Chapter 1

Watching Eyes

He rolled over again under his cloak, causing pine needles and leaves under him to rustle and crack beneath him. His companion groaned, unable to find sleep as easily as usual, and his friend's constant movement on the other side of the slowly dying fire was keeping it that way. The elf's sharp ears again heard his friend seemingly settle again, and listened to the horses shift their weight in their sleep. He again desperately wanted to slip into unconsciousness, but everything he heard seemed intent that he stay awake.

Finally giving up all hope of sleep, the elf sat up off his blanket and pulled his cloak more firmly around him, keeping out the chill of the still night air and moved closer to the crackling fire. It had been a long day. They had set out going hunting since Aragorn was still learning and developing his skill with a bow and arrow, and game was on the move to beat the coming winter months, they decided to go on a trip. With winter on their way, food needed to be stocked so it was the perfect opportunity. The day had started out fine, riding deeper into the forests around Mirkwood toward the Misty Mountains, trying to find a good place to begin.

Having mastered the skill of moving through the trees without being seen or heard, they left their horses, and tracked down a full grown stag. Legolas smiled, remembering the event. Aragorn was doing better, but still was having problems with aim. They had approached the animal downwind so that it wouldn't catch their scent, and got to be only a few feet away. Aragorn notched his bow, aimed, fired, and missed . . . by about two feet. The stag shied in fear, and ran, quickly disappearing before Aragorn had time to react. Legolas had barely managed to keep a straight face as he watched Aragorn curse his aim . . . again.

Legolas watched Aragorn turn over again in the light of the fire and laughed softly. He was so restless that night. The hunting had been successful they were both satisfied, but tired. Aragorn let out a soft sigh and turned over again, facing the fire and the elf. He opened his eyes and looked unfocused at the fire, and saw his friend in the light. He grinned, and then sat up.

"Why are you still awake, Legolas?" he glanced up at the star-filled sky, and detecting the position of the moon, determined that it must have been no later that about midnight.

"Why? Because of you, my friend!" Legolas grinned. "Your constant tossing and turning made me give up all hope of sleep! You, the horses, and every noise in the forest, even the silence, has kept me awake."

Aragorn smiled sheepishly. "You know, you can just wake me up and tell me! But then again my sleep and my dreams has been quite restless, it would only be a matter of time before I would join you."

"Sure you would." Legolas said with a teasing grin, earning himself an annoyed smile from his friend. He laughed softly, letting Aragorn know that he was only teasing him, and soon they were both laughing together. As the fits died down, they both stopped and listened. A long mournful cry echoed in the still night air, long and deep in the quiet of the night. Legolas recognized the cry right away, having heard it many times in these woods it was a wolf. He turned his head to the right, guessing where the wolf was. Without fully turning his head back, he looked at Aragorn, listening for the wolf's voice to die down, and smiled evilly.

"Spooky, isn't it?" he said in a low voice that did not match the look on his face.

Aragorn looked at him and returned the evil smile with one of his own. "Scared?"

Legolas laughed. "Oh yes, very much!" he grinned sarcastically. Aragorn grinned back impishly.

"It seems I can never get a full night's sleep with you! Neither one of us can sleep, it's the middle of the night, and then you try to scare me. Did you really think a wolf's howl could get me going so easily?" he studied Legolas with a mocking stern glance that looked remarkably like Elrond's, trying not to laugh again.

"You look like your father." Legolas grinned back, returning a look of equal seriousness. "No way would I try to scare you! I don't think I'm that brave to provoke a Ranger! I'd have to be crazy . . ." Legolas was laughing by then, unable to continue, and soon Aragorn joined in. As the laughter died away, Aragorn laid back down on his blanket and faced the sparkling sky, and opened his mouth to ask the elf a question, but he never got there. For right then, a loud snap made them both jump.

Instinct took over thought. Legolas whipped around, snatched up his bow, and from out off his quiver, an arrow. Loading his bow, he glanced at Aragorn, who had also reached behind him and unsheathed his long sword, and pulled out a sharp knife. They both stopped moving, listening for any noise that would let them know what and where their intruder was. The horses, of whom had been awoken by all the laughing, where stamping and snorting softly and restlessly, clearly uneasy, which heightened the tension in both Legolas and Aragorn. Legolas could hear something moving ever so slowly and carefully in the shadow of the trees. He inwardly chastised himself for not paying attention, and by the look on Aragorn's face, the human was doing the same thing. The creature was so close they could both hear the soft breathing, and see the gleam of the yellow eyes shinning in the light of the moon.

