See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Chapter 10 - Ambush

"I think we should get back to the others now," Legolas said to the boy sitting beside him on the branch. The child was smiling with delight as he swung his legs happily.

"No, please, just a few more minutes!" the child protested. "I have never been up this high in a tree before."

Legolas made a small grimace. "I am not certain whether your father and mother would approve of your being so high off the ground."

Rynan grinned happily at him. "But you are with me and will keep me safe. I have no fear, and they should not either."

"Grown-ups have more fear than children sometimes," Legolas said, and thought of Thranduil.

Rynan laughed. "That is silly! Grown-ups are not afraid of anything."

"Everybody is afraid of something," Legolas said.

"Even elves?"

"Even elves," Legolas nodded. "Come, we must get back now before they come searching for us."

Rynan let out a sigh. "All right, but can we do this again tomorrow?"

Legolas smiled. "Yes, we can."

"And can Seth come as well? I think he would like to be up in a tree like this."

Legolas hesitated and then nodded. "If he so wishes, yes."

The boy grinned happily. "He will! I am sure he will!"

Legolas pulled the child to him, holding him securely under one arm as he swung down onto the lower branches. Rynan squealed with delight when they made the final drop onto the ground.

Legolas set him down, laughing. "I am certain you have waken half of the forest with that scream."

The boy was looking at him with eyes as wide as saucers. "Now I know what it feels like to fly through the trees. Can we do that one more time before we go back? Please? Just once?"

Legolas shook his head, still smiling. "I think that is sufficient excitement for this morning. Now we must get back with the horses. We have another long day of travelling before us."

"Tomorrow then, we will do it again, right?" the boy asked anxiously.

"Yes, we will," Legolas assured him and then whistled for the horses.

"Wait until I tell Seth what we just did!" Rynan said, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet.

Legolas suddenly reached out and laid a quieting hand on the animated boy.

"What?" the child looked up at him, puzzled at the frown on the elf's face. "Is something wrong?"

"The trees," Legolas said quietly as he stared ahead intently. "There is a change in their whisperings."

"What are they telling you?" the child asked.

Legolas shook his head. "They feel unease. Come, we must rejoin the others quickly. We will ride back on the horses."

He quickly leapt onto the back of the nearest mount and scooped the child up, placing him in front of himself. Urging the horse into a quick canter, he let out a shrill whistle to alert his fellow warriors. There was an urgency in the trees' murmurs that made his heart tightened with apprehension. Danger was near.

Even as this last thought flitted through his mind, he felt, more than see, an arrow slicing through the air and thudded harmlessly into a nearby tree. Orcs!

Another arrow flew by, so precariously close that the horse skittered nervously and the child cried out in alarm. Legolas' arm tightened around the boy instinctively as he brought the hose quickly back into control.

"Keep as low as you can!" Legolas called out to the boy as more arrows flew pass them.

Then one of the arrows at last found its mark and tore into Legolas' arm with sickening force. Gasping from both the impact and the pain, his grip on the boy faltered for a brief second and the boy began to slip away. Instinctively, Legolas made a frantic grab for the boy with his injured arm, biting back a cry of pain as the weight of the boy wrenched the torn flesh of his arm mercilessly. Knowing that he could not hold onto the boy, Legolas loosened his grip on the horse and allowed himself to slip from the animal, wrapping his arms around the child to cushion him from the fall.

Gasping with pain as the arrow was driven deeper into his arm before the shaft finally snapped, Legolas nevertheless was able to roll away, with the boy, from the danger of the flying hooves as the horse sprang away.

He barely had time to whip out his knives before the first of the orcs were upon them. Gritting his teeth against the burning pain in his arm, he blocked the lethal swing of the loathsome creature's scimitar with one knife while he thrust the other in an upward arc into the enemy's chest. In one fluid move, he pulled free the knife, sheathed it, and scooped the cowering child up with his injured arm, while his other arm swept out, catching another orc in the throat. The child screamed and buried his face into Legolas' shoulder as the vile blood showered them both liberally.

