Disclaimer: Pretty much the same as always.

A/N: Again sorry that it took so long. I'm glad people still want this to continue so I will do my best to keep it going. Thanks for all the wonderful encouragement. Here's a note to some reviewers.

Deana: Thanks. I'm glad you like my story. I love getting reviews from such an awesome writer as yourself. It keeps me encouraged. Keep up the great work with your stories.

Slayer3: Poor Estel and Leggy indeed. So much more is in store for them too. lol… thanks for the review.

Lady of Rivendell78: Yes, both orcs and spiders. I feel bad for Legolas and Estel, but then again I am the one who is writing it. Lol… oh well, I can still feel bad for them.

Aranna Undomiel: Yikes is right. The odds don't look too good, do they? Sorry I didn't get this up sooner. Thanks for the review.

Kukumalu: haha… yes a very sticky mess. Seems like the always manage to do that. You will see soon what is going on with the Kingdom and everyone. Things will start making a little more sense soon too. I'm glad you think this story has potential. I will keep writing as long as reviewers like you want me to keep going. Thanks so much for the encouragement.

SaphireCat: Busy with homework… I know the feeling. I've been so busy myself. Thanks for taking off some time to review for me. I appreciate it. And yes, I have seen the music video. I love that song so much. I listen to it all the time. It's a great song. Thanks again for reviewing.

Elven Kitten: Glad you liked. Again sorry the chapters are coming slow. Hopefully soon I will be able to get them up faster. Thanks for the encouragement to keep going.

Sarah: I'm so glad you are still enjoying it. One way or the other I will find a way to finish it. Thanks so much.

Celebdil-Galad and Tinlaure: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you want me to keep going. Sorry this wasn't up sooner. I'll try to be faster next time.

Kelsey Estel: ROFTL ….. I guess I shouldn't kill of Elladan then. The results would be disastrous. Yes, it is a very good thing Sauron did not find out about that. lol. Thanks for a good laugh, mellon nin. It actually gave me another idea for a short story. /Laughs evilly/ This could be good. Lol. Thanks for the review. I'm glad you're hooked. Here's more for you.

All right, that's everyone. Thanks so much. A big thank you to Alia G. L for beta reading every chapter. I love you girl. Okay, here's the chapter. Enjoy and please review.

Chapter 14

A Dark Presence

I'm trapped

And there's no where to run

I'm scared

And there's no where to hide

I no longer see the sun

Cause it's starting to fade

Will you be at my side

Even when I fall?

And if our ends have been made

Will you blame me at all?

-Anastasia Who

Aragorn's horse reared up in fright, almost throwing Aragorn to the ground. Aragorn hung on tightly, petting his horse to try to calm him.

"Hodo, Gwador." (Be still.) Aragorn told his horse firmly, hoping the elvish words would calm him.

Amthar was panicking as well, and Legolas had to struggle to keep him still. He began to speak in the elvish tongue soothing his horse with his words. Slowly, he backed away from the spiders, desperately thinking of a plan.

"Estel, draw your bow. We must escape before we are overrun."

Aragorn nodded and put an arrow to his bow.

"Aim to hit them between the eyes or the underside of their body. Don't let them get too close to the horses. A few small bites could prove fatal." Legolas warned. He drew an arrow to his bow and began to fire at the creatures.

The spiders began to scatter around, trying to come at Legolas and Aragorn from all sides. Aragorn was trying his best to kill the spiders around him. To him their moves were unpredictable and they moved quickly behind trees and fallen logs. Never before had he dealt with spiders and his heart beat rapidly against his chest.

Legolas, however, was use to their movements. He could predict their attacks and managed to keep most of the spiders away from them. Suddenly, Legolas heard something above them.

"Estel, the trees!" He warned.

Just as he said that, a spider leapt from the trees, landing on Legolas. The sudden movement knocked Legolas from his horse and onto the ground. Legolas rolled to the ground and began struggling with the spider. Somehow, he managed to draw his knives and stab the creature. Legolas looked down at his arm. Even with his efforts to keep the spider away from him, the spider had still managed to bite his left arm. He could already feel poison surging through his body from the bite wound. Legolas ignored it and began to slash at the creatures near him.

Aragorn wasn't faring much better. Spiders were swarming around his horse and though he tried to keep them away, there were too many of them. His horse reared again as one spider bit at his leg. Aragorn slashed at the creature, trying to keep his horse steady. Another spider bit at the Gwador's legs and this time Aragorn was thrown from the horse.

Aragorn hit his head hard as he was thrown. Unconsciousness lingered around him and Aragorn had to fight to stay conscious. He shook his head a few times and grabbed at his sword. He swayed slightly as he stood to his feet, but he managed to stay standing.

