Disclaimer: Hey ya'll! As much as I hate to admit it, they're not mine. (Boy what a way to kill the holiday spirit)
AN: Hey people, sorry for the long wait! I'm considering putting one of these longer stories on temporary hiatus until I finish with one or the other. I don't think I will though, I enjoy both of them too much to stop one of them. I'm going to go back and change some of the ages of the elves. A couple of people have told me the correct elven aging calculations, so I will go and change them. (I must have everything as correct as possible, but only because I don't want to defile Tolkien's lovely world with my muddling.)
Lol, I'm happy you all like the puppies and their relationship with their 'buddy', lol! I'm sorry (not really) about the cliffhanger, and I hope this makes up for me being so rotten. Although you may want to kill me again by the end of the chappy. hides from angry readers throwing Thanksgiving leftovers Oh yes, and to all my fellow Americans, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! This is my present to you. Okay, enough rambling. Go read the chappy.
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"Oh dear," Legolas muttered nervously. He gazed around with morbid fascination, completely unable to make any move to flee. Never in his life had he been inside a spider nest, although now that he saw it, he had no doubt as to what it was.
The spiders were crawling above his head, hissing hungrily. They had hoped this prey would stumble into their midst. They had heard his muffled groan of frustration as he discovered puppy drool on his tunic, and swiftly prepared to entrap this tasty morsel. They did not often get to feast on elf-flesh, the fair beings usually too alert to have stumbled into their lair.
Half in a daze that he would remember later as a terror induced state; Legolas wondered what the spiders were doing so close to the elven homes. The patrols would surely have discovered this group long ago.
The prince did not know that these spiders were very new to the forest, at least this part of it. They had come north from the woods near Dol Gulder, answering a call for allies. They had quickly abandoned their nesting place and scurried north, each day settling closer and closer to the palace. The day before, they had eluded the patrol and settled in this spot. And look what had wandered so willingly into their new settlement! Dinner!
However, their dinner had other ideas. And that's when the spiders rediscovered the difficulties of entrapping elves.
Legolas mentally slapped himself on each cheek. His conscious mind may have been terrified, but instinct took over and suddenly he was in motion. His bow appeared in his hands as if by magic, and firing quickly, had soon dispatched several spiders.
His hand reached back automatically to his quiver, and finding only two arrows left, decided to save them just in case. He slung the bow across his shoulder and whipped out his knives, their blades shining wickedly.
A small sense told him that, if present, the weapon's master would be tearing into him like a dog into a steak. He could hear the rant now… "You fool, you never walk the forest without staying alert! You deserve to be here, you deserve to be killed!" The angry voice dissipated, though Legolas could still imagine the elf's voice echoing on the air.
Turning, he began to slice at the web relentlessly, using short, energy-conserving strokes. His efforts were in vain, as the web was too thick and sticky, rendering his blades near-to-useless. Instinct spun him around, barely in time to see a spider launch itself from a tree branch, stinger extended. His knives quickly became dark with blood. The spider rolled away, convulsing violently and uttering choked shrieks of pain.
Hesitating only slightly, Legolas raised his own voice, calling the alert, warning the other elves to be wary. Hopefully, he would be heard. Also, he desperately needed help. He simply could not fight an entire spider nest by himself.
The risk was high though: perhaps more spiders would hear his calls and come scuttling for a share of elf flesh. And there was the all-too-likely possibility that the elves would not hear him. The very thought made him shudder.
Another spider approached, although it did not drop from the trees as it's comrade had done. It came along the ground, skittering here and there, testing its opponent's quickness.
Legolas followed the movements near to perfectly, showing the spider, for all its devious speed, the elf would not be easily fooled. It came ahead anyway, feinting left, right, and back.
Suddenly it leaped forward and was rewarded with a loss of a leg. It gurgled angrily and hissed, limping back. It did not want to mess with this elf.
