Disclaimer: I own nothing.

(((((((((((Chapter 12))))))))))))

Legolas hit the ground with considerable force. He did, however, manage to stay on his feet despite his weak body. Taking a deep breath, he stood and shouted to Bethalyn.

"Jump! Now!"

Bethalyn's frightened face peeked out the window. "But I…"

"Just do it!"

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and Bethalyn's scream. Legolas heard the pound of footsteps overhead in his bedroom. He looked up and saw his own head poke out and star at him.

"There he is!" Mithrendol cried.

Legolas silently cursed. Bethalyn would be safe, as long as Mithrendol couldn't get her alone. If he did…he was certain he would kill her. He shuddered at the thought and began to run down the length of the ravine, looking for a place that it would be easy to leap out.

His luck was extrodinary. Instead of a place to leap out of the ravine, he came across something much better…not far ahead there was a vine that grew out of the ground. It crawled up the rock walls of the palace and past a window. Legolas couldn't recall what room that window led into.

Even so, I've a better chance getting inside from there instead of the main gate. He thought, racing towards it.

Legolas stopped next to the vine and looked up. This window on the same floor as his bedroom's. Only about thirty feet up. He began to climb.

Legolas huffed as he worked his way up. The vines were not as easy to climb as tree branches, and some bent as he stood on them, threatening to break and send him to the ground. To make matters worse, he could feel the fatigue of his weakened body growing in him. He needed to work fast before he passed out completely. Finally he reached the window.

Legolas looked inside the glass. What was inside seemed to be a guard's quarters. Thankfully, he saw no one in the room. He reached to the side and punched the glass with his hand. It cracked and then broke, but left him with a painful cut on his wrist. Legolas ignored it. He reached inside and unlatched the window and opened it.

Stepping lightly inside, he again checked to see if anyone had approached. He saw and heard nothing. But his eyes came to rest on something that made his hope soar.

There was a bow on the table, along with a quiver full of arrows. Legolas quickly walked over and picked it up. Now he had a weapon. The bow was a bit smaller than he normally would have wanted it, but in his weakened state he doubted if he would have been able to pull back a larger one. Grabbing the quiver and slinging it over his back, Legolas turned his eyes towards the door.

No doubt Mithrendol has led most of the guards to the main gater, thinking I will try to reenter there…He thought. I will catch them by surprise and…

Legolas paused. And then what? What could he, a lone, fatigued elf do against his own guards? He couldn't…kill them, could he? Legolas gripped the bow tightened in his hand. No. If he killed anyone today, it would be Mithrendol. But slaying his enemy meant that he might never get his body back.

Legolas sighed. "The Valar have a cruel sense of humor," He murmured to himself.

He looked towards the door once more and made his decision.

Bethalyn watched as the guards crowded in the room around her, staring out the small window that Legolas had just jumped from. The one posing as the Prince…what had Lord Legolas called him?

Mithrendol. Bethalyn remembered. His name was Mithrendol.

Mithrendol was staring out the window as well, shouting and pointed. Suddenly he turned around and shouted: "He will most likely try to flee into the woods or reenter the palace through the front gate. Go assemble there."

"But Lord Legolas," One of the guards said, looking at Bethalyn. "What of the girl? She's a witness."

Bethalyn watched the Prince's face closely as he listened and then nodded. His blue eyes turned to her, and she suddenly felt dreadfully cold. "Right." He agreed. "You stay here with me."

"Aye, my Lord." The guard answered promptly. Bethalyn felt a sick twist in her stomach. It only grew larger as she watched as the guards shuffled out. The one who stayed closed the door and then walked towards the Prince. He opened his mouth to say something.

The Prince's hand lashed out at impossible speed. In an instant, he had pulled a dagger from his belt and swung his arm in a graceful but deadly arch-- and slit the guards throat across. The body fell without a sound and then the blue eyes turned back to stare at the servant girl once more. He watched as the girl in front of him began to scream but grabbed her and then slipped the bloodied knife to her throat.

"Silence!" He hissed, like a snake about to strike. "I know that fool Legolas told you who I am. I regret to inform you that because of that, you will no longer be allowed to live."

