"Legolas! Ion nin, wake up!"

Legolas groggily opened his eyes to the familiar sound."Yes...Ada?" he mumbled, half asleep.He felt strong arms pull him from the comfort of the warm bed and he squirmed.

"Relax, little one. We need to get you to safety," his ada held him tighter. Legolas began to get worried.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I'll explain later. Right now, we need to leave." Thranduil said evasively. He set Legolas down and grabbed his hand, pulling hi out the door...

And into the chaos.

Brush and trees were on fire, lighting up the dense forest in a frightening way. Elves rushed around, brandishing weapons of all kinds and shouting to one another. But the worst part of the scene was the carnage. Horrible carnage. Bodies of elves were strewn all about the area, bloody and lifeless.

Legolas shrank closer to his father and clutched his hand tighter. "I'm s-scared," he whispered.

Thranduil straightened and gripped Legolas' hand harder as well, "Let's go," he instructed. Thranduil led Legolas through the mess of the Golden Wood carefully. He kept a watchful gaze all around him, determined to keep Legolas safe.

They came upon a small door at the base of a tree, mostly out of sight. Thranduil opened it after glancing behind them to make sure they were alone. He pushed Legolas into the tiny storage area and bent down to his height. "Legolas, you mustn't come out until I come for you. Do you understand?"

Legolas whimpered.

"Do you understand?" the elvish king repeated a bit more forcefully.

Slowly, Legolas moved his head up and down.

"What's going on, Ada?" the elfling asked, his voice barely audible.

Thranduil rubbed his eyes. "I can't explain now, little one. But I promise I will when this is all over."

Before Legolas could answer, Thranduil had shut the door and was gone, leaving a whimpering elfling all alone in the dark.

~~~~*~~~~

Legolas waited in the dark for a long time, holding his legs tightly against his chest, shaking. He listened to the outside noises, desperately hoping for his ada to come back soon. He had never been fond of the dark.

He perked up when he heard someone approaching.

The door opened and Legolas was about to hop up to greet his ada, when he saw who it was.

It wasn't his ada. And he shrank further back against the wall, trying to become invisible.

The figure stood in the doorway for a moment before turning his neck outside and saying, "I don't see anything. Are you sure you heard something in here?"

Legolas covered his mouth with his hand. He had led them here.

"Yes, I'm positive. It sounded like a little elf." another voice answered from outside the tree.

"Well then you look. I don't see nothing." the figure shot back. Legolas heard his friend switch places with him. And he had a torch.

As soon as the figure entered, the room was illuminated. It was an adan. Legolas' eyes widened in fright and surprise.

"I told you," the man called to his companion, "Come look."

Both men entered farther into the room and looked down at Legolas.

"Look, an elf child. Just like I said."

"Yah, yah. Whatever."

"What should we do with him?"

"Let's grab him. He might make us a decent amount."

Without any warning, Legolas was grabbed by the man holding the torch and hauled to his feet. From there, the other man grabbed his arms and yanked him to the door. Instantly, Legolas resisted and fought back. He used all the strength he had to fight the men.

They were clearly not pleased and each one took a hold of his arms, taking him against his will. They began dragging him away from the bright fires where his ada had gone and he struggled again with renewed vigor.

"No! Someone help me! Please!" Legolas cried out. One of the men ripped off part of his shirt and stuffed it into Legolas' mouth, effectively silencing him.

"Noisy one, isn't he?" muttered one of the men.

The other and nodded, agreeing. "Let's just hurry. The boss will want us back before morning."

~~~~*~~~~

After walking a good distance, the men set Legolas on the ground and sat down themselves. Legolas didn't dare pull the fabric out of his mouth, and instead decided to scoot farther away. Seeing this, the men grinned and chuckled at him.

"Afraid, little one?" one of the men sneered.

His companion chuckled and pulled some things out of his bag that had been slung across his shoulder. "We should get moving." he stated and stood back up. "We've rested enough. Wouldn't want his friends to catch up." the man gestured to Legolas.

Legolas looked at him with wide eyes.

The man grabbed Legolas hands and pulled them together. Then, he wrapped a loop of rope over them, cinching it tightly. The man grabbed a length of rope that connected to Legolas' bound hands and pulled on it. It jerked Legolas' arms forward and he fell over on his face, unprepared. The two men laughed and Legolas was forcefully pulled off the ground. The man pulled the rope behind him and began walking with his friend.

Legolas was forced to walk behind them, arms outstretched. He felt tears trickle down his cheeks, and sniffled once. He trudged on, trying to keep up with the adan's fast pace. Thankfully, elves weren't susceptible to cold because all he wore was a pair of leggings and a thin shirt. He didn't even have shoes.

'Ada, please...find me...' the elfling prayed in his mind. With each step he took, more hope drained away from his spirit.

*sniffle sniffle* WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF AND YOU, MY WONDERFUL READERS? WHY? Ugh...my writing self is cruel, guys. It makes me do things I don't want to. Seriously. I don't have any say in the matter.

However, I do have a say in this: thank you so so much for all the reads! I am blown away by how many views this book has gotten! Seriously! I am almost at 27,000 views! That is absolutely crazy! But I wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for all you guys! You have kept me going! I am so grateful for each and every one of you!

Ithildae