Title: "Revenge"
Author: LegolasLover2003 aka Ashley
Category: Book - "The Lord of the Rings"
Genre: Angst/Adventure
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do not own any right to "The Lord of the Rings". I just adore it to pieces! Legede, Tileng, Morlan, and Morfind are characters of my own invention however. You may use them, but please ask permission to do so first.
NOTE: This story takes place after "Savior & Destroyer". You MUST read that story first for this one to make sense. It might also help to read "The Breaking Point" first as well as "Secrets or A Six Year Old's Wisdom".


REVENGE


Chapter IV:
Cracks, Echoes, and the Clang of Steel


Legede sighed, lifting his hand into the air and bidding the bird to leave him. The scouts had been slain... and there was not a sign of the prince to be seen since the Elf had gone into the mountain caverns. It was not the sort of news that the captain wanted to present to his lord, but with the Mirkwood contingent one day out from the mountains... he had no choice.

They needed to press onward... and quickly.

"What news." Thranduil asked as he stood and walked through the small clearing, ringed with guards, to stand beside his friend and watch the bird flap out of sight.

Legede looked to his king, "The scouts I sent have been slain and it seems, hir nin, we walk toward a trap."

The Elvenking rose one eyebrow at this statement. "Surely a handful of men is not something to..."

"There is more than men in the woods about the mountains. The raven tells me there are Orcs and Goblins massing to either side of the slopes. If they are in league I can not say... but it does not bode well, Thranduil." Legede replied, before he suddenly went silent and cocked his head to the side.

Of course the blond Elf knew better than to disturb his Silvan friend... for he knew the look in the older Elf's blue gaze.

"The spiders move..." Legede's gaze narrowed and he strained his ears, trying to pick up more. "The din of evil is great... and the few trees who will still speak with me are very quiet... they... the spiders follow us..." turning, the captain walked a few paces behind Thranduil, peering into the gloom of the night. "They keep their distance but they follow nevertheless..." there was a sound of cracking branches in the treeline behind them, but other than that the forest was silent.

"Orcs and Goblins beside us... men before us... and spiders behind..." the Elvenking frowned, one hand going down to rest on the hilt of the thin sword at his side. He was clad in silver armor, having expected this to be no easy battle, with a circlet upon his brow. "Is there any news at all of Legolas?"

"Nothing." the captain replied sadly. "He entered the mountains but the ravens have not seen him since... nor have they seen any humans, though they did find the bodies of two who seemed to have been slain by Elvish blades."

Still Legede was looking toward the north, trying to make sense of the movements of the foul spawn of Ungoliant. They traveled with a contingent of fifty Elves, not counting himself and the king... surely that would have been enough to deal with a band of murderous men...

Blue eyes flickered to his lord and Legede quickly placed a hand on the younger Elf's shoulder. "Dwell not on it, Thranduil... I beg."

Blinking, the Elvenking nodded, turning his gaze from the south... from the mountains... from places far beyond his woods... They both knew the melancholy that Thranduil would fall into if he spent too much time searching toward the south...

"Tell your warriors to mount, Legede. We do not have the luxury of a rest... not with our enemies closing in around us. Legolas and Estel must be found before the darkness encircles us too deeply." the Elvenking ordered, heading toward his own horse.

Nodding, Legede issued the command before kicking out the nearby fire with his boot and following his lord and friend.


The scream which he heard echoing through the labyrinth of caves, snapped Legolas' attention back to the forefront of his mind. He stood, walking as far as the chain's small lead would allow... his blue gaze peering through the gloom and the soft light about his body brightening. The prince knew that voice... and it made his blood boil in rage.

Time passed slowly and all the Elf could do was stand there and wait... to strain his ears for the tiniest of sounds. Footfalls came back to him before any other and the door to the cell opened with a resounding creak that forced Legolas to pull his senses back at the harsh grating sound. He truly expected to see Aragorn tossed back inside... but instead there was the man from before who possessed the blowpipe. For a moment, the Elf took a step back, hoping to avoid a hit from that nasty substance again... but it did no good. A dart pricked his skin, though he did manage to dodge the first... the second had gotten him however and within seconds the archer collapsed to the cold stone ground.

