Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Please, please review. Need fuel to write more. Too many things to write, too little time =)
This story is AU. Orcs are not portrayed as mindless killing machines here. They are more like ugly, more violent versions of Elves, who can feel and think independently. Thought I should put this in as a warning. Kind of inspired by cast commentary about the 'poor Cave Troll' =)
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Chapter Four:
The lone assassin sensed the elements tense in warning. Instinctively, he spun to the left, avoiding the charge of a large spider. Quick as lightning, the Prince launched his counterstrike. The foul creature fell as a well-aimed arrow that penetrated its hard exoskeleton to puncture its black heart. The Elf could not understand why the beast attacked. Still agitated from his outburst of power, Legolas had not attempted to dim his aura. The coldness radiating from him should be enough to warn the spider off. He knew that his mere presence generated fear in the creatures of darkness; it was something the assassin had used to paralyze his prey in the past.
Suddenly, it dawned on the Elf that the spider was on a killing frenzy, having tasted fresh blood. Anxiety gripped the Prince's heart as he realized Haldir was outside the range of his senses. In his shame, he had left his dearest friend and their prisoner defenseless at their camp. Legolas had brought the Lòrien Elf's weapons, but the Guardian had little experience fighting the spiders of Mirkwood. If the creatures attacked en masse, the archer would not stand a chance. In addition, the Man was still immobilized from the Prince's blows, ruining any chance of escape for the older Elf. Haldir would never leave his lover; he would die protecting Aragorn if need be.
Reaching out with his magic, Legolas raced back to camp with all haste. To his dismay, he found the cave empty, except for three dead spiders littering the floor. The only traces of his companions were several droplets of blood deep inside the cave where the Man once lay, no doubt marking the position where the Lòrien Elf was cornered and finally subdued. It had been so long since the Prince felt pain. Now, the unfamiliar emotion tore at Legolas' heart as he thought he had failed the only Elf he cared for. So deep was the assassin's anguish that he did not sense the intruders upon his grief or the arrow flying towards him.
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A company of twenty Orcs stopped at the entrance to the cave. Aragorn's second in command, Garekk, led the search for their missing master. Accompanied by thirty of the Man's elite guards, the general set out for their hunt as soon as Aragorn was discovered missing. Though Orcs abhorred sunlight, they knew the kidnapper had a night's head start on them. They were willing to die for their respected leader; enduring the harsh light of the sun was nothing. The company had been running nonstop, following the Man's scent. The Orcs knew they must intercept the kidnappers before they reached Thranduil's realm.
With single-minded determination, the pursuit party followed their quarry. The Orcs were so intent on finding their lord that they ran directly into the spider's ambush. After a hard fight, they were able to drive back the eight-legged beasts; but in the process, they lost a third of their warriors. The hunters understood they did not have the strength to repel another spider attack. Yet, the Orcs pressed on, risking their lives to track their leader. Their persistence was rewarded as they found a lone Elf kneeling inside the cave, seemingly oblivious to their presence. Stealthily, Narod, captain of Aragorn's personal guards, notched an arrow and fired, intent on disabling their prey for questioning.
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The Prince was jolted into the present when magic poured out of his being without his command for the second time in the night. As he surveyed his surroundings to see a broken arrow on the floor, he realized this second outburst of power had saved his life. As he turned his eyes towards the entrance of the cave, Legolas spotted the Orcs who had intruded upon his grief. Face set in an icy, emotionless smile, the assassin was ready to unleash his wrath upon these creatures of darkness. When he was finished with these Orcs, he would hunt down every single one of the spiders that took Haldir. Casting an immobilization spell, the assassin strolled leisurely to his first victim.
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Narod fought the invisible hands that held him, but to no avail. The sight of the approaching Elf sent an involuntary chill down his spine. As a child, the Orc had often heard horror stories of the Prince of Ice, a blue dragon in the guise of an Elf, dealing out death to his people in the cover of darkness. In the legends, it was said that any who looked upon this phantom was frozen in fear from the sheer coldness of his presence, doomed to watch helplessly as the predator took their lives. Narod never believed those stories until now. As he stared into the assassin's cold sapphire eyes, he noted that there was no emotion at all, no malice, no mercy... no life. He wondered if the Elf was an animated corpse, able to move yet dead inside.
