Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings! J.R.R Tolkien does so anything you recognise belongs to him!

A/N: telling to sides of the story here, what's happening back with Legolas's and of course what's happening to Aranel, hope it's not to confusing!

Chapter 15: Pain in the dark.

Legolas watched as Aranel slipped out of the hall, tears starting to streak her cheeks. He looked back down the long table at the three left there of any importance. Evandar shook his head sadly, still watching the door that Aranel had left through, Illindor was pushing his food around his plate with a distance look in his eyes and Thranduil laughed merrily at some comment and drank deeply from the goblet in his hands. They all knew, Legolas realised now, even his own father had not seen fit to at least soften the blow by letting him in on it before hand. He puzzled over how they could possibly have found out, wondering briefly whether Aranel had told them, betraying them to his father but found the idea too painful to focus on. So instead, without saying a word, without even looking for permission or forgiveness or anything in his father, Legolas left the table, the murmurs that followed him through the same door Aranel had left through cutting off suddenly as it closed behind him. He lent heavily against the cold stone wall, thanking its solidness for without it he thought he would have surely crumbled to the floor with the rest of the world around him.

Taking a deep breathe he headed up the many flights of stairs to Aranel's room, praying to any gods he could think of that once there he would find it all had been a bad dream, and that they could start the evening over again as it should have been, her waiting for him in all her radiance so they could face the world together and tell it of their love.

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The three now left in the dinning hall were not surprised at all at Legolas's sudden departure, not to long after Aranel's. Evandar had not the heart to watch him go, his thoughts were already troubled enough with out having to see the pain and sorrow he had caused in a man that deserved none of it. Here he was, so young and yet so old and with no idea how he was going to get through this. Aranel's devastation and Legolas's betrayed face kept looming up into his mind as the reality of what he had agreed to settled in. He was betrothed to a woman he could easily love with all he had, a woman who, no matter what he did to try and make her see, would always be in love with another, and he would always be the man that kept them apart, kept her form truly ever being happy for the rest of eternity. He mulled this over as he pushed what remained of his meal around his plate. Evandar was brought suddenly out his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see Illindor, regret hidden behind his eyes watching him.

"Go to her, Evandar. As much as he loves her Legolas can only do damage now, he can only make her sorrow worse. You must make them both see truth behind the situation or they will look for someone to blame and forever see us as the cause of their pain."

Evandar nodded absentmindedly, standing and following the path of the two before him, all tangled in web he could see now way out of.

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Both heard it at the same time, a blood freezing scream full pain and sorrow suddenly cut short into a dreaded silence. Legolas could not decided which was worse, he thought as he ran, the horrid sound of Aranel screaming or the deathly silence that followed. One sending such dread through him while the other left him terrified of the unknown.

He smelt the smoke before he got there, bursting through the door to find the curtains ablaze and smoke slowly filling the room.

"ARANEL" Legolas yelled at the top of his voice but no reply came; he ducked down to avoid the smoke, which was now pouring out into the corridor through the open door and ran into the bathroom, constantly scanning for her familiar frame. He grabbed a bucket absentmindedly and quickly dipped it into the abandoned bath, left in the haste to get ready that afternoon, dousing the roaring flames.

He called out her name once again as he fill the bucket again, hearing footsteps coming running into the room. He emerged quickly to find Evandar standing in the middle of the room, slowly suffocating the fire of air until it shivered and died, leaving them in a dull darkness.

"Where is she?' Evandar queried quietly, staring around the room.

"I don't know," Legolas answered hurriedly, as he dropped the bucket and started searching the room frantically. There was no sign of Aranel or what could have possible happen and their search slowly become more desperate, both lover and betrothed for once working together for the same cause.

Illindor suddenly appeared in the room not long after, closely followed by Thranduil and a bunch of squawking servants, crowding the door trying to see what all the excitement was about.

Illindor took one look around the room, shivered suddenly, muttering to himself, "It is rank with black magic in here." He started to scan the floor, seeming to search for something only he could see, Evandar coming to stand beside him.

