Chapter 2, everyone!

Thanks to all readers, followers, favourites and reviewers! I hope you'll like this chapter! :)

I do not own any characters (except for a couple of OCs) or places; J.R.R Tolkien or Peter Jackson and Co do.

The italics in the beginning and the end of a chapter comes from either one of the Lord of the Rings-movies/books or from any of The Hobbit-movies/book. All of them will have some sort of connection to Elves. So I do not own them as well.

Also, Elvish is in italics. I'm not extremely well-versed in the Elven language, so it might be a couple of grammar mistakes, but hopefully it'll do.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: An unexpected meeting

"I know you're there."

The latest theft had taken place a small distance from the palace. It was not a long walk there, a quite easy way to go. One only had to follow the song and directions of the trees and they would lead you onto the right path. All in all, it was a safe way and Legolas did not doubt that he could take care of any threat, should it occur, that would come up. Apparently, Thranduil disagreed, because when Legolas had entered the courtyard this morning, cloak wrapped around his shoulders and his bow strapped onto his back, there had been one guard there, waiting for him.

The guard had dark hair and a serious expression. He introduced himself as Lannor and with a swift bow, explaining his orders from the King of escorting the Prince to the clearing and the crime scene. Legolas repressed an annoyed sigh, but accepted Lannor's company, glad that the other Elf had introduced himself because he had not known the name of the Elf before. The guards were many and Legolas only knew a handful of them and only a few more by name.

Their walk was a pleasant one, even though the forest wasn't as green and thriving as it once had been. The trees still grew in strange patterns that rose to the air and there were a faint sound of birds chirping that rang through the air in clear notes. Yet it was peaceful in a way that only a forest could bring. The power of the trees – that were rooted so deeply into the ground that removing them would be almost impossible and a great sin – was still strong and affected all the inhabitants in the forest. It was a beautiful place and though it might not have been as magnificent as the Golden forest to the West, Legolas thought that Mirkwood had its own power, a fierceness and a will to survive. No one could enter the kingdom without his father knowing it. The trees and faint winds whispered with each other and the King was a master of speaking their languages, an art that was becoming rarer.

While walking, Lannor calmly explained – on the Prince's request – what had happened this time. Apparently, a selection of a special kind of flower had been stolen, pulled up by their roots. Since there were not nearly as many flowers in the forest as it had been before, those who did grow there was treasured and taken great care of. That someone would violate something so pure and precious, a gift from the Maker, was unheard of.

They arrived at the small camp within a couple of minutes. There were a couple of huts that seemed to grow out of the ground and some wide flowerbeds; both with blossoming flowers and flowers that had not yet started to bloom, that was no more than green spires shooting up from the murky ground. No Elves were in sight and it was quiet, almost as if the place had been abandoned. Legolas thought it all very strange.

"This way", said Lannor and took the lead, nodding towards a narrow path leading away from the huts. "The Groundkeeper will be waiting for us at the crime scene. Orders from the King."

Legolas nodded, though his eyes were looking out over the area, alert and hawk like. He followed Lannor through the neatly arranged plantations. Everything was an earthy green, smelling like that particular scent that always seemed to linger in the air when it had been raining; a fresh scent of wood and damp moss. It was slightly chilly and Legolas wondered if that was the reason why no one was out or if there was a more serious reason for it.

Lannor led him to almost the end of one path where two other Elves were standing. Both were male and one of them was dressed in the dark green tunic that was the standard uniform for a member of the Guard. The other Elf was dressed in brown, adorned with thin chains of gold and his pale hair was braided into hundreds of tiny braids. He looked upset, his face contorted in fury and Legolas realized that he was very old from the pure anger that blazed from the Elf's green eyes. The guard looked as if his patience was wearing thin. He seemed relieved when Legolas and Lannor joined them.

"My Prince", the guard bowed and cut off his companion in the middle of a sentence.

"Duvaithor", greeted Legolas, remembering the Elf's name from their many training sessions. "What do you have to report?"

It wasn't Duvaithor who answered, though he was about to, but the fair-haired Elf with the expression of displeasure.

"He has nothing to report", he said harshly and threw the guard a dirty look. "Because he was not here when it happened. Heru en amin", he added with a bow that showed all the control his eyes did not.

Legolas frowned and looked between Duvaithor and the other Elf. Lannor stood behind him, quiet as a shadow.

"Forgive me", he addressed the Elf. "But who are you? Where you the one that discovered the theft?"

The Elf's eyes flared up with a green kind of fire and he straightened up. He was shorter than the average Elf, but still taller than some of the other races of Middle Earth.

"I am Égon, the Groundkeeper", he said and somehow managed to look down at Legolas despite the height difference. "No, I was not the first to discover that the flowers were missing. One of my apprentices was. But my point is that had the Guard been doing its job, this would not have happened."

Legolas was eerily reminded of his father the way Égon spoke. He kept his expression calm and turned to Duvaithor, silently begging him to elaborate. The guard nodded stiffly and did as he was asked.

"We do have two guards always patrolling around the area", he informed them gravely. "And since this is such a small part of the woods, my superiors think that two guards should be enough. Most of us are sent out to protect the borders."

Legolas nodded as a sign that he had understood. He knew that his father valued the safety of the kingdom more than a small spot in a very big kingdom that contained a couple of flowers, no matter how rare. Duvaithor continued with telling that they had not noticed anything suspicious that evening, nothing at all.

