Disclaimer: I own nothing Tolkien created.

OIOIOIOIOIOI

Summary: After receiving a cryptic message from Mirkwood, Lord Elrond hurries to the aid of the realm's troubled Crown Prince and discovers that things now are so very different for both of them.

Warning: This story is about a romantic relationship between the two main characters – Elrond and Legolas. It concentrates almost solely on the friendship and comfort side of the relationship and there are no explicit scenes or anything that could really be described as slash. However, if you really don't like that kind of thing then please don't read.

OIOIOI

As You Were

OIOIOIOI

Chapter 6

OIOI

When Elrond next woke it was only an hour before dawn and Legolas remained sound asleep, laid on his side now facing away from Elrond. His breathing was deep and even, seemingly not troubling him in his restful state. Elrond had been worried that the prince might find it difficult to rest easily given the strain on his chest. However, he seemed not to be bothered, which Elrond was pleased about.

For a while, Elrond just watched Legolas sleeping. His friend looked so peaceful, almost as he had done before all this happened. He looked so young again, almost childlike in his vulnerability. That had always been one of Elrond's attractions to the prince. Those moments of quiet peace and youth always made him long to remain forever at Legolas' side.

A sharp tapping from the door startled Elrond from his thoughts and he looked up in surprise. He had rather hoped that just for today Legolas might be left alone to rest but apparently that wasn't going to be the case. Elrond remained perfectly still, hoping that if he ignored the summons the guards might go away and leave them both alone. There was a long silence and Elrond thought that perhaps the plan had actually worked. However, soon after there was another knock, this one more demanding. Although he desperately wanted to ignore it, Elrond feared that the Elves would simply burst through the door, find them laid together and drag Legolas from the bed and away for good.

Carefully, Elrond slipped out of bed, making sure his shirt was fully buttoned up before going to the door. Predictably, a guard was stood there, blank and emotionless.

"Legolas is needed," the guard said blandly, not even looking at Elrond as he spoke.

"He'll be with you in a minute," Elrond sighed before closing the door and returning to the bedroom to wake Legolas. Going around to Legolas' side, Elrond perched on the bed and laid his palm against the blonde's warm cheek. "Legolas, mellon nin, time to wake up." Legolas stirred, moaning softly at the disturbance. Clearly he was deeply asleep as it took several times of calling before Legolas' eyes opened even a crack to look up at Elrond. "I'm sorry but you're being summoned."

"Elrond?" the prince murmured, his eyes slipping closed again.

"Yes. Come on, you have to wake up now." Legolas just nodded but still didn't move. "Come on."

"Uh-hmmm," Legolas mumbled sleepily.

"Up," Elrond demanded, hoping he would manage to get the prince up without having to dose him with the stimulant.

"Five more minutes," Legolas breathed, snuggling down into the bed with a sigh.

"I wish you could. Come on."

Gently Elrond pulled the bed covers back, slid his arm beneath Legolas' back and carefully eased him up. "Elrond," Legolas moaned at being moved.

"Sit up," Elrond told him, waiting until Legolas had opened his eyes and was sitting on his own before pulling the bottle of medicine from his pocket. "Here, take a sip," the healer instructed, placing the bottle to Legolas' lips and tipping it until he drank a little. "All right, that should wake you up."

Looking up at Elrond with bleary eyes, Legolas said, "I thought you told me not to take that anymore."

"I know I did. And without me you won't be. Here, put your tunic on," Elrond told him, handing Legolas the thick tunic to put on. The prince's movements were slow and seemingly laboured and Elrond saw him painfully rubbing his chest. "When you get back later we need to talk."

"What about?"

"Don't worry about that right now. Concentrate on getting through the day. I'll be right here when you get back." Legolas nodded and climbed off the bed, once again having to pull his shoes onto his still agonising feet.

"Thank you," the prince smiled, going to the door.

