A/N: Many appreciative thanks for the reviews for the previous chapter. The plot bunny has been out roaming the countryside, but I finally reined him in. So, please enjoy our endeavors.

Chapter Three

When Quintella reached out a third time to touch Legolas's face, he didn't object and her caress his cheek with the gentlest of pressure. With the fingers of her other hand, she deftly undid the large braid at the back of his head, letting the thick, golden strands of his hair fall forward to frame his face.

Legolas's mistrust dropped away like a discarded cloak. All he saw were those eyes, and all he felt was her touch, like the downiest feather against his skin. A shiver of desire ran through his body, heat rising in his blood.

Legolas closed his eyes and drifted to the sound of her soothing voice, telling him how handsome he was and what wonderful things she would do for him, if he'd only let her. The rest of the world melted away, as he sank to his knees, lost completely in Quintella's spell.

x x x x x

Aragorn, Elladan, Elrohir and Gandalf were all worriedly looking down at Legolas when he suddenly vanished.

Aragorn's eyes widened, and he went to the spot his friend had just occupied. "Legolas," he called. "Legolas, where are you? Answer me!," he called out desperately. There wasn't even the whisper of an answer.

"What happened? " Elrohir asked in total confusion.

Aragorn shook his head, not having the answer but knowing exactly who did. "Altimir!" he yelled in barely contained rage. "Bring him back!" He didn't expect a response, and he was not disappointed.

"I do not understand," Elladan remarked. "I thought Altimir wanted us to try to recover the key? How would taking Legolas serve his purpose?" He was puzzled and more than a little concerned.

"Maybe, he thinks it will make his little game more interesting," the younger twin replied, though how that was possible, he had no clue.

"You may be right." Gandalf said grimly. If anything happened to Legolas, the wizard knew he would be responsible, at least in part. He had brought them all here, after all. He didn't think he could live with the himself if anything foul befell the elven prince, or any of the others.

He looked up when he heard the twins both yell, "No!"

This time, it was Aragorn who had vanished.

"He is going to take us one by one," Elrohir reasoned. He reached out and grabbed Elladan's hand and held it tightly. "I wonder if Aragorn and Legolas are together?"

"I hope so," Elladan replied, knowing the two were a formidable pair. Either one being by themselves in a place like this wasn't anything he cared to dwell on.

In an instant, Aragorn found himself alone in the temple. 'What is happening here?' the man questioned to himself.

The ranger turned in a complete circle, surveying the large room and seeing nothing different than a moment ago, other than the fact that his brothers and Gandalf were now missing.

Altimir was evil, and he could end up doing all manner of horrible tortures to them all that Aragorn didn't want to consider. The man knew it wouldn't be a good idea to provoke this demon into doing any of those things.

Gandalf vanished just as Elrohir turned to say something to him. He looked at his twin and grasped his hand even tighter. Maybe, if they were holding onto each other, it would prevent either of them from disappearing. If they did vanish, they would hopefully stay together.

For a long time neither of the Rivendell elves moved or, in fact, hardly dared to breathe.

An idea occurred to Elladan. "Did they disappear, or did we?"

All Elrohir could do was shrug. Then he ventured a tentative answer, as his other hand snaked around his brother's shoulders. "Well, we are the ones still in the temple." The idea that that may be the case for all of them never entered his mind.

Aragorn stood, trying to decide what to do next. He felt he might be able to do something if he could be sure of where he was. Had he been taken from the real temple and appear somewhere else that looked the same to fool him, or did the others disappear, leaving him exactly where he thought he was? He had no idea his brothers were considering the same thing. Aragorn decided it probably wouldn't really make a difference. The Lord of Pantos was in control of it all anyway. Whatever that demon decided to do, he would do, and, at the moment, there seemed to be little that could be done to change it.

The ranger closed his eyes and hung his head. When his eyes opened again, he was looking down near his left foot, where something caught his eye.

He knelt down and peered into the smoky interior of the floor. The man couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was the key! He was still in the temple. Somehow that didn't make him feel any better. When all the thinking was done, his bothers and his friends were still gone.

Since there was nothing he could do to help them at the moment, the ranger decided to concentrate on the object that had brought them all here in the first place. Who knew what could be accomplished if he was able to retrieve it.

Aragorn didn't believe that trying to smash the floor would do any more then infuriate Altimir. The demon would likely get angry enough to destroy them all. Had he been alone, he might have tried it, but he couldn't - and wouldn't - risk the lives of others, especially on what he wasn't so sure wasn't a fool's gesture.

The ranger chieftain was not one to give up or give in. His mind began trying to work through the problem in a practical way to reach a solution. There had to be a way. They were not going to die here, simply because they were unable to recover one tiny object!

Aragorn stood up, and when he looked around, he was shocked to see Gandalf no more than ten feet away. He was so glad to see the wizard, the key was completely forgotten.

Gandalf was standing alone, staff in hand, also looking around with a puzzled expression on his face. In his eyes could also be seen a flash of anger. Gandalf did not like to be tricked or played games with.

Between man and wizard stood a wall that looked like it could be made of either glass or ice. It had what appeared to be crystallized frost on it. He could see beyond it, yet the little crystal shards gave everything a broken mirror effect. There were hundreds of tiny Gandalf's, one appearing in each of shards.

