A/N Well, Legolas is back in this chapter, for a short moment, just as you all wanted. :) Thank you all so very much for all your lovely reviews. They make my day! :)

Disclaimer: not mine.

Chapter Four

Legolas was lost, lost in the neverending darkness. That was all he knew as the days and the nights blended into one seemingly endless round. He hated it. Hated it more than his tormentors, more than pain that seemed to be fused into his very being and, if it was possible, more than the being underground. All he wanted was to have even a glimmer of light, even it was just a the seize of a thumbnail, he would take it.

If he had just a little light, then he knew that he would last until Aragorn came. And Aragorn was coming, he was as sure of that as he was of his own name. The man would figure out what had happened, he just had to give him time. Once the king did, then Legolas knew that he would search high and low for him. He wouldn't stop.

Picturing the man's face in the darkness, the elf relaxed back in his chains that held him securely against any attempt of escape he had tried and closed his eyes as he concentrated on nothing but his friend. The pain and cold that he was suffering from bled off into the back of his mind. His eyes began to drop lower, and lower. It wasn't long until Legolas lost hold of the small thread he had on consciousness and his head sagged forward to rest against his chest.

The elf was no healer. He didn't know that his heart was pounding far to fast for its own good. He didn't know that his temperature had also dropped low enough to be a major concern, or that his skin had taken a deadly ashen color to it. He didn't recognize the blue color of his fingers or significance of the fact that he had lost feeling in them long ago. He didn't realize that the water around him was stained pink form his blood.

He didn't comprehend the fact that he was edging ever closer to death. He was holding so fast to his belief that Aragorn would find him and save him that he couldn't see that he might not be around that much longer for Aragorn to save.

NOFINERFRIENDS

The rain that had been threatening overhead for the past, miserable, week was finally been let loose and poured down in a thick sheet. It was the eighth day of Aragorn's search and his spirits where low. In fact, they were almost none existent.

The man glared up darkly at the sky, wondering if the elements had simply decided to add to his misery, just for the fun of it. A soft cough to his left his left made the king twist in the saddle, turning to face Faramir who was riding next to him.

"Aragorn," the other man started off loudly to be heard over the storm. "We should seek shelter before the weather gets any worse!"

The king heaved a breath, gazing out at the empty landscape as the cold rain began to dampen his tunic, having soaked through his coat. Legolas was out there somewhere…

Faramir nudged him back to reality as he touched his shoulder gently, his own eyes caring their sorrow.

"Send a scout out and see what he can find," Aragorn replied dully, raising his voice to be heard over a clap of thunder. One of the soldiers from behind him heard the words and spoke up, riding forward to be on the other side of the king as he spoke, "My cousin lives not too far from here, I am sure that he would be delighted, or at least willing, to give us shelter for the night as well as a warm meal."

Aragorn nodded slowly, pushing his soaked hair out of his eyes. "We would very much appreciate that. Ride on ahead and give them warning."

As they rode through the thickening rain, Faramir watched his king, but more importantly friend, carefully. Aragorn was weighed down by the arduous burden of hopelessness that caused the normally proud and straight shoulders to slump and the depressed gleam to enter his bright eyes.

Reaching out, he placed a hand on his lieges shoulder and whispered soft enough for only the man to hear, "Don't give up hope. We are doing all we can to find Legolas, as are the elves."

Aragorn snorted, turning to face away from his steward.

"There was never any real hope of finding him, not after a month," he said in an oddly chocked voice. "Any clues of what could have happened to him have long since been erased by Mother Nature. They only way we will finding him is if we happened to stumble across his dead body."

"Legolas is resourceful, he can look after himself," Faramir encouraged after a moment of stunned silence. He had never seen his friend like this, and it scared him. Aragorn still wouldn't turn to look at him and the younger man sighed.

Suddenly Aragorn's horse, lifted his head excitedly, a low nicker leaving its mouth. Aragorn reached down subconsciously and patting the warm neck, still lost in his own thoughts. Up ahead, however, came a sound that jolted the man through the core as an achingly familiar sounding horse replied to his.

"I know that horse," Aragorn whispered, allowing the anima to jump forward anxiously, his own face full of disbelief. Faramir quickly kicked his own horse, Daisy, into a run to keep with his liege as he tried to quell the rising storm of hope in his chest. It was impossible, after all, wasn't it?

