Chapter 10 – Out The Southgate

Legolas felt his father's warm arms circle around him as the King knelt behind his son. Strong arms steadied the elfling's shaky ones as together pulled the tiny bow back to full draw, a feat much too difficult for the elfling to accomplish on his own.

Legolas wore tiny arm guards with a delicate leaf pattern etched onto the soft leather, preventing the release of tension from the string to recoil and sting the tender insides of his tiny arms, an injury Legolas not unfamiliar with and unwillingly to obtain again.

"Are you ready?" his father asked.

"Almost Ada, I'm almost finished aiming," Legolas told him as he narrowed his eyes, adjusting his aim.

Thranduil lightly chuckled at the look of deep concentration on his son's face. It was endearing to see the elfling with such a serious expression. "I'll await your orders, my son," Thranduil said with a sort of patience one could only gain when parenting a young child.

Thranduil loved these moments he spent with Legolas. There was nothing he enjoyed more than these little archery lessons he shared with his son. It warmed his heart to see Legolas improve under his careful guidance, his fatherly pride shown brightly. Though unknown to Legolas, Thranduil could tell his elfling had quite the talent with the bow. Thranduil knew that with a little refinement Legolas' raw talent could be molded into something grand. Thranduil was selfish, when Legolas grew up to be a great archer, Thranduil wanted to be the one whom Legolas told everyone who taught him, not some random archery master.

Thranduil smiled. It was a beautiful day, the perfect way to spend the start of a New Year. After the festival of Elbereth the evenings would slowly start to become shorter as the days became longer. The forest would slowly start to warm again. A light layer of frost still covered the trees giving them a sort of sparkle when the light hit them just right. Thranduil looked at Legolas, he hoped his son was warm enough. Thranduil himself didn't feel these minuscule changes in the temperature, but he knew his elfling would.

"Ada, I am ready now," Legolas whispered, as if speaking loudly would ruin his aim. Together father and son released the arrow sending it flying through the air as it embedded itself within the target a couple centimeters away from the centre.

"Well done, Legolas!" Thranduil praised. "That is much closer than the last arrow."

Legolas beamed at his father's encouragement, grinning brightly, as if he were the very sun, warming Thranduil's heart.

"Ada, can we shoot another arrow?" Legolas eagerly asked.

"Alright," Thranduil agreed. "But this will be the last one for today. I have a council meeting to attend."

"Ada, there have been many council meetings lately," Legolas noted with a sigh.

"Aye, that is because there is a great need to have them," Thranduil simply replied as Legolas meticulously selected an arrow from his quiver, in an attempt to further stretch out the time spent with his father.

After the perfect arrow was chosen, together they nocked it and pulled the bow back to full draw. Thranduil waited patiently for Legolas to take aim. After a couple moments of shear concentration Legolas was prepared. Father and son released the tension on the bow together, sending the arrow flying through the air. This time it landed perfectly in the centre of the target.

"Excellent, My Son!" Thranduil praised, as he lifted Legolas in the air, spinning him around, eliciting giggles of pure mirth from the elfling. "Next time we will move the target to a closer range so you can shoot by yourself."

Legolas hugged his father in excitement and kissed his cheek. Thranduil smiled.

The Elvenking looked up towards the sky, noting the sun's position. "It is just after midday," he remarked. "I must set off now. It would be embarrassing to arrive late to a council meeting I had requested," Thranduil stated. "Can I trust you Legolas, to safely put away your bow and quiver?"

"Yes Ada!" Legolas said, excited that his father was willing to trust him with such an important task. "But first Ada, I must collect my arrows."

"Aright, you may do that first," Thranduil agreed. "Then you must put your bow and quiver directly away, remember what I told you?"

"That my bow is a weapon not a toy," Legolas dutifully replied.

Thranduil smiled. "You are becoming very responsible. I am very proud Legolas," he said, before kissing his son's forehead.

"Have fun at your council meeting, Ada!" Legolas said waving, as he watched his father walk away.

Thranduil would have loved nothing more than to spend the rest of the day playing with Legolas. The first day of the New Year was a day of rest for most of the elves. But Thranduil was the King, and no matter how much he wished he sometimes could, one cannot take a break from responsibility. He had the safety of his people to protect.

Legolas merrily skipped as he made his way over to the target. He decided he would collect the arrows scattered on the ground first, before attempting to pull out the ones lodged in the target. Those ones were much more difficult to collect.

Some of the arrows had flown wide landing in the bushes between the trees, so Legolas determined he would check there first. He crawled on his hands and knees in search of his wayward arrows. Finally after some time and torn left knee on his legging later he had managed to find them all. Now he had only to pull the other ones out from on the target.

