�They�re all empty,� Legolas said in despair. �Come, there�s still more yet that we haven�t checked.� �I think it�s time we tell the king that his son is dead.� Legolas and Elrohir exchanged panicked glances. �Quick,� Elrohir said, pushing Legolas into an empty cell. �Melkor take it all�� Legolas flung himself to the ground, pulling Elrohir with him to avoid being seen. �I think he has,� Elrohir mumbled in response to Legolas� curse. �Don�t think. Clear your mind. No thoughts. Not about this. Think about your father. No, think about food. Think about how hungry you are.� The last thing Legolas wanted was for Orophir to know where they were because he own thoughts gave them away. It was then that he noticed a door at the back of the cell. A moment of triumph shone briefly before Legolas realized what it meant. They entered the wrong cell for hiding. �Stand up,� Legolas whispered. �Why?� �They�re coming in here anyway. Stand up and meet them like true warriors.� Elrohir nodded, still not understanding, and the two elves stood gracefully to their feet. Orophir, Tarduain, and three elves unfamiliar to Legolas stopped dead at the door of the cell. �Are you hungry, Legolas?� Orophir asked, a small smile playing on his lips. Legolas held his peace. To the prince�s surprise, his grandfather advanced on him with lightening speed, and threw him roughly to the ground. �Get up,� he growled. Legolas stumbled to his feet as a wave of pain took over his body. He was certainly not ready for any more punishment to his body. Elrohir stood a little ways away from Legolas, fighting the three elves and Tarduain. They were quickly subduing him. Legolas gasped suddenly as his body hit the wall. He closed his eyes in pain. �Fight me, you cowardly brat!� Anger accented his grandfather�s words. �Your father may have spoiled you endlessly, but in the real world, things don�t always go the way you want them to. Fight me!� Legolas shook his head, fighting the pain that his body could barely endure. He would not fight his grandfather. Thranduil had raised him better than that. �Your father fought me.� Legolas clenched his fists against the wall that now supported him. He would not listen to this. �You�ll die, just like he did: on your knees, begging for mercy!� �Liar,� Legolas whispered. A heavy silence followed. �What did you say?� Legolas was seized by pure rage. �I said hat you are a liar! My father did not die. If he had, he would not have been begging for your mercy! He was far nobler than that!� A well placed blow landed in the prince�s ribs. Legolas was painfully reminded that they were still broken. He cried out as his old injuries burned. Thranduil�s eyes popped open. There was no mistaking it, he had heard his son scream. So it was Legolas in the next room, fighting his own father. Legolas was alive. �Fight me!� The words rang dully through the stone walls. His own son was in the very next room, and he was powerless to help him! �Fight back, Legolas, please�� he tried to will the thought through the walls. Legolas doubled over, pain overwhelming him. �Get up, prince.� Orophir spat the title out as a slur. Legolas did not move. �No? You won�t fight? What if I gave you your knives back?� Legolas raised his eyes to meet those of his grandfather. �You heard me. I�ll give you your knives back, and we�ll duel.� Legolas looked to Elrohir, still being held back. They shared the same thought: the elder elf had lost his mind. Legolas weighed the idea of a duel in his head. He didn�t want to fight his grandfather, but it had come to self-preservation. If he didn�t fight, he would surely die. Elrohir too would die. He wouldn�t be able to rescue his father, and Mirkwood would fall to ruins. It was his duty as a prince to fight. Elrohir could see the prince�s mind spinning. He saw Legolas� logic in his eyes, and smiled a bit as Legolas slowly nodded his head. Orophir smiled, pulling two long blades from his belt and sliding them across the floor to Legolas. Legolas gripped his knives tightly, his injured arm protesting slightly. He refused to make the first move, but once his grandfather attacked, it was fair game. He ducked as Orophir lunged. He then spun away from the next blow, only to stop short as he had to knock away another blow. It became clear that Orophir knew what he was doing, and he was doing it well. Elrohir noticed a change in Legolas at that moment. He abandoned his defensive nature, delivering his own blows instead of just blocking. �You fight well,� the older elf commented in a would-be lazy manner. �I taught you well.� �You didn�t teach me everything I know,� Legolas ground out through gritted teeth. He was far more scared than he would admit to, and his body hurt far too much for the strain Legolas was putting on it. �Indeed. I didn�t teach you everything I know, either, for which I am very glad. If I had, you might be a match for me.� Legolas leapt forward in attack- exactly as Orophir had planned. Legolas spun, barely missing the blade waiting for him. Another slash appeared in front of him. He stumbled backwards to avoid it just as Orophir moved forward to meet him. For one fleeting moment, Legolas had thought he might have a chance. Then, a blade came to rest on his throat. The prince did not know where the other one was. �It seems,� Orophir whispered delightfully, �that you have lost.� Elrohir caught Legolas� eye. There was a great panic resting there. �Do it,� he willed. �Do it.� Legolas knew he had a way out of this. He had been in this situation before, and escaped it before. But he couldn�t bring himself to do what needed to be done. Brilliant pain erupted from his stomach as metal was driven into it. Legolas was barely aware of Elrohir calling his name. The world moved in slow motion as he thrust one of his own blades back. He turned quickly to catch his grandfather and lower him gently to the ground. �I am so sorry,� he whispered. One hand moved subconsciously to his own wound. �Don�t be,� the man grabbed hold of his knives again and drove one into Legolas� right shoulder. Legolas was shocked. The two elves locked eyes, and Legolas could see a second of regret in his grandfather�s. Then it was gone, the elf smiled wickedly, and twisted the blade before pulling it out. Legolas slumped forward, trying to ward off the pain. His grandfather attacked relentlessly. He was calculating his moves very carefully. He also knew that Legolas was quickly losing energy and would spend what was left of it on blocking; he wouldn�t attack. Legolas dropped the blade in his right hand and held it to his stomach. Things had gone from bad to worse very quickly. He cringed as another blow went un-blocked at met his forearm. �It would be so much easier to just� quit. And sleep.� Legolas shook himself, mentally. �You are a prince, Legolas. You do not quit. You do not take the easy way out. Your father taught you better than that.� �That�s right, Legolas. Even now your father�s approval means more than your own life.� In one last desperate move, Legolas threw his blade away from him, towards his attacker. In seconds, the elf fell, dead. One of the three guards left Elrohir and moved towards Legolas. The prince steadied himself on the wall. Reaching out a hand, he stopped the guard. �He is not your king. You are in Lord Thranduil�s land. You will break no more of our laws. You will take this man up to the guards that you will find at the top of the stairwell. You will release the elf you now have.� |
| Chapter 9 Go to Chapter 10 |