Disclaimer: As I'm now getting into more familiar territory, let me again say that I own nothing, nor am I making any money off of this. Most of it belongs to Tolkien's estate and some belongs to Peter Jackson et al.

The elves of Mirkwood seemed to be in a state of panic. Soldiers and guards were running everywhere. Galion, the king's butler, burst into Thranduil's office, yelling that the king's presence was needed outside. A worried Legolas followed his father out of the cavern palace and was surprised to see Mithrandir standing in the middle of all the bustle. "Mithrandir!" Legolas called out, hoping against hope that he'd brought word from Aragorn. It had been five years since their last meeting and a little over a year since the last letter; he was anxious for any news about his love.

Legolas ran past his father, intent on getting to the wizard. Thranduil, however, gasped in horror and grabbed his son's arms, pulling him back. Legolas struggled against the restraint. "What -" he started to demand; then he saw the source of all the turmoil. There was some kind of creature with Mithrandir, bound with ropes and looking none too happy. He'd never seen anything like it! It was withered and green, crouched on all fours on the ground. It was too small to be an elf or a man, and not hairy enough to be a dwarf. Perhaps it bore a passing resemblance to a hobbit, but it certainly not like that Bilbo Baggins that Thranduil was so fond of. The only word that there was to describe it was wretched.

The creature spat and hissed, bearing its gleaming fangs. "Cruel hunters, wicked elveses!" it croaked out. Its eyes turned to where Thranduil and Legolas stood. "Nassssty elves. Bright elves with bright eyes! They tries to burns ussss, they do, tries to hurt us with their eyes. Oh, yes my preciousss, they do. Gollum, gollum," it concluded with a hacking cough.

"Greeting King Thranduil, Prince Legolas," said Mithrandir, acting as if he traveled with twisted creatures like this all the time. "This is Gollum."

The king grimaced. "It certainly is," he replied. "What is it doing here?"

"He needs a place to stay," said Mithrandir. "A safe place to stay, I man. It would be a shame if something was to happen to him after Strider here and I spent so much time catching him." He gestured to the side, where a figure was standing in the shadows. Legolas berated himself for not noticing him before, but the Gollum creature had been a bit of a shock and he wasn't expecting to see anyone else. This was a man, dressed as a ranger of the north. His face was obscured by a hood, but the gleam in his eyes was still visible.

"I must speak with you," Mithrandir told Thranduil. "It concerns matters of the utmost importance. I urge you not to make any decisions about allowing Gollum to stay until after you hear all the information I have to give you."

"All right," Thranduil conceded reluctantly. "But what will you do with that creature? It is not coming into my palace."

"Of course he isn't," agreed Mithrandir. "Strider will watch him while we talk." The hooded man nodded and took the lead rope from him.

Thranduil still looked ill at ease. "Let's talk quickly," he said. "Perhaps you should come inside too, Legolas."

Legolas shook his head. "I think I'll stay here for awhile," he responded. His father frowned at him. That frown used to cowl him as a child, but now all Legolas did was frown back. Thranduil let out a long-suffering sigh. "Don't get too close to that," he ordered, and then left with Mithrandir.

The prince turned to the man. "Greetings," he said. "Strider, is it?"

"Yes, sire," answered the hooded ranger.

"Wicked cruel men!" hissed Gollum. "Hurts us, he did, didn't he precious? Threatens us with nasty sword, oh yes my preciousss!"

Legolas raised his eyebrows in question. "He bit me," Strider confessed. "I had to be a little rough with him to get his teeth out of my skin. I'm afraid now he'll never love me."

"Poor man," said Legolas, now smiling. "Would it make you feel any better to know that I love you?"

Both laughed as Legolas pulled back the hood, revealing Aragorn's face. He was a little older and his face more lined with age, weather, and worry, but it was still the face of the man he loved. "I thought I had you fooled," said Aragorn.

Legolas gave him a soft, swift kiss. "It would take a lot more than a hood for me not to recognize you," he told him.

"I missed you," murmured Aragorn, capturing Legolas' lips for another, harder kiss.

They broke apart at the sound of Gollum's voice. "The cruel man's got a precious too, oh yes," Gollum croaked. "But nasty elves with bright, terrible eyes, not as pretty as my precious. No it isn't, gollum, gollum." He reached out to paw at Legolas' leg; Aragorn pushed him back with his foot and shook the ropes in warning.

