Disclaimer: Not mine!! :(
Title: To New Mutiny
Rating: R (And now you'll see why! *evil laugh*)
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Note:: This chapter takes a rather abrupt turn into character torture--*cringe* Don't hurt me!!! But it also explains a few things…or at least, I hope it does… ;) Anyway, without any further gilding the lily, I'll let you get on with it. Hope you enjoy!! Huggles, .:Tithen Min:.
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Chapter 24
Thranduil rose to his feet, staring in disbelief as the Elf removed his hood and looked fearfully at him, afraid of his reaction.
"L— Legolas?" He choked out, moving towards the younger Elf, "This cannot be…" he reached out a hand and touched Legolas' hair gently, moving down his face and coming to rest on his shoulder. "You are really here?"
Legolas nodded and Thranduil embraced him tightly. "Oh Legolas…Oh, my son, I thought you had passed…"
Legolas realised that Thranduil was trembling as badly as he was. "Nay, ada, it was not so. I am sorry, father, I am so sorry…"
Thranduil pulled back, staring intently at his son's face, memorising every detail all over again. He frowned when his eyes fell on the scar. "You have nothing for which to apologise, my son." He reached out to gently trace the scar, not missing Legolas' flinch when it was touched, "I have a feeling that you did not stay away under your own will."
Legolas lowered his gaze. "It is a long story, ada."
Thranduil nodded understandingly, sitting once again and offering Legolas the seat across from him, but his son shook his head and began pacing, hands clenched tightly at his sides.
"Father…something is wrong here, can you not feel it? This place, I sense something evil around us, and it is not just the shadow of the south. I should tell you that— "
Legolas' warning was cut short when the doors to Thranduil's chambers flew open and his father's advisor strode in, followed by a contingent of armed Elves that Legolas did not recognise, but his memory sparked at the sight of the elder Elf.
Anamaer's eyes fixed on Legolas, darkening with unreadable emotions. The last Elves to come in slammed the door shut, locking it behind them and bringing the recovering king to his feet once more.
"Anamaer? What is going on? What is the meaning of this?"
His advisor did not answer him, keeping his burning gaze fixed on Legolas. "You had to return, did you not, little prince? Everything I carefully planned and you have ruined it all by showing up alive!"
Malice dripped from his words and Legolas shuddered. A memory hovered at the edges of his mind, but he would not let it in. He could not afford to split his attention now. He stepped closer to his father, as if to shield him from the older Elf's venomous glare. Thranduil gripped his son's shoulder tightly, aware now that they were both in trouble.
Anamaer nodded to the other Elves and they advanced on the royals. Legolas tensed, cursing himself for not being more alert and seeing this coming. He drew a concealed dagger from his boot and waited.
The Elves closed in on them and easily overpowered the weakened king. Legolas fought hard, kicking and striking with his dagger at any Elf that came within five feet of him, but a dagger at Thranduil's throat stopped him short.
"That is better." Anamaer said, looking the young warrior over. His eyes narrowed when he saw that Legolas was no worse for wear, but several of his own warriors were down. He growled angrily. "Take him!"
"No!" Thranduil cried, "Legolas, run!"
Legolas looked sadly at his father and shook his head, dropping his blade to the floor with a metallic clang. "I will not leave you here. I am sorry, ada."
Four armed Elves grabbed his arms, as another gripped a length of chain, binding the prince's hands securely behind his back. The same was done to Thranduil. Father and son were then pushed roughly into hard, wooden chairs and chained firmly to them.
Then, Anamaer stepped in front of Legolas, looking down at him with such malign hatred that the younger Elf almost flinched. Finally, he spoke.
"Well, well, little prince. We meet again." He lashed out and struck Legolas across the face, then grabbed his hair and brought his face down within inches of Legolas'. "And this is the second time that you have ruined my plans!"
He struck the prince again. "First, you disappeared from the forest when we sent out parties to search for your body, and I was unable to convince your father of your death." he wrenched Legolas' head back painfully, "And now you show up alive, just when my plans seemed to be working!"
He lost all reason then, striking Legolas again and again, screaming incoherently at him in a mixture of Elvish and Westron.
Thranduil struggled desperately with the chains that held him. "Stop it!" He cried, "Leave him alone!"
Anamaer stepped away from Legolas as the prince's head fell forward and he spat the blood out of his mouth. The advisor's eyes narrowed and he took a step towards Legolas once more.
"Ah…" He reached out and tilted Legolas' face, letting his eyes run down the scar, "I see the little brat still bears the mark of my handiwork."
Legolas' eyes widened in shock, before they rolled back in his head and he cried out in pain as everything started to come back to him in a rush of vivid images and emotions; his mother and sister's death, his father's grief and anger, his life in Imladris, his power and then the attack where he was outnumbered and brought down by Anamaer and his men and left for dead.
As Legolas sat rigid, head down, gasping for breath and whimpering in pain, caught in his memories, Thranduil wrenched desperately at his chains. "Legolas! What did you do to him?!"
Anamaer smirked and raised his hands. "I laid not a hand on him, my lord." Sarcasm coated his words.
