Home Sweet Home

Thanks everyone who reviewed :) The replies will be left at the end of the chapter again! (Sorry, but this chapter jumps around viewpoints a lot. ;)

Part Four

"Legolas is gone."

Those three simple words were enough to make Thranduil jerk his head up from the patrol review he was reading and stare at his eldest son in confusion.

"What?"

"Gone. Just now. After that Dwarf-friend of his." Maegóre said moodily, throwing himself into a chair.

Thranduil couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Legolas hasn't even been back for twenty-four hours yet. Explain."

"I don't know. Legolas just ran through the palace and left. He told me he had to go after the Dwarf." Maegóre scowled. "Humans, now Dwarves. He does not even deserve to be called an Elf."

Thranduil scrutinized the other Elf coolly. "I hope that for your own sake, you were not just talking about your brother."

Maegóre met his fathers gaze and held it. "You know who I was talking about." He then winced as Thranduil slammed his hand down onto the desk.

"I don't know what's come over you lately! I know how much you care about Legolas, yet since he has come home all you do his hurt him and push him away! You don't even seem to be able to see what you are doing, or care. I am at my wits end with you today, and this behaviour stops now. That comment was one step to far, Maegóre. Get out. Now." Thundered Thranduil harshly.

Maegóre looked away. Thranduil was right, about one thing at least. Maegóre would never do anything to hurt Legolas. But that seemed to be what he was doing anyway. He strode out of the room without looking back, already regretting what he had said. There was no way to take it back, though. He would never admit that he had been wrong about Legolas's friend.
But he had better things to do than brood over a Dwarf.

Gimli was waiting for the feeling to come back to his limbs. He could now move his right hand, and had determined that he was indeed tied up. Tightly. Uncomfortably tightly. He was just waiting for his captor to come back.

It was at that precise moment that he heard a door slam somewhere in the vicinity. There were faint echo's of the slam as whoever had entered the place headed to where Gimli was tied. He wondered where exactly he was for the captor to be so confident about making noise.
It was then silent for some time. Gimli attempted to move his head to look around, but it just made him dizzy, so he stopped. Wondering where the person had got to, he blinked to make his vision more stable.

"So you have awoken."

The voice, which came from the shadows, made Gimli jump. He looked around wildly, dizziness and all, for the source of the voice.

"Who are you?" Gimli called. "What do you want?" He waited for the reply, but the was none. Growing angrier by the second, he stared into the shadows furiously, but he could see nothing. "Where are you?" He shouted as loud as his predicament would allow him. "Come out of the shadows, coward!" His outburst was met with only laughter. Mocking, satisfied laughter. It made Gimli's blood boil." Show yourself!" He roared.

"Shout as loud as you like. You won't be heard." The voice was calm, light; as though he did this kind of thing everyday. "At least...not by anyone who might help you."

"You are forgetting Legolas. He will find me, and when he discovers what you've done..." Gimli trailed off suggestively.
More laughter, that made Gimli grind his teeth in anger.

"Legolas will not help you." The captor said confidently. "Legolas has gone. He has left you." He paused for a moment, waiting for his words to sink in properly. "So sorry."

Gimli's throat was dry. He had to be lying. Had to be. There was no way Legolas would leave him. Not a chance. "You lie." He croaked.

"Do I?" The captor seemed to be enjoying himself. "Think about it. Legolas grew up here. He spent millennia here. He knows every room, every nook and cranny, this is his home. Do you not think that if he wanted to, he would have found you by now?"

Silence. In the room, anyway. Inside Gimli's head, the words were echoing around, shouting at him, mocking him. Legolas's face appeared in his head. The words he had spoken to persuade him to return home. So trusting, he had looked. Would he really...? No, Legolas would never... but what if...? Gimli mentally cursed himself for doubting his friend, but everything that had been said to him...well, it made perfect sense.

"I regret having to tell you this," The captor said, with a sympathetic edge to his voice. It was a fake, sarcastic edge though. "But Legolas left earlier in the afternoon. He has returned to Minas Tirith to his friends. After saying goodbye to his family and friends here."

Gimli swallowed. "He would never do that." The Dwarf insisted. But his confidence was wavering.

"Wouldn't he? We'll see. Until he does manage to come and find you, though, it's just me and you." The captor smiled scathingly. "We are going to have fun together, are we not?"

Gimli ignored the other. He just couldn't listen to it anymore, for fear that he might start to believe it.

"I understand that you have a lot on your mind right now. I'm going now, for I have other things to do. But I will be back soon. We can have another little chat." Pause. Smirk. "Aren't you going to say goodbye?"

