Title: Forgotten Allies
By: JMac
Rated: R
Feedback: legolasstory@yahoo.com



************************

"Every normal  man must be

tempted, at times, to spit on 

his hands, hoist the black flag

and begin slitting throats."


***********************

Chapter 18

Colin, Gandalf, Legolas, and Elrond were crouched in the alley across 
the street from the prison.  Legolas was preparing his bow.  Elrond and 
Gandalf were reviewing the floor plan that Colin had gotten for them.  
They knew only that Elladan and Elrohir had been seen in the hospital 
wing of the prison.  How accurate those reports were, they had no way 
of knowing.   

Colin shook his head at Legolas as he prepared his bow. 

"I can't believe you think those are any match for the snipers atop the 
roof of the prison,"  Colin said.  

Legolas said nothing, but continued with his work.  

"Have you ever seen an Elven archer at work?"  Elrond asked.

"Of course I haven't,"  Colin said. 

"Then do not be so quick to dole out judgments,"  Elrond said. 

From the cover of the alley, Legolas drew his bow and prepared to fire.   

When Gandalf gave the signal, Legolas fired one arrow.  From the roof, 
they saw the sniper slump silently from his post.  In quick succession, 
four more snipers fell, until the entire rooftop facing their side of the 
street was cleared. 

Elrond noticed Colin's speechless expression and smiled.  "Our 
weapons may look like relics to the untrained eye, but they are just as 
deadly as any bullet." 

Elrond handed out the Elven knives and daggers of varying size.  For 
the first time Colin truly believe his sister had a chance of escaping.  

Legolas gathered his daggers and sheathed them beneath his coat 
jacket.  Then he slung his bow over his shoulder.  Colin watched him, 
their eyes met.  "Bring my sister back,"  Colin said.  

"I will,"  Legolas said with such a certainty that Colin believed him.

"Listen. . . um. . .Kate wouldn't have let herself be captured if she 
didn't think it was worth it.  She's not the type of person who 
automatically trusts every one she meets.  You must mean a lot to 
her.  I should have respected that,"  Colin rambled.   "I. . . I guess all 
I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry, for what I said earlier.  I hope you'll 
accept my apology."

"There is nothing to forgive,"  Legolas said.  "Leaving her was the 
hardest thing I have ever done in my life."

"Did she really remind you that she was a Queen?"  Colin asked.

"She did,"  Legolas said.  "And listening to the strength of her words 
you would not have doubted her."  

Colin laughed.  "I don't doubt that."

"Are we ready?" Elrond asked.  Each of them nodded wordlessly.  

Legolas and Elrond approached the doors to the delivery entrance.  
The two soldiers that were posted at the guard room didn't see what 
hit them, as Legolas fired arrows into their chests.  While Legolas, 
Gandalf, and Colin stood outside the entrance, Elrond slipped inside.  
There was the sound of a scuffle and then all went silent.  The door 
opened and Elrond motioned that the coast was clear.  

Two more soldiers lay on the ground, dead.  Their throats slit, blood 
pooling around their heads. Colin and Gandalf stepped over them.  

"The hospital unit is on the far side,"  Colin said. 

"This stair well looks as good as any,"  Gandalf said to him.

"Lead the way,"  Colin said.  Gandalf and Colin gave a nod to Elrond 
and Legolas before disappearing up the stairs at a run.


************************************


Kate and Elrohir were curled up on the cot.  Elrohir had barely taken 
his arms from around her in the two days she had been there.  It was 
as if Elrohir thought he could keep the horrors of the prison away from 
her by holding her within his embrace.  And to Kate's surprise, for the 
most part it worked.  She didn't know whether it was the words of 
Elvish he sang almost continuously or the strength in his arms around 
her, but she felt stronger than she had since she arrived in France.
She wondered if it was some form of Elvish powers that Legolas had 
forgotten to mention.

But the security of the day was shattered when the cell door opened.  
Elrohir sprung to his feet, placing himself in between Kate and the 
door.  

Bernhardi and two Nazi guards stepped into the room.   Bernhardi's 
arm was in a sling.  He smiled at the two of them.

"It's good to see that you've settled in nicely together,"  Bernhardi 
said.

