Chapter 9:
Missing

"What!" He practically yelped, eyes widening and bursting out into the hall at a dead run. He rounded corners, tearing up the ground with Erestor on his heals. It was very late, and the boys should have been safely in bed. When he arrived at the room they shared, he could only stand at the door and look on the destruction of the room in shock.

Anything that could possibly be broken was completely destroyed. The wooden furniture was in splinters, covering the floor. The clothes that had been put in the drawers were strewn about the room, ripped without hope of repair. And blood.

It certainly wasn't enough for one of them to have had a fatal wound or to have bled to death, but it was there. Elrond couldn't breath. There were already several elves searching through the wreckage, trying to find some other clue.

Moments later, King Thranduil came running as well. He took one look at the room and gasped.

"Valar…what happened here?" He asked, his face white.

"T-they took…my sons…" Elrond managed. His mind was screaming at him to do something, but for a moment his body would not respond. A child's cry snapped him out of it and he looked down between him and the King. It was Legolas.

The poor elfling seemed to have assumed the worst and was clutching his ada's leggings, crying. That set them both in action.

"We must do something NOW!" Thranduil said, and scooped his son into his arms protectively. Legolas sobbed into his shirt.

"Send out a search party!" Elrond said, but then another call rose up.

"We found them!" Both elf lords were astonished for a moment so that they couldn't properly react.

"Where? How?" Elrond said, but he followed the guard as he swiftly led them to the front gate. Two heavily armed guards were holding them as they cried. They seemed to be afraid to move them too much.

Upon closer inspection Elrond felt hot anger rise in him. There were several bloody gashes on their arms and sides. Their clothes barely hung from them, and the night breeze was making them shiver despite the guards who tried to keep them warm.

Almost immediately they found themselves in their father's arms and being swiftly carried away. Their sobs died down to whimpers and they clung onto him. In no time at all, Elrond reached the set of guestrooms given to him. He barked at a servant to bring him towels and water.

Once inside, he placed his sons of the bed and began to calm them down. They reluctantly accepted being released and looked up at him with frightened, sad eyes.

"What happened?" Elrond asked, his tone soothing as he carefully pealed the ruined clothing off of their wounds.

"It was a monster!" Elrohir wailed, and Elrond shushed him gently before he upset his brother. At that moment, a servant entered nervously, bringing the things he had asked for. Elrond took them without a word, but made a note to apologize later for speaking so harshly to him.

Thranduil entered the room just as he finished cleaning and bandaging the last of their wounds. He had given them both some dream leaves (A/N: Made up plant on my part. I just don't know of any sleeping drugs.), so they should sleep for the entire night.

"Will you not use your ring? It hardly seems fair that you should heal my son and not your own." Thranduil said from beside him. Elrond peered up at him and smiled. He made quite a sight: the mighty King of Mirkwood with frizzes of hair sticking up from his head, tunic slightly wrinkled, and an elfling cradled in his arms.

"I would love nothing more." The elf lord replied wearily. "But if that thing got in the palace…" He trailed off, looking at the ring of power on his finger and shaking his head. "No, I will not risk it. Chances are that I will bring more danger on my sons and everyone here. Their injuries are minor compared to the ones your Legolas had. They will heal in a few days and will be back to terrorizing Erestor in no time."

"Let us hope that is not the case." A voice interrupted them, and they turned to see the dark-haired councilor standing near the door with a scowl. Elrond had to laugh.

"Why don't they terrorize you when they are up and about? It would be much more entertaining, at least for me. I doubt you could run as fast as me to catch them." Erestor said, but he grinned. Then he looked at the sleeping figures in the bed and he looked worried.

"Erestor, why don't you watch them for now. I must discuss something with Thranduil and see if we can't find how that thing got in the palace." Elrond said as he led the king out of the room. He peaked back in the door and smiled. Erestor had moved over to the bed and was sitting on the side of it. He pulled the blanket over the twins and watched them with a mixture of concern and deep thought. He should be a father.

Once out in the hall, they headed towards the king's chambers with a sleepy Legolas in tow. Once there, Thranduil tucked Legolas into his own bed and set guards both inside and outside the room. Then he ordered similar guards to be put with the twins in Lord Elrond's rooms.

"I don't understand. How did they get away from something that can enter a guarded palace without notice, literally tear the room to shreds, and then get out without attracting attention." Elrond said when they had made it back to the room in question. It was guarded and no one was going though the wreckage anymore, for fear that they might disturb some valuable evidence.

"Perhaps it let them go. Maybe it was a warning." Thranduil said grimly.

"Why send a warning? Why not just kill them?" Elrond said with a sigh. Although he was infinitely glad that they were alive, it still didn't make sense.

"I do not believe that any creature, no matter how evil, is above fear of the wrath of an enraged elf lord with a ring of power." The King pointed out. Elrond sighed.

"Let us hope that we can find the answer very soon." He said with a weary look.

He had thought that headache was painful. That was nothing compared to the agony he was feeling right now. His head felt as though it was splitting in half, his eyes burned from the light that was getting through his eyelids, he had long since dispelled the contents of his twisting stomach, and his limbs were practically screaming in pain.

Arminas had been rudely awakened after having passed out for only a few hours, to find that his master had actually come inside the palace. Or at least a very weak part of his spirit. Enough to subdue any attempts to ignore his commands that Arminas made.

His master had demanded his energy so that he could move those two elflings that had come with their father, Lord Elrond. It hadn't been physical. No, getting up and physically carrying them outside was out of the question. The guards would have seen him, and then the only agent his master had within the palace would be uncovered. So he had had to use the illusion of a monster, along with a very destructive force, to tear the room to pieces. Apparently some of the sharper pieces of debris had made some very nasty looking cuts on them as well. Then he had transported them outside, not too far away from the palace.

As planned, they had been immediately found and brought back to their father. And everyone was clueless. They had no idea what had happened. Despite the success of the plan, his master had still seen fit to make him pay for his attempted defiance. So now every nerve was on fire.

He still hadn't had the chance to tell him about the Lord of Lorien. He didn't dare let himself think that it was his master's fault. He hadn't exactly given him time to say anything. And then when he had tried to get up and go to him, he hadn't made it three feet from the bed before he had fallen over and dispelled the contents of his stomach. The healer had not been happy…

But all these thoughts were banished from his head as darkness descended on him again.

When Galadriel walked into her and her husband's bedroom, the first thing she saw was Celeborn bent over his desk. He wore a frown and he did not even notice her approach.

"From Mirkwood?" She asked softly, looking over his shoulder. The Lord jumped slightly.

"Yes, and it isn't good news. The shadows grow deeper, and he is struggling to keep them at bay." He said, putting down the letter with a sigh. "Elrond is there as well, and they would like me to go to Mirkwood myself."

"Is that such a bad thing? They certainly could use your council." She said, scanning the letter.

"I suppose not." Celeborn shook his head as if trying to clear it. "I do not like it. Something is amiss, but I don't know what it is."

"Then will you go?"

"Yes, I will go."

A/N: Well, this chapter didn't get any revisions. I really am glad that I have the time to go through this story and improve it! Review… you know the drill.