Legolas selected the lowest arrow first; gripping it firmly with both hands he used a leg to push himself off from the tree. But the arrow would not come loose. Legolas groaned in frustration. His father had told him it was poor etiquette to abandon arrows in the target at the archery range. It would only leave work for someone else that wished to practice after him. Part of practicing was having the ability to clean up after yourself.

Legolas sighed; he would just have to find someone to help him. Making sure his quiver was adjusted just right over his right shoulder and under his left arm, he left the training field, his bow griped firmly in hand.

Legolas wandered through the palace grounds. He was just about to stop and ask a group of guards that were standing around and talking, to help him, when he spotted Elrohir running. Legolas grinned; Elrohir was finally out of bed! He surreptitiously followed and nervously gulped when he saw Elrohir run out the Southgate.

Legolas stopped right at the gate boundary. He so badly wanted to follow Elrohir, but his father had always cautioned him against leaving through the Southgate. Towards the south, the forest got progressively darker; Legolas was not allowed to go there, even under supervision. The elfling was both curious and scared of what lay towards the mysterious south.

But Legolas knew that Elrohir was a very brave and strong warrior. He was a hero who travelled saving villages, so Legolas reasoned he would be safe as long as he stuck close to Elrohir. And, this would give him the perfect chance to track Elrohir. Legolas remembered what Elrohir had told him yesterday morning in is mother's garden; 'You'll have to try a lot hard than that the sneak up on me little one.' Legolas never backed down from a challenge. He couldn't wait to see the look on Elrohir's face after he'd discover that he'd been followed and caught off guard, losing the game. Legolas put his hands over him mouth to smother a fit laughter. He had to be quiet; Legolas knew that if anyone saw him leaving through the Southgate they would surely stop him.

Legolas' stomach fluttered with anticipation and excitement. Taking a deep breath, he took his first step out into the darkness of the forest. The arrows in the target, lay left forgotten.

Elrohir didn't have a clue as to where he was going. He just needed to be alone. He just needed to think things through. A surge of regret shot through his heart. He said some really cruel things to Elladan. What a disaster. The torment of his vision lay heavy on his mind. He just wanted to help, and now he feared he only made things worse.

As much as he wanted to, Elrohir could not bring himself to turn around and go back. He felt like such a coward, afraid to face is brother, his twin, his other half. He just felt like running, he had to put as much distance between himself and his problems as he could. It's always easier to run away and hide from your fears rather than stand strong and face them. Elrohir could not find the courage within him to do so.

His running slowed to a walking pace as the sun set behind the horizon and the stars shown brightly over head. He looked up and found Eärendil but could not find his usual comfort by its presence. He felt ashamed to even be seen under the star. His family was filled with great warriors and heroes of old, whose deeds of great valor and heroism were greatly honored and remembered. What shame he must bring upon his family. What a pathetic sight he must be, a coward, a frightened half-elf with tear tracts staining his face.

Physically and emotionally exhausted Elrohir sank to his knees and sat there, crying into his hands. Could Elladan ever forgive him? Could he ever forgive himself? Thranduil spoke of hope, but he could not see it.

Legolas had quickly lost sight of Elrohir, but his sharp eyes made out the faint trace of a lightly imprinted boot on the soft frost covered ground. Whenever the time could be spared, Noron would take Legolas out into the forest and teach him about all the different animal tracks. Together they even made up a song about all the different animals and their footprints. The elfling could proudly tell the difference between various forest animals. So, Legolas determined this was no animal print, it had to have come from Elrohir! Noron is going to be so proud, Legolas thought as he eagerly followed them with a bright smile of excitement etched across his face, so completely excited by prospect of surprising Elrohir.

Elrohir had made long strides, weaving erratically through the trees. Each print had been spaced far apart. Legolas decided to make a game out of it; he tried his best to jump from footprint to footprint without stepping outside the boundary, pretending the ground was a river that would sweep him away if he did so. Legolas laughed as he sung his footprint song in joy.

As the day wore on, in a moment of shear luck Legolas spied two identical sticks just to the left of his path, they were the perfect sword length for an elfling of his size. Legolas beamed, what a wonderful day this was turning out to be! Forgetting all about the imaginary river, Legolas eagerly retrieved his prize. He grasped them firmly, one in each hand, pretending they were a pair of twin knives. Legolas felt much braver holding them. He was now a great warrior, exploring the dark unknowns of the forest, with two twin knives in hand, and a bow and quiver strapped to his back, he was undefeatable.

Legolas thought he heard a twig snap, instantly stopping in his tracks. His eyes quickly scanned the trees, searching his surroundings, when he spotted it, a little ways off to his left. His eyes widened. It was the spider plant! The plant's true name was too long for Legolas to remember, but Rudiel had told him that the juices from the leaves was the main ingredient for the antidote used against the spider poison. This plant was quite rare.

