Disclaimer: I own nothing and no-one!
(((((((((((((Chapter 4)))))))))))))))))))
"What?" Legolas asked. "What do you mean 'you're not'?"
Halirod's smile grew larger, forming a sort of manic grin. "I mean exactly that. You of all people should know what I'm talking about, Legolas."
"I don't." Legolas said. "Halirod, why are you acting like this?"
Halirod again shrugged. "Dying twice in your lifetime can do things to an elf."
Legolas was about to ask what he was talking about again, but then Halirod reached for one of the side tables, and picked up an object Legolas had failed to notice before. A sword.
The sword from the armory…Legolas realized.
"Halirod!" He suddenly cried out. "It was you who tried to kill Andavar!"
Halirod displayed the sword in one hand and brought his other hand to his lips. "Shh…do you want everybody to hear you?"
"That's a stupid question." Legolas said, backing towards his bed. He looked around for anything to defend himself with. "Halirod, have you gone mad?"
"No, Halirod's just simply gone." The other answered. He lowered his sword. "I'm a whole new person."
Legolas paused and looked at him with question and doubt. Halirod waited patiently…at least for a while.
"Oh, come on, Legolas." He said after a minute. "It hurts to know that you don't remember me."
"What are you talking about?" The Prince asked again, reaching for the chair next to the desk. He could throw it at Halirod and perhaps escape from the room while the other elf was stunned. But Halirod saw this and leveled his sword at him, forcing the Prince to stand still.
Halirod walked closer, until he was eye to eye with Legolas, his sword rested comfortably on the soft flesh of the Prince's throat. There was nothing Legolas could do without risking getting killed.
"You know, I never would have thought Cefielle had the gall to kill me…especially after all I did for her." Halirod whispered, half to the Prince, half to himself. He watched with growing pleasure as the realization spread across Legolas's face.
"Mithrendol!" Legolas gasped.
Halirod, or Mithrendol, nodded proudly. "The one and only. Pleased to meet your acquaintance once again, Prince Legolas." He chuckled darkly.
"You died." Legolas said shakily. "I saw you die. How could you come back?"
Mithrendol pressed the sword a little harder against the other elf's throat. He raised his other hand and then shook a mocking finger at Legolas. "Oh no. I'm not falling for that one again. This time, you'll have to wait until after I take your body as my own to find that out."
Legola's eyes grew wider and his heartbeat grew rapid with fear. Lashing out his palm, he hoped to stun Mithrendol, but the other elf was too quick. Mithrendol dodged back just enough to avoid Legolas's blow. The blade of his sword left the Prince's throat for a second, and in that instant Legolas was able to slip past it and make for the door.
Legolas's heart was just about to leap for joy when he heard a familiar sound, the sound of a blade swinging throught the air at high speed. Before he knew it, Mithrendol stood at his side, the sword he held in his hands hovering millimeters from Legolas's throat.
The blade shook, at though Mithrendol was having trouble keeping it from slicing Legolas's head off. No doubt he wanted to.
"Step back to the bed, Legolas." Mithrendol hissed dangerously.
Legolas glared at him and didn't move an inch. "Make me." He challenged.
Mithrendol's eyes blazed with a fiery anger. "Oh, I will."
"You won't do it." Legolas said. "You won't kill me. You won't risk harming your potential host body."
"Are you willing to bet your life on that?" Mithrendol said menacingly.
Legolas started to shake as the blade of the sword bit into his skin. "I'll scream."
Mithrendol grinned again and leaned in towards him. "You'll try."
Legolas made one more desperate attempt to escape. He took in his own hands the blade of Mithrendol, and tried to use it to push the other elf back. The blade bit deeply into the palms of his hands, and he winced, but the move surprised Mithrendol and drove him back a few feet, knocking him back onto the floor. Legolas bolted for the door once again. His hand reached for the door handle…touched it…and then he felt a stab of pain in his left calf. He cried out softly as his knees buckled under him in pain. He fell against the door, the door handle just out of his reach.
Behind him he heard Mithrendol laugh. He had Halirod's voice now, however, and it sounded strange to hear such evil combined with that laugh.
"Nice try," He said, getting up off the floor and approaching him. "But once again you have failed."
"I'll kill you." Legolas whispered through clenched teeth. He looked down and saw the sword protruding from his calf in his left leg. Mithrendol had thrown it, preventing his escape.
Mithrendol loomed over the fallen Prince and smiled. "Quite the contrary." He chirped. One of his hands reached down and ripped the sword from Legolas's leg. The other quickly clasped over Legolas's mouth to muffle his scream.
Mithrendol again leaned in very close to Legolas. "Hold still." He sneered. "This will feel the tiniest bit strange."
"No," Legolas whispered.
"Oh, yes."
((((((((((((((((
A half an hour later, the body of Legolas Greenleaf sat happily in a chair at the desk, calmly reading his diary and smiling despite his injuries. Across from him was the body of Halirod , who was tied and gagged at the end of the room farthest from the door.
"Well well well…" Mithrendol said, delighting in being able to use the Prince's voice as his own. "Very interesting."
Legolas watched with eyes that were not his own as Mithrendol flipped the page and read on. His anger and hate for that creature was billowing up inside him, and he felt like he was about to explode.
How could I have been so stupid? He thought. How could I not have recognized the change in Halirod? And if Mithrendol stole Halirod's body, then were is Halirod's soul?
His own voice interrupted his thoughts. "You went through Moria, did you?" Mithrendol chuckled. "Now that must have been something."