Legolas took the opportunity to try again at the webs. Panic was beginning to rise in his chest; he did not like this sneak attack method. At least with the orcs, they usually attacked in the open and all at once. They did not ever learn from their mistakes, and it was rare to see a group working with stealth and cunning. The spiders, on the other hand, were more intelligent, and the elf was beginning to see how desperate his situation truly was.
Legolas clamped down on his rising fear and turned, forcing himself to stop his fruitless hacking at the unyielding webs. He would have to find another way. He looked all around the clearing, searching for some means of escape.
There!
Almost directly ahead of him, but a little to the right was a gap. The spiders had missed two trees, thinking the space between them too small for even an elf to escape. They were wrong.
The leader of the spiders followed the elf's gaze and hissed an order for the space to be blocked, just as Legolas made his bid for survival.
Running faster than he ever had before, he darted across the clearing, slashing at the legs of any spider that ventured near. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the two spiders that scuttled to do their masters bidding, and tried to urge himself to even greater speed.
The spiders hissed and began to drop their sticky web just as the elf threw himself through the gap in desperation.
For a single terrifying second, he thought himself stuck, and wrenched himself forward. The bark scraped cruelly along his hands and shoulders, but he collapsed outside the ring of trees more or less unharmed.
Legolas felt another surge of fear as he saw a mammoth spider, larger than any he had seen inside the circle, approach the spot where he lay, winded. It rasped out a sound that raised the hairs along the prince's arms.
He scrambled to his feet and reached for his bow, intending to shoot the foul creature before it could come nearer. His grasping fingers felt only air. He looked behind him, confused for a second, before realizing what must have happened. As quickly as he dared, he spun all the way around, looking into the gap he had just fell through.
Yes, there, caught underneath the webs, was his bow. It had been wrenched from his back as he dived through, and he mentally cursed himself. The gap had been big enough for an elf, yes, but not big enough for an elf with a bow strapped to his back.
His quiver and the two remaining arrows lay just outside the webs. They were of no more use to him now. He would have to fight the creature hand to hand.
His Ada's words came floating back. "Why knives, ion-nin? You know how to use scimitars and swords, why knives? They require you to come into much closer contact with your victim. One day, you'll see the sense of it. Most likely when it's crucial."
"Well, Ada," Legolas murmured under his breath, eyeing the spider as it came ever closer, "This is one of the times I really wish you were wrong."
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Nethidal paused his plotting and turned toward the forest. The trees cried out for his attention. He stepped closer and set his hand against a particularly agitated oak.
Mellon-nin, what is the matter?
Young one, you must hurry! Gather your weapons and go to your friend's aid. He is in dire need of your help!
The oak broke its mind thought, and Nethidal heard a faint call for help. There was no doubt that it was his friend's voice, and he was in trouble. Nethidal quickly decided to heed the old tree's words, and slung his bow over his back.
"I must go," he said to the twins, who were looking up at him in confusion. "There is trouble in the woods." He slipped his sword into its sheath and said grimly, "Young tithen-las is in trouble again."
Something about the elder elf's voice told the twins that this sort of thing happened often.
"Say, Nethidal," Elladan ventured as the elf started away, "How much older are you than 'little-leaf'?"
Nethidal broke into a quick jog. "Not very much," he called back. "Only three hundred years or so."
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Oh no, ohno ohno!
Such were the thought of Legolas, staring in horror as the huge spider jabbed a couple of hairy legs in his direction. Neither was extended long enough to make contact, and Legolas wisely stood where he was, not bothering to waste the energy to dodge the ineffective pokes.
The spider, angry at its unsuccessful jabs, suddenly skittered forward. Legolas dropped low and darted out of the way, keeping his face to the spider at all times. He wasn't going to let this hairy beast get the best of him!
The spider slid to a stop and took to the trees, firing shots of web at its foe from the relative safety of the trees,
The trees, however, were extremely unhappy that their beloved prince was in so much danger, and shook their branches roughly. The spider's weight on too-thin limbs combined with the shaking of the trees caused the little branches to crack, sending the spider tumbling to the ground.