Legolas smiled upon his good fortune. He crouched down low and plucked off a couple leaves, carefully storing them in his pocket. Legolas had been taught never to take the whole plant. Only the leaves were needed. If the plant were to be left alive, then it could rejuvenate, and continue on living, eventually growing more leaves that they could later harvest. Legolas liked this idea; it was senseless to kill anything for no reason, even a plant. Legolas gingerly patted the outsides of his now filled pockets. Both his father and Rudiel were going to be so proud of him!

Legolas continued on swinging his twin knives back and forth, to the left and to the right, slashing and cutting down imaginary foes, when his foot caught on a tree root and inadvertently sent him tumbling to the ground. Legolas sniffled as he held his knee in pain. It was scraped, it stung, and bleeding a little bit. There was a very large hole in the right knee of his legging. Legolas examined it sadly. Lealle wasn't going to be happy. She made all of his clothes, and now she would only have more work to do in repairing it. Legolas really liked Lealle and hated it when she was disappointed in him.

Legolas sat there for a bit crying softly in self-pity. He really wanted is father. His father always made him feel better when he was hurt. But his father wasn't here. He was all alone. Legolas sniffled. He hoped he would find Elrohir soon. It was starting to get late and his stomach rumbled in hunger.

Legolas tenderly got to his feet, feeling dejected he followed the footprints in silence. His previous excitement had left him. Maybe when he found Elrohir, he could convince him to give him a ride on his shoulders, that would make him feel better.

His stomach grumbled and his legs felt tired from all the previous jumping. Walking through the forest was very lonesome when you had no one to talk to and no one's hand to hold. It was at this moment Legolas realized just how quite the forest was. It felt so dark an empty. Although the trees lay asleep during winter there should still be a hum or a light melody resonating from them. But to his confusion, Legolas heard nothing.

Legolas rested his hand on the nearest tree. The bark felt rough and cold to his touch, nothing like the trees around the palace. It was strange, the tree was definitely alive but there is no song, no voice. There was nothing. Legolas shivered. The forest was eerily quiet. Now that he thought about it, Legolas couldn't recall seeing a single animal or hearing single bird. The forest around his home was filled with such life, for his father was a friend to all the animals of the forest, here the forest was simply hollow. There was nothing.

A cold chill blew through the air, making the little hairs on Legolas' neck stand straight out. He didn't like the feeling of the forest. This wasn't fun anymore. He just wanted to find Elrohir so they could walk back home together. Where was Elrohir? Legolas was now starting to second-guess his first instinct. Maybe these weren't Elrohir's footprints. But if they were not, then whose were they?

Legolas looked up at the sky, the sun was setting behind the trees it was starting to get dark, and the air was becoming thick with fog. A sense of fear gripped his heart. He did not want to be out here when it turned to night not when the trees didn't sing, and everything around him felt cold and empty. Legolas' heart sped up as he nervously looked around. He couldn't shake the feeling the something was terribly wrong.

He subconsciously reached for the leaf pendant around his neck. The familiar feel of the smooth emerald stone offered a small comfort to the weary and now frightened elfling. Legolas chocked back a sob. He wanted his father. He just wanted to feel safe in his father's arms again.

Legolas was about to abandon his quest of looking for Elrohir when his sharp earing picked up a faint noise. It sounded like someone was crying. Legolas cautiously made his way around a bend of trees and gasped. He was both relieved and surprised at what he saw.

Elrohir was kneeling on the cold forest floor with his back turned towards Legolas. From where Legolas stood hidden behind the trees, he could see Elrohir's body tremble with every heart wrenching sob. Legolas' tiny heart went out to Elrohir. Why was Elrohir crying? Maybe he was afraid of the forest too?

Legolas wisely judged that now might not be a good time to jump out and scare Elrohir. Legolas knew that when he was sad he wanted to be comforted not startled. Although Elrohir was a great warrior, Legolas thought that he might feel the same way.

Legolas was just about to make his presence known when the little hairs on the back of his neck stood up again. It didn't feel right, something was wrong. They were not alone. He was not the only one drawn to Elrohir's cries. Dangling there right above Elrohir was a huge black monster, Legolas gasped as he counted eight eyes and eight legs on its large plump black furry body.

A spider.

Legolas froze in shear terror. It was one of the monsters from his nightmares. Before he could even sound out a call of warning to Elrohir, the beast dropped from where it was perched on the tree above, slamming Elrohir hard into the ground.

