Sorry for such a long update. Between having a bit of a writer's block, my grandmother moving and moving myself, I didn't have a chance to do this.

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"You know what I planned? Tell me then, what do I have planned?" wondered Narcissis.

"You're going to be snatching him out right out from underneath our noses, using him as your own personal slave," Yancha growled.

Narcissis gave an angry look at Yancha. She didn't like the assumption, even though it was half true. Indeed, she was going to take him away, but not as a slave.

"I can't outsmart you. You've figured me out after such a short time after I arrived," Narcissis said.

She backed away from Haldir, who carefully eyed her every movement. Yancha noticed this and stormed up to him, kicking him in the stomach.

"You will only pay attention to me! You are mine and will be to your death," she hissed at him.

Haldir gritted his teeth, not wanting to show a lot of pain. He carefully watched her moving around him as Narcissis began to head away from them. Banside crossed his arms, watching her as she did so. Yancha noticed his actions and headed back over to his side.

"What are you thinking?" she wondered.

"I feel Narcissis has been comprised somehow. She is not the same as she once was," Banside quietly told her.

Yancha narrowed her eyes as she stared at Narcissis, who was now sitting near the fire, her back towards them. She gave a laugh as she placed her foot on Haldir's stomach, claws extended. Narcissis tried not to listen as the sound of the elf's quiet groans of pain filled her ears.

00000

"Are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, they could know that we are coming and could be waiting for us when we arrive at the boundaries," wondered Elladan.

"That's the problem, we don't but we have to take the risk if we want to get Haldir and Nanaylia out of there alive," Celeborn replied.

The twins walked up to the edge of the Dark Forest. The branches loomed out over them and it made the twins nervous.

"Why have I never noticed that before?" wondered Elrohir.

"Noticed what?" wondered his brother.

"Noticed those before," Elrohir replied, indicating the trees. "For some strange reason, they seem to feel more eerie than previous visits."

Elladan stared at the branches as the group began to head into the forest. Legolas glanced back to the twins as did Celeborn. The lord turned his stare to Thranduil, who had already begun to head into the woods. Everyone soon began to follow his lead, wondering where the king was leading them.

"You seem to know where you're going," commented Celeborn.

"I have been through these woods many times before, even though very few elves know it," Thranduil replied.

Elladan gave a very surprised look as did his brother. Legolas was more surprised than both of them put together for he never realized how much his father knew about the forest.

"There is so much I do not know about my parents," muttered Legolas.

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Narcissis paced back and forth as she stared at Yancha, who kept her eyes on Narcissis. The paler gargoyle gave an aggravated sigh before she headed out into the forest. She climbed up into the trees and began to make her way from one branch to another.

She moved several hundred yards away from the camp when she stopped. She sat on the branch and gave a deep sigh.

"This is becoming so aggravating. It is going to be so difficult to get Haldir out of there. I wonder how I will be able to do this without help," she whispered.

Narcissis perked up her ears when she faintly heard something in the distance. She began to head in the direction she heard the sounds come from. She wasn't surprised when she came across a small group of elves, quietly talking amongst themselves.

"Gargoyles indeed! There have been no sign of them for years now. Even before that, we had very little trouble from them," she heard one guard say.

"I agree. What trouble are we going to have from them anymore? I do not think that Haldir is out here in this part of the kingdom. He is probably lost," the one beside him said.

Both chuckled but that was soon stopped when Legolas grabbed one of them by the collar. The other stepped back in surprise.

"Do not say something like that ever again! The gargoyles are still a threat now as they were centuries ago," Legolas reprimanded.

The two nodded in reply as Thranduil stepped towards his son.

"Legolas, release him. We cannot change what others think," he said.

Legolas glared at the guard as he released the elf and moved towards his father. Thranduil placed an arm around his son's shoulders.

"Are you going to be fine Legolas?" Thranduil quietly asked him.

Legolas nodded when he heard a rustling in the trees. He turned his head towards the noise and so did everyone else. Celeborn narrowed his eyes as the guards prepared their bows.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" he cried.

"Why shouldn't we fire? We can see that it is a gargoyle preparing to attack," one of the guards said.

Growling could be heard as the gargoyle jumped down from the branches. She circled the guards, who kept their eyes on her.

"If you attack me, then you will never find Haldir and get him out of his prison," she warned them.

Thranduil stepped forward, with Legolas close behind him.

"What news do you bring?" he questioned.

"Their camp is some distance from here but you will never get him out of there alive if you go in by force. There is one female gargoyle there who has already staked her claim on him. If you could give me some more time, I would be able to give you a better chance to get him out of here," she told them.

"Certainly. Take all the time you need," Thranduil said.

The guards stared in disbelief at their king, who turned towards them a glare that said' don't mess with me'.

"You cannot be serious! She is a gargoyle!" said one.

"One who is trying to help us. If you have a problem with that, you can certainly head back to the palace," Thranduil angrily replied.

The guards stepped back and didn't say another word as Legolas turned to Narcissis..

"Which direction is the camp in?" he asked.

Narcissis glanced around the area before fixing on a direction and giving gesture with her hand. Thranduil stood beside her, hoping that the gargoyles weren't expecting them or Narcissis to get Haldir out of there.

"You better head back before they notice that you have been gone for too long," he quietly suggested. "But do your best to give Haldir a chance to get out of there."

She nodded before climbing back into the trees and disappeared out of sight, never noticing the pair of eyes watching her from the shadows.

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Narcissis stepped back into the camp to find Haldir laying on his stomach, Yancha standing over him.

"What did you do to him now, Yancha?" she wondered.

"He tried to resist, so I decided to teach him a lesson," Yancha said with a smile.

Narcissis tried to assess Haldir's injuries from the angle she was looking from. She noticed a gash on his stomach that was bleeding but she had no idea when he received it. She was worried about blood loss now.

"If it is fine with you, I will watch him tonight," Narcissis told her,

The two stared at each other before Yancha nodded her head and began to walk away. She took a few steps before turning enough to look at her.

"If I find that you did anything with him, I will kill you myself," Yancha warned her.

Narcissis smirked, crossing her arms as she watched Yancha move to the other side of the camp. She sat down next to Haldir, hoping that he would live through the night.

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Legolas lifted his head slightly to see the gargoyles milling about, unawares on how close the elves were to their location. He surveyed the scene before heading back to the other elves. Celeborn watched as the younger elf as he stepped back into the group.

"Were you seen?" he wondered.

"No. The gargoyles are spread out over the camp. Haldir and Narcissis are here," Legolas said.

He made a drawing in the ground with a nearby stick. Celeborn and Thranduil studied it carefully before glancing at each other.

"We should wait until the right moment. We have to give her enough time to get him out of there," Celeborn said.

Thranduil nodded in agreement as he glanced over his shoulder, in the direction of the camp.

00000

Banside stepped up to the fire, turning towards Narcissis once he reached the burning embers. Her eyes watched him from her position beside Haldir and never said a word as he walked over to Yancha. Banside quietly talk to her, nodding in reply.

Narcissis tried to move closer to see if she could hear what Banside what telling her. She couldn't hear all of it but what she heard, startled her.

"…We have to get rid of him now. It's too dangerous for him to be in our hands alive any longer," Banside said.

Narcissis grew surprised before silently hurrying back to Haldir. She gently shook his shoulder and he wakened enough to look at her.

"We have to leave now," was all she said.

"Why?" he wondered.

"They are going to kill you," Narcissis replied.

TBC…