Hi Guys, this is my first fan fiction I have posted on Lord of the Rings. Looking back to my collaborates and my author page it is the first either of us have posted. So take great care as I send your thoughts drifting towards dark, adventurous, amusing world of Middle Earth, or others, such as I call home.

Legolas: You don't live here.

YES I DO!

Aragorn: Ooh, the caps locked, very frightening.

Legolas: (mockingly) Alas Estel, your sarcasm burns my heart.

(Note those eager to scroll through the long and humorous disclaimer and Author's Note have permission to do so.)

Okay guys, that's enough of scaring potential readers away. Any way getting back to my disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own anything recognisable in this fan fiction, and it is written solely for fun and to relieve boredom during classes, especially French. It would earn who ever is lucky enough to own our favourite elf and ranger nothing to sue me. Taking an inventory of what I own, I have: a Legolas poster, a dull penny, an empty pop bottle, and a plastic blow up sword, that if a may so myself, I am bloody good at using it.

Legolas: I believe you stole the sword from your little brother.

(Gets whacked on the head from the pop bottle from behind.)

Oh No, who could have done this? Now I will have to tend back to health so I can beat him up in the story.

(Aragorn inches away.)

And yes, a ruggedly handsome DĂșnedain as well.



ANSWERING TO THE THREAT

By Hanyoudemoness (The demoness part anyway)

Chapter 1 Fighting 101: The ability to dodge.

Legolas felt the wind whip through his hair and clothes as he spurred his horse on. His adrenaline level soared as his elven horse raced through the dark forest of Mirkwood. Picking up on its rider's rush of vigour, the mare picked up her pace. Legolas sat as one with his galloping horse, no tack between him and his majestic animal. A hunting falcon soared high above them watching below.

Legolas felt at home on the beast's back, more so than anywhere else he had ever been. The presence of the woodelf eased the demeanour of the trees as the trio raced past. The dark corners of the Mirkwood held no sway over its heir, and their frightful appearance was wasted. Legolas sensed what seemed an eternity of peace within his soul.

Slowing his horse to a walk, Legolas called his falcon down. The bird alighted on his arm, taking care not to pierce the talons through Legolas' cloak. Thank you my friend Celebtir, silverwatcher, for scouting the trail ahead.

The falcon's head suddenly turned, and the bird rose up into the air, racing ahead again without so much as a cry. Legolas felt the dread from the trees as well as something black on the edge of his senses. Each branch wafted cold fear and Legolas' heightened senses alerted him to the cause. The smell of burning meat and wood smoke hung thick in the air.

He jumped from his elven warhorse's back and whispered in the grey tongue for it to come back in a few minutes. She seemed to nod in understanding and silently canter off. Legolas looked through forest and saw a angry light through the trees, flickering in warning. A fire, he thought, and urks. The elf gripped his bow and stealthily made his way around to the camp to observe it.

The fear of the trees was shifting into an absolute anger; Legolas watched as orcs took down one of their number to add to a bonfire. He moved around the encampment, counting the enemy. Twenty, five are injured, only three have bows, and the rest have short swords or scythes. I will make quick works of these filthy vermin. Waiting in the deafening silence, he shot individuals as they ventured out of sight of the encampment, pinning their mangy bodies to the trees. When the last of the sentries were dead, he moved up to the bodies, pulling his arrows out and hauling them away to a pile in the forest out of sight. He grimaced at the dead stench of the fell beast.

The elf crept back and saw several captives bound on the ground. They all appeared unconscious or asleep. Whispered conversation made its way to the elf's pointed ears, "Where is that Raugh, and Brouf! It's their turn to guard the stinkin' firstborn and humans." Legolas' cool eyes flashed with anger at hearing of his races' captivity.

Four of the remaining fifteen orcs banded out to look for their missing comrades. Legolas waited for them to journey far enough away from their camp. Setting his bow on a tree limb, he drew his white knives and slit an orc's throat. A sudden movement from his dying quarry caught Legolas by surprise, as the orc, with its last strength, sent its fist into the firstborn's solar plexus. The urk's knuckles slipped under his ribs, causing the elf to gasp in pain, alerting the others ahead to his presence.

The orcs turned to see a dead companion and a gasping figure holding two white blades one of them stained with blood of their kind. The orcs screeched in rage and started to rush the winded elf.