The dart blower and another man came in completely then, unlocking Legolas from the wall and dragging him none too gently down the hall. This time however, the prince's eyes were open and he mentally mapped out everything he could see... which sadly wasn't much. They shoved him into a rough wooden chair before binding his hands behind his back.

Then... it just seemed like they waited.

Legolas could hear scuffles and there was a flash of movement to his right out the doorway, but he could not turn his head yet as the dart's paralyzing poison continued to keep the Elf's body from responding to his brain's commands.

"I do hope you scream a bit more than your Ranger friend." came Tileng's voice from the doorway as the man walked in, a blood soaked once white rag in his hands. He was making a show in front of the Elf of cleaning more blood from his fingers, before smirking and tossing the soiled rag away. "That poison's in your system however so it might be a while before I can properly torture you. Shame that. But I figure while I have your undivided attention... you might like to know a bit more of what I'm planning." Tileng was smirking wickedly as he took one of Legolas' white handled knives from the table across the room. Twirling it in his filthy hands he expertly placed the point directly beneath the prince's chin. It drew a tiny bead of blood, but did not cut further. "Soon, these caves will have another occupant... so I can't exactly hurt you too much since I want you to outlast the Ranger and the Elvenking... but that hardly means I can't break that prideful spirit of yours a bit first."

Legolas said nothing... not just because presently he couldn't, but because he wouldn't give this man the benefit of hearing his voice at all. He knew what Tileng wanted... and for as long as his will held out, he would not give him the satisfaction of a reply.

"The Elves are getting closer you see... I've been told there are about fifty or so, which means the Elvenking isn't as stupid as I thought he might be. There are plenty more Elves holed up in his halls in case of an attack. But that's not something I need to concern myself with. My job is merely to hold the king... which has an added bonus of getting to keep you around as well. The Orcs and their lot can figure out how to get into those halls."

At this, the corner of Legolas' lip curved into a smirk. The ability to move was slowly returning and he almost laughed at the man's stupidity.

"Something funny?" Tileng asked, tapping the underside of the prince's chin with one blade.

That smirk just remained... and even when the man backhanded the Elf hard across the face... that smirk still held fast...

Legolas knew that the Orcs would never get into the halls of his father. Not without a descendant of Oropher to open the gates... and if the halls were sealed for an invasion... there would be no way in unless Legolia opened a door or window... and the prince was confident that his father's advisers would never let her attempt it while a siege remained. They could send for help from Dale by way of the river, possibly even from Erebor, and perhaps from Imladris and Lorien given time. The Orcs would fail in claiming the Halls of the Elvenking as their own. His people could last for seasons within the fortress of his father's making... it was precisely why it had been designed in such a way.

Again Tileng struck Legolas, though this time it was on the other cheek, once more snapping the Elf's head to the side. But the smirk still remained... at least until the man grabbed a handful of blond hair and pulled hard. Blue eyes glared up at him as his head was forced backward. The knife moved to rest just against the prince's right cheek... the point dangerously close to one eye.

"You infuriate me..." Tileng hissed. "If I didn't want you to see my handiwork on your friend and father..."

But the man didn't get to finish that sentence... because Legolas full on spat in his face. "Do not talk to me of that which infuriates you. The mere stench of you, Tileng, the sight and sound and feel of you disgusts me. Blind me if you see fit... because then I would not have to look upon one so wretched."

Of course this did nothing to make the prince's situation any better... but the human was threatening him and his father and his dearest friend. He was threatening all of Mirkwood!

Twirling the knife in his fingers, Tileng brought it down to stab through the prince's left upper thigh. Legolas ground his teeth together to keep from crying out at the white hot agony that flared through his nerves and settled in his hip of all places. It did not cut all the way through however and soon Tileng withdrew the knife and touched the tip with one finger.

"You still bleed like I remember." the man spoke, looking at the blood that pooled through the Elf's green leggings. He tossed the knife to the ground and walked behind Legolas, one hand on either side of the prince's head. The man used his fingers to tilt the archer's chin up, until his own eyes could look into the blue of the Elf. "What shall I do to you, hmm? I've taken your dignity... seen your pride stripped from your shoulders... and I had thought to have finally killed you on that day so long ago. But no... you lived and I have looked forward to this meeting for an age..." Tileng's gaze sent a shiver of revulsion through Legolas' body.