Aragorn tentatively reached out to touch the structure, not sure what sensation he would encounter. He discovered that the wall was cold to the touch, feeling more like ice than glass, and that the crystal shapes were part of the wall itself, rather than being some kind of coating on it.

The ranger decided that the wall was not dangerous, at least he hoped it wasn't. Banging on the glass with his fist, Aragorn tried to attract Gandalf's attention. The man even tried kicking the wall, but Gandalf didn't hear him. It was then that Aragorn realized that he couldn't hear anything, either. However, when Gandalf turned in his direction, their eyes met.

The Grey Wizard approached the wall and put his hand against it. Aragorn did the same on his side. They saw that the wall between their palms was about an inch thick.

Suddenly, to Aragorn's right and Gandalf's left, Elladan and Elrohir suddenly appeared several feet away. They were still firmly holding each other. Their mouths were moving, but Aragorn couldn't hear them.

Elrohir spotted his foster brother and tapped Elladan's shoulder and then pointed at Aragorn. Both smiled in relief before the younger twin also Spied Gandalf and pointed to him, too.

After Elrohir looked around him, he turned back to Aragorn and asked, "Where is Legolas?"

Aragorn pointed to his right ear and shook his head, indicating that he couldn't hear. When Elrohir mouthed the words more slowly, Aragorn shrugged and shook his head. He wanted to know the answer to that question himself.

Just then, Elladan pointed behind Aragorn. The man turned and saw Legolas on his knees with his eyes closed and an expression of pure joy on his face. Quintella stood over him, caressing his face and pulling her fingers slowly through his loose hair.

Altimir's laughter rumbled through the temple. "Quintella wants him. No one has caught her eye like this in centuries."

"Well, she can't have him!" Aragorn shouted. Then, as he gazed at his elven friend, he frowned. He was horrified that Legolas was allowing this to happen.

Altimir's laughter rumbled again. It was obvious that he was amused by this open display of desire on Quintella's part and total submission on the elf's part.

"She has bewitched him," Gandalf stated bluntly, disgust in his tone. "I do not think he even realizes what is transpiring."

Aragorn's fury was mounting, but all he could do was nod. Gandalf's idea was the only thing that made sense. "Wait. Gandalf," he said suddenly. "I heard you."

"We did, as well," Elrohir said. He tested the glass wall and found it just as solid as Aragorn had found the one surrounding him. "Maybe, Legolas can hear us."

They all began shouting his name, but the elf gave no indication he heard them.

Quintella did, however. She looked at them and smiled wickedly. Then she looked back down on Legolas's smiling, almost angelic face.

The archer opened his eyes and stared lovingly into Quintella's large, gray ones, not even taking note of the fact that her eye color had changed yet again.

To the elf, at that moment, the rest of the world did not exist. He gave no thought to his friends, or the mission they had been on to retrieve the key. There was only Quintella - in his vision, in his mind, in his heart.

Aragorn drew his sword. He held it over his head with both hands and brought it down against the wall between him and Legolas. To his surprise and delight, the wall vibrated for a moment, as splits began to form, crackling as they spread across its surface.

Aragorn hit the wall again. Finer cracks appeared, but the wall remained standing. Each new blow produced more cracks, but still the wall held fast.

As Aragorn stood staring, all the cracks began to reverse themselves, disappearing as fast as they had materialized.

Frustrated, Aragorn kicked at the wall, then pounded furiously, hoping it would shatter before it had time to repair itself. It didn't work, and soon the wall stood as solid as it had been when it had first appeared.

x x x x x

"You are mine, now," Quintella purred to the elf kneeling before her.

Legolas smiled and nodded.

The woman reached down and took the elf's hand in hers. "Come. I have special plans for you."

Legolas took her hand and rose gracefully to his feet. "Where are we going?" he asked softly.

Quintella ran her fingertips lightly down Legolas's right cheek. "Does is really matter?"

"No," he breathed. "As long as we are together, it matters not where we go."

In an effort to test the elf's resolve, Quintella asked, "What about your friends?"

A small furrow of confusion appeared on Legolas's forehead. "What friends?"

Turning his head to face those trapped behind the glass walls, Quintella pointed and said, "Them."

Legolas shook his head. "I do not know them." He turned to look down into Quintella's face. "I know only you."

Aragorn's face fell when he heard Legolas utter those words. He understood that the elf wasn't responsible for what he was saying, yet hearing his friend say them hurt nonetheless. He shook off that feeling as being selfish. He couldn't blame Legolas. He blamed that female demon.

Grasping Legolas's left hand, the woman turned him away toward the rear of the temple. Just as she also turned away, there was a look of utter triumph on her face.

Aragorn and his brothers began yelling Legolas's name and pounding on the walls that kept them from going after their friend.

Gandalf shook his head in dismay, knowing the futility of their efforts. Legolas, he knew, was now beyond their reach.

Aragorn, Gandalf and the twins could do nothing more than to stare in shocked silence and watch as both Quintella and Legolas walked arm in arm across the floor and then disappeared into the rear wall of the temple.

TBC

Our dear elf is in even more trouble now. Disappearing INTO the temple wall? You have got to be kidding me. Where is that evil little fur ball?