Chapter 4

A few hours before dawn Legolas rose from his place on the floor. Moving over to the table he lit a few candles. He had not slept at all that night, and now realized that in the wake of his trip that day he probably should have. His long night alone with his thoughts had straightened out a few things for him though, and he felt much calmer than he had after speaking to his father. In reality, he was left with two choices. His father was only trying to look out for him, and he could either forget about Aranel and stick to his duties, or he could ignore his father's request and live his life how he wanted.

Pulling off his tunic, he tossed it onto the bed. He went to turn towards the bathroom, but stopped. Turning back he looked at the bow that was still laying on his bed and he sighed. Memories of the previous days came flooding back to him, and he realized that option number one was not going to work. In his heart he knew that going against his father's wishes was the only real choice he had. Elves only fell truly in love once, and it happened quickly, and lasted forever. When an elf bonded to another their very should joined and they would always from then on be able to feel the presence and emotions of their mate. He didn't know that Aranel was his bond mate for certain, but something just felt different with her. His father would just have to accept that he wanted, for once, to see where his heart would take him, and not rely on what was profitable and proper.

He felt lighter as he turned and went into the bathroom to bathe. When he emerged a short while later, he put on his best warrior's outfit. It was elegant, and yet showed that he was both a respected fighter and also the prince. His tunic was the official rich green color of Greenwood, and his leggings were a fine shade of brown. Sitting down in front of his mirror, he quickly tied the two braids on each side of his head, and then brushed back the rest of his long blonde hair. He packed a small pack with bandages, and threw in some food and a container of water. Grabbing the pack along with his weapons and a traveling cloak, he left his room.

The halls of the kingdom were silent, and the flickering torches cast eerie shadows against the stone walls. As he walked past his father's study, he heard the rustling of papers from inside. "It appears I wasn't the only one who didn't get any sleep last night." He stopped walking and debated about going in. Deciding that his decision this morning was a conversation he could save for later, he continued walking and turned the corner out of his family's private wing. Around the corner there were huge arches that looked out over the main cavern opening. Huge smooth wooden bridges twisted and turned, and the light from the torches mixed with the moonlight that came in through large openings in the high ceiling, making the opening glow. It was truly a marvelous sight, and he never grew tired of it.

He hesitated as he passed the entrance to the guest wing. He wanted to go and wake Aranel, but decided to let her sleep. After all, it was going to be a long day. Instead he turned and walked down a large staircase, and made his way to the Great Hall. The Great Hall was in a corner of the palace, on the ground level, and high arches opened up on two sides into an opened ceiling garden. The cavern wall blocked off the garden from the outside world, but the space was fairly large and made one feel that they weren't trapped in a cave. There were beautifully tamed bushes between each arch, that blocked off the hall from the outside garden. In-between a few arches however, one could walk out into the large beautiful garden. The garden had small bubbling fountains, and carved benches that were secluded inside the maze of plants, flowers, and trees.

When he entered the hall, he saw that some of his men were already there. Many were eating breakfast while others arranged weapons to be carried down for sharpening. Across the room he spotted Thalion, the captain of the border guards. He was a good friend of Legolas' and had fought in many battles beside him. Thalion was quite a bit older than him, and he had been the one who taught Legolas to use his bow. After Legolas, he was also the next most respected warrior in the realm.

"Thalion!" Legolas called as he walked towards him. His friend turned around and opened his arms wide. "Good morning your Majesty!" he called while bowing slightly, and with a sarcastic grin on his face. Legolas just laughed, "I see your getting everything ready for my journey. If I had known you were down here doing this I would have stayed sleeping!"

"OUR journey Legolas. You wouldn't leave me behind on this after all we have been through would you, my friend?" Thalion asked as they both sat down at the table.

"Of course not! I was simply stating that you seem to have everything handled quite nicely."

Thalion chuckled quietly, "Don't worry Legolas, there is still plenty more to do." A servant arrived then, and handed them each a plate of bread with berry jam. As they ate they discussed the finer details of the trip. They would begin by heading west towards the Misty Mountains. Gollum was last seen there, and they would begin on the north end of the mountains and work their way south. Rivendell was along the way so if there was need they could stop there for supplies.