Legolas, disgusted at his folly, steeled himself to meet the onrush of orcs. The first ran at him raising its scythe above its head. The golden haired figured sidestepped the first blow, grabbed its wrist and sliced its throat in a matter of a few seconds. It fell to the forest floor twitching in bloody agony. Seeing that, the remaining three attacked at once. Dancing around them, Legolas attacked with grace that would dishonor cats. He darted about the swords and plunged his weapon in between one orc's eye and ripped it out mercilessly.

Black blood made their handles of the knife slippery. An orc grabbed a fallen scimitar, and holding one in each hand walked noisily to the elf. Legolas smiled as he sensed the other orc trying to get to the elf's seemingly unprotected back. He tracked its path with his mind and without a glance flicked a knife back to catch it in its heart.

Legolas walked out to meet the remaining orc from the search party. Legolas stepped up to meet the first blow and caught it on of his wrist guards. Trying to slide his remaining knife into the orc's soft neck, it bounced off with a metallic clang. He quickly ducked the other sword and back pedalled to get his other weapon

He bent down to grab it and a flat side of a blade caught him across the shoulders. Rolling over and striking up into the orc's knee he muttered in disgust, "You just have to have worn a metal collar today, right? By Valar, just to make my time harder." That was followed by some intimate dwarvish curses. Diving away and tumbling to his knees, Legolas threw his knives into the orc's chest. Stiffly rising to his feet he walked over and recovered his blades and wiped them off on cloth.

Resuming his elven quiet, he made his way back to his bow and fitted an arrow to the string. He quickly shot in sequence five orcs and retrieved his arrows jumping down from the tree he had hidden in. Nauseating discomfort came from that sudden move but he kept upright and smiled knowing that the orcs didn't even see where the attacks came from. Six left, the bloody spawn of Mordor.

He stretched his shoulders as he came to the camp and moved up into a tree, looking at the layout of the orcs. He targeted a sentry out of sight of the camp and felled it. Three archers and three wounded were left. His mind went calm as he sighted a standing archer. Envisioning his kill, he was about to let the fletching go but he heard it say, "I smell blood, ours and elf flesh other than these two." He looked down to the wounded orcs remaining to guard the captives finding two of the four missing. The elves had obviously observed a chance to escape. The archer, the apparent commander, enraged ordered the archers to find them. Legolas let the fletching go.

It died with an inhuman screech the others targeted Legolas' hiding place. Seeing his golden hair in the firelight the orc fired his arrow. Legolas jumped out to avoid it and caught the barb in right shoulder and landed hard on the ground. The second fired pinning Legolas' cloak to the tree. Quickly undoing the clasp at his neck he tried to fire the bow but without strength the arrow dropped out and stuck in the forest floor.

They two orcs screeched and toppled over and the two elves appeared behind them. They quickly nodded their heads, and ran over to undo their companions' bonds. They all sported cuts and bruises but seemed otherwise fine. Legolas walked over and leaned on a tree hoping its aura would relieve some of the pain pulsing from the wood elf's shoulder. He felt warm blood run down the moss green sleeve and drip off his hand.

Smiling coyly at the four rising over to meet him, he said to them in the Common Tongue for the benefit of the edain, "Who are you four to warrant such attention from fell beasts?"

The two elves smiled and Legolas realized that he had met them when had been in Imladris a few times. The twins of Rivendell, Elladan and Elrohir, son of Elrond Half Elven. One of them chuckled and said, "Seems you finally remember us Legolas, Elladan and I are joined by this pathetic ranger kid of ours, Estel. Also the beauty from a village near both our borders, Myliné with a message for our kingdoms."

Legolas nearly laughed as she bowed but contained his mirth. Sweet child. She threw of her hood and a cascade of silken brown hair flowed behind rivalling any elf maidens. She looked of him fearfully but the eyes hardened with fright softened when they rested on his wounded shoulder. Nodding her head respectfully, she walked back to one of the packs and retrieved a bag smelling of medicinal herbs.

All the while the ranger started arguing with the two Noldor Elves and heatedly discussed their escape. "Why didn't you release me too? You had plenty of time, El."

The elves smiled, "You, my little brother, are far too loud, even for and human. A dwarf makes less noise. A DĂșnedain should definitely make less noise. Has all we taught gone to waste, young one?" The ranger seemed to pout but a mischievous grin flashed across his face. Legolas grinned, knowing that look, he had given it to his mother when she had punished him, and it had promised of generous retaliation later.