"What business you have here, take it with me.  Leave Kate out of 
this,"  Elrohir said.

Bernhardi smiled.  "You know that's impossible, Kate stole something 
of value to me and I need to ask her where it is.  It will only take a 
second of her time."

"I stole nothing from you,"  Kate said.  "We had a deal."

"Yes, but I wasn't aware of the value of the pendant until after our 
meeting.  You left quite abruptly,"  Bernhardi said.  He motioned to his 
guards.  They stepped forward and jabbed the butt of the rifle into 
Elrohir's stomach, knocking the wind from his lungs.  He fell back 
against the cot.  He was struggling to his feet, when Bernhardi said, 
"One more move and I shoot her."

Bernhardi had a gun pointed at Kate's head.  Elrohir's eyes caught 
hers but he did not move.  Bernhardi turned to Kate, "Tell me where 
the pendant is and I will let you go.  It's as easy as that."

"I--- I don't have it.  It could be in England by now for all I know,"  
Kate said.

Bernhardi pinned her roughly against the wall, pressing his arm 
against her throat.   "I don't particularly look forward to hurting you."

"You can hurt me all you like, I am telling you the truth,"  Kate said, 
struggling against his grasp. 

Bernhardi held her gaze but did not loosen his grip.  A grin spread 
across his face as he leaned down to her ear and whispered, "There 
are other ways besides violence to get you to talk."  His free hand 
wandered up the curves of her body, and he pressed his body against 
hers, parting her legs roughly with his knee.  "Perhaps this will be 
more to your liking?"

Kate closed her eyes.  In her mind she heard Elrohir's voice singing to 
her softly.

Across the room, Elrohir's body was a taut bow, ready to strike out.  
He surveyed the situation and was about to spring to action, damn the 
consequences, when an alarm sounded.  

Bernhardi immediately released Kate.  He turned to his guards giving 
them swift orders.  Before he closed the cell door behind him, he said, 
"We are not finished here."

Elrohir said a few choice words in Elvish to the closed door and 
approached Kate.  He examined her neck, massaging his fingers over 
it gently.

"You are tougher than you look, little one,"  Elrohir said.



******************************


Bernhardi rushed down the hall at a sprint.  One of his officers met 
him.  "Sir, we are under attack, the guards posted on the roof are 
dead, as are those in the side entrance."

"Start the evacuation plan,"  Bernhardi said.  "No one must escape."

"We will not be able to get enough trucks to transport all the 
prisoners,"  the guard said.

"Then kill the rest,"  Bernhardi said.  

The guard nodded.  


************************************

Gandalf and Colin were half way to the hospital unit when the alarm 
sounded.  

"We had better make this fast,"  Colin said.  

Gandalf nodded.  "I will take care of the guards, you look for the 
twins."

Colin nodded.  At the count of three, Gandalf opened the door of the 
hospital unit with a flurry of smoke.  One by one the guards fell.   
Gandalf snatched some keys from a fallen guard.  He tossed them to 
Colin.  Colin caught them on the run, and rushed down the corridor 
checking the cells.    

At the end of the hall, Colin found him.  Elladan was unharmed.  His 
long dark hair framed his face, and his eyes were filled with fury.  

"Colin!  It's about time you got here.  Get me out of this cell,"  Elladan 
said, as Colin fumbled with the locks. 

"Where's Elrohir?"  Colin asked.

"They have him down in the general lock up.  Due to his weakened 
state it is easier to move him without trouble than it is to move me,"  
Elladan said.  "I do not take to being moved by forced."

Gandalf joined them in the hall.  "If Elrohir is in general lock up, 
Legolas will find him.  We must get to the roof and keep the escape 
cleared."  Gandalf reached into his coat and handed Elladan a dagger.  
He took it in his hand eagerly, clearly enjoying the feeling of being 
armed.  

They dashed up the stairs. 


************************************


The prison courtyard was a flurry of activity.  A thousand things 
seemed to be happening at once.  Kate and Elrohir had been taken out 
of their cell and into an ever growing line of prisoners.  The guards 
were ushering dozens of prisoners into the backs of trucks, while all 
around them other prisoners were being executed.  Bodies littered the 
ground around her.    