"You will not break me, human."

The man laughed, "I did once... with but a Ranger as my leverage. Now I'll do so again... with a king in my grasp."

"But he is not in your grasp." Legolas shot back, not budging a single bit as his body slowly regained it's ability to move. "You will not take Thranduil and if you do... you can not possibly imagine the consequences."

"Oh?" Tileng asked with a smirk, keeping Legolas' head tilted back while another hand tangled in his blond hair, pulling it sharply and painfully.

But the prince didn't even blink. "If you think me a challenge... you have no idea. My father has fought things far worse than you... Dragons and Dwarves and the foul spawn of Ungoliant and a legion unleashed from Mordor itself. Do you really think he will cower before a mere man?"

Tileng's smirk grew. "Perhaps not... but I have learned something of Elves, prince." he leaned in, whispering his next words into the archer's ear. "Love... loyalty... self sacrifice... those are your weaknesses. Do you think a father would let his son die?"

"Do you think a king would give up his kingdom and crown for one life?" Legolas asked in return, trying his hardest not to cringe away from the presence at his side. "He was faced with my death before as a bargaining chip for the crown. He did not betray his people then... he would not do so now. Using me as bait will not work, Tileng."

The man released his hold on Legolas, shoving the Elf's head from his hands roughly. "Perhaps... but it drew him from his halls nevertheless. Besides..." at this, Tileng's smirk returned and he leveled the prince with his cold gaze. "It is not I who will bring him here. One of your own has betrayed your lord. You will be there when I break the Elvenking, Legolas. Then... then I will take the greatest pleasure in breaking you."


"Hir nin, the horses must rest." came a voice to the Elvenking's side.

It was Morfind, the younger brother of Morlan whom had been Legolas' closest friends for most of his life. The dark haired Elf urged his mount to stop as he looked upon his king and captain.

"We should reach the caves by morning... which means that whatever waits for us ahead may be at a disadvantage." he spoke, looking toward Legede. "I heard what you said earlier... about the Orcs. If we attack them in daylight we have a better chance against the humans we seek."

Sighing slightly, Thranduil nodded, giving the order to rest their horses. They were but a few hours ride from the foot of the mountains... but Morfind had a point. Orcs could not fight in daylight and if they did, they did not fight quite as well. The Elvenking dismounted, letting his horse graze as he walked toward the edge of the trail. He made the mistake of glancing south, and quickly turned his eyes back north instead.

"Thranduil?"

Blue eyes glanced over to his friend and the king smiled slightly, "We are close, Legede. Normally I would pale at the thought of taking the lives of men... but Tileng is an exception. Orcs and Goblins and Spiders and Wargs I will kill without hesitation... but men are..."

"Normally not our enemies?" Legede asked with a half smile. "Dwarves are normally not our enemies either, but you have slain them."

Thranduil's lithe fingers rested on his sword's hilt. "Those got what they deserved for the murder of my liege." he replied, referring to the the sacking of Menegroth in ages past. "What evil has flooded this world that corrupts the hearts of men... the hearts of those we once saw as our allies?" he asked, walking further from the path.

The Sinda could hear running water from a small stream nearby and he wished to find it to wash some of the dust of their journey away.

"Have men not always had corrupted hearts?" Morfind asked as he followed the king and his captain, wishing to act as their guard should any fell thing fall upon them away from the main camp.

Thranduil shook his head, "Not all men... but many, yes, fall prey to the darker desires of their hearts. Some however I have gotten along quite well with, like Bard of Dale for instance and though I have known him very little, Legolas' friend Estel as well."

"That one does get your son into the worst trouble though, mellon nin." Legede replied with a slightly teasing smile.

"Yes well... at least they manage to find their way out of trouble. I am more worried about the day they make a mistake and find themselves in too deep to get out again." the Elvenking replied with a smile of his own. "But in this case, I think we can help them just this once."

Morfind frowned, not finding the jest at all funny. Legolas was in dire trouble, or so they suspected since he had not returned... and yet the king was making jokes about something that could very well cost many their lives.

