The hard thudding came first, the nausea second. Legolas was not sure which was worse, but as his elvish healing drew to a close, and consciousness was shouting to be recognised, both pain and nausea continued to stand their ground with him. He was not ready to open his eyes, but he found himself raising his hand to his forehead. He was shocked at the temperature of his skin, his cold hands were a stark contrast to his warm head. He ran his hand over his head and grimaced as he felt the hard lump, from the blow that he took. He did not relish in the pain, he removed his hand and placed it back down beside his body. Very slowly, he began the task of opening his eyes.

His blue eyes opened, but he could not see anything. There was nothing but a dark space in front of him. Blinking furiously, concerned that the blow to the head may have affected his vision, he soon discovered that actually, it was not his vision, but his dark surroundings. The last he remembered before awakening, was the forest and the Fellowship fighting. He sighed in relief when he realised his memory was still intact. He was not one to let emotions take the better of him but the sudden realisation that his friends may be in danger hounded his conscience. It was then that he noticed the starlight coming through the small window. Elves had a connection with the stars, often finding comfort by their light, and for Legolas this was no exception. The light calmed him, it refocused him and he was able to channel his concerns into his next task, getting up. He rose to a seated position, pushing aside the dizziness and nausea which quickly hit him in response. He propped himself up against the cold wall and began to search his thoughts. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and then abruptly realised that his wrists were confined within strong, iron cuffs. He tried pulling them apart, finding anyway to be released from them but it was no use. He tilted his head back so his eyes could scan the stars peeping through the small window and relished in their beauty for a few more moments. He sighed a somewhat exasperated sigh before returning his eyes back to the cell. He used what little light the stars provided to his advantage, and began to scan the room, top to bottom, side to side. He certainly wasn't expecting to find his friends laying fast asleep in the corner. Legolas smiled and for a moment, briefly forgetting his troubles, just relieved that his friends were with him. However, Aragorn's restless figure brought him back to his stark reality. The man had never been a good sleeper and from what Legolas could see, he was currently not sleeping well. Small and quite huffs and gruffs came from the ranger as he tried to block out the nightmare that was ailing him as he slept. Legolas could not help but feel pity for the man, as he tried to sleep. It was clear to the elf that none of his companions should be awoken, as he had no indication of what may have happened to them in the interim of him being unconscious. All Legolas could do was wait for morning and perhaps his questions could be answered. He phased his vision to an elvish dream state.

...

It was not long until dawn arrived, and light filled the dark space. Boromir could feel his eyes reluctantly open as he grumbled in response. The cell was still silent, and that was enough to tell him that he was the only one awake. However, something felt different to him, he could sense something unsettling. He realised that he was suddenly incredibly thirsty, neither of his companions had eaten or drunk since their capture His pounding headache was a clear consequence of this. He had been staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before deciding to prop himself up against the wall. He removed Gimli's strewn arm off his stomach, the dwarf was always a wild sleeper, and gently ushered himself back against the wall. He rested his head on his knees and sighed heavily, dreaming that a jug of water or a loaf of bread might magically appear. He lifted his head to stop his wild thoughts but instead yelped loudly in shock. Opposite him, was Legolas, who was also propped up against the wall. His eyes were wide open, yet Boromir noted a glazed vacancy about them. Boromir was not expecting to see the elf in that position. Before Boromir fell asleep, Legolas was still unconscious and lifeless, lying on the floor. It was now clear to the man that the elf was dreaming, so very quietly, he whispered.

'Legolas? Legolas!'

The elf's eyes blinked awake from the sleep and stared forcefully at the man on the other side of the room.

'Boromir, it is good to see you.'

'When did you awake?'

Legolas peered up at the window and back to Boromir, 'Perhaps a few hours before dawn. Are you hurt Boromir?'

'Nay, I am fine, as is everyone else. Are you troubled?'

Legolas paused for thought as he checked his pains, 'My head is still sore from the heavy blow, but other than that I am fine.'

'That is good to hear. But as you can see our situation is rather dire' Boromir replied in a rather sombre tone.

'Yes, I have come to realise this, have we had no contact with our captors?'

'Nay none, we have no information, no contact, we have been here for over a day now. I can't imagine they would leave us alone for much longer.'

'I agree with you, we should wake the others and devise a plan.'

'I will rouse Gimli and the hobbits; I'm sure Aragorn will wish to speak with you.'

The hobbits woke in a surprisingly good mood, a strong contrast to Gimli whose anger of being awoken was clearly visible. Legolas gently shook Aragorn awake and was met with a shocked look.

Aragorn sat up in a flash and stared at Legolas.

'You are awake Legolas!'

'Yes, mellon nin, I awoke just before dawn'.

'Are you hurt?' Aragorn replied quickly.

'No Aragorn I am fine. Boromir and I woke you all because we need to devise some sort of plan.'

'What do you mean…. plan?' Pippin asked hesitantly.

Aragorn turned to the young hobbit, 'Pippin we cannot stay here any longer.'

'But we have not eaten, we have no strength. We cannot simply march out of whatever building this is' Gimli added in frustration.

'Shhhhhh Gimli, we must not be so loud!'

Gimli's eyes darted to the elf, 'Oh so you have a say in the matter now. In case you have forgotten elf, you have been asleep for the entire duration.'

'And in case you have forgotten Gimli, we may not have been in this situation had you not spoken out of turn in the forest.'

Gimli rose from his seated position in an attempt to attack Legolas but was abruptly and forcefully pulled back down by Boromir.

'Enough!' shouted Aragorn, in a tone so fierce that both Merry and Pippin cowered. 'We cannot fight each other now! We have to stay strong…''

The sound of iron grinding against a stone floor suddenly echoed through the cells. Aragorn stopped speaking and his body became rigid.

They all froze, deathly silent with dreaded anticipation. They slowly all turned to look at one another, hoping that someone would know what to say. Legolas grimaced and swallowed a hard lump in his throat.

'I can hear voices. People are coming.'

Aragorn rushed to the iron bars of the cell and looked down the dark corridor and noticed that the front door had opened, revealing the peaceful outdoors. However, the image ended as through the door came a number of figures. Aragorn pulled back from the iron bars and turned to his friends who all looked at him waiting for an answer.

'Well?' asked Boromir

'The door is open. I can see the outside…'

The sound of the door grating again, pierced through the ears of the Fellowship. The door slammed closed. A deathly silence filled the cell. Pippin turned to Merry, his eyes enlarged with fear.

Heavy footfalls on stone became louder and louder. Each step getting closer and close to the cell.

Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir all stood up, ready to stand their ground. Merry and Pippin watched as the warriors stood, both of them soon following suit. Aragorn clenched his teeth in anticipation, feeling a wave of anger run through him. A shadow appeared on the floor, and then soon, a figure. The figure was dressed in a long dark cloak, his face obscured by a hood. Pippin tightly gripped his cousin's hand as the hooded figure raised his head and opened his mouth to speak.

'Hello, my precious little prisoners'.