Chapter 2:
Following the trail of slain orcs through the town, Tauriel dashed along the docks, followed closely by Fili. With every step her heart grew heavier in fear. She needed him to be alive. He couldn't have perished.
Stopping, the elf glanced around. There had been a fight here. Sharp eyes darting around the scene she prayed that she would not find Legolas' body.
Breathing hard, Fili finally arrived, his expression determined and his eyes keen.
"There was a battle here…" Tauriel mused aloud for the dwarfs benefit. Desperately looking around for some sign of her friend her eyes caught something. There was blood on the dock; not the black blood of orcs, but the red blood of a man or an elf….However, there wasn't enough to be from a fatal wound…
Standing, she surveyed the area. There was nothing. No sign of him.
Not being the greatest at investigating, Fili glanced over the scene with a frown. There were a couple dead orcs laying on the street….but he couldn't make out any other clue. He couldn't even tell that there was a battle, he was only taking the elf's word for it. Turning to glance out over the water he noticed something.
Wedged in between a boat and a building as if it had been violently discarded, was what looked to very much be a quiver. "There!"
At the shout, the elf was at his side in less than a second, fearing for the worst. Her heart dropped when she saw what Fili was pointing out. Hopping from one canoe to the next she retrieved the quiver. It was empty….and it was Legolas'.
Returning to shore, she bit her lip. He'd never voluntarily take it off….and if it had been damaged and had fallen off during battle how could it have ended up as far away as it was?
"What do you think?" Fili questioned, worriedly. He didn't much care for her friend. But he was in her debt and wanted to help her.
"I fear the worst…" Tauriel's eyes swept the scene once more.
...
As night turned into day Legolas' heart was becoming heavier. They had been traveling without a break for the entire night it seemed and it didn't look like they would be stopping soon. The wargs were tireless, as were their riders.
As the landscape changed, the question as to where they were going came to Legolas's mind once more, particularly when the forest which used to be greenwood, now called Mirkwood, came into view. Adjusting their course, the creatures began riding along the side of it.
A wicked cackle drew his attention, and when he turned his head slightly he came face to face with the orc riding beside him. Trying to keep the fear off his face, he adopted the icy mask he had learned for him father.
"Our friends awake." The creature screeched at his companions. There were about 5 of them in the party including the commander he had fought, each astride a warg. Legolas only glared at the creature. "Nothing to say? That's ok." The orc grinned wickedly at him. "We'll make you squeal soon enough. Once we reach Dol Guldur."
Dol Guldur? But….it was supposed to be abandoned. He thought back to when they had the orc captured…what he'd said. What if there was something bigger going on than just a plot to kill some dwarves?
His thoughts raced as everything pulled together. The sickness of the forest that had started months back…..Dol Guldur, where the spiders seemed to spawn, wasn't as abandoned as they thought. The orc party that was following Oakenshield and company…. There was definitely something sinister happening. And….his father knew. That was why he had beheaded that orc. But was it to keep the information from him or was it out of fear?
Either way, Legolas' heart beat faster in fear. If there really was something evil happening in Dol Guldur what did that mean for him?
...
After what seemed like ages of searching, Tauriel had finally managed to find a sign of where the orc party had went. In the mud just before the bridge out of town here warg tracks. On the opposing side of the bridge they led off back toward the forest.
Morning broke over the two riders as they followed the trail, one astride a tall white horse, the other astride a furry pony. But as they rounded the lake towards the now Mirkwood forest, Tauriel halted. After a moment Fili did as well, turning to look back at the elf. "What's wrong? We need to get moving."
The elf frowned, looking left to the trail that the wargs left and then right towards the path to home. On horseback, the ride back to the elven stronghold would take not but an hour. No one save the few dwarves and the 3 children knew what happened the past night. If they went on this quest and did not return or they were captured themselves no one would know to rescue them.
"I need to ride back to the woodland realm. To tell king Thanduil what has happened." Tauriel came to this decision with much difficulty. The king could be scary at the best of times, aloof and cold. But what he would do when he found out what had happened struck fear in her heart. Not to mention that the only reason Legolas had left in the first place was because of her. And it was her that convinced him to continue the quest rather than return home.
Fili frowned at this decision, turning his pony so he could stare at her properly. "But….what about the trail? What about your friend? We're already a half a day behind them! They trail will go cold!"
"I know. That is why you will continue following the trail. But if you do catch up, only observe, do not engage in battle. Legolas could not even beat this foe." Saying these words hurt her deeply, but this was something she had to do.
Fili let out a breath in disbelief before frowning even deeper and trying to decide what he'd do. "Fine. But I'll do this only because you saved my brother's life." He wasn't the best tracker, nor was he prepared to take on a hoard of orcs by himself. But he was in Tauriel's debt.
The elf's brows rose slightly. So Kili was his brother. His willingness to help made a lot more sense now. "Thank you Fili. Hopefully I will catch up to you by the end of the day." And hopefully she would be bringing backup with her.
...
It was just turning to evening when the wargs came to their destination. Legolas' heart dropped, his breath catching in fear. This place had a dark aura about it; the evil in the air was nearly stifling. But as they rode closer to the ominous spires and towers it still appeared to be deserted.
