Chapter 12 - Mortals!

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Ok bear with me guys this is kind of a break from the depressing torture and dark stuff! It'll probably be quite short so sorry! Also this is sort of during Running for the Trees so that's why it says that Thranduil wants Aragorn alive earlier: he's found out by then! Hope this avoids confusion.

Thranduil sighed. Turning on his heel, he stalked away from the corridor he'd been searching, unable to find whoever the shadowy figure had been. None of the palace inhabitants had been meeting his eye or speaking much at all. Something was clearly wrong. It was as though they all knew something he didn't...

Weird. Anyway, he could always go and take his confused anger out on his son. He deserved it.

He walked briskly down the corridor toward the dungeons. Every few seconds or so, he would get the most peculiar feeling, as though people were watching him.

Unbeknownst to the Elvenking, each and every elf, servant or otherwise, in the palace, knew that he was headed not to Legolas, as he thought, but to an empty cell.

As such, people were not just watching him. They were staring openly, most of them scuttling back and wishing themselves somewhere else in barely suppressed fear at what would follow his arrival at the dungeons.

Of course, the inhabitants of the palace knew not that Thranduil had been tormenting a young elfling every day, let alone his son - nobody knew he even had a son - but they did know that a prisoner had either escaped or been rescued, and dreaded the King's response.

As soon as Thranduil was out of sight down the dungeon passage, a small crowd of curious elves began to gather at the entrance, terrified and intrigued.

Meanwhile, oblivious to the growing audience to his 'visit', Thranduil strode the familiar path to the cell he had visited so often.

The whole crowd held its breath as the footsteps in the corridor stopped.

Thranduil stared, open-mouthed, at the empty cell before him. The door was still open and the lock had clearly been picked.

Someone had found out. And taken action.

From the passage entrance, the crowd heard an infuriated shriek. At the sound, they quickly dispersed and fled back to resume whatever activities they had been consumed in previously.

Servants cowered before an angry Thranduil as he stormed from the dungeons, noticing a small X carved into the wall. All the elves, even the ones from Rivendell and Lothlórien, had been to Mirkwood before and knew that this was the dungeon passage. They would have no need to mark the way.

Thranduil knew that left him only one option as to who had taken Legolas. His infuriated scream echoed through every passageway in the palace as he vented his rage to the world.

"MORTALS!"

I know this is a short chapter and I hope it made you smile! Thank you :)

Oh, don't forget to vote :P

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