Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with LotR.

Finally, huh? XD I didn't mean to forget it! I posted a one-shot to make up for it, called Should Have Known, went up the same day the site went down. XD ..:ahem:..

Well, here you all go. Hope you all enjoy it. n.n

Hunted

Chapter Four: Gone

Much to Legolas and Aragorn's dismay, Elrond hadn't been able to figure out who the lost necklace belonged to. Despite the archer's caring reminder, the elder elf did not sleep either. In fact, the words had only served to keep him awake, for he needed to do everything he could to keep Legolas safe.

Needless to say, Elrond was exhausted. During the morning meal the others had inquired about his state of health and, much to his amusement, Legolas reprimanded him for not sleeping. He had just smiled in return. His sons—including Legolas—had not appreciated this gesture, to say the least.

They had spent the rest of the day in the garden—one of Legolas' favorite places of Imladris. They had convinced Elrond to go and relax with them, to take a break. However, the elf-lord had not stayed long, unable to calm his mind while the murderer was on the loose; possibly plotting the next death, which could be Legolas' for all they knew. None of them would allow that to come to pass. Elrond had retreated to his study, getting barely an hour of rest; even being an elf he was pushing his limits.

The other four had watched sadly as he left, being unable to convince him to stay longer.

The elder elf still attended the afternoon meal, taking a break from his intensive work to check on the others.

Later that day, Legolas, Aragorn and the twins decided that they would go up to Elrond's study and help him. They hated the fact that he was holed up in there while they were outside enjoying the radiant sun and the smell of the outdoors; just being able to relax with him doing nothing but try to solve this case drove all the fun out of anything they did, and made them feel guilty.

…………

Elrond looked up at the door in expectation, praying that it was Elendur with news; good news, the kind that would help catch the killer.

At his approval, the door opened to reveal his sons and Legolas. To say he was surprised would be an understatement.

His eyes widened with a sudden thought. "Did you remember…?" he asked, saying the last word slowly as he trailed off when both Legolas and Aragorn shook their heads, eyes closed as if ashamed.

"No matter," the elder elf tried to make it seem of little importance, fighting his disappointment. It wasn't disappointment in the two friend's inability to remember, but the fact that he had gotten his hopes up when he had known better. "Has something happened?" he queried again, there had to be some reason for their unexpected visitation. He knew there hadn't been another murder, for they would have entered in a much more panicked manner; without knocking.

"Nay, we merely wish to help you," Legolas answered. Even though they had all been thinking it, Legolas had been the first to suggest going to help the stressed elf-lord.

Elrond stared wide-eyed at the four, openly displaying his surprise, it had been so sudden. His expression softened and he smiled.

From then on, Aragorn, Legolas and the twins helped the elder elf, making a habit out of it. They knew Elrond appreciated it and that it also eased his mind, enabling him to calm down.

…………

A couple weeks passed by without clues or revelations. They were all stressed and weary, unsure of what to do. All of them wished that they could just forget about the mad elf and have the fun they usually did, the fun that Legolas had been expecting. They still took breaks from the tedious work every once in a while, going to the garden, riding in the forest, relaxing in the library; even going to the archery range (where Legolas won the contest Elrohir had been so persistent about). They did the things that they usually did… except for one thing: they could not pull pranks, which was one of their favorite things to do. However, they held back, knowing the elf-lord would be extremely upset if they attracted too much attention. The killer was still out there somewhere, out there looking for the next victim, watching for heads covered in gold.

They were grateful for there being no more deaths at least. They had continued to ask people (the ones they knew they could trust) if they knew who the necklace's owner was. No one had known.

Another week passed; still their quest proved to be fruitless. It was amazing at how well this murderer had hidden his tracks, even with the necklace nothing had turned up.

No one seemed to know anything about it, never even seen it before. Perhaps they were just asking the wrong people. Aragorn and Legolas seemed to be the only ones that had laid eyes on it, and neither could recall the killer's face; they only knew the elf was male, which did little to narrow it down.

Everyone was wound tightly, anxiousness eating at them as they fervently continued their mission; praying that another elf would not die. It had already been nearly a month since the last death.

Elrond was on edge and would snap at anyone if they even suggested he take a break—for sleep or otherwise, even if he knew they had only good intensions. He was exhausted, and near collapse from the lack of sleep, only resting a few hours a day.

Aragorn had been forced into his chambers to sleep, being literally carried there when he refused, despite dozing off too many times to count. With his struggles and arguments, Legolas had finally just given up and picked the sleep-deprived human up. The blonde had ignored all comments as he tightened his hold on his friend who had been blatantly embarrassed by the arrangement.

