Katie thought for a moment that he was dead, but then she saw his eyes flicker open as he heard her approach. Lalorn summoned a smile as she knelt beside him.

"Good," he said quietly, his voice rough. "You are safe."

His tunic was stained darkly with his own blood from a wound she couldn't see. "Tell me where you're hurt," Katie said urgently, looking around for his cloak to press it against the wound.

He caught her arm. "Leave it," he said, closing his eyes in pain. "Nothing more can be done for it."

Katie watched him in horror. "No," she said desperately, "you can't die!"

"Hush, Penneth," he whispered soothingly. "It is well. At least you are safe."

She caught up his hand in both of hers and kissed it, regardless of the blood staining his knuckles. "Thank you," she said, her voice choked. "Thank you for saving me."

He managed to smile again. "Sa 'ell nîn," he said. It was my joy.

A spasm of pain crossed his face, and he began to cough. Katie could only hold his hand to her cheek and be with him, watching his pain with a pain of her own mounting in her heart.

He lay quietly for a few minutes after the coughing fit, his eyes shut and lines of pain scoring his face.

Finally, he opened his eyes again, but could not seem to see her. "Katie?" he rasped weakly.

"I'm here," she said soothingly.

"Tell my wife and my children… I love them, and… I will see them again in Aman," he managed.

Katie nodded. "I will," she said, finding her voice. It shook.

"Ah, Penneth," he said, looking at her with kindness and love in his eyes. "Avo 'osto nad." Do not be afraid.

He sighed, and looking past her, smiled as if he saw something beautiful that she could not see. Then his breath ceased and his eyes became blank.

Slowly, Katie placed his hands upon his chest as if he were only resting, and shut his eyes. The moment seemed to require something finalizing, something ceremonial. So she crossed herself. "Requiescat in pace," she murmured. Then she sat back, and pulling her knees up, rested her head upon them and shut her eyes.

000

And that was how Legolas and his band of warriors found her a few hours later. The orcs had attacked the fortress at the same time they had attacked Gollum's guards. It had taken Thranduil's warriors some time to drive them off, for they were many and fierce. But they had come from over the mountains, and were unused to the woods, which had been to the elves' advantage. When the orcs were all slain or gone, Legolas had reported to his father. They discovered that Gollum's guards had never returned to the Elven-king's halls.

Feriniel turned pale at this announcement. "Perhaps they have been attacked as well. And Katie was with them!"

"Take some warriors and go at once to the clearing," Thranduil ordered his youngest, who saluted and hurried to obey his father's orders.

And so it was that they came upon the sorrowful sight. There were dead orcs about the clearing, and one guard lay sprawled upon his face. By the tree sat Katie, hunched over her knees, and beside her lay Lalorn, dead.

"Ai!" one of the warriors exclaimed unnecessarily, "they are dead!"

Katie raised her head and looked up at them. "Yes," she said expressionlessly. "They're dead."

Legolas walked over and stood beside her, looking down at Lalorn. "Geril hîdh nen gurth," he said quietly with a salute. "Come, Katie," he said after a moment, and helped her to her feet. The other elves came forward to deal with the bodies. "Tell me what happened." His tone was gentle, but commanding.

Katie told him in a flat tone about how the guards had decided to stay by the tree for the night, how they had heard the orcs approach and had boosted her into a tree, how she had stayed in the tree as all fell silent and the dawn came slowly on.

"When I came down, I found just what you see," Katie concluded. "Gollum is gone, and Lalorn died." She stopped. "That's all."

Legolas had watched this performance with concern for her flattened emotions, but now he saw that she was trembling, almost imperceptibly. He pulled her close and cradled her head on his chest. She leant into the embrace gratefully, and she shook, but she did not cry.

"Gollum is gone; we must track him," he called to the other warriors in Silvan over Katie's head. "And perhaps we shall find the missing guards, as well; they must have been taken. It seems plain that this attack was made for Gollum's rescue, and he must have known of it beforehand, though how that was contrived I cannot guess. Let us take these bodies of our comrades back and give these tidings to the king. And then we must track Gollum and see if we may recapture him."

They returned to the palace, Legolas walking with his arm around Katie's shoulders, and two warriors behind carrying the bodies of the guards, wrapped in their cloaks.

000

Thranduil and Taurion looked grim at the news of the escape of their prisoner, and Thranduil bid Legolas make all haste to track the creature. Feriniel took Katie under her wing as soon as the girl came to the palace. She tried to persuade her to take some rest, but Katie shook her head, although the dark lines under her eyes stood out starkly in her pale face. "I have to speak with Lalorn's family," she said firmly, and refused to budge.

The two slain guards' families were brought in to the fortress, and the king himself told them the bad news and offered his sympathies. Shock and disbelief were written clearly across the elves' faces. Katie stepped forward to Lalorn's wife.