Legolas stood there paralyzed in fear, gripping his pendant so tightly it left a deep leaf imprint on the inside of his hand. His body trembled and silent tears ran down his cheeks. He heard Elrohir cry out in pain but he was too scared to move. He could do nothing but helplessly watch as Elrohir struggled against the spider. Legolas was desperate, the fear was almost too must for him. He felt dizzy.

It was second cry of pain from Elrohir that snapped Legolas to his senses. Before he was even aware of what he was doing he had his bow gripped tightly in his clammy shaking hands, and an arrow knocked and ready to go. When thinking about the turn of events later, Legolas could not recall having any conscious thought about what he was doing. It was thought that his subconscious desire to save Elrohir fueled his actions, for Legolas moved purely on instinct well beyond his years, as he sent the arrow flying through the air.

The arrow impacted the spider and bounced right off it, landing somewhere in the shrubbery. If Legolas had been a little bit stronger it would have been a shot to kill. Though the arrow didn't go into the spider, it was enough to momentarily distract the beast from its prey as it turned its attention on to the elfling, giving Elrohir just enough time to grab a knife he wore on his belt, and fiercely slash the spider clean open, in one shift movement, rendering it motionless.

Before Elrohir even knew what happened he was once again caught unaware, finding himself holding an elfling who was crying loudly into his shoulder. Elrohir was too shocked by the turn of events to say anything. He just pulled Legolas close him and enclosed his arms around the elfling's trembling body. Where did Legolas come from? What was he doing here so far away from home?

They held onto each other tightly, comforted by each other's presence. The familiar stars twinkled in the night sky, the only source of light, breaking through the shadows of the dark forest. Finally Elrohir was able to regain some form of composure and found his voice.

"Legolas, you saved me," Elrohir whispered. "Thank you."

Legolas looked up into Elrohir's eyes. "But my arrow bounced off of it. I was not strong enough."

"That matters not, you acted quickly and gave me the chance to draw my knife," Elrohir replied as he held the elfling at arms length, his eyes quickly scanning over Legolas, assessing him for any injury. "You will make a fine warrior one day," he remarked.

Legolas threw his arms back around Elrohir, his body still trembling in the after shock. "Now we are even," he said, his voice muffled by the fabric of Elrohir's shoulder.

Elrohir looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"When we first met you saved me from a spider," Legolas explained, referring to the tiny spider in his father's sitting room.

Elrohir could only nod in response. We will never be even, he thought, I owe you my life. Legolas didn't understand the true gravity of what he had done. Perhaps when Legolas is older Elrohir would explain it to him. Elrohir had found himself completely helpless beneath the spider, pinned down and unable to reach his knife. At that moment he couldn't recall ever feeling that terrified at the hands of a foe. He truly thought he was at his end, for that brief moment he was ready to accept defeat.

"Elrohir, can you take me home now?" Legolas asked.

"Come on, let's go," Elrohir smiled.

Legolas stood up and went to retrieve his bow, he was extra careful to avoid looking at the spider. The creature still scared him. Legolas vowed would never be terrified of the tiny spiders again, now that he knew how much worse they could truly be.

As Elrohir was brought back down from his adrenaline high, he slowly became aware of how much physical pain he was actually in. His right arm burned fiercely and with every breath he took, a sharp pain soared through his chest, spreading across his upper body. He was sure he either cracked or at least bruised a couple ribs from when the spider fell on him.

As Elrohir stood up, a wave of dizziness hit him so hard his breath caught in his chest. He struggled to remain standing as he fought to regain control. It was then he realized couldn't move his right arm. He couldn't feel it. The pain was suddenly gone but so was the sensation that his arm was even there. Elrohir panicked, he couldn't move his right arm? Was he bitten? He couldn't remember, but then again, everything was moving so fast, he couldn't recall what exactly had transpired when the spider attacked.

Elrohir looked down towards his right arm. Sure enough the sleeve of his tunic was damp and sticky with blood. Aye so the spider had managed to bite him. Elrohir rapidly blinked his eyes, struggling to keep them open as he sank to the ground, slowly feeling the gradual loss of movement as the paralysis took control.

"L-Legolas," he stammered, almost breathless.

"Elrohir, Elrohir, what's wrong?" Legolas called out, forgetting about his bow, as he ran to Elrohir's aid. "Elrohir?"

"The spider bit m-me," Elrohir weakly murmured before his eyes closed as his world faded.

TBC

A/N: I was going to leave another horrible cliffhanger, but I decided I'd be nice and break the chapter here (trust me, this is being nice). Anyways, please let me know what you thought. How was the spider attack scene? Was it suspenseful or scary? I'm trying to improve the tone of my writing.

I'd just like to say, thank you everyone who has reviewed this story. You guys are awesome! I'll try to have the next chapter up soon for everyone. There is going to be a lot of detail going into it. If I rush it, things tend to get sloppy.