Szhismine : You still can't believe all this is happening? Well, read this chappy. It's unbelievable! Even to me. I might be crazy while writing this!

Emily : Thank you and I will keep updating, as long as my boss gives me some slack. Right, boss?

Tree Huggin Hippie : Oh wow! Thanks a million! And you've been here since 'The Evil Bride'? Gracious! I'm so honored to hear that. That's okay if you're a silent reader because, guess what? So am I! I read lots of stories on board but I only review when the mood strikes me. I know, I'm lazy in that department so sue me. Anyway, glad to know that you are always around!

Althelas : I have smacked the elf for you. That's why he starts fighting back.

Aranel of Kimi : Yeah, poor Kimi. What the heck was wrong with his rear wing, flying off like that? Oh, I get it. He was going too fast! He broke the lap record, didn't he? Well, good for him! (I wished the rear wing had come swinging and hit MS's car though. Ha! Ha!) Oh, don't forget, Kimi ties the knot this weekend!

Slea : Yep. He has spent way too much time with the twins. Silly elflings.

Musicstarlover : Life is still hectic for me right now but it's slowly getting back to normal. How's yours?

Legolas Greenleaf : Cliffhangers should not be banned! Please don't do this to us writers! We need cliffhangers to live! Arghh!

Kayo : Keep guessing, mate!

Dur En Thurin Naur : Kill my boss? Oh, please do so!

AbbiCat14 : OMG I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Yep, that was the longest review you've ever given! THANK YOU! You still want to whip our fav Leggy?  You can't, though. The real Leggy has returned. Kegichi got stuck in the tree? Hahahahahaha! Oh, before I forgot : HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Sweet 16 now, eh?

Deana : You want to see their baby? Mmm. Let's see what I can do.

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A loud clang sounded as the steel door to Legolas' prison was flung open.

"Get up here, elf!" Budal growled at the lithe figure crouching inside.

Smiling, Legolas lazily got to his feet and stretched. "Morning, Budal," he said, yawning hugely. "Good day, isn't it?"

Budal glared without responding to Legolas' greetings. He said instead, "Be quick about it, elf! Gervas has something for you to do!"

Shrugging, Legolas nimbly jumped out of the hole. "You know, Budal, you remind me of a bulldog. Perhaps you should smile more often. That scowl on your face only makes you look uglier than a Gollum."

The man's glare grew even more ferocious. "A what?"

"A Gollum. You know, the creature who slaved himself to The Ring. A creature that followed his master's every wish. A stupid and weak creature—just like you."

Budal's face turned red. He yanked at Legolas' hair and jerked him closer. "Shut up, elf! Now go to the stream!"

Legolas was laughing inside to see that his taunts had ruffled Budal's feathers. "Why? Do you want me to send all your clothes downstream again? Oh, wait. Do you want me to give you a bath? Trust me, Budal, you smell like a pig!"

Growling, Budal pushed Legolas ahead of him. "Move, you blasted elf!"

The blasted elf just chuckled as he hobbled towards the stream. But when they got to the bank, Legolas was quite puzzled to see no buckets of laundry waiting there for him to wash. He cocked his head to one side. "Well, what do you expect me to do here, Budal? Where are the dirty clothes? Did you lose them all after I threw them in that day?" he asked with a grin.

"No, elf. I expect you to take a bath," Budal replied with a sneer.

Legolas blinked. "You want me to take a bath," he repeated the order, slightly dumbfounded.

"You heard me! Now go wash yourself!"

His arms folded across his bare chest, Legolas stared at the man. "And why is that, pray tell? I know I have dirt in my hair and grime on my skin but I don't stink like you do."

Budal exploded. He put his two fat palms against Legolas shoulders and shoved. "Just do it!"

The elf stumbled backward and into the water. Instead of getting angry, Legolas simply laughed. "Why, Budal, I didn't know you're quite vain!"

Then, still grinning, Legolas began to clean himself. As Budal watched with his usual glare firmly in place, the elf rinsed his hair and scrubbed his body clean. The cold water felt so good against his skin, cleansing and rejuvenating him inside out after a full month of wearing the same filth. Before this, he had been able to wash only his face while fetching the water or doing the laundry.

"That's enough. Get up here, elf," Budal called out a while later.

Legolas kept sitting in the freezing water, completely ignoring the biting cold that started to rattle his bones. "I'm not finish."

"Yes, you are. Now, get up here!" the man practically screamed the order.