Narod's analysis was cut short when the assassin stopped an arm's length from him. Steeling his heart, the Orc reminded himself that he was a proud follower of the Lord of Fire. He would face death with dignity; he was honored to have the opportunity to make the ultimate sacrifice for their beloved leader. Glaring defiantly at his would-be executioner, the Orc waited for the blow that would end his life.
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The defiance in his victim's eyes was a surprise. Those who were not scared speechless had always begged for mercy. When Legolas noticed the blisters all over the exposed skin of the Orc, he understood. These were the followers that Aragorn delighted in manipulating with his little games. These soldiers had been pursuing them nonstop since he took Aragorn from Dol Guldur, never taking a break to rest under the harsh daylight. The burns from the sun's heat were proof of their devotion to the horrible, cruel Man. Legolas could not help but feel a sliver of pity for these creatures deep inside his ice-encrusted heart. He knew how it felt to be used, to have one's hopes and affections exploited by an uncaring person.
As his expression softened a bit, the Prince took a small step back and offered an alliance. "Spiders have taken my companion and your Lord. We can find them faster if we work together. They may still be alive." This was something Legolas had never done before. The assassin had always worked alone; but the Orcs were very attuned to Aragorn's scent. As the missing ones were out of range of the Prince's senses, the soldiers' keen nose for manflesh would be a great help at locating them. After all, these Orcs managed to track them from Dol Guldur in such a short time.
To say the pursuit party was taken back by the offer was an understatement. Elves viewed destroying Orcs as their duty since they thought Orcs were tainted remnants of tortured Elves from long ago. An Elf would never show mercy to any creatures of darkness; in fact, Elves often made a sport of hunting Orcs. Never before had they heard of an Elf proposing to join forces with their kind.
Garekk was the first to recover from his shock. He knew they had two choices: to die by the assassin's hands now or to work with him. As long as they stayed alive, they could find an opportunity to surprise the Elf and overpower him. Besides, if what the assassin said was true, they did not have the strength to rescue Aragorn from the spiders alone. As their ultimate goal was to bring their Lord back safely to Dol Guldur, there was but one choice. They must join their hated enemy. "Very well, release us. We will guide you to our Lord."
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Legolas spoke in his unlikely allies' mind and commanded them to stop. His two missing companions were within range of his senses now. He was relieved to hear the sound of Haldir's soft breathing. The spiders would pay for hurting his gentle friend. The hated Man too was alive; and completely unharmed as it would seem, save for the bruises on his spine and shoulders that the Prince delivered in person earlier in the night. Silently, he shared the information with the band of Orcs before demanding a retreat to discuss their strategies.
"We will create a diversion. You go get our Lord and the other Elf out of the lair. We will meet back here," suggested Garekk on behalf of his soldiers. He would much rather be the ones rescuing Aragorn, but they knew their footsteps were too heavy. They could never sneak into the lair unnoticed. It was something that only the Elf could do.
"No, I am much more capable of fighting the spiders than you. I will be the decoy," opposed the Elf resolutely, with quiet authority that allowed no arguments.
During their journey, the Prince decided that since Aragorn would not take care of these Orcs, he would look out for them. It was a ridiculous notion, a cold-blooded Elven assassin caring for these creatures of darkness; but it was something Legolas wanted to do. All his life he had been told who to hate and who to kill. In his attempts to fit in, he had done as Thranduil asked. Save for visiting Haldir in his free time, the Prince had never done anything HE wanted. But the 1000 years' imprisonment changed him; now, he would do things that he felt was right. He would no longer betray his principles or his heart in order to gain the acceptance of his people.
"Only very few spiders will leave their lair to go after one single Elf. Almost all of them will leave to chase twenty Orcs. Our plan is more sound than yours, assassin," reasoned Narod. Their enemy's argument was not logical at all. It was as if the Elf were trying to protect them from the spiders. It was something Lord Aragorn would do, offering to be the sacrifice for the greater good of their army, but definitely not something their arch-nemesis would suggest. The Elf must be up to something.
