Legolas stared at the unconscious form of Elrohir on the cave floor. He couldn't help but stare at Elladan's bleeding form as well.
"Elladan," he quietly said, gently shaking the elf's shoulder.
He received nothing from the elf but a few groans. Legolas stared at the man standing before the still form of Elrohir. Althar kicked the elf in the side and Elrohir barely knew any difference as he was kicked in the side again and again.
"That will be your lesson, elf. After I take the lady over there, you will all become my slaves," Althar snickered.
He walked back over to Nanaylia, who was still trying to get as far away from the man as possible.
"You will not win. Ever," he told her before kneeling back down in front of her.
She pulled her legs closer to her as she stared at the man in front of her.
"You will not get away with this. Lord Thranduil find you once he knows about this and he will punish you severely," she growled at him.
"Oh he will now, will he? Somehow, I do not believe that. He will not know about this until it is too late. We will be long gone when he does," the man said before reaching for her.
She moved away from him just as he grabbed her dress. The dress tore, leaving a long rip in it that reached her thigh. She gasped at this and Althar laughed at the sight.
"That is a good thing," the man said as he managed to grab the elf's wrist.
He grabbed the other and held her against the cave wall. Legolas helplessly watched as Nanaylia struggled in the man's arms. He couldn't help but give a laugh as she kicked him in the groin but that didn't make him budge.
"Nothing you can stop me. You should know that by now," the man told as he began to kiss her neck.
She shuddered underneath his touch and Legolas could see that.
The elven guards were becoming more and more restless. They saw what Althar had done to Elrohir and they knew the king would have a say in what would happen to any prisoners.
"What shall we do?" wondered one.
"Well, there are still men around this area. I say we take care of as many of them as we possibly can. Someone might have to go in and stop these man from doing anymore harm to the children," came the reply from another.
"I agree. All of you go after the men. Track them down, disarm them and we're going to take them back to the palace for punishment," the captain told them.
"But what are you going to be doing?" asked one of them.
"Stopping that man over there. Do not worry. I can handle him," the captain replied.
The others nodded before disappearing into the woods while he remained behind. He took one last look at the cave, at the man standing inside before notching an arrow in his bow. He aimed it at the man.
Althar was more than prepared when he heard something. He had forced Nanaylia to the ground and was reaching for her thighs when he heard it so he turned to see an arrow sticking in the ground next to him. He was surprised to see an elf walking out of the woods, his bow ready and aimed at him.
"Leave them alone!" the elf cried at him.
"Never!" the man cried back.
Althar stood back up and grabbed a sword. He faced that elf that was slowly walking towards him.
"Who are you?" demanded Althar.
"My name is unimportant. I am an elf under the command of Thranduil, king of Mirkwood. He requests that these two be returned to him immediately," the elf replied.
"So the king really does care about two servants? I do not believe it. How did he find out about this so quickly?" the man snickered as he headed towards the elf.
"What are you talking about? The two over there with the same hair colour as me are the king's children. No less than that," the elf replied, not understanding what the man was talking about.
Legolas sighed and placed a hand over his face, knowing their cover was now blown. He was hoping that the man wouldn't know. The man was not believing what he was hearing and he snickered.
"The king's children? That is news to me. It would be a pleasure to take something away from the king," he whispered to himself, placing a hand on his chin.
It was then that he heard a growl coming from behind him. He gulped as he slowly turned his head and screamed once he did. He found himself lying flat on the ground, with something on top of him. He stared at the figure with wide eyes.
"Leave us be and I won't hurt you," the gargoyle told him. "Much."
"Wh... what are you?" the man stuttered.
The gargoyle picked him and stared as him in his eyes. She soon scratched him across the face in anger.
"Your worst nightmare," came the reply as the elven guard hurried up to them.
Narcissis handed the man over to elf standing next to her before she fell to her knees. Legolas hurried over to her as quickly as he could. He stared at her shivering body.
"What is the matter?" he asked her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"The sun. It is too bright. I changed forms too quickly as now I cannot stand the sun in my eyes," she replied, her hands over her eyes. "Maybe it will go away soon."
She appeared to be wanting to move further into the cave but Legolas prevented her from doing so as the other guards hurried into the room.
"We managed to capture most of them. A few escaped," one said.
"Let them be. I doubt they will be back," the catain said as he grabbed the keys from the man.
He walked over to Legolas and unlocked the chains around the prince's wrists. As soon as his hands were free, he hurried over to Elladan.
"We have to get the twins back to the palace now!" he cried at the guards.
"Yes, my prince," the captain said, bowing his head slightly.
Narcissis walked up to Legolas, her eyes still blinking.
"Put Elladan on my back. I can take him back home," she told him.
"Are you certain?" he asked her, a bit shocked.