"It takes seven minutes between the guards patrolling the same place", explained Duvaithor and his grey eyes were bitter. "That would be enough time for anyone to take what they want." The Elf suddenly looked sad. "Though I cannot understand why…."

Legolas did not have an answer to that and turned to Égon instead. The older Elf crossed his arms over his chest, his golden bracelets making soft, metallic sounds as they rubbed against each other.

"You said one of your apprentices found the flowers missing?"

"Yes", said Égon, gesturing towards the small patch of earth they were standing at. It was messy, and the dark soil looking beaten up, looking as if someone had pulled up flowers with their roots from there, which was the truth. "It wasn't difficult to miss. Our ivor galas…. All of them gone!"

"I understand", said Legolas and adopted a polite expression, carefully continuing: "And they fulfill the use of….?"

He let the question hang in the air. Égon's eyes flashed dangerously, but he kept himself from saying something he probably would regret. Legolas could see that it was a struggle for the older Elf. He reminded Legolas of the Court Healer Merenwen; she would also look like that whenever the Prince behaved with what she thought was stupidity.

"Except for their beauty", Égon spoke through gritted teeth, "they have the power – if caring for them correctly – to help brew a potion that would create strength and durability. Whenever at war, we make sure that our astalderea are equipped with that elixir. The ivor galas is rare", he added as if Legolas hadn't listened.

Legolas averted his eyes and stared at the soil that had been so brutally handled. Even though he could not recall having seen an ivor galas before, he felt a sense of loss. It was as if he missed a beauty he had not known that he had needed to see, that the forest needed. In a way, he supposed that he could understand the Groundkeeper. Thievery was no good and stealing something precious, something pure in a world with too many shadows, made the crime far worse.

"I will have a look around", Legolas promised, resting his eyes once more upon the Groundkeeper. "In the meantime, could you fetch your apprentice, the one who found the flowers missing?"

Égon nodded, a bitter curl to his lips and Legolas had the sudden feeling of that he wanted to comfort the short, old Elf with his pale hair and haunted eyes.

"Do not despair", said Legolas gravely. "I will do my best to catch the thief and I'll make sure that you are repaid for your loss."

That got a smile out of the old Elf, but it was a sad one. He shook his head as he slowly started to walk back down the path that led to the little houses.

"You have a good heart, my Prince, but one cannot return a life that has been stolen. And the forest." He lowered his voice. "The forest is against us, I'm afraid. The trees…. They see everything, but they will not say anything about the thief…. We're on our own."

Legolas frowned. The words sounded ominous. Égon bowed his head and walked away, singing a song softly under his breath as he did:

"Elen lantaner i ceven, lenwë astdied ospân. O i dúath talaf eredh heriagala. Nimp, bain galad, di tû hen amar lertaú hir. Ivor galas, lúsina loth, manke car lle dortha?"

Legolas exchanged a glance with the two guards, trying not to let the song affect him. He gestured to Lannor and Duvaithor to follow Égon and they obeyed, though Lannor hesitated for a mere second. Legolas did not have it in him anymore to be irritated with his father for sending out protection. The sad song of Égon could still be heard and it tugged at something in the young Prince's heart. He wanted nothing more than to catch the thief at that moment.

He walked around the flower bed, now empty of its flowers. He tried to find a footprint, anything that was out of place and could link him to a person or a place. When not finding anything unusual, he sighed. Around him, there were only trees and he put a hand to one of the tree trunks. Legolas could feel it buzz with life beneath the bark, but otherwise, it was dead to all response.

Legolas paused and raised his gaze to the tree crown instead. He was sure that he had seen something move in the corner of his eye, hidden by the leaves. He frowned and narrowed his eyes. The voice of the Groundkeeper was starting to fade, but Legolas made no move that he was going to follow the other Elves. His eyes were firmly set on the trees. He thought he saw something red amongst the leaves and his eyes had never deceived him before. He felt his body tense and he slowly reached for his bow and an arrow from his back. One could never be too sure and something in the pit of his stomach told him that whatever dark red he might glimpse was a sign of something bad.

The clearing was quiet now, except for a weak breeze that somehow had managed to sneak through the thick tree crowns, making the leaves rustle and a couple of crows that crowed darkly in the distance. Legolas was about to draw an arrow from his quiver when something shot out of the tree, just as quick as if he would have fired a real arrow. It knocked straight into him and he fell to the ground, his bow and quiver cutting uncomfortably into his back.

He found himself straddled by another Elf, who put a hand over his mouth and another to his chest to keep him down. He struggled to get free, glared and found himself staring into a pair of lively green eyes.

"Why do you linger in the shadows?"

Heru en amin - My Lord (non familiar)

Ivor galas - Crystal plant

Astalderea - Valiant ones

Elen lantaner i ceven, lenwë astdied ospân. O i dúath talaf eredh heriagala. Nimp, bain galad, di tû hen amar lertaú hir. Ivor galas, lúsina loth, manke car lle dortha? -

A star fell to the earth, leaving its dust all around. From the dark ground a seed begin to grow. Pale, beautiful light, with strength this world cannot find. Crystal plant, glowing flower, where do you dwell?

So that was that. What did you think? I've written that little song by myself and I made up everything about the Crystal plant.

Can't say when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully it should be sometime next week :)

Thanks for reading!