"Manners are something you are clearly not acquainted with." Gimli said stiffly. "So why should I use them with you?" He instantly regretted his insult when a moment later he received a sharp punch on the nose.

"Because," The captor said sweetly, from back in the shadows, as though nothing had happened. "If you don't, Legolas may be the one to pay for it later. What are you going to do?"

Gimli turned away from where he thought his attacker was. "Goodbye." He whispered. Although he found it difficult to believe that this Elf would ever attack Legolas, he wasn't going to risk anything. He certainly wouldn't put anything past his captor.

"That's better." The Elf replied cheerfully. Moments later the door slammed shut again. Gimli was left by himself in the darkness, cold, hungry and thirsty, lying pathetically on the floor. But at least he now had a lot to think about.

Legolas rode swiftly through the forest, searching through the trees with his eyes for the Dwarf. However hard he looked, Gimli was nowhere to be seen. Legolas couldn't understand it. Unless Gimli had some secret talent on the horse that no-one had known about, he didn't see how he could have come so far - several hours away from the palace - and not have seen or heard anything from the Dwarf.

There was, of course, the possibility that Gimli was lost. Legolas hadn't wanted to think about that before now, but he decided he would have to consider it. Being lost in the forest after nightfall was not a pleasant thing, even after the shadow had been lifted: there were still many dangerous creatures around, and Gimli was inexperienced with most of them.

"Ai, mellon-nin, where are you?" Legolas murmured to himself as he slowed his horse down until they were stationary. It was only then that he realised he didn't have his bow, arrows or knives with him. He looked around in disbelief, as if they might be hanging off of a tree. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought to bring his weapons with him!

He asked himself if he should go back. It was the practical thing to do, but there it was, always at the edge of his mind driving him onwards. The thought that he was only that much behind Gimli and if he just carried on he would catch the Dwarf up in a few minutes. He shook his head. He decided to continue to the border, then if he hadn't found Gimli he would return to the palace. He would be safe as long as he was in the borders of the realm. Hopefully.

Legolas rode onwards, looking for Gimli and occasionally calling out his name. There was never a reply. Hours past, and finally he reached the border of Lasgalen, a place he knew well. Gimli was nowhere to be seen. Legolas dismounted from his horse, Galadae, and surveyed the area for any sign of Gimli. There was no sign. Annoyed at himself for allowing this to happen, he peered up into the trees for any sign of an Elf. There wasn't one, but he was sure there should be a patrol coming around in the next couple of hours, so he sat down and leaned against a tree. Sure that he now had a lot of time on his hands, he decided to think about what he would say to Gimli when he found him again.

Nothing he thought of sounded right. It was fine in his head, but when he muttered them aloud they came out wrong. It was possible that he would just make the situation worse by saying anything. He was already feeling miserable when Aragorn's head popped into his mind and he thought, with a groan, to what Aragorn would say when he heard about what had happened. Legolas concluded to think of something else, but he didn't get very far, because it was then that the patrol arrived.

It was nearing evening. In the palace, preparations were being made for dinner, while people whispered to eachother about the day's events. Admittedly, they had been rather interesting. The Dwarf had gone missing and Legolas had left shortly after. Every time the tale was retold and discussed, the event were changed just tat little bit more, until the stories going around were unbelievably ludicrous - but strangely, they were to some extent, believed.

Maegóre had locked himself away in his room, shortly after he had emerged from the cellar with one of Legolas's friends (and a bottle of wine) and hadn't come out again. Thranduil had attempted to continue the day's work, but had finished as soon as he had done an acceptable amount. He had then gone to check that Legolas really was gone, and The Dwarf really was gone too. They were. Thranduil sighed, and went to find Maegóre.

"Are you coming down to dinner?" He asked his eldest son coldly. Maegóre was leaning on his balcony railing, the doors wide open, watching the activity in the gardens. The nearly empty wine bottle was balanced next to him. Thranduil saw this, and his tone got even colder. "Or are you just going to get more dorwinion?"

Maegóre half-turned to look at his father. "I'm sorry?"

Tight-lipped, Thranduil pointed to the door. "Dinner." He replied angrily.

"I'm not coming down." Maegóre turned back to look over the balcony. "I have other things to do." He didn't notice his father narrow his eyes, and walk out of the room. Their morning meeting was still crystal clear in both of their minds, and Thranduil obviously still blamed Maegóre for Legolas leaving so suddenly. Still, he had things to entertain himself with, which would be much more fun than eating.

