Disclaimer: Not mine! :(

Title: To New Mutiny

Rating: R

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Right! Here I am!! Throw tomatoes at me!! EEK!! ducks tomatoes I was kidding!! Sorry for the delay again!! This chapter is dedicated to MoroTheWolfGod, and sorry I missed your birthday!!! gives small Legolas to sit on your shoulder and whisper exam answers and storylines in your ear Better? gives lots of pressies Better now? :) Enjoy!!

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Chapter 30

Legolas awoke some time later, to the sound of raised voices outside the door of his room. He frowned, trying to recall where he knew the voices from and why they would be arguing with each other.

"I must get in to see him, Strider, you do not understand! He has been in that room for four days and I have not been allowed near him, I must see for myself that he lives!"

Legolas frowned to himself. Four days?

A brief silence followed, soon broken by the slightly amused, slightly exasperated voice of another.

"What are you saying, Narso, that you do not trust my word?"

The first voice stammered briefly before replying.

"That was not my meaning, nor my intention to say, Ranger. I just wish to see for myself, that is all."

"I understand that, Nar, but if king Thranduil catches you in there you will have hell to pay, as will I for letting you in!"

Legolas smiled slightly, finally recognising the voices of his best friend and his foster father. He started to get up to go to the door and let them in, but pain shot through him from every direction and he whimpered, sinking slowly back to the sheets. It had only been a faint sound of distress, but the door was thrown open and the two men came rushing to the bedside.

"Legolas!" Aragorn cried.

"Are you alright?" Narso demanded.

"What happened?" Aragorn questioned, leaning over the Elf to peer into his face.

Legolas chuckled. "Nothing happened, my friend, I simply moved in the wrong direction, and I would be alright if I did not have two crazy Humans firing questions at me like so many arrows…"

Aragorn and Narso looked at the prince, then at each other, and simultaneously burst into laughter. Legolas rolled his eyes in amusement.

"You see? Crazy Humans…" he muttered to no one in particular.

Aragorn's mood sobered and he began checking his friend's condition, lifting the bandages to check the progress of his wounds and carefully prodding the bruises on his chest and neck. The man paused briefly.

"Legolas…do you feel that the drug is still affecting you?"

Legolas shook his head. "I cannot be certain, my friend. For now, I hurt in many places and it is difficult to determine whether it is the drug or merely the injuries…"

Aragorn glanced sharply at his friend. Did Legolas actually just admit to being in pain? Sighing, he looked into the Elf's eyes, seeing the buried pain and fear that he was trying hard to hide.

"Tell me the truth, Legolas. Are you alright?"

The Elf looked away, but the Ranger gently caught his chin, directing his attention back to the question.

Legolas sighed. "That is not a fair question, my friend. Would you be alright if you were me?" He let out a strained laugh. Aragorn gazed sadly at him.

"No, my dear friend…I would most likely be dead," he paused, "As would many others who have none of your hard-headedness!"

Narso smiled. "From the look of you, I agree with him, lad. I hope you are not going to give these nice Elves as hard a time as you gave me about staying in bed until you are healed!"

Aragorn laughed. "Ah yes, that would be the one thing he could not forget…"

Legolas' eyes grew wide. "I remembered," he murmured softly, "It nearly killed me, but I did! I remember everything now,"

Narso leaned down and gave him a gentle hug, careful not to put too much pressure on him. "I am glad you have your life back, lad. You deserve your happiness,"

Legolas smiled, seeing the underlying regret and apprehensiveness in the man's eyes. "You are still family to me, Nar. You saved my life, took care of me when there was no obligation on you to do so…I will always be grateful to you."

Narso shook his head. "No need, lad. You did enough for me in return,"

"What are you doing in here?" A thunderous voice sounded from the doorway, startling them all. "You are not welcome here, Human." Thranduil snapped, glaring at Narso as he stepped into the room from the shadows of the doorway.

Narso returned the glare in kind, but inclined his head slightly, so as not to anger the king further.

"I merely wished to see the lad before I left. Surely that is allowed?"

Thranduil scowled darkly and opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Legolas.

