Chapter Twenty Five

A cold chill shot through Legolas’s heart, as he heard Mordraug speak those challenging words. He couldn’t be sure if they were spoken in anger solely toward his father and Elrond, or if he knew that Legolas was listening, and the words were meant for him to hear. Either way, he was dismayed to learn that the dark elf knew that others would soon be arriving.

The elven prince was forced to take slow, measured breaths to calm himself. He had to think rationally. That would have been fine, he told himself, if he had all the time in the world to get this matter settled with Mordraug. But, he did not. He had to finish it before his father and Estel arrived. At the same time, irrational thoughts and worse yet, actions, would not accomplish anything. He had to find something in the middle.

The blond archer slowly raised his head a few inches to see if Mordraug was still facing away from him. He was. His demeanor was almost relaxed. In fact, he had the air of someone who hadn’t a care in the world. Perhaps, in Mordraug’s mind, he didn’t. He was certainly confident he would win the upcoming battle with little trouble. Legolas was determined that that would not be the case.

Legolas couldn’t see the snake, since Mordraug held it in front of him. He knew, however, that the black serpent didn’t need to be anywhere near him to bring about an attack. He had learned that painful lesson all too well in Rivendell.

Legolas made up his mind what he would do and instantly acted upon it. There was neither need nor time to ponder that decision once it had been made. The elf drew his knives once again and prepared to throw one at Mordraug‘s back. He felt no compunction at making this kind of sneak attack. He much preferred facing an opponent, but Mordraug did not fight with honor, and Legolas had already realized that, in this case, he could not afford that luxury, either. If his honor was sacrificed in order to defeat Mordraug, so be it.

Mordraug, with his keen elven hearing, was aware of the movement behind him, recognizing it instantly for what it was. He whirled around, and ducked just a second before the knife would have buried itself in his flesh. The blade flew past and landed in the brush on the far side of the clearing, very near where the dead rabbit had lain.

Legolas was dismayed to see that Mordraug had deftly avoided the blade. There was only one thing left to do. With his one remaining knife, he sprang from the brush and charged the dark elf, rapidly closing the distance between them. He hoped that Mordraug wouldn’t be expecting a frontal assault this early in the battle.

Legolas was right. Mordraug was actually expecting another knife to come his way. With this in mind, he kept his eyes on the knife Legolas was now switching to his right hand.

Legolas sprinted the last few feet toward the dark elf. He refused to consider that this surprise attack might be the only advantage over the Avari that he would ever have

The charge quickly turned out to be no advantage at all. Mordraug waited until the last second and then sidestepped Legolas just before he could be impaled on the long knife the young elf held out in front of him.

Legolas heard a hiss in his ear, as his momentum carried him past Mordraug. He then felt a sharp pain on the left side of his head. He knew immediately that it was not the strike of a snake. Out of the corner of his eye, Legolas saw the dark elf’s fist move past his head.

Mordraug had reacted with anger, when he saw Legolas coming at him with long knife in hand. After stepping aside, he had balled his right hand into a fist and swung it at the charging elf’s head. It was an instinctive move, and he didn’t know if the blow would connect or not. He smiled when his fist landed solidly above Legolas’s left ear.

Legolas was not expecting to be hit with a fist, and thus did not move from his straight line charge. The pain from the blow was intense but did not deter him from his purpose.

Fortunately for him, Legolas did not fall or lose his balance. Instead, he whirled around and charged Mordraug again. Despite the blow Mordraug had given him, Legolas’s knife had remained level. He had decided that another quick charge was the best plan of attack, at this point. But, this time rather than trying to strike Mordraug, he took a swipe at the snake’s head.

The snake’s response was a swift one. Angered, the serpent did not wait for a command from Mordraug. It immediately rose up and struck at the fair elf. Legolas had raised his hand up in a defensive move, and the snake’s lowered fangs met with the flat blade of Legolas’s knife. The wood elf couldn’t believe his good luck.

