Sailor Elf : Yeah. Get ready with your weapon, mellon! Ooh…I'm so scared.
beginning end 314 : Winter pomegranate? LOL!
HissoriOokami : Their fathers will come into the picture, so follow your own advice; be patient. I know I'm not a patient writer. You might see the said fathers sooner than you expected, so be ready for Leggy's angst!
Kayo : I'm so happy for you! It's wonderful to be in love! Trust me, I know. Been there, done that. Anyway, this story is loaded with angst, so I believe I won't disappoint you. Leggy will suffer.
Dur En Thurin Naur : My workload is getting heavier instead of lightening but keep on praying for me, will you?
Joee1 : You and me both. I lost count on how many times I've knocked Leggy upside his head for his stupidity and his err…whatever. He never learns, does he?
ScottyBaby : It's coming, baby! But I so love to see you all hanging there! Can I do it again?
Irish Anor : Oh, I'm so sorry for being so cruel to all the readers. Please, accept my apology, and I will give you more annoying cliffies in future. LOL!
TaniaNZ : Lots of great ideas? Well, it's all my muse doing. My muse is on hormones overload and I have to help him neutralized it. Hence, came the stories.
Mellaithwen : You are going to visit all those LOTR sites in NZ? Cool! I think I'm turning green with jealousy. Please, do me a favor; Go to a tree in the Lothlorien forest and carve there 'Adromir Was Here!'
Pheraearwen : I left it out? Oh, yes! I did! Thank you for pointing that out. I'll go update my biopage immediately!
Aranel of Mirkwood : I know you would hate the cliffie, that's why I put it there! Ha! Ha! (I'm still in 'Kimi's-car-didn't-blow-up' mood)
szhismine : A clone of me, you say? Make sure she does all my work! Tell her to ask for a raise too!
Legolas Greenleaf : If you have grey hair already, I suggest you ask for a bottle of henna dye from Leggy. He hides it in his closet so his dad won't turn his hair red again.
AbbiCat14 : THANK YOU! Yes, Leggy's going to be a daddy and part of it comes from your suggestion, but I'm sorry I can't fully take your entire idea because I have mapped a different fate for Leggy. And he's going to be very pissed at me. You'll see.
Karina : Oh, I would love to vote for you! I'm going to the site right away!
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Legolas' sense of danger screamed its warning when he heard the whistling sound of the flying dagger. He instantly reacted mere seconds before the blade could strike his back. Moving instinctively, Legolas twisted in his seat and brought up his bow, using the strong piece of wood to knock the blade away in one angry move.
The dagger flew back towards the boys from the powerful force. Legolas could only watch in dismay when the blade struck one of them.
"Gaius!" Traius cried out when the youngest boy crumpled to the ground, screaming in agony. The dagger had hit him in his left arm.
Legolas blanched. Oh no…
The elf quickly dismounted and ran back towards the group. He knelt beside the injured boy, ignoring the look of pure hatred that Traius was sending his way.
"Look what you did to my brother!" Traius yelled. "Are you trying to kill him?"
His silver eyes flashing dangerously, Legolas snapped his gaze at the angry boy. "What a fine statement coming from you when it was your blade that struck him."
With a snarl, Traius raised his fist to punch the elf, but Legolas simply placed a hand on the boy's chest and pushed him away. "Give room. Let me see to your brother."
Turning his attention back to the wounded boy, Legolas softened his gaze. "What is your name? Gaius, isn't it?"
Gaius slowly nodded, heavy tears flowing down his cheeks. His left arm, where the dagger was buried halfway to its hilt, was bleeding profusely. The boy looked like he was in so much pain that Legolas regretted acting so impulsively.
What? And let the blade strike you in the back instead? he berated himself.
Shaking himself off that thought, Legolas carefully worked to pull out the dagger while the rest of the boys looked on in apprehension and fear. With every gasp and cry of pain that Gaius uttered during the entire procedure, Legolas felt something break in his heart. Valar! He is just a child!
The moment he pulled the blade free, more blood poured out of the wound, causing Gaius to grow even paler. Legolas quickly tore his own sleeve and firmly bound the strip of cloth over the injury, all the while completely aware of Traius' glare against the back of his head.
Legolas took off his cloak and wrapped it around Gaius whose cries of pain had reduced to soft whimpers. Holding the boy in one arm, the elf used his other hand to take something out of the small pouch at his waist and placed it near Gaius' lips. "Here. This leaves may help dull the pain. Chew on it, Gaius. Your pain won't be so bad afterwards."
As Gaius followed his instruction, Legolas turned to the eldest boy. "Traius, you need to get your brother home. His wound needs to be stitched. Where is your mount? You do have a mount, don't you?"
Traius was still glowering. "Aren't you coming with us?"
Legolas hesitated. Ai. What a predicament I'm in right now.
His heart was heavy to let these boys get their injured companion home all by themselves when he himself had caused Gaius' injury. But he desperately wanted to get back to his wife as fast as he could, to rid himself off these miserable wet clothes and sit in front of a roaring hearth in his study, or snuggle close to Narasene's warm swollen belly.
He sighed. Instead of a swift ride, I'm getting terribly delayed!
"Look, Traius," Legolas started. "It's not that I don't want to come with you…"
"So you would rather run away after what you have done to him, is that it?" Traius said, not backing down.