Legolas sighed loudly as he stood and stepped onto the bank, wringing his damp hair. "You are such a spoilsport. I was having so much fun just now."

"Fun? So, you want fun, eh? Don't worry, elf. Gervas has planned something fun especially for you," said Gervas with a peculiar smile.

A sudden feeling of apprehension stabbed the elf at the man's words. He couldn't help but feel slightly disturbed to see the odd gleam in Budal's eyes. He wondered what they were up to now to make his life more miserable. But whatever their plan would be, Legolas was not afraid to face it. In fact, he was curious to know what they would do to curb his newfound spirit.

Two men joined Budal, and the three of them took the elf to a building opposite the tavern. Legolas' steps faltered a little when he recognized the drab looking two-storey structure. He knew from his previous observation that it was the village only brothel, a place where the men went to have their pleasure of the flesh.

"Get in." Budal roughly shoved Legolas forward, nearly sending the elf to his knees.

Frowning, Legolas looked up at the gaudy looking curtains and draperies hanging all over the place. Several men were seen sprawling on the couches and even on the floor, either asleep or intoxicated. Obviously, business had been good last night. The rooms above were fully booked that the customers had to have it downstairs. Snoring, with silly grin on their faces, the men were in various stages of undress, a woman or two snuggling close to their sides.

"Why am I here?" Legolas curtly asked, feeling extremely anxious for being in such a bawdy surroundings. What do they want me to do this time? he asked inwardly.

Grinning, Budal grabbed the elf's arm and dragged him up the stairs. "You will see."

Clenching his teeth, Legolas asked no more and let Budal take him to a chamber at one end of the corridor. The man knocked once and called put, "Giselle?"

A woman answered and bid them in. Budal opened the door and pushed Legolas into the room before him, the other two men following.

"Oh, he's here! The darling elf!" A woman rose from in front of a vanity mirror and came towards them, her hips swaying. She was clad only in her undergarments, her face blotched with rouge.

Rooted to the floor, Legolas frowned when she reached up and trailed her fingers down the side of his face. "He is so handsome from afar. But up close, he's incredibly ravishing! What a beautiful creature you are!"

Legolas flinched when her fingers moved lower to trail the broad span of his chest and the flat pane of his belly. "Oh, my! You are so hard. Deliciously hard," she crooned. "Yes, you will certainly do. You will do just fine."

Scowling, Legolas stepped away from her touch. "Excuse me?"

Ignoring the elf's obvious ire, Giselle turned to Budal. "My girls and I have been waiting for him. The girls will be so excited that he is finally here! I'll go and rouse them. In the mean time, secure him to the bed."

As the woman walked out, Budal and the men grabbed hold of the elf and dragged him towards the four-poster bed that stood in the middle of the room. Panicked, Legolas struggled like mad. "Hey! What are you doing? Let go!"

Budal clouted the elf across the face. "Quiet, elf! You should thank us for this, you know," the man snapped as he and his friends quickly worked together to attached Legolas' manacles to the bedposts.  "If you ask me, I'd rather have you killed for your impertinence! But Gervas thinks that you are still useful for something else."

Still groggy from the blow, Legolas blinked repeatedly to clear the stars from his vision. "What…are you talking about?"

Their work done, Budal and the men straightened and stared down at the elf now shackled to the bed. "Can't you guess?" Budal taunted with a sneer. "From now on, this is how you give your service to us."

Legolas unconsciously swallowed. He knew he was not going to like the answer but he asked anyway, "And what service would that be?"

"Why, you are going to become a stud!"

He might have not heard it right. "A what?" he asked again, quietly.

"Are you deaf, elf?" Budal growled, while his two friends chuckled to see the obvious shock on Legolas' suddenly paling face. "You are to be a stud. You know, a stud for breeding, like what we usually do to the hot-blooded stallion and the mares in the stable. Giselle's girls are willing to bear your children for a handsome price that Gervas will generously pay them. Our chief figured out that your spawns will help this village a great deal. Imagine, instead of one elf for a slave, we could have more! And if the babies turn out to be girls, then all the better. We never have elven-whore before. I'd like to taste one, if you got my meaning."

Legolas' fury ignited. He snarled and cursed at the men, thrashing wildly against his bonds. "That is not going to happen!" he yelled. "I'd rather die than let you use me in such a way! You won't succeed!"

The men laughed louder. "We'll see, elf. We'll see," Budal replied, smiling.