The king ignored him. "Legolas? Can you hear me? Legolas!"
Legolas' body suddenly shuddered and relaxed and he was able to breathe normally again. His father immediately noticed the change. "Legolas?"
The prince raised his head and his face was almost grey. His gaze paused on Anamaer and his eyes flashed. "You." he snarled, "It was you."
The former advisor raised an eyebrow. "That is not a tone one expects from a crown prince." He drew a dagger from his boot and laid it on the scar on Legolas' cheek. "Maybe I should open this again. I rather liked how it looked on you."
Legolas did not rise to him, just met his gaze impassively. This enraged the older Elf even more and he scowled, bringing the tip of the dagger down Legolas' face in one vicious move.
The archer bit his lip, but refused to cry out. "Even now you defy me?" Anamaer screamed when Legolas kept silent. He abruptly changed his grip on the dagger and plunged it into Legolas' shoulder, drawing a slight grunt of pain from the prince.
Anamaer's body blocked Thranduil's view of what was happening, but he could sense his son's distress. "Leave him be! What are you doing to him?"
Anamaer smirked. "You really want to see?" he turned and stepped to the side, revealing Legolas with the dagger still in his shoulder and blood running down his face from the once-scar on his cheek, breathing heavily through the pain.
"Ta i Valar…" Thranduil whispered, straining his wrists almost to breaking point with his frantic struggles.
Legolas raised his head, "Sîdh, ada. You are hurting yourself," [peace,] he said wearily.
Anamaer let out a laugh that held no humour and both royals shivered. "What makes you think I do not want him to hurt himself?! That is the whole point of the exercise!"
Legolas glared up at him with pain-filled eyes. "Why are you doing this? My father has never been anything but good to you. He always treated you well. What did he do to deserve this betrayal?"
Anamaer leaned down and tapped the hilt of the dagger, making Legolas flinch and bite his lip. "Why do you care? Or are you really so trusting and naïve that you actually forgave him for what he did to you?"
Legolas' eyes flashed. When he spoke, his voice was laced with pain, but strong and certain, "Of course I did. Everyone deserves a second chance." he glanced up, "Except maybe cheating traitors."
Legolas spat the word as if it disgusted him and Anamaer's eyes grew dark and he turned to Thranduil. "You should have taught him better, my liege."
The Elven king suddenly wanted nothing more than to wipe the evil smirk off his face. "You should come a little closer," Thranduil spat, "I shall teach you something."
Anamaer just smiled and shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, Thranduil. You should really learn to hold your temper. Especially where your son is involved." He moved over to Legolas again. "Tell me, Thranduil, could you ever make your son do this?"
He grabbed and twisted the dagger viciously, wrenching it from the wound at a punishing angle and drawing a helpless cry of agony from Legolas before the pain overtook him and he passed into unconsciousness, slumping against his chains.
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Um…well…Oh look, a squirrel!! *runs away*
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Review replies::
MoroTheWolfGod: Aha!! Bet you didn't see that coming!! MWA HA HA HA…*pant pant* I shouldn't laugh like that too much… Maybe you did see that coming and I'm just that predictable…it happens sometimes! Hope it wasn't too bad anyways and more soon!! I have a few more plot twists up my sleeve yet! ;)
Lefty: Yes, I'm afraid I did have to leave it there, otherwise, it would have ruined the surprise!! *giggle* And you know how much I love surprises…Hehehe! Did this chapter decide you on whether or not this was a good idea?? ;) I'm evil, I know! I can't help it!! Saruman made me do it!! I didn't make you ponder too long this time anyhow… Hope you liked okay!! :)
Alice7: Hahahaha!! You always manage to make me laugh on a bad day…I was on the floor laughing! *thinks about review and starts laughing again* Jack Sparrow!! I'm sorry. I'm like a dog with a bone… ;) Gandalf's cardboard form attacked you?!?! BAD WIZARD!! Tsk tsk…now what have I told you about wizards?? Well, my cliffie may not be quite as spectacular as some of the ones you've come up with in the past, I hope it kept you guessing for a while! That'll get you back for leaving us sitting for three weeks saying *WHERE THE H*LL IS LEGOLAS?!?!?* Okay…I'm calm… Anyway, writing for SoS is underway once again after that slight hitch, so keep breathing!! =)
DXPrincess: Yeah people like her for some reason…I couldn't leave her out could I? People would start asking questions… Ignore me, I'm in a slightly insane mood today… *hehe* I'm sorry for my incessant cliffhanger fetish!! It'll get better soon! (I hope) It's okay, I don't mind when my head explodes from compliments, cos it's a good kinda explode…as long as it grows back and I don't have to go to work with no head…that'd attract a crowd… *giggle* ;) Thanks once again for lovely compliments!! :)
Ivory Novelist: *cringe* I'm sorry!!! Don't hurt me! I got this chapter up relatively quickly so people wouldn't come after me! I didn't keep you guessing for too long! Right? Right?! But then…it kinda defeats the purpose when I put an even bigger one on this chapter, doesn't it? Oops… ;) And I love reading and reviewing your fics, cos they're all fabulous! You're talented I tell you! TALENTED!! My feet are still cold!! Hope you liked!! =)
