Hello. My summary sucks, and I'm trying to make this story a bit more fast paced than my earlier FAILURE of a fic...(an old naruto one)

Please make your reviews kind!

PS - PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES. THEY HAVE IMPORTANT INFO SOMETIMES. Thanks.

TAKEN

The dawn's light filtered through the canopy of the Greenwood, lighting up the forest floor with profound shades of green, silver, and gold. It was early spring and the snow had not melted completely. It was still too cold for the children to go outside and play, yet still warm enough for the flowers to push through the semi-frozen soil.

Despite the slight chill, two young girls lingered in the forest, breaking small resistant icicles from the low tree branches and pretending to fight each other, imitating the King's Guard.

They did not speak, but merely clashed frozen sword against frozen sword, a dance of death. Every strike they made created some disturbance in the trees, causing the frost coated dust to fall. It was a magical sight, yet eerie. A sudden snap of a branch startled the girls, causing them to abruptly drop their icicle swords. They shattered when they hit the ground, to the girls' disappointment.

The sun was suddenly obscured by clouds, and the Greenwood took on a dreary grey gloom. The girls became frightened all too soon.

"Let's head back to the palace, Lia"

They were heading straight for the main path which would lead them all the way back to the palace. They were only five minutes away from the palace itself, but the Greenwood was dense and mysterious - you could be lost in five minutes, or fifty. It made little difference.

But the girls knew the forest terrain quite well. They headed onward with surety in their footsteps. Another branch cracked and they startled to a stop. Lia and Eva stood back to back.

"What was that?"

"I'm not sure, Lia. Let's get to the path quickly" The girls were running through the undergrowth now, not worrying if their dresses became stained, or their hair became matted.

They could see the path now, but just before they stepped on to it, a powerful grip pulled them back. Their mouths were gagged with cotton rags before they could scream, and moments after, a blindfold for their eyes. They were flung onto someone's back like a sac of potatoes. They grabbed one another's hand for their lives. The man who carried them both whispered:

"Do not be afraid, we will not hurt you." His voice was sweet, young, and elven. Immediately the girls eased their sense of panic - but only slightly.

Another spoke soon after, his voice much more rugged and unrefined: "Let's get out of this wretched wood quickly. The Greenwood ilk will find out soon enough. We should be as far away from here as possible"

Not for one moment did the girls let go of each other's hands. Not for a moment did they feel fear - for they were together.

King Oropher was troubled. All the guards had given flawless reports - not one mishap or issue that needed to be dealt with regarding the welfare of the Greenwood. Trade flourished, the people prospered, everything was peaceful. This is what troubled him. There was always one thing or another which led to turmoil in the Greenwood - something that always caused some sort of major issue, within the palace or in the wood itself.

Right now? It was too quiet. Quiet was good, quiet was stable and much desired. Yet he felt that something was waiting for him. Something big.

As he pondered on these thoughts, sitting on his lavishly endowed throne, two women entered the main hall. He was good friends with both of them. They had come from the main entrance and they looked incredibly worried, morose, and angry - if it was possible to be all three. And now Oropher knew that his tumultuous 'something' was finally going to reveal itself.

The women bowed hastily.

"Rise. You look worried, Nithroel, Vestele"

"It's our daughters. They've disappeared!" Nithroel spoke hastily and informally, but Oropher did not seem to mind.

"Where? When? Tell me everything" Oropher rose from his throne and signalled for the ladies to follow him.

He lead them towards the entrance of the palace and began rounding up the guards as Vestele narrated their story.

"They wanted to play, so we left them in a clearing in the woods - a place we have visited often and know well. When we noticed that they were not present for their morning meal, we headed out to search for them. We looked for an hour before returning here. There was no sign of them - not a piece of cloth or strand of hair to be found" Vestele's voice was quivering with fear for her daughter.

The king did not know whether he should have been appalled at his guards' incompetence, or the young girls' desire to play in the cold woods. Either way, two missing girls was no small matter. If they were not found soon, Oropher's own reputation would be stained. The guards were sent in all directions - as far and wide as the Greenwood grew. And as long as it took, they would find those girls.

Lia and Eva were exhausted, though they themselves were not walking. They had not eaten since the night before, and were tired from their morning joust. The gag they were tied with was cutting into their mouths, choking them, though the cloth was not rough. Their blindfolds soaked up the sweat from their foreheads and made their eyes water.

The man who carried them was swift and quick as he ran through the Greenwood. The girls barely felt any turbulence, which they were silently grateful for.

The man abruptly stopped, causing their chins to jerk and strike hard against his back. They groaned, but their hands did not leave each other's grasp.

"We must leave no trail after this. Be careful" He spoke to the rugged sounding man in some strange tongue that neither Lia nor Eva could understand.

"All right. Rip a piece of their dresses and stain them with blood. That will end the elves' search"

"Good idea, comrade"

The man set the girls down, but they did not budge, for fear of being attacked. The man thought they were smart for staying still. Any other girl would have screamed, but these two were silent as lambs.

"Do not move, or I will cut you by mistake" The man's elven voice made them relax once again.

His knife glided and cut off two large pieces of both their dresses. Then, for the blood, he sliced a shallow cut into his arm and let blood drip onto the cloth, and the ground beneath. He dropped the bloodstained garments and bandaged his arm with another rag.

"Where are we going?" The two men jumped. One of the girls had finally gathered the courage to speak.

It was the short one. Her voice did not sound afraid, only curious - surprising the men even further.

"To a secret place with many elves like you. Special elves" The rugged man spoke with a softer, kinder voice now. He was putting in quite a lot of effort to do so.

The elven man picked up the girls again, slowly this time, and hoisted them over his shoulders. The blood trail they had left would ward off the Green Elves' search for the girls. Now they had to tread carefully, making every effort not to disturb the undergrowth and stillness of the Greenwood.

"Lord Maro's prophecy was real after all" The rugged man said.

"We cannot be sure just yet..." The elf glanced at the two girls he carried - both firmly awake, aware, but not afraid.

On the seventh day of the seventh month, at seven minutes past dawn, by a marked tree in the Greenwood, you will find the fearless and the feared. Bring them to me, and I shall make them monsters.

Good? Intense? I hope...

In the next chapter you will see present day Thranduil.

NOTE: This is sort of like a prologue chapter, and is not particularly important to the main plot, but is necessary to understand how everything comes to be.