For the rest of the day, Elrond sat with the king, giving him the dose of sedative, changing his sheets and feeding him some of the soup, which he had warmed beforehand. Of course, he worried constantly about the prince. If he could have traded places with Legolas then he would have. The young Elf, Elrond could tell, was nearing his breaking point. Hence he needed to speak with Legolas that night. For days now he had been just going along with this, sitting passively by and watching the scenes unfold but now it was time to come up with a plan to end all of this for good. But first he needed to know more and somehow he needed the prince to be on board too because at that moment Legolas was so completely drained of energy and hope that he had all but given up trying to get out of this. It was a disturbing thought that the always active and independent Elf had just taken what was happening as unchangeable. The Legolas that Elrond had known – and loved – would not have been afraid to fight back.

Legolas didn't return until two the next morning. Elrond was sat by the fire in Thranduil's room reading his book by firelight when the door opened, startling. Legolas stepped in as calmly as ever, closing the door softly behind him but as soon as he was inside the façade dropped and he fell to his knees, managing to brace himself with his hands before he fell forward onto his face.

Elrond dropped his book and leapt from his chair, rushing over to the prince, who was coughing harshly. Dropping to his knees at Legolas' side, Elrond gently eased Legolas into a sitting position. "Take slow breaths," Elrond advised and as the blonde Elf did as instructed the coughing subsided and his breathing evened out.

The prince leant against Elrond as he caught his breath but then tried to struggle to his feet. Elrond took his arm and helped him up and the young Elf stumbled into the bathroom with Elrond's help where he promptly vomited into the basin. Elrond gently held him up, unfazed by Legolas' illness.

Suddenly, Legolas stepped back, very nearly tripping over, and started trying to tug his clothes off. Elrond stood watching the Elf in confusion at the near desperation to disrobe but when Legolas gasped, "Help me," the healer went to him and pushed his struggling hands away so he could easily unbutton Legolas' shirt and tunic. When he eased them over Legolas' arms though, Elrond himself gasped at the state of the young Elf's body. Seemingly unconcerned by Elrond's reaction, the prince kicked off his shoes, biting back a cry of pain as he did so, and shoved his trousers down, stepping out of them with a sigh of relief and Elrond was not surprised. Legolas' pale, too-thin body was covered in small burns, almost like brands, which although probably not terribly painful were obviously irritating beneath even his soft clothing.

Finally finding his voice, Elrond said, "Valar, what happened?" Legolas shook his head weakly, choking back a small sob. Elrond stepped forward and gently took his arm. "Here sit down." He guided Legolas to sit on the edge of the bath. "Wait right here. I'll find you a salve to put on those." Elrond rushed to the cupboard where he had stashed his stolen medical supplies and easily found the correct herbs. He took them back into the bathroom where by now Legolas had composed himself and was sitting still and quiet with a towel draped over his legs to protect his modesty yet remain sympathetic of his wounds.

As Elrond separated the herbs and started grinding them down into a smooth paste, Legolas looked up in interest, which rapidly changed to concern. "What are those?"

"Herbs; they'll soothe your wounds."

"Herbs," Legolas repeated slowly. "Where did you get them?" The healer suddenly stopped his grinding and looked up, realising his mistake. When he didn't answer, Legolas asked in a low voice, "Elrond, where did you get them?"

Sighing, Elrond answered, "The healing halls."

"These healing halls?"

"Yes," Elrond replied, going back to his herbs.

There was a long silence that made Elrond extremely uncomfortable. But eventually, Legolas spoke and it was just what the healer expected. "You went to the healing halls, after you promised me you wouldn't leave these rooms? Elrond, you swore."

Having finished making up his salve, Elrond turned to face Legolas. "Would you please let me explain before you start yelling? I went to the kitchens to get food for your fath…"

"You went to the kitchens too? Elrond, that is right next to the Throne Room!" Legolas shouted.

"I was extremely careful."

"What if you had been caught? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

"I…"

Legolas stood up abruptly, striding over to the door and dragging on his father's dressing gown. "Damn it," he swore, slamming the door closed hard in frustration.