The two rounded the bend, followed by the other warriors, and abruptly pulled up to a stop. Before them was a shabby, but well kept, cottage with small family of five hurriedly trying to prepare for the unexpected visit from their King.

When they caught sight of their lord, the father and mother immediately dropped to deep bows, the mother motioning for the children to do the same.

"There is no need for that," Aragorn said softly, his eyes searching the nearby land, looking for Legolas' beautiful white horse who he could have sworn he had heard. "Please rise."

"Thank you, my lord, for gracing us with your presence at our most humble home," the patriarch of the family murmured, a plain man in even plainer clothes. "My wife is willing to fix a warm meal for you if you wish to wait. We had very little time to prepare…"

Aragorn swung off his horse, landing on the ground with a squelch as mud went spraying up to splatter his boots. Turning to face the farmer, he asked, "Do you have a horse here?"

The man looked confused, first glancing around the king and at his horse, before looking back to his wife and cousin for help.

"No, my lord, we don't own a horse," he said nervously, "We have a mule and a cow…" Aragorn shook his head, repeating his question. The man nodded slowly in answer, "We did find a horse, about a month ago. I was one a week long trip and found him out there alone and uncared for. No one ever came to claim him, so he has been staying with us."

"Where are you keeping this horse?" Aragorn inquired, gesturing for the man to lead the way. Glancing back, he called over his shoulder, "Men, take advantage of the warmth of fire while you can. And be on your best behavior." Most of the men began to dismount and tie their horses to a nearby tree, feeding them before shuffling towards the house. Faramir, however, followed Aragorn through the rain and into an old, leaky, building that passed for a barn.

Inside stood Legolas' beautiful mare, tethered to a post like a common work animal, next to the cow and mule. The king stopped dead in his tracks and Faramir walked into him.

"Arod," Aragorn whispered as the horse let out an excited whinny and moved forward, straining against her restraint. Hurrying forward, the ranger unknotted the rope, letting her dig her nose into his shoulder. "Where is your master?" he asked the horse softly, rubbing at her soft ears.

"I swear I didn't steal her!" the peasant man defended, holding his hands up. Stealing was not tolerated in Aragorn's kingdom, and he was suddenly fearful of being pulled into something that he wasn't part of. Little did he know, however, that Arod would have escaped long ago if he had stolen him, or he would have gone wild over finding Aragorn, trying to warn him that something was wrong. The fact that she merely stood still, ears flickering back and forth, was a good sign for the farmer.

Aragorn turned to him, smiling gently to put him at ease as he replied, "I know you did not. In fact, I am in your debt for caring for Arod." Pausing, he took a breath and the smile slipped off his face. "You are sure you don't know anything at all about his master? He was an elf, golden hair…blue eyes, and dressed in green and brown. Tall."

The man shook his head, but went to retrieve a bag hanging from a nail, explaining as he did so, "This was on her," his voice dripping with relief that he wasn't about to punished for supposedly stealing. Aragorn took the bag eagerly and snapped it open only to look almost instantly back up at Faramir.

"It is Legolas'," he said, as though there had been any doubt that it was. Turning back to the farmer, he offered his thanks once more, before they all returned to the house.

Late that night, Aragorn remained awake and sitting at the small table. His eyes reflected the smoldering fire as he stared into his depths. The farmer had said that he had found Arod in the lower levels of the city. That made no sense whatsoever, for that would mean that Legolas was still in the city when he had disappeared. Yet, Arod would have surely caused a ruckus if Legolas had been in trouble, yet the farmer had said that the horse had appeared as if it had been merely waiting. The only thing he could come up with was that Legolas had told Arod to say put, but why?

It didn't make any sense. Shaking his head, the king leaned back and drew a long puff on his pipe. Maybe... maybe they had been looking the wrong direction all along. What if Legolas had never left the city, what if he was still there. Rising to his feet, Aragorn began to pace as his energy spiked. The city was the next place to start, for that was were it had all began.

The storm eased its fury over the night and Aragorn and his men left the house in good spirits the next morning, Arod in tow. Before he mounted, the king pressed a hefty bag of gold onto the farmer, "For taking care of Arod and giving us shelter," he insisted despite the man's protest.

