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Prologue

Mirkwood was under siege. The Necromancer had stormed the city, bringing with him countless numbers of forces. After slowly taking the forest, bit by bit, the shadow behind the mountains of Mirkwood decided that he was, quite frankly, bored. And the result was that a vicious assault was led against the Elvenking, Thranduil.

The two sons of the king, Ithilas and Legolas, were leading a group of elves through the trees to an ambush against the Necromancer's forces. Rumour had it that the Necromancer was bringing in a dragon, and that had to be avoided at all costs. Ithilas, the older of the two, was in charge, and Legolas was fine with this. What he was not fine with, however, was the fact that Legolas' mortal enemy, Aniriul, was to accompany them.

Legolas and Aniriul had spent most of the way there bickering, something which had only ended when Ithilas had threatened to throw his brother out of the tree if he didn't "shut his unholy gob." So Legolas and Aniriul had both stopped talking.

Ithilas was busy deciding how best to get from one tree to the next when he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Legolas gesturing to the ground.

"Look down!" his brother mouthed.

Ithilas looked down and saw a large group of orcs walking towards them, making no small amount of noise as they did so.

"... Did you see those ridiculous faces as their 'spy' told them that we were bringing a dragon!" The orcs laughed loudly and derisively. "As if our master would ever be bothered to get a dragon! Idiots!" More laughter.

Ithilas' face fell as he realised the significance of these words. They had been set up, and they had been led into a trap. And, judging by the look on Legolas' face, he was not the only person to have realised this.

"We have to get back," Ithilas mouthed to the elves. "Now!"

One by one, the elves started moving stealthily along the trees. But Aniriul had other ideas. Bending his bow and fitting an arrow, he aimed at the leader of the orcs.

"NO!" hissed Ithilas, but it was too late. With a sharp snap, the arrow sailed through the air, landing with a soft thud in the back of the leader. An eerie silence fell over the clearing.

"You just gave away our position!" snarled Legolas.

"Move! Now!" Ithilas tried to get them out of there before the orcs started shooting back. There would be time for berating later. Hopefully...

Suddenly two arrows sailed into the trees. One slammed into the tree trunk, the other hit Legolas on the shoulder. Legolas let out a soft hiss of pain, but it was enough. More arrows started flying into the trees, and the elves, even outnumbered as they were, had no choice but to fight. The group of approximately twenty elves leapt down from the trees, drawing knives with them as they went. Metal clashed with metal as the orcs tried viciously to kill this small part of the opposition. Some were killed, including Ithilas' best friend Sariodh, and several more were badly injured, including Aniriul. Soon it was just Legolas and Ithilas fighting back to back. Or more accurately, standing back to back with their swords drawn, while the orcs encircled them.

"Are you all right?" asked Ithilas quietly.

"I've been worse," responded Legolas, his voice matching his brother's. "But then again, I've been better too."

"Well well well!" one of the larger orcs approached them. "Look what we have here, boys! The two elvish princes!" The orcs laughed.

"Do we kill 'em?" asked one of the other orcs. "I ain't tasted elf flesh in ages!"

The new leader spared his somewhat dim companion one look of distain before returning his stare to the princes. "No, we don't. They're perfect for what the master has in store."

With that, the orcs simultaneously rushed towards the elves. The two brothers may have been formidable fighters, but there were approximately fifty orcs against two elves, one of whom was already injured. It didn't take the orcs long to subdue them.

Thranduil was pacing so much that it made those watching him dizzy. Amongst those who were watching him were Queen Rolena, Legolas' love Isiris, and the royal family's only other child, Ithilas' and Legolas' sister Era.

"Where are they?" snapped the king, as a loud crash echoed around them.

"Ada, I'm sure they will be fine," Era tried hard to console the restless king, but it wasn't easy when the city was being fired upon from all sides and her two brothers were on an insanely risky mission. The simple fact of the matter was that Legolas was probably the best captain that Mirkwood's army had ever seen, and with him and the crown prince gone, the place was at a loss, leaving the city open to the Valar knew what. And unfortunately, the Necromancer had seized that opening with both hands. And now the city was in ruins.