The Prince was reluctant to agree, but the guard had a point. "Very well. Once you have the spider's attention, flee. Do not engage them thinking to give me more time. I do not need it." Taking one last look at his allies to make sure they understood his wishes, Legolas disappeared into the forest before the Orcs could make another sound.
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Aragorn glanced worriedly at his unconscious lover. The huge cut on the side of the Lòrien Elf's head was still gushing freely. If the bleeding was not stopped soon, the Man feared Haldir would not survive. He really should not care, since he was just using the Guardian of Lòrien. But Aragorn could not erase the memory of how his lover had risked everything to protect him from the spiders. The Elf could have escaped easily; but Haldir would not leave him, even when the spiders outnumbered them fifteen to one.
Silently, the Man cursed the assassin for paralyzing him; if he were able to move, his lover would not be injured. Aragorn still remembered the scene vividly; a spider had crawled across the ceiling and past the silver- haired Elf. It was about to attack the helpless Man from above when the Guardian sensed the danger. Without any regard to his own safety, Haldir threw himself on top of Aragorn to shield him from the creature's attack. As the blow landed on the Elf's head with a sickening thud, the Man could feel his lover grew limp in his arm. Laughing at the couple tauntingly, the spiders said they would have mercy and let them die together as they encased the Man and Elf in the same cocoon.
Aragorn knew the other Elf would come for them. But as he heard the spiders scuttling about in their lair, he knew their time was running out. Even if Haldir did not bleed to death, the arachnids would soon feed on them. The spiders had waited longer than the Man anticipated. He could not help but wonder what other food could the creatures be feasting on to delay eating them. Aragorn hoped they had caught some Elven scouting party. In his current frame of mind, the Man wished death to all Elves, with the exception of his gentle lover and their would-be rescuer. Aragorn did wish for the Prince's death; but he wanted the privilege of killing the golden Elf himself and not before torturing the assassin so much that Legolas wished he had never been born.
Suddenly, a loud Orcish war cry echoed in the cave. This was not what Aragorn expected; nor was it what he wanted. From the sound of the noise, there could be no more than twenty of his men. There were too many spiders for them to fight; they would only be sacrificing their lives uselessly. For the second time in the night, the Man reminded himself that he should not care. He was only using his soldiers; he should be proud they were so willing to die for him. Yet, as Aragorn writhed within the confines of his cocoon in an attempt to get free, he could not stop crying out to his followers to stop and run to safety.
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The Orcs were true to their words. There were only five spiders left in the cave, which Legolas very quickly disposed of with well-aimed arrows. Following the sound of the Man's muffled voice, the Prince had no trouble finding his missing companions. Deftly, the Elf knelt by the side of the cocoon and slit open the silk carefully. The top of the cocoon opened to reveal the heads of both his companions. Haldir lied underneath his human lover, unconscious and pale, head bleeding from a deep gash. The older Elf looked so vulnerable that the Prince vowed silently he would never leave his friend unguarded again, even if it meant being tormented by the sounds of Haldir's and Aragorn's love-making. "Let us go," whispered Legolas as he carefully lifted the sac that contained the couple.
As the mage's hand brushed against the Man's bowed head, Legolas was overwhelmed by the most intense rush of emotions he had ever experienced. Shame, anguish and worry....the need to please his father, the need to save his people, both so strong, yet incompatible..and both utterly out of his reach. It took several moments before the assassin recovered enough to realize the source of his distraction; those feelings came from Aragorn, whom he dismissed as a lying schemer. Glancing at his prisoner, Legolas could see that the Man's eyes were closed, face set in a grimace that reflected his internal struggle.
At that moment, the Prince knew he was wrong about Aragorn. For all his magic, he had only seen the surface of this complicated Human. As much as he hated to admit it, Haldir was right; there was still good in the Man. Though Legolas wanted the silver-haired beauty for his own, he knew how much the older Elf loved Aragorn. People said that if a person loved someone, he would put his beloved's happiness before his own. The Prince's heart was too frozen to truly experience love, but Haldir was his only friend; he would do anything to protect the Lòrien Elf and make him happy. He would do all he could to drag the Hope of Men out of the calculating Lord of Fire. Given his 'unique' background, Legolas had a feeling he might just be the right person to do it.
