Disclaimer: I do not own Legolas, Aragorn, or any of the other characters, items, or places that you recognize. I am simply borrowing them for a little while and I promise to return them when I'm done.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, followed or made this story a favourite. I know it took a little longer than I planned to get this chapter posted, but I've had some computer problems and I had to rewrite a large portion of it. I did make this a lot longer than it was originally, so I hope that makes up for the time it took between chapter 2 and this one.

Anyways, enough chit-chat. On with the chapter...

Chapter 3

Nilla's mind was going a mile a second as she watched the seven companions laugh and socialize with one another. The twins had come through the door of the main hall with the brightest of smiles and they were met with a hurricane of excitement from the Queen and the others. The reunion was a merry one, and it was almost immediately moved back to Aragorn's chambers so the friends could enjoy themselves away from the prying eyes of curious palace workers. All except for Nilla, who upon Arwen's dismissal for the night, offered to ready the twins' guest room and bring in refreshments before she took her leave. It was all Nilla could do in order to keep a grasp on the situation; regardless of how loose her grasp was becoming.

"It's my pleasure Milady" she had insisted with a forced smile as her eyes shot daggers through the sons of Elrond.

She had to restrain herself from growling as she set the trays of fruit and sandwiches on the table between the twins and their sister. She knew without a doubt that these siblings would not be separating any time soon, and it didn't help that Gimli and Gandalf seemed equally as interested in keeping the conversation going. Her plan was deteriorating before her very eyes, and all she could do to keep from screaming in frustration was to take her time arranging the refreshments as she rummaged her brain for a way to salvage it.

An opportunity needed to present itself soon. Nilla closed her eyes with worry when she noted the time. 8:30.

"A little help, my love" she prayed silently to her husband. "Just a little help."

"You're an odd pair" Gimli announced as Elladan finished retelling the tale of the time that he had to save his matching sibling from a river raft that he had become trapped on with only the company of a very angry large cat. "How you are related to these two, I fail to understand" he added, speaking to Arwen, whose mood had lighted intensely since her brothers' arrival.

"I wonder that myself as well at times" Arwen replied with a grin as Elrohir wrapped his arm around her in a teasing but loving way.

"The beauty and brains had to go to one of them" Aragorn chimed in, earning himself a smack from Elladan and a laugh from the others.

"Well what we may lack in beauty, we make up for in strength and bravery, do we not?" the older twin responded in a dignified tone. Elrohir raised a glass in agreement.

"Bravery? Humph" Gimli interjected with a snort. "I seem to remember you elves being quite scared of the dark during our time on the Paths of the Dead."

The twins shot him matching glares. "This coming from the dwarf who reached out to grasp my hand during that very outing" came the response from Elrohir.

Gimli looked mortified and insulted at the same time as he argued that this was a case of elves lying through their teeth. Elladan quickly answered by attempting to get Legolas to back up their story. The archer simply laughed and shook his head after Gandalf warned him that he might need Gimli's protection if they planned to go visiting dwarven halls at any time in the near or distant future.

"Fine! Side with the dwarf, Legolas" Elladan exclaimed. "Betray your own kind why don't you!"

"I knew he had intelligence hidden deep inside of him somewhere" Gimli added with a proud grin.

Legolas smiled as the topic of conversation moved along. He watched as the twins fell into deep conversation with their sister while Gimli and Gandalf began to discuss the many varieties of pipe weed. Legolas' eyes then traveled over to a nearby table where Aragorn stood to pour himself a cup of tea. He quickly moved to join the man.

"I will take some if you are offering."

Aragorn felt his friend come up beside him, and nodded as he poured the elf some of the tea that Nilla had set out for them. He laughed when Legolas frowned at only receiving one spoonful of sugar in his drink. As the former ranger added another heaping spoonful he couldn't help but tease his friend. "You know, for an elf you have developed quite the sweet tooth."

"And for a king with more on his plate than he wishes to admit, you have developed a keen interest in my drink preferences" came the elf's humoured reply.

"Well, keep in mind that you will have to make do without it when you and Gimli begin your travels abroad" Aragorn answered. His comment was meant in jest, but Legolas was able to detect the small tinge of sadness in his tone; even more so when the man spoke again. "You do still mean to depart tomorrow, do you not?"

Legolas didn't answer right away. Aragorn was stirring his own tea and not meeting his eyes with his own. Yes, there was sadness there. And something else too; but the elf was having a bit of difficulty pinning down exactly what it was. "We can stay on for a few more weeks if you'd like" the elf began to suggest. "I was not kidding when I said that you have more on your plate than you want to..."