Legolas felt a spurt of fury at the boy's impertinence. "You are way out of line, boy! I'm sorry I've caused your brother pain, but you are also at fault in this as much as I am! If you had not been so eager to follow your fathers' 'honorable' footsteps, this incident would never have happened! So gather your friends, get your mount and take your brother home where he can…"
Legolas' words suddenly broke off in a painful cry as something hard viciously struck the back of his head. Still holding Gaius in his arms, Legolas toppled sideways to land in a heap on the muddy ground.
As Gaius cried out in anguish at the movement that jarred his wound, the other boys stared open-mouthed at Traius who stood over the unconscious elf, gripping a fat stick in one hand. They never even noticed when Traius retrieved it from under a tree nearby. The elf obviously had not because he had been so focused on Gaius' injury.
"Traius...why…why did you do that?" one of the boys voiced out anxiously.
Smiling in triumph, Traius threw away the stick. "He refused to come home with us, so we will drag him along!"
"What?! Are you crazy?" Another boy shouted in alarm. "He is an elf!"
"I know that, Bors! That's the whole point!" Traius shouted back. "His kind killed my grandfather and injured my father during the war! It must not be left unpunished! We shall take him to our father. Imagine how proud he will be to know that I've captured an elf. An elf! Hah! I might not be a good robber like my father, but this is even better."
Gaius was still sitting in the ground, crying silently as he stared at the supine body of the elf. "But, Traius, he has been very kind to me. Besides, it was your blade that hit me, not his."
Traius' face grew thunderous. He reached down and grabbed his brother's ear, twisting it viciously. "I knew I should have left you behind, clinging to ma's skirt!" he fumed, ignoring Gaius' cries of pain and protest. "You are such a weakling! Stop crying and get on your feet! No wonder father thought nothing of you! You are hopeless!"
Gaius slowly complied, wincing with every move. Traius turned to the other boys. "Go and fetch our horses from behind those trees. And get me the rope!"
As two of the boys ran to do his biddings, the other one stared at their leader. "How are we going to get the elf to our village? He can't ride in this condition."
"Who says he is riding?" Traius replied with a strange smile. "We are going to drag him, literally."
The other boy shuddered involuntarily. "Traius, you are so like your father."
Traius' smile grew wider. "I know. And I'm proud of it."
"But, what about his horse?" Gaius suddenly voiced out.
Traius frowned as he looked around, but there was no sign of Legolas' mount. "Where is that horse?"
"He fled, right after you struck the elf's head," the boy named Bors explained.
Traius shrugged. "Well, too bad. That was a very fine stallion. But what we have here is even more of value! My father will be so happy."
The other two boys returned with their horses. Traius took a coil of rope from his saddle and bound it tightly around Legolas' wrists. The boy also stripped the elf of his weapons before he jumped onto his mount, tying the other end of the rope around the pommel of his saddle.
"Let's move!" he ordered, and the rest of the boys followed.
The rain was still falling as they dragged him along, but Legolas was not aware of it. He was completely out cold.
If he was conscious, though, he might feel greatly insulted to be bested by a pack of mere children.
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As the fire crackled merrily in the hearth, a lone figure sat in the big easy chair, doing some needle work. She was softly humming as she mended her husband's shirt.
Lady Narasene, the lady of Ithilien keep, blushed when she recalled how the tunic was torn in the first place. Ever eager to please her husband, she had simply ripped the tunic off him, finding the task of undoing the catches a waste of time. Legolas didn't seem to mind, though, if his naughty grin was any indication. And what a special night it had been for both of them.
Smiling, Narasene paused and brought the shirt to her nose, inhaling Legolas' fine scent. Her longing for him was so palpable she could cry from it. With a sigh, she lowered the shirt and resumed sewing, wondering when her husband would return from Minas Tirith.
A brief knock suddenly came at the door, distracting her. "My lady?"
"Yes, come in."
A tall dark-haired elf entered at her bidding. A sliver of dread instantly ran up and down her spine when she saw the troubled expression on his face. Unconsciously, she stood, her mending lay forgotten at her feet. "Beregund? What's wrong?"
Beregund, Legolas' first in command, swallowed uneasily before replying, "His highness' mount has returned…without him."
Narasene gasped in distress, her fist trembled over her lips. "No…Please…Not again."
Beregund quickly rushed forward when he saw her sway. "My lady!"
He wrapped a comforting arm around her and eased her back into the chair. Narasene looked terribly shaken, her eyes welling with tears. "I knew something terrible would happen," she sobbed. "I just knew it!"
"Shhh…my lady." Beregund tried to console her. "We will find him, I promise you. I have sent out our warriors to look for him and the rest of his party."
"In this weather? How can they find him?" Narasene blinked away her tears as she gazed at the drizzling rain through the opened window. Then she made herself breathe deeply, and held herself together. "Never mind that. We must find our lord, so we need to do everything that we can. Send missives to Minas Tirith and Eryn Lasgalen. Get their help in this search."
"Yes, my lady."
"And tell them to be quick. The rain will wash away all traces of him if we delayed."
Even after Beregund had left her a long while later, Narasene still sat there in the same chair, clutching her husband's tunic against her bosom.
"Oh, Legolas," she whimpered. "What have you gotten into this time?"
TBC…