Disclaimer: I do not own LotR or anything to do with it.
Warnings: None really. No slash. ;-;
Sorry 'bout any grammar and/or spelling mistakes.
Got this out pretty quickly, hm? My LotR muse returned to me or the multi-chaptered one in any case. n.n;; …Really didn't take long, though. -.- Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this new fic; don't forget to let me know, alright? n.n
Hunted
Chapter One: Bad Timing
"There's been another one, Hir Elrond," the light brown haired warrior named Elendur, said solemnly.
The Lord of Imladris frowned deeply at the news. "When did it happen?"
"Sometime last night. One of the maids found the body."
Elrond crossed one arm over his chest, resting his elbow on the hand, and the other went to his chin, deep in thought. "Is it the same as the others?"
The warrior nodded. "No struggle, no sounds heard; no signs of forced entry."
The lines creased on the elf-lord's forehead as he tried to figure out their on-going riddle.
All they knew so far was that the assailant had to be another elf; one that knew Imladris' layout and that he was after blonde elves; gender did not matter. Why, they could not explain, but all the deaths thus far had all been so. There had been a total of three. They prayed they would find the perpetrator soon so they could stop the meaningless deaths.
"Very well, thank you. Please keep an eye out for any abnormalities. Also, have more guards posted inside, especially near the chambers containing blondes," the elder elf said, the command sounding odd in his own ears. Since there were so few blonde haired elves in Imladris it shouldn't be that hard.
"Aye, my lord," Elendur said as he bowed. Then he left, leaving Elrond with his confused thoughts.
About ten minutes later there was a knock on his door.
"Come in," he said, standing from the chair behind his desk. He was half-expecting it to be Elendur with new information, so when Elladan and Elrohir (his twin sons) entered, he was slightly taken aback, especially since they hardly interrupted him when he was in his study.
"Adar, Legolas is here," the elder of the two, Elladan, stated grimly.
Elrond was once again surprised, at two things in fact: the way in which his son spoke of his friend's arrival, and that Legolas was even there in the first place. He had sent no letter, neither party had.
Then the reason for their solemn expressions and tone of voice hit him, hit him hard. Legolas was blonde. The murderer would undoubtedly come after him at one point or another if they did not catch him soon.
Without another word, he hurried out of his study, making his way down to the entrance, practically running.
…………
Aragorn – or Estel as his friends and family called him – was the first to meet with Legolas.
The blonde elf dismounted his white stallion and went over to his friend, pulling him into a hug.
The human hugged him back, patting his back.
They had missed each other terribly. It had been a good four months at least since they had last seen each other, for Legolas' duty as Prince of Mirkwood often made him much too busy. However, his father had finally given him a break, allowing him to visit his friends and second family.
The friends broke apart, one looking as if he couldn't be happier; the other one as if he had horrible news.
"What is it, Estel?" the archer asked concerned, a frown quickly replacing the wide smile.
"I am afraid this is a bad time for you to have come here, my friend," the dark-haired human answered seriously.
"Why? What has happened?" Legolas questioned in disbelief. Never had his friend said anything close to that. He had always been ecstatic to see him. This was beyond his comprehension. Had he done something to offend them last time…?
"Nay, mellon-nin, you did nothing," Aragorn quickly reassured. Long years of friendship had enabled him to easily read the elf's expression, and vice versa.
He sighed heavily. "A mad elf is on the loose, killing others in our home, elves with blonde hair…"
Legolas gaped at the ranger. That was certainly unexpected, and explained a lot.
"When did this—" he cut himself off when he saw Elrond hastily making his way towards them, Elrohir and Elladan in tow.
The blonde had to hold in his laughter at the sight. It wasn't often he saw the elf-lord do such a thing. However, because of that same thing, he held in his laughter, knowing it was highly inappropriate. He noticed that Aragorn was doing the same, though and this caused a smile to grace his beautiful features.
"Good morn, Elrond," Legolas greeted, turning his smile into a warm one. He nodded at the twins standing next to their father who, in turn, nodded back. After being told countless times, Legolas had finally dropped the use of 'lord' when talking to Elrond.
