Chapter 5
His breathing coming in great sobs, he forced his numbed arm up once again and dealt a glancing blow to the advancing spider. It barely slowed the creature as it lunged at its weakening prey with lethal determination. Legolas knew that he could not escape this time and closed his eyes in defeat. So this was how it would end.
The impact never came and through senses deadened by exhaustion, he heard the familiar whizzing sound of arrows slicing through air. He opened his eyes immediately and blinked at the unlikely scene before him, half in confusion, half in awe. Spiders were raining down from the trees, each one pierced by a deadly arrow. He stumbled back against Hwesta and would have fallen to the ground had his faithful mount not shifted to accommodate his weight. It was over very quickly and he suddenly found himself surrounded by dead spiders and fellow elves dressed in Mirkwood colours.
"Prince Legolas, are you all right?" the elf closest to him asked, his face a mask of concern and anxiety.
For once, Legolas was speechless. He stared at the elf before him and managed to nod in some fashion. He realized that he was still holding his knives in an award defensive stance. With an effort, he forced himself to lower his aching arms down to his sides.
"You are hurt!" the same elf cried out upon a closer inspection of a wavering Legolas.
"No, I am fine. I am just surprised. Are you part of Lord Feren’s troops?" Legolas finally managed to find his voice, though it was much shakier than he liked.
"We are. We found signs of spider activities nearby and the captain decided that it was better that we find them first before they find us. But why are you here, on your own?"
"I must speak with my brother immediately. Orcs are amassing to attack the palace and the troops must turn back." All at once, he recalled the urgency of the situation. "Show me the way to the camp. We have no time to lose. Hurry!"
"I will lead the way. The camp is not far from here."
Legolas considered remounting Hwesta but then decided against it. The horse was as weary as him and he did not want to add to his loyal friend’s burden. Hwesta more likely than not had saved his life today. And besides, the other elves were on foot. He reached out and patted Hwesta with great fondness. "Thank you, my friend. We will have rest soon, I assure you."
Squaring his aching shoulders with resolve, he forced himself to keep pace with the fleet-footed elf before him as the others followed closely. The camp indeed was not far for which Legolas was thankful, as he was beginning to feel strangely lightheaded. He determined that it must be from exhaustion or the lack of water and food . More likely, it was a combination of all that and the fact that his body was no longer fueled by adrenaline as it had been when he was battling the spiders.
The occupants of the camp regarded him with silent surprise as he weaved through the site. A few warriors he recognized, but most he did not. Of course they would be surprised to see him here, he thought to himself sardonically. His adar’s fierce protectiveness of him was surely legendary. His face would be the last thing that a Mirkwood warrior would expect to see roaming through a camp that was readying itself for battle. They must all think Thranduil had surely lost his mind in allowing his youngest so close to danger. Certainly, his adar must be out of his mind right now, he mused tiredly, out of his mind with worry over his missing son.
His guide at last came to a stop before a tent. In spite of his weariness, Legolas observed all around him with wide-eyed curiosity and awe. He had never been among the troops as they marched to battle. For that matter, he was seldom, if at all, given the opportunity to mingle with the warriors of Mirkwood. Being among them now was strangely satisfying.
"Lord Feren, Prince Legolas is here," the voice of the other elf drew him out of his momentary reverie. Legolas straightened, chiding himself for allowing his thoughts to stray when he was charged with imparting such vital information to his brother.
Almost before he had a chance to blink, his brother Feren was standing before him, looking at him with unconcealed shock.
"What in the Valar’s name are you doing here, Legolas?" Feren demanded. "You are hurt! There is blood on you!"
"I am fine, Feren, but you must listen to me. You must return with the troops to the palace. Hundreds of orcs are amassing and preparing to attack the palace. There are not enough warriors back home to defend against such an attack." The words tumbled out of his mouth as he faced his older brother.
Feren grasped Legolas by the shoulder and drew him into the tent, but not before issuing an order to Legolas’ guide. "Find Lord Tavoro and ask him to come to me. I need to speak with him immediately." Then he turned and faced his younger brother again. "The orcs are readying to attack the palace? How did you get this information? And why are you the one to bring me this message?"
"I came across two scouts two days ago in the woods. One of them was wounded. They had discovered a large army of orcs marching toward the palace. The previous reports of orcs amassing in the south were false. It was a ruse to draw the troops away from the palace, making it vulnerable to attack. We must turn back right now or it will be too late." Legolas was annoyed with himself that he was unable to deliver the message in a more coherent manner. He was certain that seasoned scouts were not proned to such a disorderly outpouring of words.
"How far away were the orcs? Did the scouts say?" his brother asked, apparently having deciphered the message in spite of its less than eloquent delivery.
"No more than five days, as last reported by the scout. I fear we are already too late by now," Legolas said with renewed desperation.
At that moment, the tent flap opened and Tavaro walked in. He stopped abruptly at the sight of his youngest brother.
"I must be seeing things. Legolas, what are you doing here? Who else is here? Adar? Aldeon?"
"I am here on my own. Adar does not know where I am."
"Well, then your homecoming should be very interesting indeed."
"Tavaro, we have no time to jest. Go and order the troops to break camp. We are returning immediately to the palace. There is no time to explain in details for I do not know them myself. Now go and give the order to break camp."
