Disclaimer: I do not own any of this just what I wrote

Please read the AN at the bottom

The moon shone brightly this night its gentle light shining through the leaves to caress his skin in it warm embrace. Its light illuminated his path through the murky forest. The wind tugged at his hair playfully as he ran swiftly after his targets that he had been tracking for three days now, jumping over roots and other obstacles in his way. His footsteps were light as though he were dancing on air. He was a shadow, only a blur against the backdrop of the trees. The forest was silent, not a thing to be heard besides the soft swishing of the wind rustling the leaves and the trees whispering sweet nothings in his ear. His heart beat firmly in his chest the steady thumping giving a pace to his run.

This was Legolas's favorite part of the hunt, when everything was still and it was only he and the trees. The world seemed to be on pause and there was a sense of peace in the air that was almost tangible. At this moment in time he felt as though he was part of nature himself. There was nothing on his mind except the thought of the hunt, no responsibilities other than to catch the Orcs and kill them. Here he was not a prince but a part of the forest itself; there were no stifling formalities here. Here the forest respected him for himself, not his title or who his father was. Here there was nothing but an inner sense of contentment and duty.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small sound up ahead and he paused in his run. He must be nearing to where the Orcs were camped. He heard the noise again but something was odd about it. It wasn't any noise he had ever heard an Orc make. He tilted his head slightly to the side and listened closer. His eyes widened and the beating of his heart got faster when he realized what it was. It was the cries of a child.

He resumed his run, all thoughts of peace left behind his only goal was to get to this child. He figured that it was a human child because it wasn't all that uncommon for them to wander off and into the dark Mirkwood forest. He followed the pitiful cries, his heart aching for the poor thing and as he got nearer the cries got louder. Soon enough he saw the campsite of the Orcs, 5 of them in total, a fairly small group, which was why he was hunting them alone. They were gathered around a fire eating something Legolas thought he was better left not knowing.

He quietly climbed up a tree to get a better view of what he was up against and to find the child. He scanned the campsite taking in everything with his excellent archers eyesight. His gaze finally stopped to rest on a small figure tied to a tree at the edge of the campsite. He had thought the child was a human but he couldn't have been more wrong. The child before him was a young dwarfling.

He had long dark hair, the exact opposite of Legolas whose hair was as light as the sun. His head was bent and he was sobbing his little heart out. One of the Orcs lifted his disfigured face from his bowl, looked at the dwarf and yelled, "Will you little runt shut up already or you'll be next on the menu." The dwarf quickly ceased his crying.

Legolas could wait no longer. He brought up his ever present, elegant bow and drew an arrow from the quiver strapped to his back. He lined up the arrow, breathing in as he pulled it back to his cheek and then breathed out as he released it. The arrow flew true and hit its mark, piercing the Orc who yelled at the child right between the eyes. The child shrieked in fright as he saw Legolas jump out of the tree landing lightly on his feet like a cat and then behead the next Orc with his twin blades.

The fight went smoothly, like a deadly dance and soon a pile of dead Orcs lay on the ground at his feet. He slowly approached the child who was quivering like a leaf caught in a storm and whimpering quietly. He knelt in front of the dwarf so that he was on the same level as the dwarf and drew one of his blades. The child scooted further against the tree as though he wanted to melt into it.

"Please, please don't hurt me." The child begged softly, big brown eyes pleading as they bore into clear blue ones. A tear slipped down his cheek and Legolas gently wiped it away with the back of his slender hand. The child flinched away from him terrified of the stranger.

"Shhh, little one, I will not hurt you. I only wish to cut your bonds. Would you please allow me to come close to you"? The child pondered the question for a moment before nodding his agreement, deciding to trust the strange being who seemed to want to help him. Legolas quickly sliced through the ropes holding the child to the tree, careful not to hurt the child.

"How have you come to be in this situation, dear child?" Legolas asked once the ropes were cut still kneeling before the dwarf.

"I can't remember, I hit my head before and now I can't remember." The child said his voice rising a bit in panic and more tears spilled from his eyes. Legolas could indeed see that there was a cut on the child's head, bleeding sluggishly.

"Would you like to tell me your name, child, if you could remember?"

The child's brow furrowed adorably in concentration as he struggled to remember something as simple as his name. "Kili." he finally said, "My name is Kili."

"Hello Kili, I am Legolas." Kili giggled and Legolas wondered what was amusing the child.

"You have a funny name, Leggyless." Legolas smiled at the wrong pronunciation of his name for the dwarf was still a child. Kili gave him a shy smile in return.

"Not as funny as the name Kili." Legolas replied, teasing the child "Legolas means Green Leaf in the language of the Elves. Kili's big eyes widened even more in surprise.

"You're an Elf." He said in shock, awe in his voice.

"Yes, indeed I am." Legolas responded, amusement evident in his tone.

"Can I… I mean… Could I…" Kili stuttered, "Can I see your ears" He finally managed to spit out blushing slightly. Now it was Legolas's turn to chuckle. The curiosity of children never ceased to amaze him. It was the same in every human town he visited also. Being the youngest elf, Legolas couldn't get enough of children. He loved their purity and innocence; it brought joy to his heart.

"Of course you may, you could even touch them if you would like." Legolas smiled encouragingly and brushed a lock of hair away from his right ear. Kili gasped in wonder and tentatively reached out a chubby hand. Legolas took it and led it to his ear where Kili gently ran his fingers over the tip. Legolas laughed, for it tickled and Kili grinned.

Suddenly Kili groaned and gripped his stomach taking his hand from Legolas's ear. "What is the matter Kili?" Legolas said, concern now washing over his features.

"My tummy hurts." Kili said weakly lifting his hand from his midsection to reveal a large bloodstain leaking through the child's shirt. Legolas cursed himself for not noticing sooner that the child was injured but he was to busy trying to calm him down instead of looking.

Legolas stood and scooped up the child in his arms, cradling him against his chest. Kili moaned in pain at being jostled and Legolas felt his heart twinge in sympathy. He started to run if he ran fast he could reach the palace within a few hours. "It hurt's." Kili whimpered and then started to cry again. Legolas then began to sing a lullaby as he ran to comfort the small child he held in his arms soon Kili's cries quieted and he was fast asleep curled up into a little ball. Worry gnawed at his heart for even if he reached the palace in time, would his father even let the dwarfling in?

AN: Thank you everyone for reading. This was a random brain-fart I had after reading an amazing story by BookDancer. This story is up for adoption whoever would like to continue it please PM me. Thank you.