Chapter Six

Thranduil sat quietly listening to the men from Lake Town discuss trading and other important matters. Thranduil had seemingly taken a back seat to Kelderas, who was negotiating with the men. Thranduil was glad that his son had started to take on his role of crown prince. He was happy for the reprieve of negotiation, though he was also sad to know that his son had grown so quickly into the title.

The meeting was coming to a close, which Thranduil was happy to note for he had yet to meet with Luthin and see to it that his son was indeed well. He had been worried to learn that Luthin had sustained injury on patrol, but Kelderas had assured him it was a mere flesh wound. But Thranduil would not be put aside until he saw to it himself.

"We have assured that our trade will continue on good standings," Kelderas was saying and Thranduil smiled to himself. "Are there any other matters that we must see to?"

The representative from Lake Town seemed to hesitate before raising his chin a little and saying, "Perhaps one more." The man smiled and adjusted his footing before continuing. "There has been an increase in spider sightings near the outskirts of our town. Spiders are not uncommon in these woods, we know, but we normally have problems with the smaller black breeds. Lately we have been seeing more of the larger brown kind. They are more deadly and my king would like to discuss trade of spider bite anti-venom."

Kelderas was quiet for a moment, going over the words in his head. Thranduil decided to take on this matter. He sat forward and spoke up. "Though we do face spiders on a near daily basis through our patrols, our anti-venom stock is limited. We have not the means to trade in large quantities. However, we do have other medicinal herbs that may aid recovery."

"Fair enough. I will take the notion to my king and return with the answer."

The meeting was called to an end and Thranduil rose with a sigh. Kelderas quirked an eyebrow at him. "Are these meetings that tiresome to you, Adar?" Elrond asked with a smile.

Thranduil chuckled a bit before his face took on a serious look. "My patrols continue to destroy spider nests, yet for every spider we kill, two more take its place."

Kelderas laid a hand on his father's shoulder. "They migrate here from the south. I suppose they are just another part of the darkness that continues to spread from Dol Guldor."

Thranduil nodded but then shook his head. "This is a matter we will deal with at a later time. Now, I would like to see to Luthin, where is he?"

Kelderas chuckled. "Well, I took him to the healing wing to have his arm looked at, but I suppose he didn't stay there for long. I suggest you look for him on the archery fields, where I am sure he, the twins, and Glorfindel are amusing Legolas."

Thranduil smiled. "Or Legolas is amusing them." The three chuckled and made their way to the archery fields.

Luthin stood beside Glorfindel as Legolas let loose another arrow, which hit the dead center of a target placed at the end of the archery field. Glorfindel let out a small noise of approval as the twins watched in awe at the skill Legolas possessed. Luthin was grinning. He knew that Legolas was excelling in his archery skills. He knew that his youngest brother had surpassed some of the most trained and skilled warriors Mirkwood had to offer. He was proud of his youngest brother, but also a bit sad to know that the young elfling had grown so quickly into a warrior.

"He loves showing off his skills," Luthin said as Legolas made another dead center hit. Glorfindel nodded and looked over towards the prince. Luthin grinned. "And people love to watch him."

"He is skilled, very skilled," Glorfindel agreed. "I find both pride and worry accompany that knowledge."

Luthin snorted. "I believe everyone does. We all thought he would be an elfling forever. It's hard to see him as a skilled warrior, capable of taking care of himself." Glorfindel nodded.

"Trouble seems to find him wherever he goes," Glorfindel admitted. "He ages me beyond my years."

Luthin chuckled, knowing the feeling all too well. "Oh? Well perhaps this visit will be different. Legolas can stay out of trouble for a few days."

Glorfindel grunted. "It is too late for that. You missed the excitement by a day."

"Oh?" Luthin raised an eyebrow, suddenly disturbed that something had happened to his brother and he was not informed.

"Indeed," Glorfindel said, knowing that he had to be careful how he said this, for Luthin was very protective of his family. "Your brothers went for a swim yesterday." Luthin's face paled. He looked back towards his brother, eyeing him up, looking for any signs that his brother was not well. Glorfindel put a hand on Luthin's shoulder. "Worry not, they are both all right. But needless to say, he now knows when a pond is not fully frozen."

