[Legolas] In every grain of sand, is the story of the earth.

Chapter 5

We hadn't been stationary for little longer than a minute before one of the elves guarding the gate fell in to the river behind us, an orc arrow sticking out of his back. Thorin warned the dwarves of the danger instantly as they began fighting them off. Luckily, I was able to keep hold of my weapons throughout the ordeal and so I unsheathed my sword and prepared for battle.

Unfortunately, from my position, I was not able to use my bow so instead I simply sliced at the orcs I could reach. I was aware of Legolas and Tauriel's presence, they were firing arrows at the orcs as they came over the wall. I caught his gaze and I couldn't help but let a smug smile form on my lips.

I was somewhat aware that Kili had climbed out of the barrel and opened the gate but not before getting shot in the leg with an arrow. We didn't have long to dwell on the injury as the next thing we knew, we were being carried away by the river.

Finally out in the open, I called to Thorin before throwing him one of my swords so he could defend himself. Retrieving the bow from my back, I began to shoot arrows at the orcs, taking out the ones closest to the dwarves in order to eliminate the immediate threat. Parts of the river got narrow and it was easy for them to reach the dwarves with their weapons. 

I was conscious that we were running out of river, the waters were becoming more turbulent and a water fall was fast approaching. Regardless, I continued slaughtering the foul creatures as they came in to view. It was due to these dwarves that I escaped King Thranduil's dungeon, I was in their debt so I would not allow them to die.

I was aware of the dwarves throwing their weapons around among themselves, it was a team work I had never witnessed before. Their aim was flawless and never once did they hold on to a weapon for too long knowing that one of their kin would soon need it to defend themselves.

I pulled my attention back to the task at hand, I had to eliminate as many of the orc bowmen as possible. The dwarves could handle short ranged attacks but they were no match against long ranged ones.

Retrieving an arrow, I positioned it on my bow before taking aim. To my surprise, just before I released the arrow, the orc dropped to the ground with a loud thud. Raising my eyebrow slightly, my elf eyes spotted both Legolas and Taureil running along the riverbank, killing orcs as they passed them. In my heart I knew they were the ones responsible for taking away my freedom and locking me in a cell but I was almost happy to see them.

Knowing they would deal with the enemies behind, it allowed me to turn my attention to the front, taking out the orcs that were managing to keep up with the current of the waters. Knowing that we were still in Mirkwood, it surprised me that so many orcs were able to infiltrate the kingdom undetected.

I watched as the dwarves in front of me chopped at a branch that ran along the width of the river. Avoiding being hit by the log I jumped from my barrel, my hair picking up in the breeze, touching one foot down on the descending branch to steady myself before jumping in to the barrel once more.

"HEY!"

"Watch it!"

My attention was grabbed by the sound of the dwarves complaining and cursing one at a time. Turning my head, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as I saw Legolas using the dwarf's heads as stepping stones to cross the river.

The river continued to pull us closer and closer to the waterfall and although we were all aware, we continued fighting off the orcs rather than formulating a plan to avoid falling to or deaths. With a quick thought that the barrels would offer some form of protection and the realisation that the waterfall was a lot smaller than it could have been, I came to the conclusion that we would all survive the drop and therefore turned my full attention back to battle.

I watched Thorin throw an axe, killing an orc that was about to stab Legolas before he disappeared down the fall. Firing off one more arrow, I stashed my bow down in the barrel to protect it as I floated over the waterfall and crashed in to the waters below.

Heaving my aching body to its feet, I pulled myself out of the murky water before taking a crouching position on a nearby rock in order to regain my breath. My elf eyes took in the battered bodies of the dwarves clambering out of the water and on to the shore in front of me. I couldn't help but be relieved noticing they were all accounted for and for the most part unscathed.

Rising to a stand, I replaced my bow over my head and checked how many weapons I was left after the fall. I was missing a few throwing daggers and about half of my arrows but I was certain I could manage without them.

I was pulled from my thoughts as Kili collapsed on to a rock from the wound he had received battling the orcs earlier. Fili was at his side in an instant, telling Thorin that the wound needed to be cleaned and bound. It seemed Thorin had other things on his mind as he ordered the dwarves to get up and carry on their quest immediately.