Bethalyn screamed into his hand, but the sound was too muffled to make it into the hall. How would anybody hear her? Was she really going to die now?

Suddenly the door was slammed open, making both Mithrendol and Bethalyn jump in surprise. Bethalyn flinched and felt the edge of the knife cut into her throat. Something warm trickled out and down her collar, quickly dripping onto the front of her dress.

Blood…She realized before Mithrendol let her drop to the floor.

"Mithrendol." Legolas said, his voice as cold and hard as ice on a frozen lake. He stood in the doorway and had his bow in his hands, an arrow cocked and ready to fire.

Mithrendol let the girl slip from his grasp. In his surprise he had cut her, and she was bleeding. He looked at her and then at the figure in the doorway. "Legolas…how did you…" His voice did not mask the awe he was feeling.

Legolas's eyes narrowed in anger. "You think you can outsmart me in my own home. You think you can steal my body and my life and kill my friends. You are mistaken."

Mithrendol held the knife straight out towards his enemy, smiling. "No, you are the one who is mistaken, dear Legolas." He mocked. "Do you really think you can fire that arrow at me? You know if you kill me you will also kill your body."

"I am willing to make that sacrifice." Legolas said, his grip on the bow becoming harder. His outstretched arm shook from the effort and Mithrendol laughed.

"You have barely enough strength to hold a bow, Legolas! You are not worthy to be a Prince. I am." Mithrendol declared proudly.

"You are not worthy of a maggot's flesh." Legolas said. He stepped into the room slowly, the door closing quietly behind him.

Mithrendol cocked his arm, preparing to throw the knife he held. "You shot that arrow, I throw the knife. We could both die in this moment Legolas."

Legolas managed to smile. "Such an end would be fitting for us."

Legolas felt a warm puddle at his feet and realized it was the blood of one of the guards that Mithrendol must have slain. He confirmed his thought by glancing down. The dead guards eyes were turned towards him, open and blank. His neck was slashed across. Legolas could see inside the huge gash…he could see the bubbling blood and the torn tissue. He felt like being sick.

The small distraction was all Mithrendol needed. Legolas heard the whistling sound of a knife being thrown and then felt it hit him hard in the shoulder. It was in almost the very same spot that Mithrendol had injured him before, in the Nimar's palace, seven months ago.

As the knife hit him, his grip on both the bow and the arrow loosened. The arrow shot out, but not towards Mithrendol's heart as Legolas had wanted it to. It hit him in the stomach, causing the elf to double over. Legolas himself was sent to the ground, landing with a sick splat in the dead guard's blood.

Mithrendol pulled the weapon from his flesh, throwing the arrow to the ground and looking at the other elf. Legolas lay on the floor with the knife in his shoulder. The blood puddle around him was growing. Quickly Mithrendol stood up and strode to him.

Legolas opened his eyes and saw Mithrendol standing over him. The other elf smiled evilly and pressed his foot down on his chest, causing Legolas to cry out in pain.

"You can't beat me, Legolas." He panted. He then reached over and grasped the knife's hilt. He twisted.

Legolas screamed as his flesh was wrapped around the sharp blade and torn. The back of his head smashed against the marble floor and he feared he would pass out…and this time never wake up.

"You can't." Mithrendol repeated with pleasure as he ripped the blade from the wound.

Mithrendol's heart sang wildly with glee. He held the knife, dripping with blood, above Legolas's heart and laughed loudly.

"Time to die." He whispered darkly. He plunged the knife downward.

Suddenly, Mithrendol felt a stab of pain in his right calf. He cried out and twisted around, causing him to drop his knife a moment before he would have driven it deep into the Prince's heart. He collapsed to the floor and looked back with rage.

"Wench," He cursed at the servant girl. She had taken the arrow that he'd pulled out of his gut and punched a clean hole in his leg with it.

Bethalyn raised the arrow shakily with one hand, gripping her bleeding neck with the other. She wondered if she should have been dead from blood loss already. The wound in her neck hurt dreadfully, but she didn't feel weakened or faint at all. She must not have been cut deep.

"Wench!" Mithrendol repeated, more angrily this time. He began to turn around so that he could get to her. Bethalyn gasped and scooted back as far as she could. "This time I'll scatter you're blood like rain!"