Luthin shook his head. "That elfling will be the death of us." Glorfindel merely chuckled.

The snow began to fall softly, and even through the flakes, Legolas' aim was not deterred. When his arrows were spent, he turned and shouldered his bow. He grinned at the twins, who proceeded to praise him before they found themselves in a tussling match in the snow. Luthin and Glorfindel watched from the sides, not wanting to be a part of the match.

"The snow is starting to fall heavier," came Thranduil's voice. Luthin turned to greet his father. Thranduil pulled his son into an embrace, being careful not to jostle his injured arm too much. When they broke apart, Thranduil looked at Luthin's injury. "How did you manage this?" He asked.

"Well, when thirty orc scimitars are swinging down towards you, there are only so many places you can jump without being hit by one." Luthin tried to joke, but when he noticed the look of seriousness on his father's face, he sighed. "It was ill luck, ada."

"Perhaps not," Thranduil nodded. "You still have your arm."

Luthin quirked his eyebrows in agreement, but was unable to say another word before Legolas suddenly ran over to them, laughing as he hid behind his father. Thranduil opened his mouth to speak, but a snowball hitting his chest cut him off. All eyes turned to the twins, who looked excessively guilty yet gleeful at the same time. "The first casualty," Elladan shrugged. "You were standing in our line of sight, my lord."

Thranduil looked perturbed, but the slight glint in his eye told them otherwise. "I see," Thranduil said. "Well, when you least expect it, I will repay you for this." The twins looked momentarily shocked at Thranduil's threat, but when Legolas let out a hoot of joy, they grinned, knowing that Thranduil had just challenged them.

"Legolas!" The shout made the entire party turn to see who was yelling. Daeron and Saeros came running up the path. Legolas went to greet them. Daeron leaned in to Legolas and whispered something to him. Thranduil could not hear what was being said, but from the look on Legolas' face, the elflings were up to something. Legolas turned to look at his family, he paused, seemingly torn between going with his friends and staying with his guests.

"Ada…" Legolas began.

"Go," Thranduil smiled, knowing what Legolas was going to ask. "But be home for evening meal. Perhaps afterwards, we shall take on the twins."

Legolas grinned as the twins scoffed. "You are in for it," Legolas said to them as he turned to run after Daeron and Saeros, who had taken off towards some new adventure. "My Ada never loses a snow war!"

The elflings disappeared and Thranduil turned towards his guests. "Let us go warm up." He said to everyone and then looked towards Luthin. "And you should rest." Luthin scoffed, but did as Thranduil advised.

Legolas followed Daeron and Saeros closely. He had been reluctant to leave the Rivendell party, and his brothers, but whenever Daeron said he had found something remarkable, it was never an exaggeration. The three elflings made their way towards the woods and stopped at the edge. Daeron turned to Legolas. "Now, you have to promise not to tell anyone about this, not even Lord Glorfindel," he said, looking Legolas straight in the eye.

"Do you not trust me?" Legolas asked, shocked.

Saeros shook his head. "It's not that, it's just this is big and if Glorfindel found out, he would surely tell your Ada."

That peaked Legolas' interest. "What is it?"

"You just wait," Daeron grinned before his eyes shifted to something behind Legolas. Legolas turned and grimaced when he saw Arwen coming up the path. She spotted them and waved. Legolas groaned and turned to his friends.

"She'll want to come with," he said.

"She can't, she'll tell Lord Glorfindel," Daeron shook his head.

Legolas chewed on his lip but didn't say anything as Arwen ran over to them. "Legolas, I've been looking for you all. Have you seen Glorfindel or the twins?" She asked.

"Yes, I think they are heading inside. You may be able to catch them if you leave now," Legolas said swiftly.

Arwen frowned at him, nodding and partly turned to leave. She stopped though and gave the three elflings a look. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"No where," the three said in unison.