"Ok, what do you want to do now?" Aragorn whispered.

"Wait until we know what it is."

The animal came closer; it's powerful legs slinking through the grass, hidden in the trees. There was not another sound it seemed to them that the loud snap they had heard was purely chance, complete coincidence. Aragorn moved over to the log pile and added more fuel to the dying flames, and increased the light. The animal's features heightened. They were unmistakable it was a wolf. The fur was a blackish grey-blue. It's powerful body moved stealthily toward them; yellow eyes watched them carefully. Large jaws released its worst weapon as it curled its lips, revealing long sharp teeth, gleaming in the firelight. But there was something different. This wolf was huge. It could have easily taken down one of their horses, or them. Worry etched its lines on their faces.

"Ok, go after him." Legolas told Aragorn.

"Why? You have a bow just shoot him."

"I can't. See how closely he's watching us? He'd bounce away from my arrow. Go on, get after him."

"Ok, so I'll be away from the light of the fire and he'll kill me. I can't combat in the dark that easily, you know that!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Aragorn. Just go after him. I'll cover you."

"WHO'S A BABY? Who doesn't want to risk one stupid arrow? I'd rather not risk my life, thank you very much!"

"You won't be! It's an over-sized dog! Just get over there and cut its throat! I'll be right here to help!"

"And how do you know that it's gonna be so easy? What about thick hides? Or look at the teeth! Why don't you just get out your knives and get after him yourself?"

"All right, I will!" Legolas retorted, pulling the elven knives from their sheathes. As he did so before Aragorn could shoot out another insult, he faintly could hear the sharp piercing cries of orcs coming.

"Oh, great! Something else to top off this perfect night."

"What now?"

Legolas had forgotten again that he was with a human, not an elf.

"There are orcs coming. Can you hear them? They must have seen the fire and are coming to investigate. I knew we shouldn't have camped so close to the Misty Mountains. What do you want to do?"

"Where from? I have not elf ears."

"Over there." Legolas said nodding in the opposite direction of where the huge wolf was. The loud cries were slowly becoming louder, and now Aragorn could hear them too.

That was their first mistake. Looking in the opposite direction of the wolf, they had let their guard down. The huge animal took its chance and ran into the campsite. It stopped in front of the fire, as if trying to decide where to start. Making up its mind, it headed for Aragorn, who, even under the surprise attack, held his sword ready in front of him. The wolf lunged and Aragorn swung, cutting deeply into the wolf's shoulder and chest. The wolf hesitated, landing on the forest floor. He bared his teeth, and with amazing speed despite his injuries, leapt up under Aragorn's arm and struck sinking three inch teeth into Aragorn's side, throwing the human to the ground. The scream that followed echoed loudly through the night, tearing right through Legolas. Legolas screamed too, and loosed the notched arrow, sinking it into the beast's right eye. The wolf reared and howled in pain, than fell and lay silent. Legolas ran to Aragorn, horrified at the growing pool of red.

Aragorn didn't move as Legolas approached. His cloak, leather coat, and shirt on the left side had been shredded into hanging rags, now being soaked with blood. Aragorn's side was destroyed the wolf had ripped apart the skin on his ribs. Legolas tossed aside his weapons, dropped to his friend's side, and as gently as he could turned his left side up to inspect the wounds.

Legolas' heart dropped as he made his inspections. The gashes were deep and bleeding freely. Using one of his knives he cut away the shirt to completely expose his side, grabbed his blanket from the ground, and began to try and stop the blood flow. As he did so, he again heard the orc cries, and they where much louder now. Legolas groaned. He didn't have much time he needed to get Aragorn out of there and hidden before they came. The blanket he was using was becoming soaked with blood. He grabbed Aragorn's blanket as well and doubled the layers. As he pressed down again, Aragorn stirred and moaned.

"Aragorn?" inside Legolas begged that Aragorn would respond.

Aragorn groaned again, and immediately moved his right arm to his left side. Legolas knocked the arm away.

"Don't touch your side, my friend. It's still bleeding badly. Hold on for a moment."

"Oh . . . Legolas . . . don't worry . . . it's only a scratch, I'm fine . . ." Aragorn said weakly, not matching his words, or opening his eyes.