"You fear the worst." He said, almost in a whisper.

Illindor only nodded in reply, brow furrowed, never stopping in his search.

"I thought he was defeated." Evandar continued, shock written over his features.

"Even if he were, we will never be rid of the darkness, for what is light without darkness?"

The Elves watched this exchange, Thranduil firing orders at the servants every now and again, Legolas becoming more and more frustrated with the situation. "Does anyone mind explaining to the rest of us what is going on?" he suddenly exploded at the Fay.

Illindor stood suddenly, a charged chain in his hand, ignoring Legolas's demand. Evandar looked at the chain, pendant sitting lightly in Illindor's hand, red stone glinting darkly in the dull light.

"Aranel's pendant." Evandar murmured.

"No, Orenar's pendant. It is as we feared." Illindor looked around at the others, a single tear tracing the contours of his face for the loss of his daughter.

"What in the name of Valar is going on here? Aranel always wore that pendant, and who is Orenar?" Legolas demanded again.

"The pendant was given to her by our enemy, a Price of Shadow, Orenar, leader of the evil that ravaged my kingdom many years ago. From the moment this touched her skin she was marked, he has come for her tonight."

"What do you mean?" Legolas queried in an urgent whisper.

"She is lost to the Shadow."

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Darkness slowly ebbed into a lesser darkness, which in it's turn turned to a flickering torch, spitting and hissing at emptiness around it.

Aranel sat up slowly, eyes shut tightly to stop the world spinning around her, she learnt her head on the unforgiving stone behind her, slowly opening her eyes and focusing on the flame in front of her. A sense of de jar vu came over her, thinking back to the cell she had woken up in when she had arrived in Mirkwood and she wondered if perhaps everything had been a dream and she was still in fact down there.

Once her head had settled and she could actually look around without feeling to sick, she began to take in her surroundings. She was surprised to see that she was not in fact in complete darkness, just a very dull light, and as her eyes adjusted she was slightly shocked once more to see that she wasn't in a cell, she could make out the looming forms of furniture to her left and a large desk slightly to her right. That's weird, she thought groggily as she took it all in. Deciding it might be a good idea to actually get up and explore her surroundings, perhaps find some clue as to where she was as if there was any chance of escape from the room, she began slowly to get up, only to stop suddenly at the rattle of chains.

She froze, her slow and groggy mind suddenly hitting a brick wall as to what might be out there and panic started to rise in her. She cursed her situation under her breathe, wishing she could just focus and think clearly for a minute, when instead her head felt like someone had stuffed it full of wool.

When no other sound of movement came she once again attempted to get up, only to be greeted yet again by the rattle of chains.

This is ridiculous! Aranel thought as she slumped back down, chains still rattling somewhere in the room.

She went to draw her knees up to her chin when she suddenly realise that every time she moved the chains rattled and she looked down at her ankle to see a iron manacle around it, a heavy chain attached to her ankle. Panic stricken she followed the chain to the wall behind her, it was fairly long but she doubted now that she would be able to reach even the desk, which was closet to her. She tugged desperately where the chain was attached to the wall, that being unrelenting she and then tried to somehow slip her ankle out of the manacle, only succeeding in hurting herself.

Tears fell and she couldn't help but sob, curling into a ball on the hard, cold ground, and wishing that it had indeed been a dream, the fear of someone actually chaining her to a wall with a specific purpose in mind seeming far more threatening than being alone in a cell.

So Aranel cried, letting panic clutch around her heart and fear take the very breathe out of her lungs as she awaited her fate to come and get her out of the shadows beyond.

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Well, there you go, yet another chapter, little bit shorter than usual I know, sorry about that. Hope it wasn't to confusing with the changes of point of view, just had to get everyone's perspective in. Once again, reviews keep me going so please review! And thanks to everyone that has been, you guys are great! Oh! And Merry Christmas or any other holiday that you might be celebrating everyone!