Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Summary: See Chapter One

A/N: Thoughts are in Italics.

"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it."
Thucyclides

Chapter 2

Flight

His heart beat wildly in his chest and the muscles in his legs were now almost too leaden to move any further and had begun to cramp from the abuse of too many miles spent trying to elude his pursuers without resting. Still, he forced himself to keep moving, vowing to run until his heart burst from his efforts and death took him or until his pursuers caught up with him. He would not give up, and with Ilúvatar's mercy, he would achieve his goal and fulfill his destiny by passing on his message to the one of the two he had come so far to find.

At first, he had been chased by the slavers who had invaded his village and had taken everyone captive, to be taken to and sold in the slave markets near Rhûn. They had started chasing him after they had spotted him running from the village and sprinting towards Mirkwood and what was called "The Narrows" after which it was his intention to turn north and head towards the Mirkwood King's Palace and hopefully there find one of the two beings he sought. The slavers had kept up the pursuit until they had run out of either endurance or initiative, or perhaps both, and had given up the chase. For whatever reason, they abandoned their pursuit and were unwilling to go any further.

He had slowed his frantic pace, thinking himself safe, but it was not long until that feeling of relief and safety had been ripped from him. Sometime after he had entered the "Narrows" on the southern border of Mirkwood, he had been attacked and new pursuers had taken up the chase begun by the slavers.

He frantically looked over his shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of the evil creatures, the Uruk Hai that had been pursuing him for miles. Even though he could not see them, he could still hear them crashing through the underbrush, their heavy footfalls bouncing off the soft turf and tripping over the exposed roots and fallen branches of the great trees. Their rough voices echoed among the trees, the inhabitants of the forest who witnessed their passing with disgust and loathing. The black speech of the Uruk Hai was offensive to the tender spirits of the leafy inhabitants of Mirkwood who leaned as far away from the loathsome creatures as they could when the foul creatures came near.

The man's breath came in ragged gasps, for he had been running for miles now without rest, and even though he was considered more fit than most humans were, his strength was beginning to wane. The trees did what they could to help the man escape by lifting a root here, lowering a branch there, anything to impede the progress of the human's pursuers. They knew it would not be enough to save his life, however, and acknowledged among themselves that without intervention, the man would soon be caught and would suffer unmentionable horrors at the hands of the creatures that pursued him without reprieve.

The trees began to despair that the human would reach safety before the Uruks, who drew closer to their quarry by the minute, caught him. There was one last bit of assistance they felt they could give the man, and would be more than willing to do so, for they had long before deemed the human's cause worthy of their intervention and assistance. A deep sigh ran through the branches then, touching leaf, branch and bark as it passed from tree to tree, gaining momentum as it traveled onward towards the place where there were those who might be more able to help the man than they.

8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)

The trees moved their branches, the leaves rubbing together, rustling and crackling, speaking in the language of the forest as they tried to encourage the human who was swiftly and nimbly running beneath their eaves. In turn, he smiled up at them in acknowledgement and appreciation of their act and, during one short pause for rest, whispered a word of thanks to his forest friends who were doing their best to keep despair from his heart.

His heart's greatest fear was that the Uruks would capture him before he had a chance to reach his destination and deliver his message to one or both of the beings he had come so far to find. If the Uruk's caught him, it would then become his duty to make sure that they would not be able to wrest from him the secret that was in his charge. If he was caught, he knew he would have to take his own life and if his hand was so forced, the secret he and his people had kept for 3,000 years would die with him.

He had come to Mirkwood to find the Prince, the one called Legolas Greenleaf, the friend and heart-brother to Isildur's heir and if luck smiled on both he and his mission, Isildur's heir would be in Mirkwood as well. If such were not the case it would be through the Prince that he would be able to find the young Dúnadan ranger and deliver the message that he was guarding with his life.

Halgar ran over the possibilities in his head. If he was lucky and the Ranger was with the Prince then he would take both beings to the secret rendezvous but if the Ranger could not be reached in time, he could send word to him then would take the Prince to the secret place. But if the worst should happen and he should be caught and escaped or was wounded, or if he was nearing death, he would pass on enough of his knowledge to the Prince, who would then be charged with helping the Ranger to uncover the rest of the secret.

It might just all be for nothing, he thought to himself, for his strength was almost at an end and his burning, trembling legs were threatening to betray him by collapsing on him. More often now he was finding himself stumbling over impediments in his path that would have meant nothing to him if he had been less tired. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep running and this time when he looked back over his right shoulder he could see the Uruk Hai, and could see the look of anticipation on their faces as they determined that their quarry was finally almost within their grasp.