Arwen scrunched her face at them. "You three are up to something," she said. "What are you doing?"

"It's nothing, Arwen," Legolas tried again.

"Please, Legolas. I came here looking for adventure. Please, let me come with you wherever you are going." She begged, looking Legolas in the eye.

Legolas grimaced and looked his friends. Saeros shrugged but Daeron seemed to contemplate. "How do we know we can trust you not to tell?" Daeron asked.

"I promise!" Arwen squealed. "I won't tell if you let me come. I swear to the Valar."

The three were quiet before Legolas finally nodded and Daeron said, "All right." Arwen grinned but Daeron held up his finger and pointed at both Legolas and Arwen. "But if anyone finds out, we'll all be in big trouble, just know that." Legolas and Arwen nodded before Daeron turned towards the woods and entered. They followed him and Saeros.

They had traveled a little ways before Daeron suddenly turned and held a finger to his lips. Legolas was nearly bursting with excitement, as was Arwen. Legolas turned to look at Saeros, but found that the smaller elfling looked just as nervous as he did excited. Legolas frowned and looked back to Daeron, who was sneaking quietly through the woods. He crouched down and motioned for Legolas to come closer. Legolas crouched and went over to his friend. Daeron pointed through the branches and Legolas had to look closely. At first he didn't see anything, but when he finally realized what he was looking at, his eyes went wide and he turned to look at Daeron. "Have you lost your mind?" Legolas tried to whisper, but he was so shocked it came out louder than he expected.

Saeros shushed as Daeron clamped a hand over his mouth. "Quiet!" Daeron scolded. "And don't worry," he said afterwards. "Saeros and I have already scouted it out and it's abandoned. Your Ada's patrols probably saw to that."

"What is it?" Arwen asked, her voice loud. The three turned to shush her. She cringed and repeated quieter, " what is it?"

Legolas let her slip in between him and Daeron and he pointed to the trees. "Do you see it?"

Arwen looked and then shook her head. "No. All I see are those sticks and branches gathered together."

"Don't you know what that is?" Saeros asked.

Arwen frowned back at him, angry that her intelligence would be mocked. "No, I'm not a wood elf." Saeros scowled.

Legolas intervened. "It's a spider's nest." Legolas said. Arwen turned, her eyes wide.

"What?" She shocked. She turned to Daeron. "Have you lost your mind?" She repeated Legolas' earlier question.

Daeron sighed and shook his head. "It's empty. There's no spiders around here, we would have sensed them." He moved his gaze to Legolas. "You were looking for a fortress. Well we've found one. It's the perfect spot."

Legolas shook his head. "No, we're not using a spider's nest."

Daeron scoffed and stood up. "You'll see," he said, starting to walk towards the nest.

"Daeron!" Legolas called softly, reaching out and trying to grab his friend. But Daeron dodged and made his way over to the tree beneath the nest.

Turning, Daeron motioned for them to come closer. "Come on, it's safe."

Saeros went after his friend and Legolas made to follow, but Arwen grabbed his shirt, holding him in place. "Legolas, this is a bad idea," she whispered. Legolas turned to her, ready to say something smart, but he saw how fearful she was. "I don't want to go near it." She gave, her face showing exactly how scared she was.

Legolas patted her arm. "You can wait here for us," he said and then turned to follow his friends.

Arwen grunted and followed him reluctantly. She accepted his help in climbing up the tree and they made their way into the nest. It was big enough for them to stand without hitting their heads, which surprised Legolas. He didn't think spider nests could get this big. The smell inside the nest was horrible. Arwen held a hand to her nose. "This is disgusting," she whispered.

Saeros huffed. "No one asked you to come."

Legolas nudged Saeros. "You have to admit, though, it is disgusting." He felt Arwen start to get irritated with Saeros, and decided to intervene.

"Yeah," Daeron admitted, nodding. "it's the smell of decaying flesh." He said, grinning as Arwen shook her head in disgust.

