Reasonably crazy:  Nah, I wouldn't kill Eomer…yet!  Ahh, the hobbit band.  Yes, I just heard their hit single, "The Happy Ring"!!  Lol!

_______________

Legolas was suddenly jerked awake when he felt water splash on his face and laughter filled his ears.  His eyes flew open, and he quickly turned his head and spat out a mouthful of water, sputtering as he drew in breath.

A huge, clawed hand reached down and gripped the front of his tunic, hauling him to his feet.  His vision blurred as the pounding in his head increased, and he swayed unsteadily on his feet, nearly falling back to the ground.  Arms grabbed him though, jerking him back onto his feet.  More laughter sounded loudly, and he focused his eyes on the figure holding him.

He nearly fell back in disgust when he saw that it was an orc who was holding him up.  Looking around frantically, he saw that he was surrounded by a small group of orcs, and behind them was an even larger group of sleeping orcs.  He tried to push the orc in front of him away, but he realized with growing dread that his hands were tied behind his back.

The orc saw his rising panic and smiled, pushing Legolas back until his back connected with a tree.  "The sun is falling," the orc said in a guttural voice that scratched at Legolas' ears.  "It is time to play with our prize!"  And Legolas knew without a doubt, that the orc was talking about him.

Turning away from him, the foul creature grunted a command to the other orcs who were awake, then stalked away to the group of sleeping orcs.  Legolas took this time to look around.  The sun was indeed going down, now almost completely below the horizon, the diminishing light casting long shadows on the ground.  Legolas sighed.  He was alone in a forest at night, surrounded by a bunch of orcs.  Not exactly ideal.

He remembered Eomer, but knew that he was not with him.  He was probably still back in the field where the fight had taken place.  Legolas had seen him fall.  He had tried to reach him, but he could not.  He had let Eomer die.  Legolas clenched his eyes shut as the tears filled them, but they rolled down his cheeks anyways.  He blamed himself for Eomer's murder, as Legolas truly believed he was dead.  If he was not, the orcs would not have left him behind.  Legolas had lost a truly great friend.

He was pulled from his mourning, however, when he saw that the other orcs had been awakened.  They were fighting amongst themselves over a fire they had built.  A pot of water sat on top of a little structure above the flame, and he could hear the hiss of steam as the water boiled.  Other orcs were eying him, and some began to approach.

A push from behind sent Legolas stumbling into their midst, and an orc moved to hit him.  But Legolas would not let him.  Instead, he ducked out of the way and kicked out at the orc, sending the creature tumbling to the ground instead.  A great roar sounded, and suddenly all the orcs were charging at Legolas, punching and kicking, trying to knock him to the ground.  Legolas avoided the blows as best as he could, and tried to kick at his attackers in turn.  It was hard to fight with his hands tied behind his back, but he put up a good fight nonetheless.  No orcs were able to land any good blows at the continuously moving elf, but Legolas was able to push a couple to the ground.  He realized that this was getting him nowhere, that the orcs were just getting madder and he wasn't even doing any damage, but at least he would let them know that he wasn't going to be an easy prisoner.  However, the fight came to an abrupt end when an orc retrieved the pot from the fire and threw the boiling contents all over the front of the struggling elf.

Legolas could not hold back his cry of pain as the hot water splashed across his face, chest and arms.  White hot burning pain shot all through him, and tears filled his eyes as he fell to the ground, his legs no longer supporting him.  He could hear a sizzling, and he knew that it was his skin.  Looking down, he saw his skin bubbling slightly, becoming raw and covered in blisters.  The smoke rose up from his body, and he let loose another wail as his face became nearly numb.  He convulsed on the ground, his fingers clawing at the dirt, trying to pull himself away from the pain.

The orcs grabbed him again.  Blearily, he saw the face of an orc in front of him.  "You be no trouble now, right elf?  No trouble!"  Legolas tried to form a reply, but he could hardly move his lips.  The orc growled, and he sent his fist flying into Legolas' face.  Legolas didn't really care, though.  He could hardly feel it anyways.

Another orc grabbed him, this one staring intently into his eyes.  "I don't like him,"  the orc declared, as if there was even the possibility that any orcs liked elves.  "He needs to learn his lesson."  Grinning evilly, the orc pulled something from his pocket.  Legolas' eyes widened when he saw the smooth edge of a long knife, which the orc held up in front of Legolas' face.  The other orcs took off his tunic and shirt, so that he was naked from the chest up.  He felt the coldness of the metal as it was pressed against his belly and took a step back.  He gasped as his feet connected with something, and he fell backwards.  Right into the fire.

Legolas' mouth opened as he tried to scream, but no sound came out.  He felt the flames lick at his back, and arched his back to get away from the heat.  The pain was blinding, and rolled over him in waves that nearly drowned him.  It was so hot, that is was freezing him, icy spikes driving deep into his back.  He rolled away, and kept rolling for a ways until he was sure that he was off the fire.  But the heat and pain remained.  Gasping for breath, the tears flowing down his face, he saw the blackness at the edge of his vision and welcomed it greatly.

The last thing he heard before blacking out was the sound of orc laughter.

_______________