| Part 3 Go on to part 4 |
Days passed slowly for the prince. In some ways he was partially grateful that he had not seen Arwen about. He didn�t want to have to deny her a glance. Legolas looked up as a guard opened the cell door, pulling the prince out of his thoughts yet again. �The king requests your services in the Great Hall.� �Wonderful,� Legolas mumbled. It went unheard. The king met him outside the Great Hall, releasing the guard that had led the elven prince. �I am having guests tonight. You will serve us. If you embarrass or disgrace me in any way, I will have you both beaten to within an inch of your lives. Understood?� Legolas nodded. He knew full well whom else the king was talking about. He would not let her be hurt, much less be the cause of her pain. Legolas was now standing in a far corner of the dining hall, letting his keen ears eavesdrop on the king and his guests. The point of being in the corner was so that he was available when needed, and yet far enough away so as not to hear the dinner conversation. The human had overlooked the elves� heightened senses, and Legolas was not about to remind him of the fact. �Of course the plan is going well,� The king stated, looking at a small man with dirty hair and black, beady eyes. �Boy, more wine,� Legolas heeded the request. �Where�d you get him?� A larger man with brown eyes and a stocky body asked in an amused tone. The king smiled. �Found him wandering around the forest. There was a girl with him.� Legolas held his tongue. He had not been wandering the forest� �Was she elven too?� Yet another joined the conversation. Legolas cared not to look at this one, tired of the many different faces gawking at him. �She was.� �I should like to see her.� �Now now, we don�t want to frighten her, do we?� Most of the men at the table laughed at this small insult. Legolas found himself biting his lip as he filled more glasses with wine. �How much would you sell this one for?� Legolas fought not to say something as a man�s hand touched his arm in awe. His hand was shaking, and he had to fight not to spill the wine. �I wouldn�t sell this one, nor the girl with him. I enjoy their company too much. Do none of you recognize him?� Legolas closed his eyes for a brief moment, checking his anger. So what if all these men were about to learn of his lineage? It would not make a difference at this point. �No? I�m surprised. He is none other than the Prince of Mirkwood, Legless Greenleaf.� �My name is Laegolas.� The prince spoke quietly and with great care. His anger caused him to pronounce his name, as even his own family did not, for it was proper. Tension rose at the table, each man wondering how the king would respond. It was improper for a slave to correct his master. �Same difference, boy.� The table laughed off the situation, and Legolas was left to stew in his anger. He faltered slightly, the wine bottle shaking violently in his hand. The anger in itself irritated Legolas, for he was not easily aggravated. �You have a prince as your servant? I must admit, I am impressed.� Legolas left for his corner again. He looked at each man, now being able to put a name with the face. There was, of course, the king. On his left sat the beady-eyed man, Darderwin. Then came the brown eyed Gustain, a tall man named Miftun, Palpanine, Hadnon, and finally, on the king�s right, another tall man, Enimodel. The names blurred into one, then the faces. All except Enimodel. There was something distinguishing him from the rest and his eyes alone remained on Legolas. The door opened at the other end of the hall, and Legolas� attention was drawn to it. Arwen entered, dawning a crimson dress made for a princess. Her beauty awed Legolas, as it had when they first met. She looked in his direction, but the prince quickly dropped his eyes. Arwen had not the time to wonder at this act. She walked swiftly to the king�s side, dropping to her knees. �Rise, child.� The king said softly. �Please, take a seat.� It was then that Legolas noticed Enimodel was not on the king�s right, as that seat had been left empty. Arwen now sat in it. Legolas tried to keep his face blank, expressionless. He was doing poorly, and the king was taking great pleasure in it. �Gentlemen, may I introduce Arwen, Princess of Rivendell.� No one at the table said anything in response. Arwen smiled humbly at the their stares, meeting none of their eyes. �Legolas,� the king said with a hint of taunting cruelty in his voice. �Some wine for the lady?� The girl�s eyes darted towards Legolas, then to the king. �No, it�s all right, I�� but she let her voice trail off as Legolas began pouring wine into her glass. She watched him carefully, taking note of the anger in his eyes. He did not look at her. As he began to pull away, she softly laid her hand on his. Legolas paused. It took everything he had not to look at her, but he kept his eyes down. �Legolas,� she whispered, quietly enough so that none but Legolas heard it. She was terrified that his anger was directed at her, though none of this was her doing. This time, the prince did look up, but only to shoot daggers at the king with his eyes. The man smiled in response. Legolas kept careful watch over the girl, his protective nature fighting to stay at bay. He noticed how she barely sipped her wine, and did not eat a thing. He also noticed how conversation at the table grew quieter since the girl�s arrival, so that he himself could only pick out select words. Finally, every man at the table stood, followed by Arwen. Legolas narrowed his eyes a bit. She was smiling politely as the men left for their quarters. At last, it was only the king, Arwen, and Legolas left in the vast room. �Ah, my sweet,� the king said, making sure the elf in the corner could hear him, �you�re quite the actress, aren�t you? For that, I am glad.� A great sadness filled Arwen�s eyes, showing how she had been feeling throughout the dinner. �Though,� he added, placing a hand to her cheek, �I do wonder why you were late.� Legolas gripped at the wall behind to keep from lunging towards the king. How dare he touch her. The prince was livid and trying very hard not to show it. �I am sorry, my lord. It was unavoidable.