Immediately, the young prince of the Silvan elves stood from his squatting position and strode over to Valos.
"Intruders? How many?"
"Just three, my lord. They are being held just outside the door. Alnynia is with them."
"Bring them forth."
"Yes my lord. Alnynia, bring them in," he called over his shoulder to the waiting elf outside.
Nearby elves who still remained awake drew their weapons, some armed with bows, others with swords. They stood ready should the worst happen and an attempt be made on their beloved prince's life. But Legolas seemed unconcerned as he listened to the silence that had fallen in the stronghold. A smile broke out as he heard the falling of all too familiar footsteps coming closer. Within moments, he spied Aragorn and Gimli coming through the doorway with one other, whom Legolas could not identify. They were bound at the wrists and Legolas made a motion for the others to release them.
"My friends," he exclaimed as he stepped forward to greet them, while the rest of the elves lowered their weapons and went back to what they had been doing. "Thank you Valos and Alnynia. You have done well. You may return to your posts."
The two warriors nodded, bowed, and left to reenter the dark, moonless night.
"Come, take a seat over by me," Legolas said as he led the way to his bedroll and the unoccupied area next to it. The others took a moment to catch up and place their own meager supplies down. "What brings you to Mirkwood? I hope all is well in Gondor?"
Aragorn nodded. "All is well in the White City, though we have sorely missed your presence."
"Then this is a social call?
You should have written to me in advance and I would have prepared a
welcome fit for you. But now then, who
is your friend?"
"Ah, you have hit upon the cause of our visit," said Gimli.
Aragorn cleared his throat before beginning. "Legolas, we have reason to believe that our friend here is a Mirkwood elf. He does not say much; in fact he seems frightened of me, but I have gathered such information from him as to piece together a story. He claims to have been taken from his home as a small child and sold into slavery. How he came to be in the service of Gondor I do not know. I first noticed him about two months ago while he was working in the royal stables. He was tending to Brego at the time and I had come in with the intention of taking the horse out for a ride."
Legolas looked over to the elf sitting between the man and the dwarf. His hair was brown like that of Elrond's, while his eyes were the green of the midsummer's grass. He looked slightly older than Legolas was and his face was an unmoving expression of fear. His eyes darted nervously, even frantically, about as he took in his surroundings. He was thin too, this elf, even by elvish standards. This Legolas could see even through the loose fitting clothing that he wore, though he smirked as he saw the pattern of the White Tree and Seven Silver Stars that was emblazoned across the front.
"I let him borrow some clothing," Aragorn said, catching his friend's reaction. "He had naught but pauper's rags when I found him, and those were torn, threadbare and dirty. He was, and remained, far too skittish for me to get measurements for proper fitting clothing."
Legolas nodded in understanding. "What is your name, friend?" he asked the elf.
At being addressed, the elf's eyes widened into an expression of sheer terror, his color going pure white. He cast his eyes downward and made no response.
"He knows that you are in a position of power," Aragorn explained. "I believe that he must have been abused by one or more former masters and therefore, has an inane fear of authority. It took me close to two weeks to gain enough trust from him to get what little information that I was able to get."
Legolas' face went grim as he registered what his friend had said. "Hmmm," he mused. "Perhaps he would rather speak on a full stomach. Tallos, bring me some food and drink for our guests."
Another minute passed and Tallos, still clad in armor, came to them, bearing baskets of food and several wineskins filled with wine and water. Happy to share a meal together once more, the three friends ate their fill while the strange new elf sat eating small bites of bread.
Seeing this, Legolas shook his head. "No my friend, tonight you dine in style. Eat up and take rest, for no one here shall hurt you. Still, we would like to know what to call you."
"I have no name," said the other after a momentary hesitation.
Legolas furrowed his brow. "Surely someone must have called you something once."
The elf shook his head. "I have no proper name, only the name Wolf, which the monsters once called me."
"Wolf," Legolas repeated, and the word seemed harsh to his tongue and ears. But somehow he knew why the elf had been renamed as such. The monsters, whoever they were, had wanted the break his spirit quickly, and so, they had taken away the last thing that he would have owned, and that was his rightful name.
But now the elf, Wolf, Legolas mentally reminded himself, would say no more and answer no other questions, for he still feared the three friends. He was below them, a servant, taught to fear those in power through years of hard labor and torturous punishment if he failed. So the young prince allowed him some time to himself and fell to talking with the man and the dwarf. Minas Tirith was functioning well and since Aragorn's coronation as king, the city had become very prosperous. As for Mirkwood, well, Legolas was hopeful that before the year was through, the woods would be totally reclaimed from the evil that still lingered in patches here and there.
Night continued to deepen outside the walls of the stronghold. Watch shifts were changed and the fires in the pits began to die down low. Wolf and Gimli had since fallen asleep, the latter snoring forcefully where he lay. Wolf had been given permission to take rest by Legolas, a fact which the prince hated, for he wanted to gain the elf's trust and make him feel at ease, not to have to act as lord and master. The role had never really suited him, though he knew that if his father were ever to cross over the sea, he would become king. As for Aragorn and Legolas, the pair stayed awake, the only ones amid the sea of resting warriors. Even Kyno and the other physicians had allowed themselves to sleep.
But sleep will take all creatures into its blissful bosom, and somewhere just after the midnight hour, both allowed themselves to succumb to the realm of dreams.