"How can they exist? They are just myths, legends, stories told by children to scare one another!" Thranduil said as he paced the floor of his throne room as his advisors looked on.

"It would appear that the dark elves do exist my lord. We have had a communication from their king, King Araydark of the dark realm. He is sending an envoy to meet with you as a show of good will between the two kingdoms. We are unsure of their exact purpose, but a favourable meeting may ensure a strong alliance. All we know of them comes from the old stories; they are mysterious creatures, the dark elf maidens are said to be witches, and those of the royal bloodline are supposed to be incredibly powerful sorceresses. If the dark elves are agreeable a marriage between the two clans could ensure a long period of prosperity and protection for the kingdom my lord." An old advisor said, watching the king step across the floor.

Thranduil stopped pacing. "I am perfectly capable of ensuring the safety of my own kingdom without requiring the assistance of anyone else Nevarth, but I will see this envoy. I wish to see for myself these mysterious dark elves, and if they are pleasing a marriage between my son and princess of theirs may as you say prove to be beneficial."

Thranduil slumped into his throne. "When does this envoy arrive?" He asked, his voice a strange mixture of intrigue and disinterest.

"The envoy and a small entourage will be here within two moons. May I suggest my lord that we send the royal guard to ensure that they have safe passage through the forest. The menace of the spiders is still very real, and an attack may cause problems." Thranduil sighed and stared at his elderly advisor.

"Very well , post guards at the far side of the forest as an escort for the party. We do not wish any misfortune to befall our guests. You may all leave now, and Nevarth, have my son sent to me; I shall inform him of the impending visit. I believe that it would make a good impression if he was part of the guard escorting the envoy." The advisors bowed their heads and slowly left the throne room.

Thranduil walked over to the balcony overlooking his kingdom. 'Dark elves.' He thought to himself. He remembered the tales he was told as a child, they were dark creatures enveloped in an unnatural black mist. They came from the cold lands far off to the south where the land was covered in perpetual night. They were said to be ghosts, that lived in an eternal limbo taking the souls of any creature foolish enough to step foot in their kingdom; but surely these were just stories, legends from many moons ago. If they were true though, what use would a meeting between the two kingdoms afford him? He could see no benefit whatsoever, but he was intrigued, more intrigued than he had been in many years, the chance to meet such strange creatures piqued his curiosity. The thought of having to wait two moons to see the envoy frustrated him immensely, but even he could not speed up time, so he would just have to wait.

Thranduil turned as the doors of the throne room were pushed open, the two guards bowing deeply to the king as Legolas marched in bowing himself.

"Ada, you called for me?" Legolas said, as he stood patiently waiting for his father to speak.

"Yes Legolas. We are to receive visitors in two moons time, I wish for you to be in charge of the guard that I am sending to escort our guests through the forest. It is important that they arrive safely, our caller is an envoy from the kingdom of the dark elves."

"Dark elves father? But they are myth!" Legolas said, unsure about what his father had just told him. All elves knew the stories but as they grew, they dismissed them as something that only belonged in nightmares.

"It would appear that not all the stories are myths, we are to receive the envoy of King Araydark of the dark realm and you will ensure their safe passage and bring them to me." Thranduil replied, still deep in thought as he wondered what was to come.

                                                               >>--------------------------------------<<

Thranduil stood on his balcony as his advisors ran around attempting to ensure that everything was in place for the arrival of the envoy that evening. The days had gone slowly but Thranduil had spent his time constructively in his library studying what he could about the dark elves. Most of what he read he believed to be mere invention on the part of the writer, nearly all of it must have been imagination, too extreme to be real. The truth was probably boring, the envoy would turn out to be nothing more than another elf causing him to slip back into his usual boredom.

Now their arrival was just a short time away and the king wandered in his own mind. How different could dark elves be; their origins were not dissimilar from other elves so physically there must be many similarities, he thought to himself.

Thranduil was shook from his thoughts as a horn sounded in the distance notify all that the envoy and their entourage were at the entrance to the forest.

"Your majesty, we must prepare you for your guest." Nevarth bowed, hoping that the king would go into his rooms to change. Thranduil turned slowly watching with amusement as the servants made sure that the throne room was decorated perfectly to receive such an important guest. Finally seeing the concern on his chief advisors face the king made his way to change into his formal attire.