Legolas was a few feet away from Aragorn. He slashed furiously at the creatures, killing as many as he could. Soon, however, his movements became slower and less precise. His reaction time began to get slower and objects in front of him became blurry. Legolas could feel the effects of the poison and he knew it would not be long before he lost total control of his body. He had to fight to make each movement, but he knew that would not last. He knew the inevitable would come and he would be paralyzed. His only hope was to kill as many spiders as he could before that happened.

Aragorn was beginning to panic as more spiders advance at him. He had fought in many battles before and he knew how to remain calm in the face of danger, even against all odds. At the moment, however, he was having a hard time keeping his composure. It was everything he could do not to scream and take off running. The thought of the spiders attacking him sent shivers up his spine. He tried to focus more on killing the creatures than thinking about that they were actually spiders.

He heard an orc call and he knew they had to get out of there. He could see the orcs immerging from a distance. He looked over at Legolas to determine the elf's actions, but what he saw surprised him.

Legolas was barely standing. The spiders had backed away and were patiently waiting for their poison to take affect. Suddenly, Legolas' legs collapsed underneath him and he fell to the ground.

"Legolas!" Aragorn yelled as he raced to his friend. He carefully knelt by his friend, keeping a watchful gaze on the spiders. "Legolas, can you hear me?" Aragorn began to panic. He guessed it was poison from the spiders that was affecting his friend, but he had no idea of the affects or the danger that was involved.

"Leave me, Estel." Legolas barely whispered.

"I'm not leaving you here alone. We will make it out of this." Aragorn told his friend.

"Save yourself. Poison… paralyzed… can't move..." Legolas choked out the words before his body went limp. He could no longer move.

"Legolas?" Aragorn checked for a pulse. He was relieved to find one, but the rate of Legolas' heart scared him. His pulse was slow, and weak.

A thousand thoughts raced through Aragorn's head. Legolas was paralyzed and the spiders were beginning to move in for their kill. The orcs were now in close enough for combat and there was no where for Aragorn to run, even if he wished to. Aragorn stood defensively over his fallen friend. He waved his sword at anything that moved, determined to protect Legolas as long as he could. He slashed at two orcs, but more surrounded him.

For what seemed like hours, he hacked at the orcs, while trying to keep the spiders away from Legolas. There were too many orcs, however, and though he tried to fight them away, he was failing miserably. Before long, they forced him to the ground, pining him underneath their weight. The last thing that Aragorn saw was the orcs poking at Legolas before consciousness left him.

Legolas' eyes fluttered opened as he began to regain consciousness. He didn't remember losing conscious. The last thing he remembered was not being able to move and only being able to watch as his friend fell to the orcs. He must have lost consciousness shortly after. His muscles throbbed in his body, but he was happy to have control over his movements. His arms were bound tightly, however, with a course rope that was tied to a root of a tree. He twisted his wrist to see if he could possibly escape, but the ropes bit hard into his soft flesh.

Legolas drew in a deep breath and looked up at the sky. It was almost dark out. As his senses became more alert, he could hear orcs talking behind him. He could understand very little of the black speech and the very sound of it made his head spin.

With a silent groan, he stayed completely silent, hardly daring to move. He wanted to remain unnoticed as long as possible.

He had no idea what the orcs wanted with him, but he did not want to find out. He knew it would not be long before they found out that he was awake, and Legolas dreaded that. Whatever they had planned, he knew it would not be pleasant.

He wondered in alarm where Aragorn was at, but did not want to risk looking for him. He guessed he was probably still unconscious for he did not hear any taunts coming from the orcs. He hoped that maybe by a slim chance, his friend had already escaped, but he doubted. Suddenly, a voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Garo, look! The elf is awake." A voice hissed in front of Legolas.

He heard an orc walk to him and cringed slightly as the orc kicked him. "So he is. Finally we can have some fun."

The orcs cheered and Legolas winced. Suddenly, a rough hand grabbed his hair and pulled his face up. Legolas resisted the urge to gag as he came face to face with an orc. He could feel its warm breath against his skin and the putrid smell made him want to gag.

"Your joyous days are over, elf. It's time for you to experience the meaning of pain." The orc twisted Legolas' tresses in his fingers. His clawed hands scraped against Legolas' scalp.

Legolas kept a defiant look in his eye, though fear was coursing through his body. "Death to you, filth." He spat in his tongue.

The orc punched him hard in the face allowing him to fall to the ground. "Keep your filthy words in your mouth." The orc hissed.