"Legolas, I'm sorry."

The prince muttered to himself, pacing around. "No, this is my fault. This is all my fault. I should never have…I shouldn't have sent for you. It was stupid, selfish."

"No," Elrond said firmly, taking Legolas' arm to stop him pacing. "Listen to me; you did right in sending for me. I am sorry I left the room; it won't happen again without your permission, I promise you," he said calmly. "Now sit down and let me take a look at you." He moved aside to let Legolas past and guided the prince to once more perch on the edge of the bath.

Gently, Elrond pulled the robe aside and started applying the salve. Legolas sat unmoving, his eyes fixed on the opposite wall. Although he tried to hide the emotions from his friend, it was clear from the tears gathered in his tired eyes that he remained upset.

"Are you all right?" Elrond asked gently after a while but Legolas just nodded stiffly not speaking. He swallowed thickly, looking up to the ceiling as if needing to avoid even looking at Elrond now. So Elrond continued applying the cooling paste to his numerous small burns, noting how every now and then Legolas would flinch slightly. Once he was done, he stood up and washed the bowl out. "Are you hungry?" he asked and finally Legolas looked up and focused on him although his eyes remained teary and judgemental.

"You stole food too?" he asked weakly.

Seeing as Legolas was already mad at him and the damage had already been done there was no point in lying. "I did. It's hidden in…"

"Don't," Legolas barked, holding up his hand to stop Elrond. "I don't need to know."

"Sorry. Well, are you hungry?"

"Not really."

"You should eat something," Elrond pointed out.

"Fine," Legolas said shortly, getting up and tying his robe up. He walked past Elrond and shoved the door open, going into the bedroom.

"Shall I make some tea?" Elrond asked, following him.

"If you like."

"All right, I'll be just next door if you need anything."

"Fine," Legolas said vaguely, sitting down in the chair beside Thranduil's bed, which Elrond had used during the day. Elrond slipped into the lounge and started making the herbal tea.

Meanwhile, Legolas gently took his father's hand, holding it tightly. It had been a long while since he had just sat like this, really been with his ada. Pressing a kiss to his father's cool hand, Legolas found the tears pooling in his eyes once more. For the first time, he allowed them to fall. He blinked them from his eyes so he could continue to look at his ada properly. However, he remained conscious of the fact that Elrond was just in the next room so swallowed back his cries.

Speaking in a whisper, Legolas breathed, "I wish you were awake, Ada. I wish you were here to tell me what to do. Please, I don't want to do this alone anymore. I need you, Ada, please. Please. I need to know what to do," he said in a trembling voice, one shaking hand reaching out to stroke his father's hair. "Please, please."

Once he had finished making the tea, Elrond returned to the bedroom but stopped when he saw Legolas crying quietly onto his father. He heard the pleading. Despite wanting to rush over and wrap Legolas in his arms until those soft cries ceased he had to respect Legolas' privacy so he waited in silence as Legolas slowly pulled himself together.

When he saw Legolas wipe his tears away with the sleeve of his robe, he stepped forward, awkwardly knocking on the door to warn his friend that he was coming. Legolas immediately sat up straight and let go of Thranduil's hand.

"Tea," Elrond announced, his eyes darting towards Legolas as if seeing his state for the first time. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," Legolas said shortly, once more avoiding Elrond's eyes.

In a way, Elrond had hoped that Legolas would confide in him. But of course the proud young prince wouldn't do that. He had always been fiercely independent even when they were together but at least then Elrond had the right to pry, to force a response from him. Now he couldn't even do that.

At least he could still act like a healer. "How are you feeling now?" he asked, handing Legolas one of the mugs.

"Better."

"No more nausea?"

"No."

Elrond could have sworn he saw a flush of embarrassment cross Legolas' cheeks at the mention of this but he decided to ignore it. "Good. Let me know if you start to feel sick again or anything starts…"

Interrupting, Legolas said, "You said you needed to talk when I got back."