His eyes went back to join the woman who was searching through a worn leather bag. She held out to him something and approached Legolas slowly. "Hello, Master Legolas."

She sniffed as he cut in, saying simply, "You do not need to call me that, and Valar knows enough people do."

Her voice gained strength as she continued to speak. "I noticed your wound, and I fear your injury needs tending. I have some knowledge of healing, and I wish to repay you for assisting these two." Her eyes glinted with good humour as the twins went red.

Legolas was not one to let weakness be shown, as it is considered a failure of most men and he replied gently but sternly in his melodious elven voice, "You need to fear not, 'tis a scratch for a firstborn." Unfortunately, his knees picked that destined time to almost give out from the blood loss. It took great effort not to reveal his state to the girl, and Legolas, chagrined at his failure, called back his pets. The black mare gracefully cantered up, nickered, and nuzzled her master's hair. She stood as stiffly as a sentry behind him, seemingly knowing he was in pain. Legolas leaned against her, grabbed his dangling sack, and pulled out a bandage.

Elladan and Elrohir went to his side, but quickly side-stepped as the silver falcon appeared from nowhere out of the night sky. Land my friend, these Noldor are no harm to me. The falcon perched on a branch above, and stared in direct disapproval of his statement.

Legolas did not intimately trust humans; most of the ones he dealt with were backstabbing murderers, who held no qualms about slaughtering any life, especially the forests. The woman seemed admirable, but he had not seen enough of her to judge character. He had met precious few humans with honest intentions. This one ranger accompanying the trio though, followed mans' reputation not. To be named little brother by Elrohir and Elladan was a great honour. He was worth trusting.

"Alas, I fear that the arrow was barbed, and I require assistance to get it out. The orc that shot me - had a strong arm, may it burn in Valar's despise." Legolas braced himself against a tree. "We must hurry for I fear more shadow spawn may be lurking round."

Legolas was dismayed; he came out here for solitude, without royal guards watching every move, babying him like a child. He was the best archer in Mirkwood and Imladris, perhaps Lothlorien, though none of his kin had ventured far into it for a time. The last person who had treated him like and adult was his mother; she had long departed for the Grey Havens.

Pain blossomed through his shoulder and his knees, given an edge, gave way. Elladan and Elrohir assisted him to the base of a towering tree. He lowered himself and swore as he put weight onto the other injured wrist where he had taken the hit from the orc wearing the collar. The woman raised her eyebrow much into the same way that the Queen of Mirkwood did.

He avoided her eye and Estel retrieved his cloak. Legolas muttered softly to human, "Just pull it out, quickly though." The injured elf sensed nothing from the forest. He rested his mind there, for his adrenaline level had diminished, and he became very tired.

The human saw the dazed unblinking gaze staring out into the wilds, "I'll do it. Elladan and Elrohir, come over hear and pin him down." Estel gently removed the elf's tunic revealing his softly glowing in the moonlight torso stained with blood as well a bruise at the bottom centre of his rib cage.

He cursed as he was jerked from his quiet refuge with a long flash of pain, he opened his eyes and saw a bloody arrow being discarded. A bittersweet cloth covered his face and his eyes started to drift shut. He distantly heard, "The arrow broke off. Hurry up, is there a clean knife?"

Blackness that took him was a sweet refuge from the pain he was in.

Legolas: You enjoy toturing us, don't you?

Yes, yes I do. Don't you have something to say to these considerate readers, right?

Aragorn: Oh yes, right. You see this kind and sensitive author, (Looks at script, looks at author, looks at script, narrows eyes, shakes head,) would very much appreciate any reviews that you would like to give her.

Legolas: That she would, however, no flaming, only constructive criticism. If you find any aspects of the Lord of the Rings, or other books portrayed wrong, make sure to inform her in script. Be prepared to later give the book and the chapter name for where she can look up to correct this information. Unfortunately, she is no expert on Lord of the Rings, though her room is filled with pictures of me. Flips hair back.

Yes I am an expert, well, in at least school. Please review. I will keep posting only if someone reviews. Be prepared for a new chapter every week.

Also an another note, I would like to thank the Hanyou part of author name for proof-reading and editing this chapter. She was the one, not me, who put the hair flipping comment, and she will be punished, this I guarantee.

THANKS FOR READING AND YOUR SUPPORT!