Gun shots were coming from all sides.  Kate was prodded into a line of 
prisoners being lead into the back of a truck.  Her eyes scanned the 
roof tops for signs of what was happening but she saw nothing out of 
the ordinary. 

Kate stumbled as she was shoved towards the truck.  The guard that 
was behind her gave out a small cry and fell to the ground.  In the 
confusion that followed, she was pulled out of line and into a nearby 
stairwell.

"Listen to me very carefully,"  Elrohir said.  "Go back to your cell."

"What?"  Kate asked.

"Do it,"  Elrohir said.  "My father and the others will be looking for you 
in your cell.  It will be dangerous if they have to search the entire 
compound looking for you."

Kate nodded.  "What about you?"  she asked.

"I will do what I can to aid them.  Tell my father . . .."  Elrohir grinned.  
"Tell my father the Halls of Mandos will not be big enough to hold me 
for long."  Elrohir bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.  
"Go!"

Kate did not have a chance to protest before Elrohir rushed out the 
door of the stairwell and back into the madness.

********************************


Bernhardi ran into his office and flung open the gun cabinet behind his 
desk.  He grabbed a rifle and fumbled with the bullets.  With a loud 
clank, a sword came down millimeters from his fingers on the desk.  
Bernhardi froze in place.  Slowly, his gaze rose to meet Elrond's.  
Aragorn's sword was in his hand.  

"What did you do to my sons?"  Elrond asked, in such a calm voice 
that it was unnerving.

Bernhardi stared in astonished horror at Elrond.  He took a staggering 
step backward but had no place to go.  

"Where are my sons?"  Elrond asked again. 

"What are you?"  

"Someone who has long since outgrown feeling compassion for filth 
such as yourself,"  Elrond said.

Elrond brought the sword up and in one swift motion, sheered off 
Bernhardi's right ear.  Bernhardi screamed and fell to the ground, 
clutching the side of his head.  Blood ran down his face and over his 
fingers.    

"Where are my sons,"  Elrond asked, again. 

"Go to hell,"   Bernhardi said, clenching his teeth against the pain.  
Elrond lifted the sword.  Bernhardi did not flinch.   

"Remember the name Aragorn,"  Elrond said.

"Why?"  

"I do not know where your spirit will go after I kill you,"  Elrond said.  
"But where ever you may be, I have no doubt that Aragorn will see to 
making your eternity a nightmare."  

In one precisely executed hit, the sword connect with Bernhardi's 
neck.
    
***************************


Kate ran down the hall and stopped at the door of the cell.  Every 
ounce of good sense was telling her to run in the opposite direction 
and to do anything to avoid going back inside, but she trusted Elrohir 
with her life.  Reluctantly, she opened the door and stepped inside.  
Standing in the middle of the room was Legolas.  Both of his elvish 
daggers were drawn.   When he saw her relief spread across his face.

"When you were not here. . .I feared the worst,"  Legolas said.    

"I'm fine,"  Kate said.  

"Let's get out of here,"  Legolas said.  

They slipped out the door of the cell and ran down the hall.    

As they rounded the corner, they were face to face with three German 
soldiers.  Legolas placed himself between them and Kate and faced 
them, daggers in his hands.  Kate watched in a stunned awe as 
Legolas skillfully attacked the three soldiers.   The blades seemed an 
extension of Legolas's body.  His movements were so swift that she 
could barely see light flicker off the blades before they sunk into the 
soft flesh of three soldiers.  

"Quickly,"  Legolas said.

Kate stepped over the bodies and followed Legolas, down the stairs 
into the side delivery entrance.  

*****************************


On the rooftop, Colin, Gandalf, and Elladan split up in three directions.  
Colin crept along the western side of the roof, stepping over several of 
the dead snipers with arrows protruding from their chests.  He still 
found it hard to believe how good of a shot Legolas had been.

As he rounded the corner and made his way along the northern side, 
he saw a sniper.  The sniper was on his knees, taking aim at someone 
in the streets.  Silently, Colin rose up high enough to look down into 
the street.  

To his horror, he saw Kate and Legolas rushing up the sidewalk.  Colin 
was not close enough to attack the sniper so he stepped out of his 
crouching position to get the sniper's attention.

"Do you always shoot innocent girls from the rooftops or is that just a 
bonus of being a Nazi?"  Colin asked.

