Hey everyone! Let me give a few excuses as to why it has been so long:

1) I joined SADD in my school and was asked to write the SADD play! So excited. 2) School. 3) I got one of the leads in the grade 12 play at school. 4) Checking out Universities! So, I hope those are good enough excuses. I am so sorry for the long wait but I am back now and hopefully I can get started on my other stories as well.

Overthrown

Chapter 18

Enchanted By Water and Maidens

In the morning, Legolas' stung arm was no longer numb, but aching. Wincing, he pulled himself up and clutched his shoulder, trying to dispel the stiffness in his joints. He had been stung so many times in his life; the dull ache was nothing but a minor annoyance. A minor annoyance that Aragorn, the sharp-eyed, motherly human, would almost definitely pick up on.

Swearing, he let his arm go and tried to flex his unresponsive fingers. If this could get any worse, Legolas would be in a coma, or dead. His whole being was burning to get back to his people and find his father.

"Gimli." Legolas called, not turning to the Dwarf. Gimli's breathing rose and fell loudly with the whispering of the trees. They no longer taunted the sleeping Dwarf, as they had in the night, but now sang to misery. Legolas watched their tops, the green leaves dark in the dawn light. It now felt as though he were at the center of the world and end of the world. Together, they wrapped up and knotted anxiety in his chest. The closer he got to his home, the worse it became. "Gimli!" One of the trees behind the sleeping creature decided to help and dropped its lowest branch to scratch against the Dwarf's nose. Gimli woke with a start and swatted it aside.

"Damn trees." He stared up at the innocent branch. The trees began to laugh, but sorrowfully. Legolas sighed and squatted down in front of his friend, who was as grumpy as hell. "A friend of yours I take it?"

"The men are moving." Legolas announced, blue eyes flickering towards the men assembling up the road. "Come on, we have to go." Reaching out with his good hand, he offered the rumbling Dwarf a hand up but the stubborn creature refused. Slowly, struggling, Gimli pulled himself to his feet. Legolas looked up at the Dwarf towering above him and smiled. The beetle black eyes wrinkled slightly and stared at Legolas' neck. Slowly, he squinted and leaned closer.

"Is that a fashion now?" He asked, pointing at Legolas' neck. Legolas shifted uncomfortably and played with his collar, trying to hide the poison tendrils.

"Finally, you two are up." A small voice said from behind them. Legolas spun around on his heels, still low to the ground, and came face to face with a very sleepy looking Pippin. The Hobbit yawned and stretched. "Aragorn sent me over to get you." Legolas let his gaze drift across the Hobbit to Aragorn, who was strapping Valdeglarion's body into a make-shift sled. His heart sinking, he looked back to the Hobbit.

"I want you to help Gimli get Arod prepared. I trust you more then him." Gimli seemed to hear what he said and began packing up their stuff, grumbling. "Find a porter and a pack horse, see if you can find a cup, any cup, and bring it back to me. Okay?" Pippin nodded, slightly confused, and swept past Legolas with out another word.

As the two packed, Legolas approached Aragorn and was surprised to see Laren with him. She smiled at him as he approached. "You're up late." Aragorn said, straightening. He appraised the Prince for a moment and then smiled slightly. "You look terrible." A flash of memory hit Legolas then at these words. Helm's Deep, Aragorn suddenly there after being dead, Legolas holding his necklace, "You look terrible."

Aragorn seemed to have thought of that two because he suddenly touched the necklace around his neck and turned to Laren. "You'll take one of the extra horses and lead the way with Legolas." Laren looked at the King uneasily.

"I was thinking I could ride with Prince Legolas, your Highness. If that would be okay?" She looked at both of them, her eyes dark with a slight embarrassment, as though touching the Prince or riding on the same horse as him was something she had only ever dreamed about. Legolas watched Aragorn for a moment and then nodded slightly.

"If Gimli won't mind." He said after a second. Laren smiled, relieved, and nodded.
"I'll talk to him." She grinned and moved past them, looking back at Legolas one last time before she disappeared into the crowd.

