Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own Lord of the Rings or Legolas!

AUTHOR NOTE: I'm really, really sorry for the long update. I just kept getting on the computer with the intention of updating, but then I'd get distracted and go do something else. School starts tommorow, and I will be busier than I thought I would be because I'm also keeping my job. I will try my very hardes to keep chucking out chapters once every week, but if it once in a while goes a bit longer than that, I apologize! Thank you all for you patience and your terrific reviews! Please keep reviews coming!

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

Eressa walked barefooted, in nothing but her thin nightgown in the gardens of Mirkwood. The light from the sun had disappeared and given way to the comforting darkness that was the night. She was alone—Legolas was inside bathing. She hadn't told him where she was going when she came here, but she had only meant to catch a bit of fresh air before bed. She had never had this novelty when she was a slave.

She and the elven Prince had been married for a wonderful month and a half. He doted her and did everything he could to make her a happy wife. Eressa only wished she could tell him that she was happy just being with him…but she didn't want to refuse Legolas, especially when he seemed so joyful doing anything she wished him to. If she was hungry, he would let her sit down and get her something delicious from the kitchen himself. If she wanted to sleep, he'd fluff the pillows for her and then lay beside her, whether he slumbered or not.

Eressa smiled. He did everything for her. And the only thing he asked for in return was for her to let him listen to their growing baby's heartbeat every night. He fell asleep quickly doing that, sometimes faster that Eressa herself, and she very much enjoyed watching him when he was like that.

Eressa walked a ways down the path and glanced at the forest, not far away from her. She remembered the night of their wedding when Legolas had mentioned that the woods was unusually quiet. It was not like that now. She could head the insects and birds chirping, and animals in the woods letting out an occasional hoot. Suddenly, a kick from her inside made her pause. She placed her hand on her larger-than-ever belly.

"Do you want to come out?" She asked aloud, to the baby inside her. "Do you want to see the world too?"

Eressa received no answer from the child. Of course, she expected it. The baby would be due anytime now. She smiled at the thought and began to turn to go back to her bedroom.

Suddenly, all the noise in the woods around her, all the chattering animals and birds…just stopped. She looked towards the dark forest just in time to see a flock of birds escape from the foliage of a nearby tree, screeching. It was the only sound. Eressa paused and looked around again, wondering what could have spooked them.

Was it one of those spiders Legolas told me about? She thought. No…he said they come nowhere near the palace.

Her instincts told Eressa she should just forget about it and go back to the bedroom…back to Legolas. But something held her to that one spot like a sticky patch of mud. She seemed to cling to it, staring into the black oblivion.

Something in the dark moved.

Eressa gasped, but did not scream. She squinted her eyes to see better…and saw a hooded…and cloaked figure. It was dressed all in black.

Eressa blinked and took a step back. The person, whoever it was, just stood there, barely visible.

"He…hello?" She called softly.

The figure didn't move nor answer. Eressa was confused. Was it really a person? Or a statue she had failed to notice before? It stood perfectly still. But then…what had moved in the darkness?

She was just about to call out again, but as she drew in a breath a foul odor filled her lungs. It stank like something horrible. The smell of charred…burning flesh. The smell of decay, of rotting and festering meat. It made her nearly double over.

Then the figure moved. It moved in small steps towards her. It's cloak made a barely audible scraping sound against the wind.

Eressa drew in a breath and this time smelled no odor. "Hello?" She asked again.

The creature came closer still, and as if a spotlight had been turned on it, she finally saw what it really was.

It had no face. The hood of the cloak it wore was resting upon nothing. Still she could hear the thing breathing. It rasped slightly, as if it had some sort of fatal sickness. She could see no eyes but she had the terrible sensation that the creature was staring at her. She didn't want to meet it's gaze with her own, and so drew her eyes downward. It's hands were completely covered in spiked metal, and they glinted in the moonlight…as it reached towards her.

Eressa saw it so suddenly, yet saw it too late. She managed to scream before the metal hand covered her mouth with crushing force.

Legolas could sense it before he heard it. Something foul was in the air. He had just gotten out of the bath and had barely gotten his night-robe on before he heard a scream. Eressa's scream.

Like a deer, he scrambled into the bedroom. The sound hadn't come from there.

The gardens. He thought. He raced through the halls and out into the night. The whistle of an arrow flying towards him made him duck, and it barely missed the top of his head. He looked up.

It was one of the guards. "Lord Legolas?!"

Legolas stood up and raced towards where the sound came from. "Where is my wife?" He asked frantically.