                                                    >>-----------------------------------------<<

One of the guards sounded the horn to let the palace know that their guests were arriving at the rendezvous point. Legolas and the other guards watched as three black figures on horseback appeared through a strange mist which had descended over Mirkwood Forest. Strangely he felt a deep sense of dread creep through his body, a feeling as if something bad was going to happen. The rider at the front was obviously the envoy he thought to himself; as the three rode nearer it became clear that they were covered from head to toe in cloaks that were as black as the night, hoods concealing their features.

The night was moonless and without the lamps that Legolas and the other guard held there would have been no light at all. As the riders got closer the night seemed to get darker, the incessant noise of insects stopped and the temperature in the air seemed to fall causing Legolas to wrap himself tighter in his cloak. Finally, the horses stopped as the three riders drew up in front of Legolas.

Legolas bowed deeply. "Greetings envoy, I am Legolas son of the Elvenking Thranduil of Mirkwood. My men and I have come to escort you safely through the forest."

He waited for an answer, but none came just a slow nod from the envoy. Legolas noticed that the envoy carried no weapon; no sword, no bow, just a staff made from twisted black wood with a huge white crystal at its top which had an eerie glow. Legolas and the other guards mounted their horses and lead the visitors into the forest.

The atmosphere was thick and silent apart from the occasional noise from one of the horses. The forest was always dark, especially so at night but the mist that seemed to surround the visitors made it all the darker. The journey was proving uneventful, but Legolas was not letting his guard down, particularly not tonight, not with this feeling that lay in the pit of his stomach.

Suddenly Legolas whipped his head around as he heard a strange noise come from high in the trees, it was a noise he knew all too well.

"SPIDERS!" He yelled out as he reached for his bow. He and the other guards dismounted and prepared themselves to fight the menace that was descending upon them.

As the eight-legged monstrosities came closer Legolas and the others readied their bows.

"STOP!" Legolas looked around to see that the command had come from the envoy. He watched as a pair of delicate white hands with long black nails appeared from under the black cloak that had previously covered them. The hands moved and seemed to glow as a purple mist appeared from them and spread out in front of the group towards the spiders. The mist enveloped the giant arachnids causing them all to stop in their tracks, a deafening noise coming from the creatures as they fell writhing in pain, all limbs shaking and bodies convulsing. But as soon as it began it was over and all the spiders lay dead.

Legolas looked up at the figure of the envoy as their hands disappeared back under the cloak. He wasn't sure that he believed his eyes, no one had ever taken out this number of spiders alone and at one time, and without the use of a weapon. He mounted his horse and drew it close to the envoy.

"Thank you." Was all he could think of saying. He wanted to ask "why", "how", but he hoped that those questions would be answered at another time. The envoy simply nodded again.

As the party wound their way to the palace another horn sounded announcing their arrival. The palace guards stood to attention the light from the torches flickering on their armour. Legolas and the others dismounted, and he came over to the envoy.

"If you will allow the guards to take your horses they will be cared for." Legolas received the nod from the envoy and watched as the two other figures dismounted and carefully lifted the envoy from their horse and placed them on the ground so delicately that he thought the envoy must be made of glass. Legolas couldn't help but furrow his brow at the strange proceedings before him, but he put it down to simply it being the customs of the dark elves.

The envoy reached for their staff, and one of the figures handed the reins of the horses to a guard, as they did the animals began to rear up kicking their limbs violently as if spooked by something. An ear-splitting noise emanated from the animals causing Legolas and the assembled guards to cover their ears, falling to their knees in pain. The envoy quickly took the reins and the animals instantly settled; Legolas uncovered his ears and looked at the envoy as the most beautiful voice he had ever heard drifted through the night air. It was low, barely above a whisper but he heard it. The envoy brought the horses to them and spoke in a tongue that he could not understand, but the tone was calm and gentle. The horses nuzzled into the figure of the envoy, seeming to bow their heads.

"They will go with you now." The envoy said, passing the reins back to the guard who took them cautiously before scurrying away with the now three submissive animals.

Legolas looked up at the envoy still in the position in which he fell, as a white hand stretched forth taking his and helping him to his feet. The hand was cold and delicate, the fingers like vines as they wrapped gently around his wrist. Despite the cold of the touch Legolas felt a strange warmth spread throughout his body, a warmth that made him feel calm, enchanted by the presence of the being in front of him. As the envoy released their grip Legolas came back to his senses.