"Uh, yes, but it can wait," Elrond assured, not wanting to bother Legolas with his plans right then.

"What did you want to talk about?" Legolas persisted, taking a small sip of his tea.

Realising that Legolas was searching for something to distract his friend from what he had just walked in on, Elrond started, "I have been thinking about what we can do to get out of this." Legolas nodded that he was still listening and took another sip of his tea. "I think you'll agree that the key to all this is gaining control of your people again."

Elrond waited so Legolas answered, "Yes."

"And if we can get them out of the control of these Men then we have a chance of getting your kingdom back."

"Yes," Legolas said blandly.

"Right, so my question is: do you have any idea what is being used to control everyone?" Now Legolas was suddenly defensive and tense once more. He didn't answer and Elrond could have sworn that he saw a flicker of fear in his eyes. "Mellon nin, please. If you want me to help, you have to tell me the truth. Please."

There was a long silence after that whilst Legolas seemed to consider Elrond's plea. With a careful sigh so as not to make his burning chest feel any worse, Legolas finally answered wearily, "A staff."

"Staff? Like a wizard's staff?" Elrond asked in confusion.

"No, something much older and more…evil." Legolas actually shivered at this point. "It's small, made of gold and has a ruby encased at the top. I don't know how it works other than they seem to require only their will to use it. It's very powerful."

"It only controls people's minds?"

"As far as I know, otherwise what would be the point of taking over Mirkwood?"

"Good point," Elrond said, sinking down to sit on the bed opposite Legolas. "Do you have any idea what percentage of Elves it is currently controlling?"

Legolas shook his head, answering vaguely, "Most of them. Over ninety percent."

"And the others are all being held down in the dungeons?"

"Only the guards and staff from and around the palace. Anyone in the surrounding villages I assume is being held by those under the influence of their magic but I can't be sure."

Elrond nodded thoughtfully, taking a moment to really digest this information, uncertain as it was. "And what about these Men? Do you have any idea who they are and where they come from?" he continued after a minute. When Legolas seemed to have trouble starting his answer, Elrond came back with a single question, "How did they gain access to the palace?"

At this, Legolas lowered his eyes then hung his head. In a whisper he answered, "I brought them here."

"Excuse me?" Elrond asked in surprise. He'd thought perhaps that Mirkwood had been covertly infiltrated or even subtly invaded but they had apparently not only walked right through the front door but had walked in at the prince's side. "Legolas, how?"

"I was returning from a six-month patrol in the forest. We came upon a group of humans on the main road into Mirkwood's stronghold. There had been a lot of Orc activity on the road reported recently so I advised them to take all due care. They left that night and we followed the next morning. Soon we caught up with them and one of them had been badly injured after an Orc attack. We had a healer with us who treated him but advised that he be taken to a healing hall as soon as possible so I said that they could travel with us. They seemed grateful, appreciative of our help. They told me that they were coming to Mirkwood to seek an audience with the king and, without even thinking, I told them that King Thranduil was my father and that I could get them some time with him."

Legolas almost smiled as he spoke next, "You remember by minder, Cassan? He was furious with me for revealing my identity to people we didn't know, and Men no less. But I couldn't see the harm in it. By then we were but a couple of leagues from the stronghold anyway, so what did it matter? As I said, most of the Men seemed fairly pleasant, a little coarse but that is to be expected from all Men. One of them, the most friendly at the time, was certainly in control over the other eleven."

"Wait a minute," Elrond interrupted, "you're telling me that all of Mirkwood is being controlled by only a dozen Men?"

"A dozen men with dark, powerful magic at their command," Legolas stated defensively. "Anyway, I didn't realise anything was wrong. When we reached the palace the injured man was taken to the healing halls and I personally escorted the others to my father in the Throne Room. Of course, Ada was most disapproving that I had ignored the rules and brought them to him directly and even more annoyed that they were humans. Even so, he allowed them into his presence.