"Yes, I am. My vision is clearing up and I can get home faster than what you can. You know that if we go missing, they ususally don't ride horses. He needs help before he bleeds to death and leaves us for the Hall of Mandos," she replied, grasping her stomach. "Besides, the guards have to deal with the men."
"You are not fit," Legolas told her in a stern voice. "That injury is still serious."
"I am fit enough to take him to the palace. He is my friend as well," she replied. "It's not like I will be flying. I won't be. I cannot fly at the moment from my injuries. Besides, I do not know if he could handle it."
Legolas sighed before motioning her over to Elladan. With some help from a guard, they gently laid Elladan on her back. The gargoyle hurried out of the cave and into the forest.
"Not to sound disrespectful but why did we do that, my Lord? She is a gargoyle. Who knows where she will take him?" the guard said. "They are not to be trusted. Ever!"
"She will take him to our home, just like she said," Legolas replied, turning his head to stare at the guard. "I know she will. Trust me. If you ever meet that gargoyle again, I do not want you questioning my decision to talk to her and even ask her to do tasks for us. Is that understood?"
"Yes, my Lord," the guard said as he bowed his head.
Legolas looked back in the direction and sighed.
'Get him back in time. I fear he is dying and dying quickly,' he thought to himself.
Narcissis could feel the blood dripping onto her body from Elladan's injuries. She was running on all fours and the elf was on her back. Her tail was the only thing preventing him from falling off. She had been running for what seemed like an eternity.
"How much further is it?" she asked herself.
Her question was answered when she saw her home come into view from behind the leaves and tree trunks.
"Finally!" she cried, breaking through the brush to reveal her home.
Her prayers were short-lived when Elven archers came out of nowhere. Narcissis gasped at the arrows being aimed at her. She knew that even if she said that she wasn't going to be doing anything, they wouldn't believe her and shoot.
"State yor purpose here. You should not even be here, gargoyle. Go back to the shadows from whence you came," one of the elves said.
"No," she whispered. "So close!"
"Look, she even has a prisoner!" cried another.
"It is Elladan and he appears to be hurt. We have to get him away from her before she hurts him even further!" yet another said.
Narcissis slowly backed away as the elves advanced, not noticing that Chimone was watching from nearby. She hurried away from the scene to find someone.
Thranduil soon walked outside, with Chimone trying to hurry up with him.
"My Lord," she called out to him.
Thranduil turned to look at the female elf and sighed.
"Yes Chimone? What is it?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Disturbance at the front gate. A gargoyle, my Lord, and it is Narcissis," Chimone replied.
"Narcissis? That name. Isn't that the name of Nanaylia's gargoyle counterpart?" Thranduil wondered, not believing what he was hearing.
He began to head towards the front gate, with Chimone following him.
"Yes, it is. They think she an intruder and are prepared to kill her. Elladan is with her, severely injured," Chimone explained as they came into view of the scene.
Thranduil gasped as he ran down the steps.
"Stop!" he cried out.
The archers heard the command and turned to see the king hurrying towards him. They were confused with this and they kept their bows right where they were.
"Lower your bows immediately. She is an ally," ordered the king, turning his head to face all of them.
They did so as Thranduil hurried over to Narcissis and Elladan. The king gently picked up the injured elf and hurried inside, with the gargoyle close behind him.
Thranduil hurried towards Elladan's room while Chimone hurried to find some healers. She arrived at Elladan's room to find the king had just arrived and was placing the injured elf on the bed.
The two elves stepped out of the way and into the hall to be greeted by Narcissis, who as in a sitting position. She stared at him.
"Is he going to be alright?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"We will have to wait and see sweetheart," Thranduil told her as he knetly down in front of her.
She began to cry and Thranduil took her into an embrace.
"What is wrong?" Thranduil asked her in a soothing voice. "Is it something besides the worry for your friend?"
She nodded as she looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"It is my fault Father. I am the cause of his and Elrohir's injuries. Even Legolas'. If I hadn't suggested we do another war of the pranks, none of this would have happened," she cried, wiping away the tears. "They still have to get here."
"Do not blame yourself. You could not have know. Besides, if you hadn't done another war, what would the four of you had done for fun?" wondered Thranduil, a smile on his face.
Narcissis thought about it and shrugged her shoulders.
"My point exactly. I do not blame you for this. Now get into your room. I suppose you would like to get out of that form and then your injuries will be taken care of," Thranduil told her as he helped her to her feet.
She was led to her room and Thranduil stayed with her as Chimone headed out to keep an eye out for Legolas and Elrohir. He began to stand up to follow the elf but a hand grabbed his arm. He looked at the gargoyle.
"Please stay. It hurts so much," she quietly pleaded.
He did as she asked and he held her in his arms and she soon fell asleep, the process continuing on. He sighed as he thought about Elladan.
"Let us hope that it is not too late for Elladan," Thranduil whispered in her ear
TBC...