Please, please review. Need fuel to write more. Too many things to write, too little time =)
This story is AU. Orcs are not portrayed as mindless killing machines here. They are more like ugly, more violent versions of Elves, who can feel and think independently. Thought I should put this in as a warning. Kind of inspired by cast commentary about the 'poor Cave Troll' =)
**************************************************************************** **
Chapter Four:
The lone assassin sensed the elements tense in warning. Instinctively, he spun to the left, avoiding the charge of a large spider. Quick as lightning, the Prince launched his counterstrike. The foul creature fell as a well-aimed arrow that penetrated its hard exoskeleton to puncture its black heart. The Elf could not understand why the beast attacked. Still agitated from his outburst of power, Legolas had not attempted to dim his aura. The coldness radiating from him should be enough to warn the spider off. He knew that his mere presence generated fear in the creatures of darkness; it was something the assassin had used to paralyze his prey in the past.
Suddenly, it dawned on the Elf that the spider was on a killing frenzy, having tasted fresh blood. Anxiety gripped the Prince's heart as he realized Haldir was outside the range of his senses. In his shame, he had left his dearest friend and their prisoner defenseless at their camp. Legolas had brought the Lòrien Elf's weapons, but the Guardian had little experience fighting the spiders of Mirkwood. If the creatures attacked en masse, the archer would not stand a chance. In addition, the Man was still immobilized from the Prince's blows, ruining any chance of escape for the older Elf. Haldir would never leave his lover; he would die protecting Aragorn if need be.
Reaching out with his magic, Legolas raced back to camp with all haste. To his dismay, he found the cave empty, except for three dead spiders littering the floor. The only traces of his companions were several droplets of blood deep inside the cave where the Man once lay, no doubt marking the position where the Lòrien Elf was cornered and finally subdued. It had been so long since the Prince felt pain. Now, the unfamiliar emotion tore at Legolas' heart as he thought he had failed the only Elf he cared for. So deep was the assassin's anguish that he did not sense the intruders upon his grief or the arrow flying towards him.
**************************************************************************** **
A company of twenty Orcs stopped at the entrance to the cave. Aragorn's second in command, Garekk, led the search for their missing master. Accompanied by thirty of the Man's elite guards, the general set out for their hunt as soon as Aragorn was discovered missing. Though Orcs abhorred sunlight, they knew the kidnapper had a night's head start on them. They were willing to die for their respected leader; enduring the harsh light of the sun was nothing. The company had been running nonstop, following the Man's scent. The Orcs knew they must intercept the kidnappers before they reached Thranduil's realm.
With single-minded determination, the pursuit party followed their quarry. The Orcs were so intent on finding their lord that they ran directly into the spider's ambush. After a hard fight, they were able to drive back the eight-legged beasts; but in the process, they lost a third of their warriors. The hunters understood they did not have the strength to repel another spider attack. Yet, the Orcs pressed on, risking their lives to track their leader. Their persistence was rewarded as they found a lone Elf kneeling inside the cave, seemingly oblivious to their presence. Stealthily, Narod, captain of Aragorn's personal guards, notched an arrow and fired, intent on disabling their prey for questioning.
**************************************************************************** **
The Prince was jolted into the present when magic poured out of his being without his command for the second time in the night. As he surveyed his surroundings to see a broken arrow on the floor, he realized this second outburst of power had saved his life. As he turned his eyes towards the entrance of the cave, Legolas spotted the Orcs who had intruded upon his grief. Face set in an icy, emotionless smile, the assassin was ready to unleash his wrath upon these creatures of darkness. When he was finished with these Orcs, he would hunt down every single one of the spiders that took Haldir. Casting an immobilization spell, the assassin strolled leisurely to his first victim.
**************************************************************************** **
Narod fought the invisible hands that held him, but to no avail. The sight of the approaching Elf sent an involuntary chill down his spine. As a child, the Orc had often heard horror stories of the Prince of Ice, a blue dragon in the guise of an Elf, dealing out death to his people in the cover of darkness. In the legends, it was said that any who looked upon this phantom was frozen in fear from the sheer coldness of his presence, doomed to watch helplessly as the predator took their lives. Narod never believed those stories until now. As he stared into the assassin's cold sapphire eyes, he noted that there was no emotion at all, no malice, no mercy... no life. He wondered if the Elf was an animated corpse, able to move yet dead inside.