Knowing that his only chance at survival was to rejoin the others, Legolas turned and began to run back toward the camp with all the strength that he could summon. Unfortunately, he overestimated the strength that he had remaining, while underestimating the speed of the enemy. With his breath sobbing in his throat, he set the child down and gave him a shove.

"Run! Run as fast as you can and get back to the camp!"

The child gaped at him with eyes huge with fear, but stood unmoving.

"Go!" Legolas shouted frantically, giving the boy another push in the direction of the camp.

With a hitching sob, the child turned and sprinted in the direction of the camp, weaving his way through the trees. His own breath ragged and uneven, Legolas turned back to face the converging enemies, and braced himself for a certain death.

Suddenly someone dropped down from the trees, landing silently at his side. It was Hesin, followed almost immediately by Tithernon.

Taking one look at Legolas' bloody arm and glancing in the direction of the sobbing child, Hesin said curtly. "Go after the child and get back to the camp. We will hold them off."

Legolas hesitated, eyeing the advancing enemies.

"The child! Go!" Hesin called out. It was the tone of a commander.

Legolas risked one more backward glance before taking off. Almost immediately, the sound of fighting rang out behind him. Legolas forced down the instinct to return to help his fellow warriors and continued to run. He caught up with Rynan in an instant and scooped the child into his arms, raising a screech of pure fright from the boy.

"It is all right," he soothed, his own voice shaking and breathless. "It is I. I will not let you come to harm."

The child tightened his hold on him. "Blood. You are hurt!"

Legolas shook his head, not having the breath to say more.

Moments later, they stumbled into the small clearing where camp had been set up the night before.

"Rynan!"

Suddenly the child was lifted from his arms. Legolas took a step back and steadied himself as he watched the tearful reunion between the child and his mother. The others crowded around anxiously.

"Legolas? What happened?" Arphen asked, his hand on the younger elf's shoulder.

"Orcs, at least thirty to forty of them. I must go back to help Hesin and Tithernon," Legolas said breathlessly and turned to go.

"You are injured. You stay here with them and I will go," Arphen said.

Legolas shook his head impatiently. "No, they should ride away from here, as quickly as possible. The orcs are many and I do not think Hesin and Tithernon will be able to hold them back for long. You lead the humans away and I will stay back to help the others."

"What is happening?" Caden asked anxiously. "Are we under attack?"

"Yes!" Legolas answered quickly. "You and your family must ride out immediately from here. Arphen will lead you to safety. Quickly!"

"My brother and I can help," Caden said, as his brother nodded in concurrence. "Lead Mearu and the children away, but we will stay to help."

Legolas shook his head. "No! You have not fought these creatures before. They are deadly. Get on the horses now before it is too late."

Suddenly, a whistle rang out and two shadows dropped from the trees into the small clearing. It was Hesin and Tithernon, their tunics splashed alarmingly with blackened blood.

"Legolas, tell them that they must flee now! The orcs are coming this way!" Hesin said breathlessly.

Legolas turned to the humans again. "Get on the horses! Now!"

"Legolas, you go with them. We will try to hold the enemies back to give you time," Hesin said.

"No, I am staying here!" Legolas shook his head.

"You are injured. You are in no condition to fight!" Hesin pointed out.

"We should all leave!" Legolas insisted. "There are too many of them and not enough of us."

For a brief second or two, Hesin looked at him, his lips pressed into a thin hard line, before he gave a reluctant nod. "Get on one of the horses. The two boys will ride with the men and the woman and the girl can ride together. You lead the way. We will hide in the trees and hold them back for as long as we can. Go, now! We will follow as soon as we are able."

Even then, Legolas hesitated still.

"Go! That is an order!"