"I was with Lalorn when he died," she said, the pain in her heart finally coming through in her voice. "He charged me to tell you and your children that he loves you very much, and that he will see you again in Aman."

A tear slid down his wife's pale cheek. "Thank you," she whispered. Katie nodded and backed away to leave, but Lalorn's wife stepped forward and threw her arms around her. Katie began to sob.

000

Legolas and his band of trackers were gone for several weeks. They returned, disheveled and grim, saying that they had been unable to recover either Gollum or the captive guards.

"We came upon Gollum's trail among those of many Orcs," Legolas reported to his father. "It plunged deep into the Forest, going south. But it escaped our skill ere long, and we dared not continue the hunt. We were drawing near to Dol Guldor."

Thranduil nodded in understanding. Though the Necromancer had been driven from his stronghold in southern Mirkwood some seventy years before, it was still a very evil place, and the elves did not go that way.

But this was bad news. Thranduil and Taurion knew something of the importance of this prisoner from Mithrandir, although Feriniel and Legolas did not.

"We must send word to Mithrandir of this," he said finally. "Unfortunately, the Istar travels far and wide—the Grey Pilgrim he is. But the most likely place to find him or the Dúnadan is in Imladris, and there a messenger from our halls must go."

Legolas bowed and saluted his father. "Send me, my lord," he said. "I will bring this message thither."

Thranduil nodded. "So be it," he said, and paused. "I think perhaps the human girl should go with you—Katie Elvellon. If more details on Gollum's capture are needed, she is most likely to be able to provide them, though she heard the attack only and did not see it. And the forest is dark, save where our realm is maintained—it may chance that we shall be attacked again, and I would this guest of ours were safe in Rivendell. She had friends there." He did not say the other thing in his mind, that their cheerful young guest had grown very sorrowful since the death of Lalorn, and that a change of scene and the atmosphere of Imladris would do her good. But Legolas had thought of the same thing.

"I will broach the subject with her," he promised.

000

When he had eaten and rested and made himself presentable, Legolas went to speak with Katie.

He found her outside the palace, standing on the side of the hill. Her eyes were shut and the breeze blew her hair away from her face. She was more drawn than she had been before, but looked healthy enough for all that.

"Legolas," she said with a smile when she saw him approach, and gave him a hug.

He hugged her back. "How goes it with you?"

She looked down at her feet. "Better than it did for awhile," she answered finally, meeting his gaze calmly. "I think I'll manage, now." This said with the hint of a smile.

"Good," Legolas said, and stood beside her in silence for a time, feeling the wind on his own face.

"I am to take news of Gollum's escape to Rivendell," he said at last. "The King thinks it a good idea if you travel with me, and stay there for a time. Should an attack come again, he wants to know that you are safe."

Katie nodded, not looking at him. "I think that would be a good idea," she said finally, then turned to him with a smile. "Besides, I want to see the twins again."

TBC

AN: Some text comes from "The Council of Elrond", FotR.

Geril hîdh nen gurth: May you have peace in death.

Ravens Destiny: If Lalorn had been female, his name would've been Lalwen, or Lalorniel, or Lalornien. Those are the most common feminine name endings in Sindarin, and a good way to determine the sex of an elven character. The Dark Lord stuck the princes in a garbage can? Geez, I'm glad I'm not a character in one of your stories!

Princess Siara: You got your wish; no cliffie this chapter!

IwishChan: Oh, not every chapter. But I do think the statistics are interesting!

AngelicPhyre: (cool name, BTW) Thank you! I liked Lalorn, too. :(

Madd Hatter: Yep, the hissing was Gollum. And I'm not even going to comment on the idea of him playing strip poker, especially since he had only one garment to lose…

Laer4572: Twinsy goodness will come soon enough!

Tara: Sorry, I killed Lalorn. But everybody better stop hitting on him—he's married! And has three children! No significance to Legolas's age; I just thought readers might like to know. Your theory on Elrond and Elros makes sense, but then, it might just be a coincidence. And I think Elladan and Elrohir would choose alike. They are never ever seen out of each others' company in the canon! Congratulations on the math, but remember that the time difference between Katie's time and Middle-earth time is very mutable, not constant.

theycallmemary: Because if I killed one of the other random elves (and I did kill the other guard and make the other two disappear!) it wouldn't have nearly the emotion impact of me killing Lalorn. From the writer's perspective, I made Katie and Lalorn become friends simply so I could kill him off. Sad thought, but true. I even thought for awhile of changing it and not killing him, but then I went back to the original plan. Aragorn left Mirkwood with Gandalf. And nobody really knows how the orcs and Gollum managed to communicate—see the Council of Elrond.

ElvenRyder: The plotbunnies are officially under control now for awhile, since I killed off Lalorn. That has appeased them. Now let's see what they cook up for Katie in Rivendell!

Thanks also to Fk306 and werewolflemming!

Please review! I'm off the pack the rest of my stuff (and my computer) to haul off to college!