Disclaimer: Right now Legolas really needs to be mine. I promise I'd take good care of him. No! Oh, well it was worth a try.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. The holidays and an injured husband have kept me from my writing passion. And believe me, I have sorely missed it. So here is my next chapter, which an evil plot bunny snuck up and bit me on. So enjoy even more danger and excitement for our lovable elf. Warning: A little graphic nastiness later on in this chapter. Not near as bad as I usually write, but for my new readers I shall post the warning. And a reminder: Estel is seventeen years old in this fic so truthfully he would be considered an adult in the eyes of men, but to the elves he would still be considered very young. This explains the overprotective attitude that I have given to his adoptive father and brothers.

Chapter 3: Desperate Times

It normally was not a long trip to Rivendell, while on horseback, but Legolas could not risk being stopped by any of his father's guards so he opted to sneak from the palace grounds through the trees on the west side. It was easy for him to make his way out into the forest. The enchantments that his father used to keep enemies out of Mirkwood did not work to keep allies inside and he was soon traveling as fast as his feet would carry him through the forest of Mirkwood heading towards the High Pass through the Misty Mountains.

On foot heading at a fast clip he knew he should be able to make it to Rivendell within a weeks time if he only stopped when absolutely necessary. He was very grateful to Mandil for the gift of Miruvor that was left in his own rooms. With its help he knew he could make very good time.

Somehow it seemed as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders as he made his way out of Mirkwood. For once he felt as if he was actually doing something good for his people, instead of just being their Prince. He was going to make a difference that would benefit those he cared for and it felt very uplifting in a way.

It was not more than one day's time though before things took an unexpected change for the worse. Legolas could not ever remember being ill. He had sustained many injuries during his life, but never had they resulted in illness and as most beings knew elves did not suffer from the illnesses that commonly inflicted man. So it was to his utter surprise when on the second morning his steps began to falter and his vision to blur slightly.

By midday Legolas had slowed down to a slow jog and had to stop every so often do to dizziness. It was during one of these times that he found himself sitting next to a large boulder holding his head in his hands, as it felt like a dwarf axe was splitting it in two.

I cannot let this affect me this much. The others will die if I do not make it back to them with help. Legolas did not dare think of the fact that he himself might not make it to help in time.

Legolas managed to force himself to stand and start moving again but it was not long before he was leaning against another boulder retching the small lunch he had taken earlier. Not this. This cannot be. He moaned dejectedly but just as suddenly the moan was cut off as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. His ears caught the noise behind him just as his sense of smell picked up a stench that he had come to know well. Orc.

He swung around in a blur of motion that was slightly slowed do to his wretched state, but still faster than any one orc could counter. His bow was in his hand and an arrow notched before the orc even realized he was discovered. Legolas let loose the arrow, which flew true and landed in the orcs chest before him. Legolas drew another arrow readying it as his eyes took in the clearing before him. He could not see anymore of the foul beasts but still he felt cold chills running down his spine warning him that danger was still near.

It wasn't long before he heard more than saw where the attack was coming from as an orc dove at him from the top of the large boulder he had just been leaning on. Being caught unaware gave the orc the advantage for a moment as it attempted to hold the elf still that it had pinned to the ground.

Legolas was desperate. If he had not been ill the orc would never have attacked him with such ease. He tried to slow his breathing, which had already been labored from the illness. It worked to calm his nerves and clear his mind as he got the upper hand on the orc using his legs to toss it up and over him. As he did that he had managed to draw his twin Elven blades and used them to slice through the orc as it flew through the air.

But his freedom was short lived as three more orcs dove on top of him crushing the air from his lungs as he lunged upward towards them with his blades decapitating one and slicing an arm from another. For a brief minute he was able to push his attackers back as he regained his feet, but it was only a brief moment as several more of the beasts surrounded him from all sides.