"No, no. That's not necessary," Aragorn interrupted. "It is not your assistance I will miss, mellon nin." He placed a hand on the elf's shoulder and met his eyes finally. "I will simply miss your company; that is all."

It finally clicked. Legolas knew what it was that he was sensing in his friend. It was the sense of being left behind. The elf returned the simple gesture and placed a hand on Aragorn's shoulder as well. "I will miss yours as well, Aragorn" he assured sincerely before the elf found himself being pulled into what felt like a bear hug.

"Travel safe, my brother" Aragorn insisted as he released the elf. "And return before I am an old man."

"You are already an old man" the elf jested, earning himself a cold look. "But yes, I will return as soon as my father allows."

"No doubt Thranduil will keep you under house arrest for some time before he lets you leave his lands again."

Legolas agreed whole heartedly. "That he will. However, I use that time to discuss your offer of land for an elven settlement in Ithilien. I have great hope that he will approve."

It was Aragorn's turn to smile now. "Splendid" he answered before another thought came to mind. "Did you happen to write the letter for your father that you wanted me to send with my envoy?" Legolas had been eager to send word to his father of his welfare and his intent to return home within a few months.

"I have it nearly completed" came Legolas' answer as the twins accused the two friends of being antisocial. A sudden brightness overtook the elf's features as he set down his cup and began to move towards the door. "I chose to leave out the bit about the dwarf" he added with a mischievous grin, "I feel like that might work better as a surprise."

"I do believe you are right, mellon nin" Aragorn answered as Legolas disappeared out the door and he retook his seat beside Arwen.

8:45.

Nilla was devastated. She had missed out on her opportunity to seize both the Queen and her revenge. Kalu and his men would be waiting in the passage, and she would have nothing to deliver to them. At least not yet. It pained Nilla to think that she would have to reschedule the abduction until a later date, but she had no choice. She had planned for and anticipated this moment for far too long to allow it to go down in smoke; and she knew that if she tried to get the Queen alone tonight she would arouse too much suspicion and her plan would be foiled. No, she would just have to regroup and think up some other way to achieve her goal. For tonight though, it was off.

And then she saw it. The answer to the prayer she had sent out. A simple gesture that became the solution to her problem. Aragorn reached out and placed a hand on the shoulder of Thranduil's son before embracing him with the same emotion that she had seen expressed on the face of the Queen when she wished farewell to her father a few days ago. An expression of love.

It had not occurred to her before that there might be another way to achieve her goal. Nilla had not realized before now that there was another who would be able to help her punish the King. She was determined to take away from Aragorn what he had taken from her. Aragorn had stolen her husband; the person she held most dear. And so, in return it seemed the most obvious thing to do was to take away his beloved bride. But now, a new way of hurting him entered her mind. A new target emerged from the shadows and put a smile back upon her lips. Aragorn loved this elf too. His love was encased in the words he spoke as he released the elf from their embrace. "My brother."

Nilla almost laughed out loud with giddiness as Fate presented her with yet another gift. With just over twenty minutes to spare, her prey separated from the rest of the herd. Legolas exited the room after some comment about a surprise involving the dwarf. The King didn't follow. None of them did; they were all engrossed in pleasant conversation with one another. None of them noticed her scheming expression. None of them noticed as she abandoned the work she was doing. And none of them noticed when she followed the elf out the door.

Legolas looked over the letter he had written to his father one more time before he folded it up. He knew that his father would be a little upset with him for not returning home right away. Thranduil would probably give him a long stern talking to for delaying his return to Mirkwood after the war; but at least this letter would satisfy his father's concern for his well being. The letter assured that he would arrive home in three months time, and that he would be bringing a friend with him. Legolas couldn't help but smile when he thought of the expression that would befall his father's face when he saw that his 'friend' was not only a dwarf, but the son of one of their previous prisoners from many years ago.

"That will surely go over really well" he thought to himself with a shake of his head as he exited his chambers and began down the corridor, making his way back to where his friends remained. He didn't get far before he found himself brought to a halt as he rounded a corner and was slammed into by a woman who seemed to be in a hurry. She had turned the corner with great speed and ran right into his chest, surprising him and causing her to fall to the floor.

"I am so sorry, Milord" came the woman's response as she struggled to get to her feet. "Please forgive me. I was not looking where I was going."

"There is nothing to forgive" Legolas assured as he offered his hand to the woman he now recognized to be one of Arwen's ladies in waiting. "Neither of us was looking where we were going it seems" he added with a smile, hoping to ease the worry and sadness written on her features. She looked like she had been crying, and so he held onto her hand a moment longer. "Are you alright?" he asked.