"You are leaving? Why?"

Narso smiled fondly at the Elf he had come to see as his own son. "I must, Legolas. The hunters do not leave without me, and Betha will have my head if I stay away too long…" He replied, carefully avoiding mentioning the prince's father. They both saw it for the lie that it was, and Legolas' keen grey eyes narrowed, looking from Narso to his father.

"Ada? Do you have something to do with this decision?"

"No, Legolas, he did not." Narso cut in softly, "I just feel that I must move on soon. I am sorry,"

Legolas took a deep breath, "Tis alright, Nar. I will be well soon…perhaps I can visit you…"

Narso nodded silently, watching Legolas struggle with himself not to show how frightened and alone he was feeling. It angered the man that the prince's own father was adding to his son's distress by sending his foster father home. Legolas needed his loved ones around him now.

The Hunter glared at the Elf king, but Thranduil did not notice, he was watching his injured son closely, looking torn.

Aragorn looked between them, prepared to jump between them should the situation get out of hand, but it seemed that Thranduil had no wish to fight. In fact, he was ignoring the Humans completely. All his attention was focussed on his son.

"I am sorry this had to happen to you, my son." He said softly, "This is all my fault…"

Legolas shook his head frantically. "Nay, Ada! None of this was down to you, if it is anyone's fault, tis mine, for I almost caused you to die of grief…"

Thranduil shook his head. "You cannot blame yourself for that, my son. It was beyond your control,"

As he said this, his eyes narrowed at the thought of Anamaer and what he had done.

"Ada?" Legolas' voice brought him back to the present, "What happened to Anamaer?"

Thranduil looked to Aragorn, but the Human looked away.

"Ada, what is going on? Aragorn? Tell me!"

"Calm down, Legolas," Aragorn attempted to soothe the frantic Elf, "Everything is alright."

Legolas glared at his friend. "Do not treat me as though I were simple-minded, Aragorn. If everything is alright, why will you not answer my question?"

Aragorn sighed heavily. "Very well, Legolas. You are right…everything is not well. Anamaer managed to escape our warriors. Elladan, Elrohir and Citahel are out with troops searching for him now."

Legolas started to shake, looking at all of them in turn, searching for any sign that they were lying to him.

"No," He whispered, pulling the sheets up over his head. It broke each of their hearts to hear his soft, frightened sobs.

"Legolas," Aragorn started uncertainly, "I am sure my brothers have found him by now, they are the most skilled trackers in Imladris."

Thranduil nodded. "Aye, Legolas, and the troops you trained are with them. It will be well, my son, they will find him."

"No," Legolas muttered, "Do you not see how cunning that Elf is? He fooled us all before, he can again…" He peered out from under the sheet at his father, "What if he comes back? What if this time, he gets what he came for? We cannot allow our people to be subjected to that, Ada, it would be worse than death…"

"That will not happen, Legolas." Thranduil said firmly, "Your own elite troops are out there looking for him, he will be found and brought swiftly to justice."

Legolas shook his head. "We cannot be certain of that, ada. He knows these woods as well or better than most of the warriors, he could hide out there for as long as he desired and never be found…"

"That is enough, Legolas!" Thranduil snapped at his son, the stress and worry of the last few hours making him sharp, and Legolas flinched unintentionally. Thranduil's eyes softened slightly and he sighed.

"I am sorry, my son, I did not mean to shout."

Legolas shook his head, indicating that no apology was needed. Thranduil looked thoughtfully from Legolas to Narso and back. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but snapped it shut again quickly.

"Human," He addressed Narso sharply. The hunter turned with a frown, glaring at the Elven king.

"Yes, Elf?"

Thranduil smiled wryly. "I was wondering if you would be so good as to…" He paused, "to take Legolas back to your village with you. At least until all this trouble is taken care of,"

Narso's face lightened. "I certainly would not turn him away, King Thranduil," He replied as politely as possible, trying to hide his delight at being able to bring Legolas back with him.

Legolas shook his head in disbelief. "Ada, I cannot leave you now…what if something were to happen?"