Though he managed to kill several more orcs the odds were overwhelming. Slash, hack, parry, turn and it all started over again as they just pressed in on him farther until finally he faltered for just a moment and one of the beasts slipped inside his defenses and tripped his feet from under him. The other remaining orcs laid into him punching and kicking at the downed elf. Legolas soon found his hands empty as his knives were kicked from them and his fine Elven bow was smashed into pieces. It was finally too much for him to take as the darkness enveloped his mind. The last thought to shift through his pain filled mind was that he had failed his people one last time.

"Ada will have our heads for this," Elrohir warned his twin as they searched the outskirts of the woods of Rivendell.

"How was I to know that he would take that suggestion seriously?" Elladan answered with an innocent look to his brother.

"Elladan, you practically challenged him to make a perilous trip to Lorien. Why would you think that he would not take the bait?" Elrohir knew that Elladan had been teasing Estel when the suggestion was made, but Estel was never one to back down from a challenge once it was made.

"All I said was that I did not think it was fair that Ada had never let Estel visit Lorien. I never imagined that he would take it upon himself to go against Ada's wishes and make the journey alone. An act such as that is pure lunacy." Elladan had already begun to feel guilty in his part in Estel's most recent defiant act, but listening to his twins accusations made his heart sink even further. He really had not thought that Estel would go that far.

"Dan, did you have to say that part about how a fierce warrior such as Estel should have no trouble with the trip?" Elrohir knew that Elladan would never purposefully put their adopted brother in harm's way but, as per usual, Estel had taken his brother's statements as fact and acted foolishly on them.

"We would have better luck finding him if you would stop talking and keep looking," Elladan finally said in exasperation.

Unknown to the twins though their brother had trekked much further than they had expected and had already made it into the Misty Mountains making his way along the high pass that would lead him into other lands that he had never seen before.

Estel knew that his Ada would be furious with him for disobeying him. But Estel also knew that he did not have the time in Middle Earth that the elves did. To his Ada and his brothers the fourteen years he had spent with them was as a blink of an eye. But to Estel it was a large chunk of his life. Most of his youth already spent. It was time that he took his place among the adults and the only way that would be accomplished would be for him to show that he was capable of managing life outside of the protection that the elves of Rivendell offered him.

He knew that there were perils in the journey he was making. He was no fool, no matter what his brothers might have thought of him. He had heard the tales of the orcs and trolls that sometimes frequented the mountain passes. But still he knew he must press on to prove himself otherwise return like a dog with his tail dragging between his legs and forever lose any respect his family held for him.

There had been no signs of trouble as he moved along the pass heading up into the mountains, so he was very surprised when he heard voices a few meters ahead. Whomever the voices belonged seemed to be hidden from his view by several large boulders spread along the path. Estel quickly made his way to the top of one of the boulders knowing that the voices sounded foul to his ears even before his eyes caught site of the creatures standing in front of a cave mouth on one side of the path.

Estel could see no way around the beasts and feared that he might have to turn and head back to Rivendell. There were six orcs that he could see and even though he had become quite proficient with a sword he knew that he would be no match for six of them at once.

He was just about to turn away from the sight below him when the sun caught just right on something just behind the orcs and Estel's breath caught in his lungs as he realized what he was seeing. "By the Valar!"

The orcs seemed to be arguing and as the one to the left of the cave mouth was shoved back Estel could fully see the golden hair and fair skin of an elf. The poor being had been tied to stakes that were nailed into the very mountainside and his form hung limp before him. Even though he could not see the elf's face it was not hard at all to tell he possessed the graceful form of one of the Eldar. The elf's tunic and shirt had been stripped from him and Estel could see bright red stains through the curtain of blond hair that hung over the elf's chest. He could feel a tightening in his chest as he wondered if the elf could possibly be alive. And what was even worse was the thought that struck him that this could someday happen to someone he truly loved. He imagined the image of one of his brothers or his father hanging there like that like that and a lump formed in his throat. Middle Earth was becoming more and more dangerous for the Elven race and it pained him to see it. How would he ever survive if he lost the family he had come to love more than he could ever have loved his birth family?

