A/N: I hope you enjoy this new chapter. I always hope to have chapters up quickly but real life in the summer is very hectic for me and I do not like rushing my writing when I have little time. I always love any feedback you have!

Thanks for reading!

I have no BETA, all mistakes are mine.

Chapter Five

As the men came closer they began to shout, screaming out incoherent sentences at the top of their lungs. Legolas, hearing these mangled cries, pulled an arrow from his quiver and prepared to fire on them, only awaiting Elrond's command.

Erestor turned once more to the shocked Lord, "Elrond, my friend, what are you thinking? What shall we do?"

"They come closer." Glorfindel said, his warriors near and looking to their captain for the signal to meet this foe.

"Erestor," Elrond said and the advisor came closer to hear the quiet words, "I hear your counsel still. They have shown no hostility, you said to me." The black haired elf nodded, relaxed in these slim moments before the men would be at their gate. Erestor still remained calm above the tense waiting and the hectic shouting coming from the men.

As the gap closed a command was finally given.

"Wait." Elrond whispered, "Wait." Glorfindel and Erestor heard the command; all the others still with uncertainty in their hearts could not hear any words from their Lord. They was only one thing the elves clung to, that they would not attack until the order was given. So they stood, weapons drawn. They waited.

Out of the noise from the approaching men words become recognizable. "They come!" A man shouted.

Elrond was not even more confused, what did they want if not to harm them?

When one of the men came before the elves he spoke quickly, trying desperately to catch his breath, "My Lord of the Elves, we were tracked by an army of trolls from the mountains." He gasped, "They were attacking small settlements in our lands and killing people. We were sent to destroy them but they were too powerful. We fought and run, but they have found us. We did not tell you out of fear that we would be cast out of your realm. Forgive us!" He begged to Elrond, "Please, they are approaching, help us for we do not wish to see them near your lands. We cannot let them near!"

Dark eyes focused on his as the Lord saw Erestor looking at him, recognizing the words from before, but now with a completely different meaning.

Elrond froze in shock. The men were not the enemy! There would be time to think about what might have been at a later time, for now it was time to embrace the upcoming fight.

Finding his voice once more, "Prepare to move forward!!"

The men moved into position alongside the elves, preparing to fight as one against a common enemy.

They did not have to march far before beginning to hear the loud crashing of the cumbersome trolls as they went tramping through the woods. With no boarder guards, they had already crossed the line into Imladris and would have found no resistance until it would have been too late for the elves to mount a proper and effective charge.

Immediately upon seeing the enemy, Glorfindel became every bit the warrior captain that he was, the fierce and noble elf that had slain a Balrog and come back to tell his tale to all who would listen, and to those who were in the area.

"Archers, form a firing line!" He commanded.

Erestor, having always been more skilled with the blade charged from the side looking for an advantage.

With their charge and the raining of arrows upon the approaching large trolls, the battle begun.

And what a battle it was. These trolls were fierce and almost mad in their determination to kill all in their path. Elrond, by his captain's command, stayed in the rear to direct the operation. He would much rather be on the front line but Glorfindel had used the oldest guilt trip in the world to get him to stay back by stating, "How can I fight at my best if I always must be looking after you?" Stubborn elf, Elrond thought.

From his view, Elrond could see that they were holding their own. The images that had struck so much fear within him were not coming to pass. He could see his sons, with Legolas, almost making a game out of taunting the trolls into their traps. They would make anything into a game.

Suddenly, one nasty troll had come from nowhere and was nearly on top of the Lord, startled Elrond reached for his sword but before the fight could begin a black arrow came from above and hit the Troll in the neck, one of the few quite vulnerable places on the sturdy beast. Gasping, it fell dead. Upon inspection, Elrond could see that the entire arrow was black and knew only one elf that had arrows of that type: Milkya.

The small spy elf was undoubtedly in the trees above them, firing down at the enemy without ever giving away his position. The well-placed arrows were doing an efficient job at picking off the trolls and frustrating them with the lack of a target for retaliation.

Men also were attacking in mobs, bringing down their foe with all means of weapons available, from swords and spears to rocks and sticks. They did not fight in the manner of the elves but that did not make them any less effective.

Elsewhere, Glorfindel was holding his own. Having given all the orders his warriors needed for this battle he was free to engage in the fighting himself. He moved his position forward in order to see that the trolls could not regroup away from the core of the battle. Here they were more scattered and he was able to fight them one on one. Bringing down one only to turn and find another to challenge.

The one he was fighting was particularly stubborn and only a final strike to the chest was able to bring him down, but not without having his sword buried deep in the body. Catching his breath, he climbed on the chest in order to remove his weapon when he heard a rustling off to his side. Looking up he saw his doom; a large club was being pulled back and was prepared to be swung straight on him. Startled, he froze in place and waiting for the strike to come, and it did but not as he was expecting.

A flash of black came into his vision as he was knocked out of the line of fire and fell onto the ground. Erestor had seen the situation and moved to help his friend. Running at full speed he leapt up and pushed the captain out of the way. Glorfindel looked in horror as he realized what Erestor had done.

He pushed Glorfindel out of danger, but could not save himself and was struck with the mighty blow that was meant for the blond. Erestor's body flew into the trees and bushes across the clearing, a good distance from where he had stood. Glorfindel came out of his stupor and pulled his weapon from the body of the troll and charged the troll with the club. In a rage, Glorfindel attacked without mercy and sliced it many more times after it was dead.

Quickly, he ran to where to saw Erestor land and found him in the bushes. He was unconscious and blood ran from his nose and mouth. His eyes were sealed shut and Glorfindel thought he was dead. Going on his knees he touched his friend and found a weak breath still in his body. With delicate touches Glorfindel determined that Erestor had taken the club to the chest and that many ribs and bones were broken. Perhaps even his back, but Glorfindel could not tell.

One thing Glorfindel knew for sure was that Erestor had internal injuries.

"Glorfindel?"

Startled, the captain looked into the eyes of Legolas.

"Legolas, I am glad you are here." Glorfindel said with panic in his voice. "Erestor is badly wounded and is needing of care"

The Prince looked sadly at Erestor seeing the damage to the beautiful elf. "Elrond has returned to the house for the trolls are beginning to retreat. He is already caring for the hurt there and can see to Erestor."

"The battle is won." Glorfindel mumbled as he touched the still face of the dark elf, "I fear to move him."

"We must, he cannot stay lying here. He must get to help." Nodding, Glorfindel agreed with Legolas' words.

Carefully, Glorfindel put his arms under Erestor's shoulders and knees and listed with as little movement to the still body as possible. Together, they headed back to find Erestor some help. "Is anyone else hurt?"

"Just cuts and scrapes," Legolas responded with sadness, "Erestor appear to have sustained the worse wound in this fight."

"He did it for me." Glorfindel confessed, "This was meant for me, but he saved me by sacrificing himself."

"You are his friend, that is reason enough for anyone to do what he did."

Nodding, Glorfindel knew those words to be true and if the situation were reversed, he knew he would have done the same thing.

Fear began to creep into his heart as he saw Erestor growing paler and his body losing more warmth as they slowly approached home. Moving faster would jar his delicate injuries and the healing rooms were still a good distance. He could only hope that his friend could hold on and not die in his arms.