The girl shook with fear as she found herself trapped between the enraged elf and the wall. The window was above her head. But she knew she couldn't jump. She couldn't risk it. If she left Mithrendol would have a chance to kill Prince Legolas…if he hadn't done that already.

Mithrendol laughed again as he watched Bethalyn's eyes dart around the room with terror. "Frightened?" He asked her with a sneer. "You should be."

Mithrendol reached back his hand to grasp the knife he had dropped. His hand landed on cold tile. He turned around, and was shocked to see Legolas standing, gripping the door handle for support. He had the knife in his free hand.

Legolas breathed hard. His head was swirling, his vision unfocused. But he could see Mithrendol's figure clearly in front of him, crouched on the floor nearby Bethalyn. Mithrendol stood up.

"You are a fool, Legolas." He said, shaking his head. "Look at yourself. You're bleeding to death."

Legolas managed a slight grin. "Actually, Mithrendol…I am looking at myself…and I look fine."

Mithrendol chuckled and leaned on his uninjured leg. "Quite right." He saw the outline of that servant girl sneaking up behind him again, ready to plant the arrow in his other led. He turned, lashed out and kicked her. The arrow flew from her hands. "Let's keep it that way, shall we?" He finished.

Legolas heard Bethalyn's cry and then heard a thud as her body hit the wall. No sound came from her afterward. He couldn't see clearly, but she was either dead or unconscious. He hoped it was the latter.

"Mithrendol," He called out, gripping the attention of his enemy again. "You are right…I couldn't kill you…We have to much in common."

Mithrendol frowned, confused. "What?"

Legolas smiled. "I know what you feel…I know…I know the reason behind you're rage…You've taken away everything I have…You had everything taken from you many years ago."

Mithrendol's mood darkened. He did not like to be reminded of the time when he was first killed…when his own father had ordered his murder and then told his people that it was an accident. "What is your point, Legolas?"

Legolas gasped in a painful breath. He felt his body begin to slump. "I…I pity you." He finished.

Mithrendol's frown grew longer. "You pity me?!" He asked, growing angry. "I don't want you're pity!"

Legolas smiled inwardly. It worked. Driving Mithrendol into a rage was the chance he needed.

"You have my pity…Mithrendol…whether you want it or not." He replied softly. "I'm sorry for you."

Mithrendol's body shook with fury. "I DON'T NEED YOU'RE PITY!" He cried, launching himself at the weakened elf across from him.

Legolas barely saw him coming with his blurred vision. He gripped the knife and the door handle harder. He turned the door handle just as Mithrendol tackled him. The two elves fell into the hallway.

Mithrendol had meant to pin Legolas into the door and then kill him in some painful, horrible fashion. He hadn't planned for the door to open…they fell, he on top of the other. And he felt something sharp punch into his gut again, just below his rip cage. His own knife.

Legolas felt Mithrendol gasp and reach between them for the object now buried in his flesh. He rolled off him screaming, a ball of agony. Legolas turned his head weakly to the side, and watched as Mithrendol writhed like a dying snake. His plan had worked. He tricked Mithrendol into attacking him, and when they fell out of the open doorway, Mithrendol impaled himself on the knife Legolas had been holding.

There was a cry from far down the hallway. Someone had seen them. Legolas closed his eyes. He expected to see red stars. He saw nothing. When he opened his eyes again, there were faces floating over him. They gasped in shock and fear when he looked up at them.

Legolas recognized one of them. "Aragorn…" He whispered. "Mellon nin."

Aragorn's face came closer. His expression was marred with confusion. His mouth moved as if to ask something, but Legolas heard no sound. He spoke instead.

"Ask Betha…lyn. She knows." He told his friend. One last thought crossed his mind before his vision blacked out. "Tell Cefielle…that I…am sorry."

Legolas thought he felt his face smile once. Then he faded.

(((((((((((((Personal thing)))))))))))))))))

Whew. Sorry for the terribly long update..again. I was very busy getting ready for the school year and my job sucks and makes me work all the time. I'm just lucky enough to have a little time with the computer! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next will be coming as soon as I finish writing it!