More warriors came into the hall at dawn, and the excitement in the hall grew for the journey. There would be only about 30 of them going, but the preparations had everyone excited and bustling with energy. This was the state that Aranel found the hall in when she entered shortly after dawn. She was surprised to see so many elves there at this time in the morning, since they wouldn't be leaving till later this afternoon. Quickly grabbing her breakfast, she sat down and observed the preparations. There were some coming in with freshly sharpened swords, that others were taking and testing out in a corner when they thought their captain wasn't looking. They were quickly caught through, and tried to hide the swords in a pile of bedrolls as he walked over. The captain came and stood in front of them, looking very intimidating, and Aranel felt a little bit bad for the elves. That was until, the captain gave a laugh and pulled out his own sword. One of the elves was quick to get his up and countered his captains move with ease. The other was a bit less fortunate. It seemed that when he had tried to hide his sword he had accidentally stabbed through one of the bedrolls. As he swung it up to join in the fun, it went flying off the end of his sword and soared across the hall and into a neatly arranged pile of apples that were sitting on the food table. All of the apples came crashing to the ground and rolled in every direction. Some of the servants turned to glare in the young elves' direction, and he turned bright red while his captain howled with laughter.

She found herself laughing too, but it quickly stopped when she saw who walked up to the captain. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched Legolas come up and clasp the captain of the guards on the shoulder. He was laughing too, and spoke a little to the captain as the other elf went to help the servants clean up the mess. Aranel couldn't take her eyes off of him, he wore an elegant uniform that showed just how muscular he was and made his movements look lithe and graceful. His blonde hair shown in the soft light that came in through the high arches, and her heat began to beat faster as she took in how handsome he looked.

Taking her eyes off of him, she looked down at herself. She was still wearing her thin night dress with a simple shawl that came together in the front and then flowed out behind her. It had never bothered her before to wear this in front of others to breakfast, but now as she looked at Legolas she felt very plain and a bit exposed. She quickly finished her breakfast and turned to leave. If she went out the main entrance she would have to walk by him, so she made her way to one of the entrances to the garden, and stepped out into the morning sun.

Legolas had seen her go. He had looked up to see her walking with her head down towards the entrance to the garden. He moved to follow her, and as he stepped into the garden he froze. She was absolutely stunning. Her back was to him and her hair fell in soft curls like a waterfall down her back, while her light purple train spread out like water towards him.

"Aranel," he called softly to her. Her body stiffened, and she turned towards him with wide eyes, her hands clutching the front of her shawl closed.

"Hello Legolas," she returned, her eyes dropping to look at the ground.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. She seemed so uncomfortable and he didn't understand why, she had always seemed fairly comfortable in his presence.

"Nothing at all," she replied, her eyes still on the ground. He came to her then, and placed his hand under her chin, lifting it until her eyes met his.

"Then why do you hide your eyes from me?" Looking into his eyes, she saw his concern for her, and maybe something else there. What was it? Her heart was beating fast, and she stopped breathing as he reached up and touched her cheek. His fingers felt soft and warm on her skin, and his touch left her skin tingling. Slowly, he took a piece of her hair that had fallen in front of her eyes, and tucked it behind her pointed ear. Just as he was about to say something to her, a voice called from behind them.

"My Lord! We are almost ready, and the King wishes for a report on our preparations." Legolas turned to look at the elf, and nodded to him. When he turned back to Aranel, she had recovered.

Resting her hand on his arm, see looked up into his blue eyes. "If they are almost ready, then I should go get ready myself. I'll see you in an hour." She walked away from him then, and back into the palace. Once she was sure he could no longer see her, she ran.

In side her room, she leaned with her back against the door, "What is wrong with me? I've never been shy, so why did I act like it with Legolas? I never have before." With a sigh she sat down in front of her mirror and picked up her hairbrush. "Why does he make me feel so strange?!" As she began to brush her hair she added in a whisper, "and what was that look in his eyes." She stared in the mirror at her own brown eyes, and in her mind she could picture his face again, and she saw his eyes, full of concern and something else. It was like fire, smoldering as he had looked at her.

Everyone had gathered their horses and were making the last few preparations and saying their goodbyes as Legolas approached Aranel.