The guard looked at him from where he stood a few meters away. "That was her scream?" He asked in return. "Valar."

Suddenly, another scream tore through the delicate night air. But this scream was not Eressa's. It was the high-pitched, terrifying scream of a Ringwraith.

The guard at Legolas's side raised his bow and aimed for where the sound came from. Legolas stopped him. If the creature had Eressa and they shot they could risk killing her. And besides, arrows had never done anything to repel the vile things in the past. He saw a small movement in the dark of the forest, between the trees. A flash of a lighter color, with lace at it's edges. It was a…nightgown. Then just as suddenly as he'd seen it, it vanished deeper into the night.

"NO!" He cried. "ERESSA!"

It hurt her ears when it let out it's cry. What was it? A war cry? A warning?

Eressa stood shivering, absolutely petrified with the most primal fear she had ever felt. No…she'd felt this before…when Sauron had visited her in her sleep. Sauron. She imagined his long, metal face and burning eyes and whimpered. The sound didn't make it through the black creature's armored hand.

It had taken her into the dark. She could see Legolas, and another elf, standing at the entrance of the garden, screaming her name. How she wanted to scream back. But she was too afraid to.

She was too afraid to do anthing. She hadn't even fought as the creature had taken her away into the trees. And she wasn't fighting it now. Eressa felt a bolt of electricity race through her brain.

I have to get out. They'll kill me. They'll kill me and my child. She thought in panic.

"Wrong." The creature holding her said suddenly. "The Master wants you alive."

Eressa felt a tear escape her eye. She was so afraid she was crying. The Master? Who was that?

The creature looked down at her and it's whispery voice, which had been horrifying to hear in the first place, absolutely seethed with evil. "Sauron." It replied happily.

Eressa gasped and sobbed at the same time and tried to scream again. The sound became stuck in her throat and she seemed to choke on it.

Legolas…help me! She mentally called out.

Amazingly, Legolas looked in her direction and seemed to understand her message. He raced towards them. Eressa knew he couldn't see what he was getting into, but he knew that it would lead him to her. The creature didn't like that.

"Wench!" It hissed, before jumping back like a cat, holding her against it's nonexistent body all the while. The hand clamped around her mouth squeezed, and suddenly Eressa became dizzy with pain. Her jaw felt like it was ready to rip off. She felt the creature's spiked fingertips poke through her skin.

Legolas heard the angry whisper of the Wraith and ran harder towards the sound. "Eressa!" He called.

Eressa wanted to call back, but she was near fainting. She groggily saw the image of her husband running toward them, under the canopy of trees…

The creature laughed. It was a horrible sound. Then it screamed again, a sound that stopped Legolas dead in his tracks. The sound rang pain in his head so terribly he could barely walk, much less run.

Damnit…Valar…No! He thought. Eressa…

Eressa heard the scream too, but it was as if it was from a distance. Everything was from a distance now. Nothing could touch her. She suddenly found herself very calm. Then she closed her eyes and blackness over took her.

The Wraith shrieked again, louder this time. Legolas's sensitive elven ears couldn't take it, and he, despite all his determination to save his wife, fell to the ground in agony.

"ERESSA!!" He screamed.

The Nazgul laughed at the pitiful sight before it and then ceased all sound. It looked down at the unconscious girl in it's arms and his mind seethed with pleasure. It looked again at the elven prince, who was foolishly trying to get up.

"Sauron will rise again, O Prince!" It called mockingly. "And you will be begging to die before the end!"

With that, the Wraith let out a final, longer screech, which promptly sent the elf to the ground again. The creature laughed, whispered a spell in the Black speech, and he and the girl faded away into the darkness.

"Taken?" The King inquired, a look of fear in his eyes.

Legolas stood in front of his father, breathing heavily and barely containing himself. "Yes. A Wraith took her."

The King shook his head. "A Nazgul has not been seen nor heard by any elf in this country for centuries, Legolas. Are you sure?"

"I am certain!" Legolas shouted, snapping. "I want our entire army outfitted and looking for her by dawn!"

"But Legol…"

"Don't, Father." Legolas interrupted. "For a long time now I've been suspecting that the Darker Powers wanted something to do with Eressa and I. They took her and I'm getting her back. I'm going to war."

"War?" The King repeated, shocked.

The Prince turned toward the door, stopping just inside of it to glance back. "War."

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

It's a terrible cliffhanger (sorry ktfoo) and the chappie is way to short, but I wanted it to end here. Sorry! Please don't try to use your voodoo dolls on me! Ouch!