A/N: I know, I know, this was one of the choices for the poll about what story I should write next on my profile. But I couldn't resist! I just really needed to write this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own the LotR. Why would I be writing fanfics about it if I owned it? (This disclaimer applies for both this fic and "Hello", because I forgot last time…-_-.)

Chapter 1

The Fellowship, if they had not had to face the perils they did, would not have bonded as strongly. However, maybe facing all the dangers in the world were worth it to get such a diverse group as friends.

It was thus that Gimli son of Gloin mused as he and two of the most important friends he made on the Quest travelled along the wooden paths of what was once the most beautiful or elven realms. Greenwood the Great, once brought into shadow and shamed by the name of Mirkwood, was finally growing back to what it once had been, not that he had been there to witness its original glory.

Legolas, the only member of the Fellowship who was a native to these strange lands, was nowhere to be seen. The minute he had entered the realm he had disappeared into the trees of his homeland, and had not been heard from since.

"It may be a good idea to stop and rest," Aragorn said. "We are only a few hours from Thranduil's palace, but without Legolas accompanying us I fear we shall not be welcomed as warmly. It would do us good to wait for him here."

"Aye," Gimli said, before frowning. "But I have once concern. Getting off this stupid horse by myself may be a challenge." He was not ashamed to admit this because, over their time spent together, Aragorn would already know this, he was sure.

Aragorn dismounted easily off his own stallion and came over to Gimli.

"Come, Master Dwarf," he said, holding a hand out. "I shall aid you."

"Do you know who you sound like?" Gimli grumbled as he was lifted off the horse and placed gently on the ground. "The elf. 'Master Dwarf' this and 'Master Dwarf' that."

"Ah, Master Dwarf, I did not know you were so easily offended."

Aragorn and Gimli whipped around in surprise at the new voice, only to find their elven companion standing before them, grinning.

"Ah, Legolas! We were just stopping to wait for you," said Aragorn.

"I know," said Legolas, still grinning.

"You know? How could you know, laddie? You've been up in them trees all day long," Gimli said, noting that Aragorn was getting ready to start moving again, now that Legolas had appeared. How was he going to get back on that stupid horse?

Legolas lifted Gimli up smoothly onto the horse, noting his friend's predicament, before starting to mount the beast himself.

"Let us move swiftly, for we are not—" Aragorn began, but he was silenced by a hand that was slapped over his mouth. Looking down at the pale, slender fingers, he knew it was Legolas who had stopped him. His heart raced. Something was wrong.

Legolas's eyes scanned the trees and brush growing around them, but they found nothing, only the normal things in the forest. Everything was silent. What had alerted him? Something in his heart had told him something was near, but not who or what it was.

"I am sorry," he muttered after a few more minutes of tense silence. "I thought that I felt something. I must have been mistaken."

Gimli and Aragorn nodded, not entirely convinced. The prince had never been wrong before.

"So, Legolas, how will you greet your father?" asked Gimli as they began riding again. "You know, with the whole being royal thing?"

"Ah," said Legolas, placing a hand on his chin in thought. "I hadn't thought about it before. I will probably something along the lines of 'Well met, Vardar-nin, or my King. I have returned from my quest', if there are others around and I have to be formal. How does that sound?"

"Very offi—," said Gimli, before being cut off by Legolas abruptly stopping the horse and going rigid. Aragorn and Gimli fell silent one again as Legolas listened and looked intently.

"What did you hear, mellon-nin?" Aragorn asked quietly.

"I…I didn't hear anything, really, I felt something…in my heart…" he let his words drift off and he sat staring at the woods for a moment longer.

"I think I should go into the trees for a moment. I will be able to see around us better from up there," Legolas said, already dismounting before either of them replied. He vanished into a nearby tree without a sound.

Aragorn and Gimli only had to wait a few seconds, for the silence that had surrounded them was interrupted by a joyful cry.

"ADA!" a voice yelled, and in a flash Legolas dived out of the tree and out of sight behind another.

Aragorn grinned and put a hand on Gimli, who had a firm grip on his axe and was preparing to fight.

"Relax, Gimli," Aragorn said, still smiling and staring in the direction where their elvish friend had disappeared. "'Ada' means 'daddy' in elvish. It seems Thranduil has come to greet us."

Without another word, Aragorn began to run toward their friend, and when the elf came into view, he was being held close by anther elf, whose back was to them.

It was Thranduil, King of Mirkwood. He had tears running down his face, and he was holding his son tightly to his chest.

"Ion-nin," he whispered in elvish. "My Greenleaf, you have returned."

He could practically feel Legolas grinning at him against his chest.

"Did you think I wouldn't?" Legolas said, words slightly muffled by his father's tunic. Thranduil paused and held his son at arm's length, examining him.

"No injuries?" he said disbelievingly. Legolas laughed, and the sound rang clearly throughout the clearing, and Thranduil couldn't resist hugging him again. His son, his elfling was finally home, finally safe.

Legolas smiled into his father's clothes, tears forming in his eyes. He pulled back after a moment, smiling blindingly at his father.

All of them saw the next few moments in slow motion. His son suddenly jolted forward, stumbling a step.

In the same moment, Thranduil felt a warm, sticky substance spray his face, and he recoiled in shock.

Aragorn gasped in surprise as he saw the blood spurt from his friend's shoulder and the arrow sticking out of it.

Gimli cried out as Legolas fell to his knees in surprise and pain.

It was the longest, most terrible moment in all of their lives.

"Un!" Legolas said in surprise as the numbness faded from his shoulder and it was replaced by an intense, burning pain. He felt the burning growing, leeching slowly down his arm. He gasped.