"After that everything happened so fast. One minute they were speaking nicely about the beauty of Thranduil's palace and the next they were demanding that we hand over the contents of our treasure vaults. Naturally, Thranduil refused, demanding that they be escorted from the kingdom. When they continued to insult the king, Ada commanded that the guards arrest them. I rushed to help as the Elves were outnumbered but the lead Man withdrew that staff and suddenly it was me and Ada being restrained by our own guards."

Legolas took a shaky breath and finally looked properly up at Elrond. "That's about it," he finished.

"I see." Truthfully, Elrond was surprised by the tale. Every aspect of this bizarre situation seemed to have a strange twist to it. The Men had walked in without a moment of trouble, gotten an instant audience with the infamously xenophobic King of Mirkwood and taken over a massive, continuously battle-ready kingdom without having to engage a single guard in actual combat.

In such a soft voice that even in the otherwise noiseless room Elrond had to strain to hear, Legolas said, "I know this is all my doing."

"No, mellon nin, you couldn't possibly have known," Elrond reassured quickly.

"I never imagined…They were just Men."

Elrond offered a reassuring smile. "I don't think even the most powerful of seers could have foreseen any of this." Legolas looked up at him, his own lips now showing a ghost of a smile. "Now, do you know anything about where these Men came from or where that staff came from?"

"I know nothing of the staff's origin but the Men once mentioned that they were fugitives from Gondor and they had stolen the staff from Minas Tirith's deepest vaults."

Elrond frowned at this and mused, "This object seems far more powerful than any human could forge. Could it be Elvish in origin?"

"I have never heard of such an object."

"Me neither and it seems like something that would have been documented at some point in its history. Something that powerful would not go unnoticed in the Elven realms. Unless, of course, it is not from one of the three great realms. Or it could be Istari."

"This is dark magic, Elrond. The Wizards are powers of good," Legolas pointed out.

"Yes," Elrond murmured in thought. A moment later though he asked, "You say the Men are from Gondor?"

"That was the only Human place they mentioned," Legolas answered, taking a sip of his now cooling tea.

"And they were prisoners in Minas Tirith?"

"That's what they said."

"Could they be lying?"

Sighing wearily again, Legolas said, "I suppose so. Although I don't see why they would bother."

"All right," Elrond said, guessing from Legolas' tone that he was getting tired of this line of questioning. Even now he had regained control of himself; Legolas looked like he was about ready to burst into tears again. However, Elrond wasn't done quite yet. He still had more questions. "Do you have any idea where they keep this staff?"

"Sometimes they have it with them but other times I think they put it away, hide it. I don't know where," Legolas answered, laying his cup on the bedside table then rubbing his aching eyes.

"Right, so either we need to launch an attack whilst they're in possession of the weapon or wait until we know they don't have it and search it out."

Suddenly, Legolas was sat bolt upright and alert, terror plain on his face. "What do you mean?" he demanded harshly.

"I just…"

Legolas leapt up from his seat, startling Elrond slightly. "No," Legolas shouted, shaking slightly. "No. No."

"Legolas, calm down," Elrond soothed, getting up slowly.

The prince started pacing again, not even limping slightly at the injuries to his feet even though they must have been hellishly painful. Shaking his head, Legolas said softly, "No, I won't let you do this. I won't let you get hurt too."

"How do you know I'll get hurt?" Elrond protested defensively.

Suddenly shouting again, Legolas asked, "How do you think I got these?" He pressed his hand to his cracked, bruised chest, making Elrond wince at the too harsh action.

Realisation dawned on him though and he said softly, "You've already tried to escape."

"Yes."

"And that was your punishment?" Elrond asked in a quiet voice.

Now standing still but with tears pooling in his bright blue eyes, Legolas breathed, "Yes."

Both their anger and defensiveness had disappeared now and Elrond stepped over to Legolas, placing his hands on his arms. "It's all right," he whispered. "It's going to be all right but you have to understand that you can't carry on like this forever. Look at you, mellon nin. You're barely functioning, you…you died once. I can't let that happen again. As much as you want to protect me you have to know that I cannot stand by and watch you get hurt."