Legede noticed the frown and he put a hand on Morfind's shoulder, "Would you rather he be angry?" the white haired captain asked in a whisper, knowing that Thranduil could hear him and also noting, from the slight lifting of his lord's chin, that he found it a bit amusing. "The prince is in trouble, yes... but we are a large force, Morfind. Do not worry so."

"What worries me... are the spiders that follow behind and the villains that lay ahead in wait." the younger Elf spoke, green eyes darting to his king who had stopped beside a small stream.

Thranduil, in one graceful move, crouched down next to the creek and cupped the clear water into his hands. "What worries me..." he said softly, watching the water slip through his fingers. "Are the dead scouts."

"Dead?" Morfind asked, his eyes narrowing. "How? When?"

The Elvenking did not speak. Instead, he washed his face with the cool water and then his hands. He moved no more than that and instead his blue gaze was focused far away to the south.

"I received word from a raven that the scouts I left here were slain. Orcs and Goblins and Wargs are massing at the edges of the mountains. Spiders come in behind. And there are men before us." Legede was saying to the young Elf. "It seems Legolas killed some of the men... but there are no doubt more."

Morfind threw his hands into the air. "Then we walk into a trap with a mere fifty warriors?"

The captain sighed, but he noted that Thranduil had not stopped staring south. It bothered him... having to take his liege on this path... but the Elvenking would not be kept from this hunting party. Not when his son's life was at stake.

Standing suddenly, Thranduil pointed back up the way they had come. "Legede, would you see that the camp is properly set? I would like to have words with Morfind."

Of course the younger Elf paled considerably, worried that he had upset his king.

The captain nodded and turned, heading back up the hill and soon was out of sight. When Thranduil was certain that Legede was gone, his blue gaze fell on Morfind once more.

"Why are you here?"

The dark haired Elf blinked in confusion, "Hir nin?"

"I am not so blind as you may think." the Elvenking spoke calmly, walking toward the warrior. "You have hated my son since the day your brother died. Why are you here, Morfind?"

The younger Elf took a step back, "Because you needed warriors. Capable ones, hir nin."

"I grow tired of asking the same question." Thranduil's voice lowered a bit in pitch. "You came on this journey for another purpose. I am no fool, Morfind so do not take me for one. You have watched every move I made for some time now on this road. You have listened where you should not have listened. You knew the scouts were dead... because you knew the spiders followed. I will ask you once more and once only. Why are you here, Morfind?"

For a moment the warrior seemed off balance. Then he straightened, green eyes gazing into the cold blue of his king. "Because you would risk the lives of your people for the life of your son."

One eyebrow arched as Thranduil tilted his head slightly to the side and regarded the Elf before him. "I would risk the lives of my people for my son and his friend."

"A mortal does not deserve such honor."

"This one does." came Thranduil voice as his lithe fingers rested on the hilt of the sword at his side. "Are you seeking revenge for the fallen? It was not my son's fault that your brother died."

"No?" Morfind glared at this king, his own sword slowly being drawn from it's sheath. "Legolas killed Morlan. He murdered my brother. Would you have me forgive him?"

Thranduil shook his head, "I would have you realize that Morlan would have died far more painfully had my son not eased his passing. Do you think Legolas does not grieve that choice every day? Would you have been able to stand by as your brother screamed for death?"

"Yes. Because I would have held onto the hope that he could be saved." Morfind replied, pointing the tip of his sword at the Elvenking. "But your son, the coward that he is, slew him but a day's hard march from home... and what punishment was delivered for the slaying of his kin? Nothing!" the words were hissed through clenched teeth.

Thranduil's own sword was in his hand now, but he did not raise it. "The stain on his conscience should be enough. He loved Morlan like a brother."

"We all know how much brotherly love runs in your family, oh king." Morfind smirked, scoffing at the notion. "You sent your own brother and your own son both into exile. I am not the only Elf to think we would have been better off with Galenion on the throne. There would be no spiders and no dragons. There would be no Dwarves or Men or Orcs roaming OUR lands. You hold onto the past and keep all of us hidden away from the world and for what? So you can play king on a throne that never was yours to begin with? Many of my brethren rue the day when the Sindar came into OUR forests. You are not one of us, Thranduil Oropherion... you never were... and neither was your son."