Maegóre didn't leave his room all night. He didn't sleep either - he had to do some thinking and sort some things out in his head. Most of his thinking involved Legolas and the nasty little companion he had brought home with him. Although time seemed to drag by at first, when the sun began to rise it seemed as though the night had gone by in the blink of an eye.

The first thing he did was go down to Thranduil's study. Maegóre had decided during the night that he had to speak to his father, and apologize for what he had said before. His plans were forgotten when he reached the study door, however, because he could hear some poor soul being shouted at inside.

"-GAVE IT TO HIM? WHY DID YOU GIVE IT TO HIM?"

Maegóre had to feel sorry for whoever was inside with his father. He himself had been on the receiving end of one of Thranduil's lectures many times, and could empathize perfectly with the other Elf. Curiosity overtook him though, and he knocked loudly on the door.

"Come in." Thranduil growled. When Maegóre entered, he saw that the Elf standing meekly in front of his father was one of the border patrol leaders, one of the ones who must have returned during the night.

"What's going on?" Maegóre asked immediately, his eyes dashing between the other two Elves in the room.

Thranduil sighed. "You may go," He told the patrol Elf, who looked relieved and pretty much flew from the study. "Sit down." When Maegóre was seated, he continued. "I have just been told that late afternoon, yesterday, the patrol met Legolas as they were on their way back to the palace. Legolas was by himself - no sign of the Dwarf, Gimli, either - without his weapons or any provisions."

"What?" Even Maegóre couldn't believe his little brother could be that stupid.

Thranduil nodded. "Yes. He asked the patrol for weapons, water and food - and they gave it to him. He wouldn't tell them where he was going at first, but eventually told them that he was going to - to the Lonely Mountain with Gimli. He wouldn't say anything else, and ordered them to hand the belongings over. I suppose they had no choice, but I don't know what he was thinking. And Elf...in Erebor?"

"It's almost as ridiculous as a Dwarf in Lasgalen." Maegóre replied sarcastically. Thranduil gave him a dark look.

"I'm glad you're here, actually."

"You are?"

"Yes. I want you to go after him and talk some sense into him. I have a feeling that despite everything, you're the only one - at hand - that will be able to do it." Explained Thranduil. Maegóre was horrified. As well as speechless. Go to Erebor? "You should leave within the hour." Thranduil continued helpfully. "So go and make the preparations. Quickly."

"But-"

"No buts, Maegóre. Hurry up, because if you leave now and ride hard you may catch him before he reaches the mountain."

Maegóre had no choice but to walk out of the study. He regretted his curiousity immensely. He would never think about apologizing to anyone again. It only seemed to get him into an even worse mess than before. He nearly walked into another Elf who had been passing by, and who Maegóre then recognized as Kemen. "Sorry." They both said at the exact same time, before they both continued on their way. Maegóre was frantically thinking of some way to get out of going after Legolas, and he had less than an hour to do so. He strode up to his room, as it was there that he seemed to think best.

He was thinking, and thinking hard. If Thranduil's plan went ahead, it would all be ruined, the façade would be over and everything would come out. That couldn't happen. Above all, that had to be prevented. How, though? It all depended on the next hour or so. What was he going to do with the Dwarf? There were so many questions running through his head. He was beginning to regret capturing the Dwarf. It had been exciting to begin with, but it was getting to be too much trouble.

The naugrim would never keep his mouth shut if he tried to let the Dwarf go and pretend it had never happened. It seemed he had dug himself into a hole that he just couldn't climb out of, no matter how hard he tried. If he did let the naugrim go and the Dwarf told - which, no doubt about it, would happen - all he would be able to do was pray that he would be forgiven and not exiled. With Legolas around he knew that the other Elf make sure he was punished, no matter how close the pair were. He knew Legolas too well.

He couldn't, wouldn't, believe that his whole plan had been messed up already. There had to be a way out. Whatever it was, he was going to find it.

Thanks for reading! Feedback and constructive criticism would be very appreciated, it's great to know what you think and how I could improve ect :) :) :)

Manwaithiel Melda - Thanks :) Ah well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see about that! And you might be surprised, actually. Thanks for reviewing again!

Martiny the one and only still - Evil, huh? Sorry, I can't kill him off just yet: he's kind of important to the plot. But if you like he can die after the story! Thanks for reviewing :)

Kat75643 - Can't tell you, but you'll find out soon enough! The actual place is pretty boring, to be honest, but oh well. Thanks for reviewing!

stlova - Thanks ;) I am too, lol -- ok -- how many arrows does Legolas shoot into the mumakil's head to kill it? (I think that's how it's spelt.) Thanks for reviewing!