Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters or settings from Lord of the Rings or Xena the Warrior Princess

Author's Note:

This is a LegoRomance (slow-burn)

Be Aware: Concepts contained in this chapter includes a bloody mess and Injuries

~ XII: A piercing arrow ~

Imladris, 3018 TA, October 23

Cries and whistles rang on his ears, as he had already launched the next arrow, then the next without missing his mark. Next to him stood the human warrior who by using her weird spherical weapon that could be separated into two smaller was slashing the orcs by tossing it precisely. Both their strikes did not miss and the opponent fell to its death sooner than they anticipated.

Xena narrowed her gaze in response to the gathering of dark monsters. Her next step was reckless; she secured her chakram and drew her sword, confronting the orcs. Her feet were swift and light as she sliced through the orcs with ease. Her heart hammered frantically in her chest as she battled those evil things with her sword, never losing concentration.

Legolas shot her a look sharper than a dart. "Daro!" [Halt!] he said quietly, keeping an eye on the human positioning herself between the orcs. He shifted his gaze away from her and loosened the tension in his bow. The arrow penetrated the Orc's neck. It cried out in agony and fell to its death. Legolas skipped beside her, seeing that the number of arrows had decreased, prompting him to draw his blades.

Both the elf and human were now confronting the orcs back to back "What were you thinking?" Legolas's furious shout rang through the woods as he swung his swords, killing one orc after another. "Their blades are poisonous! Be careful!" He uttered, advancing the fight forward.

"Yah! Yah! Come on!" Xena beamed him as she kept her defence up.

Legolas shared with her a deadly gaze "We don't have time for this!" he silenced her. His eyes focused on their surroundings observing the enemies that were becoming fewer.

Victory was near.

Shortly, hardly any of the orcs remained standing, leaving just Legolas and the human. His frigid eyes met hers, regretting his decision to allow himself to pursue her. "You are reckless," the prince of Mirkwood observed coldly, "and you may easily be the cause of our doom." He walked over and began extracting his arrows from the lifeless corpses, oblivious to the human's outraged look.

"What?" snarled the human princess warrior. "Surely you're not paying attention? If my memory serves me well, you were the one who sought for me!"

Legolas paused and narrowed his eyes towards her. Angry eyes piercing her own. They locked gazes for many long seconds. One in disbelief at the human's carelessness, and the other at the Mirkwood-Elves' selfishness.

"If you take the journey alone," Legolas said in a calmer tone, but keeping the cold gaze against her "you will perish in time human!"

"I'll take my chances!" Xena growled skipping next to him, "I will go, elf, try to stop me!"

Legolas groaned at her audacious tongue and disrespectful acts, concluding that even in the direst circumstances, that female human was the worst of her kind. He would never succumb to the temptation to attack an immature 'child,' yet for a brief minute, he felt compelled to punch her. Numerous questions arose as Legolas locked his gaze on her. Until now, he felt her actions were responsible for her upbringing in a world that was unmistakably foreign to middle earth.

Xena raised her head to the sound of a snapping twig. The elf's ears froze as they twitched and flicked, pivoting in their radius to find the source of the noise. Then dismissing the sound as no evidence of further movement could be found, however, both had heard the sound. Drawing up his bow and fitting an orc-bloody arrow, the forest became still.

A leaf rustled, a twig snapped. Nothing stirred. He released his arrow, and drew another one and fired it before he had placed himself in front of the reckless human.

Thwack!

Xena stood speechless at the fast turn of events. Yards before her rested the two corpses of the orcs. She turned around surprised to face the Elf, only to find him facing the ground with an orc arrow pierced through his shoulder. Her brain stuttered for a moment and her eyes took in more light than she expected, every part of her went on pause while her thoughts caught up. After a wash of cold, she stepped next to him, still lost in the unbelievable view in front of her.

She rested a hand on Legolas's uninjured shoulder "You should have stayed out of the way." she shouted noticing the warm crimson blood pouring onto the brown woodland ground. She was still perplexed by what had just occurred. The damn-elf had just snatched the arrow intended for her. "Why?" she inquired, startled by his behaviour.