The snake was enraged, but before it could strike again, Mordraug had put a restraining hand around the snake’s neck. “Stay your anger, my pet,” he said soothingly, as he began to stroke the black head. “For now, I wish him merely immobilized.”

Legolas had no time to prepare for what he knew was about to happen. The small yellow eyes that were now very close to his face flashed red and fire once again exploded through the elf’s body. For the second time in less than half an hour, the prince found himself on his knees, panting more from the shock to his system than loss of breath, though that was certainly part of it. He stared down at his knife, which was now lying harmlessly on the ground. He hadn’t remembered dropping it.

His mind was screaming at him to do something. He tried reaching for the knife, but his arm barely moved, refusing to obey his command. He felt the same way he had one time years ago, when he was caught in a strong river current, and he had tried to reach out for a nearby log to keep himself from being swept over a waterfall. The current had effectively kept his arm from moving forward.

There was only air between his hand and his knife now, yet he might as well have been fighting against the river current for all the success he was having. He reminded himself grimly that he had never been able to grab the log, either. His oldest brother had rescued him then. He laughed bitterly to think that he was actually wishing no one would show up to rescue him now. If he died at the same moment Mordraug did, this whole mission would be a success and he could go to the Halls of Mandos in peace. If only that would come to pass.

Mordraug stood and laughed down at him. “What is wrong, little one? Can you not pick up your own knife?”

Legolas’s head came up slowly, eyes narrowed, and he glared in pure hatred at the Avari. “Do not call me that,” he ground out between clenched teeth, trying to use his anger to ignore the pain that lanced through him. That was the name his father had called him when he was an elfling and more recently in Rivendell, and he didn’t want it sullied by coming from this evil elf’s mouth.

Mordraug laughed harder. He didn’t know why being called ‘little one’ irritated the young elf so much, but it amused him to know that it did. Perhaps, it held bad memories for the prince. It didn‘t really matter, as anger again flared in the dark elf. “I will call you whatever I wish, whenever I wish it. You will learn that before you die.” Mordraug raised his hand and started to take a step forward, intending to hit Legolas for his perceived insubordination.

“Leave...him...alone!” came a fiercely demanding voice from across the clearing.

Mordraug never took that first step, as he stared into the furious face of Thranduil, whose blue-gray eyes were now as dark and menacing as a thunderstorm. If it had been physically possible, the intensity of his glare would have ignited Mordraug where he stood.

The black eyes of Mordraug reflected his unbridled shock at the fair elf’s sudden appearance. Then, he quickly and effectively hooded his emotions. “I have been waiting for you, Thranduil,” Mordraug replied icily. He looked around to see who else had accompanied the woodland king.

Standing in a semicircle behind Mordraug were the Rivendell elves, Elrond being more to the side. Estel stood transfixed behind and slightly to the left side of Thranduil.

Elrond stood silently and gave Mordraug his own considerable glare. He had not drawn a weapon. However, Glorfindel and Elrond’s twin sons had their arrows pointed straight at the dark elf‘s head. They dared not fire, though, because they did not know whether or not this accursed excuse for an elf had the knowledge to cure Legolas of the venom’s poison. They could not risk killing what might prove to be their friend’s only chance of survival. That fact, however, did not cause them to lower their bows a single inch.

Ignoring the standoff that electrified the air around him as affectively as any nearby lightning strike could have done, Aragorn had now run up to Legolas and knelt in front of him. He locked eyes with his elven friend. The pain the ranger saw there caused his chest to constrict. He reached out to put his hands on the elf‘s shoulders, when Mordraug yelled, “Do not touch him, or I will kill him right now!” Aragorn jerked his hands back. He would have defied Mordraug in an instant, if the threat had been against him. But, he was not willing to risk further pain to his friend. His eyes reflected the regret he felt at not being able to offer Legolas any comfort.

Legolas nodded slightly in understanding. There was also a silent plea to Estel that he should not risk turning Mordraug’s wrath on himself.

