."
"Here, my lord." Amrothos offered the water glass to the elf. Nodding his thanks, Legolas took it and drank.
Imrahil waited until the elf finished before he asked. "How in the world did you get into this kind of trouble?"
"Oh. Don't you know me? I went looking for it," Legolas sheepishly replied.
"Right. And what a nice example you are to my son here," Imrahil said with a sigh, much to Amrothos' amusement. "Seriously, tell me what happened."
So Legolas told them about his entire adventure for the last few days, causing the two men to stare back at him in astonishment.
"Wow," Amrothos voiced out softly, his eyes wide. "You flew? That sure sounds fun!"
Legolas grimaced and flexed his good arm involuntarily. "Actually no. They gripped me so tight that I found nothing to enjoy during the flight," he said in a waning voice. "And the free fall was definitely not fun at all, believe me. I feel as if my stomach was still up there somewhere in the sky."
Imrahil glanced sideways at his son. "So keep that flying notion to yourself, before I throw you overboard. Then you will know what flying really feels like!"
Hearing that, Amrothos only laughed gaily. Imrahil shook his head and turned to the elf once more. The man saw that Legolas' eyelids were drooping, signaling his still weakened condition.
"You are still unwell," Imrahil said. "Rest some more. But would you like to eat something first?"
Legolas didn't answer. He was already asleep, his eyes firmly closed. For an elf, that explained everything. His injured and tired body needed a lot of respite.
Signaling to his son, Imrahil reached down and arranged Legolas more comfortably under the covers. "Come. Let's leave him to his rest. He clearly needs it."
The father and son then quietly left, leaving the elf alone with his dreams.
********************************
Legolas jerked as the ship shook violently all of a sudden.
"What now?" he muttered and sat up groggily. He pushed away the covers and weakly swung his legs over the bed. The elf then realized of his nakedness so he quickly gathered a blanket around his trembling form, cursing under his breath.
When he put his feet onto the wooden floor, the room tilted, causing him to grab frantically at a nearby table to regain his balance. With his vision still swimming, he gingerly walked to the door to get above deck and find out what was going on. But the door flew open even before he could twist the knob.
"My lord! We are being attacked!" Amrothos cried out as he burst inside.
Legolas was so startled that he lost his hold onto the blanket. "Blast it!" he yelled and stooped down to hastily grab the fallen fabric before wrapping it back around his waist. "Don't you know how to knock? And who is attacking us?"
"The shraqs! They have come!"
Legolas' face turned another shade of pale. "Oh no…"
TBC….