Legolas gave the creature a disgusted look. "What's this 'precious' he keeps talking about?"

Aragorn looked around and leaned in close. "It's a ring," he explained in a low voice. "A ring of power."

"But the only ring of power not accounted for is - oh!" Legolas clapped his hand over his mouth in shock.

"Gollum had it for 500 years before losing it," continued Aragorn.

"Not lost, precious!" shrieked Gollum. "It stole it from us, the nasty thief. We hates it! We hates nasty thief Baggins forever!"

"Baggins?" Legolas asked, incredulous. "Does he mean that hobbit Bilbo Baggins?"

"He found it," Aragorn affirmed, "during his travels with the dwarves."

"Not found, stolen! What has it gots in its pocketess?! Not a fair question!"

"The one ring was here?" asked a horrified Legolas, ignoring Gollum's indignant rants. "In Mirkwood? Did Bilbo know what it is? Does he still have it?"

Before Aragorn could answer, Mithrandir and Thranduil returned. The king's face was white as he ordered the guards to take Gollum to a cell. "You can only have a moment for goodbyes," Mithrandir told them. "Time is something we have little of right now." With that, he left to get their horses.

"Goodbye?" asked Legolas.

"Mithrandir and I have to leave at once," Aragorn said. "I have to go to Rivendell and he as to go to the Shire before we meet again. Ada has to be told of the situation and the hobbit who currently has the ring has no idea what it is. Hopefully I'll meet the two of them in Bree before Sauron gets desperate enough to send out the Nazgul."

"You may have to face down the Nine?" asked Legolas as Mithrandir came back, riding one horse while leading another.

Aragorn kissed him and mounted the horse. "I love you," he said, looking into Legolas' eyes. "Never forget how much I love you." With that, he rode off.

A hand touched Legolas' face. He turned to see his father looking at him with concern. "I'm all right, Ada," assured the prince. "He will be all right as well. The Valar will protect him," he added with naive confidence. "They know how much I love him."

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A few weeks later, Legolas awoke to the sounds of yelling, screaming, and - Ai, Elbereth! - something that sounded like orc screeches. He flew out of bed, grabbed his quiver and bow, and ran out of his chamber door. He hadn't even reached the stairs when his father grabbed him. "You're not going out there," Thranduil told him. "Go back to your room and lock the door until whatever is going on is under control."

"But Ada!"

"Little Greenleaf!" Thranduil cried frantically. "I have to go out there and see what's going on. I don't want to have to command in a crisis and worry about you at the same time. Please do as I say!"

Legolas hurried back to his chambers and locked the outer door. He listened there, and when he heard his father's footsteps descending the stairs he unlocked the door and threw it open. He ran to the top of the stairs, but couldn't see anything that would clue him in on what was happening and the two guards standing at the foot of the staircase made it impossible for him to sneak down. Legolas ran back to his chambers and looked out the windows, but he couldn't see anything from there either. He sighed and flopped down on a chair, resigning himself to wait.

A long time passed before Thranduil returned to Legolas' chambers. The king wrapped Legolas in a crushing embrace without saying a word, not even about the unlocked door. "Ada, what happened?" he asked, concerned.

"Gollum escaped," Thranduil answered. "Orcs came into the realm to help him."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"Yes," Thranduil said, kissing his son's brow. "But don't think about that right now."

Legolas looked at him sadly. "Mithrandir will have to know," he said.

"No one knows where Mithrandir is or how to find him," replied the king.

"I could go to Rivendell," Legolas volunteered. "Lord Elrond can usually track him down."

"Someone should go to Rivendell," said Thranduil tensely, "but it won't be you. The road is much too dangerous."

"Ada," Legolas reasoned, "this news can't come from just any messenger. It concerns the one ring. Aragorn told me," he added quickly when his father gave him a surprised look. "It needs to come personally from the royal family, and you have to set everything in order here. That leaves me."

Thranduil couldn't argue with that logic no matter how much he wanted to. "How soon can you be ready?" he asked.

Legolas looked determined. "I'll be ready to go by midday," he vowed.

To be continued...