Back in Mirkwood

A/N: I don't own anything that belongs to various publishers and the descendants of the Tolkien Family. I own only what is in my mind

The elf didn't hear, but rather felt the crack of her ribs. Pain seared through her lungs and chest as she sucked in air. The past days were hard. Never had she travelled so far in such short time period. The last day she was practically dragged, her being too weak to run. Each night was horrible, not being able to sleep, listening to the orcs ripped each other apart, and their vulgar talk. In the morning they would kick her or beat her, then make her run without food or water.

The water came with a welcome as she opened her mouth and let the cooling water splash down her parched throat. The orcs laughed at her, finding amusement in the scene before them. The commanding orc waved his hand and the water stopped coming and she was pulled to her sore feet.

"Move out." He called. The elf looked at him in disbelief. Had it been two hours already? That didn't seem long enough. The group that had once been around fifty so orcs now were around thirty and growing smaller. They headed toward the dark forest and the elf secretly hoped the orcs would die a very painful death. The elf grinned at the thought, cracking open many cuts and they bled, adding more blood to the torn shirt she wore.

A hunting group moved silently through the thicket searching for some game for the feast tonight. The elves carried their bows and each had an arrow loosely notched. Legolas was among them. Suddenly one of their scouts burst into a clearing of sorts, to their left.

"A band of orcs is in the forest, My Prince" He said calmly, but his green eyes showed slight fear.

"How many are there?" Legolas asked.

"About three units and they might have a captive with them."

"How did they get past the border patrol?" The scout shrugged, "Lead us to them. We have the upper hand here. They don't know the way out."

The scout took them through the maze of fallen trees and dead leaves from the autumns before. The trees let in a green light, for the canopy was thick and the sunlight could not get reached the undergrowth. After a few minutes the elves spotted the band moving as quietly as orcs could move. They watched as an orc, presumably the commander, held up a hand, cocked his head to the side and listened. The others did too. When they heard no sounds, they continued walking.

Legolas spotted a blonde head amongst the red and black. He pointed it out to the others and they nodded. They pulled the bow string tight and waited for the signal. Legolas lowered his hand and felt the wind stir as the arrows flew past his head. Several orcs fell and they took up a defensive position around their captive, who had begun yelling in Sindarin.

That's strange Legolas thought to himself. Usually orcs would push the captive out and force the attacking side to stop, in order not to harm them. But the elves still fired arrows at them and the orcs fell without moving. One of them said something in the dark language and then shoved the elf before them, causing it fall on its face. Legolas held up his hand, the arrows stopped and the orcs, seizing the chance, fled. Legolas ran to the elf while telling some of the others to pursue the quickly fleeing orcs. As they ran off, he waved two of the remaining elves over to the elf laying on the ground. They gently rolled the tortured elf over, the elf moaned as they did so. Legolas looked the elf over with concerned eyes and called the scout over.

"Run to the palace and report to my father what has happened and to send out another hunting party" Legolas said, studying the elf's face, even under the blood, he saw the elf was definitely female. Something was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. The scout nodded and darted off, disappearing in the green of the forest.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked. The elf nodded, but as they lift her head to pour the water, her body went limp. Legolas shouted out orders to get her to the palace immediately. One of his friends pulled off his cloak and laid it on the ground. Then transferred the unconscious elf from the ground onto the cloak. Two elves picked up the ends and they hurried off in the direction they had come, with the rest of the hunting party following quickly behind.

Kerry studied the things they discovered when the two of them had opened the chest. In her hand, she held a small, silver necklace, that had a small knife hanging from it. It was sharp. She knew that seeing that she cut her finger on it. The other three items were a piece of parchment, a sheath and two leaves, a green one and a brilliant orange one.

The parchment had red blotches all over and the ink was smeared. The writing was Starlight's. It had to be. It said, 'I'm sorry' That confused her more than the leaves did. She picked up the sheath. It was the right size for a small knife, the kind Starlight carried. It was extremely detailed in silver and also had red splashes on it. All of this was confusing and would be until Starlight returned.

Kerry stared out the window, seeing only a grey sky with thunder heads building up in the distance. Sighing, she pushed away from the table and crossed the room to where her dress lay on the bed. It was a soft green, with puffy sleeves and silver embroidery along the hems. The dress was nothing she could breathe in and didn't want to wear it. Legolas said it was proper that the future princess to grow accustom to the duties of a royal.

Starlight was the one Legolas loved and always will, but since she was unavailable, he had settled with her. She had been thrilled when he asked her at the beginning but things had changed. Kerry didn't like being the back-up friend. Sighing again, she started to dress.

The orcs ran through the forest, dodging the flying arrows. As far as the head orc knew, there were only three of them left. He saw the valley they had come through and sprinted toward it. The new energy pumped his legs faster, carrying him closer to the valley with every step. An arrow brushed his elbow and fell to the ground. He kept running straight. The elf pursuing him notched his last arrow, aimed and fired. The last thing the commander saw was the dead leaves and dirt as he hit the ground. The elf drew a knife and cautiously walked towards the fallen orc. He rolled him over with a kick and bent only to cut the orc's throat. After that was done, he headed back towards the palace, ready for the feast to start.

The scout bowed as he entered the king's study.

"Sire, Prince Legolas requests that you send out another hunting party to obtain the meat for tonight's feast"

Thraidul looked at him in slight amusement. "Why is that? Is my son too lazy to hunt today?"

"No, we encountered three units of orcs." The scout told him, "with a captive, an elf, sir"

"Where was the border patrol?" The scout shook his head.

"I don't know, sir, the Prince asked the same question."

"Dismissed" The scout bowed one more time before exiting. A small smile played on Thraidul's lips. His son had asked the same question, did he? Thraidul had no doubt his son would become a great king. But he had doubts on the bride he picked. He knew Kerry from birth and she wasn't suited to Legolas. Sighing he returned to his work.

Legolas, the female elf, and her bearers arrived at the Healer's wing. Two Healers appeared at their side and directed the group into an empty room. The bearers carefully laid the elf on the bed and exited the room. The Healers began to do their stuff as Legolas explained how his group had come across the band of orcs and rescued the girl. They nodded and asked questions then shooed him from the room when they started to wash her. One of them reminded him of the feast, assured him that the girl would be all right and would survive the ordeal.

Legolas walked down the hall with the two bearers, chatting quietly. He was anxious to hear that all the orcs had been killed and was not looking forward to this night's feast. He loved seeing the people of Mirkwood talking and laughing with each other but didn't quite understand why he had chosen Kerry to be his bride. That was the point of tonight's feast, to celebrate their engagement. He loved her like a sister and Ellie would be the only one he truly loved. He said good-bye and made his way to his room.

A/N: Heehee another chapter done and I enjoyed writing it. Just to let those people know who Ellie is, it is Legolas' nickname for Peliwyn Starlight. PLEASE REVIEW!!! It makes me happy