Only when they crossed the threshold did the spell lift and he truly see the stronghold. It was teaming with orcs and wargs and all manners of evil creatures. A fiery glow came from within the fortress and even from here he could hear the chatter of creatures and the sound of weapons being smithed.
As they were about to enter into the crumbling fortress he glanced up just in time to see a man held within a cage, hanging just by the entrance. But he was quickly forgotten as they entered because as soon as the warg stopped, they were on him. Sniggering and grinning, the orcs untied him from the creatures back and threw him painfully to the ground.
Gritting his teeth, he tried to fight off the clawing hands, kicking and struggling but to no avail. They quickly had him on his knees again, more than one hand threaded through his hair to keep him still.
As Bolg dismounted his wolf another orc rounded the corner. Massive and pale and missing an arm which was replaced by some wicked looking weapon.
Legolas could only stare, his eyes wide in fear, mouth pressed into a grim line. The two started speaking in a language he did not understand, but it was clear that the larger and paler creature was very angry at the orc commander whom he had fought. Suddenly Bolg pointed an accusing finger at him which in turn caused the pale orc to turn, staring him down menacingly.
He then spoke, his rendition of the common tongue awful yet understandable. "You're the reason Oakenshield made it to the mountain. You killed our people."
Legolas swallowed, glaring icily at the massive creature. Azog came closer, crouching down to look him in the eye. "You will hurt for this. You will hurt for a long time."
Panic rose in Legolas' chest and he wondered briefly if he should mention his father, threaten them with his title, but instead he stayed quiet. He refused to give this abomination the satisfaction of hearing him speak. He would not beg. He would not bargain. And he would most definitely not bring his people into this mess. His last hope was that Tauriel would come. Even if she had stayed to help the dwarf she would not abandon him once she found that he was missing, he was sure of it.
The massive orc narrowed his eyes at him for a moment before standing once again and motioning for him to be taken away. It took 3 orcs to manhandle him deeper into Dol Guldur and he fought them the entire way.
...
Tauriel made good time through the forest and quickly found herself at the gates of the woodland realm. It took no time for them to open far enough for her to enter. Dismounting, she left the horse with the confused guards at the door and took off across bridges and through the halls of her home.
She stopped right before the bend that led to the throne room and tried to pull herself together. What would say? There was no easy way to break this news to him. Thranduil was like the weather, he could be calm and serene at one moment but turn into an icy winters storm the next. Taking a breath she rounded the bend and began taking the stairs up to the throne.
At the sight of his guard captain, the king stood, his expression barely changing. "Tauriel." The bite in his voice was the only thing that gave away his anger. "I was beginning to believe that you were not going to come back."
"My king…" She bowed to him slightly, pausing as she tried to think of what to say.
Thranduil cocked his head slightly to one side and stared at her cooly. "You directly disobeyed me. You have broken my trust in you."
Tauriel swallowed, looking down and bit her lip. Finally she pulled the sword from where she had sheathed it at her back. Holding it out before her he couldn't bear to meet the kings eyes. It was Legolas's sword.
Thranduil's eyes widened, the icy expression melting into one of horror. Slowly he took the steps down from his throne and moved towards her, eyes never leaving the blade. "What is this?" His words were a whisper as he reached for the sword. His fingers hovered over the blade barely brushing it as if he were afraid that as soon as he grasped it he would have to grasp the reality of the situation.
"He went after a group of orcs alone." Tauriel spoke so quietly her words were barely a whisper. "An orc found me and attacked, wielding this, He said that L-" She stopped speaking, trying to calm her nerves. "He said that Legolas was dead."
Pain and anguish crossed the king's face as he shuddered a breath. Finally he gently lifted the sword from her hands and turned his back to her.
"I have reason to believe that he's been taken captive." Tauriel continued on quietly. "We've been following the trail left along the forest towards Dol Guldur."
There was a silence in the room before Thranduil spoke. His voice quiet and filled with anguish, yet there was another emotion threatening the edge of his tone, anger. "We?"
"One of….Thorin Oakenshields party….has been assisting me." Tauriel could feel the tension grow in the room as if there was a storm brewing. Yet the king was silent as he thought.
Minutes passed before he spoke. "Why was he alone when he attacked? Where were you?" He turned just enough to glare at her, fire burning in his eyes. "You left to help THEM, didn't you?" He turned even further, the cool aloof expression replaced with a burning anger. The next words he spoke were soft yet so cold Tauriel could nearly feel the bite of ice. "If you have gotten my son killed you will pay for it dearly."
Tauriel could not meet the kings eyes and instead looked at the floor. "There is still time. We can save him."
"We?" Thranduil spat at her, turning and stepping so close it was uncomfortable. He leaned down to get right in her face. "You're not going anywhere." With that he spun, leaving the room with urgency in his step and motioning to the guards who had been watching the scene with wide shocked eyes. "Take her to the dungeon."
...
AUTHORS NOTES
So it turns out a lot of you actually want to see this continued. I know what I want to happen to Legolas in the short term. But I have no plot planned for the rest of it or the end, only a vague idea.
So basically right now I'm just kinda plotting as I go. Welp.
I still want to write my proper fic but I guess I'll continue this one and see how it goes.
Next chapter will be dark and painful. Just a warning.