"You've got a little more than a scratch." Legolas couldn't help but smile a little at the ranger's attitude. "Hang on for a moment." He bound the blankets to Aragorn's side and called his horse to him. He gently picked the ranger up in his arms and set him down on Arien's back, partly lying him down in a position that did not touch his side. He firmly tied him down to the horse's back, and grabbing the horse's halter led him out of the clearing into the woods. He had to hide them and deal with the orcs himself, because if they both left, the orcs would follow. He began to whisper to the horse in elvish, telling him that if the orcs got to close he would bear Aragorn away to Elrond's house. The stallion seemed to understand, and stood ready to spring away at the first real sign of danger. Legolas ran back to the campsite, ready now to deal with the orcs alone.

He burst into the campsite. Judging by the now fully enraged orc cries he knew he had only moments to get ready. He quickly gathered any forgotten supplies and food together and hid them. He called his own horse to him, tied a few provisions to his back, and sent him to Arien. The horse headed into the trees, leaving Legolas alone. The orcs were now much to close he could see dark shapes moving through the trees to him. Legolas pulled out an arrow, widened his stance, and faced the oncoming orcs. For a moment, Legolas halted and stood still, his elvish glow penetrating the night, adding to the firelight. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes; thinking of Aragorn tied to his horse not twenty feet away, and desperately wished that he would make it. He opened his eyes, adjusted his stance, and faced the oncoming and completely visible orc party. It had begun.

At first, he just picked off a few with his bow. The figures in the trees were more visible and he could tell that this was not going to be as easy. The orcs were a larger breed and not as simple as the smaller ones. They mostly had large battle-axes, but some had swords. There was one Orc more towards the back that was larger than the rest. He was holding an axe that had a double-sided blade bigger than most dwarves. Most of the orcs had armor that was not penetrable by an arrow, but that didn't stop Legolas. He aimed directly at the neck.

As the orcs ran at this elf, they saw seven of there compatriots fall to the ground with an arrow in their neck. This elf would pay. Deeply.

The orcs were too close now. He dropped his bow and whipped out his trusty elven blades. As the orcs closed in, time seemed to slow down. His friend was depending on him to keep him safe. If he had just been more alert about the wolf, his friend would be here with him.

The first one went down quickly. As the two sides began to mix, Legolas found it harder and harder to dodge, parry, and kill the orcs. As he slit the throat of one and shoved him away, another orc came from behind and wrapped Legolas in a huge bear hug, blade placed against his ribs. Mental reaction took over and Legolas flipped forward, throwing the orc over his head, but as he did so the orc pressed the blade inward. A thick deep gash was laid open over the width of his ribs, but he ignored it and bore back into the fight.

In incredible speed despite his injuries he continued to destroy his enemies, angering them the more success he had. One smaller orc managed to dodge under Legolas' twisting arms and dig his rough knife into Legolas' leg. Legolas inhaled sharply, turned around, and buried one bloody blade into the orc's face. As he watched the pitiful body crumple to the ground, he saw a white flash in the side of his vision. He immediately leaned to the side as a long blade hurtled into the air where his head had been two seconds ago. But he noticed too late – though the move saved his life, the blade cut lightly into the side of his face, and disappeared into the night.

Many of the orcs now began to retreat in fear, escaping into the surrounding woods, but the large orc in the back of the group stood his ground, fingering the huge double-bladed axe in his hands. When he saw an opportunity, he lurched forward and swung a bit wildly, cutting the air just in front of Legolas' neck. The orc repositioned his stance, axe out in front of him, and growled evilly at the elf. Legolas' head was spinning slightly from pain and blood loss, but still tightened his jaw and gave the orc a look of pure hatred. The orc swung again, aiming this time for Legolas' abdomen. Expecting such a move, Legolas jumped into the air and flipped backwards, narrowly missing the sharp bite of the axe. He landed gracefully on his feet and again faced the orc, who at the moment looked shocked at the move Legolas had just pulled. But it faded quickly and the orc charged.

As though he intended to cut Legolas in two, the orc threw his axe at the elf. As he saw the hurling mass of metal thrown at him, he halfway fell backwards and watched the axe fly over him, and land harmlessly in the thicket of trees behind him. He got back into a standing position again, and threw both elven knives at the large orc, striking him in the neck and ribs. The orc fell slowly to the ground, a mixture of shock and bewilderment plastered on his face forever.