The woman brushed him off. "Yes, yes, I'm alright" she answered quickly, as another tear escaped her eyes.

"Are you sure?" he let go of her hand as she started to push by him and make her way down another hallway. She nodded and hurried away from him. He watched her for a second. Something was wrong, but she didn't seem to want his help. With a resigned sigh he made to turn back to his original path towards the King's chambers. That was until he heard another quiet sob.

As Legolas turned back in the direction the woman had gone, he saw her standing near a doorway. She was facing away from him, with her shoulders hunched. She was crying. Legolas' frown grew. She might not want his help, but she certainly looked like she might need help of some sort. He looked around, and saw that no others occupied the halls where they were, and so he made the decision to try one more time and offer some assistance. He started in the woman's direction, and as though she sensed his approach, she rounded another corner and quickened her pace.

"You could be scaring her or making it worse" his mind warned him as he followed Nilla down the darkened corridor. She had gone into a room on the left. He could tell because it was the only open door, and this corridor was a dead end. He was just about to enter when something stopped him. He froze in place and looked behind him. Something was amiss. Something didn't feel right; he could sense it. Just as he made up his mind to ask Arwen to send another of her ladies in waiting to tend to Nilla he heard a much louder sob from inside the room accompanied by a small crash. Without another thought he entered the room.

She had fallen to the ground again. She was on her knees, crying into her hands in the middle of the room. Her back was still to him. Legolas glanced around the room briefly as he made his way over to her. It was empty. He noted that if she was aware of his presence, she didn't seem to care anymore. Legolas moved so that he stood in front of her, and slowly knelt down so they would be at eye level. "My lady?" he began softly without touching her at all. "Should I send for some assistance?"

"No!" she exclaimed, looking into his eyes now. Hers were red with tears as she implored him not to do as he suggested. "Please don't bother anyone. I'm sorry, I'm just upset. I'll be fine" she assured.

Legolas wasn't convinced. He reached out a hand and placed it on her arm as a means of offering a bit of comfort. "Why are you so upset?" he asked in his most sympathetic tone.

"I lost my husband."

She hadn't looked at him when she said it, but Legolas could tell she was crying again. He was at a loss. Grieving widows were not company he spent a lot of time with; and while he could understand the hurt of losing someone you loved, he was definitely not prepared to offer words of comfort in this instance. He assumed that this woman's husband had been lost in the war and while his heart went out to her, he secretly wished he had sought Arwen's help as he had previously planned. He was clueless as to what he should say; and so he offered her an opportunity to tell him what she needed from him.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" It was a sincere question. He wanted to help; he just didn't know how.

Her eyes immediately locked on his. Legolas was a little taken aback by this, but remained still. Her tears had stopped but her cheeks were still wet as she answered him. "Yes" she began, with the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. "Could you help me up?"

Legolas let out the breath he had been holding and smiled warmly at her. Yes, that he could do.

"Of course I can" he replied as he started to stand and reached out to pull her gently with him. She was shaky, so while he guided her with one hand, he suggested that she wrap one of her arms around his neck to steady herself. "There you go" he began as he got her to her feet, "now we just need to..." his words came to a halt as he felt a small pinch on his neck and he flinched. "A piece of her jewelry must have caught my skin" he thought as she quickly moved away from him. He was about to explain when he saw that he hadn't been pinched at all. No, he had been pricked by a needle of some kind. A needle attached to the ring the woman wore.

Legolas' hand immediately lifted to his neck as he looked at the women with utter confusion. She was smirking at him; all evidence of upset gone from her features as she covered the needle on her ring with a small red stone. Legolas felt his pulse begin to race faster and faster as he started to realize that he had been deceived by this woman; but for the life of him he could not figure out why.

"What... what was..?" it was difficult to formulate words and Legolas' head suddenly felt cloudy. His breath was coming short as well. "What... did you...do?"

"Poison" was her answer, and she provided it with a smirk that sent a shiver down Legolas' spine.

"Poison?" Legolas' mind was reeling. His whole body was feeling heavy as he immediately tried to make for the door. His vision was getting blurry and the disorientation was getting worse with each passing second. He took a step, maybe two, before the woman positioned herself between him and the door and grabbed his arms to hold him still.

"Get away" he wanted to yell as he did his best to shove her off of him. She laughed at his attempt and he felt his legs giving out beneath him.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere" she assured with a cocky expression. "You've been dosed with enough toxins to take down a full sized warg."