Even with the protests, Aragorn had fallen asleep as soon as he had been dumped on the bed, shoes on and all. Out of habit, Legolas closed the door behind them as the three left, chuckling lightly—one of the only times they had laughed all day.

Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir went to their own chambers, deciding that getting some sleep was good for everyone. They just wished they had been able to get Elrond to do the same.

…………

The door creaked loudly against the silence of the home, the occupants having long-since gone to sleep, all but a few were exceptions to this.

The blonde immediately awoke by this unexpected sound. Everyone was asleep, who could it be?

He loosened up, wanting it to appear as though he was still getting some much needed sleep.

The intruder stepped through the doorway and slowly started to make his way to the bed.

The elf inwardly frowned at the sound of the footsteps. It sounded different, heavier.

Then it hit him: they were strange because they weren't an elf's. He deserved to be smacked for his foolishness. He supposed the strain from the mad elf had gotten to him a lot more than he had realized.

"You should not try to sneak up on people," he said, the smile behind his voice giving away the solemn expression he wore.

Opening blue eyes, he stared into stormy ones that were filled with shock. The eyes then frowned at him, the concern seen in them becoming even more deeply rooted.

"You are sleeping with your eyes closed," the human said matter-of-factly, clearly not pleased.

"And you are entering bedchambers unannounced."

"Legolas," Aragorn said in exasperation.

Said elf sighed heavily, filled with defeat. "What would you have me do? I can do naught else but help protect your home."

The words were met with silence, the man having no idea how to respond.

"Why are you here and not resting, mellon-nin?" The question was asked softly as if to lessen the harshness of his last comment.

"I was worried; you were left alone and my door was closed," Aragorn said sadly. "I did not mean to wake you."

"'Tis you who should be sleeping," the blonde said, avoiding the young man's comment about being alone. He knew it. He knew how worried the others were, how uptight they were, how fearful they were, how… How he felt as if he was being watched—hunted like a helpless pray being chased like a plaything for an unknown predator's sick pleasure.

"Legolas…" The grey eyes darkened in sadness. He had awoken to find neither his brothers nor his best friend beside him; how it had been since the prince had arrived and he had panicked. He had feared something terrible had happened to Legolas.

"Forgive me," Legolas said crestfallen. He hadn't even thought about leaving the human's chambers or even closing the door, it was out of habit alone.

"Nay." Aragorn shook his head. "You are well; there was no harm done."

It was still late into the night—well past midnight—and they decided to get the rest of their needed sleep. The two settled down in the same arrangement as before, or whenever they were able to make it back to their chambers. Sometimes they could not prevent it and fell asleep wherever they were looking for clues at. Once Aragorn even came close to sleeping in one of the victim's chambers. That had only been a couple days ago and that had proved just how tired the human really was.

When Legolas woke up the next morning, he figured a bath was in order. It would help calm his frayed nerves and help him think more clearly.

About twenty minutes later, he nearly jumped out of the bath and into his chambers (where Aragorn still was) without putting clothes on.

He quickly dried himself off and donned his clothes; then he ran to Aragorn.

"What is it, Legolas?" the ranger asked, standing up as soon as he saw the elf. He was afraid that something had happened this time with how rushed he was. Was the mad elf after him now? From his bath would be… odd, but definitely unexpected.

"I know whose it is!" the blonde shouted excitedly in a quick reply.

Aragorn immediately stopped any and all movement; all thoughts except of what his friend had just implied. "The necklace?" he asked in disbelief.

"Aye." Legolas nodded in affirmation, his excitement clearly seen by how he fidgeted. "'Tis Lindil's. Remember? He showed us it when he came back from a village; said it belonged to his mother." He couldn't remember the name of the village, though, and wondered if that would be important.

It took Aragorn a while, but it finally dawned on him. "Ai, how could we have forgotten!" he asked rhetorically, smacking his forehead. Then, he froze. "Wait, is he not dead?"

"Aye; a year ago he was murdered." Legolas frowned, pondering. "Mayhap he gave it to someone before he passed?" he suggested.

The excitement left Aragorn's expression as he realized what that meant. They had gotten nowhere. Just when they thought they had figured it out.

He sighed deeply, a sound that wrenched at Legolas' heart; full of despair. "What do we do now?" the man questioned, sounding more at a loss than he had ever before.

Legolas shook his head, shrugging. "Perhaps we should tell your father what we have discovered. Tell him that finding who owned it is pointless, and that we need to find out who he passed it on to." Here he paused. "However, I have not the slightest clue as to how to go about that."

