Legolas frequently looked over at his sister as they travelled along the snowy mountain. He could tell she was cold, even though she wasn't showing it. Shentree was doing the same thing. He really didn't want to have the other gargoyle along but she was here anyway. He stopped and allowed Narcissis to catch up to him. He knew that Shentree was the reason that Nanaylia followed them in the first place.

"How are you doing?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"I would be better if Shentree were not around. Her presence makes me feel awkward, knowing I was once working alongside her. I feel that she is up to no good. I would not be here if she had not been stalking you and the others," she replied in a quiet voice.

Legolas' suspicions were confirmed by that statement as he turned his head as he was hearing a voice. He narrowed his eyes and he walked to the front of the group. Shentree watched him the entire time.

"There is a fell voice on the air," he said.

"It's Sarumon!" cried Gandalf.

The group watched as the two wizards had words between them and an avalanche began to start. A piece of rock hit Legolas in the shoulder and he cried out slightly in pain.

Narcissis and Shentree had both flown in to the air, despite the raging snow. They listened in on the Fellowship's conversation on what to do next. They soon heard Frodo saying about going through the mines.

"The Mines of Moria. This is going to be so much fun," Shentree whispered to herself. "So much fun indeed. I have not been there in centuries."

Narcissis looked in the gargoyle's direction and immediately became worried.

'This is not going to be fun at all,' she thought to herself as she followed the group back down the mountain.

00000

The gargoyles followed the Fellowship along the water. Shentree walked up behind Legolas and leaned into towards his ear.

"You will not leave Moria alive. I know you won't and I will make sure of it," she whispered to him. "I will finish what Banside, Sathed and I started all those years ago."

Legolas gasped as the gargoyle backed away. He heard Narcissis growl and a push. The two were soon growling at each other and a fight between them seemed imminent.

"Stop it, both of you!" Aragorn sternly told them as he stepped in between the two. "We are not animals here."

"I've just about had it with listening to you and these others, pitiful as they are. That is my only warning," Shentree quietly told him.

Aragorn appeared a bit shocked as the two gargoyles stared at each other as they soon walked along the wall. They soon came across the door that led into the mountain. Gandalf whispered to himself about the light of the moon and the stars and the door came into view.

"It says 'The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak friend, and enter'," Gandalf told them.

"What do ya suppose that means?" wondered Merry.

"Well, it means that if you are a friend, you speak the password and the doors will open," Gandalf replied.

He then began to say different phrases but nothing was working. He soon began to push on the door as the others looked on.

"Legolas," Narcissis quietly told the elf.

"What is it?" he asked as he turned around to face her.

"Be on your guard," she said. "You know I worry about you. Something will happen and I know. it. So do you."

Legolas gave a small smile at that and nodded his head, knowing she was right. He could sense something was about to happen but when was the biggest concern to him.

Shentree was watching Legolas the whole time. She walked up to him and hissed into his ear. He quickly moved, a bit startled by her appearance.

"What do you want?" he asked her.

Her answer came as a hand to his throat. He gasped for air as he felt himself being pushed against the hard rock. Everyone present except for Gandalf jumped to their feet in alarm.

"I have despised you since your escape from the Dark Forest. And your sister's escape as well. The two of you need to pay for this and I cannot wait any longer. This has to end now!" Shentree cried at him before lowering her voice. "We would have done the same thing to you as we did her if we had found you that day and neither of you would have been found. Ever!"

Legolas was surprised to hear that as he looked over at Frodo. The hobbit had a surprised look on his face and the elf wasn't sure what Frodo had heard of that last sentence.

"Get away from him!" cried the hobbit as he ran for the gargoyle.

The gargoyle grabbed Frodo by the arm and almost lifted him off his feet. Aragorn placed his hand on his sword but Shentree shoved Frodo forward.

"One move, and he dies," Shentree warned him. "One wrong move with me from now on, and everyone is going to end up dead, starting with the elf and the halfling here."

Gandalf narrowed his eyes once he heard the gargoyle say that.

'Earlier, she said elves. What is happening that I have obviously overlooked? Something is amiss here,' he had to ask himself.

Boromir gazed over the gargoyle in wonder. He narrowed his eyes.

'Where do these creatures reside?' he had to ask himself. 'The elf said they did not reside in his kingdom. I have to know but I do not dare ask them for I feel they will not tell me exactly or give me an obscure answer.'

Merry, Pippin and Sam were prepared for whatever was to happen while Gimli had his axe prepared. It seemed as if he were expecting something like this.

All of a sudden, Shentree was knocked to the ground. Merry and Pippin scrambled out of the way of the two gargoyles as they rolled along the ground. Both stood up and faced each other growling.

"You have definitely changed since the last time we met," Shentree said to Narcissis. "But you can't deny that you will always be one of us."

"I cannot be one of you. I am different to you and the others. You thirst for blood while I thirst for freedom," Narcissis growled back at her.

"Whether you like it or not, you've got gargoyle in your blood. You're going to have to come to terms with that someday," Shentree replied with a shake of the head.

