Gandalf, who did not have a wink of sleep throughout the night as he mulled over their journey and their next phase, even after Aragorn had decided to have a lie-down. Gandalf stirred them.

'Good morning! Or I hope it will be one, no one can tell as yet. Nonetheless it is not a harm to be hopeful.' Gandalf said as he shook Pippin awake, who was having more trouble getting up than the rest, though he sat up instantly when the others threatened to leave him to relish in his dreams.

They had breakfast with the small amount of food they had, and continued their travel from where it was left the night before. The earliest light of dawn started to shine, but the forest was devoid of any sounds, neither the birds' chirpings nor the leaves' murmurings.

Gandalf deemed it as an unpleasant sign, but did not mention what he thought to the rest.

After a few hours, they came to the end of the forest and to the edge of a flatland, which eventually lead them to the heart of the kingdom.

Aragorn felt they were exposed when progressing through the grassy terrain, and so proposed to have the large group proceed several members of the Company at a time along with a few of his soldiers. Aragorn went first with Frodo and Sam, then Gandalf with Merry and Pippin followed by Gimli and finally Boromir who rounded up the group.

As soon as they reached the woodland, Aragorn ordered his army to be on the lookout as the place was littered with orcs the last time he was there. But the place was quiet, with no signs of disturbance or unwanted creatures.

'This place is too quiet, I wonder where all the elves and their neighbours are,' Gandalf muttered.

Aragorn's army spread around the area, and the Company came to a standstill in front of Legolas's fortress. The silence was overwhelming, and they decided to withdraw their weapons. Frodo slid out his sword, Sting and saw its blue light glinting, a sign that danger was near. Alarmed, he looked around him before hearing Boromir cry: 'Something is wrong! We must go back!'

But his warning was in vain as they were suddenly and swiftly surrounded by orcs, not giving any of them a chance to react. Even Aragorn's army was powerless, as in addition to the orcs; they were also encircled by grave-looking elves, pointing their sharp arrows.

Gandalf looked furious, while Aragorn knew that the Company had invited themselves into a trap, and possibly a battle. As they prepared to counterattack their enemies, everything was all of a sudden hushed again. The orcs and elves turned and faced the fortress's lone tower, heads bowed low.

Up above the tower a figure walked out, clad in white and gold, and as he leaned out of the terrace, a ring on his finger gleamed under the sunlight.
The Company looked at the figure in disbelief and astonishment.

'Welcome, everyone! I am glad you are here, just in time for a little celebration of my victorious occupation of several kingdoms!' he smiled slyly.

'Legolas! It was you all along!' Boromir shouted in anger.

'Yes, it was me. Anyone would have thought you knew, the way all of you came to my kingdom uninvited!'

Gandalf took a step forward and was immediately stopped by one of the orcs, who pointed a sword at his chest. 'How dare you do this Legolas!' he cried, 'You are an elf, a king, who has the power to change Middle-earth for the better. But instead you walked to the dark side! Have you been possessed by Sauron?'

Legolas looked uninterested. 'Sauron is dead, old man, or are you so old that you have forgotten that?'

'Don't you dare speak to him like that! He is Gandalf The White now!' Gimli suddenly cried, diverting Legolas's attention to him.

'Oh it is Gimli, my old friend! Are you sure you are on the right side –? Because with me, you can have all the power you want!"

Aragorn who had been silent as others talked, perhaps in shock, perhaps in incomprehension, finally spoke. 'Legolas, that is not you in your true self. What happened after our meeting that changed you? Gandalf is right, as he always is, that Sauron is back! These orcs in your kingdom, are you sure that they haven't returned to their old master?'

Annoyed, their old comrade replied, 'I am not blind! Do you think I wouldn't know if any of my servants had betrayed me, their new master? They are as faithful as any other servants to me or kindly explain why else would they give me this ring?'

He held up his right hand, a golden ring shining on his finger. Frodo gasped, and felt faint. 'It couldn't be the same ring! I have destroyed it!' the hobbit thought.

'Why Frodo, feeling uncomfortable?' Suddenly Legolas was speaking to him. 'It does bring back old memories, doesn't it?"

'Leave him out of this! You have brought yourself and others in Middle-earth misfortune, all because the ring, which I doubt was the same One Ring as in the past, has possessed you! Come to your senses, you cannot allow Sauron to make you his puppet while he is trying to regain control of our world again! What would become of us then, like these elves here who had been forced to work with you even as they know it is wrong?' Gandalf exclaimed, looking angry and concerned at the same time.

'I am nobody's puppet!' Legolas shouted. 'You cannot speak to me, the King of Middle-earth, like you have spoken! If you have no intention in joining me, I shall have all of you put to death. Kill them!'

His command brought chaos to the ground. But to his tremendous surprise, instead of attacking the Company, his elves attacked the orcs along with Aragorn and his men. While he tried to grasp what was happening, many orcs were slain in a matter of minutes.

Legolas panicked and ran inside his castle. Aragorn, who saw him, finished off the orc he was fighting and also entered the castle. Frodo noticed him and with much effort, managed to get through the battle and reached the front door.

Behind him, the voice of Sam made him stop. 'Mister Frodo, wait for me!'

Yeah, it's Legolas. Upset? Surprised? Appalled? Tell me!