Legolas bowed his head and said quietly, "It's too dangerous. They suspect I'll try to overpower them again."

"Maybe. But they won't expect me, will they?"

The prince looked up again, panic lighting his face. "No. No, Elrond please."

"Shh, calm down. I'm not going to just blunder blindly in. We wait until they no longer have the staff on them then I'll go and search the most likely places and try to figure out how to break the spell."

Legolas was shaking his head before Elrond even finished his sentence and then said, "No, it's too risky."

"I'm not going to get caught," Elrond stressed.

"You don't know that. Please, Elrond, please. I can't lose you. Please," the prince pleaded pitifully.

Once again, Elrond stepped forward but this time he gently wrapped his arms around Legolas' shaking form, pleased when the younger Elf leaned against him, resting his cheek against Elrond's shoulder. "Calm down, you are not going to lose me. But, Legolas, what is the alternative? You can't carry on like this, can you? Hmmm?" he reasoned in a soft whisper. "Hmm?"

"No," Legolas breathed shakily.

"Then what other choice do we have?"

Legolas shook his head sadly. "Please don't leave me."

"Shh, shh, it's going to be all right," Elrond soothed, stroking his hands over Legolas' back gently. "Come on, you have to rest now." Legolas shook his head, pulling out of Elrond's embrace. "Yes Legolas."

"No, I don't want to rest."

"May I ask why not?"

"I'm not tired."

"Uh-huh," Elrond muttered sceptically. "Then just lay down."

"I don't want to lie down," the prince said, starting to pace again although not as frantically this time.

Elrond sat back down on the bed and said calmly, "Very well, I'll just sit here and wait for you to drop."

The blonde Elf looked over at him and explained softly, "I don't want to have to get up again. It's easier to just stay awake."

"That makes no sense," Elrond said. "Please rest. For me."

"Why can't you just leave me alone!" the prince snapped angrily.

"Because I am concerned about you, mellon nin; you know that."

"I know," Legolas sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Elrond smiled kindly. "You're tired."

"What time is it?"

"Nearly four I think," Elrond guessed, looking out the window into the darkness of the night.

"Good. Only a couple of hours until they come back," he said, going to the balcony and flinging the doors open. He stepped out and leant against the railing looking out at the forest. Clouds shrouded the moon and stars so the courtyard and forest were dark, not even lit by the traditional torches usually burning in the palace courtyard and around the stronghold. His kingdom had never looked so threatening in his eyes. Bending forward, he rested his forehead against the cool wood railing.

"Legolas, please come inside, it's cold out here."

"I'm fine," he said, not moving even when he felt Elrond lay a blanket over his back.

"There's nothing I can say to change your mind?" Legolas smiled and shook his head. "Fine, have it your way," he said, standing at Legolas' side and also leaning against the railing. After a long moment of silence, Elrond's hand slipped over the wood railing to take Legolas' hand. At first the prince didn't react but then he took Elrond's hand and held it tightly. "It's going to be all right," Elrond whispered.

By six in the morning, Legolas was dressed and ready for when the servant came to collect him and he left Elrond to take care of his father, leaving him with a long list of things to do around the rooms and for the king in a blatant attempt to keep him occupied all day so he wouldn't try anything dangerous. Elrond indulged him, spending all morning bathing Thranduil gently, feeding him and giving him his medicines. He massaged the king's limbs and changed the soiled sheets. Every time he performed these seemingly sad duties he couldn't help thinking how humiliated the proud king would be to be treated as a mere infant. Elrond himself would have been embarrassed to have to endure this, especially at the hands of someone he didn't even particularly like. Still, these things needed to be done. He had seen far worse things in his time as a healer so none of it fazed him although he couldn't imagine it had been easy for Legolas to perform these tasks on the father he worshipped.