Thranduil smiled gently. "That us why I am sending you back with him, ion nin," He replied sadly, "To make certain that you are safe. I would not have Anamaer find you again,"

"But…ada, I—"

"Do not make me order you, Greenleaf. It is for your own good,"

Legolas dropped his head, before looking up at Narso. "Would you take me back to Lake Town with you, Nar? I know I have been a burden on you long enough, but—"

"Lad, you have never been a burden on myself or any of the other people in the village. We all love you," He smiled, "I would be happy to take you back there, and I think I speak for all the villagers when I say we would protect you with our lives."

Legolas flushed and dropped his head. Aragorn smiled fondly. "King Thranduil, would you like me to escort them back or shall I remain here and help with the search?"

Thranduil nodded slowly, "If you would have no objection, Aragorn, I would that you stayed and helped with the search, you are a talented tracker."

Aragorn bowed his head in acquiescence. "As you wish, sire," He glanced at Legolas, "Mellon, will you be alright?"

Legolas nodded firmly. "I agree with ada, Aragorn. He must be found, and you are the best man for the job. Just do not get yourself hurt alright?"

Aragorn chuckled. "Yes mother,"

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Thranduil hugged his son tightly to him, careful of his healing injuries. "Be careful, my son. I will not lose you again,"

Legolas returned the hug carefully, not wanting to press on his father's injuries either, "I will be careful, ada, but only if you are also. Do not let him get by you, he is evil,"

Thranduil pulled away, squeezing his son's hand. "I will be careful, Legolas, I promise." He turned to Narso and Tolren, who were waiting patiently by the horses for Legolas. "I know you will both watch over him well. Between you, I am sure you know all his tricks…" He muttered with a glance at Legolas, earning a glare from the prince and a laugh from the others.

"Aye, Thranduil," Tolren replied with a smile, "I believe we do. He will be well looked after,"

He turned to Legolas. "Go on then, my son, be gone with you. And be careful,"

Legolas gave his father's shoulder a squeeze, before joining Narso and Tolren and stiffly mounting his own horse, with two elder Elves and one Human looking on anxiously.

"Do not let him over exert himself," Thranduil began.

"Aye, we will not." Tolren said quietly, "He is still in the early stages of healing. But you must not exert yourself either. You may not feel it, but you are recovering from a grievous wound yourself."

Thranduil opened his mouth to reply but was swiftly interrupted. "I will make sure he does not drive himself into the ground," Aragorn announced as he and Gimli stepped from the trees.

Legolas chuckled. "Will you likewise be watching yourself for such an occurrence?"

Aragorn scowled. "I come to see you off and all I get is abuse? Elves…" He walked over beside Narso. "Good luck," He glanced between Legolas and Tolren, "I think you might need it…"

Narso laughed. "Why thank you, Strider, you are too kind…" He glanced at the Elves. "We really should get going if we want to make any progress by nightfall,"

Legolas and Tolren nodded. Legolas leaned down from his horse and gave Aragorn's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Thank you, my friend. Take care of yourself, will you?"

Aragorn nodded, squeezing Legolas' hand in return. "I will. Just make sure you do too, alright?"

Legolas smiled. "Alright,"

The three of them then turned their horses and headed towards the gates of the city, with a quick wave for the three left behind. Aragorn, Gimli and Thranduil raised their hands to return the salute.

"Do you think he will be alright, Aragorn?" Thranduil looked broodingly at his son's disappearing form.

"Aye, King Thranduil, I believe he will be alright. He is strong, and more than capable of looking after himself,"

The Elven king nodded reluctantly. "You are right. Come, we have some business to attend to,"

Aragorn followed the king inside with one last glance at the disappearing travellers, trying to push down the feeling of foreboding in his heart.

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As they left Eryn Lasgalen behind them, Tolren glanced over at Legolas, checking his visible physical state. Legolas felt his eyes on him and glanced over.

"What?"

Tolren smiled. "I just cannot believe how much you have grown up since last I saw you. You look so much like your father, yet you have Larien's eyes…"

Legolas smiled. "I missed you, uncle…I worried for you, ada said you had gone away."