"Gimli will not be happy riding with me…or one of the twins." Legolas couldn't help but smile at the thought of Gimli and one of the twins on the same horse. It was hard enough when they were in the same traveling group, or even the same world. Legolas nodded and glanced nervously over his shoulder. He couldn't see Laren or Gimli, but Pippin was coming toward him with a tarnished silver cup.

"Here Mister Legolas." The Hobbit said, handing it to him. Legolas took it with a small smile of thanks, nodded the Aragorn, and took off toward the tree line. When he was safe, out of the glaring eyes of men and horses, he sat on the exposed roots of a large tree and leaned against the trunk.

Pulling his sleeve from his shirt, he placed the cup on a large, flat rock and lifted arm over top. The gash from the spider's sting was large and still secreting fluid. Wanting to gage how much poison he'd been given, he took his dagger, cut the wound deeper and then watched as white foam dripped into the cup.

Shutting his eyes, he let the pain seep into his core, shaking up his arm and around his soul. As he drifted off, the trees comforted him into slumber, and woke him when danger approached. Opening his eyes, confused as to how long he'd been asleep, he shifted his gaze around for the danger he'd been warned of. Pulling his hand from over the white foam and blood in the cup, holding his dagger in front of him.

"Your highness?" It was Laren. Legolas loosened his grip and peeked out from behind the tree. She looked at him, worried, and stopped in her tracks, as though scared to go any closer. "Are you alright?"

Legolas nodded and motioned her to come closer. Leaning back against the tree, he stared down at the white fluids mixing with crimson on his arm. Laren stared at them too, her eyes wide.

"You had no one take a look at that?" Laren asked, rushing over and crouching down next to him.

"Not today." He said, playing with the raged edges of the puncture mark. Laren reached out and tentatively took his arm, pulling it close to her. Her soft hands moved comfortingly around the bruised edge, soothing the ache with their warmth. She seemed suddenly a spirit from some fairy tale a maid had once told him of. Her beauty and elegance brightened the dark forest and wrought within him a clam he hadn't felt in a long time.

As gently as she could, she brought the cup to the wound and squeezed around the edges. Blood and venom leaked out in rivers down the sides of his arm, dripping with strange, heavy Plunks into the cup.

"My soul is aching." Laren whispered suddenly, breaking the silence. "I need to get home. I fear what we will find when we get there." Legolas nodded and leaned back against the tree as she bandaged his arm. When she was done, Laren patted his shoulder gently and leaned back against the tree beside him. With their shoulders touching, the two elves stared at the blue sky just visible through the trees.

"I also fear what we will find." Legolas answered. He let his head roll to the side and watched her as she adjusted her collar. "You said you were poisoned as well. How far has it progressed?"

Laren suddenly looked scared, but it was such a quick flash, Legolas was unsure if he had seen it or not. "I…it is fine." Looking like she wanted to say more, she merely sighed and shook her head. "We should get back, your highness. We should reach home by night fall."

"We've already passed three guard posts." Legolas said, staring into the dark trees before them. Like a maze, they winded and twisted away into a jumble of black, brown and green. "There has been nothing. Why would they attack?"

"I have no answers." Laren answered, her voice shaking slightly. "Come on, we should go." Standing, she wiped away leaves clinging to her riding jacket, and reached out her hand, pulling him to his feet. The cup was in her hand an instant later, and she stared at the contents inside. "That wasn't as much as it should have been." She commented, swirling the contents. Legolas stared into the cup and realized with a strange chill, that she was right.

It was late in the day, almost sundown, when they came to the end of the main path. Beyond the tree line they could see the plains beyond Mirkwood. Legolas pointed out the gap to a few men who had ridden excitedly forward, eager to escape the dreary dark, only to be halted by the fair elf shaking his head.

"No." He said. "Beyond there is the home Beorn. He does not wish men to come calling now, nor as many as our number." Grimly, Legolas pointed to the right of him, to a narrow, slightly worn path in the deep grass. "That is our road."

The men looked grim but nodded and took off down the way they had came to rejoin their men. In their wake, Legolas saw Gariel give him a strange look.