Suddenly, all the noise stopped. The screams in the streets fell silent. The bloodshed in the streets ceased. Thranduil led the way to the balcony, and they saw all the orcs withdrawing from the city. They watched as a small group of orcs escorted the Necromancer to the gates, before stopping.

They want me to go down to them, Thranduil realised.

It wasn't long before the Elvenking was facing the Necromancer. The Necromancer was clad in black, with a long black cloak hanging from his shoulders, and a hood that shielded his face from view.

"Well?" Thranduil asked. "What do you want?"

"I want the fighting to stop."

Thranduil laughed bitterly. "Yes, you want the fighting to stop, when you have control over Mirkwood!" The Elvenking spat out these last six words.

"No," the Necromancer whispered, unperturbed by Thranduil's harsh response. "I want Mirkwood, but I will settle for a much smaller price."

Thranduil raised his eyebrows sceptically.

"I will lift the siege on Mirkwood," the Necromancer said while gesturing to the orcs. "For the price of one of your sons."

The orcs brought forward Ithilas and Legolas at knifepoint. They were both badly cut and bruised, as if they had ended up on the wrong end of a street brawl, and Legolas had an arrow sticking out of his shoulder.

"So the choice is yours." The Necromancer's voice had something in it that sounded like amusement. "Which son is going to be the price of Mirkwood?"

"Neither!" growled Thranduil. "I choose neither!"

"Oh?" The Necromancer wandered over to Ithilas, and took the knife from the orc holding him. "So you'd like me to kill both of them, then?"

"I- What do you mean?"

"Well, it's simple. Choose one of your sons to save, or both will die, and the siege will continue."

"What? No!"

The Necromancer nodded to the orc holding Legolas, who smiled, before seizing the arrow and twisting it. Legolas yelled out in agony, drowning out the pleas made by his brother and father to stop.

"So which will it be?" The Necromancer asked finally. "Will I take him?" He nodded towards Legolas, who had gone limp. "Or will I take young Ithilas here?" The Necromancer pressed the knife against the crown prince's throat, forming a dark red cut at the base of Ithilas' neck.

Both of the princes of Mirkwood fell silent. They both knew who Thranduil would save, but they didn't want to hear it from the king's own mouth.

"Legolas." The king finally spoke, and his voice cracked as he said it. "You can take Legolas."

The Necromancer smiled, before pulling the blade away from Ithilas' throat. The orc roughly hurled the crown prince onto the floor before Thranduil's feet, while another punched Legolas in the stomach. The force of the blow made Legolas double over with pain, while the Necromancer ordered for him to be dragged away.

"Don't hurt him!" yelled Ithilas from the floor. "Please!"

Thranduil couldn't bear to look at Legolas. He was too ashamed. But at the last minute, he raised his head, and met Legolas' eyes. He felt his heart break as he watched a tear roll down his son's face.

Thranduil led the way back through the city, not even looking at his oldest son as he followed. When they made it back to the palace, Thranduil was immediately bombarded with questions.

"Are they leaving?"

"What happened?

"Where's Legolas?"

This last question came from Isiris. Thranduil couldn't face her, he just couldn't. Just like he couldn't face Legolas.

"Ada?" Ithilas asked. "Ada, I'm sorry!"

Thranduil ignored him, walking straight towards his chambers.

"Ada?" Ithilas repeated.

"What happened?" Rolena asked her son, who brushed her off, chasing after Thranduil.

"Ada, I'm sorry for what happened, but will you please talk to me?"

Thranduil once again ignored him, opening the door to his chambers, entering, and slamming it in his son's face.

"Ada!"

"What happened?" asked Era, approaching Ithilas somewhat frustratedly. "Why is Ada not talking to you? Where's the rest of your patrol? Where's Legolas?"

Ithilas lowered his eyes to the ground.

"It has something to do with Legolas, hasn't it?" When Ithilas didn't respond, Era pressed him. "Hasn't it?"

Ithilas looked at her, his eyes empty of all emotion except grief.

"Ithilas," Era asked, scared by the look in her brother's eyes. "Where is Legolas?"

"He's gone," Ithilas whispered. Era shook her head, trying to deny it. Ithilas pulled her into a tight hug. "The Necromancer took him. He's gone."