Tolren nodded slowly. "Aye, I needed to clear my head a little." He paused, "I missed you also, little warrior,"

Narso stayed quiet during the exchange, looking carefully from one Elf to the other. He wondered how long it had been since they had seen each other, given his recent discovery about Legolas' age. The group fell into a comfortable silence as the Elf city vanished behind them in the gathering fog, listening to far off birdsong and the beat of the horses' hooves.

"Stay together," Legolas ordered, unconsciously falling into his role as troop captain as the familiar woods engulfed him, "Visibility will soon get bad as the fog comes in, we must not get separated."

Narso and Tolren nodded, hypnotised by the change in the young Elf's demeanour. "Have your weapons close to hand in case you need them, pull in close to me and slow your horses, it will do us no good to rush when we cannot see."

The three of them pulled in close together, each keeping an eye on the surrounding woods, which were rapidly disappearing unnervingly beneath the gauzy white shroud. As visibility grew less and less, Legolas finally held up his hand to call a halt.

"We should move off the road and make camp. I have a feeling we will not get much farther tonight,"

"Alright, Legolas," Narso agreed, "You just tell us where."

Legolas nodded. "Come, there is a small clearing just up ahead, we can rest there for the night. We should be able to move again by morning,"

They began moving slowly along the road once more when Narso's horse let out a loud scream and bucked, throwing the man off before turning and bolting into the trees.

"Nar!" Legolas cried, turning his own mount back towards where his foster father had fallen. The man was not moving.

Legolas was so concerned over Narso that he did not heed his senses screaming of danger until it was too late. A heavy weight dropped on his shoulders and he was thrown off balance, toppling from his mount's back and to the ground, landing with cruel force on his injured shoulder.

He let out a grunt of pain and tried to roll over, but met a sharp blade poised right over his throat.

"Hello, Legolas. Did you miss me?"

He looked up, directly into the dark eyes of Anamaer.

Review replies::

I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a hurry to get out right now, so I don't have time to reply to everyone!! I'm really sorry!! But I'd like to thank you all for your support and patience over the last few months, and the next chapter's already in the writing, so it shouldn't take as long as this one did! :)

Special thanks to:: wispykitty(You were saying?? Hehehe!! Say hi to evil smilie for me!), Ivoryi(Hehe thanks very much! I love Legolas torture, but I think I need to ease up on him a little…hope you continue to enjoy!), itarilde-elenastar(hands brown paper bag Better? Sorry about the suspense again!! And BLUSH thanks for the compliments!!), Kit Cloudkicker(Thank you! Glad you liked it!! Hope this one was ok too!), Kept-Secret(Wow!! The whole thing without a cliffie?? I wrote this one just for you!! Teehehe!) , Black Hawk(Hi little Irish buddy!! It raining there too? It was lashing in Dublin earlier…Tell ya a secret? I like him more in this one too!), Lefty(Hehe you know me too well! This enough of a plot twist for ya?? Cool dance by the way…), silverhope2001(Well thank you very much for the compliment!! :) Hope you enjoyed!), Riva van Dyk(Hehe you're funny! Very cool too by the way, I like your style! Hope you liked SotS!), Sirith(Jump out of a plane?? Eek!! Exams over?? If so I hope they went well, if not, GOOD LUCK!!), angelbird12241(Thanks for the forgiveness!! Can I have more?? cringe), MoroTheWolfGod(HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Sorry for making you cry!!), DXPrincess(Ah yes plot bunnies and bad weather just don't mix…thanks again for all your lovely support!), Conn JS1(BLUSH thank you!! Hehe I think he has other things to worry about now…mwahaha!), Alice7(Yeah it's raining here too…don't blame me!! And I kinda broke my not hurting Legolas streak…), Irish QT(valid email feh…silly ff.net…thanks for encouraging me!), Ivory Novelist(Email me!! Or I'll email you…from under my rock… hehe!) , Deana(sorry for making you wait again!), LegolasLover2003(thanks for all the hugs!) and Wynjara(hehe yeah…that!) for all your wonderful reviews and encouragement, as well as all you other readers, if there are any!!