� No! Why did she use such formality when addressing him? Why did refer to him as having superiority over her? It wasn�t supposed to be like this! �I should hope so. Go back to your chamber, I will meet you later.� Arwen nodded, not bothering to steal another glance at Legolas. She couldn�t bear the pain that his downcast eyes brought to her. The king turned to Legolas when Arwen was gone. �That was fun, wasn�t it?� �Can�t you see the amused look on my face?� �Do not get smart with me, boy. Go, leave my presence.� �Yes, sir,� Legolas replied with heavy sarcasm as he walked away. �Legolas,� someone caught the prince�s arm as he made his way to the courtyard. As soon as he saw whom, his eyes dropped. �Please, I don�t understand. Are you angry at me?� Arwen�s soft voice was filled with concern. Legolas, keeping his eyes on the ground, shook his head. �Then why won�t you speak to me?� Legolas could do nothing. There was no body gesture he could make to tell her how he was feeling. No way to tell her of his restriction, no way to tell her he loved her. He could not even communicate it through his thoughts, for she unknowingly blocked him out every time he tried. �If this about dinner tonight� I� I can explain that. I didn�t want to be there. I haven�t given in! I still have hope that you and I will make it out of this!� There was no response. Legolas had come up with several theories concerning the dinner, but none of it mattered. �Or how I�ve been treating you? It�s not your fault. I�m trying so hard not to be frightened, because I love you. You know that, don�t you?� There was still no response. He knew it wasn�t her fault. It was the king�s. She didn�t trust him anymore, and it was all the king�s fault. �Please, say something!� Her voice had changed. Legolas knew she was crying, and he could do nothing to comfort her. He could fight it no longer, but finally looked deep into her imploring eyes. A mistake he regretted immediately. He shook his head again, turning away from her. He walked towards the library, since she was blocking his path to the courtyard. She did not try to stop him. She saw everything she needed in his eyes. She knew something was desperately wrong. �Now what?� Legolas thought. He didn�t really want to go to the library. He wanted to go home. But that wasn�t going to happen. He began to doubt whether he would ever see the forests of Mirkwood again. Before he knew it, he was at the oak doors before the library. He was here; he might as well go in. �Interesting that you�re here.� The king�s voice reached Legolas� ears before the doors had closed behind him. He had no response, other than: �I�ve never felt this way towards someone before. It�s akin to a fire within my body, rage that I cannot express. Every part of me would like nothing more than to see your demise. She thinks I am angry with her. I cannot even tell her otherwise?� �Seems as though you did tonight, did you not?� �I told her nothing.� Panic began to rise in the prince, wondering if the king did indeed know. �Indeed. Not with words. You did break a command though. Can you tell me you didn�t?� �Curse my honesty,� Legolas thought, remaining silent and casting his eyes to the ground. A soft chuckle came from the king. Legolas had to restrain himself from lunging forward. He suddenly realized the king was walking away from him. �Where are you going?� �Who are you to ask me questions of such nature?� �I am royalty as well. I have my rights.� �Your stature means nothing here.� The king turned to the courtyard. Suddenly, Legolas panicked. He was looking for Arwen. He broke into a run, quickly over taking the king, who only watched with amusement. Legolas was relieved that he could not find her in the open courtyard; it gave him more time to get her out of the king�s reach. He navigated his way quickly through the hallways of the castle until he came to her room. He didn�t knock, but quietly closed the door behind him. �Come, Arwen. We are leaving right now.� There was no love or sympathy or kindness in his voice, only a strict urgency. She did not hesitate to follow him. �Whatever happens, my love, do not let go of my hand,� Legolas said as he intertwined fingers with her. She nodded, following him down the hallway. They did not go far before they heard at least a dozen men running towards them. Legolas pulled his beloved into an empty room. �It�ll be our heads if they escape.� �Quit mumbling. They couldn�t have gotten far.� A battle of logic took place in Legolas� mind. The guards obviously knew that they were trying to escape, so they would be running towards the exit. Follow them, and risk being caught, or run the other way and look for another exit? Legolas did not say a word, quickly leaving the room for the hallway again. He would follow them. �Legolas�� �Shh, quiet, Arwen.� The girl nodded, a gesture unnoticed by the prince. Legolas slipped quietly into a narrower hallway, only to become aware of approaching footsteps in front of them. �Go,� he hissed, shoving Arwen in the direction they had come from. �No, they�re coming from there too.� The elf cursed, falling into his native tongue. He finally realized there was no way out, and cursed again for getting them into this situation. He finally pushed his companion into the wall, and covered her with his own body. Just seconds later, men were at him. They pulled at him, trying fruitlessly to get him away from the girl, but he would not move. After that, the resorted to inflicting pain. He took their blows without so much as a grimace; he would not let Arwen see him in pain. �Legolas,� she whispered in her own tongue, �The banquet tonight, it wasn�t of my choosing.� �Shh, it matters not.� Legolas gritted his teeth as he said this. Why was she saying this now? Finally, after Legolas thought he was numbed to the pain, a whip was brought across his back so rashly that he nearly passed out. The guards took this instant of weakness to pull the elven prince away, but Legolas was soon on his guard again. Using his free hand, for with the other he still held Arwen, he fought. The grip on his hand tightened, and he realized Arwen was fighting to stay near him. He abandoned fighting to get close to her, and the guards pulled at them all the harder. A sword hilt was brought down on the prince�s skull, and blackness claimed him. |