Okay, so I just want to say that I am obviously not an expert on war and battle tactics. I try to research what I can, but if I screw anything up, I'm sorry and PLEASE say something [nicely ;)] so I can fix it! Happy reading!

     {}«Legolas' POV»{}

Night has come several days after word from Aragorn arrived. We will march out come dawn and I find myself sitting on the bed in my room unable to sleep. Well, they call it mine, I still haven't become accustomed to sleeping in my adar's chambers. 

My eyes glance over to the pile of things in the corner. They are adar's personal things that the servants thought best to leave to me to go over. Slowly, reluctantly, I walk over to it, sitting myself down on the floor before gently prying open the first dusty box.

Several books line one side while several other odd and ends fill the rest. I carefully pull the top several books out and lay them aside. Now able to reach the other things a little easier, I pull out the largest thing in there. A wine bottle. Odd. Well, maybe not odd, I laugh to myself, but certainly not what I expected to be in here. Rotating it in my hand, I notice the date is painted on the side in an elegant white handwriting, rather than the small, dull one it is normally painted in. It must have been for a celebration of some sort...

Shrugging, I put it to the side and continue  unpacking his things, some of which I recognize, and I smile at, memories of playing with them when I was younger and getting in trouble for it. Finally, there is nothing left to save for the last few books.

I pull them out glancing over the titles. Nothing about them sticks out to me and I frown, opening them up and flipping through the pages. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I set it back down and pick up the next one. Only this time, a piece of paper slides out from between the pages.

I pick it up, turning it over only to be meet with the face of my naneth. She smiles in the small drawing of her and I can't help but wonder what her smile looked like in real life. Did she smile often? I look at the book from where it came once more, flipping through the pages looking for anything else that might be hidden within the folds of paper. Seconds later, my search is successful.

An envelope falls out of the confines of the book, face down. I pick it it up and turn it over and recognize my adar's handwriting at once.

It is addressed to me.

My hands tremble and threaten to drop the envelope. All I can do is stare at it, eyes wide in wonderment. After a moment my fingers slowly graze the fold, gently pushing it back to reveal the carefully penned handwriting of my adar. I start to pull it out, but I can't. I don't know why, but I can't read whatever it was that he wanted to say to me. So I close the envelope, staring at the handwriting I have seen so many times.

The hours of the night pass in a blink from where I sit and soon the commotion of an oncoming day begins in the hours right before dawn. 

Shaking myself out of the trance I have allowed myself to enter, I lay the envelope on the bed and begin to prepare for the march ahead.

Finally dressed, weapons strapped to my back, I start make my way to the gates. Elhael's voice stops me in my tracks.

"Going to try to leave without a proper goodbye?" she asks, faking offence. I sigh and turn around to meet her standing with her hands on her hips and her hair looks as if it was hastily thrown up.

"No," I tell her and walk up to her. Then I notice the red in her eyes, "Are you alright?" 

"Yes, I am fine," she answers and throws her arms around me. "Just do me a favor and come home in one piece, alright?" she whispers in my ear before pulling away. 

"Worry not, I will return. And when I do, my adar will have been avenged."

She smiles sadly, "Legolas, I meant what I said the other night." She plants a kiss on my cheek before stepping back.

I hang my head, "I know, but I cannot do it. I cannot forgive him for what he's done. You saw the destruction he caused."

Silence descends on the air until she finally nods and turns away. I sigh and walk in the opposite direction.

When I get to the gate, several hundred armed soldiers await my command. The going will be slow, as we are not equip with enough horses to support the large host. 

With everything having already been done the days before in the way of planning and preparing, I mount my horse and we set out through the forest.

The weeks go by in a blur of grays, blues, whites, and browns as the landscape passes us, leaving our homeland far behind. The trees slowly fade and the mountains loom eerily in the distance, as if waiting to proclaim our doom.

We move without a sound across the the rocky terrain. Silence reigns in the camps at night, due to the unease that many of the warriors feel; they are missing the cover the trees of our homeland providers. 