"If you follow me, I will escort you to the throne room of my father, he and his advisors are waiting to greet you." The entourage moved to stand directly behind the envoy as if ready to protect them from any possible attack, Legolas could sense that the two would give their lives for the envoy, maybe the person that stood before him was more important than some mere diplomat sent by a foreign king to negotiate possible treaties he thought to himself.

As Legolas led the way he would look over his shoulder at the three guests, they seemed to glide across the floor rather then walk and the grey mist that had fallen upon Mirkwood forest seemed to cling to the envoy giving them an other worldly appearance. As they finally came to the doors of the throne room, they were thrown open by two waiting guards who bowed low to the approaching prince.

Legolas stood before his father. "Ada, may I present the envoy of the dark realm."

He announced before joining his father standing next to the throne. The three visitors stood before the king and bowed deeply before standing again.

"Will you not remove your cloaks before the king of Mirkwood?" The chief advisor said, looking at the guests disdainfully feeling that they showed little respect for his king.

With a nod from the envoy, the two large figures removed the dark material that wrapped itself elegantly around their frames. There stood two ellon, broad and strong, their bodies adorned in black armour which was decorated with runes picked out in the whitest silver. They removed their helmets and bowed again to the king and prince.

They were older, a pair of twins, their hair though black had flashes of grey that grew from their temples, their eyes were of the lightest grey and looked sternly at the advisor who seemed to recoil at the look.

Unlike other ellon their faces were graced with neatly cut beards that made them look even more intimidating. The two stepped forward to the envoy, one took the staff and the other gently removed the cloak revealing the most beautiful elleth that Thranduil or Legolas had ever seen. There was a sudden gasp from the assembled advisors as they realised that the elleth before them must be more than an ambassador.

Thranduil stood and surveyed the maiden; whereas his hair own hair was as white as starlight her hair was as black as a raven's wings, the diamond pins set into it made it look like a vision of the heavens. Her skin was pale, almost perfect white, her eyes the darkest green and her lips as red as blood. She was elegant, more elegant than any other Thranduil had seen.

She held herself with bearing which made him believe she was of royal blood. Her face was unemotional, though that did not detract from her undeniable beauty, and when she looked into his eyes it felt that she was staring into his soul.

"Your majesty. I am (Y/n), daughter of the dark Elevenking Araydark, great lord of the dark realm. I am here as envoy to assure you of my father's good wishes to you and your people. You are the first elves our kingdom has ever had contact with, and I hope that we may come to agreements that will prove beneficial to both our kingdoms."

That voice! Thranduil was completely enchanted. He moved to stand close to her, intimately close. For most the closeness would have been uncomfortable but between the king and the envoy it felt right. Thranduil took her hand in his, he instantly felt the chill that came from the touch but as he continued his hold, the temperature changed to one of warmth.

"My lady, it is my pleasure to have such a stunning creature in Mirkwood, I can truthfully say that I have never beheld one of such beauty before, and I look forward to being able to speak with you concerning matters of diplomacy, but for tonight I hope that you will enjoy every delight my kingdom has to offer." Thranduil said, gently kissing her hand never taking his eyes from hers.

"Your majesty is far too kind. I wish to thank prince Legolas for his bravery in the forest earlier, the attack of those creatures was quite...... unexpected."

Legolas coughed nervously as Thranduil stared at him. "You were attacked by spiders?" It was obvious that Legolas was a little uncomfortable under his father glare.

"Yes ada, but the lady (Y/n) took care of them, she killed them all." Legolas told him as Thranduil turned his curious eye back towards the lady.

"It was a simple spell, nothing at all really. Creatures like that are quite easy to subdue. Princes Legolas' bravery gave me enough time to conjure the required incantation."

Thranduil smiled, even more intrigued by his visitor. "So, it is true? Your elleth are witches." The princess removed her hand from the kings.

"It is true that the elleth of our people are able to perform small amounts of magic, but I would not describe them as witches. And my own abilities make me a sorceress, and a powerful one at that. I am no mere cauldron boiler I assure you." A slight air of anger could be heard in her tone, and Thranduil for once regretted his words.

"I apologise my lady; I did not mean to insult you or your people. We know little of your culture or your traditions. I hope that you will be able to educate us while you are with us." Thranduil took her hand again and graced it with an apologetic kiss, seeing a small smile form on the princess's face.

"How could I not forgive such a handsome king?"