Fili was no great tracker, but thankfully you didn't have to be a great tracker to follow the trail the orc party left. The heavy prints from the wargs were engraved into the earth, creating a worn path through the forest. The sun had long since gone down leaving the lone dwarf to darkness. But this was in his favor as he stole though the woods.

Even though he knew he could easily hide it still unnerved him. The being alone. He'd never really went on any journey alone since Kili was usually by his side. Or at least someone….someone….. But here he was alone. Tauriel hadn't even reappeared and this scared him. What if something had happened to her to? What if he was walking in onto an orc party with no back up?

But he wouldn't let that stop him. He had promised to help her, and so he would. So he carried on, silently following the worn path through the eerie forest.

...

As the orcs dragged him through the halls of Dol Guldur, Legolas became increasingly afraid. Panic and terror swelled in his chest as he kicked and fought his captors. He would not give in so easily. He would not allow them to see his fear. So instead he showed them his anger. But it did no good, he was restrained and they were armed and outnumbered him.

Although this place did not have a dungeon initially, it apparently did now. Orcs were fond of dungeons and had created one. This is the destination Legolas found himself being dragged into. He swallowed at the sight of the chains and the wicked instruments that were scattered around the room. It had obviously already been used.

It seemed a flicker of fear may have crossed his face since one of the orcs cackled giving him a violent shove forward. "You afraid, scum? You should be."

Legolas didn't give them the satisfaction of an answer. He was afraid. He was terrified. But his expression fell back to the default iciness he'd copied from his father.

It took two of them to drag him across the room to the fall wall and another to pin him against it in order for them to shackle his feet. The chains were maybe two feet long, attached to the stone wall.

The feel of the heavy steel weighed on his soul. Elves were not meant to be treated this way. Confinement and darkness could do serious harm over long periods of time. But Legolas couldn't to let them break him. He was stronger than that. He was stronger than them. He would not show them weakness.

Once the orcs were sure he was restrained they cut the ropes binding his wrists. It was the last mistake that particular orc ever made. As soon as his arms were free, the elf prince wasted no time in snapping the creature's neck. It was dead before it hit the ground.

Quickly, the remaining two were on him. With his movement severely restricted he could use no foot work, dodge no attack nor slip away. So while he grappled with the first there was no way he could dodge the seconds attack. He grunted when the fist connected with his face, falling back against the wall for support as stars danced across his blackened vision.
The two remaining orcs used this opportunity to restrain his arms, shackling them above his head before he could use them as weapons again. Shaking off the dizziness the elf let out a yell of anger, tugging at the shackles. They held fast, the steel biting into his skin as painfully as they bit into his soul.

One of the orcs punched him again for good measure before finally stepping away. Legolas had taken so many blows to the head in the past twenty four hours it was amazing he still had the ability to think straight. He leaned his head back blinking his eyes and taking a deep breath as the pain swelled behind his temple. Finally he squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head as the pain dissipated.

When he opened them again and raised his gaze he was alone. Well…save for the dead orc still at his feet. Studying the room only caused dread to build within him as his mind ran scenarios of what they would do to him, of the manner they would use all of those wicked instruments in. So instead he shut his eyes and tried to think of home; of the elegant halls, of his father, his friends, of Tauriel….

Where was she…..?

...

Wearing full armor and armed to the teeth, the elf king himself was preparing to lead a party on the hunt to save his son. Not much would cause him to leave his self-pronounced seclusion of the forest. But Legolas was precious to him, more precious that any gem or treasure in the halls of Erebor, even more precious than his own life.

Legolas was alive. He had to be. He could feel it. But for how much longer he did not know. It was why he himself was going on this quest. He would trust no one save himself to rescue his son. And he would be damned before he failed to do so.

Moving with urgency a large party of elves prepared themselves to leave. It had only taken an hour, perhaps two to prepare for battle but even that was too long. Thranduil feared the worst.

So when the party left they moved quickly. It was already nearing sunset before they were riding along the edge of Mirkwood, following the cooling trail the wargs had left.

...

The captive elf wasn't waiting long before he was joined by another orc. Opening his blue eyes he glared at the creature in anger and defiance. It was the orc commander that had defeated him.

"I was looking forward to killing Oakenshield." The creature spoke, shooting him a glare as he lumbered over to a table. "But because you delayed us they reached the mountain."

Legolas still didn't speak and only watched the orc while trying to keep the nervousness off his face. The task got even more difficult when his eyes fell on what the orc had picked up. "I get an even better job now." He spoke, the cruelty in his voice obvious. "I get to break you."