Though it didn’t seem possible, the fury in Thranduil’s eyes intensified even more. “You will deal with me now that I am here. Leave my son out of this.” He began to advance on the dark elf. He stopped only when the snake raised its head again and hissed menacingly. As much as the elf king wanted to put his bare hands around Mordraug’s neck and squeeze until the life was gone out of him, he was no fool. He could not risk being bitten. It would do no one, including Legolas, any good.

With a smirk at Thranduil‘s forced restraint, Mordraug nodded in Legolas‘s direction. “As long as I have your son in my power, you dare not attempt any hostile moves against me.” He looked around him. “That goes for the rest of you, which I am sure you know quite well. You would have shot me by now, if you believed otherwise.”

The arrogance the dark elf showed was almost more than the other elves could bear. “Just so that you understand I mean what I say...” There was no need to finish the sentence, because just as those words left Mordraug’s mouth, Legolas arched his back and screamed.

The sound of Legolas’s torment tore at Thranduil’s heart, as it did them all, but he could not afford to turn his back or even his head from Mordraug or the snake. He also knew that no matter what he had told Elrond about the strength he possessed to protect Mirkwood, he dare not look at his son, or his resolve might well crumble.

Aragorn hadn’t been able to hold back a groan of frustration at not being able to help his friend. He sat on his knees and clenched both hands into fists. His face betrayed his emotional pain at his helplessness.

Elrond finally motioned for Elladan, Elrohir and Glorfindel to lower their bows. The look he gave Mordraug was almost as fierce as that of Thranduil, but he knew that if Legolas was to be spared further pain, his sons and his friend would need to refrain from showing any kind of threat for the time being, at least. Keeping their aim on him might push Mordraug to follow through on his threat to kill Legolas right then. It galled him to feel as helpless as Estel felt.

Mordraug’s laughter rang out, as he looked past Thranduil at Legolas. “Poor little one, he came here to protect a father who does not even care enough to look at him in his time of need. Is that how you acted when your wife was suffering? Did you turn your back on her, as well, Thranduil?”

The elf king had to work so hard to control himself from leaping at Mordraug that his whole body shook. Still, his eyes never left the black eyes of the Avari. He watched, as the snake’s eyes flashed red and a scream once again escaped Legolas’s lips. This time, unlike in Rivendell, the fire in his body drove him to the ground where he lay moaning, as his body jerked and writhed in agony.

This time instead of the steady sensation of fire burning his flesh, the pain now came in waves, each one seemingly more painful than the last. Legolas continued to writhe and moan. The sights and sounds of the world around him faded to nothingness, punctuated by flashes of intense white lightning that corresponded with each wave of agony. His entire world now was reduced to the burning agony consuming him.

Mordraug looked past Thranduil to watch the prince’s losing battle with a pain far beyond any he had previously known. The dark elf smiled at the results of his ‘handiwork‘. Not only was Legolas suffering but so was his father. That alone was a great source of joy for the Avari.

Mordraug’s joy was also a source of distraction for him.

Thranduil took that opportunity to draw his dagger. He would have driven it into the dark elf’s throat, if not for the fact that the snake was now watching him, and he knew full well that he couldn‘t kill Mordraug and get his hand out of the way of a strike from the snake. So deciding, Thranduil, in a lightning fast move, put the sharp blade of his knife against the top of the snake’s neck about three inches below its head. The serpent hissed angrily, but the elven king held his knife firm.

Instantly, Mordraug looked down and saw with horror that he no longer held the advantage. He realized, much too late, of course, that his feeling of triumph at what he had done to Legolas had distracted him. He had never believed what Legolas had told him about his father putting Mirkwood ahead of his family. That failure to believe was now costing him. Rage crossed Mordraug’s face as he looked up at Thranduil.

“Do not try to drop your arm and move this serpent out of the way of my blade,” Thranduil threatened icily. “You would not like the outcome for it---or for you.”

Mordraug knew that this was no idle threat. Even if he had not dealt with Thranduil at all in the past to know the seriousness of the threat, seeing the wood elf’s demeanor now would be convincing enough. A myriad of confusing thoughts swirled through Mordraug’s mind, as he frantically began to calculate his options.

TBC