NOFINERFRIENDS

Aragorn and the men of Gondor rode hard and fast the next day, pushing themselves and their horses to the limit. But night was descending when they at last rode through the high gates of Minas Tirith.

"Do you want me to walk up with you?" Faramir asked after they had taken care of their horses. They had all agreed that once dawn hit the next morning that they would be scouring Minas Tirith from top to bottom, but that for the moment they all needed to sleep. It was already late into the night and most of the lights in windows had been dosed and Aragorn saw a few more go out before he answered.

"You have Éowyn to go to. I'll be fine," he said wearily. Faramir nodded and they gave each a faint smile before turning in different directions to find their wives.

As Aragorn walked heavily up the steps that lead to his private rooms, a bundle of energy came running out to meet him, gripping him tightly around his legs.

"Ada! Your home! Is Uncle Legolas with you? Mommy said that he might be. Did you know…" Eldarion continued to rattle on, but Aragorn stopped paying attention. Reaching down, he scooped his child up and hugged him close to his chest, finding comfort in the small body as he buried his face into his shoulder's. He had failed Legolas, and Eldarion would be so devastated if Legolas was never to return...

"Daddy?" the young boy asked, "Ada?" he said louder when Aragorn didn't respond and only clutched him tighter, unable to find the words to explain his feelings.

"Aragorn? Aragorn, is that you?" Arwen's gentle voice called and from the corner of his eye the man caught sight of her outline, framed by the inside candles. And then she was next to him, wrapping her arms around him while laying her head on his shoulder. The family of three stood there together with the parents drawing strength from each other while Eldarion remained oblivious to the situation.

"Ada! What is going on?" the boy finally burst out, struggling to free himself from his father's tight grip.

"Uncle Legolas was unable to come." Arwen spoke for her husband, her own voice low with grief. Her unspoken questions were clear and Aragorn took a shaky breath before releasing Eldarion and setting him down.

"We think that he is in the city somewhere," he said softly, rubbing at his brow tiredly. "We know for a fact that whatever happened to him, happened here in Minas Tirith and assuredly on the same day that he left. He never made it out, Arwen. He never left and I didn't know."

"How could you have?" she instantly defended, but Aragorn only shook his head and made for the door.

"I'm going to see if anything strange or unusual was reported in the past month, go ahead and go to bed. I don't know how late I'll be." Arwen frowned at his back, but she knew full well that Aragorn wouldn't think of himself until Legolas had been found.

"Where is Daddy going?" Eldarion asked, tugging on her dress. Arwen sighed and leaned down so that they were face to face.

"Ada is trying to find information about where Uncle Legolas went. But it is long past your bed time." She went to pick him up, but the boy pushed her hands away.

"What kind of info…info,"

"—Information—"

"Does Ada need about Uncle Legolas?" The small boy had his face screwed up, thinking hard.

"I don't know. Anything, I suppose." She sighed, but smiled reassuringly at him, before standing and taking his small hand.

"Like a letter?"Eldarion voice was quiet, but there was a deadly seriousness to it that wasn't often there.

"Why?" she asked, looking down at him quizzically.

"A man gave me a letter a few days ago. He said that it was about Uncle Legolas."

"What do you mean? What man?!" Arwen asked sharply, stopping to stare at her young son. Eldarion's eyes grew wide at her tone,but before he could answer she raised her voice. "ARAGORN! I need you to hear this!"

The king who had disappeared from into the rooms appeared moments later looking ruffled and fearful, but before he could open his mouth, Arwen spoke.

"Eldarion said that a man approached him about Leoglas."

"When did this happen?!" Aragorn demanded, looking from his wife to his son. He crossed over to Eldarion and knelt in front of him, his eyes suddenly blazing as the weariness vanished.

"I- I don't who it was…" Eldarion whispered as he shrunk back, fearing he had done something wrong, "He just said that you would want it, and that it was about my Uncle." Aragorn gripped him tightly by the shoulders, his fingers digging into his flesh.

"Ada, st-"

"What did he say, Eldarion, I need the exact words. How did you meet him?!" He ordered in a harsh tone, his excitement and worry getting the better of him.

Eldarion began to whimper, his unease growing.

"I was just playing in the garden," he insisted, tears now pooling in his grey eyes. He snuffled loudly and looked up at his mother. When she nodded her encouragement, he continued, "He just s-stopped me and told me that Uncle Legolas would be coming home. He gave me a-a l-letter." Low sobs shook his body and he tried to pull away from Aragorn, whose face had lost all color.