Laren had been easier to ride with then Gimli. Her warm, soft weight behind him was comforting and he could hardly feel her slender hands on his sides. She didn't press nor pull on him like the Dwarf and moved as one with Arod over the most uneven land. He wondered how Gimli would feel if he mentioned his preference to the Dwarf.

"I don't think we're going to make it home tonight." Laren whispered, her soft breath caressing his ear. Legolas shivered slightly and stared down the nearly invisible path ahead of him.

"We can try." Legolas whispered back. He pushed Arod forward and into the dark trees, glancing at the forest end as he went. "We'll skirt the Mountains of Mirkwood and turn onto the elf path. Cross the enchanted river and enter home."

"Do you think the woodmen have been attacked as well?" Laren asked. Legolas had no answer, so stayed silent.

After a few hours, it became obvious that they would not make the kingdom by nightfall. The darkness descended like a shroud and they were forced to stop for the night.

The Enchanted River was named for a good reason. The water, when touched, would place the toucher in a deep sleep for a few days. As a defense against some of the dark things in the world, the elves had won some major battles in the past with this river. Now, it seemed more of a hindrance.

The men were lined for as far as the eye could see up the elf path, Legolas and Laren in the front on Arod, staring at the rushing black water before them. There was one boat on the far bank, a lure for would be travelers, and an old, rotten bridge that had long ago fallen away into the abyss beneath. The illusion that the boat was the only crossing way usually deterred smart creatures and only the stubborn tried to pull it across. The Dwarves, with Bilbo, had crossed on that boat long ago.

The men in the front had passed on word that there was no way across until the whole line of men were whispering like a bee-hive to each other. Legolas pulled Arod left and began moving away across the shoreline. "What are we going to do?" A voice asked far down the line. Legolas sighed and stopped Arod when he saw a glint on the ground in front of him, so dull and quick, no one would have seen it if they hadn't been looking. Carefully, he detached from Laren's hands and jumped off the horse.

"Pass on the word down the line, we're crossing here." Legolas told Laren. The other elf nodded, turned the horse, and cantered away through the gloom, passing on the word. The men he could see were watching him as though he had completely lost his mind. Slowly, showing them his every move, he placed one foot and then another across the invisible bridge spanning the black current below. When he was out in the middle, visible to almost everyone in the large group, he turned to them and called out, "This Bridge moves every day. Only royalty and the very privileged in Mirkwood know where it is, and when it will be there. If you try to follow this way again, you will never find it. This is a warning."

The men looked uneasy, When Legolas' threat had sunk in, he continued, "Dismount your horses and carefully walk them across the bridge. They will be able to see the structure beneath them, even if you cannot. It is wide enough to pass you all. Just stay between the edges."

He crossed to the other side easily and grabbed a handful of dirt. With a flourish, he threw the dirt out into seemingly empty air and watched it land and settle on the invisible bridge. Laren crossed first, leading Arod easily across. The horse seemed skittish at first but after a moment his footsteps became fluid and at ease. The men, heartened by this slightly, stepped forward and dismounted.

After the elves in the group had successfully crossed, Legolas motioned for the men. They all stared, nervous again, obviously believing the fairer folk could do it easier then they could. After a few minutes of coaxing, and Aragorn crossing, Lodrin came forward.

He was nervous, as always, and seemed to be on the verge of a break down. Stepping carefully, he led his horse the first few, tentative steps out and then faltered, eyes cast down, watching the swirling water below.

"Lodrin." Legolas called, extending his hand. The boy was still too far out for him to grab and pull onto the shore. "Lodrin." The boy looked up, white. "Come. You're doing well."

The young man took one step and then another. They had almost made it when his horse took a nervous step sideways and knocked him off the bridge. Legolas screamed and sprang forward, trying to grab the horse. The animal bolted past him, slammed into Legolas' shoulder and sent the elf over the edge of the bridge along with the boy.

To all my reviewers, thank you so much! You all rock!

P.S. To Zammy: My horse's name is Frenchie. She is a bay color, 8 years old, Arab/Saddle bred. She is so beautiful and absolutely one of my best friends. Thanks for the review.