Legolas had seen cats falling, and had marveled at their ability to land on their feet. They twisted their agile bodies and landed lightly, much like an elf, when one stopped to think about it.
The spider had none of a cat's talents. It landed with a thud that shook the ground, on it's back, legs waving. It had no chance to defend itself as Legolas darted in and sank a knife into it's side.
It squealed and righted itself, legs reaching out, trying to score a hit on the elf's side as he skipped away, unharmed.
The elf's nimbleness angered the spider; hissing, it ordered two of his underlings to go forth and attack the elf from the side, leaving it free to come and finish off this tasty morsel.
Legolas suddenly found his escape cut off by two webs appearing out of nowhere. He looked up, just as the two spiders leaped down.
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Nethidal raced through the trees, his worry increasing every second. Where was Legolas? He should have come upon the prince minutes ago!
A sudden elven shout of surprise and fear brought Nethidal's head around so fast his neck hurt.
He plunged through the trees, intent on helping his friend,
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The prince brought his knives up and about in a high arc, slicing off a leg on one and neatly blinding the other. The spider that was missing a leg reared up, intending to fall on it's prey and stinging it with it's poison.
A bow sang, and an arrow lodged itself in the spider's back. Shrieking, it convulsed once, and a leg struck Legolas in the chest, causing him to drop a knife and sending him tumbling back, dangerously close to the webs.
An elven war chant sounded, and Legolas smiled in relief. Nethidal had arrived. Everything would be all right. He climbed to his feet and started for his dropped weapon.
Something hit him from behind and he fell forward, over the knife and into a tree. His hope upon seeing his friend disappeared as a pained shout from Nethidal told him that more spiders had arrived, conquering their fear in the hope of gaining two elves for dinner.
And the large spider was advancing, leg out for another bruising blow. Legolas knew what he had to do, but fear made him pause. What if it didn't work? He would be responsible for Nethidal's death and then he would die himself.
The prince glanced to the side. He saw his bow and two arrows, still trapped in the webs. Another cry from Nethidal hardened his resolve. He threw his remaining knife and rolled to the side and his feet, hand out to pull his bow free.
The spider hadn't anticipated Legolas's desperate throw, and the weapon blasted through it's pitiful defenses and lodged in an eye, the tip piercing its brain. It died instantly, legs still reaching for its much-hoped-for dinner.
Legolas tugged his bow free with a mighty heave and reached for his arrows. He turned and readied his bow. Nethidal was vastly overwhelmed. One of his arms hung limp and he was moving slowly, his sword moving as though through water. Many spiders lay dead at his feet, but at one point, they had slipped past his defenses, stinging him with their poison and battering his arm until it broke from the strain.
Two surrounded him now, and the normally-agile warrior would have had no trouble dispatching the creatures if he had been fully healthy. But he was out-matched now. Even as the prince watched in horror, they rose in tandem and started towed the injured warrior.
There would be no time for two shots, even for an elf. It would have to be done at once.
Time seemed to slow down as Legolas's trembling fingers notched the two remaining arrows. His mind was a whirl of self-doubt. If he missed, even by a fraction, he would hit Nethidal. Or the arrows would skid off, leaving the spiders unharmed and able to continue their attack.
He aimed carefully, pulse pounding in his ears. There was no time for any more hesitating. His friend's life hung in the balance of two arrows, shot by a shaky, nervous, elf-prince with almost no experience with a double shot.
Holding his breath, Legolas made the tiniest adjustment… and loosed his arrow.
Dun dun dun dunnn! Lol, thanks everyone who reviewed, again I'm sorry I'm not brave enough to answer you all in person! Mcross, Haldir's Heart and Sou, silverkonekotsukari, Elladan of Rivendell, Arialas, Illeanah, Alenor Peredhil, A. NuEvil, KerowynGreenleaf, P.L.Wynter, theodarkstar, Aurehen.