"A letter! Where is the letter!" the man cried, the volume of his voice rising dramatically. When Eldarion didn't respond, only crying harder and wiping at his face with a grubby hand, Aragorn shook him urgently. "Tell me!" he nearly shouted, his emotions running out of control.

"Aragorn!" Arwen snapped harshly, her own face one of shock. Bending down she snatched her son free of her husband and bundled him up in her arms. Glaring reproachfully at Aragorn, who had the grace to look ashamed, she shushed her child softly. Eldarion was now crying raggedly and clutching at his mother. He didn't know what was happening. All he knew was that he seemed to be in some sort of trouble and that his daddy was mad.

"Let us take this conversation inside," Aragorn said after a minute, his voice back to normal and much calmer than before. Fear was still lanced through it. Closing the door behind him, Aragorn turned to face his son, who was still nestled tightly against Arwen.

"A man gave you a letter, correct?" he asked with forced calm. In reality, his heart was pounding so hard that it was hindering his breathing. Eldarion nodded mutely, before turning and burying his face in his mother's chest.

"Can I see it?" Aragorn asked gently.

Arwen hugged her baby closer to her heart, but added her plea as well, "It is very important that Ada sees the letter."

Eldarion looked up, before drawing closer and whispering, "It is in my room."

"Stay here, I will be right back," Aragorn commanded, springing to the door once more. Racing down the hallway, he slammed into the door of his son's room and stumbled in, the door banging off the opposite wall.

He didn't know where to look, the man realized, as he stopped abruptly and stood there with his hands on his hips. Where would a boy put something that he wanted to keep secure?

Crossing to the dresser, Aragorn pulled draw after draw out, dumping their contents on the ground as he searched for the letter. When this didn't yield any results he dropped to his stomach and began to inch under the bed.

Nothing of importance was under there, although he did find several of the boys missing toys, and he scooted back out. Dust and bits of fluff covered his dark hair and torso, but he didn't pay it any attention as he stood and picked his way through the now messy room to the closet. Ruffling through his son's clothes, he turned out all the pockets, his frown growing.

Finally, though, he saw it. Lying in the corner of the closet, carelessly tossed aside, was a yellowing envelope. His name was written in red ink with obviously faked handwriting in the center. Dropping to his knees with a cry, Aragorn grabbed it with shaky fingers and slit it open, his eyes flashing across the paper as he read.

It has come to our attention that you seem to have lost something you dearly love. We may just have that which you lost, but, rather unfortunately, its care has cost us greatly. 1,000 coins in gold…or else that which you love will have to be disposed of.

The fifth day of the new month, in Dead Man's gorge. Leave the money on the large rock that sits in the center by dawn. The elf will be left in its stead. If any of your men stay, the elf will be killed on the spot. This is your last chance to see your friend; you had better take advantage of it.

Below the letter was a large splatter of dry and congaed blood forming in the shape of a seal that Aragorn didn't know.

Sitting back on his heels, the man was threatened to be violently ill. Tonight was the night of the fifth. They had less than seven hours to gather the money, make the hour ride to Dead Man's gorge, and at least start back…Aragorn stood shakily, holding to the wooden frame for support. Legolas was going to die unless they came up with a plan and fast.

TBC...

Uh-oh... Well, actually, you guys are use to Legolas almost dying so I am sure that this is nothing new to you. ;)

Review Replies:

LOTCR: Haha! Of course you got them! They underestimated the power of a fan girl, and now they will pay the price. :) Now you have Aragorn on the right path! Good for you! He really, really, shouldn't be surprised after all. :) *accepts offering* I will indeed take and enjoy! Thanks so much!

Bella: Why isn't "Merlin" still around? *sigh* Well, they are still looking for Legolas, though methinks that they are slowly getting closer. :) I love whump as well, and h/c both are extremely fabulous! At least you now know what happened to the horse! Ah, yes, my arch enemy: spelling. One day, one day I will gain the upper hand against it...but it is not this day. Thank goodness that spell check catches most things. ;) Thanks!

Guest: I will indeed have a new chapter every week! Every Friday you can look forward to an update from me, unless something happens, but that is rare. :) Thanks!