"Here, your training as been going well so far. Let us see how you can do hunting some live orcs," he said as he handed her the bow and quiver she had been using to practice. A sarcastic grin spread across her face as she took them from him.

"Prepare to be amazed."

Legolas laughed as he turned and went over to his horse. The King appeared then to see them off.

"I wish you all speed and luck. This task appointed to you is of great importance to all of middle-earth. May the Valor watch over you all."

Legolas was making the last few adjustments on his horse as his father approacehed him. Thranduill placed a hand on his son's shoulder, and he turned to face him. "Be careful out there. Gollum is a clever and sneaky creature." Legolas just looked at him and nodded. Thranduill felt bad, he didn't like to fight with his only son, but the matter they had been at odds about was an important one. He removed his hand from his son's shoulder, "I wish you great speed and luck. Be safe my son." Legolas mounted his horse, and looked down at his father, "I will Ada." He then called to the other riders and they were off.

The first part of the journey went quickly. The forest surrounding the realm was still green and full of life. The paths of the elves were clear and sure, and they made good time that day. The next few days did not go as well.

Farther into the forest the undergrowth of the forest had become thicker of late, and the tree branches were like sharp claws. No one from the realm still lived in this part of the forest anymore, only the orcs. They slept in the trees on flets that had long since been abandoned by their border guards as they lost portions of the forest. As they rode on he heard one of his men joke to another about how Greenwood seemed more like it should be called Mirkwood now.

Eventually, the trees broke and gave way to large golden fields. They were able to move much faster there, and they made good time the rest of that day. As nightfall approached, the prince led them over to an outcropping of rocks. There were a few trees nearby to tie up their horses, and the rocks provided a nice barrier against the winds that were coming across the plains. They all began to set up camp for the night, and Legolas took to the task of making a fire. Right as he finished, he stood up to see five of his me running up to him. They had caught some grouse out on the plains, and the excitement grew as everyone helped to make a grouse and vegetable stew.

After such a good dinner, and the thought of being out of the forest, everyone was in a wonderful mood, and they all sat around the fire and told stories into the night. Aranel sat next to Legolas and was amazed at some of the battles stories that he told. She also found that the captain, who's name she learned was Thalion, was extremely funny. He had just gotten done telling the story of how he had almost lost a drinking game to a small skinny man in the town of Bree, and Aranel realized she was dead tired. Her sides hurt from laughing so much, and she was completely worn out after days of riding. Saying goodnight to Legolas and the company, she moved away from the merry circle and laid down on her bedroll. She fell asleep watching the stars and listening to the laughter coming from the circle by the fire.

Legolas was one of the last to go to bed. The fire was dying down and as him and Thalion talked softly about the journey ahead.

"My Lord, I feel the King may have rushed us into this journey. It is nearly the end of summer, and I fear that this quest could take us well into the winter months. The mountains are not a pleasant place to be during the winter, we both know that. The paths are steep and slippery, and can often be buried in many feet of snow," Thalion whispered staring into the fire.

Legolas glanced over at him. "I know what you speak of, but I feel that this mission may be of a greater importance than even the welfare of this company."

Thalion looked wide eyed at him. "What has your father told you of this?"

"Not much, only that a great evil is returning and this is somehow connected." The air seemed to grow colder and the night darker as they stared into the fire contemplating this unknown evil. Finally Legolas sighed, "I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it." He smiled up at Thalion, "We should get to bed, tomorrow will be a long day."

They stood, and after saying goodnight Legolas came over to his bedroll, which was next to Aranel's. They were off a little ways away from the others, near a large rock. He hadn't missed it when she secretly put her's down next to his when they were making camp. He looked down at her sleeping softly, with her sword next to her pillow, and the bow and quiver leaning against her pack a few feet away. He laughed to himself, "Always ready for battle." He then placed his own weapons next to his pillow. And laid down on his own bed, falling asleep in minutes.

Aranel startled awake a few hours later. She knew immediately that something was wrong. It was very dark now. As the light from the fire had long since died down. She also noticed that the stars were missing. "That can't be right. It is too dark out." She blinked a few times to clear her eyes, and looked up was when she realized that something was standing over her. A chill when down her spine as she looked up into narrow yellow eyes, and saw as the figure lifted an axe above their head and swung it down at her.