Legolas suddenly tensed, his head tilting to the side as he listened. Both Daeron and Saeros stopped moving and looked at him. "What is it?" Daeron asked, the seriousness not passing unaware by Arwen.

Legolas shook his head, shushing him. He suddenly turned and grabbed Arwen, yanking her towards him. Arwen let out a soft yell of surprise as a thread of webbing shot pass her. Both Daeron and Saeros let out yells as they realized what was happening. Legolas turned and kicked at a spot at the opposite end of the opening. The wood shattered beneath his boot and he turned towards Daeron. "Go, we have to go," he said.

A hiss reached their ears and they looked towards the opening of the nest. Legolas felt his heart freeze as he saw the spider start to enter. It wasn't a black spider, which Legolas knew was the more frequently spotted and dealt with, but a brown spider. No wonder the nest was so big. "Go!" Legolas yelled, shoving Saeros out the hole after Daeron. Legolas grabbed Arwen and made her go out. She was letting out small sounds of distress as she set her eyes upon a Mirkwood spider for the first time.

A thread of webbing caught Legolas on the shoulder, yanking him backwards. "Legolas!" Arwen yelled as he lost his grip on her and she fell through the hole, down to the ground below, where Daeron and Saeros caught her. Legolas turned and with all his might, kicked out with a boot. He hit the spider's head, causing it to falter for a second, which was all Legolas needed to escape out the hole.

He landed beside Daeron. "Arrow," he commanded and Daeron pulled his quiver from his back and strung it around Legolas' shoulder. Legolas notched and arrow and let it loose. He heard a screech and immediately, they were showered with black spider blood. Arwen let out a cry and Legolas grabbed her hand. "Run!" Legolas demanded and the four took off running.

Legolas' heart was pounding in his chest. Although he had grown up with stories of Mirkwood spiders all his life, he had never actually seen one, alive, in person before. Especially not a brown one this large. Legolas hoped his arrow had killed it. He didn't think they could outrun a spider.

"We need to be in the trees so it doesn't catch us from above," Daeron said, turning to look at Legolas.

"Arwen can't manage these trees," Legolas said, looking towards Elrond's daughter, whose eyes were wide with fear and guilt. He squeezed her hand. "Just keep running."

They had not made it but a few more steps before Arwen suddenly tripped, nearly causing Legolas to trip over her. He leapt over her, not able to stop his momentum. The action caused him to catch a glimpse of the spider, an arrow protruding from it's side, getting ready to pounce on top of Arwen. Legolas, without thinking, drew an arrow from his quiver. He hadn't the time to notch it as the spider descended. Legolas jumped in front of Arwen and felt the girth of the spider hit him, causing him to fall backwards. He landed on top of Arwen, he let out a scream.

Legolas felt a firey stab of pain in his side. He grunted, but ignored the pain as he maneuvered the arrow and stabbed it harshly into the face of the spider. The screech rang in his ears as the spider leapt off, gurgling and hissing before it fell, dead. Legolas took in deep breaths as the first made it's way up his chest. He closed his eyes, trying to draw in breaths.

After a moment, he realized someone was talking to him. He opened his eyes and saw Arwen, tears on her face. She was holding his hand. Daeron and Saeros were at his side as well. Daeron didn't seem to notice that Legolas was awake. Legolas looked at Daeron's lips and when he realized what Daeron was saying, he felt a notch of panic well up inside him.

"He's been bit," Daeron was saying. "We have to get him back to Lord Elrond."

Saeros shook his head. "It was a brown spider. Their venom is deadly."

"Not always," Daeron yelled, angry that his friend would even suggest such a thing. Daeron looked at Legolas and saw he was watching him. "Don't worry Legolas, you'll be fine."

Legolas nodded, but couldn't bring himself to say anything as the pain spread once again, causing his breathing to hitch and his eyes to draw shut. He felt Arwen grasp his hand and felt her brush his hair back. Her heard her sob and then the pain brought him into darkness.

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. One of my friends was killed by a drunk driver and I didn't really have the heart to write. But my good spirits are back so I'll be writing again. The next chapter will be up shortly.