Shentree jumped at her and the two were soon again on the ground. Legolas had his bow prepared but he didn't shoot it for he was afraid to hit his sister. He watched as Shentree was forced to the ground.

The gargoyle stared at the ground for a moment before reaching to grab a small pouch from around her waist. She laughed to herself as Narcissis lunged for her. Shentree quickly reacted and pushed Narcissis away with her feet. The pale gargoyle gasped for air since the feet connected with her stomach. She soon felt the rocky surface of the wall behind her and she slid down to the ground.

Legolas aimed his bow right at Shentree, who was steadily walking towards him, claws bared.

"You cannot defeat me, elf," she said. "You never could. Those times you escaped, you were simply lucky."

Aragorn soon stood behind the gargoyle, his bow ready.

"And you can't defeat me either," she called to Aragorn.

Legolas couldn't believe the arrogance the gargoyle was displaying.

"I do not believe you sometimes," he whispered.

"I do not believe you sometimes either," she replied before lunging for him, her claws ready.

She managed to catch him off guard and knock him to the ground, flat on his back. Legolas cried out in pain as he hit the hard ground. Gimli was prepared for anything as he hurried towards the two but Shentree quickly reacted to it and turned around to place a hand around his throat and throw him a few feet away.

Shentree growled again and placed her hand on the ground. Aragorn watched as he saw her pick up some dirt and throw it in Legolas' face. He ran for her and pulled her from Legolas. Aragorn pulled out his sword and was ready for her as she began walking towards him.

"I should have known not to attempt this now. I will leave you but be preapred for I will be back," Shentree told them before running off.

Aragorn lowered his sword and headed back over to Legolas. Frodo was standing next to the elf. The others looked on, worried about the elf. Legolas was coughing, the result of Shentree throwing the dirt in his face.

"Are you alright?" Aragorn asked, noticing some claw marks on his friend's shoulders.

"I will be fine," Legolas managed to say through the coughing. "But I think I might have swallowed some of the dirt though."

"But I will want to check on these later, before they become infected," Aragorn replied, gesturing to the wounds.

"They wil be fine," Legolas told him.

Aragorn sighed as he looked over at Narcissis, who was slowly standing up.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I will be fine, just give me some time for me to catch my breath," she told him as he helped her to her feet.

Aragorn decided to soon look her over, if she allowed him, for any injuries that she might have suffered. He walked over to Gandalf, who was had watched the entire thing from where he was situated.

"What about getting into the mines?" Aragorn asked.

"I will try my best," Gandalf replied.

00000

Shentree watched the group from above and her stare soon turned to the water near them.

"It is still there. Watcher, wake up! I require your assistance," Shentree called down to the water.

The water soon began to stir with life and she knew that the creature had heard her.

"They will now all die and now I won't have to do a thing. Why didn't I think of this earlier?" she wondered before taking off into the night.

00000

Pippin was throwing some rocks into the water when Aragorn grabbed his arm. The hobbit was surprised as he looked at the man. Legolas narrowed his eyes as he stared over the water. Somehow, he could sense something was different... something that was terribly wrong. He didn't bother to say anything as not to alarm them..

"Do not disturb the water," the man said to him.

The hobbit agreed to do so as Frodo looked at the doorway.

"It is a riddle. 'Speak friend, and enter'. What's the Elvish word for friend?" Frodo asked.

"Mellon," Gandalf replied and the doors opened.

Everyone was a bit surprised as the doors did open. They walked into the entrance of the mine.

"Master Elf, soon you will experience the fabled hospitality of the dwarves. Roaring fire. Malt beer. Red meat off the bone. This is the home of my cousin Balin and they call it a mine. A mine!" Gimli was saying to Legolas, who was still feeling the effects of dirt being thrown in his face.

To Legolas, the experience seemed different somehow. He felt something was very different this time. He had dirt thrown in his face before, playfully by his sister, but he couldn't place to what was so drastically different about the most recent time. He was soon feeling nauseated. He tried hard to fight back the feeling. Narcissis looked over at him and was becoming increasingly worried by each passing moment.

"This isn't a mine. It's a tomb," Boromir said as they looked around to see the dead bodies.

Gimli walked over to one of the bodies and gave a yell of disbelief. Legolas pulled out of the arrows.

"Goblins," he said before standing back up and grabbed an arrow.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should have never come here. Get out. Get out!" cried Boromir.

Frodo was soon dragged backwards. The hobbits quickly reacted.

"Strider!" cried Sam before trying to remove the creature's grasp from Frodo.

Aragorn hurried towards them once the tentacles shot out of the water. Legolas hurried out and shot an arrow at the creature. The group watched as the Aragorn cut the creature's tentacle that was holding Frodo.

"Into the mine!" cried Gandalf.

Everyone began to hurry into the mine as the Watcher began to tear down the entrance.

"Now we have but one choice. We must face the long dark of Moria," Gandalf told them. "Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world. I am worried about this place. Let us continue onwards"

Narcissis soon grabbed Legolas' arm before he started to walk after the wizard.

"We will need to talk later," she told him in a quiet voice.

TBC...