Knowing that he could not persuade Hesin otherwise, Legolas turned and translated Hesin's words quickly and this time, the men made no further insistence on staying to help. With an economy of movement, Legolas leapt onto his own horse and led the group quickly through the trees, intent on putting as much distance as possible between themselves and their enemies. He pushed his own horse recklessly. More than once though, he had to circle back to rejoin the humans who were struggling to keep up with him.

A sudden wave of pain and dizziness swept through him, nearly unseating him from his mount. He grasped wildly at his horse's mane and barely managed to keep from falling off his mount, yet again. Shaking his head slightly, he glanced behind him once more, hoping to catch sight of the other three elves, but was disappointed. The urge to go back to help his fellow warriors was overwhelming. It was not right to leave them behind to confront the danger, while he was riding off to relative safety. Then a darker thought struck him. What if Hesin and the other two were already killed by the orcs? It was a very real possibility, as their enemies numbered many. The elves were highly skilled warriors, but even they could do little in the face of such impossible odds. Legolas glanced at the humans behind him, following him without question and blindly placing their faith in him to lead them to safety. Could he do it alone, and injured?

Even as these bleak thoughts crowded his mind, his keen senses picked up another sound from the forest, the sound of oncoming horses, and heading in their direction. He drew his horse to an abrupt stop, and the others behind him followed suit immediately.

'"What is it?" It was Caden who asked the question.

"Riders coming," Legolas answered briefly. Were they foes or friends? He could not tell, but he knew his priority was to protect those behind him. His eyes frantically swept the area around them as his mind raced for a plan.

"Dismount and follow me," he instructed.

He led them to a small enclave that was protected by a thick ring of lofty pines. These trees would offer scant protection should there be real danger, but it was the best that he could find given the time restraint. He spoke softly into the ears of the horses, instructing them to protect the humans should the need arise.

"You are leaving us?" Caden asked as he watched Legolas shouldered his bow and prepared to scale one of the nearby pines.

"I need to see who these riders are. I want you to keep everyone inside this area. The horses will keep guard. I shall be back as soon as I can," Legolas explained.

"But - but you are injured. You cannot climb the tree in your condition," Caden protested. "I will go in your stead."

"No!" Legolas cut in, more sharply than he intended. "I will be all right. The trees will aid me. I must go now!"

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Legolas vaulted onto a branch with the help of his uninjured arm. From there, he scaled the branches as quickly as he could with the use of only one arm. Leaping from tree to tree was difficult and dangerous in his condition, but fortunately for him, this part of the forest was densely foliaged, and as he had assured Caden, each branch reached out eagerly to arrest his jumps. In spite of this, he found himself growing increasingly light-headed as blood continued to seep unchecked from his arm and the pain, at times, was nearly blinding in its intensity. He dared not stop. Lives of others depended on him.

As he came nearer to the approaching riders, Legolas came to a stop and pressed himself back against the thick foliage. After debating briefly with himself, he decided to take a gamble and let out a loud whistle. Holding his breath while his heart thumped frantically, he waited for the answering call. It came. The riders were fellow warriors. Feeling weak with relief, he nearly slipped from the branch then, only catching himself at the last instant. The jolt of pain that shot through his body from the abrupt movement made his head spin and his stomach rolled with nausea. But carefully and much slower than he liked, he made his way down, dropping rather ungracefully from the last branch onto the forest floor.

"Legolas!"

His head spun at the familiar voice and he thought the pain was toying with his remaining senses. Before he could doubt himself further, someone's hand grasped him firmly by the elbow.

"Legolas? What happened? You are hurt! Where are the others?"

He blinked at the person before him and managed to gasp out the name, "Feren?"

His legs nearly buckled then and he felt his brother's strong arm wrapped around his waist, holding him up firmly.

"It is all right, Legolas. You are safe now."

Legolas rested his head against his brother's strong shoulder, drawing comfort, however briefly, from the strength and security found in the older elf's arms. "Feren, you are here. I - we need help."

TBC