Legolas tasted blood in his mouth as he pushed himself up on his elbows. When he looked up, he saw Aragorn not far off looking at him. The human was awake, still trying to take in his surroundings. His eyes, full of sympathy and concern, were now on the elf. Legolas gave him a small smile to try to calm his fears.

Before he could react, a booted foot pressed hard against Legolas' back, forcing him painfully to the ground. The rope that was tied around the tree was cut and Legolas was dragged to the center of the camp. Legolas chanced another look at his friend. Aragorn shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do.

"Dina esta." He called out, hoping the orcs would not notice that the ranger was awake. (Stay silent)

Aragorn bit at his lip, but he did stay silent. At the moment, the orcs were too concerned with Legolas to notice him. He decided to take the opportunity to find a way to escape. He twisted his hands and found that the rope was not too tight. He wiggled his wrists and though the coarse rope bit into his flesh, he slowly began to wiggle free.

He looked cautiously back at the orcs. They had led Legolas to the middle of the camp and forced him to his knees. Two orcs stood on either side of him and the rest behind him. One orc, who Aragorn guessed was the leader, stood before the elf, questioning him.

"Where are you traveling, elf?"

Legolas held his head high. "My business is my own."

The orc slapped him across the face. "Who are you?"

Legolas continued to glare. "Why do you care?"

The answer received another blow to the face and Legolas winced slightly. An uneasy fear rose up in his heart, but Legolas did not know why. His body tensed slightly and he felt a cold feeling pass through him. Something did not feel right. The orcs questions alone troubled him. The orcs usually only had one mindset and did not care who their prisoners were or where they were traveling. Yet, it was more than that. There was more evil present then Legolas could see. He could feel it. The presence of evil made a shiver run through his bones.

He did not know what he sensed, but the feeling unnerved him. He did not wish to face whatever this evil was. He and Aragorn needed to escape from these orcs, before it was too late. He looked over at his friend, and saw that Aragorn had almost freed himself from the ropes. If they were going to escape, now would be their best chance.

"Noro, Estel" (Fight (maybe)) Legolas said to his friend. He looked back at the orcs and rolled out from their grasp, kicking one of them in the side. The orcs, momentarily stunned, allowed Legolas time to stand. He kicked at them as they grabbed for their weapons.

Aragorn heard his friend, just as his ropes came loose. He jumped up and attacked one of the orcs. He grabbed the fallen scimitar and slashed at another orc.

"Get them!" The leader yelled.

Legolas ducked to dodge the slashing blade of an orc. He swept the legs out from underneath the orc and kicked his head as he fell to the ground. Though his hands were tied and he held no weapon, Legolas proved to be a fierce warrior.

He dropped to the ground near an orc blade and quickly began to cut at his ropes. He was almost finished when three orcs came at him. He rolled away as he finally was able to pull his wrists free of the ropes. He grabbed a fallen scimitar and slashed furiously at the creatures, killing two with one stroke.

Suddenly, he felt a chill run up his spine. He felt a dark shadow pass over him, leaving him breathless. Air seemed to leave his lungs and his very blood seemed to run cold. He hesitated a moment with his strike, giving the orcs the moment they needed. One struck Legolas in between the shoulder blades with a clubbed weapon. The blow forced Legolas to his knees, where four orcs pounced on him.

Aragorn saw Legolas go down and he raced to his friend's side. He killed one of the orcs, but just as he was about to slay another, a cold voice rang in his ear.

"Give up, ranger."

The voice was cold and menacing. Evil darkness was behind the voice sending instant fear into Aragorn's heart. He turned around, stunned and not knowing where the voice came from. It seemed to come from within his very soul and he wasn't even sure if he had heard the words at all.

He looked behind him as a dark figure immerged from the woods. The figure was clothed in black. A dark hood hid its face and chain gloves hid its hands. Evil wrapped around the creature, clutching at Aragorn's heart. All the air seemed forced from his lungs and he felt too paralyzed in fear to move. In a moment, he regained some of his senses and charged at the creature.

The creature seemingly expected his foolish act and out of the folds of his black cloak, produced a weapon. With one quick motion, he disarmed the ranger and slashed his left arm. Aragorn cringed in pain as the orcs took him down.

Legolas looked up as the evil grew in his heart. As he saw the being immerge, his breath caught in his throat. He clutched his fist tightly, staring wide-eyed. The evil that radiated from the creature could put fear in any being's heart. The evil darkness that was around the creature nauseated Legolas.

"No! It can't be." He muttered under his breath.

Legolas knew what this creatures was and the very thought made his heart race and his blood churn. The creature that stood before him was one of the nine men Sauron had corrupted: one of the Nazgul.