When the next morning finally dawned, neither the elf nor the man had slept much. Some of the night had been spend laying their plans, but even when they had lain down to sleep, secret doubts had gnawed at their minds, robbing them of rest. Too soon, the appointed hour for the execution drew near. Legolas armed himself with his sword and hunting knife only, for to have gone to his father heavily armed would have raised immediate suspicion. Aragorn's weapons he took and carried along with his own. Then, using a length of heavy rope, he bound the man's wrists behind his back and marched him down the hallways to the throne room.
Legolas' heart was heavy as they went. On the one hand, if the plan worked, he would betray his father. On the other, if the day brought failure, he would betray the very lives of his best friends.
When they reached the throne room, Thranduil and Alandor were already seated side by side. Legolas could not help but notice that his brother sat upon the king's right hand side, the seat usually reserved for the king's heir. Surely Alandor was the eldest son of Thranduil, but Legolas had never quite thought about what that meant for his own position as the crown prince. Never had Legolas desired the throne, but it felt somehow awkward to see another in the place he had grown accustomed to. Nevertheless, he shrugged it off for the time being. There were bigger things at hand to deal with.
Gimli was just being brought into the room from a second door. Legolas could see that the dwarf was bound similarly to Aragorn and that Kyno the healer was with the two guards that ushered Gimli into the room. A grim mental smile passed through Legolas' mind. His suspicion of who two of Kyno's underlings were was proven true. He recognized the two elves as Nimras ("white horn") and Tauron ("forester"), Kyno's sons. Behind them two other warriors followed, one bearing Megil Gurtha, the Death Sword. Legolas knew that these warriors were freshly come from the battles in the southern part of Mirkwood, for the warriors he had left at the stronghold had returned the previous night.
Now Legolas presented his prisoner to his father, grim satisfaction covering his hardened face.
"Well done my son," Thranduil praised him. "It seems that you are the only competent warrior left in the kingdom. Would that these were the elder days when the prince did not have the do the job of the kingdom guards!"
Legolas bowed and thanked his father, pushing Aragorn to where Gimli stood. Now Thranduil stood to address those gathered.
"Shut the doors," he instructed the two guards, "and stand guard, lest these prisoners attempt escape. Certainly we would not want Legolas to have to hunt down the man again!" Here Thranduil laughed a little. Then he addressed Aragorn and Gimli directly. "Traitors to Mirkwood, your appointed doom awaits. Folly it was to attempt to deceive us with your offers of friendship. Traitorous actions shall be met with vengeance. Alandor! As the one first wronged and as my heir, take up the sword! May Mandos have mercy on your souls, for none shall be given here."
Alandor left the king's side and began to descend the few steps to where the warrior held Megil Gurtha. Legolas caught a glint in his brother's eye and quickly stepped forward. Alandor stopped, waiting to see what the young prince was to do.
"Alandor wait! Give me the sword! If any shall be the one to smite the traitors, I should be the one."
Alandor laughed. "And why should that be? Was I not the one sundered from my home and family?"
"Yes," Legolas relented after a moment, "but it was I who trusted them the most."
He reached for the sword the other held, but Alandor backed away, denying him. A thought began to form in Legolas' mind, but he pushed it away and concentrated his efforts on capturing the other's weapon. He desperately needed to buy time for his friends. Still trying to pry the sword from Alandor, Legolas addressed his father.
"Father, hear me! Let me be the one to exact the justice of the woodland realm upon these two traitors."
"No Legolas. Stay your hand and hinder not your brother."
Legolas paid no heed to his father's wishes.
"Step aside!" The anger was steadily rising in the king's voice.
Still Legolas maintained his position between his friends and Alandor.
"I see your mind!" Thranduil exclaimed after a moment or two. "You would pledge your loyalty to me in word only whilst in your heart you also seek to be traitor to your people!"
"No father!" Legolas called back, drawing his own sword against Alandor. "But I do think that blood need not be shed!"
"Your choice is made," Thranduil replied. "Let it be known that Alandor has seemingly earned a third neck to strike."
Now Alandor advanced upon Legolas, swinging the thick sword with skill that well surpassed what he had admitted to having. Legolas spun and sliced the bonds of Aragorn, and the man ducked to retrieve his weapons which lay with that of Gimli on the floor off to one side. In an instant, he had the weapons and had freed the bound dwarf.
"Guards!" Thranduil cried.
"Remain at your posts," Legolas ordered, the authority in his voice matching that of the king.
The two guards, torn as to whom they should obey, hesitated. That was all the time that Nimras and Tauron needed. They both unsheathed their swords and made ready to aid Alandor. The man and dwarf were momentarily forgotten. Evidently some grander plan was being disrupted by Legolas' sudden change of mind. Aragorn gripped Anduril tightly; Gimli's grip on his axe was like iron.
"Stay back," Legolas told them, never taking his eyes of his three opponents.
"You cannot fight them on your own," Aragorn argued.
"I said stay back! If you shed blood here today, nothing I do will be able to save you."
Gimli glanced at Aragorn. He had lowered his sword, returning it to its sheath. As much as he hated to abandon Legolas to such odds, he knew that the elf was right. The shedding to blood was a grave crime in Mirkwood, unless it was to deal punishment according to the ancient laws. If Aragorn and Gimli were to join the fight and kill an elf, they truly would be guilty of a crime.