The snow is melting away, leaving the ground that does show, muddy and wet, my shoes became soaked, once again, some hours ago. The warming weather partly due to passing of time and partly due to the miles we covered in our trek south.

Finally, as the last day of travel comes to a close, I halt the troops with a single command and camp is set up. 

Late that night, I find myself pouring over a map. We have kept our presents hidden to the best of our ability. Fighting uphill gives the enemy the advantage. Our hope comes in numbers. The scouts that were sent out are due to return any time. Hopefully they will have gathered more intel on the Orcs numbers and position and perhaps even the current position of Aragorn's armies as they have not been sighted yet.

<><><><><><><><>

Early the next morning the army captains meet in my tent as we go over the last details of the upcoming battle. Thaladir, though still not pleased with me and rightly so I suppose, hasn't left my side over the last few days, offering his support and advise when he can and I am grateful to him. Leading a patrol is one thing, but leading an army is something much bigger that I haven't had much experience in. 

Half an hour goes by, plans being discussed and some even being changed, before a soldier burst into the tent, panting heavily, drawing the attention of all who are present. "My- my lord, the Orcs have spotted us. We will be under attack by nightfall."

Murmurs rupture the stunned silence and I turn to the ellon and indicate to the map, "Show us their position."

He nods and points the the place he had seen them marching. "They outnumber us two to one without the aid of King Elessar's armies."

"King Elessar's armies," Thaladir says, looking the scout in the eye, "have they been sighted?" 

The scout shakes his head, "There was no sign of them. We were able to climb high enough to see much of the land around us, there was no sign."

<><><><><><><><>

Footfalls land silently on the rocky terrain as we creep along the foothills of the mountain that afternoon. We have no other choice but to go out and meet the enemy. There is no place to go and fleeing is obviously not an option. So we divided our forces, flanking the enemy from the north and south, as the enemy marches from the west, hoping to catch them unaware.

Without many trees to aid us, we use the rocks as our cover. Over a hundred ellyn silently follow behind me. I elected to lead them on the south side and have already sent a scout out to gather intel on their exact location.

Pounding footsteps draw nearer as the enemy comes closer to the kill zone. Seconds feel like hours as we wait for the scout to return. Large scale ambushes are dangerous, no matter what side you're on and with this many soldiers, preparation can be key to keeping as many of your ellyn alive.

I feel rather than see someone approach from behind and turn around. The scout hurries silently over to me and whispers in my ear, "They approach from the west as before, making straight for the camp. They will be within shooting range in minutes."

I nod in response and the pounding becomes louder and more defined until I can finally see the light of their many torches. The stench of them grows slowly and steadily as time seems to crawl on its belly, painful and awkwardly, as we continue to wait.

Just a few more seconds...

I lift my hand, ready to give the signal to shoot and the sound of bows being drawn back is hear despite the commotion made by the enemy.

I drop my hand and arrows fly past my head, landing with a satisfying thunk in the Orcs' flesh. Panicked shrieks strike the air and another folly rains down on them from the opposite side. 

Both sides continue to shoot, bringing down as many as possible. But several make it through and charge for the camp. I only hope those who are still there will be able to fight them off without too many losses.

Arrows depleted, and I draw my sword and give the order to charge forward. The sound of swords being drawn from their sheathes rings out and my heart races with adrenaline. With a shout, we charge forward into the fray of Orcs, joined by those who had been shooting from the other side.

Some of the Orcs scatter in a panic, but most of them stay, determined to spill as much elven blood as possible and after a while, they begin to succeed.

The upper hand we began with slowly disappears as the sheer numbers of the Orcs weigh down on us. Images blur in a mess of grays, browns and reds as the fighting continues.

I slice an Orc's throat and if falls in time for me to spin and stab another in the gut, I pull my sword, trying to wrench it free from the wretched creature's body.

It doesn't move.

My heart rate quickens as the Orc's body crumples to the ground, pulling my sword with it. The fighting around me seems to come in closer as I work to free it. Instincts formed by years of training scream at me and I turn around, just in time to see an Orc start to bring his rusty sword down on me.

I start to move, but there is no time and the sword comes down... Forgive me adar...