Narod's analysis was cut short when the assassin stopped an arm's length from him. Steeling his heart, the Orc reminded himself that he was a proud follower of the Lord of Fire. He would face death with dignity; he was honored to have the opportunity to make the ultimate sacrifice for their beloved leader. Glaring defiantly at his would-be executioner, the Orc waited for the blow that would end his life.
**************************************************************************** **
The defiance in his victim's eyes was a surprise. Those who were not scared speechless had always begged for mercy. When Legolas noticed the blisters all over the exposed skin of the Orc, he understood. These were the followers that Aragorn delighted in manipulating with his little games. These soldiers had been pursuing them nonstop since he took Aragorn from Dol Guldur, never taking a break to rest under the harsh daylight. The burns from the sun's heat were proof of their devotion to the horrible, cruel Man. Legolas could not help but feel a sliver of pity for these creatures deep inside his ice-encrusted heart. He knew how it felt to be used, to have one's hopes and affections exploited by an uncaring person.
As his expression softened a bit, the Prince took a small step back and offered an alliance. "Spiders have taken my companion and your Lord. We can find them faster if we work together. They may still be alive." This was something Legolas had never done before. The assassin had always worked alone; but the Orcs were very attuned to Aragorn's scent. As the missing ones were out of range of the Prince's senses, the soldiers' keen nose for manflesh would be a great help at locating them. After all, these Orcs managed to track them from Dol Guldur in such a short time.
To say the pursuit party was taken back by the offer was an understatement. Elves viewed destroying Orcs as their duty since they thought Orcs were tainted remnants of tortured Elves from long ago. An Elf would never show mercy to any creatures of darkness; in fact, Elves often made a sport of hunting Orcs. Never before had they heard of an Elf proposing to join forces with their kind.
Garekk was the first to recover from his shock. He knew they had two choices: to die by the assassin's hands now or to work with him. As long as they stayed alive, they could find an opportunity to surprise the Elf and overpower him. Besides, if what the assassin said was true, they did not have the strength to rescue Aragorn from the spiders alone. As their ultimate goal was to bring their Lord back safely to Dol Guldur, there was but one choice. They must join their hated enemy. "Very well, release us. We will guide you to our Lord."
**************************************************************************** **
Legolas spoke in his unlikely allies' mind and commanded them to stop. His two missing companions were within range of his senses now. He was relieved to hear the sound of Haldir's soft breathing. The spiders would pay for hurting his gentle friend. The hated Man too was alive; and completely unharmed as it would seem, save for the bruises on his spine and shoulders that the Prince delivered in person earlier in the night. Silently, he shared the information with the band of Orcs before demanding a retreat to discuss their strategies.
"We will create a diversion. You go get our Lord and the other Elf out of the lair. We will meet back here," suggested Garekk on behalf of his soldiers. He would much rather be the ones rescuing Aragorn, but they knew their footsteps were too heavy. They could never sneak into the lair unnoticed. It was something that only the Elf could do.
"No, I am much more capable of fighting the spiders than you. I will be the decoy," opposed the Elf resolutely, with quiet authority that allowed no arguments.
During their journey, the Prince decided that since Aragorn would not take care of these Orcs, he would look out for them. It was a ridiculous notion, a cold-blooded Elven assassin caring for these creatures of darkness; but it was something Legolas wanted to do. All his life he had been told who to hate and who to kill. In his attempts to fit in, he had done as Thranduil asked. Save for visiting Haldir in his free time, the Prince had never done anything HE wanted. But the 1000 years' imprisonment changed him; now, he would do things that he felt was right. He would no longer betray his principles or his heart in order to gain the acceptance of his people.
"Only very few spiders will leave their lair to go after one single Elf. Almost all of them will leave to chase twenty Orcs. Our plan is more sound than yours, assassin," reasoned Narod. Their enemy's argument was not logical at all. It was as if the Elf were trying to protect them from the spiders. It was something Lord Aragorn would do, offering to be the sacrifice for the greater good of their army, but definitely not something their arch-nemesis would suggest. The Elf must be up to something.