"Nor do I," Aragorn said sadly. After a moment's consideration, "Let us go tell him. He needs the information regardless. We can try to convince him to sleep," he added with a smirk.

Legolas laughed lightly with his best friend and then they made their way to Elrond's study with the news. They prayed that it would somehow be useful.

Arriving at the study, Aragorn knocked on the door. Upon permission, the two entered to find a weary-eyed Elrond inside.

"Adar, you need to sleep," Aragorn said worriedly. His father's health was more important than finding the killer at the moment. If the elf-lord were to collapse who knew what would happen if they did find who the mad elf was.

"Has something happened?" the elder elf ignored the advice, and good advice it was indeed. He knew he was pushing his limit. He wouldn't doubt it if he were to give in to his body's demands soon; his eyes were even beginning to close on their own. He just feared how long he would sleep if he did.

Both Aragorn and Legolas sighed deeply in exasperation.

"Nothing, as you well know," the young man answered. "We have some news; whether it is good or not, you can decide."

Elrond's eyebrows rose in curiosity and he stood tall, daring to hope.

"We know who the necklace belongs to," Legolas started. He echoed his sigh, though this one spoke of despair. "However, he died almost a year ago. It was Lindil's."

Elrond slumped back in his chair. Bringing his hand up to his face, he rubbed his forehead, taking a deep breath. "So…" he thought aloud, exhaling; coming up short. He was exhausted and one of the things he had been staying up for had ended up being pointless.

"Well, we figured that Lindil gave it to someone. And… Lindil was murdered, right?" A nod. "We were thinking that this… mad elf is probably one of Lindil's friends or family members out for revenge."

"Alright," Elrond said, pondering the words. At least they were getting somewhere now. "Do you have anyone in mind?"

There was a long period of silence after these words as the two friends chewed on the question.

Again, it was the elf who spoke first. "It could have been Delnen. They were always seen together." He paused, thinking and then frowned. "However, I believe he left Imladris, did he not?"

"Aye, about six months ago," Aragorn confirmed.

Elrond nodded, bringing a hand down to his chin in deep thought. He should have consulted the two before! He supposed they had just needed time to remember.

"He could still be around," the elf-lord mused. No one had seen anyone in the forests, but that did not mean that they weren't there, especially since this killer was an elf—a mad one at that—and an incredibly cunning one. He had slipped their notice how many times now? Still, he left no traces but the necklace. Hopefully that would prove to be his downfall. They could not afford more deaths. Others would stop trade, visitation, and other needs in fear of death. Also, Legolas' life was in extreme danger, he reminded himself again. The thought never strayed far.

His mind made up, he peeked out of his study and… found what he was looking for: a passing maid. He beckoned the young maiden and said, "Bring Elendur to me."

"Aye, my lord," she replied with a bow and then left, forgetting her other tasks for the moment.

Minutes later, she returned with Elendur and bowed before leaving, knowing she was dismissed by a thank you from Elrond.

The brown-haired elf stood tall in front of his lord, full of a thousand questions, but holding them in, waiting for the elder elf to speak first.

"Have you found anything?" Elrond asked. It would be useful if he knew something too; they could never have too much information.

A dejected shake of the chestnut hair was his answer.

The elder elf nodded, expecting as much. "We may know who is doing this awful deed."

Elendur's eyes widened in pure surprise at the great news. "We think it is Delnen's," he finished.

"But… he left," the young elf said in disbelief.

Elrond told him what Legolas had recalled, with some input from the blonde.

"So what I want for you to do is to search the surrounding forests thoroughly," the elf-lord concluded. "Bring some of your most trusted men and do not leave 'til you are absolutely sure no one is there. Is that clear?"

"Aye, my lord," Elendur said softly, the disbelief still clinging to his mind tightly. It was excellent news that they had gotten somewhere, though. He just prayed that they would be able to find Delnen so this whole ordeal would be resolved.

"Hannon le, Elendur," Elrond said gratefully with a smile.

The brown-haired elf nodded, speechless and bowed.

The door clicked quietly behind him.

"Valar, please let us be right and keep Elendur safe," Legolas prayed, unsure of what would happen in the forest. The wait would surely kill them all, for who knew how long this would take…

So… what do you guys think? I'm not too sure.

Next chapter shouldn't be as long of a wait, but it all depends on when I'm able to type it up. I don't have to worry about forgetting it for another two weeks now. XDD;;

Ja ne