The Elvenking's blade rose up swiftly as he felt himself gripped by a fierce anger. It quickly clashed with Morfind's own sword, creating a sound that rang through the trees...

A sound that Legede heard immediately.

But when the captain returned to the stream... he knew he had come too late.

Morfind lay, unconscious, with a black Orc arrow through his thigh... and Thranduil was nowhere to be found...


TO BE CONTINUED...


Elvish Words to Know:

hir nin = my lord
mellon nin = my friend


Author's Notes:

- I'm a staunch believer in that Silvan Elves can commune with trees and I've had Legolas and Legede both do this various times in the past (because in my own personal LOTR canon I established that Legolas' mother was Silvan, whereas "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" seems to hint that she was Sindar, and thus Legolas is partly Silvan). However, the warriors of Mirkwood also get news of the world around them from birds, which is how Thranduil knew, in "The Hobbit" itself that Smaug was defeated.

- If you hadn't figured this out yet, I'm a huge uber fan of PJ's decision to give Thranduil a horrible scar/burn on his face in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" sooooooo that's why Legolas says his father has fought Dragons.

- The bit about Menegroth can be found in "The Silmarillion" and it deals with the fall of the first deemed "Elvenking" Thingol when he was murdered by Dwarven smiths. It's one of my own personal reasons to help explain why Thranduil dislikes Dwarves so much... because in my mind, he and his father Oropher were there during the fall of Menegroth.

- "Morfind" means "Black Hair" which kind of goes along with Morlan's name too. Their nicknames would have been Fin and Lan, if you shorten them like how Elladan and Elrohir are El and Ro in my stories. They are not twins, for Morfind is younger. At this point in time, Morlan has been dead for many years. But I will deal more with them both, in part, in the story "I Am Fine".

- There are a lot of things that Morfind is talking about in this chapter that deals with events in "Nothrimraegath" and "Seregbrun" in relation to Galenion and who should have been the one on Greenwood's throne. Please keep in mind that this is taking place quite some time before the War of the Ring and those stories take place a few years after the War of the Ring. It's kind of a teaser or a warning of dark things to come in other stories.


Muse Moments:

Nil sighed, sitting outside with a stick in hand... and a large patch of dirt... that she was writing in. Paris, having felt rather bad about Aragorn dumping her out the window... especially since said window WAS fourteen feet in the air... had snuck from the house to keep her company.
"Stupid Estel..." Nil grumbled, ideas on how to properly torture Aragorn were written in the dirt in front of her.
None of those ideas appealed to Paris... who was a bit squeemish when it came to torture and angst. "You do realize I have the house key, don't you?"
"Yes. I know. But I also know that as soon as I set foot inside once more, Estel will toss me back out the window. It's a miracle I didn't break my leg!" Nil replied, glancing at Paris for a moment. "Have you seen Thranduil?"
"No... why?"
"Cause I saw his face in 3D..." she giggled, tossing the stick up into the air and catching it then swinging it like a sword to fend off invisible villains. "Legolas in 3D is sooooo awesome! His arrows go WOOSH right past you and you totally don't notice the eye liner as much."
Paris laughed, "Why did he have eye liner?"
"Noooooo idea. But it's one of 'those' things, you know? Like how he randomly has brown eyes in my favorite LOTR scene." she replied, tossing Paris a stick and mock sword fighting with him. "Natha Daged Dhaer!" she teased, quoting from said favorite scene. "I mean really, there are just times when one must look at Legolas and wonder what is going on in that pretty blond head of his."
A stick suddenly pokes Nil in the back... which is odd since Paris is in front of her. She doesn't move, but the stick only pokes her again.
"What goes on in my head is none of your concern."
Twirling around, Nil raises her stick to attack but it's easily blocked. "Fanfic writer. Can't help but try to read your mind." she said with a smile.
Legolas nodded, "Indeed... How about a game, hmm? We spar. If I win... you come inside and do NOT physically hurt me in your next story or story update."
"And if I win?" Nil asked.
"If you win... I suppose I can endure another bout of torture for the sake of your readers."
Nil smirked. "Oh it's on now!"