Legolas was furious. Not only with the woman who had drugged him, but also with just how much it was affecting him. He was powerless as he felt her push down on his shoulders; a move that easily brought him down to his knees. He wanted to fight her, to force his way past her but his body was giving out. The dangerous reality of his situation was hitting him; as he realized that even if he had a weapon on him right now, his body was too weak for it to be of any use. He felt himself lower completely to the floor, and he was aware of how she adjusted his fall so that he now lay on his back looking up at her.

"There, that's better" she said as she huddled over him. "There's no use in fighting it."

"Why?" It was the only word he could muster as his body started to shake ad his vision started to get darker.

Her smile grew. "Because Aragorn has two loves in his life. His beloved wife and his best friend...his brother." Her answer startled him as he stared up at her with uncertainty. Legolas wanted to cringe as she leaned down close and cupped his face with her palm. "You may not be as beautiful as the Elven Queen" she began purringly, "but sweet Valar, you're close."

Legolas felt consciousness slipping away, but he tried to fight it as he attempted to make sense of what she was saying to him. "Aragorn" was all he could say before she cut him off.

"Yes, Aragorn. Brand his name into your mind and repeat it over and over again to yourself, Legolas, because everything that is about to happen to you is his fault."

"Legolas!"

The woman froze and Legolas eyes widened as he recognized the voice that called out to him from outside the room. It was the voice of Gimli, and the dwarf seemed to be a little ways down the hall. His friend was looking for him. Hope stirred in his chest, and it provided just enough adrenaline for him to attempt to call out his friend's name.

"Gimli" he tried. However, his voice was muffled by the hand that immediately covered his lips. Panic started to set in as Legolas begged his hands to find enough strength to push the woman's palm away from his mouth. His friend was so close. So close. He just had to do something, anything, to let the dwarf know that he was in here and that he needed help. Yet, as much as he tried, the poison was too strong and Legolas felt his arms fall to his sides. His body had given up on him and as he heard the voice of Gimli get further and further away a single tear escaped his eyes as they drifted shut.

Nilla allowed the breath she was holding to escape when she felt the elf go limp under her hand. She looked down and saw that his eyes were closed. Gingerly she removed her hand from his mouth, stood up, and peered out the door to see if the dwarf was still close by. To her delight, he was nowhere to be seen.

"That was close" she whispered to the unconscious form of Legolas. "All it would have taken is for him to have checked this room and everything would have been ruined. Won't he hate himself if he ever finds that out?" She laughed, feeling quite proud of herself as a hidden door on the other side of the room opened and she was suddenly joined by Kalu and his men.

"Right on time" she applauded.

Kalu was about to shoot her a brash reply when he spotted the form laying at her feet.

"This was not part of the plan."

"This is the new plan" Nilla stated coldly. "Now do as we agreed and take him away."

Kalu hesitated. He didn't like this new plan at all. Neither did his men. "I knew you were crazy, but this is suicidal. He's going to be harder to control, and if he gets away..."

Nilla was not impressed. "You don't have to be afraid of him," she insisted with a cocky smirk that Kalu wanted to slap off of her. "He's unconscious for crying out loud."

Not that he would ever admit it, but Kalu was afraid. He had seen this elf in combat. He knew he was strong, and could defend himself against a large number. Whatever poison she had used on him must have been extremely strong to affect him so quickly. But would she have enough to keep him from becoming a threat? And while he wanted to argue this, he could tell that it would get them nowhere. Nilla was dead set on this, and they didn't really have time to fight about it. Soon enough Legolas' friends were going to come looking for him, and he did not want to get caught with the elf in this state.

"Fine" he replied curtly to her before turning to his men. "Tie the elf's feet and arms. And gag him too."

Nilla shook her head. "He'll be out for nearly a day" she insisted, "there is no need for that."

Kalu looked her dead in the eyes as his men bound the elven prince. "Like I said before, if there are any mistakes in this plan of yours, they won't come from our end."

To be continued...

Author's Note: Well there you have it. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I made it a bit longer than I originally planned, but I'm pretty happy with how and where I ended it. Please let me know what you think by leaving me a review. The next chapter will be up soon. Thanks again for reading! I really appreciate it.

Messages to reviewers:

Lemonbread: As you can see, lucky for Nilla, she was able to make it work. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for the review.

ElvesAreEpic: Thank you very much! I hope the suspense didn't cause you too much harm.

MaidMarian17: Thanks a bunch! I hope you liked the twins in this chapter. And don't worry; they won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

robinsmum: Thank you! I really appreciate your comment. I hope you enjoyed the chapter