Tavaro gave his older brother one last questioning glance. "Your order will be carried out, but I will be back soon enough and you, princeling, will tell us everything." The last words were directed at Legolas with a wink.
Legolas could not help but grin at his brother’s departing back. It was so like Tavaro to find mirth even in the most dire situations. Suddenly the interior of the tent swam before his eyes. Vaguely he felt his brother’s hand steadying him.
"Legolas, you are hurt!"
"No, I am fine. I am just very tired, and hungry and thirsty. Can I have some food please? I have not eaten for days."
His brother pressed him down onto a chair and handed him a skin of water. "Drink and I will order some food for you."
Legolas gulped greedily at the water and did not stop until the skin was half emptied. Water had never tasted so good. By then Feren had returned with a steaming bowl of stew and Legolas felt his stomach cramp painfully at the prospect of finally receiving food.
"Eat it slowly, Legolas or you will make yourself ill," his brother cautioned as he approached his brother with a basin of water and bandages. "You have hurt your arm. I will see to it when you have finished eating."
"Oh, it’s nothing, mere scratches from when I fought with the spiders," Legolas mumbled between mouthfuls.
Feren almost dropped the basin of water, but recovered quickly. He forced the panic from his voice. "Spiders? You encountered spiders?"
"I almost did not survive the fight, but your men arrived just in time." Legolas looked rather sheepishly at his older brother. "I was so tired that I allowed my guard down and did not realize the danger until they were upon me." He set down the empty bowl. Now that his thirst and hunger were satiated, his weariness was almost overwhelming. He eyed the pallet in the corner of the tent with longing.
"Come Legolas, you are exhausted. Lie down and rest while I tend to your arm," Feren said as he guided his younger brother to the pallet. Legolas was asleep even before Feren finished removing his quiver and knives.
For a long moment, Feren gazed down at his young brother, alarmed that he slept with his eyes closed. The child really must be exhausted. This fact was further confirmed when Legolas failed to stir even when his brother dressed the gashes on his arm. As Legolas had stated, they were not serious and Feren detected no sign of spider venom on the cuts. He was beginning to clean the smudges of travel from his brother’s face when Tavaro entered the tent. The latter chuckled when he saw how Legolas slept through the ministrations of his older brother.
"The princeling must had himself some adventure on the way here to sleep through all this."
Feren was less inclined to laugh about the matter. "Apparently he fought with spiders, and only the Valar knows what else. He is exhausted. Look how he sleeps with his eyes closed. I hope it is only exhaustion." He stood up and regarded his other brother. "How soon will we be able to leave?"
"Within the hour. What is this that the orcs are planning to attack the palace? Are we certain?" Tavaro asked as he began gathering things and putting them into their packs.
"That is the message that Legolas brings. We cannot risk not taking it for the truth. I will need to send out the fastest riders that we have to see where this army of orcs is right now. Legolas was told that they were five days away from the palace when the scouts discovered them. If that is true, then the palace is already under siege."
"Orcs are an notoriously undisciplined and quarrelsome lot. If they were five days away then, then they are all likely still five days away now. The left foot of an orc would argue with its right foot as to which is to take the first step. I am confident that they are nowhere near the palace as yet."
"They were disciplined enough that they managed to fool our scouts or else we would not be on this wild chase to the south," Feren pointed out.
"Do you not find that a little suspicious? I think it would prove enlightening if we look into how those reports came to be."
"Yes, that thought has already occurred to me, but we will deal with that later. My main concern right now is getting the troops back to the palace. I can only pray that we are not once again chasing our own tails. I will send a small detachment of troops to the south as precaution. We will also need to send out scouts to apprise the situation there, as well as to the eastern borders. If it is true that there are no threats to the south and to the eastern settlement, then I will want all available troops to return to the palace. Even then, we will be outnumbered."
Tavaro glanced at his older brother and shrugged. "We are always outnumbered by those Valar forsaken creatures, but they are no match for the skills of our warriors."
"It would be prudent not to be so overconfident. The orcs may not be the disciplined warriors that we are, but in large numbers they are still a potent enemy to reckon with."
"Ah, Feren, you worry too much," Tavaro said and then glanced down at his sleeping brother. "And what shall we do with the princeling? Are we bringing him to battle with us?"
Feren frowned. "I do not want him exposed to danger."
"I do not think that we have the option not to right now. We cannot leave him behind nor can we send him ahead," Tavaro pointed out.
"You are right. He will have to stay with us, though I loath the thought of him facing an army of orcs. I still cannot believe that he managed to slip away on his own. What was he possibly thinking of in endangering himself like this? I cannot imagine what Adar will do to him when we get him back home."
Tavaro laughed. "Adar will probably first smother him with loving embraces and then throw the princeling into the dungeons and toss away the key. It will be a sight to behold. I imagine Adar must be frantic. I would not care to be in Salque’s boots right now."
Feren eyed his younger brother wearily. "I do not believe our situation is much improved over that of Salque. We have Legolas with us, and we are about to march into battle with an army of orcs. If harm should come to Legolas, we will be the ones who have to face Adar."
"That prospect is almost as unsettling as facing down a Balrog. Well, then, you and I must ensure that no harm befalls the princeling and being the accomplished warriors that we are, the task should not be beyond us."

Feren studied the innocent face of his sleeping sibling. "With Legolas, nothing is ever that easy."

TBC