Hey everyone! I'm so sorry it took so long but I had major writer's block and I actually wrote this a few months ago…but I didn't like it so I re-wrote it…I still don't like it but I wanted to give you all something. If I still have any readers after this ridiculously long hiatus then thank you.

Overthrown

Chapter 20

Kingdom Come

Aragorn took Lodrin and wrapped the unconscious boy's arm over his shoulder before pulling him to his feet. The small man was heavy and his enchanted soaked body was beginning to take a toll on Aragorn. The strangely magnified power of the river sent tingles through his shoulder and back, threatening to close his eyes and send him into the dream world.

"What of Legolas!" Laren screamed, ducking under a spider leg and swiping at the creature with her sword. Aragorn continued to push on, through the jumble of men, wanting to get the unconscious boy as far from the spider attack as possible.

"He will be fine!" Aragorn called back. "Legolas has saved my life on countless occasions and I trust him to…" A spider came rushing at them full force. Aragorn's wits, dulled by the steady drip of enchanted water onto his clothes and the weight of Lodrin's body wrapped around his, couldn't get out of the way in time. He would have been bowled over completely if Laren hadn't stepped in the way and began counter attacking the spider.

"Go!" She screamed, scrambling underneath a hairy foot aimed at stomping her to death. "Go! Get him away." Aragorn turned his back on the pair and began hauling Lodrin across the road, dodging fighting pairs and swooping hairy legs. Twice he stumbled and fought sleep away while marveling at the intensity of the river.

"Aragorn, lad!" Gimli called out suddenly. Aragorn turned and saw the stumpy Dwarf running up the road toward him, hefting his axe and swinging at a few spiders who dared challenge him. "You want some Dwarf meat?" He screamed, turning to face them fully. The spiders hissed and backed up as spit flew at them from the enraged creature's mouth. "Huh? I'll be a tougher meal then those prancy elves you try to feast upon!"

"We are hardly prancy." Said an elegant voice behind him. Gimli hadn't even heard the whole sentence before it registered there was an arrow sticking out of the eye of a nearby spider. Straightening, he raised his axe and turned very slowly toward the voice. Three elves stood behind him, looking disheveled and worse for the wear, but anger flashed in their calm blue eyes. Anger at their home being desecrated, their dead being carted off to spider nests, missing, pain, sorrow…Gimli shivered.

More arrows were flying at the spiders here and there in the trees. Hardly a welcome Gimli would expect, coming from the elves of Mirkwood. There had always been many popping out on the trail to welcome him and Legolas when they had shown up. Songs would erupt from the trees; elves would step onto the path with glowing smiles and bow to their prince and his best friend. The chill subsided. These elves wouldn't smile.

The spiders began to retreat in shrieking lines toward the trees. Crashing through undergrowth and knocking down small trees in their haste, many trampled humans who didn't make way, leaving a groaning, painful mass in their wake. Gimli helped up one fallen soldier before turning on the lead elf behind him.

"I suppose you think it is funny, do ya, elf? Sneaking up on me like that?" The elf looked grim and shook his head. "Took ya long enough."

Without a word, the elf turned to Aragorn who was being helped by two others with his burden. "The Prince is safe; he was taken home a few minutes ago, through there." The elf pointed into the trees. "Gather your men. We will lead you. This path is no longer safe." In silence, the elves moved off, some shrinking away like eerie shadows back into the trees, others moving off along the road.

A few men were dead, many injured. These attacks were becoming tiresome, placing everyone on their guard. In no time, the group was moving off again, up the path, supporting each other with every pained step. Many whispered back and fourth between themselves, wondering if there would be anything to eat once they reached Thranduil's home, but hopes were soon dashed.

The outer village was utterly destroyed. The homes, weather on the ground or in the trees, were nothing more then smoldering, destroyed piles of wood not even worth putting on a fire. Trees had been torn down and pulled unceremoniously from the path; charred branches smudging rocks black. Aragorn shuddered, his heart filling with emotion as he saw two elflings helping a warrior rummage through the debris. None of them looked up as the party passed.

Many men marveled at the cliffs ahead of them, with some windows jutting out of the rock. After the war, Thranduil had expanded his kingdom, creating light seepage systems inside his home so natural light could flood into the caves below. Aragorn's eyes strayed on Legolas' bedroom window which had been smashed. Glittering, painted glass lay in a heap on the ground below.

The main chamber hall was quiet and still, like death. Aragorn ordered his men to unpack and set up camp there, for he didn't know how many people would be taken up rooms in other areas of the castle. After leaving orders with Gariel, he and Gimli made their way through the darkened halls, searching for Legolas. They found him in the ballroom.

Hundreds of elves were here, many lying in makeshift beds. The smell of blood and sickness assaulted their senses, making Gimli gag. In the doorway, they watched as Legolas flitted around the room, carrying bandages and water. He seemed to find time to talk to every elf he passed, making them smile. It was reassuring to see their prince back.