Instantly, the sniper swung his rifle around and pulled the trigger.  The 
force of the bullet hit Colin squarely in the chest, knocking him off his 
feet.  

The sniper turned back to the street.  From across the roof, Elladan 
threw his dagger.  With astonishing speed, it flew across the roof and 
embedded into the snipers back, sending him toppling from the roof.

Gandalf knelt beside Colin.  Blood stained the front of his shirt.  His 
eyes stared unblinking at a sky he could no longer see.  He was dead.

While Gandalf wept over Colin's body, Elladan looked down from the 
rooftop.  In the distance he could see Legolas and Kate rushing down 
the streets.  The door to the roof opened, and Elladan spun around 
poised for attack.  But it was Elrond.  

Their reunion was bittersweet.   Gandalf made no move to leave Colin.  
Elrond approached him, "You know we cannot take him with us."

Gandalf reached a hand out and closed Colin's eyes.  From the back of 
his thoughts came the words from a poem of Bilbo's.  He quietly 
recited the last stanza.

"Though here at journey's end I lie

In darkness buried deep,

Beyond all towers strong and high,

Beyond all mountains steep,

About all shadows rides the Sun

And Stars for ever dwell:

I will not say the Day is done,

Nor bid the Stars farewell."



****************************


Even during war, life went on, and it was easy for Legolas 
and Kate to lose themselves in the throngs of people that 
walked down the sidewalks.  The sun shown down on them, 
people.  The sounds of laughter rang out, and the smells of 
food.  Kate could not believe it was the same world that 
only moments before held such horror.    

Legolas lead her to a fountain. They sat down upon the edges 
of it.  Legolas discretely washed the blood from his hands 
in the waters.  He placed his hand, wet with cool water onto 
the back of her neck, while she caught her breath.  

He bent down to her ear and said, "Are you well enough to 
walk?"

She nodded and he took her arm and lead her away from the 
fountain.  Kate saw the stares from the people, and they 
hurried away from the fountain.  Calling attention to 
themselves was the one thing they didn't want to do.   They 
walked up the streets, which became more residential.  

"I found us a place to stay tonight," he said.  "Tomorrow we 
will meet Gandalf and Elrond.  They will get us safely out 
of France and back to England."

"Have you spoken to Colin?"  she asked, as she gripped his 
arm.

Legolas smiled at her. "He is quite well.  He asked a 
million questions about you.  And he was not at all happy 
with my leaving you behind."      

Tears of joy filled her eyes and the color came back to her 
cheeks.  She could not remember a happier day in her entire 
life. 

"It was all we could do to convince him to stay behind while 
I came for you," Legolas said.

They walked up the steps to a cheap bed and breakfast.  And 
suddenly everything seemed to be alive and beautiful and 
perfect.  

Legolas opened the door to the small bedroom and closed it 
behind him.  Legolas raised the window, letting in the cool 
breeze of the evening drift inside.  As he turned back 
around, Kate bridged the space between them and flung her 
arms around him in a warm embrace.  Startled, Legolas 
staggered backwards several steps before catching her in his 
arms. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest.    

"I can't believe you came after me," Kate said.  

"How could you doubt it?" he asked, his hands gently running 
down her back. 

"I didn’t expect to live to ever have the sun on my face 
again," Kate said, and shuddered at the memory of the dank 
cell.

"I would have come even if you had been in the depths of 
Mordor, held by Sauron himself," Legolas said. 

She clung to him.  Legolas wrapped his arms around her, 
pulling her tighter into his warm embrace.  He reveled in 
the feel of her body against his and in the knowledge that 
she was safe in his arms.  His hands wandered of their own 
accord, until he found himself wiping the tears that fell 
from her eyes. 

"Leaving you behind nearly ripped the spirit from my body," 
Legolas said.  

Her eyes rose to meet his gaze.

As he lowered his lips to hers, a thousand protests born of 
centuries of elvish tradition rose in his mind, but one 
touch of her lips erased them all.  And then they were so 
lost within the moment that the war and the pendant and the 
horrors of the day were forgotten.  Until all that was true 
and real was his body hovering over hers and her hands 
dancing upon him and their soft cries of passion that filled 
the room.  


********************************