Sirith: Ah yes, I wish it wasn't cold here! The weather suddenly plunged us into the middle of winter from an unbelievable heatwave, so my toes are freezing off!! Brr… And yay! Your last year! Only nine more months of school left, not that long when you think about it! And it goes really fast, trust me! Did I get this up fast enough so you still forgive me?? 0_0 Speaking of which, looking forward to your next update also!! *evil grin* Anyways hope you enjoyed and the bigger cliff on this one doesn't kill you or anything! Hello?? ;)
angelbird12241: *blush* I'm glad you think it was worth the wait! And thanks for understanding, it's nice to know someone knows what it's like!! :) *huggles* But managed to get this up relatively quickly anyways! Yay!! =) Thanks for your lovely compliments and hope you liked it okay! :)
Pirate-chicha: Ah yes, I remember how school work is on the mind… ;) Sorry about the cliff though, it was a bit evil of me… *snigger* I'm so happy you love the fic!! *blush* And hope I got this up soon enough to save you from falling off the cliff and landing on a pile of school books…see? I'm in a weird mood too! Must be contagious or something! ;) Anyway hope your work load eases off a bit and your teachers give you a rest!! Hope ya liked!! =)
ivorybrowneyes: *gulp* Of course they're evil? I'm scared now!! Sorry about my short chapters, people are always telling me that, in this fic and the one before it! Silly me, I'll have to work on that…Injuring yourself?? 0_0 Are you okay?? Thank you then for putting your fingernails at risk and writing a lovely review! I appreciate them all!! *huggles* :)
Lolita: I'm sorry! I didn't leave you on edge for too long though, did I? *gulp* You really have a handy stick?? 0_0 Um…nice reviewer!!! *backs away and looks for an exit* *eep!!* Well did I get this up soon enough to keep the stick away?? Less than a week! I was good! :) *takes balloon* Thank you! *giggle* I'm glad you liked having a chapter in your name!! Hope you liked this one too (Despite the big whopping cliff…) !!! *runs away before reviewer finds stick* ;)
tamara: I'm sorry!! I didn't mean to leave you hanging! It just happened!! *gulp* And I did update it sooner! Less than a week! Am I good or what?? ;) Hehehe! Aw I'm glad you liked my idea! And you see, it works well on other levels too! *snigger* Character torture!!! *evil grin* Hope you liked!! :)
Tsugumiwolf: Um… *hears sirens* *looks around and runs away* I didn't kill my reviewer!! It was all the lozenge's fault!!! Or maybe it was the clifie's fault… *gulp* Thanks for fav authors by the way!! *blush* I'm always shocked when someone puts me on that… But happy sort of shocked!! :) Hope I got this up soon enough to keep you from falling…or at least put a cushion under you! ;)
Jedi Cosmos: Um…did this answer a few questions? :) *blush* Nicely done? Thank you!! *smile* Between you and DXPrincess, my head is swelling dangerously again!! Nice ego…don't get too big…breathe! Ah yes, my workload is slowly easing off, thanks! It'd be great to just write for a living… Hehehe! Anyway gotta go! Hope you liked!! =)
Rabbit of Iron: Ah yes, computers do that quite often…or at least my one does! Aha! I had a feeling you were English! With the whole saying 'bugger' and everything…I love that word…I say it quite often myself actually…And sorry for keeping you in suspense! But it was necessary I swear!! ;) Fic overload?? Yikes!! Did you read them both in one sitting? That is an overload!! But thanks for reading!! *blush* Thanks for the compliments!! Hope I got this up soon enough so you weren't hanging too long!! =)
miseryelf: Ooh! I'm sorry!! I didn't mean to make anyone cry!! *hands tissues* Better? And sorry about the cliffie and suspense and all that…you're still alive right?? 0_0 Eep!! Anyway hope I got this up fast enough so they can take you off the life support and all…*gulp* ;) Hope you liked! And did I ever thank you for fav authors?? If not, thank you!!! *blush* :)
Conn JS1: Wow…you brought up some things I'd never even thought of!! I'll have to find a way to work around that…Thanks for telling me though!! It's good to get another person's perspective sometimes, they se the mistakes that I miss!! I think Hannon lle is thank you but I'm not sure! Isn't it what Aragorn said to Legolas in Helm's Deep when he gave him back the Evenstar?? Maybe not! I'm not entirely sure, but I'll look it up! I hope this chapter answered a few of your burning questions anyway…Anamaer was given a brief mention at the end of the first story, but he wasn't a major character until now. *blush* I'm glad you appreciate my style! **blush** No one's ever said that to me before!! :) Hope you liked and let me know if you pick up any more mistakes!! =)
Kit Cloudkicker: Well, it's all building up to something…I think!! I'll have to get on my way and have a look at that fic now! Haven't had the chance for a while people keep booting me off the PC! Thanks for the review and hope ya liked! :)
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Sorry bout the long replies, I'm in a talkative mood!!!!
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