Giselle chose that moment to reappear. Several young women were tailing after her, looking so excited they were practically jumping up and down with joy. They leaped onto the bed and surrounded the supine elf, running their hands all over his body.

"Oh, he's so gorgeous!"

"Look at his hair! It's like spun gold…"

"His eyes! My, my. I never saw eyes that color before. It's like pewter!"

Legolas sputtered indignantly as the women swarmed over him, tugging at his hair, stroking his face and caressing his skin. One of them even boldly splayed her hand over his chest, playfully twitching his hardened nipple. Completely immobile with his arms stretched above his head and his ankles fastened down, Legolas could do nothing to stop their eager roaming hands.

"Ai! Stop! You are smothering me!" he shouted. "Get off me, ladies!"

"Ladies?" The woman called Giselle cocked one eyebrow. "I've never been called a lady before. But if you want me to be a lady, then I will gladly obey…my lord."

Legolas' eyes widened when Giselle leaned down to kiss his lips. He tried to yank his face away but the woman held his head still, suffocating him with her heady presence. The other girls started to giggle, pushing at one another to get their turn to kiss the elf.

Budal and his friends just laughed. "Looks like you don't need us here," the man said. "Well, ladies, enjoy the feast. And be sure you make Gervas some elven brats."

Still laughing, the men left the room, leaving the elf completely at the women's mercy.

Legolas was very furious. And, truthfully, he was also terrified. He had had a terrible experience under the hands of men once, losing his innocence as well as his dignity. He had attempted suicide because of it, and the tragedy—as what he liked to call it—still haunted him to this day. Never would he think that such violation upon him would repeat itself—by the women.

These humans are crazy! he thought as he glared at the lot.

But the women seemed not to notice his anger, as their hands kept exploring every inch of his body. Somehow, in all the confusion, his leggings—his only clothing—was yanked off him, leaving him completely bare to their lustful eyes. The women instantly shrieked with delight at what they saw.

"My goodness! Look at that!"

"Oh, my! He's so wonderful!"

"Grrr…scrumptious!"

"All right, girls, listen up," Giselle suddenly announced, clapping her hands to get the other women's attention. "We are not going anywhere this way. We shall do this by turn. Who wants to go first?"

The women instantly raised their hands, pointing at themselves.

"Me, first!"

"No, let me! Let me!"

"I want to go first! You wait your turn!"

Giselle sighed and shook his head as the women began to squabble with one another. She clapped her hands again before they could come to blow. "Girls! Every one of you will get your turn, trust me. But look at him. He doesn't seem like he's willing to bed any one of us, don't you think?"

They all turned to stare at the elf who lay sprawled lewdly on top of the mattress.

Ignoring the humiliation that their ogling inflicted in him, Legolas schooled his features to remain composed so the women could not see his fear and anger. "I never said I'm not willing to bed any one of you. I've been away from my lady for far too long that I don't really care which one of you will have me first," he said in a calm voice, shrugging with nonchalance. "It's just that I'm not used to being bound like this while doing it, if you know what I mean?"

The women went silent at his words. They looked skeptically at one another.

Thinking quickly, Legolas pressed forward to grab their empathy, knowing that these women could be his only chance to escape. "Look, ladies, I'm not dead. You can see that by yourself. I'm as hard as a rock now. I will explode if you don't get down to it right away. But I need my hands free so I can please my mate. Get my meaning?"

As the other women murmured excitedly between themselves, Giselle rubbed her chin as she pondered. "You speak the truth, elf? Do you really want to please us?"

"Yes!" Legolas cried out and began to writhe on the bed. "Please…Giselle… Your kiss has turned me on! You have to let me touch you! I can not bear to let you take me without pleasing you in return!"

As her 'girls' looked on enviously, Giselle smiled as she leaned over the elf, her lips hovering seductively above his. "Really? Do you want me now, elf?"

"Yes!" Legolas moaned and closed his eyes, his neck arching as if he were in ecstasy. "Kiss me, Giselle. And let me touch you…"

Without turning her head, Giselle told the rest of the women, "Leave us!"

Naturally, they started to protest. "But, Giselle…"

"I said leave!" the elder woman shouted in return. "You all will get your turn…after I've had mine."

Loudly complaining, the women shuffled to the door and walked out. "You didn't need to call us just now if you already planned to have him all for yourself!" one of them said with a pout.

"Call me if you are through with him, Giselle!" the other woman managed to shout before the door slammed shut.