By afternoon though, once he had fed Thranduil some more soup, he had nothing to do around the rooms so he tucked his knife into his belt, covering the handle with his shirt. He took the now empty flask and went to the door. Once more there was a flutter of nervousness in his stomach as he walked past the guards in the hallway but they didn't even flinch at his presence, apparently unconcerned by him leaving the rooms.

Elrond remembered this time where the kitchens were and stole some more food, refilling the flask for Thranduil. He also stole some more packets of herbal tea, stuffing them into the bag he was carrying. On the way out though he paused in the doorway. He knew he should have turned left and returned to the rooms as Legolas had told him to and yet he was suddenly tempted to go right, towards the throne room where he assumed Legolas was right then.

Knowing it was dangerous to loiter in the corridors, Elrond made his decision and turned right, creeping along the hallway until he turned the corner to the throne room. Although he was cautious, Elrond found that, surprisingly, no guards stood outside the large double doors. Elrond wondered at the cockiness of these Men that they were so confident that they didn't think they needed any protection. Still, it proved good for him now. Laying his bag of stolen goods down on the floor, Elrond crept silently up to the doors, knowing fully well that his silent Elvish footsteps would not alert the humans to his presence.

Very cautiously he stood with his ear to the door, trying to hear anything going on inside. He heard laughing and muffled voices. He didn't hear Legolas though, which was what he really wanted. Taking a moment to at least attempt to judge where people were standing in the room just by listening, he opened the door carefully a crack and peered inside.

First his eyes were drawn to the main feature of the room, the huge throne on the far side of the room where King Thranduil usually sat. One of the Men, dressed in one of Thranduil's finest robes and wearing the impressive, golden crown of Mirkwood at an angle on his head, was sat sideways on the throne, his legs dangling over the arm of the black and gold throne. Clearing he found something hilariously funny as he was laughing uproariously, spilling wine from his goblet on the floor. Several empty bottles of what Elrond recognised to be Thranduil's best and most expensive wine laid scattered on the floor. A huge spread of food was laid out on one of the long tables although it remained mostly untouched.

Five other Men were also in the room. One stood at the window, seemingly distracted by something outside. Two others were gathered around the food table, also laughing as the man on the throne. But it was the final two Men that made Elrond shudder.

In the centre of the room stood a small cage with thick, iron bars. The two Men were stood around it also laughing but now Elrond could see at what and he bit back a gasp. Inside the cage sat Legolas, completely naked, his legs pushed up against his chest, his head bowed to his knees. Although he made no sound at all, Elrond knew that he must have been in pain as the two Men were in the process of poking at him with what looked to be hot pokers – that explained the marks Elrond had seen on his body last night.

Bristling with anger, Elrond's hands tightened around the open door so hard that it hurt his fingers but he was rather glad for the distraction as it helped to remind him where he was. He had to use every ounce of his willpower to keep from yelling in anger and dashing in there and ripping their throats out with his bare hands. He knew, however, that such an action would only get him killed and Legolas really needed him now. Getting them both killed would do no good. He had to remain calm. It was so hard though. He'd never seen Legolas so exposed and vulnerable before and it made him so annoyed that he could barely control his anger.

Realising that he had been standing in the doorway for too long and he was likely to be discovered if he waited much longer. He could hardly tear his eyes away from that cage though. His heart ached for the young prince. However, he had to leave. So he prised his hands away from the door and stepped silently away, pushing the door closed noiselessly.

Picking up his bag of stolen goods, Elrond hurried back to the king's rooms, slamming the door closed behind him. He dropped the bag on the table and paced angrily back and forth trying to work off his anger. He had to do something to keep himself from running back to the Throne Room and trying to get Legolas out of that cage. Really, he didn't know how long he walked the length of the room but by the time he sank down onto the couch his temper was a little cooler. Anger still burned in his chest but he felt more restrained than he had before. Putting his head in his hands, Elrond sighed heavily and looked over to the king. He wondered what the protective King of Mirkwood would say if he knew what his son was being put through.

To Be Continued…

To Be Continued…