"Good morn. 'Tis good to see you again, penneth," the elder elf replied sincerely. He looked to his youngest son beside the blonde elf. "Have you informed him of the… situation?"
Aragorn nodded in affirmation.
"Then, shall we go inside and catch up?" Elrond suggested with a smile. Not only had he missed the young elf himself and wished to see how things were, but he figured he would be safer inside. Perhaps the killer wouldn't know that Legolas had come… as if the prince wasn't noticeable.
The stable hands had taken care of Legolas' horse so they made their way inside.
Elrohir threw his arm around Legolas' shoulder as they walked, conversing lightly with the archer. He needed a real greeting; not one that made it seem as though he wasn't welcome. Aragorn and Elladan also joined in. Elrond was far too worried. With the luck the young elf had, he feared this would not end well.
Once they got inside, they let Legolas put his belongings in the chambers he had long-since claimed as his own and then they settled down for the afternoon meal.
During the meal they discussed everything except the main issue in Imladris. They figured that could wait until afterwards. With the long journey Legolas deserved a break, although it was obvious it wouldn't be able to last long. It never did, it seemed.
When they finished eating and had relaxed a while, Legolas decided to ask questions of this "mad elf" that Aragorn had spoken of.
"So, how long have the deaths been going on?" he questioned seriously, the mirth leaving his eyes for this subject.
Immediately, it was dead silent as the twins and Aragorn stopped bickering.
All eyes were on Legolas, but he was not intimidated in the least.
Elrond sighed deeply, wishing that the archer had come after this was all sorted out. "A couple months now," he answered reluctantly. They would have sent word to Mirkwood, telling Legolas to wait it out, but they had been too busy trying to figure things out. Now it was too late, and he regretted not thinking of it.
"And you have no idea who it is?" the blonde asked, raising his eyebrows in shock. Usually, by now, the mystery would be solved.
"Aye, the elf must have lived here for years. Might have even been born here, for he knows the layout very well. He might even know the ones he's killing," the elder elf explained.
The last part was hard for anyone to believe. This whole scenario was. How could anyone kill someone by choice, let alone someone they knew personally? There had to be a reason behind all this, right?
They had to stop this and quickly. However, they had no clues to who it was.
Elrond told Legolas everything they knew of the subject – which wasn't very much, but he needed to know what they did.
"I am not sure if it is wise for you to stay in your chambers this time," the elf-lord said in concern. For all they knew, the murderer could be someone that knew Legolas and where he slept. He would be too easy of a prey if that were the case.
Legolas said nothing in return. He didn't want to move and cause more trouble for the servants since they would have to prepare another chamber for him. However, if the move would ease Elrond's mind then he would do it. He was a guest, after all, no matter how much he visited, no matter if he thought of Imladris as a second home and them as family, which was also why he would move if they wished.
They could all tell Legolas was uncomfortable with the idea, but knew he wouldn't protest.
This was tricky because all of them cared for the blonde deeply and wished for no harm to befall him, but they also wished for him to feel at home during his stay.
They couldn't just put guards by his door either, if the killer didn't know Legolas was there then he would with that.
Elrond echoed his earlier sigh. "Alright, alright," he gave-in to Legolas' silent plea, also noticing his expression, "but you must lock your balcony door and close the curtains. I shall have someone patrol that hall to make sure all is well."
He knew this would not help Legolas feel comfortable since he always had the curtains open, allowing the light from the sun or moon to shine through. He kept the balcony door open often as well to feel the breeze caress him as it played with his silky hair.
However, Elrond did not see the sad look in Legolas' eyes, for he turned to his youngest. "Estel, I shall have to ask you to leave your door open this night. If you hear anything let me know, but check on Legolas first."
Aragorn nodded in understanding. He had been planning to do so in the first place. His and Legolas' chambers were right across from each other's so he would be able to hear if something was wrong. Despite the other cases having no struggle, he could count on Legolas putting up a fight against this no-name killer.
If any of them thought the precautions were too drastic, they said nothing. And, in fact, none did. They wanted their friend to be as safe as possible.
An idea entered Legolas' mind. He didn't think the others would like it, but it would work and was worth a try.
"We… We could announce that I'm here and lure the killer out," the blonde suggested hesitantly.