He heard his father yelling a battle cry and unsheathing his blade, rushing at the tree where the archer who had hit him was. Black spots danced before his vision.

Aragorn rushed over to him, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"Legolas, we need to get the arrow out as soon as possible," he said, trying to stay calm as he saw that his friend's face was scrunched up in pain and his breathing was rapid. The elf gave a barely perceptible nod.

"Gimli, come help me," Aragorn said, helping Legolas lay down. "Hold him down. This will hurt him, but you must not let go, do you understand? You must not let go, no matter what happens." The dwarf nodded, face pale as he braced Legolas against the ground.

Aragorn took a deep breath, knowing that he was about to hurt his best friend, but it had to be done.

"One…" He said, gripping the arrow.

"Two," Legolas gasped, eyes squeezed closed.

"Three!" Aragorn said, yanking on the arrow shaft and feeling the blood begin pooling beneath his fingers. But he was completely unprepared for the bone-chilling scream that was wrenched from his friend's mouth.

Legolas, though he had vowed to himself not to, screamed out at the pain of the arrow leaving his body. He heard Aragorn say something about barbs on the arrow, making it more painful to remove, as he fought unconsciousness. Aragorn was pressing cloth against his shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding.

Gimli paled at the sight of the blood pooling around his friend. He had never been particularly squeamish, but this was one of his best friends who was lying in the forest, bleeding.

Aragorn cursed, and Gimli looked up at him, and the blood soaking the cloth. There was something strange about it.

Some of the blood was black.

"Poison…" Aragorn murmured. "This isn't good."

"Estel! Dwarf!" a voice called from a few feet in front of them, and they saw Thranduil being overwhelmed by men, who had him surrounded on all sides. He met their strikes and was always a step ahead.

"How"—he blocked a sword and knocked a man off balance—"Is"—He finished the job, stabbing the man through the stomach.—"My"—he moved on to the next man.—"Ion!?"

"He has been poisoned, Hir Nin!" Aragorn called back, sighing in relief as the blood finally began to stop flowing. "We should get him back to the palace!"

"Noro lim! Bring him there, Estel! You must save him; I can't lose him so soon after getting him back!" Thranduil yelled almost desperately, parrying and slicing off the head off of another man.

Wasting no time, Aragorn scooped Legolas up off the ground. Legolas was losing consciousness, fast.

"Stay with me, mellon-nin," said Aragorn, and he turned to Gimli as he started to run. "Watch my back-"

"Master dwarf…" Legolas finished, giving a small smile between gasps for air.

Aragorn smiled down, worry shining in his eyes, as he ran. Legolas cringed as they ran over a particularly rough patch of earth, the movement jarring his shoulder.

"Halt!" a voice that sent chills up Gimli's spine called out, and he and Aragorn shared a look that showed they agreed: they would not stop. Never.

At least, that was until the owner of the voice, a commander leading a small group of men, caught up with them. One of the men leaped and grabbed Aragorn, holding a knife to his throat. As Aragorn was held back, Legolas was sent flying from his arms, landing with an audible thud on the soft earth.

"Why did you do that?" Aragorn yelled, looking at Legolas's limp form. "You are worsening his injuries!" The leader of the men ignored him, walking past him toward Legolas, who was struggling to get up, his fingers brushing the trunk of a nearby tree.

'Please help me,' he said to it, practically begging. 'I do not know who these men are, but I know that they do not mean well for us.'

'I shall help you young one, fear not,' said the tree. Its roots came up to trip the man coming toward Legolas and grabbing his ankle. Meanwhile, the branches reached down and wrapped themselves around the waist of the prince of Mirkwood, lifting him up above the mortals.

"What the—?" several men said in their surprise, and Gimli gaped in amazement. He knew the elf could talk to trees, but this was more than he had ever imagined!

The tree cradled Legolas in its branches, and it and a few other trees around it began to send a trickle of energy into the prince, giving his the strength to stand. His right arm was useless, so he grabbed one of his twin knives with his left hand.

'Hannon le, my friends,' he said to the trees. 'Your help is much appreciated.'

'Go fight for your friends, young one,' said the tree, lowering Legolas onto the ground far enough away that the men couldn't see him.

The men were arguing, he realized. He heard something about a tree tripping someone, and he allowed himself a smothered laugh. Stealthily sneaking towards the group. As soon as he was close enough, he used his knife and lunged at the man holding Aragorn and Gimli, killing him instantly.

"Laddie!" Gimli said in surprise. "How are you fighting? You were practically dead!" He had a look of utter astonishment on his face.

"Trees give me power!" Legolas said as he began to defend against another man, and Aragorn and Gimli jumped into the fight as well.

It was many minutes later that, between fighting two men, Legolas had the chance to look for his friends. He had moved away from them by a surprising distance in the midst of the battle, and yet he couldn't get back, because he was surrounded. Every time he tried to surpass the men and reach his friends again, he was pushed back even further.

Eventually, his friends were out of sight and he stopped trying to find his way back to them.

'As soon as I get rid of these last few men, I can probably make it back without much trouble,' he thought as he came into a small clearing.

Finally killing the last man, he paused for a moment, breathing heavily, before leaning down to wipe off the blood on his knife.

"Don't move," a voice hissed, and he felt cold steel against his throat. Turning his head slightly to glimpse the man who had caught him unawares, he could not stop the fear that flooded his eyes when he recognized him, nor the cry so similar to that of earlier that escaped his lips.

"ADA!"

A/N: Oooh, dramatic cliffy! I hope you all liked it, I will probably update by…Friday, at the latest. I'm really busy tomorrow, but I will probably get it written Thursday, and hopefully posted. If not it will be up by Friday.

Please review! More reviews=faster updates! :D