He stumbled then, and fell to the ground and just after he did, heard the hiss and hum of many arrows as they flew over his head. Halgar knew that if he did not pick himself up and move, it would mean his death and so, from somewhere deep inside, he found the last bit of determination he had as well as the last piece of strength he possessed, and after rising to his feet, began to run one last time. Behind him, he heard the screams of dying Uruk Hai then the sound of retreating footsteps as all those who were not dying, turned and ran away.

As he ran, now almost in a panic, he was so focused on carrying out his mission that he was not paying a great deal of attention to what was happening behind him and no attention at all to what was in front of him. And so it was that when the Mirkwood archer stepped out from behind a tree, Halgar was unable to halt his forward momentum in time and barreled into the fair being, causing both he and the elf to fall heavily to the ground.

"Please forgive me Master Elf for it was not my intention to harm you. Please forgive my awkwardness."

Halgar extended his hand and helped the elf before him to rise from the ground and as he bent over his knees, trying to catch his breath, was surprised to find the elf smiling at him. The fair being started to brush the leaves and dirt off his clothing as if he was a person of some importance and not just a clumsy human who had knocked him to the ground not but a minute before. Then the need to complete what he had come to do rushed back at him and his fatigue was pushed aside as he respectfully but firmly pushed away the hands that were tending to him.

"Please do not trouble yourself with my well-being, Master Elf for I am not worthy of your attention and must continue my journey with all haste. It is imperative that I find the Prince of this grand and beautiful realm for I have a message of great importance to deliver to him."

The elf continued to smile at the human who was pushing his hands away from him while trying to speak and gasp for air at the same time. He could tell that the man had come a great distance at great speed and judging from the paleness of his complexion, the sweat beading his brow as well as the trembling in his legs, he was on the verge of collapse.

"Stay with us awhile and take your rest, mellon-nín for I fear that if you do not that my friends and myself will find you not much further up the trail, collapsed from exhaustion for you are pale and trembling. The trees told us of your plight and we came to your aid and would not now see you go any further without food and some proper rest so that you may regain your strength."

"I fear you do not understand the immediacy of my mission and that I cannot rest, I must not rest, until I have found the Prince and passed my message to him."

Halgar was surprised when several elves stepped out from behind the trees and others climbed down from where they had been sitting on branches above where he had been speaking with the elf for he had thought that he and the elf had been alone. For a moment he again felt on the verge of panic and briefly wondered if he had stepped from one bad situation right into another.

As the elves began to set up camp, Halgar began to despair, for it was becoming apparent that the elves that had saved his life by driving off his Uruk pursuers were not going to give him further aid, at least not this day. It was also clear that they were not going to let him leave until he had eaten and rested and Halgar knew that each moment that he delayed could be disastrous for that which he was in charge of protecting. He tried one last time to get one of the Mirkwood elves to take him to their Prince so that he could deliver his message and when he found himself again ignored, he sank to the ground, his head in his hands and began to cry with frustration.

He felt like he had failed in his responsibilities and though he did not realize that it was his exhaustion and despair that was making him feel this way, Halgar felt that there was only one other option left to him. Slowly he drew his curved dagger from its sheath and gazed at the simple ivory handle and curved, sleek blade as he turned it this way and that in his hand. Halgar realized that when he finally used it and ended his life, that the efforts and sacrifices of all the brave men and women who had come before him and who for millennia had kept the secret, would have been in vain. It was his own inability to complete his mission that had doomed them all.

Halgar reach to the neck of his buttoned tunic and undid the clasps until his heart was bared, ready to receive the blade now poised above it. Closing his eyes, and after begging the forgiveness of those who had walked the path he was now preparing to leave, he raised the blade high then drove it downwards. His eyes snapped open as he felt a hand grab his wrist and stop the deadly journey of the knife and when he looked into the sympathetic, sapphire eyes of the elf kneeling before him, he finally realized that he had not failed for he had indeed, just found the Mirkwood Prince.

TBC

8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)

COMING NEXT: Conversation: "I first thought that perhaps you were a bit daft and I must admit that I am still withholding my judgement on that particular thought. However, I will grant you a private audience, if only to find out whether you are a danger to the Heir or not. If at the end of our conversation I feel that you do pose a threat to Isildur's Heir, and therefore to my friend, rest assured Master Human, that you will never leave Mirkwood again, for I am the Prince and if I so choose, nobody will ever find your body."