"Absolutely not. I will in no way put you in danger," Elrond firmly disregarded the idea. "If you so much as go wandering down the halls without one of us and for no reason, I will lock you up myself," he warned.
Legolas gulped thickly. He had known that he would decline, but he hadn't expected the reply to be so harsh.
"Alright, I will not do anything. It was just a suggestion," he said in truce.
The four let out a deep breath they hadn't realized they had been holding out of sheer relief. Even though Legolas said this, they knew they would have to keep a sharp eye out on him. That shouldn't be a problem, however, since they usually stayed with each other for most of the day when the prince visited.
"Good. Now, whatever you four do today, do not draw attention to yourselves," the elf-lord commanded sternly but caringly. They knew he was just worried about the blonde elf he had come to consider a son.
After the meal, Elrond retreated to his study, wanting to go over the facts they had gathered again. He had to find something that they had missed, something that would give them a clue as to who was causing the distress throughout his home.
………
Legolas flopped down into the chair heavily, letting out a sigh as he closed his eyes, glad to be able to relax.
"Aw, look, the elfling is tired," Elrohir teased. However, he was splayed out on a couch with Elladan himself.
Aragorn was slumped into a chair as well.
Legolas merely glared at the younger twin.
The four had gone out riding in the forest. The archer felt bad for taking his horse out so soon after the long distance he had taken to get to Imladris from Mirkwood, but he also knew that the stallion enjoyed being outdoors; not cooped up in the stable.
And, even though Legolas had been riding all day – and days before that – he never tired of feeling the wind blow through his hair.
He was absolutely exhausted now. He would definitely sleep well that night.
They had also figured that going for a ride would be the best thing to do to past time, since it would draw the least amount of attention.
Every time they entered the forest it was a different experience so they would never get bored of going there.
Everyone figured tomorrow would be a relaxing day, however. Legolas had yet to rest.
Currently, the friends were in the library; they already had the evening meal and were just lazing around now. Elrond had said nothing about the mad elf so they just figured he hadn't found anything new. This involved Legolas too deeply, when the elder elf found something, they would be informed.
Legolas had closed his eyes again after glaring at Elrohir and just let his body go limp, enjoying the company and the relaxation. He hadn't been able to rest in months.
The three brothers watched in amusement as the blonde fell closer and closer to sleep.
However, Legolas didn't like how quiet the others were. It was unusual and made him suspicious.
Blue eyes opened to see the three in the same position as when they had first sat down. "What are you up to?" he asked them, uncertainly. If they were up to something did he really want to know?
Aragorn and the twins just blinked in genuine surprise.
"Nothing, mellon-nin. It hurts that you could accuse us so," the human said, feigning the pained tone.
It didn't work, though. Legolas knew the ranger far too well.
The narrowed his eyes.
"Honestly, we were not planning anything. If you want us to we can easily come up with something," the man continued, trying to prove his innocence. He looked over to his brothers. They nodded in agreement, knowing that he had been asking for support.
Legolas just let it go. They seemed sincere enough. Besides, he was too tired to deal with the pranks. He hoped they at least had the decency to hold off this night.
Soon his eyes were glazed over as he fell into elven dreams, the others smirking as he did so.
They had had something planned for such an occasion, but they could not go through with it. This time the stay that was usually considered a break would not be such. With the killer on the loose, they would have to be really cautious and hold back on their usual activities, namely pranks. They just attracted too much attention.
When all of this was over the real fun would begin.
They all prayed to the Valar this would all end well and soon.
The three watched over Legolas with caring expressions, content to just sit there in his company. It was one way to make sure he didn't get into trouble.
So, what do you all think? I hope you are interested and will want to continue. n.n
To let you all know I will not be able to post the next chapter 'til after the 19th. I am going on a cruise for a week. I hope I'll be able to write some while there but, if not, I'll at least write on the plane. n.n I do have a few chapters of this written out already so no worries there, I just need to type them up. If I end up making any mistakes just kindly let me know and I'll gladly fix it. Comments and suggestions are always welcome. n.n
If you're interested you can go here: http / nightshadow131 .livejournal .com to check out info on fics and whatnot. n.n
Let me know what ya think, 'kay? n.n
Ja ne