The elf barly had time to ready himself before the first lash of the whip fell across his chest. It would have been bad enough had it been a regular whip but this one seemed to have steel blades weaved into the leather. Legolas cried out despite himself, clenching his hands into fists. The lash had ripped through both layers of his tunic as well as his skin, causing blood to well and soak into the green fabric.

The prince was ready for the next lash when it fell, and then next, and the next, and was able to silence himself. But it was all he could do not to cry out. He'd never felt anything like this, of course he'd had small injuries before while out on missions when he was a lot younger. But this pain was beyond any of that.

By the time Bolg stopped his assault the elf's tunic was completely shredded, as was his chest. About half way through Legolas had drawn his mind into himself, distancing himself from the physical pain that he was enduring. His body hung limp in the chains and his head bowed, resting on his chest.

Swallowing, Legolas revived himself, shuddering a breath and opening his eyes to glare up at the creature. The bleeding lashes across his skin burned as if they were on fire, but he would endure. He would not be broken.

The orc bared his teeth in return to the glare. "You think you're strong enough to last?" The creature growled out at him. "I'm only just getting started."

...

Tauriel sat alone in the corner of a cell down in the dungeons of the woodland realm, the same dungeon where Kili had sat not days before.

But her mind was not on Kili, he would be ok now. Her mind was on Legolas. Her friend. This was her fault….It was all she could do not to lay her head in her hands and release her sorrow. But that would not help the prince.

Thranduil himself had ridden out to the rescue. But Tauriel couldn't help but feel that it should be her. She was the one who had gotten Legolas into the mess, she was the one who had brought him to that town and that failed to assist him in that battle. It should be her to save him.

But there was nothing she could do locked in the cell. That was why she quietly waited for the patrolman to pass before drawing a key from deep within her clothing. She had been captain of the guard for centuries. Of course she had keys to the cells. The guards just hadn't expected it.

Unlocking the door, she let herself out and then stole through the palace. Dodging both patrolmen and citizens of the realm, she finally made it to the front gate only to realize that it was closed. No one came or went without the king's approval and she most certainly did not have the king's approval. She crouched on a high overhang for a moment trying to figure out how to leave.

Although they knew her and were loyal to her the gatekeepers were probably under orders not to let her leave. She was supposed to be in the dungeons after all.

It was then that an idea donned on her. There was another way out. A passage so overlooked that thirteen dwarves managed to escape the elven stronghold before they were even found out.

Turning away from the front gate, Tauriel made her way towards the cellar and the river exit.

...

When the dwarf finally emerged from the forest the moon shone far above in the sky. It must be what….midnight perhaps. Earlier? Later? It was impossible to tell. Mirkwood forest seemed to suck all sense of time and direction out of you.

But Fili had made it and that was all that mattered. It was a crumbling stone palace with jutting towers and overgrown plant life sitting on the top of a high point of the forest. From where the young dwarf hid it appeared to be abandoned….but he somehow knew better. Those orcs had gone inside. They might have watchmen or guards.

Fili turned away from the fortress trying to contemplate his next move. Tauriel had told him to wait for her, to refrain from attacking the orc party. He knew she was right, that he wouldn't be able to lead a rescue alone. But that didn't mean he couldn't get closer and see if he could spot her captured friend.

So with as much stealth as a dwarf can muster, Fili stole across the short expanse before slipping into the shadows of a stone pillar. But as soon as his feet crossed the threshold of the fortress whatever spell that has been put on it lifted. Orcs prowled in innermost areas of the fortress and he could see sentries every here and there. Not to mention horrible sounds were escaping from the depths of the small castle; screeches and howls and the sounds of weapons being made.

He stood completely still, a frown on his face and eyes wide as he tried to decide what to do. He most DEFINITELY could not lead a rescue by himself. He was trying to decide if he should slip back into the forest again to wait when he heard a quiet voice rasp above him. "Fili?"

The young dwarf nearly jumped a foot, his body slamming against the stone pillar in surprise as he looked up. Above him were 3 or 4 cages that appeared to have been created to house prisoners. One of them was actually serving its purpose.

It took a moment staring with a shocked expression before he would actually believe what his eyes were seeing. "Gan….dalf?"

...
AUTHORS NOTES

I kind of have an idea of how things will go down now. But it's not pinned down at all yet. So if my story seems kinda choppy that would be why.
I'm also not the nest at writing multiple points of view. I usually do one or two. But here you have like 6 so...whoop.

Sorry Legolas. But you had to see this coming. It's ME after all.

Stay tuned. I'll try to keep up motivation. I hate to see stories unfinished.