Aragorn let his eyes continue to wander. A young elf-maiden with shimmering brown hair lay close to death at the far end of the hall. Her face was paler then usual, black streaks standing out starkly against her skin. She watched him through blackened eyes and a single poison tear ran down her cheek. Aragorn swallowed as Legolas approached her. The Prince bent down and whispered into her ear, his fair hand wiping away her pain as he gave her a drink of water.

Knowing his skills would be needed; Aragorn caught up with Legolas and pulled him aside. Legolas looked tired and sad but his face was set. No amount of pleading from Aragorn would get him to lye down.

"Where am I needed?" Aragorn whispered over the moans and calls of elves. Legolas' eyes flickered around the room, indicating everywhere. Aragorn nodded. "Alright." He went to move off but Legolas caught his arm.

"My father is missing." Legolas said, his voice strained. "They took him." Aragorn's brow furrowed. Why would they take Thranduil? "Some of the bodies are also missing. I was talking to a healer and he said that many people were poisoned in the attack. They all went missing after they died."

"After they died?" Aragorn's face fell into a look of puzzlement. "Their bodies went missing?" Legolas nodded.

"Many of my friends…" He trailed off and turned his attention to a young she-elf who had just entered. Without a word, Legolas crossed the hall and pulled her aside. Aragorn shook his head and began helping the elves with their wounded. There were many poisoned and in worse stages then Legolas. Why, though, would the attacking forces take the dead?

Throwing away all thought, he proceeded to move around the hall, attending to all the children first. Gimli soon caught up to him and held bandages in his arms. After they had tended to sick for over an hour, Aragorn crouched down next to a little she-elf, her small hands clenched on her blanket in a death grip.

She was dead, and had been for a while. Poison had long ago dried on her lips and eyelashes, even seeping out from under her fingernails. Gimli moaned and crouched down next to her, dropping the rolls of cloth onto the bed beside her. With a trembling hand, he stroked her forehead, sorrow in his every move. "I knew her." He whispered gruffly. Aragorn nodded. He'd seen her around, usually in the barn with the horses. "She always asked me questions about my beard."

"It is a strange thing." Aragorn said, untangling a strand of blond hair. "You're beard. She was probably worried that you lost the bottom half of your face."

Although he said it was such sorrow and solemn pain, Gimli managed a smile. He dipped his head and kissed her cheek, smearing his beard black. With a shaking hand, he wiped his mouth and looked around the hall. Legolas was standing off to the side, his arms folded, watching his people.

"I will be back." The Dwarf whispered. He closed in on Legolas long after the fair creature had spotted his destination. With long strides, Legolas tried to escape into the dark halls beyond but Gimli's stubbornness won out. He grasped the back of the Prince's tunic and halted him. "Lad?"

"My father's missing. My friends are dead. My people are in ruin." His voice was flat and emotionless. "Spiders invade and Wargs have been spotted moving into the area." Slowly, the elf turned and met his friend's eye. There was a stony, cold face framed by blond hair. It made Gimli shiver and step back. "I have to find out why."

"Why?" Gimli growled. "It was random…" Legolas shook his head.

"It was planned." Pulling away from the Dwarf, Legolas began his slow and arduous journey down the hall, every step seeming to cost great effort. "My father knew something." Then he was gone, having turned the corner and disappeared into the dark.

In the hall, a red haired man crouched by the main doors, having been ordered with fifteen or so others to keep a watch. His eyes wandered over the dying trees with mild amusement, his own cleverness surprising even him.

A figure crouched next to him and began to speak, but he hardly listened to the words. His eyes were fixed on a young elf maiden who had joined a guard and two children shifting through debris. If he didn't have to keep his cover, he would have her for his own. Like many of Thranduil's people, she was fair and her elven grace only raised his desire.

"Prince Legolas will find it for us." The figure beside him said. He nodded, continuing to watch the maiden who glanced up at him, obviously sensing his gaze. Her keen sight easily pierced the darkness of his hood and she turned her back on him, moving further into the night until he could no longer see him. "Do not touch him until Aron says."

"And when is that?" The assassin growled at his companion. He spun to face the dark figure beside him, trying to see through the darkness of the other's hood. "Thranduil's fortune lies below us. We could take it and be done. He wants the kingdoms…I want to live happy and in comfort, is that so wrong?"

The other hesitated. "The key to immortality lies here. Legolas is the only one who can find it for us. Wait longer. I've been sworn to protect him and bring him to Aron. I obey, you will to!"

The red haired man scoffed. "You can do nothing but follow orders. I have a choice." The other shifted and pulled a dagger from their boot. The red haired assassin didn't give it even a second glance before lighting a pipe and taking a drag on the sweet herb inside. "Go. I will cause no trouble."

Just as suddenly as they appeared, the figure was gone, leaving behind a slight elf like fragrance…or maybe it was from the unseen maiden watching him in the trees?

TBC…..