The Prince was reluctant to agree, but the guard had a point. "Very well. Once you have the spider's attention, flee. Do not engage them thinking to give me more time. I do not need it." Taking one last look at his allies to make sure they understood his wishes, Legolas disappeared into the forest before the Orcs could make another sound.
**************************************************************************** **
Aragorn glanced worriedly at his unconscious lover. The huge cut on the side of the Lòrien Elf's head was still gushing freely. If the bleeding was not stopped soon, the Man feared Haldir would not survive. He really should not care, since he was just using the Guardian of Lòrien. But Aragorn could not erase the memory of how his lover had risked everything to protect him from the spiders. The Elf could have escaped easily; but Haldir would not leave him, even when the spiders outnumbered them fifteen to one.
Silently, the Man cursed the assassin for paralyzing him; if he were able to move, his lover would not be injured. Aragorn still remembered the scene vividly; a spider had crawled across the ceiling and past the silver- haired Elf. It was about to attack the helpless Man from above when the Guardian sensed the danger. Without any regard to his own safety, Haldir threw himself on top of Aragorn to shield him from the creature's attack. As the blow landed on the Elf's head with a sickening thud, the Man could feel his lover grew limp in his arm. Laughing at the couple tauntingly, the spiders said they would have mercy and let them die together as they encased the Man and Elf in the same cocoon.
Aragorn knew the other Elf would come for them. But as he heard the spiders scuttling about in their lair, he knew their time was running out. Even if Haldir did not bleed to death, the arachnids would soon feed on them. The spiders had waited longer than the Man anticipated. He could not help but wonder what other food could the creatures be feasting on to delay eating them. Aragorn hoped they had caught some Elven scouting party. In his current frame of mind, the Man wished death to all Elves, with the exception of his gentle lover and their would-be rescuer. Aragorn did wish for the Prince's death; but he wanted the privilege of killing the golden Elf himself and not before torturing the assassin so much that Legolas wished he had never been born.
Suddenly, a loud Orcish war cry echoed in the cave. This was not what Aragorn expected; nor was it what he wanted. From the sound of the noise, there could be no more than twenty of his men. There were too many spiders for them to fight; they would only be sacrificing their lives uselessly. For the second time in the night, the Man reminded himself that he should not care. He was only using his soldiers; he should be proud they were so willing to die for him. Yet, as Aragorn writhed within the confines of his cocoon in an attempt to get free, he could not stop crying out to his followers to stop and run to safety.
**************************************************************************** **
The Orcs were true to their words. There were only five spiders left in the cave, which Legolas very quickly disposed of with well-aimed arrows. Following the sound of the Man's muffled voice, the Prince had no trouble finding his missing companions. Deftly, the Elf knelt by the side of the cocoon and slit open the silk carefully. The top of the cocoon opened to reveal the heads of both his companions. Haldir lied underneath his human lover, unconscious and pale, head bleeding from a deep gash. The older Elf looked so vulnerable that the Prince vowed silently he would never leave his friend unguarded again, even if it meant being tormented by the sounds of Haldir's and Aragorn's love-making. "Let us go," whispered Legolas as he carefully lifted the sac that contained the couple.
As the mage's hand brushed against the Man's bowed head, Legolas was overwhelmed by the most intense rush of emotions he had ever experienced. Shame, anguish and worry....the need to please his father, the need to save his people, both so strong, yet incompatible..and both utterly out of his reach. It took several moments before the assassin recovered enough to realize the source of his distraction; those feelings came from Aragorn, whom he dismissed as a lying schemer. Glancing at his prisoner, Legolas could see that the Man's eyes were closed, face set in a grimace that reflected his internal struggle.
At that moment, the Prince knew he was wrong about Aragorn. For all his magic, he had only seen the surface of this complicated Human. As much as he hated to admit it, Haldir was right; there was still good in the Man. Though Legolas wanted the silver-haired beauty for his own, he knew how much the older Elf loved Aragorn. People said that if a person loved someone, he would put his beloved's happiness before his own. The Prince's heart was too frozen to truly experience love, but Haldir was his only friend; he would do anything to protect the Lòrien Elf and make him happy. He would do all he could to drag the Hope of Men out of the calculating Lord of Fire. Given his 'unique' background, Legolas had a feeling he might just be the right person to do it.