Giselle grinned down at the elf. "Now, where were we?"

"My hands," Legolas stated, his eyes still closed.

"Promise me you'll not run away?"

"Ai! I don't even have the strength to stand, let alone walk!"

Giggling, Giselle reached up and began to untie the rope that bound Legolas' shackles to the bedpost.

"Quick, Giselle. I need to touch you now…" Legolas' breathing grew heavier, urging the woman to work faster at the bonds.

"There. You are free," Giselle finally announced and threw the ropes to the floor. She laid herself full length on top of him.

Legolas lowered his arms with a grateful sigh. "Thank you, Giselle," he said as he tenderly cupped her cheeks. "Not so smart, are you?"

Her smile faltered at that. "What did you say?"

Legolas didn't respond. Instead, he placed his right thumb at her neck, and pressed against a nerve point there, a trick he had learned from his father. Her eyes widened when she understood his intention, and started to struggle. But Legolas was stronger. Seconds later, Giselle slump face down onto the mattress beside him, unconscious.

"I said, you are not so smart," Legolas muttered with a shake of his head as he pushed himself to a sitting position, shoving Giselle's legs off him. "I can't believe you actually fell for that ploy. Women."

He reached over and quickly worked to untie the ropes that bound his leg shackles to the bedposts. Not long after, he was standing beside the bed, naked and sweating. He quickly looked around the room, searching for his missing leggings. He found the garment lying in a heap at one corner, ripped and torn beyond repair. 

Now what? he thought, quickly searching for other means to cover himself, thinking of jumping out the window afterwards. But before he could snatch the coverlet off the bed, the door suddenly burst open and one of Gissele's girls rushed inside. "Sorry to disturb you, Giselle. I left my shawl in here and…"

Her voice trailed off when she saw Legolas standing and Giselle lying facedown on the bed. She gasped out loud. "You kill her!"

Before Legolas could stop her, she whirled around and ran out the door, screaming, "Help! The elf killed Giselle! Help me!"

Wasting no more time, Legolas rushed for the opened window and climbed over the sill. He jumped off to land nimbly on his feet twenty feet below. But by then, the woman's scream of alarm had roused everyone to full attention.

"That's him!" the humans shouted when they caught sight of him. "Get him! Get the elf!"

Legolas bolted. He knew that his effort might be futile, but still he ran, heading for the woods that surrounded the village. The shackles on his legs prevented him from taking long, graceful strides, costing him valuable time. But if he could lose himself among the greeneries, his chances for escape would be…

Legolas cried out suddenly when a sheer pain bit into his right calf. He fell down hard onto the ground, His run towards freedom instantly cut short. Gritting his teeth from the agony, Legolas glanced down and saw that an arrow had struck him, undoubtedly came from the bow of one of his guards. The wound was now bleeding heavily, throbbing fast to the pace of his heartbeat.

It took no time at all for the villagers to arrive and gather around him. They stared angrily at the naked elf, lying winded and bleeding on the ground at their feet, grimacing with pain. The humans were cursing and shouting at Legolas, yanking at his hair and kicking him all over, when Gervas and Budal pushed through the rowdy crowd.

"Silence!" Gervas roared. As the crowd quieted down, Gervas directed his glare at the elf. Still panting with exertion and fear, Legolas met the man's stare without flinching.

"So, you tried to escape," Gervas said, his eyes glittering with anger.

"I just couldn't resist it," Legolas daringly replied. "Your company sickens me so."

His eyes narrowing, Gervas reached down and grabbed the arrow shaft that protruded from Legolas' wound. He gave it a vicious twist, causing the elf to cry out in pain.

"You killed Giselle," the man stated, again twisting the arrow.

Legolas bit his lips to keep himself from screaming. "She's…not dead…Look carefully…She's just…unconscious…"

Gervas smiled without humor. "Not dead, you say? Good. Then, you shall live." The man straightened and turned to Budal. "String him up in the market place. Let the people do as they please."

"My pleasure," Budal replied with a grin. At that, the man yanked at the shackles around Legolas' wrists and started to drag him away, completely ignoring the arrow shaft in the elf's wound that scraped against the ground as he did so.

Another wave of agony hit Legolas then, causing black spots to appear in front of his vision. He thought he was going to get seriously sick then and there, but everything slowly faded to blessed nothingness.

TBC….

Okay. That was quite wild. Anybody wants to kill me?

A surprise chapter for you all tomorrow!