The remaining orcs watched their greatest warrior fall to the forest floor, and then glared at Legolas. Now weaponless, Legolas froze, knowing that there was no way he was going to survive this. He watched the orcs charge for a second, and then closed his eyes.

The next thing he was kicked in the back of his knees and thrown to the ground. The last twenty or so orcs surrounded him, placing their wicked blades on his neck, chest, and stomach, laughing at him, glad that even in the end the elf couldn't defeat them. Legolas clenched his fists, but held still, knowing that no matter what he wasn't getting out alive by himself. He closed his eyes again and concentrated on one thing – "I'm sorry, Aragorn. I tried."

Yet even as he relaxed and prepared himself for the next world, he suddenly heard hoof beats coming closer to them. The orcs, momentarily distracted, looked up at the new intruder, baring their teeth and hissing their displeasure for being interrupted. The soft thuds of horse hoofs grew louder, and soon a lone dark figure raced out off the trees and into the midst of the orcs.

"Strider!" Legolas couldn't believe it. Still tied securely to Arien's back he charged into the clearing, raising his sword, of which he had miraculously kept a tight hold on. He raised it high into the air and Arien reared up, lashing out with his forelegs, instantly killing three orcs. Aragorn moved his horse toward the greater part of the orcs, scattering them slightly and allowing Legolas to get up and move toward the fallen orc leader to get his knives. Once again equipped with his blades, Legolas again leapt into the battle, fighting side by side with his companion, and together with Arien's help, killed the greater part of the remaining orcs. Knowing that there was no way they were going to win now, the few remaining orcs ran out of the clearing, hissing and crying out in anger and defeat.

Legolas took a deep shuddering breath as he watched the last few orcs run out of sight in total panic. He turned to look at the ranger. Aragorn was still on Arien's back, but barely. With the adrenaline rush over, he looked ready to fall over had his horse not been holding him up. He clutched his horse's mane desperately, trying to regain his breath. Legolas knew he wasn't much better off, but he had to try to help his friend, and fast.

Legolas ran to Arien's side and helped the ranger to the ground. Aragorn winced as he was laid on the ground and closed his eyes, groaning in withering pain. Legolas flinched. He was going to be worse off now that he had fought. He positioned the ranger on his right side as before and unwound the blankets to see the damage that had been done. He groaned as he removed them. The bleeding had slackened little. Since this time he had could longer examine the wounds, he made a through check and discovered more than he wanted to.

Razor-sharp teeth had cut though the lean skin and muscle, tearing it apart, and in some places revealing the clean, white bones of his ribs. Legolas had no time to sit he set to work. He cleaned the wounds as well as he could, and with medical supplies from one of their packs tried to calm the fiery pain. He bound up his side with the blankets again having nothing better to use and got their things together. He saddled Arien and gently put Aragorn in front of him in the saddle. He had to get him to Rivendell quickly. He felt that Aragorn would be in better hands with Elrond than with the healers of Mirkwood. Elrond's skill in healing far surpassed the skill of the healers of his father's. He spoke a word to Arien, and the great horse sprang away. Legolas' horse followed them quickly. Legolas thankfully could direct Arien with a quiet word, and could hold onto his friend with both arms.

They rode almost non-stop to Rivendell. Legolas knew the sooner they got there, the better off they both would be. He didn't actually realize that he was seriously wounded until much later, but he couldn't stop to help himself Aragorn was slipping in and out of consciousness. To keep a good pace, he encouraged Arien in elvish constantly, and the horse responded. He also tried to keep Aragorn's spirits and his own up by either talking or softly singing as they raced through and out of the Misty Mountains.

The ride took nearly two days and most of the second night, arriving just before dawn on the third day. Arien ran into the familiar area and stopped in front of the front door. Legolas tried to yell out for Elrond, but he was so worn from his injuries and constant riding that the noise died before it passed his lips. Fighting the throbbing in his head that threatened to overcome him, he put his head down on Aragorn's shoulder who was at the moment unconscious and inhaled deeply, every fiber of him praying that someone would come and help him. Arien was breathing heavily and was trembling. Legolas patted the great horse's sweating back and gently spoke to him in elvish without moving his head from Aragorn's shoulder.

Suddenly they were surrounded with light the front door had been thrown open. Elladan, Elrohir, and Elrond ran to them. Legolas inwardly thanked them, than allowed the throbbing to claim him, passing out cold in the saddle and falling into Elladan's open arms.