Mithrendol smiled widely as he watched the other elf's eyes sizzle with hate and try to curse him through his gag. "Terrible for you…you'll be regarded a hero among your people for this…and you won't even be around to see it, Legolas." He said with great pleasure.
Legolas struggled against his bonds and shouted again, but his calls were muffled by his gag. It was no use.
Mithrendol again turned the page, but that was where the Prince's handwriting ended, so he frowned and closed the book. He stood up, his bleeding leg seemingly not hurting him.
"Well, I suppose we should get this over with, then?" He finally said after staring at the tied elf for a time.
Legolas felt a stab of fear. Valar…this is the end…this really is the end.
Mithrendol saw the Prince's reaction and laughed. Legolas's fear suddenly changed to hatred when he heard his own laugh…only laced with the sound of evil.
"I'm not going to kill you, Legolas." Mithrendol said to him. "If I did that, all the fun would end."
He stepped up proudly, twirling his sword lightly in his hands. "Oh, yes…you'll be alive…if you chose to live. I don't know how long someone like you could last in a dungeon."
Legolas felt a strike of fear in his heart. He was to be imprisoned in his own dungeon? He could not let that happen! It was impossible!
Mithrendol turned away from Legolas and swaggered over to the mirror on the opposite side of the room, leaning close to it, examining his new form. He grinned.
"You know, I'm going to live my dream, Legolas! I'm going to live the life that was stolen away from me thousands of years ago…and all thanks to you. How could I kill you after you've given me so much?" He turned back to Legolas, a smirk on his face. "Not willingly, unfortunately."
Legolas closed his eyes. He tried to drown out the sound of his own voice, saying these things.
But Mithrendol continued. "I'll marry." He said, chuckling. "You won't even be present on your own wedding day, Legolas. And I shall be the greatest Prince that Mirkwood has ever seen."
Mithrendol nodded proudly and then returned to Legolas in the corner. "But…not until I get you down where you belong."
Legolas cursed him yet again. Mithrendol frowned. And then he grabbed Legolas around the collar and flung him across the room. The other elf flew into the mirror, shattering it with a satisfying crash. Mithrendol smiled. He gripped his sword and approached Legolas.
Legolas was dazed, he didn't know what was happening at first. But suddenly he realized that his legs and arms were free. He looked up just in time to see Mithrendol toss away his bonds. This was his chance…this was his chance to get out and expose Mithrendol.
Legolas thought and acted fast. He reached up and ripped off his gag. He felt the shattered remains of the mirror beneath his bruised body. His hand clasped around one of them tightly. Again, he felt it bite into the palms of his hands. But he didn't care. Standing up, he raised the sharp glass and lunged at what had been his body.
Mithrendol was caught by surprise. Legolas drove him back, knocking him down to the floor in the process. He shakily climbed on top of the other elf and raised his weapon.
"Move even an inch, and I will kill you." He said to Mithrendol.
That was when the door banged open on both of them. Legolas turned his head to see some servants and some royal guards storm in. There were gasps and cries as they saw the scene before them.
Legolas suddenly realized he'd been tricked. Again.
Mithrendol raised up a free fist and smashed it against the side of his head, stunning Legolas. The former prince dropped to the floor, his hand releasing the shattered glass piece. Mithrendol scrambled up and glanced at the guards in fear, feeling very proud of his acting.
"He's gone mad!" He cried quite dramatically. "He admitted to trying to murder Andavar and then he attacked me!"
The Legolas on the floor moaned and looked up. He began to speak, but a boot caught him in the chest before he could do so. Legolas doubled up in pain as the elf who had stolen his body and was now portraying him continued.
"Tie him up and gag him, quickly!" He said with urgency. "He speaks evilly, and spells pour out of his mouth!"
The guards hastily obeyed, yanking up the other elf from the floor and gagging him before he could get a word out. Legolas struggled hard to set himself free when he realized what was happening to him.
He was brought before Mithrendol.
"What shall we do with him, Prince Legolas?" One of the guards asked.
"You all saw with your own eyes what happened." Mithrendol said. "There is no need for a trial nor a judging. Take him below."
"To the dungeons, my lord?"
"Yes, to the dungeons." Mithrendol replied. "And keep him tied and gagged. He's more dangerous than you think. Don't allow him to speak to you, he will fill your mind with lies."
Legolas kicked his legs and flailed his arms...or to be technical, Halirod's legs and arms...with all his might, but with four royal guards on him, he couldn't get away. He tried with desperation to shake the gag off his face but it also would not release him. He was dragged away, with Mithrendol laughing at him.
His face was laughing, but without expression. His eyes shone it. Legolas screamed.
Mithrendol watched as his enemy was carried away. The remaining servants stared at him.
"Are…are you alright, my lord?" One of them asked.
Mithrendol turned to them and smiled. "Thankfully yes. Please, go and tell my father that the assassin has been found and captured. There is no longer a threat."
The servant bowed obediently. "Yes, my lord." He disappeared.
"Is there anything else we can do for you, my lord?" Another servant asked.
Mithrendol glanced at the servant. She was a maiden, and quite a fair one at that. He smiled sweetly at her. "Why, yes." He said. "I would like to have a feast tonight."
"In honor of your return, my lord?"
Mithrendol grinned wider. "Yes. In honor of my return."
((((((((((((((Personal thingy))))))))))))))))))))))))
Whew. I love this chapter. I hope you guys do too! Sorry it took me longer to update! I've been looking for jobs...ugh.