Legolas had only two options and a limit of time. He could let the arrow strike the careless human or push her away. It would give him a small triumph to have struck her down; which would have her less careless and talk-active. However, he would never wish to see any harm upon her nonetheless. He disliked her, but she wasn't his enemy. That meant he had to push her out of the way. Unfortunately, he never counted the odds and the arrow that was meant for the human, pierced through his skin and flesh and brought him to his fall.

Xena felt enraged by his choice to move in front of her and intercept the arrow intended for her. She was aware of the arrow and would be in a position to seize it. However, the elf was quicker than any human Xena had ever encountered, and he easily defeated her in this game. He eliminated the last two orcs and allowed the arrow to strike him instead of her. Her first reaction was to kick his heroic bottom for bringing her into this situation.

As she leaned over him, the elf remained immobile, his eyes closed. She was familiar with how to manage such an injury; this was not her first run-in with a piercing arrow in the shoulder. However, the situation was different now since the wounded party was an elf and the arrow may have been poisoned. And Xena had no idea what kind of poison the orcs used.

"Stop," he mastered all his strength to sit up, he moved her hand away.

"I know," Xena answered her eyes focusing on the arrow "It hasn't pierced all the way through..."

He closed his eyes again, and his face was sweating. It didn't take long and he had pressed and pushed the arrow to penetrate through his shoulder blade. More blood spread and the Elf paused, breathing for a long moment. "Break the point..." he instructed her.

Xena quickly pinned him down and snapped the arrow's point. Both were aware that this was the only method to remove the arrow. Indeed, she despised the elf; he irritated her to no end, but now she had a problem with him being harmed by an arrow meant for her.

The Elf bit his lips, indifferent to the growing anguish around his wound. He drew the last arrow, brought it up near to his nose, and seemed concerned as he discarded it. He waited, attempting one more agonising breath, "Orch saew!" [Orc Poison] Without any warning, he pulled himself up, grabbing the nearest trunk and steadying his body. "We have to return, I cannot heal this!" he added while trying to rip some fabric from his tunic to stop the bleeding.

"Wait!" Xena said as she rushed over to her horse and rummaged through her backpack. She discovered a couple of towels that the elf maiden had given her. "Allow me," she pleaded as she skipped beside him, putting her hands to the wound to staunch the flow. "I am not capable of curing the poison, but I am skilled at halting the bleeding," she continued.

Legolas leaned against the trunk of the tree allowing her to stop the bleeding. In such dire circumstances, no great warrior would battle his alley. And even though they despised one another, they were not adversaries. Xena, true to her promise, used the cloths to staunch the blood flow as much as could. She wanted to inform him that the time had come for them to return.

Suddenly, she felt his hand resting against her back. He just took a long moment to push himself back to consciousness. The Elf softly grabbed her arm "Are you hurt?" he asked, and the question sounded out of time and place.

"Me?" she questioned and he sounded distant and cold, but for once she seemed happy to hear him speak. "I am not hurt," she ensured him, gazing at him awkwardly, "But Let's worry about you! Can you mount your mare?" the human asked offering him her hand for support to walk towards the horses.

Legolas welcomed her assistance by letting his hand grasp hers and resting his body against hers for support. When they arrived at the horses, the elf released her hand and began cautiously grabbing at his mare. He pressed his face near the mare's ear and whispered a few elfish phrases. The mare gradually bowed, enabling him to saddle it effortlessly in one fluid motion.

Xena was taken aback by his dexterity and his ability to converse with his mare. To her ears, the language seemed alien but yet like a gentle heavenly song. She had previously heard elves conversing in their own tongue, but the purity of Legolas voice enchanted her. Fortunately, she broke out of the enchanted moment and mounted her horse.

The human and elf no longer lingered at Imladris's boundaries, as the night became dark and the enemy approached. It was just a matter of time until they came into contact with Elladan and Elrohir. The twins were concerned about Legolas' injuries, and their pressing issue was assisting them in returning to the Halls of Rivendell. Their father would be capable of healing Legolas. All other matters would be considered in the morning, once Legolas had been healed and was in good health.

((Upcoming Chapter Thirteen))

Thank you for taking the time to read this! Feel free to Review - Follow - Favorite!

thenoneandonly: I am trying to add morechapters. But it takes time. ^_^

amyunder: Yeah I believe the plot is slowly kicking in.

AudoUnique: They are working as a team because they have to. But they are not fond of each other. I will include more quotes and lyrics.