He snapped out of his dark thoughts as he heard the orcs voices rise again in anger. "We should take it to the Master," one hissed louder than the others.

"It will be dead long before we can do that. Do you want to carry its carcass that far?" another snarled. So he does still live. At least barely.

Two of the other orcs shook their heads at the idea, but the other two that had not been heard from just stood back waiting for the decision to be made.

The first that had talked looked back at their captive. "It is such a waste to leave such good meat just hanging around."

"You saw it when we caught it. It is diseased," one of the ones that had wanted to leave the elf there pointed out.

"It killed most of our men. It must pay for that before it dies," the first came back with.

"Well then, we leave it for the wolves. That is a painful enough death," the second said in almost glee.

The orc that had spoken first grinned a foul grin. "Yes, oh yes that shall do nicely. You start ahead. I want to make sure there is plenty of fresh blood to draw the wolves."

The other orc that Estel was guessing was in charge of the small group scowled. "Just remember, no tasting." Then four of the six orcs headed higher into the mountains away from Estel's position.

Once they were out of hearing the orc that had been arguing with their leader spit at the other orc's retreating back and turned back to the elf. He withdrew a knife and looked to the other orc that had stayed with him. "What say you? Want a little nibble for the road?"

"Yessss!!!!" it hissed happily.

"Thought so. Think I'll just take a little from the thigh. Nice and meaty there." The orc was laughing happily at his sport then, anticipating the tasty treat. With those words he sliced his knife into the leggings that the elf wore and sliced into the flesh below.

The elf came awake instantly kicking out at the pain and growling in anger at such painful treatment.

Estel could watch no more and was positive that the other four orcs were far enough away that he could dispatch with these two before the others came back. He slipped silently to the rocky ground behind the two orcs and tapped the one with the knife on the back of his shoulder with the tip of his sword.

The orc swung around in surprise and Estel immediately swung out removing its head from its body. The second orc had time though to draw his own sword and struck out at Estel forcing him backwards towards the boulder. But Estel had anticipated it and ducked away from the sword going in low and striking out at its mid-section. The beast screamed in pain as Estel's sword skewered it.

"Damn, that will bring all of them back," he cursed as he brought his blade up removing the orc's head to silence the screaming.

And right he was as he watched the others come charging back. But as luck would have it they did not all return with the same speed allowing him to face them one on one as the others caught up. The last was the one he has marked as leader and it was the toughest to fight. At one point he even found himself pinned to the boulder behind him with nowhere to run. But at that moment the elf growled again in anger distracting the orc and Estel was able to slip his blade in slicing the orcs sword arm from its body. It was not long before the path was littered with orc carcasses and Estel leaned heavily on the boulder in exhaustion.

Legolas was not sure what had drew the orc's attention at first, but he was glad for the reprieve. He had been severely bruised and beaten ever since the orcs had tied him to the rock face and he wasn't sure how he would fair when he heard the word "nibble" come from the orc's lips.

It took all the strength he possessed to raise his head slightly to look through his own hair to see what was attacking the orcs. He wondered for a moment if perhaps his father had sent out a search party after his absence was discovered. But to his utter surprise he saw a human fighting the orcs. And fighting well at that.

He watched as one by one the orcs were felled by the man's sword until the very last one got the upper hand on him. Legolas knew there was very little he could do to help. He didn't even have a strong enough voice to call out, but he soon found himself emitting a low feral growl at the beast as the anger he felt at his uselessness overcame his weakness.

It was just the distraction that the human needed and soon the last orc joined his fellow companions in death. Legolas' head then again sagged as his chin touched his chest in exhaustion.

A/N: I know, I know. Not quite a meeting yet. But it seemed like an excellent place to leave off. (Ducks flying books) I promise, next chapter they actually do talk to each other. (Ducks again)